Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen (guest post, book blast and GIVEAWAY)






It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author Pamela Binnings Ewen.



From Lawyer to Women’s Fiction Writer - the journey
by 
Pamela Binnings Ewen

As a rather poor young woman entering the legal profession years ago, the most difficult hurdle I faced was balancing my time between a demanding career and family. While raising my son--the light of my life--I worked my way through the college undergraduate years and then through law school. I wanted to give my boy the sun, moon, and stars--the best of everything. But practicing law is competitive--long hours, traveling. Still, I fought not to see this as a choice.

It happened that my grandmother, who I adored, passed away during my years in college. We were close, and all my life she’d dazzled me with stories of her adventures, marching as a suffragette, and then through the decade of the 1920’s following my grandfather’s footsteps (as her custom required). My grandfather was a medical missionary, first in the jungles of Siam, and later as a physician to the royal family in Bangkok, where my mother was born. As a child I listened for hours to my grandmother’s philosophical musings, and dreamy stories of tigers and elephants and palaces and kings in Siam, later Paris, Lausanne, Rome. But a few years after she was gone, I discovered that I had never really understood her at all.

While rummaging through her old Chinese chest some years later, I came across old sepia photographs and letters and a portion of a journal from her years of travel through Siam and Europe. These revealed a woman I’d never known, a complex and beautiful young woman with great talent, trained to sing grand opera. I’d never known! The letters revealed that when my grandfather returned from the battlefields of France after WWI, she followed his dream and gave up her own, still, all the while haunted by her longing to sing. The Moon in the Mango Tree was born. (The photos are posted at www.pamelaewen.com )

The sting of truth in the story was this: our grandmother’s generation of women had no real choice when it came to careers. Despite Edna St. Vincent Millay’s lovely, lovely light, stepping out beyond social boundaries was a risk; no support networks existed in those days for ordinary women who failed. Even though women had just won the vote, in most states the law still prohibited them from serving on juries, owning separate property, or accessing credit or managing the family funds.

Our grandmothers paved the way for women today. They fought, and sacrificed. Because of them we are free to steer our own courses through life now. Today we have the RIGHT to choose our own dreams, whether our choice is to work in the home or outside, or to try to balance the two. Those old letters, those glimmering shades of the past in my Grandmother’s Chinese chest, are what inspired me to write my first novel, The Moon in the Mango Tree. Soon after, I found writing much more exciting than practicing law.


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The Moon in the Mango Tree


by Pamela Binnings Ewen


The Moon in the Mango Tree is an emotional and riveting tale based on the true life of Pamela Binnings Ewen’s own grandmother. Under the glittering lights of the palace in Siam, can a woman choose between the freedom she craves and the husband she loves with her whole heart? Can she have it all--or does she have to choose? And when you choose between two things you love, must one be forever lost? If you were enchanted by The Moonlit Garden by Corina Bowmann, you’ll be caught in the spell of The Moon in the Mango Tree.

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: March 21st, 2016
Publisher: Indie Published
Print Length: 391 pages
Format: Paperback and Digital
Print ISBN: 9780805447330

Synopsis:
The dazzling decade, the 1920's, and a beautiful young singer is torn between her fierce desire for independence--to create something of her own to give meaning and purpose to her life--and a deep abiding love for her husband, a medical missionary who will become royal physician to the court of Siam. Based on a true story, one young woman will travel from Philadelphia of the Roaring Twenties to the jungles of the Orient, to pre-war Paris and Rome, in the struggle to find her place in the world.


Excerpt

As her thigh rested between his legs, she could feel his excitement. She smiled to herself and decided to get a little daring. Hearing a groan come from him, a wicked grin spread across her face.

"Did you say something?" she looked up using her most innocent voice batting her eyelashes.

"Woman, you know exactly what you're doing. Don't play innocent with me." Mac had a stern but playful look in his eyes.


