anything pertaining to book three of the Now and Forever series
Ever wonder why I write erotica and erotic romance? I talk about it today on the Four Seduced Muses blog for my Sinfully Sassy Sundays with The Vixen post. Click on the photo below to take you there. Leave a comment here or there and let me know what you think. ~Tammy
Welcome to my first Sneak Peek Sunday. Each week, a group of authors share six paragraphs from a current work in progress or published piece. The entire list of this week’s participants can be found by clicking on the image above. For my part, I’ve decided to share six paragraphs from my latest release The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). Here is where we’re first introduced to The Three, the trio of gods known as the Eternal Siblings. In the chapter this scene is taken from, we learn they’ve decided to intervene in the lives of a specific group of humans all interconnected with each other. Julia’s life is the topic of conversation at the moment. Something about her tugs at the heart of the Goddess Fate and her youngest brother, Lucius.
The entire far wall of the mountainside chalet was covered with high definition television screens. Modern technology fascinated The Three. They were able to keep track of their human creations, using the very gadgets invented by them.
Lucius in particular, seemed fond of the wireless technology used in cell phones and personal computers. With a few swift clicks on the keyboard of his laptop, all the screens came to life with pictures of the people they were gathered to discuss.
Yeshua, the eldest of the Eternal Siblings, sat in a large, overstuffed easy chair, taking in all the lives playing out on the screens before him. His deep blue eyes scanned through everything in seconds, immediately recognizing those in view.
These humans were the favorites of his sister, Fate. Once again, she wished to plead the case of another of the group. Apparently, this particular human seemed to be special—to Lucius as well.
“Why should we intervene with Julia’s life path now?” Yeshua asked. “Isn’t enough we’re allowing the Guardians to help Quinn and Jacob find each other? Wouldn’t it be wise to just see how it all plays out for the rest from this point on?”
The tall, dark, brooding God of Trials and Tribulations rolled his amber eyes. “As you’ve pointed out on numerous occasions dear Brother, our interference with any life path affects more than just one creation. By giving Jacob and Quinn their chance to bond on the Island, we’ve opened up too many other variables for the others. In order to keep them all on their chosen paths, we have to give a nudge here and there.” Lucius smiled at Fate. “Your new Guardians should be able to handle all of them, although I think they’ll need your help a bit with Julia.”
Want to know more? You’ll have to pick up your own copy of the book and read it for yourself. 🙂 Will Fate’s intervention come in time or will Julia ultimately give up on her chance at a happily ever after with the one who holds her heart?
Buy Links
Help! Sassy Vixen Publishing is putting out another anthology under the Four Seduced Muses Imprint. This one is all about summer lovin’ and all that goes on between two…or more lovers in the night. Once again I’ll be joined by my alter ego Lia Michaels, Maya DeLeina, and Nicole Morgan. This time I’m so happy to say the fabulous Bonnie Bliss will be joining the group to add her smokin’ hot tale of love and lust.
Some of the story lines are already underway. In fact, they are continuations of the stories in the Christmas/winter anthology, ‘Tis the Season for Seduction. Lia’s tale will follow the Candy Kisses menage a quatre we were introduced to in “Have a Naughty Naughty Christmas.” This time they continue their escapades back home in the heat of the summer in Michigan. The love between the pairs in the group grows and the heat between all four ignites to a raging inferno. You’ll want to see the fireworks fly in this one. Trust me!
Maya’s contribution follows her couple from ‘A Winter’s Ecstasy. This time we get to see how a vampire handles the sun in the Florida Keys. I bet you didn’t think you’d see that one coming now did you? Who would think a creature of the night would enjoy the sun and sin in the Gator State?
Bonnie is still narrowing her story choices down. She has so many she’d like to share and so little time. Stay tuned for more when she lets us know what she decides to concentrate on for this project.
Nicole is like Bonnie and working hard to narrow things down. I’ll clue you all in when she picks a hot couple’s tale to share with us.
As for me, I’ve decided to delve into Julia and Carmen’s back story and give you their first vacation together in the island paradise of Maui. So for both Lia and me it will be bondage and submission between our lovers. Now what more could a reader ask for?
How about helping us narrow the list of titles we came up with down to the one that will grace the cover that is being designed by the fabulous Lindsey Kirk of LMK Graphics. You remember her. She’s the artist who did The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). She knows how to capture the essence of the characters in all her covers and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the anthology!
