10 Days of Xmas - Day Two Rawiya

10 Days of Xmas Say Two

Sweet and Sassy Rawiya with a new release

Rawiya on Wordpress

Giving up Under the Gun

 Greetings folks. As you may or may not now, NBP or No Boundaries is closing down the end of this month. Unfortunately my publisher isn't able to continue and has decided to close up shop.




This also means I'm turning over the story to sister muse, BL since it is her kind of story. BL will be changing both stories around to suit her tastes, most likely adding more snark and more sex for Camdyn and Malik as well as continuing the series.

More details to come soon from BL. Look for the newly released UTG under BL's name and with a new cover! I wish the people at NBP well in their future endeavors.

Backlist Bloghop

Greetings folks!

Welcome to the Backlist Bloghop!

  

I wanted to talk about the inspiration behind N’awlins Exotica. What prompted me to write the romantic collection? Okay well, it was months ago right after NaNoWrimo. I’d just completed Under the Gun 2 and I was looking to do another m/m short story in December for an Xmas release. I asked good friend and fellow author, Sara York who did the cover for Rawiya’s best selling m/f I Like Em Pretty to do an m/m version as well. When she sent it back to me, she sent me this lovely piece of art.

Wow, was I floored! Look at the beautiful image. My main characters Kajika Fortier and Frankie Choteau came to life just looking at this cover. Then I started thinking, an illustration that lovely and gorgeous needs more of a story. Some with conflict, perhaps a murder since Frankie is a homicide detective. No way could I allow a fab cover like this only go on a short novella.

So I crafted a basic plot. Kajika’s lover is dead, Frankie comes and investigates, presents issues because Kajika is a suspect and they want to fall in love. Simple right? No, not exactly. It took me about 2 months to get first draft done and when I sent it to my good friend and beta/editor, she tore it apart as she should’ve. No question it needed work. I didn’t have every fact straight, key details were missing and I had to overhaul the story. Since Shar was vacationing at that time, it took us 2 more months just to do edits and get it back to the editor. When we did, it was in better shape but of course we went through 3 stages to get all the points correct.

During this time, the supporting characters began to yell loudly in our ears. Frankie’s partner on the force, Kenina Porter wanted her own book. Vance Morain, the other cop wanted a love story with Kenina but then he changed his mind and picked someone else. Not telling who! *grins* And then, Orrin, Vance’s partner said, where’s my book? Naomi Beneviere, who is Kajika’s best friend said the same thing. She wanted her conflict, her happy ending and so the N’awlins Exotica series was born!

And because I was working on a story for awesome reader and friend Judie Stewart, my twin vampires, Ryland and Ryder Durand also got into the act.

 From them, the N’awlins Exotica Paranormal series was born as well. Eventually the twins will become part of the regular series and since this is a triad effort between me, Rawiya, and BLMorticia, both my sister muses will be doing books as well.

Wow. From one small idea, came a 12 book series. Yes, a 12 book series. It’s a collection full of sexual tension, mystery, suspense, murder, and all books push the limits of the erotic. Me being the stuffy muse usually wants to keep up with the plots with very little sex but for this series, I throw it all in the mix and we came up with a collection of books we hope everyone will enjoy. Yes, you’ll have to read them in order to keep up with what’s going on as the next book, relates to the one prior. All books are chocked full of action and I’m excited for everyone to read them.

And to think all this came from one single idea that went from small thought to successful collection. ILEP and Mon Frere have done tremendously well in their first months of release. If you haven’t checked them out yet, I hope after reading this post that we convinced you to do so.

Thanks for listening. Here is the official blurb, blurbs for both books as well as links to excerpts.

Overall Series Blurb

The N’awlins Exotica/Paranormal series

The city of New Orleans is rich in tradition, diverse, and known for the inspiration it provides. In the “Big Easy” there lies the hunger for the erotic as well as the unknown. The residents here feel that sexual energy and it reveals itself through their various creative activities.

Join the characters as they take a wild ride on the edge, enjoying their town for all it has to offer. There’s a certain magic in the air, an erotic magic that cannot be ignored.

I Like Em Pretty Book Blurb

New Orleans is supposed to be the big easy. One night changes everything for Frankie Choteau.

