F/F romance – Behind Closed Doors

#ScintillatingSunday is #BoundinParadise with @dochappycamper

Here we are once again Behind Closed Doors for another Scintillating Sunday Showcase. For those of you who haven’t heard of this hop yet, let me set the stage. The Mile High Muses hosts this weekly party. Participants agree to post eight words, lines, sentences or paragraphs of one of their published works or a current work in progress. No other muss or fuss required. We post “our eight” we feel are a small scintillating representation of our stories.

At the bottom of today’s post, you’ll find a link to click on to take you to the list of my fellow participants. Some of the other blogs you will notice that the list is in their posts. With this format of WordPress, we can’t use java script so I’m stuck with providing a hyperlink for you to click on to take you to the list.

No worries! It’s just one extra click you have to do for the hop. You can do it! You’ll find different heat levels with all the participants and more than a few new books to add to your wish lists. So without further ado…

Excerpt from Bound in Paradise (Now and Forever 3.5)

Jarrod clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “It’s settled then. We’ll hash out the details and then get with you about potential dates that fit both of our schedules.

Rita slipped her arm through his and leaned in conspiratorially. “I’d like to hire you to create something just for us…for our private collection.”

He patted her hand. “Excellent proposition, pet. What do you say, Julia?”

“I think it’s a fabulous idea. To get the most accurate scene, I’ll want to use the two of you as models.” She lifted her eyebrows and waited to see how they would react to her declaration.

“You mean in full on play mode?” Rita’s eyes widened and a soft blush tainted her cheeks.

She nodded. “If you want the same realism portrayed in these pieces, you’ll have to agree to be the subjects.”

“Sounds exciting. We’re in.” Jarrod’s smile lit up his face again.

Rita bounced on the balls of her feet and appeared to be trying to keep from jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. “Our schedules are wide open for the next few months. You pick the day and time and we’ll be there—props, crops, and all!”

Make sure you check out the other Scintillating Sunday posts by jumping on over to the full list.

Click here to continue on your hopping journey…

~Tammy

#BoundinParadise Is Now Available on All Romance #LesbianErotica

Welcome to Behind Closed Doors! I’m excited to announce Sassy Vixen Publishing LLC has released Bound in Paradise as a stand alone companion to my Now and Forever series. Actually, it can be considered a prequel for The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). As you all know, the main heroine of these two books is still my favorite character I’ve written to date. She started out as one hell of a bitch and then she told me her story. I went from wanting to choke the life out of her to cheering her on through her trial by fire and ultimate redemption. She found her happily ever after with the woman of her dreams. My publisher and I thought it was a great time to release Bound now in light of the US Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality. I wrote about it for Julia and now thousands of couples can experience the joy she did.

If you compare the covers of the books concerning Julia, you’ll notice a little tie in. That was deliberate. I wanted to include the handcuff concept, but give it my own twist. I hope you like it and the story.

Right now you can get your copy from All Romance in any electronic format you need for your ebook readers. If you wish to have it in print, it is available in the print version of Season of Sun and Sin. I haven’t decided whether or not Bound will be in print yet. We’ll have to wait and see!

BLURB

Up and coming L.A. artist Julia Santos had searched for a Domme strong enough and confident enough in their relationship to allow her to be wild and free while trusting her to give over complete control to them in private. Unfortunately very few meet up with her expectations.

Except one.

Carmen Hall had longed for a partner who would be more than her pet, one who would challenge her skills as Mistress and yet offer themselves to her—heart and soul. She’d all but given up until she laid eyes on the fiery Julia.

Join Julia as she remembers her early days with Carmen and a love that spanned over two decades and would know no bounds.

EXCERPT

Surrounded by adoring men and a few women, Julia did her best to listen to and answer the questions posed to her. Unfortunately, every single one of them bored her—until her eyes found the blonde bombshell admiring the submissive painting on display on the other side of the room.

Would she be the one to see my plea in the piece? Her heart beat faster and her cheeks warmed. The painting had been her way of advertising she needed a dominant who had the ability to bring her full submission out on display. The calm serenity the model had nearly brought Julia to her knees during their first photo session. The scene had been her deepest desire and so far no lover or Master had been able to bring this out of her.

“Jules? Can I get you something from the bar?”

She snapped her head and eyes toward the voice that had addressed her. God, I hate to be called Jules. This man has now moved from interesting to `not in your lifetime, bucko’ category. She waited a beat and raised her scotch on the rocks. “No, thank you. I’m still working on this one.”

“We were discussing hard limits a moment ago. Do you have any or is there anything you have a difficult time performing?” He licked his lips and continued to undress her with his eyes.

She smiled. She knew exactly what he wanted to know. She’d heard the stories of his self-proclaimed monster sized cock and how much he demanded his subs suck him off—without reciprocation. Rita had warned her to keep her guard up around the man known as Viktor. No last name. Apparently he fancied himself famous enough to be known only by his first name. “Honestly, I don’t enjoy blow jobs. It’s not my thing.”

The hairy beast of a man shrugged. “Too bad. With lips and a tongue like yours, I’m sure you would bring me to my knees in a heartbeat.”

You have no idea, Big Boy.