Take a look at the poll below. Chose the title you like the best. Enter your email address to finalize your vote and hit submit. Once you do that, you’ll automatically be entered to win a free print AND ebook copy of the anthology when it’s released in July. Hurry! You only have until March 15th to get your votes in. Please feel free to share the link to this blog with everyone. The more votes the better. How fun will it be to hold in your hands a book with the title YOU chose?
What do you say? Are you in? Happy voting!
Welcome to the newly renovated Behind Closed Doors! With the new year, I’ve been going through quite a bit of soul searching in order to figure out just what I wanted out of my writing and publishing career. I’ve been split between four pen names (including this one) and getting a fledgling publishing house up and running (Sassy Vixen Publishing). It’s been a wild ride to say the least and nothing short of a miracle I’ve come this far with my sanity somewhat intact. I can’t keep burning the candle at both ends and the middle. Something had to give and it turned out it was me.
I had to decide what was more important to me right now: my career as an author (four actually), or a publisher.
The game plan has always been to write and get my books out there in front of as many people as possible. I have so many stories to tell about all the characters constantly chattering in my head. There really isn’t enough time in the day to handle all of them and go full throttle running a publishing house. I can’t take on new authors until Sassy Vixen builds up a reputation for quality work. I can’t have that if I don’t put my all into the writing in the first place!
See my dilemma? Two beautiful career goals and both are suffering because I’m spread too thin. Time to go back to basics and enjoy the very reason I got into all of this in the first place. With that in mind, I’d like to announce I’m going to write a novella to be included in a Summer Lovin’ themed anthology with Sassy Vixen Publishing. I’ll be joining five other authors in this project. My piece will delve into the back story of two characters from my last novel.
Julia and Carmen hold a special place in my heart. Their story was a tough one for me to write and it was “rejected” by Siren because it didn’t fit into any of their imprints. They liked the writing style and the characters…BUT since I wrote M/F pairings in the first books of the series, they didn’t think the F/F pairing would go over well with the readership I had up to this point. I refused to believe that and even if it was true, I wanted to tell this story the way Julia and Carmen presented it to me—not to fit in some sort of formula for a specific imprint.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with writing tales to fit, it just wasn’t for me. Not for this story. Not for the rest of the series either.
The current novella will visit with Julia and Carmen during their first trip together to Maui. It was a time in their lives when they fell in love with each other for the first time. Of course, Julia had a hard time with those feelings once they returned to the mainland. You’ll get to read all about it this summer. Until then, here’s an excerpt to wet your appetite for these lovelies! Enjoy!
Thirteen years ago, Long Beach, California
The hot bath laced with jasmine oil helped her relax. Julia hadn’t realized just how tense her entire body was until she was completely submerged in the large sunken spa tub in Carmen’s master bathroom. She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed just soaking in this tub. It’d been far too long since she stayed here. Julia became determined to change that.
During the drive out of the city toward Long Beach, she knew she finally moved in the right direction in her life for once. All these years, she put her passion into her art and the various muses along the way. Now, she headed toward her heart’s desire. The one person who accepted her for who she was from the start—someone strong enough to take her in hand when she needed it and who’d been right by her side all along. Julia hoped it wasn’t too late to give herself over to her Mistress completely.
She stepped out of the tub and reached for one of the large fluffy towels to dry off her now relaxed body. Her hair sat piled on top of her head, clamped in one of the banana clips she found in the vanity drawer. It looked like it’d been hand crafted by using two pieces of jade and it made Julia smile. It was the very first gift she’d given to Carmen after their trip to Hawaii almost 13 years ago. The color looked beautiful in her blonde hair and actually made several appearances in Julia’s paintings. She always respected Carmen’s wishes to not put her into any of her artwork, but seeing the jade hair clip always made both of them smile and reminisce.
Looking back at her reflection in the mirror she saw the shy gray-eyed little girl who first came to LA, hoping to make it big and prove everyone from her home town in Missouri wrong. She wasn’t a freak or trailer trash like her parents. She was somebody and it was time to reclaim her true self. Julia left the bathroom and walked naked toward the large walk-in closet. She went directly to the chest of drawers on the far corner and opened the top drawer. Inside, she found the boxes of bell clamps Mistress directed her to wear. After choosing one of the boxes, she then turned to peruse the rest of the closet.