Available Here: Amazon


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About Pamela Binnings Ewen:


After practicing law for many years in Houston, Texas, Pamela Binnings Ewen exchanged her partnership in the law firm of BakerBotts, L.L.P for writing. She lives near New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2013, Ewen’s novel, An Accidental Life, was released by B&H Publishing Group. In addition, in September 2013, an updated, second edition of Ewen’s best-selling non-fiction book, Faith on Trial, was released, including a new ‘User’s Guide’.
In addition to the new releases, Pamela is the author of four novels from B&H Publishing Group, including Secret of the Shroud, The Moon in the Mango Tree (a 2009 Christy Award Finalist), Dancing on Glass (a 2012 Christy Award Finalist, and winner of a Single Titles Reviewers’ Choice Award), and Chasing the Wind ( a Romantic Times ‘Top Pick’). The Moon in the Mango Tree was recently honored as winner of the 2012 Eudora Welty Memorial Award given by the National League of American Pen Women.
Pamela’s fiction writing grows out of her faith journey, which resulted in Faith on Trial in 1999. Faith on Trial , along with Lee Strobel’s A Case for Christ, was chosen as a text for a course on law and religion at Yale Law School in 2000. Pamela is also featured in the film Jesus: Fact or Fiction, produced by Campus Crusade for Christ. An updated second edition of Faith on Trial (September, 2013) includes a new ‘User’s Guide’.
While practicing law Pamela served on the board of directors of Inprint, Inc., a non-profit organization supporting the literary arts in Houston, Texas. Pamela has also served on the board of directors of the New Orleans Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans. In 2007 she co-founded the Northshore Literary Society. Pamela received the St. Tammany Parish President’s Arts Award as Literary Artist of the Year in 2009.

Pamela is the latest writer to emerge from a Louisiana family recognized for its statistically improbable number of successful authors. A cousin, James Lee Burke, who won the Edgar Award, wrote about the common ancestral grandfathers in his Civil War novel White Dove At Morning.
Among other writers in the family are Andre Dubus (Best Picture Oscar nomination for The Bedroom; his son, Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, a Best Picture Oscar nomination and an Oprah pick; Elizabeth Nell Dubus (the Cajun trilogy); and Alafair Burke, just starting out with the well-received Samantha Kincaid mystery series.



Connect with Pamela: Website | Facebook


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 GIVEAWAY


Join Pamela Binnings Ewen and the Killion Group as we celebrate the release of The Moon in the Mango Tree with this 16 stop Book Blast from March 28th to April 1st. Included in this book blast is exclusive content, guest posts from Pamela, a spotlight of the book, reviews, and a giveaway. One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive a $50 Starbucks Gift Card!





a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow the tour to these participating blogs for new content each day:

3/28/2016


3/29/2016


3/30/2016


3/31/2016


4/1/2016


 

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The Reluctant Lover by Justine Lewis (VBB, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT




by Justine Lewis

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance


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BLURB:


Katherine Bright is one of Australia’s most acclaimed television journalists, but rumor has it her show is about to be axed. Katherine has given up everything for her career—her marriage and the chance of having children— she isn’t about to give up on her show.

Enter Liam Kennedy, a foreign correspondent back in Australia for an awards night. Liam is the whole cliché – tall, dark and totally kissable. Except for one thing. He’s younger than Katherine. Much younger. And when Katherine realizes she needs Liam to save her show she finds herself in an impossible situation.


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EXCERPT
  


‘It was a mistake. The other night in your hotel room. Kissing you. It never should have happened,’ she said to Liam the next morning.

They were in Katherine’s office, with the door firmly shut. Again. He knew his flirting was exasperating her; that was his intention, after all.

‘A mistake?’ It was hard to believe that kissing Katherine could ever be a mistake, but he’d listen to what she wanted to say. 

She lifted her shoulders as she took a deep breath. ‘Yes and you’ve been teasing me about it. And I don’t think it’s appropriate to do that on air.’

Katherine was standing behind her desk, with a hand on each hip. She was wearing a straight skirt that cinched at her narrow waist, skimmed over her lovely hips, down to her knees. He imagined his hands following the same path. ‘So it’s not appropriate on air, but is it appropriate in our office?’ he suggested as he leant in across her desk. Partly to get a rise out of her, but also to find out if she smelt as good today as she did yesterday.

Yep. Yep, unfortunately she did.

She pulled back, but not before he noticed her pupils dilate. ‘Not our office, my office.’

‘OK, so I can flirt with you in your office?’

She stifled a groan and took several deep breaths. He was pushing her to cracking point and enjoying every minute of it.
    

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


Justine is the award winning author of fun, contemporary romances. She has spent her professional life writing legal advice – which some may say is similar to creative writing– but the lack of sexy heroes and happy endings led her to try writing romance.

