Lia Michaels – Behind Closed Doors

Two Weeks Left in Kindle Select for this #Erotic Collection #LGBT #menage

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors. The countdown to releasing Season of Sun and Sin with all other retail outlets has begun! I can’t tell you how long these last three months have been. I wanted to see what it would be like to have a book enrolled in Kindle Select—be exclusive to Amazon for a short period of time. I mean, others swear by it so I thought why not give it a go.

Biggest. Mistake. I’ve. Ever. Made.

Okay, that’s being a little over dramatic, but it was one of the top errors I’ve made during this journey of mine through the publishing world. Never, ever will I put everything into one retail outlet. I had essentially cut off a large chunk of my fan base with this experiment with the devil…errr…Amazon. That’s all about to change next month. This collection will go live on iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, ARe and Smashwords.

For those of you who enjoy the Kindle Select program and are able to get the most out of borrowing an unlimited number of books for $10/month, more power to you. Enjoy it and read everything you can get your hands on that’s enrolled in the program. Unfortunately, many of your favorites probably aren’t there, or won’t be there for long. The cost is too great for us to be exclusive to Amazon.

There are so many other services out there to get ebooks and I’d like to be able to offer my stories to as many of them as I can. Many prefer iTunes and Nook over Kindles. I can’t cut them out any more than I can take all of my books down from Amazon. Readers are everywhere and I’m trying to be there with them.

For now, you can still get Season of Sun and Sin through the Kindle Unlimited and Prime programs for free. The regular price is $2.99—a fabulous deal for three tales that will knock your socks off. Here are the blurbs.

Tammy Dennings Maggy’s Bound in Paradise

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.

Lia Michaels’s Sweet Surrender

Candice Monroe’s life couldn’t be happier—or chaotic. Not only is her bistro the place to be in the Detroit area, she’s fallen in love with not one, but three men. Their fantasy filled ménage a quatre and promises to spend their lives together have taken a backseat to round-the-clock construction, menu changes and plans for their grand opening of their pub Kisses After Dark.

Will Candice and her partners be able to handle the stress of running two successful businesses and still be able to surrender to the fire that burns between them? Or will some unexpected news threaten to tear them apart forever?

Tammy Dennings Maggy’s Curse of the First Born Cain

In the first book of the Kayne Legacy series, we meet reporter Abigail Matthews after she is awarded the interview of a lifetime. She’d been granted no holds barred access to everyone associated with one of the most powerful foundations in the world, including the current CEO Michael Kayne. Sparks fly between them the moment they meet but nothing compared to the jolt she receives when she comes face to face with Michael’s grandfather—the biblical legend Cain.

In hopes she’d accept her destiny as his grandson’s chosen mate, Cain opens up and shares his heartbreaking tale— everything from the tragic fight with his brother Abel to his journey to find Lilith and make her his wife. Together they were to create a family of immortals sworn to protect the Essence of the Tree of Life from the one hell bent on destroying it.

Thank you all for supporting me through this leg of my journey. I couldn’t do it without you!

Two New Tales from @dochappycamper to be Included in a New #Erotic Anthology

Hello my friends! It’s great to be back here at Behind Closed Doors. It’s been a long time but I had to bury myself in packing and purging for the last two months. Now we’re safely relocated to our new home in Washington, I’ve started working with a whole new group of veterinary hospitals and I can finally get back to writing. Yay!

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for hanging in there with me during this rough patch. Your well wishes have meant the world to me and kept me going when I wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep for a week. The stress was enough to cause me to drop fourteen pounds. I like it, but not how it happened. Not eating or sleeping well over the last two months were the culprits, but now I’m back on track and determined to keep the weight loss going.

Now for the exciting news…

Season of Sun and Sin

“Bound in Paradise” and “Curse of the First Born Cain” will both be included in the next anthology from Sassy Vixen Publishing, Seasons of Sun and Sin. We’ve had to delay the release of this one because of the move, but now we’re moving forward full steam ahead! Our editor has completed “Bound” and the novelette by my alter ego Lia Michaels. I’ll have “Curse” completed and ready for edits by next weekend. I’m so excited to be back in the groove again. Being away from my characters has been torture.