She didn’t have far to look for the boots. A shelf of several pairs sat to her left. One pair in particular, spoke to her. Without hesitation, she chose the patent leathers with the five inch heels that laced from the top to toe. Of course there was a zipper on the inside of the boot to make it easier to get them on and off, but Julia never felt sexier than when she slowly laced herself up in those boots.
The clamps were coated with latex to help them grip to her flesh comfortably and yet hold on tight enough to not slip off during play sessions. The weight of the bells caused the clamps to tug on her nipples each time her breasts moved. Nothing like that sensation ever existed for Julia before and she felt the immediate rush of warmth between her thighs with each jiggle and jingle of her tits. To attach the last two clamps, she needed to sit on the bed and spread her legs wide. Grasping first her right and then her left outer pussy fold between her thumb and forefinger, she fit the clamps into place. There was a separate ring on each of the clamps where Mistress could attach a fine gold chain leash, tugging on it to keep Julia’s attention focused on the tasks at hand, and reminding her not to cum until given permission.
©Tammy Dennings Maggy 2013 All Rights Reserved
Where to find The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3)
Welcome to Behind Closed Doors and Happy New Year! I’ve kicked it off with a bang with the early release of The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). It’s been a whirlwind of activity and I had little time to get ARCs out before the book came out. I’ve sent out some requests for reviews, but I thought I’d make another request this way…the the blogger and reader community. If anyone’s interested in receiving a PDF format advanced reading copy of Julia’s story, please either leave a comment here with your contact information, or send me an email directly to tammydenningsmaggyauthor (at) gmail (dot) come.
Of course the email address is all written out to hopefully prevent the bots from finding my email and filling it with spam. LOL!
I also have ARCs from the first two books in the series to give out in exchange for reviews too. Thank you all for your support and help to get the Now and Forever series out there. I’ve been watching the first two books move up some lists on Goodreads and couldn’t be happier about it. Without you, none of this would be happening so THANK YOU!!!
Here’s a the information, blurb and an excerpt from The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3)
Release Date: December 28, 2013
Publisher: Sassy Vixen Publishing LLC
Heat Level: SEXTREME
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Categories: LGBT, bisexual, BDSM, spanking, Fantasy, redemption, erotic, Paranormal elements
Sexual pairings: M/F and F/F
BLURB
L.A. artist phenom Julia Santos appeared to have it all. After a nearly two year long dry spell, her creativity was at its peak and she had her muse and model Jacob Hartley to thank for it. He brought the fire and raw sexuality back to her sculptures and into her bedroom, and a sense of security that only one other person in her life had ever given her. At last she had found the perfect balance between her professional and private lives, until the day a single call from someone in her past threatened to tear her world apart.
Fearful of losing all she’d worked so hard to accomplish, Julia delved deeper into the hedonistic lifestyle she’d come to rely on to give her an escape from the horrors of her past. Instead of bringing her comfort, her sexual urges lead her down the path of destruction; not only for herself, but those around her. With Jacob fighting for his life after a near fatal motorcycle accident and Julia on the brink of death herself, Fate and her Guardian Angel Daniel intervene and transport her to a safe haven called the Island.
There she’s given a choice: stay on the Island and wait for her next rebirth, or go back and fight to be with the one who has been there for her through every lifetime. Will she take the easy way out and leave all the pain behind, or will she choose the long and hard road reliving the horrors of her childhood in order to have her happily ever after with the Mistress of her dreams?
ADULT F/F EXCERPT
Julia’s ass burned from the paddle and yet she craved more. She knew her Mistress would deliver the appropriate punishment. She always knew what to do for her to give them both the greatest amount of pleasure. “Yes, Mistress.” Julia placed her palms flat on the carpet, curled her fingers inward, and gripped the plush fibers as Carmen worked her with the paddle. A few times the edges of the paddle connected with her cunt sending jolts of pleasure and pain through her body, igniting the passion she hadn’t felt in a long time. This was definitely where she belonged, with her Mistress, her true soul mate.
“You’re going to get to know this paddle well, my sweet, but not all tonight. We’ve plenty of time together and I’ve a lot of instruction planned for you.” Carmen slipped her fingers between Julia’s pussy lips. “So wet for me already, kitten. Do you know how much that pleases me?”
“I’ll do anything to please you.” Julia thrust back toward Carmen as her fingers slid over her clit and then quickly withdrew. “Please don’t stop, Mistress.”