She loves Earl Grey tea, talking about which of Jane Austen's novels is her favorite, and searching for the perfect frock. She will read anything, but loves romance most of all.

She is published by Destiny Romance and you can find out more and connect with her at justinelewisromance.wordpress.com.

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter: @justineromance


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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway



The tour dates can be found here

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Into The Jaws of the Lion by N.S. Wikarski (excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT




by N. S. Wikarski

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GENRE: Adventure/mystery

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BLURB:

This book is number 5 in a 7 book mystery/thriller/adventure series. It can, however, be read as a standalone.  The author is providing a summary of the Arkana series for the tour hosts' convenience.

Where do you hide a mysterious artifact that has the power to change the course of history? You scatter clues to its whereabouts across the entire planet. Five objects buried beneath the rubble of ancient civilizations point to the hiding place of a mysterious artifact called the Sage Stone. A secret society and a fanatical religious cult vie against one another in a global treasure hunt to claim the prize. Only one can win. More importantly, only one can survive.

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EXCERPT

Chapter 1—Knot Good
In A Foreign Land – Long Past Midnight

“Watch out!” The Pythia’s warning came too late.

Several dark figures swarmed from behind the boulders lining the trail, jumping Cassie and Griffin. Before the pair knew what was happening, they were body-slammed to the ground.

Half a dozen voices were talking at once, demanding answers in a language Cassie didn’t understand. She blinked as half a dozen flashlights pointed their intrusive beams in her face.

“What’s going on?” she asked dazedly. “Does anybody here speak English?”

More voices joined the hostile chorus. Rough hands reached out to drag her toward some unknown destination. She stumbled up a rock-strewn path and was thrust inside a small tent. Griffin was propelled in after her. Two of their assailants followed and forced them to sit back-to-back against the central tent pole, tethering their hands to the stake with thick hemp rope.

Without a word of explanation, their attackers left and shut the tent flap behind them. The voices outside continued to angrily debate some unknown topic.

Cassie tried to twist around but couldn’t. “Griffin?” she called anxiously. “Are you alright?” She felt the reassuring pressure of his fingers looping through hers.

“I’m fine, all things considered. And you?”

“Other than a few bruises, I’m OK too,” she answered.

The two of them sat back-to-back in silence for several moments, listening to the bellowing match outside.

 The Scrivener shrugged philosophically. “On the whole, this night might have gone worse. Whoever they are, at least they didn’t kill us.”

“The night’s not over yet,” Cassie remarked ominously.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

"There's a 52% chance that the next Dan Brown will be a woman ... or should we just make that 100% now?"
--Kindle Nation

Nancy Wikarski is a fugitive from academia. After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, she became a computer consultant and then turned to mystery and historical fiction writing. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Society Of Midland Authors, and has served as vice president of Sisters In Crime - Twin Cities and on the programming board of the Chicago chapter. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Magazine and DIME Anthology, while her book reviews have been featured in Murder: Past Tense and Deadly Pleasures.

She has written the Gilded Age Mystery series set in 1890s Chicago. Titles include The Fall Of White City (2002) and Shrouded In Thought (2005). The series has received People's Choice Award nominations for Best First Novel and Best Historical as well as a Lovey Award for Best Traditional Amateur Sleuth.

She is currently writing the seven-book Arkana Archaeology Thriller series. Titles include The Granite Key (2011), The Mountain Mother Cipher (2011), The Dragon’s Wing Enigma (2012), Riddle Of The Diamond Dove (2013), Into The Jaws Of The Lion (2014), and Secrets Of The Serpent’s Heart (2015). The seventh and final volume in the series, The Sage Stone Prophecy is scheduled for publication in December of 2016. All the books have become Amazon bestsellers with an overall average review rating of 4.5.

Find her on:
Facebook



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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here
 

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My review


4.5 out of 5 stars

Into the Jaws of the Lion by N.S. Wikarski is book 5 in the ‘Arkana Archaeology Mystery’ series and follows the agents of Arkana as they continue to search for the solution to a series of puzzles before the agents of the inimical group known as the Nephilim.  The quest takes the trio of Cassie the Pythia, Griffin the Scrivener, and Erik the Paladin to India, where they must withstand pressures from without and within in their quest to find the next relic in the race to find the powerful Sage Stone.  Fanatical Abraham Metcalf is continuing to marshal all of the resources available to him, including facilitating the development of a horrendous biological weapon and securing his worldwide empire while collecting the relics.  Who will get to the puzzle pieces in time?