In a flash, the man before her turned into her mother, encouraging her as she sucked her stepfather’s limp dick. “Swirl your tongue around the tip before you take the whole thing in, Jules. Tease him so he gets hard. Men want a woman who can bring them to their knees with their mouth and tongue. Now keep going like I told you…”

Julia blinked several times to clear her mother’s image from her mind. “So I’ve been told. It’s as you say, a hard limit for me. I won’t do them anymore. Ever.”

He tilted his head to the side and appeared to want to ask her more about it, but changed his mind. “A pity. I think you and I could’ve had an amazing experience together tonight. Blow jobs are a big part of my sessions. I desire a slave who’ll go at a cock as if her life depended on it.”

She tugged the end of the necklace from between her breasts and twisted it between her thumb and forefinger. At one time mine did, asshole. That’s why I don’t do them now. She swallowed the retort and smiled again. “I’m sure there are a few of those here tonight—“

“None with your exotic looks and fire. If you ever change your mind…”

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I’d like to steal Julia away for a bit. There’s someone here I promised to introduce her to as soon as they arrived.” Jarrod waited for the others to scatter and then sat down next to her. His companion sat directly opposite from them. Jarrod took her hand, brought it to his lips, and then smiled.

She squeezed his fingers in return and nearly burst into tears. His timing couldn’t have been any better even if she whistled for him to come running. “Thank you for rescuing me. Things had crossed from pleasant to intense.”

Jarrod explained their sudden appearance, but Julia didn’t hear anything he said except the name of his friend. She immediately picked up on their chemistry. They were a couple once—but could Jarrod have actually been Carmen’s sub? I haven’t run into anyone who is more comfortable in his role as Dom than he is. I wonder how he was as a sub?

Carmen moved to sit next to her.

She held her breath and turned her body so they could once again be face to face. The blonde woman’s beauty captivated her. The wild mass of curly hair framed her face perfectly. Her natural womanly curves enticed Julia to the point of complete distraction. Her mind continued to conjure up images of Carmen naked and posing for a painting. The light touch of her skin against her knee sent a jolt of electricity through Julia’s body and brought her out of her fantasy.

She noticed the subtle hitch in Carmen’s breathing and the dilation of her ice blue eyes. She feels it, too!

Julia licked her lips and leaned as far forward as she dared without actually kissing Carmen outright. “I hope you don’t think me too brass, but I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you since you entered the room. I kept sneaking glances while you stood in front of the painting. I’d hoped you would like the piece enough to want to talk to me about it. Now here you are and I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“I think you know exactly what you’re doing and I like it—a lot. Your painting is exquisite. I lost myself in it. It takes great talent to be able to pull that off. Tell me, have you experienced that kind of submission you brought to life in your art?”

She loves my work! Now to find out if she’s interested in taking me on as I am and not expect a meek wallflower. “Yes and no. I’ve come close, but have never quite achieved the bliss. I’ve seen it in others and that’s probably why I’m able to translate that into the artwork, but imagine how much more I could bring to the canvas if I actually experienced it firsthand.”

Carmen sat back and appeared to mull over Julia’s not so veiled invitation. “You’ve not been able to let go and completely trust your dominant before?”

Here’s my chance. Best to be honest, but I don’t want to throw myself at her feet either. She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong. I never felt as if I wasn’t safe in their hands, but so far I haven’t found that deeper connection, you know?”

Carmen smiled and nodded.

She relaxed. She no longer had the urge to continue to try to impress Carmen. Instead, the desire to get to know her on a more personal level rivaled her obvious sexual attraction. This was exactly what she’s been looking for—not only kindred spirit but someone who could bring out the best in her. Not to say having Carmen as her Mistress wouldn’t make her happy too, but Julia needed more. “Do you prefer men or women as your pets?”

“I adore both. I don’t choose them based on their sexual orientation. If I feel a connection to them, I act on it and see where it goes.”

She smiled and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. “What about now? Do you feel something between us that you can work with?”

“Yes. I’d like it if we spent some time together away from the playrooms and toys to see if there’s more than the obvious sexual attraction between us. So far I’m very intrigued by you.”

“I’d like that. You fascinate me as well.”

Julia shut out everyone and everything around her except for Carmen. Their conversation came easily between them as if they’d known each other for years. She found great comfort simply being in her presence. She’d felt a similar connection with the Mitchells, but the pull between her and Carmen continued to grow as they talked.

Jarrod returned with the champagne and popped the cork with a flourish. He filled their glasses and managed to not spill a drop. He laughed at their surprised expressions. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. By the looks of things, the two of you have hit it off as I predicted. Time to celebrate and toast to those new beginnings.”

She reached for the glass Carmen handed to her. Their fingertips briefly touched and her thighs clenched. She’s the one. She’s accepted the challenge. Let the games begin!

Well, there you have it! If you read this and have some time, please leave a review on your favorite retail site. The other vendors should be live within the next few days. I’ll add the links here as soon as I have them. Thank you all for coming along on this journey with me!

~Tammy

UPDATE

I now have additional links for the book. I’ll keep adding them as they go live. Unfortunately, Oyster has decided not to stock it because it’s erotica. That’s not a problem at all but if they’d check their records, they would see they are stocking Season of Sun and Sin which contains this story. LOL! No worries!

Here are the links for Bound in Paradise

All Romance/Omnilit

Kobo

Page Foundary/Inktera

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