Carmen laughed softly as she rubbed soothing cream with her soft hands over Julia’s thighs and bottom. “Don’t you worry, there’s going to be plenty of time for you to come for me, my love. Since it’s been such a long time, your skin isn’t used to being worked, but it will be.”
Shivers flew up and down Julia’s spine. The combination of the heat from the paddle, the coolness of the cream, and the touch of Carmen’s hands became almost too much to take, and yet it was exactly what she needed and longed for from the very start. She felt a tug on her outer lips as the bell clamps were removed and cream worked into the skin where they’d been for the last few hours. Julia moaned again as Carmen spread her ass cheeks and slipped two fingers into her tight opening, coating her with the cream and stretching her with each feathering stroke.
Carmen picked up the crop with the special latex covered handle and bulb at the tip. It resembled a long, thick cock and was in fact, one of Julia’s favorite toys.
Tonight she would be reacquainted with it. Just the sight of it made her body ache with need. The feel of the dildo sliding between her cheeks, sent a flood of her juices down her inner thighs with nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t hold it back any longer and hoped it wouldn’t displease her Mistress too much. A smile slowly formed on her lips thinking about what would happen next if Carmen followed her usual routine.
The bulb of the handle slowly slid passed the initial resistance to embed deep within her. Julia’s clit throbbed in response to the fullness of the crop buried in her ass, and her hips rocked. She ground her pussy into the ottoman, attempting to give her clit some relief.
Carmen wasn’t going to allow it however. “Kneel up, hands behind your back, kitten.” She helped Julia get up and into position before shoving the crop a little deeper into her. “Now, I’m going to enjoy that hot bath you prepared for me. Keep your hands behind your back, legs apart, and that fake cock right where it is until I tell you otherwise. Are you okay with that or do you need a break, my pet?”
Julia swallowed hard and licked her lips. “I could use a drink of water, Mistress.”
Carmen held a bottle of water with a straw while Julia drained nearly half of it in three gulps.
“Thank you.”
Carmen kissed her forehead and then her lips softly. “I won’t be long and then we’ll start again. I was thinking of our last session after you visited me today. We had such a short time together then, not enough to really see what both of us were made of. But this time, oh honey, this time we are going to be able to let everything and everyone else go.”
©Tammy Dennings Maggy 2013 All Rights Reserved
Thank you all for visiting. Until next time my peeps!
~Tammy
Welcome to Behind Closed Doors! Today we’re having a bit of an early celebration. At long last, the third book in my Now and Forever series is ready for publication. In fact, the official release date is Friday January 3rd, but at the time of this writing, it’s now live on Smashwords, All Romance ebooks and Amazon. I’m hoping to have the print version live on Createspace on January 3rd, but my cover artist is down with the flu and it may be delayed a few more days.
For those of you who haven’t had the “pleasure” of publishing your own work, let me tell you that some of the sites will drive you bonkers! You would think the same cover I used for the ebook formats would be fine to use for the print. Well, you have to take into account the size of the book and the spine. You can’t just stretch a photo out to fit. I trust Lindsey Kirk with LMK Graphics to deliver yet another fabulous cover in no time!
I had a team of editors on this one and all of them drove me batty! Just kidding! Together they helped me bring out the best of this story and I hope you like it. Continuing the series with my own publishing company is a dream come true. A special thank you goes out to Siren Bookstrand for taking a chance on an unknown with a huge dream. Even though this series continues on, I’ll be forever grateful for the encouragement they gave me to pursue my vision for the series even when it no longer fit into their imprints. For the Love of Quinn and The Island are still available from them and I hope you pick them up if you haven’t already done so.
The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3) takes place at the exact time as The Island (Now and Forever 2). This one is from the point of view of the series “villainess” Julia Santos. She was only supposed to be a very minor character, mentioned only to complete the back story of Jacob Hartley from the first to books. Instead, her tale wouldn’t leave me. The more I delved into it, the more I needed to know. She shocked the hell out of me a few times, made me laugh, and yes made me sob like a baby.
She’s not your typical heroine. She’s a grade A bitch. She loves sex with both men and women and uses it for comfort as well as a weapon to get what she wants from whom she wants. There’s more to her than that. Deep down there’s a little girl, sexually abused by her parents, hidden away from the world until it’s safe to come out again. Julia has had to do some horrible things just to survive and get to the point in her life we find her at the beginning of the story. Her redemption doesn’t come early nor easily. It’s a long road for her and one that puts not only her life on the line, but that of Jacob’s as well.
