July 2013 – Behind Closed Doors

As One Door Closes…

Today I received the email that many authors dread, the publisher decided to pass on The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). They didn’t feel that it had an audience. You see, since the heroine is bisexual, she has relationships with both men and women. So with both M/F and F/F pairings there was no “specific” market for it. They also felt that the readers of the first two books wouldn’t follow this one since generally readers of M/F romance don’t like F/F and vise versa.

Yeah you read that right.

If that’s the case, then why is it there are readers of F/F romances searching high and low for the books they want to read? There is a demand for them and yet it’s being ignored. Some publishing houses actually won’t even consider manuscripts with F/F pairings unless it’s minor. The main pair has to be either M/F or M/M. The prejudice towards the all girl action is really annoying to put it mildly. There is no reason to cut out this group of readers other than someone’s misguided notion that women don’t wish to read about other women having sex and getting their happily ever after.

How do I know the sex of the readers of romance? Well, I don’t know that every single last one of them is a female, but the vast majority of them are— even for the books classified as “manlove.” It’s women who write and read the most M/M romantic fiction so why is it so hard to see that there are women who write and read about two heroines getting it on? Times have changed. The rules of romance have and continue to change. Gone are the days where the hero has to be a rich, ruggedly handsome alpha male who chases after the sweet little virgin in her early twenties. Now we have heroes and heroines of all shapes, sizes, colors and species. There are pairings of the usual two and all the way up to five or more. How one keeps track of all the action in the extreme menage pairings is beyond me, but boy is it fascinating to read!

I’ve written many posts concerning the prejudice erotic romance authors get from the romance community in general, but the biggest problem we have is within our own ranks. The large and small publishing houses who carry erotic romances still resist publishing lesbian fiction. If you embrace the LGBT tag for your house’s books, you should embrace all that it stands for: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. All people, regardless of their sexual orientation deserve to have romance in their lives. Mainstream and erotic romance novels give all of us that escape.

So stay tuned for the news of when The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3) will be released within the next few months from…Sassy Vixen Publishing. Julia’s story will be SVP’s very first novel published with them. So far I’ve only published my poetry listing Sassy Vixen as the publisher. I can’t tell you how excited and just over the moon I am about this whole new venture for me and my writing. Now I can move forward with this series as I see it in my head and not have to follow “the house” rules any longer.

I’ll always be grateful to Siren Bookstrand for helping me to realize my dream. They took a chance on a complete unknown with a HUGE story to tell. The editors and support staff taught me more about the publishing world than I could ever or will ever read in a book. The most important and valuable perk of all? I got to meet and work with some of the most fascinating authors who’ve mentored me, reassured me when I had my doubts, and picked me up when I just wanted to quit. Without them, I would not be starting this new phase of my publishing career and I wouldn’t have some of the best friends any woman could ever have.

~Tammy

#OhMy! Author @DD_Symms Talks About #Boarding, His New #Contemporary #Romance

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors. It’s Monday once again and time to introduce you to another author and their newest release. Today I’m excited to welcome author DD Symms to our site. Boarding is his very first erotic romance novel and I’m thrilled to have him here today to talk about it. So without further adieu…DD, the stage is all yours!

Glad to visit Tammy, and thank you for hosting me. Boarding, is the first book of The Jessie Carter Fashion Series: True Friends are Life’s Greatest Pleasure. I”m currently working on the second book now, but today is all about introducing you to the heroine, Jessie. She’s a young fashion designer who dreams of working with a world famous model and suddenly gets her wish. Jessie Carter gets the surprise of her life during a visit to New York City when she gets a call to design a dress in one day for a world renowned model. Her work is cut out for her as she has to fight the objections of her boyfriend, fend off a crazed gossip columnist and fight falling for the assistant to the model’s manager. Oh, did I mention the assistant is bisexual? As you can see, Jessie has a lot on her plate and she still has to design that dress!

The Characters

Jessie Carter loves her craft of designing fashion and that’s what appeals to me. She’s not start struck even though she does admire the model, Veve Rouselette. Jessie’s watched shows of Veve’s commitment to quality and that’s what she strives for in her own work. Alas, Jessie has a wonderful but controlling boyfriend in Raymond. He designs mobile apps and has big plans for Jessie’s life that he “knows” would be better suited for her.