“Bound in Paradise” is the prequel erotic romance to The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3). Here we’ll learn how Julia and Carmen first met and fell for each other and how their Domme/sub relationship blossomed. Julia Santos is one of my favorite characters because on the surface she’s this evil wench. Underneath she’s a lost and tortured soul who uses sex to get what she wants from those around her. Ultimately, it takes near tragedy to get her to see she’s worth having the love of a lifetime. She’s a lot like me in that regard. I lived through a hell of a time where I didn’t think I deserved a happily ever after. Now I have it, and Julia deserved one too.

“Curse of the First Born Cain” is the introduction to my Kayne Legacy series. While there are love matches between the various couples, this isn’t a true romance. It’s more vampire erotica with romantic elements. This first novelette introduces the characters and teases you with the stories yet to unfold in the next installments. I thought the anthology would be the perfect way to introduce the series inspired by the poetry in Courtship of the Vampyre.

While there are many characters in this series who have stories to tell, the first helps to set the tone. In this one we start off in the present day and meet the newest recipients of the Legacy: Abigail and Michael. During their first meeting, we discover Michael is the direct descendant of Cain…the first born of Adam and Eve. We’re shocked right along with Abigail when Cain shows up to tell her his side of the Biblical story. We learn just how much of the story we haven’t been told all these years.

We’re shooting for a November release date either the week before or the week of Thanksgiving. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’ll be ready to go on time. If life gets in the way again, it will be out in time for Christmas for sure. A few people asked if the name of the anthology would be changed since it was supposed to be “the summer anthology”. The answer is an emphatic NO. The title works for any “season” and who doesn’t think of hot sultry nights in paradise when they’re buried under a blanket of snow? It’s a good time of year to get folks thinking about the warmer weather and the fun that can be had in and out of the bedroom no matter what the temperature is outside.

I hope you enjoy these tales as well as “Sweet Surrender” I’ve written as Lia Michaels. This one is the continuation of the Candy Kisses Gang’s story and continues right where “Have a Naughty, Naughty, Christmas” left off. So stay tuned! I’ll update you on the release date for Season of Sun and Sin and for the other books I have coming out over the next few months.

Until then,

Tammy

Is there Ever A “Good” Time to Have Writer’s Block? #amwriting #MyWANA

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors, a place where I like to share thoughts and bits about my writing. This week, I’m having a very bad case of the dreaded writer’s block. Honestly, this is really a bad time for this to happen. I have a huge deadline. In less than two weeks I have to turn in two novellas to my editor, finish up my application for my veterinary license in Washington so it will be in place when we move in the fall, finish the final book in my alter ego Tawny Savage’s Bigfoot Chronicles for a June/July release date…and pack up this house to get ready for the move. Oy!

Is it any wonder I’m blocked? LOL

I wish I could just go away somewhere, lock out the rest of the world and just let the muses take me where they want to take me. I’m ready for the journey. I learned a long time ago not to try to direct any of my muses. They speak when they wish and that’s that. No amount of begging, pleading or bribing will get them to open up if they don’t want to do it, and for Goddess sake don’t you dare try to tell them how the story will turn out! Talk about a mutiny…

I didn’t try to take over the story at all. I kept all of my pens and notebooks at the ready, eager to jot down any little tidbit even if it only was a partial scene or snippet of dialogue. Whatever it was, I wrote it down. Unfortunately, all the bits and parts aren’t coming together like they have in the past. What’s a girl to do?

I’ve tried walking away, switching manuscripts to work on a different story, changing scenery, with music, without music, total silence in my office (totally didn’t work), EVERYTHING and it’s still all fuzzy. Maybe my muses need a vacation? Not sure how I can send them on one until I’ve completed these stories but if that’s what they need I’ll have to figure out a way.