Here’s the blurb
L.A. artist phenom Julia Santos appeared to have it all. After a nearly two year long dry spell, her creativity was at its peak and she had her muse and model Jacob Hartley to thank for it. He brought the fire and raw sexuality back to her sculptures and into her bedroom, and a sense of security that only one other person in her life had ever given her. At last she had found the perfect balance between her professional and private lives, until the day a single call from someone in her past threatened to tear her world apart.
Fearful of losing all she’d worked so hard to accomplish, Julia delved deeper into the hedonistic lifestyle she’d come to rely on to give her an escape from the horrors of her past. Instead of bringing her comfort, her sexual urges lead her down the path of destruction; not only for herself, but those around her. With Jacob fighting for his life after a near fatal motorcycle accident and Julia on the brink of death herself, Fate and her Guardian Angel Daniel intervene and transport her to a safe haven called the Island.
There she’s given a choice: stay on the Island and wait for her next rebirth, or go back and fight to be with the one who has been there for her through every lifetime. Will she take the easy way out and leave all the pain behind, or will she choose the long and hard road reliving the horrors of her childhood in order to have her happily ever after with the Mistress of her dreams?
Here’s an excerpt that shows just how manipulative and selfish Julia can be. It’s what endears me to her because her redemption is that much sweeter. Some wanted to see it much sooner than it happened in the book, but that’s not how it works folks.
Just as she predicted, her admittance to the hospital went smoothly and no one batted an eye when she explained to them how she cut her arm. Julia told them the truth and then basked in all the fuss and fanfare showered upon her by the nurses and the others in the waiting room. She loved the attention, but she knew all of it was taking a toll on Jacob.
She didn’t put up a fuss nor beg him to stay with her as she’d done many times before. Instead, she pretended to be asleep when he kissed her forehead as he got up to leave. She murmured softly and fluttered her eyes a bit before turning over and snuggling her pillow. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady until she knew Jacob walked safely down the hallway. She could guess he stopped one more time to chat with the nurses before going home for the night. Julia wondered if that hot little red headed nurse would be one of her caretakers. What she wouldn’t give for a night alone with that little firecracker!
Instead of enjoying the fabulous fantasy for a few moments longer, Julia’s guilt got the best of her again. Jacob stood by her through everything even when it meant giving up time with his own family. He repeatedly chose her and her needs over his own. Why can’t I do the same for him? Why do I feel so out of control when I’m with Jake?
Her entire life in L.A. started with her taking control of her life and not allowing anyone or anything to steal that from her again, but now she found herself torn between wanting to lose control and needing to be in control. The battle seemed to be tearing her apart at the moment and only one thing could get her centered again. Julia needed the adrenaline rush zipping through her body whenever a certain doctor did what he’d been told and fucked her silly. She’d give him a few more minutes to show up before she’d start paging him.
She pulled her purse out of the drawer in the nightstand and quickly found her contact case. Tonight, she’d worn the hazel lenses and intended on keeping with the theme. Only one other person beside herself knew her natural eye color now. Jacob asked her about her ever changing iris shades on many occasions, over the last two years. She hadn’t told him nor the one she waited for now. This particular person would piss her off if he didn’t hold up his end of their arrangement.
The knock on her door brought a smile to her face as she stashed her purse in the drawer once again. I knew he wouldn’t dare disappoint me.
“Julia, what on earth are we going to do with you?” Dr. Mario Carlos locked the door to the private hospital room and dimmed the lights. “You know how the nurses love to gossip. Eventually, one of them will put two and two together and figure out you’ve been faking all of these so called accidents.”
“Don’t kid yourself. I’ve not faked anything to get here. You know very well I’ve been preoccupied lately and under a lot of stress. I wouldn’t call these things accidents but more like I’ve been distracted.”
“What? Your boy toy-muse not able to alleviate the stress you have?” He snorted dismissively then turned on the charm once again. “You need professional help and I’ve got what you need right here.” Dr. Carlos held up a small green vial of pills and shook them in front of her face.
She raised her eyebrows and licked her lips. “I’m not one of your other patients who come here for drugs.”
Mario shrugged. “You had to have a lot of stitches for that gash in your arm. When the local wears off, you’ll wish you had these bad boys.”
“Fine. If it will get you to shut up about it, I’ll take them.” Julia snatched them out of his hand and tossed them into the drawer with her purse. “I don’t need drugs from you and you know it.”