Callan DeLongpre, the bisexual assistant and lover of Torrey Johnson, simply takes pleasure in helping others. He and Jessie connect in a way that’s more fully developed in a later novel, my current WIP Arrival.

Boarding doesn’t foucs on the glamour of the fashion industry, but on the relationships of the characters and how their sexuality draws them together and creates a lot of tension when their desires are not aligned.

Giveaway

I will send the first 3 chapters of Boarding to any reader who comments below with an email address.

In the meantime, how about a little teaser? In this excerpt, Jessie and Raymond are in separate cities. She is performing for him on webcam…

Excerpt

Jessie arranged the pillows so she could lean back on them. Her legs dangled over the edge of the mattress and she ran the crystal toy the length of her body and then spread her legs wide. “Can you see?”

“Yeah. You’re so lovely.” He gritted his teeth.

She ran the curved tip over the few tiny hairs on her mons and then pressed once on her clit. Whoever crafted the product was a genius. There was an unusual balance to it, so even though it had no batteries it still felt like it had its own natural movement.

She leaned back on one elbow and raised the point with the other hand. “I got this in London.”

“London?”

“Yeah.” Jessie moved the tip along the lips of her labia.

“Why?” Raymond sounded shocked and incredulous.

“Huh?” Jessie did a double take.

“Why’d you buy it?”

Jessie inserted the tip but just like a balloon bursting with the prick of a pin, the molten lust flowing in the air instantly cooled. She reclined and pulled it out. “What do you mean ‘why did I buy it’?”

“Was it expensive?” He was awakened from his sensuous daze. “Cash or credit? You told me there are specials online all the time.”

Perhaps Raymond was a long, lost relative of Ebenezer Scrooge. “Aw, sweetheart.” Jessie collapsed on the pillows and the ceiling seemed to close in on her. She wished Raymond could appreciate the experience of walking into a store and browsing. She had been so hot and so close to striking a fucking orgasm when the fire department from the Kingdom of Pure Pragmatism arrived in time to completely douse her. “Why the hell would you care?” She couldn’t help raising her voice.

“Now, Jessie—”

“It’s my money, goddamn it.”

“Of course it is. And you’ve mentioned your concerns about not having enough.”

Ugh, I sound like a child. Swearing from anger was distasteful, especially when lying naked on silk sheets in a five-star hotel overlooking Central Park. Her long-term career options weighed on her more than spending habits. He couldn’t hear that.

Raymond had such an ability to inflame her passion when he wanted. He knew how to apply tiny quick kisses and lather her in luxurious strokes with his tongue and his hands. But the past several months after his tech firm launched, his playfulness had grown dim like the diminishing wick of a candle. Now he huffed, puffed, and extinguished the flame.

Author Links

DD Symms Website http://ddsymms.wordpress.com

Facebook.com/ddsymms

Goodreads, DD Symms

Amazon page, DD Symms

All Romance eBooks, DD Symms

Kobo, DD Symms

Close Encounters of the Wicked Kind’s July Scavenger Hunt #eroticromance #excerpts

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors! For today’s Friday Fantasy Free For All I’m participating in the month long scavenger hunt hosted by Close Encounters of the Wicked Kind. Each day this month, one of the Wicked Women have put up a post with an excerpt from one of their books and a question you need to answer in order to get entries in the Rafflecopter for the HUGE Grand Prize. If you’re just starting out with the hunt today, don’t you worry one bit. You still can go back to the previous posts done this month and get your answers. Before I go through with the rules. Here’s the list of the items up for grabs.

