Wednesday, November 20, 2013

New Release, "Love Me Tonight" and a chance to win 5 stories...


“Love Me Tonight” is included the newest AmberPax Collection from Amber Allure, “No Tell Motel.” My contribution to the Pax is a tasty little story about a secret assignation at a seedy little motel. Here’s a little bit about this steamy story.



Title: Love Me Tonight
Author: Adrianna Dane
Genres: Gay/Contemporary
Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure
ISBN: 978-1-61124-517-2 (Electronic)


Blurb:

At Hotel Draysden, management fraternizing with staff is a no-no. Casper Rosabella knows the rules, but he also believes that sometimes rules were meant to be broken. Sometimes it was worth taking a risk, especially when the man Casper craves is as hot as Lando Madrid.

Eye contact leads to a need to experience more, and through phone calls and texting, the men start to learn about each other. But then the lines blur when Casper and Lando make arrangements to meet for one night of unfettered sex in a seedy motel room, when taboo passions will culminate between two men who work at the same place, but certainly shouldn’t play together.

With secrets shared and desires revealed, the men are drawn deeper into a burning need to know more about each other. But considering their situation, could the relationship become something other than just a one-night stand?

Excerpt:


"You decided to come," Casper said.

Stepping farther into the room, the door slamming shut behind him, Lando efficiently blocked out the rest of the world. And now, at last, it was just the two of them. Lando smelled of fine, clean things. Casper inhaled sharply. Musk, maybe some vanilla, earthy sandalwood perhaps. The mix of scents was intoxicating. Lando gave Casper the shadow of a smile as his gaze rode over him assessingly.

"Your invitation intrigued me."

"Do you get a lot of propositions like this?" Casper couldn't help asking the question.

Lando shrugged. "In my position, I get a few. Usually from women. It took a lot of guts to approach me the way you did. I admire that in a man. But are you certain you know what you're asking for?"

"I've asked around. Discreetly, of course. As far as I can tell no rumors of rudeness or disrespect or otherwise. Most of the people I spoke with have the greatest respect for you, at all levels, and that's not easy to do. I've been watching you for the last year."

"Watching me?" Lando asked a little sharply.

"Not the way you think. We can't help but stumble across each other on occasion, you know. But it wasn't until I saw you in the Cascade Bar that I thought maybe... Well, until then, I didn't know you were gay, so all I allowed myself to do was... Well, enjoy the view so to speak. But when I saw you in the bar, then I knew. You keep your private life very close, don't you?"

"I guard my personal life. It's nobody's business." He shrugged. "What I like, who I like, and how I like it is my business. No one else's. And I expect my privacy to remain that way."

"Yet, you're here. Do you trust me to keep your secrets?"

Lando circled the room. He studied the candles, the new sheets on the bed, then he turned back to Casper. "I don't know yet. But I've asked around about you, too."

"We don't travel in the same circles."

"No, we don't. I'd bet we grew up differently as well. I'll bet you went to private schools and expensive universities. I went to public school and just barely stayed out of the gangs. But, when it comes down to it, in a place like this, we level the playing field, sí?

Casper licked his lips. He was so ready for the games to begin. "But I bet we have similar dreams, similar fantasies. Or we wouldn't be here, would we?" Casper paused. Lando remained silent. "No promises," Casper finally said.

"None," Lando agreed. "No strings attached."

"No strings," Casper echoed.

Casper took several steps toward Lando. Casper's cock was already hard. He reached out, but, like a striking viper, Lando grabbed his wrist and stopped Casper from touching him. The grip was not so punishing, but Lando certainly made Casper aware of who had the control. "Have you done this before?" Lando asked.

"No. Not in a long time," Casper responded, not fighting the firm grip on his wrist.

Lando glanced at the bed. "You did as I requested."

"Yes. Do you like them?"

Lando released Casper's wrist and walked over to the bed. He ran his hands across the sheets. "Very nice." He checked the corners on the bed. "I am impressed. Perfect corners. I wouldn't have expected a man like you to make your own bed so well."

"I possess a certain skill. My father was in the military and he was a bit of a taskmaster about certain things. If the corners weren't right, he had a habit of ripping all the bedding off and making me do it again. Maybe you don't know as much about me as you think you do."

"He sounds harsh," Lando said. "Any brothers or sisters?"

"No. Just me." He hesitated for just a fraction of a second. "I had a younger brother, but he died when he was two. A blood disease. My mother wouldn't agree to more children after that." Another one of those silences. Lando stared off toward the curtained window. "And you?" Casper asked in order to fill the void.

"Five sisters, one brother."

"Where do you fit in the line-up? I always wanted to be part of a large family."

"It's not as much fun as you might think. Especially when you know you're different. You learn to keep certain things to yourself. I was the oldest, my brother was the youngest, with the girls in the middle. Like bookends who have to shore up the middle."

"Do your parents live in Seattle?" Casper asked.

"No." That was it. Lando turned back to face him. Again, that blue-eyed look that scanned Casper from head to foot. And then his gaze fastened on Casper's crotch. He sat on the side of the bed.

"Pull off my boots. I want to get comfortable. And then I want you to strip for me. And then once you're bare, I want you to bring me a glass of wine. And when you bring it to me, I want you to kneel in front of me. Think you can handle that?"

Casper's pulse quickened. "Y-yes. I can do that." Just by the list of demands Lando had texted him, Casper had developed a sense of Lando's likes, as well as his desire for dominance. Casper might have called a halt to this dalliance right then and there, but he hadn't. In fact, the whole thing had excited him.


Now about that contest...


Keeping in mind that a red car isn’t always simply a red car that looks pretty on the cover, today at the AmberPax blog I'm blogging about what's under the hood, discussing my latest release, "Love Me Tonight," from Amber Allure, and digging deep inside not just the characters, not just locations, but objects and symbolism as well. Stop by and comment, be entered to win a copy of the AmberPax Collection, "No Tell Motel," which includes 5 stories written by 5 different authors: Vivien Dean, Heidi Champa, L.A. Witt, Rick R. Reed...and me. http://amberpax.blogspot.com/2013/11/its-whats-under-hood-that-countsby.html.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Effects of Sound and Writing from a Quiet Place

Came across this New York Times Opinion article this morning. "I'm Thinking, Please Be Quiet."

In American culture, we tend to regard sensitivity to noise as a sign of weakness or killjoy prudery. To those who complain about sound levels on the streets, inside their homes and across a swath of public spaces like stadiums, beaches and parks, we say: "Suck it up. Relax and have a good time." But the scientific evidence shows that loud sound is physically debilitating.


I happen to be one of those people who has to have quiet in order to write. I need to focus, I need to hear what the characters are saying, I need to visualize what's happening in the scene. Noise--the television, the radio, conversation, etc.--all those things tend to play havoc with my creation process. The thing about writing in coffee shops, restaurants, and such, is that I study my surroundings, and I'm interesting in everything that going on. If I'm watching television, I'm focus on the activity of the actors, the character arcs, the formation of the plot of what I'm watching. So my attention is fractured. If I'm out among people, I'm watching for expressions, for interaction, listening for language cues, boy cues, I smelling the scents in the air, I'm study the feel and the environment. I'm not and cannot focus on the writing and listening to what's going on inside my head with the attention it deserves.

I'm a very good multitasker and my husband marvels at the things I can manage to accomplish in a day. But the writing time--it has to be sacred. I can listen to music before or after my writing, but not during. I hate being pulled out of a world that I'm creating as I write.

What's your ideal writing environment consist of?