Well, I’m off to change things up yet again and see if the Candy Kisses foursome will tell me more about their new adults only pub in the Detroit Metro area. Yes, that’s one of the stories I have to write for the Sassy Vixen Publishing summer anthology Season of Sun and Sin. This particular novella I’m writing as Lia Michaels and follows the Candy Kisses restaurant owners Candice, Alexander, Gabriel and their new partner Darrin. This one finds them six months after they formed their…uh…partnership both in and out of the bedroom in the winter anthology ‘Tis the Season for Seduction. Better get back to it!

Until next time,

~Tammy

OhMy! @dochappycamper Asks: What’s in a Name? Our Summer Anthology Needs a Title. #eroticromance #menage #vampires

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!

An author’s rant (#Reblog) And Other Musings From @dochappycamper

I found this blog today and just had to share. Samantha Pleasant said everything I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks. Make sure you check out the full article. It’s spot on!

This last week the stress of writing under three pen names, running a fledgling publishing house and working full time as a veterinarian has caught up with me…big time. I’ve had to rethink my priorities and that included marketing and promotions. I’ve looked at my twitter feeds and all of them are loaded with promo. Where did all the fun go? I’ve missed tweets directed at me from my friends and it appeared I’ve ignored them. That’s not true. I just didn’t see them in the feeds.

Even with TweetDeck and notifications to my phone, I’ve still missed messages and interactions with new readers. I don’t want to be an impersonal spam bot promo machine. I want to be there for my friends and fans and make new ones. I want to share the excitement of my new releases and the pitfalls of my works in progress, but I also want to share the rest of what makes me who and what I am. There is more to me than just veterinary medicine and writing/publishing. I love crafts of all kinds, reading, The Real Housewives of any city, Duck Dynasty, and helping out my friends and family when I’m able.

I lost sight of all that in the crazy world of writing and publishing. Listening to people who say I have to get the next book out as fast as I can to keep the readers interested has left me spinning my wheels and digging myself into a deeper hole. Now I’m paying for that with my health. A few days ago I met with my new doctor and had a complete physical including blood work, updating my tetanus shot and a boob squishing mammogram. The results of the blood tests show I’m now a type II diabetic. I had to pick up my glucometer today. As someone who is a major needlephobe, you can imagine what poking my fingers daily is going to do to my psyche.

Along with the diabetes, I’m at least 100 pounds overweight—morbidly obese. The doctor also put me on a diuretic to help lower my blood pressure. Whew! All of this seems a bit daunting but actually I feel relieved. I’m relieved to know I do have a doctor now who’ll support me through all of this. I have a goal and plan to get healthy again. You can say I have a fire under my ass and now I’m ready to fight. Check out my weekly feature on Not Enough Time in the Day called Memoirs of A Forty Something Fat Chick. I’ll be sharing my journey there from now on.

As for my writing, I’m never stopping that but I may push back a few deadlines. In order to be the best author I can be, I have to reconnect with myself and with my fans, friends and new readers. You’ll be seeing a change on my social media soon. Of course I’ll still share the blogs from my fellow Triberr groups/tribes, but you’ll also see more of me around too.

Until next time,

~Tammy

That’s it I quit. As authors we say this quite often. Not because of the writing aspect, not even because of the editing issues, heck we even can get through the rejection letters like pros. Some find them a cheap alternative to wallpaper. While others find it a mark of a real author to be rejected. Whatever your poison it’s not the writing that makes us want to quit.

What is it? You ask. The marketing. Are we under exposed? “You have a book out?” to which the author smashes his or her head against the table because they’ve only posted, tweeted, tumbled and invited this person to multiple events through social media. “Yes, it’s new.” Or has been out for a few years and you even liked the cover art.