This fascinating and entertaining story is both a wonderful travelogue and a very clear explanation of various cultures and pantheons.  Despite being unfamiliar with the series, and too impatient to read through the very helpful descriptions of characters at the beginning of the story I was immediately drawn into the action and curious about the quest.  The characters were easy to relate to, and I was amazed to learn so many new facts about history and geography.  I am a little puzzled about the age of the reader that this is supposed to appeal to because there are serious issues touched on in this story, including cult life, hazards associated with childbirth, and sexuality choices; intimacy is implied but not graphic; but the action and descriptions seem to be directed toward a young adult reader.  At any rate, I think this is a great story that is both fun to read and thought-provoking.

A copy of this story was provided to me for review


Monday, March 28, 2016

Choices Meant for All by Sandy Lender (excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY)





by Sandy Lender

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GENRE:   Fantasy

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BLURB:

From the foothills of the Freotho Mountains to the marble halls of Mahriket, factions of deities rise to threaten not just Master Rothahn’s crown, but all of Onweald’s people. The battles fan the gates of the dark spirit world releasing demons of every species to aid the enemy, but Emperor Nigel Taiman brings Malachi’s power to the Arcanan Army’s camp in hopes of tipping the balance in his bride’s favor. Dangerous times call for strange allies from all quarters.

To restore the geasa that will save the god she’s sworn to protect, Amanda Chariss must escape the very Betrayer’s grasp and make choices for the good of all. Does she have the will to sacrifice all that she holds dear in the process? Dive into the action-packed conclusion of the Choices trilogy to discover how prophecy works with and against those who would heed it.


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EXCERPT

“Have you been acting a part all along?” He gripped her by the throat. “Have you?”



She tried to loosen his grip. “My dearest one, she’s trying to turn me against you,” Chariss gagged. “She’s using an influencing spell on you to confuse you.”



“Don’t you think I’d recognize an influencing spell?” Drake spat.



He lifted her from her feet and drove her to the floor harshly, pounding her head against the dirt. The impact jarred her teeth. For a second, she feared she would lose consciousness.



His knees had her pinned to the ground as Brendan had once pinned her to a boat deck in practice; she had to remember how she’d escaped from the captain’s hold. One of her hands worked at Drake’s on her neck, the other tried to get a grip on his jugular.



While he berated her for inconstancy, while he tugged at the dress of the woman he had claimed to adore, Julette rose from her table and moved to stand before her edras servants.



“Do you understand what you are to do?” she asked them.



The first nodded. The second slurred, “We are to empty our seed in the goddess.”



Drake still spouted venom at Chariss when they overheard the edras, and they froze—motionless. Both his and Chariss’s eyes opened wide. “What?” he asked, looking to Julette.



“Protect me,” Chariss whispered up to him, her voice shaking.



“Drake, your job is to hold her.”



“No, no no,” Chariss whispered. Her nails at his neck turned to a soft cupping of his cheek. “Please, Jamieson, my lord, my love, please protect me.”



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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

South Florida Author Sandy Lender has been writing since she was a child. At about age six, Sandy entertained the folks in her great grandmother’s apartment building in Southern Illinois with ghost stories of squeaky spiders. She won a first-place award with a sequel to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” during her school days in the St. Louis area before earning her English degree from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. That led to a career in journalism where she’s worked for a variety of publications the past 23+ years. Sandy is also a sea turtle conservationist, volunteering in the group Turtle Time for nearly a decade. She’s beaten cancer twice, but still fights the IRS. To begin 2016, she welcomes you back to Onweald for the culmination of prophecy.



Follow Sandy on Facebook and at her Amazon author page

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here


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My review:


3.25 out of 5 stars

Choices Meant for All by Sandy Lender is the final story in the ‘Choices’ trilogy that features Amanda Chariss Derdriu, who is not only the Goddess of War but also The Protector of The Master, and is sought after by many males, but betrothed to Nigel Taiman, who has been named emperor of Onweald.  The ongoing struggle against many enemies while striving to protect those around her from the evil machinations of Julette and her allies requires great sacrifices and harsh decisions, and an ability to discern true allies from treacherous ones may be the deciding factor in the fate of the world.