One autographed print copy of The Sunset Warrior by Leanore Elliot
Choice of 1 backlist e-copy book by Nikki Prince
An E-copy of The Remedy Maker by Sheri Fredricks
Choice of 1 backlist e-copy of Rosanna Leo
Choice of 2 backlist e-copies from Seraphina Donavan
A Bound gift pack which includes: Autographed Print copy of Bound, Necklace, and Book marks by Bonnie Bliss
A pdf copy of Touch of the Gods: The Wager by D.X. Luc
A copy of Dangerously Mine by AM Griffin
Autographed print copy of Immortal Love and an E-copy of PRimal Song by Danica Avet
An Autographed paperback from Cristal Ryder
E-copy of The Witching Pen Omnibus from Dianna Hardy
Swag Pack from A R Von
A T-shirt from Michel Prince
An Autographed copy of the promotional paperback Dreams of Ink by Kallysten
$5 Amazon card from Samantha Pleasent
$5 Amazon card from Ashlynne Laynne
Autographed copy of The Hunter Diaries in paperback by Serena Zane
Tammy Dennings Maggy: Swag: coffee mug, tote bag, pen, mouse pad, key chain
The Autographed Print Copy of the Satin Rose Experience by Sandra Bunino
E-book Copy of Blood Avenged by Gabrielle Bisset
E-book Choice of Blood’s Voice or Blood Bound by Aine Massie
Autographed Print Copy of Only Scandal Will Do by Jenna Jaxon
Autographed Print Copy of Dark Passion Rising by Shannon Albright
E-copy of The Heart of a Wolf Series by MaryLynn Bast
Autographed Print copy of For His Eyes Only by T.C. Archer
E-copy choice of backlist book from Katie Salidas
Autographed Print copy of My Highland Love
E-copy of Arresting Behavior by Morticia Knight and sexy swag pack!!
Winner’s choice of Backlist book by Naomi Bellina plus Swag pack!
Choice of 2 e-books: Croc and the Fox by Eve Langlais, Doms of Dark Haven anthology, The Vampire’s Boy by Theda Black, or Dex in Blue by Amy Lane, winner’s choice from: Sharing Links and Wisdom
Choice of e-book from Lea Barrymire
$5 dollar Amazon Card From Natasha Blackthorne

Now that list above is just for the GRAND prize. Each participant has to offer an individual prize as well. I’ve decided to give away to one lucky winner signed copies of The Courtship of the Vampyre, Follow Me: Poetry from the Heart and Soul, and The Island (Now and Forever 2). In addition to those, I will frame the poem “Encounters in the Dark” using the color scheme of the winners choice.

So what do you have to do to get the prizes? Follow the instructions carefully. For the Grand Prize you cannot put your answers in the comments section on the blogs. You must put them in the Rafflecopter in the spots for each individual blog. If you don’t follow this instruction, your comments will be deleted from each blog and you will lose that entry. This is the only way to keep the playing field completely fair for all. Each post will have a banner box with their individual question. Here’s mine

Excerpt from The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3)

Thirteen Years Ago, the Island

Julia awakened to the sound of waves crashing on a beach. She opened her eyes to find she wasn’t on her couch but in a king sized four poster bed, covered in pale pink material that gently tossed in the breeze coming through the screen door in front of her. “Where the hell am I?” She sat up in the bed and continued to take in her surroundings. At the end of the bed Julia noted a white silk robe and matching slippers on the floor. The closet doors were open revealing several colorful dresses and matching sandals.

She tossed the covers aside to find she was completely naked. That in itself wasn’t unusual for her, but she distinctly remembered falling asleep on the couch in her condo, wrapped up in an afghan. She frantically searched through the comforter and sheets, terrified to be without the one thing that offered her comfort and security when she was alone. Julia breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed the blanket folded neatly on the dressing table next to the bed. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

She slipped into the robe and explored a bit further into what she assumed was a bungalow of some sort. Julia found a fully stocked kitchen and pantry, a living room with an entertainment center, and a huge bathroom with a glass enclosed two person shower and sunken spa tub. The one thing she didn’t find was a telephone. She smiled. If she couldn’t call out, then no one could call in.

Julia ran back to the bedroom, dropping the robe on the floor as she flipped through the sun dresses hanging in the closet. She picked out a red halter dress and decided to pass on the sandals. She wanted to walk barefoot on the beach, something she hadn’t done for far too long. If this all was just a dream, she wanted to enjoy every single minute of it before she had to wake up in the city again.

The only way to the beach was through the sliding doors on the other side of the bedroom. The sound of sea gulls reached her ears as she stepped out onto the deck. A bubbling hot tub was too her left and to her right was an outdoor kitchen, complete with a grill pit and cushioned deck chairs. Directly in front of her stretched the pale sandy beach. The waves called to her and she practically ran through the sand to get to the point where the water gently lapped against her calves. Julia wiggled her toes into the sand, loving the feel of it slipping and sliding between them. “This is sheer Heaven.”