“Call it what you want but sooner or later, you will end up the hot topic around the nurses’ station. Some may even think you’re doing this on purpose to drum up publicity for your gallery.” Mario moved slowly across the room and stood inches from her.
His subtle musky cologne filled her nostrils and set her skin on fire. She wanted him. Now. “Who cares what those nosy bitches think.” She reached out and rubbed his already hard cock through his scrubs. “I need this pounding the hell out of my pussy right now. So stop talking and start fucking.” Julia didn’t care what anyone else thought and right now, including Jacob. All she could think about was her current lover’s glorious cock filling her to the brim… the one outlet she knew would relieve her of the emotional upheaval the call from her mother set into motion.
Ever since being wheeled through the doors of the hospital, only the anticipation of Mario’s tongue darting in and out of her ass and pussy mattered. Just the flick of his tongue over his own lips made her shiver with delight and soak her thong.
The very same thong the good doctor tore from her body seconds after lifting her up to sit on top of sink in her bathroom. Her fingers wound through his dark wavy hair as his mouth plundered hers, taking her breath away. She loved the power she held over this man. Any time, any place she wanted, he always obliged.
Tonight would be no exception.
Of course he kept her waiting a good half hour after Jacob left before he graced her with his presence.
She wasn’t amused by the delay and couldn’t care less if some other patients required his attention. It’d been their arrangement that whenever she showed up, he’d drop whatever and whoever and come running.
Now finally, he sheathed his dick with one of those ribbed condoms she demanded he wear whenever they fucked.
Julia still felt a bit miffed at him, but the feeling of his hands on her bare ass temporarily cleared her mind of all her complaints and the shit with her family.
Mario spread her legs wider, lifting her from the sink as he buried his dick in her dripping cunt.
Julia moaned and sighed as he slowly pulled out and plunged back in repeatedly. Even through it felt fantastic to finally have him fucking her, she wanted more. She wanted to be pounded until she was a quivering glob of jelly. Then maybe the images of her childhood would fade from her mind’s eye again. He knew what she desired and yet continued the slow pace, pissing her off anew. “Stop teasing me and give me what I want. Now!” Julia pulled his mouth away from hers, but not before she bit down on his lower lip, nearly drawing blood.
“You’ll pay for that, bitch.”
For those of you who’re interested in receiving and Advanced Reading Copy of Julia’s story in exchange for a fair review, please leave a comment below with your contact information. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me!
~Tammy
Welcome to Behind Closed Doors and a very special announcement. As you all know, I’ve been working on self publishing The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). It’s in edits now but should be back in my hands soon. Until then, I thought I’d share the blurb and the AMAZING cover designed and created by LMK Graphics. Not only did they listen to me when I talked about the characters, they included me in every step of the process. Now my characters have come ALIVE on this cover and I couldn’t be happier. This is the first cover of the very first novel published with Sassy Vixen Publishing LLC. Since all of you have been there with me from the beginning, it seems only fitting to share another milestone with you.
I don’t have a release date just yet, but let’s just say soon. VERY soon!
BLURB
L.A. artist phenom Julia Santos appeared to have it all. After a nearly two year long dry spell, her creativity was at its peak and she had her muse and model Jacob Hartley to thank for it. He brought the fire and raw sexuality back to her sculptures and into her bedroom, and a sense of security that only one other person in her life had ever given her. At last she had found the perfect balance between her professional and private lives, until the day a single call from someone in her past threatened to tear her world apart.
Fearful of losing all she’d worked so hard to accomplish, Julia delved deeper into the hedonistic lifestyle she’d come to rely on to give her an escape from the horrors of her past. Instead of bringing her comfort, her sexual urges lead her down the path of destruction; not only for herself, but those around her. With Jacob fighting for his life after a near fatal motorcycle accident and Julia on the brink of death herself, Fate and her Guardian Angel Daniel intervene and transport her to a safe haven called the Island.
There she’s given a choice: stay on the Island and wait for her next rebirth, or go back and fight to be with the one who has been there for her through every lifetime. Will she take the easy way out and leave all the pain behind, or will she choose the long and hard road reliving the horrors of her childhood in order to have her happily ever after with the Mistress of her dreams?
Coming soon from Sassy Vixen Publishing
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
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.
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!!!