We don’t want to bombard people to the point they no longer want anything to do with us. …

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#SaturdaySpotlight is On @HouseofTaboo And Her New Release #erotic #paranormal #LGBT #shortstory

Welcome to Behind Closed Doors! This week has been a flurry of activity in my household. Between edits on The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3) and publishing my alter ego’s very first short story I don’t think I got very much sleep. Trying a new genre frightened the daylights out of me, but these characters just wouldn’t keep quiet. I had to tell their story. Well, I should say LIA had to tell their story.

For those of you stopping in for the first time, I should explain a bit who Lia is. You see, she’s me and I’m her. Lia writes the M/M and menage erotica and erotic romances while I (Tammy Dennings Maggy) handle the poetry, M/F and F/F erotica and erotic romance. There is one more alter ego, Stephanie Ryan. She’s in charge of the “good girl” genres including YA, NA, mainstream romance and mainstream fiction. She’ll get her moment in the spotlight in a few months, but for now it’s Lia’s turn. Let’s take a look at the video Sassy Vixen Publishing made up to introduce her and her blog The House of Taboo.

As Lia, I get to have all sorts of naughty fun and explore the more taboo characters and tales. Through her I’m able to go a bit deeper into the minds of “our” characters. With Forbidden Destiny and the full novel Call of the Thunderbird, I found within the Native American culture, LGBT individuals were historically honored, revered and respected by all members of the tribe. Called “Two Spirits” these beautiful people were not male, nor female but contained the spirits of both. As such, they could connect with others and the Great Spirit and a different level. Because of their spirituality, many were looked to as healers and shaman within their communities. Unfortunately, when the New World was conquered…errrr..colonized, Two Spirits were attacked. The Europeans imposed their morals and beliefs onto the Native Americans. Some tribes ended up shunning the very people they once held in high regard. Sound familiar?

In Forbidden Destiny, we meet Abraham and Ethan. Both are Two Spirit but live completely different lives. Where Ethan grew up accepted and encouraged to be whoever he wished to be, Abraham did not. He had to keep his true self hidden from his family and the local tribe members. Even though Abraham’s tribal Elders embraced the old traditions, his parents didn’t. Because he didn’t want to bring shame to his family, or make trouble for them with the Elders, Abraham did as his parents asked and tried to fit in with the non-Native community.

BLURB

Ethan Quaderer is the Great Thunderbird, the creature of Native American legend. From childhood, Ethan soared high across the land, as one with the majestic bald eagles—only larger and more powerful. Great Thunderbird has one mission, to save the Native American people. But first, he must find his Chosen, his soul mate.

Abraham Tuttle grew up in a household where being different was unacceptable. Forbidden. He hid his true nature, a Two Spirit—not male or female, but both. For many Native American tribes, being Two Spirit is a blessing, one to be honored and revered. Not so for Abraham.

Through the Thunderbird dreams each finds the happiness they long for. One dreams of the Great Warrior who’d someday rescue him. The other dreams of the one he’s searched for through many lifetimes.

Dreams turn into reality when both men come face to face in the real world. Can Abraham find it within himself to let go of his past and embrace his future with Ethan, or will his doubts and fears of who and what he really is cause him to lose the only one who could ever complete him heart and soul?

Want to find out more? Get your own copy of Forbidden Destiny for only 99 cents from All Romance ebooks, Smashwords, and Amazon.

About the Author

Lia Michaels is the alter ego of bestselling poet and erotic romance author Tammy Dennings Maggy. With so many characters clamoring for their stories to be told, the job became a bit overwhelming for one sassy vixen to handle. Lia “volunteered” to explore the world of M/M erotic romance as well as menage. Tammy will still tell the M/F and F/F stories but don’t be surprised if the two of them collaborate from time to time. With Lia, very few topics will be taboo so look for more fantasy and paranormal tales from her. She’ll leave the more contemporary stuff to Tammy but still encourage her to push the limits!