Then it hit her. The whole confrontation with Jacob and Mario in the condo replayed on fast forward in her mind. She remembered drinking way too much whiskey and then swallowing some pain killers. “Oh my God! I just wanted to sleep. I didn’t want to die. This is why I’m here. I’m dead.” She sank to her knees in the surf and sobbed.

“Julia, you’re not dead.” A tall blond man stood before her on the beach. He was in his late twenties, covered in tattoos and had multiple piercings. His eyes were what drew her right in. They were the blue green color of the ocean she was kneeling in. It was his eyes that made her feel immediately at ease. He held out his hand to her. “Come on. We’ve a lot to talk about and I’m sure you’re full of questions for me too.”

“Where did you come from? I thought I was the only one here.” Julia took his hand and allowed him to help her get to her feet and out of the water. Goosebumps covered her body, but she wasn’t cold. “If I’m not dead, then how did I get here?”

The young man laughed. “I’ll answer all your questions but first you have to give me a chance to do it before you fire off more.” He wrapped a large beach towel around her shoulders as they made their way back up toward her bungalow. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. I’m the Guardian assigned to watch over you and help you find your way back to the destiny chosen for you by The Three.”

She sat down on one of the deck chairs and beckoned to him to sit next to her. “Guardian? As in guardian angel?”

He nodded. “My name’s Daniel. The Goddess Fate chose me to watch over you and several other people. One of them you know already, Jake Hartley.”

Julia’s eyes filled with tears. “I hurt him so badly. Is he okay? I mean he stormed out of our condo last night. I don’t know where he went.”

Daniel shook his head. “He was in a horrific accident on his bike. He slammed into the back of a semi—”

“No! He’s not dead. He can’t be.” Julia bolted out of her chair and barely reached the end of the deck before she threw up.

Daniel was immediately at her side, holding her hair out of the way until she stopped retching. “I’m not going to sugar coat it for you, Julia. Jake’s fighting for his life right now. But you need to believe me when I tell you he’s in good hands. His father’s my partner and right there with him and the rest of the family.”

“He wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for me. I did this to him.” The sobs tore through her body. She’d never cried over anyone or anything before. This was more than she could take. “Please. Leave me here to die. Take care of him.”

The Guardian wrapped his well-muscled arms around her and held her tightly against his chest. “That’s not why you’re here. In fact, you’ve been allowed to come here in order for your heart and soul to mend. Then, you have to make a choice.”

Julia wiped the tears from her face and looked into Daniel’s eyes. “I don’t understand. What is this place?”

“We call it The Island. Basically it’s what humans would call limbo. It’s the realm between life and death. The ability to come here is a gift given to you by The Three. You have to choose to either stay here and wait until your next life cycle, or go back to face your demons and fight for your chance to be with your soul mate and your chosen destiny.”

“The only person that’s ever loved me like that, the only one who told me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, is fighting for his life in a hospital bed.” Julia managed to get back into the deck chair without having another wave of nausea hit. She curled up in the towel again and wondered if it was just best to stay there and not go back to all the pain she’d caused.

Daniel smiled. “The only one? Think hard. Who has been by your side through everything? Who has let you pursue all your desires and still loves you unconditionally?”

She smiled through her tears. “But Carmen can’t be my soul mate. It’s one thing to have an affair, but the love we have for each other will never be accepted, especially not in her world as a doctor and hospital administrator. The religious groups in L.A. would crucify her if our relationship was made public. The hospital Board wouldn’t want to have that kind of publicity. Carmen’s worked too hard to get where she’s at in her career. I won’t be responsible for ruining another person’s life.”

“I understand your fears about that, but you and all those groups have it completely wrong. The Three didn’t create us as just male or female. We are both. Soul mates are just that, mates of the soul. Being a male or female isn’t part of it. Souls have no gender. They are just pure life force.”

Julia shook her head. “That may very well be true, but after all I’ve done in my life I don’t deserve to have that kind of happiness. Jacob does. Carmen does. But not me.”

Daniel took her hands into his calloused ones. “Why not? If The Three feel you’re worthy, who are you or anyone to judge differently?”