This is an imaginative fantasy story chock-full of exciting challenges and remarkable beings, including sorcerers, dragons, and a surprisingly phlegmatic horse.  There are wonderfully dramatic scenes and plenty of gore and violence, plus a major clash between the forces of good and evil.  I think it is difficult to appreciate this story as a stand-alone tale because of the sheer number of characters, and the difficulty of delineating the connections (familial, political, or expedient) without too much backstory made things a little ponderous to wade through.  I was also a little taken aback at the family connection between Chariss and Nigel, and by her subsequent solution to a difficult situation involving her in-laws and a prophecy. 

The list of characters at the beginning of the story is invaluable but also a warning of the complexity that will face the reader who is new to the series, as all 40+ have a role in the conflict, and many are given the opportunity to share the journey in their point of view.  There are a number of dangling threads that are not resolved, as well as resolutions that I suspect would have more impact if I was familiar with the events that came before the ones described in this story.  I think this story would be best appreciated by ardent fans of darker fantasy who love densely interconnected characters and don’t mind frequently shifting points of view, but my suggestion would be to read the first two volumes in the series first to become familiar with all of the players in this novel pantheon.


A copy of this title was provided to me for review.


Sunday, March 27, 2016

Happy Easter!


I wish those of you who celebrate a lovely and joyous Easter (with plenty of jelly beans and chocolate, if that is your preference!)





Those of you who are having the lovely temperate weather we are experiencing...enjoy getting your gardens started...

And...last weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to see the Blue Angels in action!










The one thing that we learned is that they bring a 'spare' jet with them, because one landed while the rest were flying around enthusiastically...and eventually we saw jets 1-5 and #7.  Sadly, the sky was not as clear as it could have been but it was still very impressive to watch the precision and the amazing acceleration and elevation that these pilots display. 




Have a fantastic day and may there be plenty of entertaining books to keep you happy!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Skid Marks and the Selby Slammers by April Ryder (interview, spotlight, and excerpt) ADULT title

It is my pleasure to share an interview with author April Ryder, who answers the following questions...

Please be advised that this is an ADULT post


What prompted you to write your books?

AR:  Well, in the second half of 2014 I found a thread on a writing forum that I frequent. One that posed a challenge. The original poster said that short erotica was totally in and we should write and publish one in 7 days. As well as that we shouldn’t advertise the short in any way. This intrigued me.

The challenge was a way for us to find out if we could not only write erotica but if it would sell—on its own. I decided to do it and immediately failed. It took me way longer than 7 days to even write the first draft. Biker Babe took me two months to complete. What was even more embarrassing was when I looked over my time tracking, I found it only took me 7 actual hours to write the first draft. But I didn’t give up. I knew I was an inconsistent writer but I could get the work done. So I wrote Grim Reaper next. This time I did it in 8 days (7.5 hours for the first draft)! Even better than that was releasing two books in one series in the same month!

In November of 2014 I decided to finish what would become One Skid Mark. My tracking is a bit weird for this book but it looks like I started it at the end of June 2014 and finished around mid-November and it took only about 6 hours in total to write. This is weird, I really thought I started it after the first two Lady Godiva books. Anyway, that meant I had three books out on the April Ryder name. I hadn’t met the time requirement for the challenge but I found I quite liked writing serials.

Then real life took over for an insanely long time. It wasn’t until the end of 2015 that I was able to get back into the swing of things. Since I started the challenge back in 2014, I have completed four episodes of the Skid Marks series and novelised those parts into SkidMarks and the Selby Slammers and also written a Christmas-themed Skid Marks short story. There are also three Lady Godiva books available, which have been novelised as Lady Godiva 1. I’m currently working on a fourth book in the Lady Godiva series as well as another Skid Marks Christmas short.

I also didn’t think I was writing erotica. It seems no matter what genre I write I always somehow stray into romance. In my eyes the books are steamy romance. So it wasn’t until someone in a review said that they didn’t read erotic romance but my books changed their minds that I realised I had managed to include some erotica. So yeah, apparently I write erotic romance :)


You said earlier that you had three books out ‘under the April Ryder name’ what does that mean?