Where to find Lia

The House of Taboo (Website/blog)

Sassy Vixen Publishing LLC

Amazon Author Page

Smashwords Author Page

Facebook Fan Page (House of Taboo)

Facebook Author Fan Page

Facebook Personal Page

Twitter

Goodreads

@HouseofTaboo Author Lia Michaels Reveals Her Brand New Cover #shortstory #erotica #LGBT

Hello my friends and welcome to Behind Closed Doors. Today is a special day around here. One of my alter egos is about to release her very first short story. It’s due out one week from today, September 6, 2013. This week is the fun cover reveal along with a bit of information about the short story and the full novel it’s a companion to, sort of a teaser if you will.

Author Lia Michaels has spent the last year developing the story of two Native American men who just so happen to be eagle shifters. Of course that’s not all. One of them is the legendary Great Thunderbird and the other is his Chosen Mate. Together, it’s foretold they’ll save their people. Unfortunately, it takes quite some time for the soul mates to find each other and when they do, they’re plagued with old prejudices that just may keep them apart. While one is accepted by his tribe for who and what he is, the other must hide his true nature for fear of being ostracized by his own family.

Here’s a bit about their story

Ethan Quaderer is the Great Thunderbird, the creature of Native American legend. He grew up knowing exactly who and what he was thanks to his grandfather. At a very young age, Ethan could merge with the bald eagles and soar with them high across the land. Eventually he would learn to shift completely from human to one of them…only larger and more powerful. His destiny as the Great Thunderbird was to find his soul mate and together they would save their people.

Abraham Tuttle didn’t grow up in a household where being different was acceptable. For years he hid the fact he was “berach” or Two Spirit. For many Native American tribes, being Two Spirit is considered a blessing. It’s actually a third gender classification, not male or female, but both. Two Spirits are often honored and revered, considered to be highly spiritual and often take on leadership roles within their tribes as healers.

Where Ethan’s spirituality and Two Spirit nature were embraced by his family, Abraham learned early on his would be shunned by his family and many others within his tribe. He kept his true self hidden and did his best to fit in, all the while dreaming of the Great Warrior who would someday rescue him from all of it. He dreamed of courting eagles night after night. Their majestic free fall toward the ground took his breath away each and every time. It was in those dreams the Warrior would come to him as the Great Thunderbird and claim him as his mate.

Forbidden Destiny is the companion short story that gives you a glimpse into Abraham and Ethan’s dreams and a bit of their future after they finally meet while in Army Ranger School. While their entire story will be told in Call of the Thunderbird (Fearless Love), this portion of their tale is only shown here in the short story. The characters will mention it from time to time, eluding to their vivid dreams of each other and the courtship rituals they experience with the other raptors. Lia wanted to give readers the opportunity to meet Abraham and Ethan now so that by the time December rolls around, they’ll want to know more.

Let’s start things off with that and reveal the cover for Forbidden Destiny…

Available September 6th from ARe, Amazon, Smashwords and other major outlets.

Introducing Stephanie Ryan…

As many of you know, I write under different pen names in order to write in many different genres. As myself, I write poetry, erotica and erotic romance. As Lia Michaels I get to explore more of the erotica and erotic romance subgenres by writing menage, BDSM and GLBT pairings. Basically, Lia likes all things most people consider taboo. Now I’ve decided to bring a new personality/alter ego into the fold. Stephanie Ryan will take over my manuscripts that are meant for the young adult crowd, mainstream fiction and romance (nonerotic).

As with my current blogs, both Lia and Stephanie have days to host guest authors. The three of us make up the core set of authors that is Sassy Vixen Publishing. Confused? LOL Sometimes I am too, but overall it’s a blast having these alter egos.

This is the photo I’ve used for Lia Michaels. Her website/blog is called

The House of Taboo

You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

This is the photo I chose for Stephanie Ryan. I thought one of us should have the long brown hair since both Lia and myself have the short and sassy styles. LOL! Steph’s website/blog is Through Stephanies Eyes.

She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

So stop in and tell them both hello and help them build up their followings by signing up for their blogs and spreading the word about them. Thank you all for your continued support of my dream!

Brightest Blessings and Happy Reading!

~Tammy