“I’m scared, Daniel. What if I’ve gone too far in my life to turn things around? I don’t think I can face the ugliness in my past let alone ask Carmen to stand by my side when I do it. It’s not fair to her. It’s best I just stay away. I’ve made a mess out of enough lives.”

“I can’t force you to go back, but you have to understand this. If you choose to stay here, you will in fact die in the Earth Realm. Everything in that life will be gone and all you’ll know is right here on this island until you next life cycle begins. You won’t remember anything from the life you’ve lead up until now. Within hours of your choice to not go back, those memories will be locked away. All the happy times will be gone. Carmen’s life will never be the same after losing you. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can choose to accept this second chance you’ve been given.”

“Can I take a day or two to think it over?” Julia’s mind raced. She needed some time to sort through everything before she made her decision. For once in her life she needed to not act on impulse.

The Guardian nodded. “The Goddess and I will come for your answer in a couple days. Until then, make yourself at home here in your bungalow. There are others on this island paradise, but you won’t be able to see them unless you decide to stay here.”

“Jacob’s here, isn’t he?”

Daniel nodded. He’s been given the same opportunity, but his choice is much harder to make.”

“Why? I would think he’d jump at the chance to find his soul mate.”

“He does find her here on the Island. They must choose to go back and find each other later in their lives, or stay here and wait for their next rebirth.”

“Hell, if he can be here with his heart and soul, why would he ever want to go back?” Julia thought that choice would be the easiest one to make. She could live here forever with Carmen. With no outside influences to come between them, their life together would actually be paradise.

“Too many other lives hang in the balance with those two, including yours. Their lives intersect with so many. If they stay here, the futures of the others would be forever altered in this lifetime. People have to continue to be reborn and live their lives over and over again until they learn all the lessons needed to achieve their chosen destinies.”

“So if I give up on this one, I’ll have to continue on to another life cycle again and again until I get it right? The painful parts could happen all over again?”

Daniel stared at her a moment before answering. “Yes. You may be born into a family that doesn’t abuse you, but a family friend or stranger may be the one. You may never have to go through that pain again, but I can’t guarantee that any more than I can tell you you’ll find Carmen right away in the next life. You’re given the chance for your happily ever after now as long as you’re willing to fight for it.”

Julia closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. “Okay. I’ll think it all over and have an answer for you when you return. If I have any other questions about anything, how do I contact you?”

He smiled as he stood in front of her. “All you have to do is call. I’ll be right here when you need me. I promise.” Daniel waved as he faded right in front of her eyes. “Listen to your heart, Julia. It will never steer you wrong.”

Did you find the answer? Go ahead and click on the link below to take you to the Rafflecopter for the Grand Prize, and then come right back here for your chance to win my prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for my prize package you have to click on the following link a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now here’s the linky list for the rest of the participants. You’ll need this to help you complete all the steps to win the Grand Prize.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!

@mtnmoxiegirl Reveals the Cover of Her Memoir #FreeFall

Welcome back, peeps! I’m excited to have one of my dear friends and fellow author Amber Lea Easton here today to reveal the cover of her soon to be released memoir Free Fall. Here’s the blurb of this labor of love.

One moment is all it takes to change a life forever. In one instant—in my husband’s final act—he stripped away my identity as wife, stay at home mom, and best friend. In one moment our world crumbled from beneath our feet. He’d been the center of our universe, but then he was gone. Everything I ever believed to be true unraveled before my eyes.

Free Fall is our journey of piecing our lives back together again—overcoming children’s anxiety as we traversed the brutal grief and trauma process, learning to say the words “widow” and “single mom” without cringing, surviving the fall out with friends and family who simply couldn’t understand our journey, triumphing over the stigma of “suicide”, forgiving my husband, and finding peace after chaos.

Grief is a dark journey, one often tainted with judgment and false perceptions. Add the word ‘suicide’ to the mix and more complications arise, both internally and externally. This memoir is intended for anyone who may be facing their own tragedy and feeling alone, hopeless, confused, scared, and misunderstood. This story is for other widows, widowers, survivors of suicide, family members or friends of one who mourns, or anyone who needs encouragement that there is another side to grief. There is. We’re there now. We’re looking back and holding our hands out to you saying, “hang in there, you’re not alone, and you’ll get here, too.”