AR:  April isn’t my real name. Part of the challenge was to put everything out under a new name so we could see unpolluted sales results. Ryder was easy to come up with. My first book was a motorcycle romance. Rider / Ryder / Ride her. I have no idea how I came up with April, but the name April Ryder didn’t seem to be in use on Amazon so I took it. Having a unique name is important as an author. It helps you build your brand and means you won’t get confused with the April Ryder who writes children’s books. Don’t worry there isn’t, I checked. That’d just be weird o.O


What other pen names do you have?

AR:  Just one other at the moment. I write science fiction romances under Erica Conroy. A reviewer said they’re like Star Trek and Firefly got together and had a horny baby. They aren’t that steamy though. The story is more focused on the sci fi and romance aspects with perhaps one sex scene. But otherwise I was totally aiming for Star Trek and Firefly—just without the horniness!


What’s with the BBW?

AR:  Big Beautiful Women. Since I am one and they say to write what you know, I decided to go with it. I keep it vague as to how big they are so that any woman who might consider themselves a little curvier than average can relate.


Isn’t writing sex scenes hard? Aren’t you afraid of what people will think?

AR:  Yes and no. I think writing sex is just as hard / difficult as writing a fight scene. I don’t write many fight scenes so take from that what you will. If it’s part of the story and is meant to be there to move the plot along, show more about a character or develop a relationship then you just have to write it.

As for the second part of that question, I’m not afraid of what people think about my sex scenes. It’s one reason to write under a pen name. For some people it gives them confidence because you don’t have to tell your friends and family that you write about young women who spontaneously have sex in bathrooms or 40 yo women who leave their husbands and get rather intimate with two younger men :P


How do you come up with your sex scenes? Isn’t it all just slot A goes in the hole B?

AR:  Well holes are involved!

Seriously though, I spend a lot of time sitting in the shower and just thinking. Usually a snippet of a scene will appear out of nowhere, for example Hayley and Rick fornicating on the basins in the men’s changing room. I knew I wanted Rick to be completely naked when she walked in and I wanted to use the basins in some way. Then I think about what Hayley is wearing and how that can be ripped off or pushed aside. The skates were great touch here! Many sex scenes that I’ve read mention the woman digging her heels into his backside, so why not use the skates she’s still wearing?

I think about the scene in bits and pieces and have a rough idea of what order they’ll happen in, but I won’t know for certain until it gets written down.

Reactions and thoughts aren’t fully formed until it’s time to write and the character herself dictates those. I want to get the logistics as realistic as I can and then add in the character’s personality to add to it.

In saying all of that though, Hayley and Jake’s sex scene in the Irish pub bathroom was a surprise. One moment I’m writing about them being seated for dinner at the pub, the next they’re running upstairs for some intimate alone time in the pub’s bathroom! Luckily I had an unwritten sex scene I had fleshed out enough that I could use here.

Basically I think up fantasies and if the fantasy works for me then I hope others might find it hot :)


A question on word choice: why do you call genitals by their real names and not use a euphemism?

AR:  Because a lot of euphemisms for body parts really annoy me and pull me out of the story I’m reading. “He put his sex in her sex” is pretty boring. Or they go into flowery prose and he plants his seed in her lady garden. Makes me want to throw the book across the room—but I can’t because I read ebooks and don’t want to break another Kindle >.<


Why are your books so short?

AR:  Remember that challenge I mentioned earlier? It’s in part due to that and because I’ve never completed a novel. The stories themselves just seem to come out in bite-sized chunks.

Those chunks are getting longer with each story I write. I’ve gone from 9,000 words for my first April Ryder book to 16,000 words.

At the moment writing short is easier and it means I finish writing them. Each chunk though is going to be novelised like Skid Marks and the Selby Slammers has been. That’s one way to finish a novel. I am, however, working my way up to a longer story.

I’m also not a very descriptive writer—unless you count Hayley’s inner thoughts on pancakes—and prefer to let the reader fill in the blanks. It’s why hair and eye colour aren’t mentioned often or at all in my books. That way it’s easier for the reader to insert themselves into the main character’s sensibly-heeled shoes or roller skates. Or they can imagine their Jake / Rick / Reaper to look like whatever they think a Jake / Rick / Reaper should look like :)

That and I’m lazy :P

Seriously though, as a reader I don’t like reading so much description that it either distracts from the story or I’m forced to skim or skip it. So I write the way I do because it’s what I’d like to read.


Do you hire an editor to edit your work?