Here we are once again for Friday Fantasy Free For All. I’ve been working on finalizing The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3) and wanted to share an excerpt with you. For those of you who’ve read the first two books in this series, (thanks!) you’ll remember there was character only briefly mentioned in the first book who wouldn’t keep quiet until I told her story.
In the second book The Island, you got to see her in action: the good, the bad and the ugly. But unlike every other villainess I’ve come across, Julia kept calling out to me to give her equal stage time. I tried to do it in The Island, but her story was too large. It threatened to overshadow Jake and Quinn’s tale and I couldn’t have that…and neither could Siren!
The Surrender of Julia was born. Why she turned out to be the grade A bitch we think was responsible for Jake’s near fatal accident. Why she has a slew of lovers at her beck and call at all times. Why she pushes the one man away who seemed to love her unconditionally and why she can’t find true happiness unless she’s kneeling in front of her Mistress awaiting further instructions. It’s all there, ripe for the picking.
Yes you read it right. MISTRESS. You see, Julia is the best damn submissive Dr. Carmen Hall has every met and the only one who holds her heart. It’s when Julia finally surrenders herself to Carmen’s care does she find her heart and soul.
The following is an excerpt from the book where Julia realizes Carmen is who she wants and needs to help her relieve all the chaos surrounding her and turning her life upside down.
As always, let me know what you think.
~Tammy
Adult Story Excerpt from The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3)
©Tammy Dennings Maggy 2013 All rights reserved.
Carmen chuckled. “As you said, the man is full of himself. It didn’t take him long to brag to me that he was nailing you in the supply closet while Kathy watched. He said Kathy was a threat to not only him, but to me. If I didn’t fire her effective immediately, he was going to see to it that the Board found out about our relationship. He tried to act like he knew about it all along, but I could tell he was pissed.”
Julia swallowed hard. That was exactly what she’d been afraid he’d try to pull. Even through Carmen told her repeatedly that it wasn’t a secret she was a lesbian, Julia never wanted to be the reason the other hospital administrators turned against her. She didn’t want Carmen to know she was still worried about it, so she put on the tough girl act once again. “I tossed our affair out at Mario to get a rise out of him. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and I wanted him out of my bed, out of my condo and out of my life. Finding out he wasn’t the only one I’d been sleeping with for more than a few years got his attention. Finding out it was you, sent him over the edge. If he wants to go to make a formal complaint about you, then let him. You’ve never made your sexual preferences a secret. Why would the Board give a shit about it now?”
“I’m not concerned about me. You have a reputation to consider too. For the last two years you made it clear to your adoring public you were with Jake. Now if all of this comes out—”
“All it would do is to create more buzz about my gallery. I love sex, Carmen, with men and women. You’ve known that right from the day we met. No man has been in my life as long as you have.”
Carmen got up from her desk and joined Julia on the love seat, taking her hand. “I know and you mean the world to me. I just don’t want anything to hurt you.” She squeezed her hand a bit before bringing it to her lips. “And don’t go pulling the tough chick act with me. I know you’re worried about my reputation here. It just makes me love you all the more.”
Julia leaned over and kissed Carmen softly at first, touching her honey-hued skin, then deepening the kiss as she felt Carmen relax in her arms. She loved the feel of this woman and all of her curves. That’s what attracted Julia to her in the first place, those classic Botticelli hips and thighs. She couldn’t get enough of her when they were together. It had been far too long, and Carmen had been so patient.
Carmen abruptly broke their kiss, panting. “I’m due at a hospital meeting in twenty minutes. How about you go home, and pick up the overnight bag you always have packed. Get out of that condo for a few days and let me work out your stresses for you.”
Julia felt the sudden rush of hot fluid between her thighs and she actually blushed. The last time Carmen worked out her kinks, she found herself on the receiving end of a humongous dildo. Carmen had feasted on every inch of her, worked her with the paddle and then tied her to the bed while fucking her with the strap on. Both women had been in heaven in their rolls as Domme and sub. No one had given Julia as much pleasure or cared for her more, except Jacob.
“I would love to spend the next week with you. You always know exactly what I need.” She kissed Carmen again, running her fingers through her curly, pale blonde hair, chasing her tongue slowly, giving her just a taste of her submission.
Carmen smiled and helped her from the couch. “Go ahead and make yourself at home. I’ll be there just after six. Make sure to wear the thigh high boots and the bells.”
Julia shivered and bit her lip, lowering her eyes. “I’ll be strapped in and waiting for your instructions, Mistress.”
Behind Closed Doors 
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