Can you imagine having to try to go on living without your rock, your soul mate? It’s absolutely my worst nightmare and my dear friend has had to live it. Not only has she had to get through each day missing the love of her life, she’s had to do it and still stay strong for her kids. Being both mother and father to them and keep up with the demands of her writing career has had to be a humongous challenge. I don’t know how she’s made it through…but I’m grateful she has. Without her I don’t think I’d have made it to the point where I’m at in my writing career. She’s been my cheerleader, confidant and a shoulder to cry on when things just didn’t seem to go right no matter what I did with my writing. So when she let me know she was ready to reveal the cover of her memoir, I jumped at the chance to feature it on all of my blogs. I want to show her that I admire her ‘moxie” and know all of you will too.

So without further adieu…

About the Author

Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published cross genre author of romantic suspense, action adventure, mystery thrillers. Her current releases cross all boundaries and appeal to a wide audience. If you love a clever plot, action that will leave you breathless, riveting characters and sexy love scenes, her books will appeal to you. “Smart is sexy,” Easton says, which is why she focuses on smart heroines who always have a lot to lose yet find the courage to face their fears to overcome adversity. She’s an avid reader of all genres or “whatever turns her on in the moment”.

Easton grew up in Hartford, South Dakota, where she spent her time daydreaming of big adventures over the horizon under a giant blue South Dakota sky. Now living in Colorado, she’s an avid traveler who incorporates her real life travels into her novels as much as possible (minus the illegal activities her characters become immersed in–she swears). To her, setting is another character in the novel and often serves as an inspiration. Love is her motivation for all things–whether it be writing, traveling, playing with her dogs or hanging with her two teenagers–if it’s not done with love, then what’s the point?

Where to Find Amber

Website

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Bookstrand

Twitter

Facebook

#BreakingtheRules: In Real Life and My Writing

Hello my peeps! Today I’d like to talk a bit about breaking the rules. This topic was inspired by another author and friend Melinda Dozier. She wrote a book called…you guessed it…Breaking the Rules. She’s now into the second week of a blog tour talking about the book, and getting her fellow author friends to dish on how they’ve broken the rules as a writer and how their characters have broken the rules in their story lines. I found this sort of thing fascinating. You see, as a romance writer, there are a TON of rules that we are all supposed to follow. For example, there always has to be a happily ever after or at least a happy for now ending to your novel, even if it’s a part of a series. There at least has to be a point where the heroine is at least content at the moment. Now that doesn’t mean you can’t give them a better happy ending later. There rules for specific publishing houses, specific genres and subgenres, and the rules that govern how and where you’re allowed to promote in social media groups. At times there is just way to much to deal with and you end up with more than a few rebels…like me.

Sure I prefer to have guidelines to follow, but I don’t want to be one of those writer’s who crank out the books that are all the same except for switching out the names of the hero, heroine and villain if there is one. If your back list is made up of all of these, then eventually your fan base will dwindle. Why should they keep reading the same story over and over again when there’s an over abundance of books and authors out there to choose from nowadays? I’m not talking about series books where you have to share a world and characters. I’m talking about the ones who have the exact same love scenes, conversations and inner dialogue from book to book. You all know what I’m talking about and could probably make a list of these type of books right off the top of your head.

I’m not the traditional kind of author many think of when they hear I write romance. The image of the good old bodice rippers from the 80’s always pops into their heads, along with the sweet, flowery prose used to describe the love scenes. That is so not me, chicas. For my contemporary erotic romances, I write REAL characters with all their faults and yes, potty mouths. I don’t sugar coat it because my characters don’t. They fight with their friends and lovers, they make stupid life choices and have to work hard to get what they want out of life. They’re flawed, not perfect and readers can relate to them. Hell, they may even see bits and pieces of themselves in my characters. Some romances, even those labeled as erotic, aren’t like that. They have alpha males who prefer those twenty-something females who give them just enough resistance to their charms before succumbing to them completely. Many times these heroines are virgins. Not in my books.

My heroines are well over thirty, most in their early forties, have body image issues at times, are self sufficient professionals who kick ass and take names. They usually are unlucky in the love department for one reason or another, but keep trying. They are passionate and willing to try new things, even thought to be taboo. They’re not wall flowers and don’t need a man to complete them, but they do yearn for a partner who can complete them and make both of their lives even better. My women may have to marry a few Mr. Wrongs before they finally end up with Mr. Always and Forever, but for them the heartache is worth it.