AR:  Yeah. For awhile there I didn’t as it was part of the above-mentioned challenge but when reviews call you out for mistakes and stuff you have to listen and get your shit sorted. I got my shit sorted and now use the same editor for both series. She’s great and I like it when she leaves a comment in track changes that is just: LOL. Not only does she fix my mistakes but she’ll question things if something is confusing or unclear.

For Lady Godiva she Americanizes the story for me as the series is set in an unspecified location in America—well it’s implied that it is. But for Skid Marks she leaves the New Zealand English as is because it’s set in a fictional suburb of New Zealand’s largest city. She seems to enjoy looking up New Zealand words that she doesn’t know. I think I make her a little envious of some things we have though, like Hayley’s income, Planned Parenthood or even Hobbits!



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Skid Marks and the Selby Slammers: BBW Roller Derby Romance

by April Ryder
Release date: 27 March 2016

Blurb:

A Fun BBW Roller Derby Romance

After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend for a blonde stick insect and a job in Wellington, Hayley is tricked into trying out for the local roller derby team—the Selby Slammers. At the tryouts, hilarity ensues when she leaves her mark on not only the rink, but some of the hunky men from the inline hockey team who practice on the next rink over.

Meanwhile, Hayley attempts to pick up what's left of her (love) life but is thwarted at every turn by three men: 1) the surprise return of her ex, 2) Jake, the hunky hockey player, and 3) continually running into Rick the 'Dick' who may or may not have a crazy underwear fetish!

All three seem to be conspiring against her, taking turns causing unexpected problems in her new and very hectic (love) life.

“Adam, I'm gonna kill you. Right after I've finished eating these pancakes—ooh maple-flavoured syrup and berry compote. But after that I'll kill you! And then, I'll find a time machine and kick my own butt, cause damn, am I stupid or what? Nobody answer that!”
— Hayley

Note: This story is set in New Zealand and is therefore written in New Zealand English.

Skid Marks and the Selby Slammers is the full length novelised version of the first four installments in the Skid Marks serial.

Excerpt:

I opened the door, grabbed my towel and was in the process of wrapping it around me when I realised I wasn’t alone. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Jake who stood guiltily by my clothes with my panties clenched tightly in hand.
“You’re not Jake.”
“No,” he said. The guilty look on his face disappeared, quickly replaced with the angry one I was used to. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
We glared at each other. He was better at it though, seeing as he was clothed and seemed to have more practice.
“Wh-what are you doing?” I asked, hoping for some sane, logical response as to why the man who liked to yell at me had my panties. “This is the women’s changing room.”
“I know.”
I blinked. After the swear-filled tirade he had given me earlier, that’s all he had to say? I snapped. I know, completely out of character for me, but he deserved it.
I marched up to him, placed my fisted hands on my hips and got all up in his face, just like he had with me in the rink. “That giant tent in your hand? That’s mine.”
I couldn’t believe what he did next. He dropped them. On the floor. Right in a puddle of water.
“Oh my god,” I breathed as we both stared at my sodden plus-sized panties.
“Sorry,” he said and bent to retrieve them.
“Well, so you should be,” I admonished.
When he didn’t get back up, I knew something was wrong. I looked down at the top of his head and frowned. This had gone beyond the Outer Limits.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“You should put a towel on,” he murmured, speaking to the ground and not up at me.
“A towel?” I asked, confused. That’s when I remembered I was naked under my towel—except my towel was missing. I slapped one hand over my still tingling lady bits and an arm across my breasts, smacking him in the side of the head in the process.
He grunted and tilted slightly before righting himself while still crouched on the floor.
For a man who just had his hands on my panties, he sure was going to great extremes to avert his eyes. Why would a man do that? Why would he only be interested in panties and not the woman who wore them?
“God you don’t wear them, do you?” I asked without thinking.
“No!”
That answer was too quick.
“I was just—never mind.”
On the one hand, I was curious about what he actually wanted them for but on the other, I was still naked and he wasn't. Not that I wanted him to join me in being naked!
“Oh god,” I groaned again.
I spied my towel on the floor behind me and retrieved it. I made sure it was wrapped around me extra tight before I made him leave.
He of course, tried to apologise again before shutting the door. “I’m sorry. It’s not what you—“
“Just get out. We’re even okay. We’re so totally even that you might owe me!” I froze, suddenly aware that I had possibly suggested that I wanted to see the other half of him—the half I hadn’t yet seen—naked. “Get out!”

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