New Orleans. A city rich in tradition, diversity, and on the comeback trail from hurricane Katrina. Francois “Frankie” Choteau, a resident of this town, a cop with a hot temper and low tolerance for bs. Kajika Fortier, a transplant from Oklahoma came here looking for a dream and unfortunately it’s turned into a nightmare. On a hot summer night, they meet and cross paths during a very difficult situation. Despite this, the attraction between them is evident and loneliness for both men is a fate worse than death. They’d both like a chance at happiness but will the circumstances and Frankie’s uneasiness prevent their happy ever after?

Amazon Allromance Smashwords (Excerpt on ARe link)

Mon Frere, My True Love N’awlins Exotica Paranormal #1

Blurb: Twin vamps Ryland and Ryder Durand are only different in personality while the rest is exactly the same. Ryland, the author is calm and conservative while Ryder the club owner is wild and lewd. However, the brothers share the same dark desire and haven’t informed one another. Will that bring them closer together or sever their relationship for all eternity?

All Romance Link Amazon Smashwords (Excerpt on Are link)

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CONTEST: Leave a comment with your email and I'll giveaway a copy of ILEP, Mon Frere, as well as a 5GC from Starbucks! 

Please make sure you visit the other hoppers on the list!

Hop Against Homophobia Article #5 - BLMorticia

And day number 5. Almost done with the hop! It's been tons of fun too. Here is a post by wicked sis, BLMorticia. She always shocks you with her humor!

;)

* * * *

Greetings fans. Okay so, guys, you’re sitting there with your hot wife, girlfriend, or both… *snicker* and you’re watching this great movie. No, it’s not a porn but it might have a scene you didn’t expect to see, something you weren’t looking for when you scanned the backside cover reading about the flick. What is it?

Ahh! No it couldn’t be! Its, its’ A HOMOEROTIC SCENE! Wha? What’s that?

Ooh you know, it’s a gay scene, you know two men kissing, groping, maybe one drops to his knees like he’s about to give the other a blow job? *laughs* “Fuck no! I can’t watch this!” Quickly you get up, so fast you almost trip and fall on your face. You storm out the room and into the kitchen to have a drink!

*Giggles*

This hilarious scene is what Shar experienced when she watched the movie Dorian Grey with her husband. 

Oh boy! What did you think was going to happen? Did you think this little scene would do something to your brain and make you suddenly want to be with a man instead of your hot girl(s)? Good grief!

The article where Shar mentions this as well as a HILARIOUS tweet from one of my fave writers Daisy Harris, made me want to write this blogpost. She tweeted about her book, Built For It, which is on my buylist. Her message, which was tongue in cheek, “My book is so hot, it turned my husband gay!” #falseadvertising. A little memo for those who don’t Tweet. #hashtag might get people to notice the message more because it’ll trend. It certainly caught my eye and I let her know how funny that was. Then I got to thinking, is that the fear straight men experience when they don’t want to watch a gay scene or read a book that has homoerotica?

Sounds silly doesn’t it? Like it’s some kind of plague or something and as Shar points out in her article, these are the same men who say they aren’t homophobic. Oh but you are, man! Dammit what’s a phobe?

Anyway, no offense to Shar’s man and many across the globe, or fuck maybe you need to be offended.  If you think seeing these kind of scenes are an issue, you may need to get a clue. There’s nothing wrong with seeing two men or women kiss on screen or reading it in a book. It’s quite hot actually!

Doesn’t turn you on? Okay, that’s your prerogative if it doesn’t but really? Must you run away from it? C’mon! No big deal. “I just don’t want to see that.” Yeah Shar feels that way when a slasher scene comes up in a horror movie. It’s a fear of what she see’s, that my dears is phobic. Same thing applies to you men who runaway from a movie PHOBIC, say it with me, P-H-O-B-I-C! Homophobic.

Are you offended? Oh well. It’s just my opinion. I can understand if you don’t want to watch a porn with nonstop male male action, it might be a bit much but a kissing scene? C’mon. It makes your girl hot! Most women love the homoerotic! She quivers and curls her toes when reading a BL love scene, gents. Get with it. This is good for you in the long run, isn’t it? You get more sex if she’s aroused. DUH!

We’ll talk more about that later. Right now, leave me your rants. Why are you so afraid? Do you feel it will turn you gay? And oh shudder, if it did, is it a problem that it turned you on? Hell, not for me. It’ll make me love you more!