My heroes aren’t perfect either. They have pasts that have scarred them, made them shy of diving right into monogamous relationships, but not enough to keep them away forever. They search for the one who can match them in and out of the bedroom and love a challenge. They don’t want someone who walks all over them, but sometimes love is blind and they miss the red flags. But watch out when they do see the light! My guys will also go to hell and back to give the one they love their happily ever after even if it means it’s with another. All they want is for them to be happy. This can be a problem with some publishers and readers who want a hero who fights for the one he loves and never gives up. Well, real life doesn’t work out that way and you can’t force someone to fall in love with you. I won’t do it with my characters either.

In my real life, I wasn’t much of a rule breaker growing up, but I sure did fantasize about it. I turned those fantasies into my poems and my novels. I’ve had my heart broken so many times because I love with my whole heart and trust they feel the same. I left a career and my family to come across country for the love of a man who promised me the moon and stars and took away my self esteem instead. I clawed my way back from that to mistake a deep caring friendship for love and married so I didn’t have to be alone 2500 miles away from my friends and family, once again changing jobs to make him happy. I lived in misery for years thinking I wasn’t good enough for anything or anyone else and settled for merely existing. I finally woke up and said enough is enough and once again gave up everything, losing our condo to short sale, taking on a huge debt from the marriage because I knew my ex wouldn’t take responsibility, and living pay check to pay check.

I didn’t give up on me or finding my Knight in Shining Armor. He was just waiting in the wings until I cleared out the clutter and could finally see him. He helped mend my broken heart and soul so I could love again. He let me find myself and my path, there to catch me if I needed it. I’m retiring from a career as a veterinarian after 20 years because I don’t want to follow the rule that says I have to keep at it until the day I die. I’m living the dream of a published author and soon will enter another phase as CEO of my own publishing house.

How’s that for someone who used to follow all the rules? LOL

~Tammy

Come Join The Fun with Close Encounters of the Wicked Kind’s Scavenger Hunt

Hello my friends, and welcome back to Behind Closed Doors. Today I’d like to talk to you a bit about a fun blog hop that’s taking place every single day for the month of July. It’s called The Close Encounters of the Wicked Kind’s Scavenger Hunt. Each day of the month a new post goes up on one of the participants blogs. There you will find the day’s question and the answer to it within that particular blog stop. Answering this question will help get you in the running for the Grand Prize. Here’s what’s on the list:

Now whatever you do, don’t put the answer to the grand prize questions in the comments section of each blog. You must put your answers in the Rafflecopter provided for them. In it you will see one section for each participating blog. Click on the one that corresponds to the blog question you are answering and enter your guess. That’s all you have to do for each day in order to find all the answers to be able to win the Grand Prize. Don’t worry! If you start in the middle of the month, you still can go back to the days you missed and play catch up.

Each blog will also be offering an individual prize as well. Besides the Tammy Dennings Maggy swag that will be in the Grand Prize, I’m giving away a framed copy of “Encounters in the Dark.” It’s one of the poems featured in my second book of poetry The Courtship of the Vampyre. I’ll also be giving away a signed copy of that book, a signed copy of Follow Me: Poetry From the Heart and Soul, and a signed copy of The Island (Now and Forever 2). My date is July 19th so make sure you stop back in here to get the answer to my question for the Grand Prize from the information and excerpt I provide for you from my nearly finished The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). I’ll have a link to a second Rafflecopter for you to get entries for my prizes.

To get you started, here’s the link to Leanore Elliott’s post that was up on July 4th. From there you can see how it all works. Make sure you follow the instructions to the letter! If you put your answer to the questions in the wrong area, you will render it null and void. So be careful and take your time. You have until August 1st to complete all of the hops and get all your entries. I’ll announce my winner on Friday August 2nd. Below is the entire linky list of all the participating blogs. Just click on it and it will take you to a separate page. You won’t be able to get a jump on posts before they’re sceduled to go live, but you can get started on the ones that are already up so you can be ready for the next one tomorrow.

Go on. Click on some links and get to hopping! Happy Hunting! ~Tammy