* * * *

Ah BL you really don't care about pissing people off do you?

Well anyway, if you're not too offended, comment to win for this contest!

CONTEST #5 Swag! Oh some postcards and if there's a lot of comments, another gift from ILEP!

Next promo from BL her book from NNP Candyman! Follow this link to read more.

Make sure you check out the other hoppers.

Good review for I Like Em Pretty!

A good review for I Like Em Pretty

http://michaeljoseph.info/2013/05/review-i-like-em-pretty

Hop Against Homophobia Article #3 - Rawiya

Alright then! Hope you've enjoyed the posts so far. Please welcome in other sister muse, Rawiya with an article about Interracial m/m!

Today, I wanted to speak about a topic I love which is interracial romance. I write them all, M/F, M/M, and ménage but I’ll focus on m/m mostly.

A while back, I did two articles about interracial m/m romances. One appeared on IRM and another one on Sizzling Hot Books. The response on the IRM was greater with many writers chiming in talking about being intimidated to write a multi cultural romance because they’d get the characters wrong.

*blinks*

In the case of m/m and m/f and really any writing for that matter, I don’t believe you can necessarily get it wrong unless you’re doing a non-fiction or historical book where your facts should be correct.

Now by no means am I saying you should just jump into it blindly. You can do a little research about the characters if you as the writer are of a different race than them but really, can you get it “wrong?”

When I think of people mentioning getting something wrong in this instance, I immediately think of the racial stereotypes. You know them because of the way the media portrays characters on sitcoms or even dramas. This media could also include books that might make their characters a certain way. However, in my estimation, this shouldn’t be the focus of any story, romance or not. It should be the characters and how their story develops throughout.

Since I wrote the blog posts I have found many more m/m IR romances and enjoyed quite a few. I fully intend to read more m/f in the future but for now, I’ll let you know what I’ve figured out while reading a few m/m stories.

In truth, most writers I’ve read didn’t bring any stereotypes into their tales at all unless it was part of the plot. What a welcome surprise too since the couple of books I’d read at first did exactly the opposite. I gathered they did their stories and made the characters relatable to anyone who read them instead of focusing on the racial differences. This allowed me to enjoy the stories even further and not wince when I came across the style of dress or the way the character talked. All the characters in the books were presented as intelligent and weren’t drawn up from what the writer might have seen on TV or even on the street. Thank goodness! Nothing would be worse for me to read a story that made me cringe.

So in regards to m/m, m/f, or ménage interracial romance the focus should be on the love between them and not the differences in their nationalities. As far as the Triad is concerned, we do exactly that. BL of course has My Lieutenant where the black character is a retired officer in the Navy and talks less slang than his white counterpart. Michael’s first m/m IR romance is through No Boundaries Press called Under the Gun. His character, Malik Day has been discharged under DADT but there’s no mention of the differences between him or his potential lover, Camdyn Hardy.

Me? Well in my first novella of the Something New on the Menu series, Time to Make the Donuts, my supporting character Andre is a smooth talker but doesn’t fit into the stereotypical black man. It’s true it might be easier for me to write from the “black” perspective since I am black but what of other ethnicities? I have a story on the docket with an Asian man as my main character. In this instance, I do intend to find stories about Asian or rather, Korean men just to learn something about the culture not any stereotypes. This won’t be easy but necessary so I can write the tale effectively and true we should do the same just so we give our readers reality but you can’t really get it wrong.

You’re writing about two living, breathing human beings and that, all of us can relate to.

CONTEST #3 Comment and enter into a chance to receive a GC with swag from Rawiya!

Rawiya's IR Romances bring color to the TRIAD. Her latest is m/m is Sugar Daddy, through NNP

Click the book to find out more

Check out the other bloggers!

I like Em Pretty Blogtour Starts TODAY

The blogtour has begun! You have 6 days to enter the contest!

Here are the participating blogs that have been so gracious to host me!

5/8/13

Aspired Writer

Brianna's Bookshelf

Coffee Beans & Love Scenes

Dawn's Reading Nook

It's All About the Romance

5/9/13

A Little Fiction of Every Flavour

Author Raine Delight's World

Book Reviews & More by Kathy

Bunny's Review 

Regina May Ross's 

Scorching Book Reviews 

Sweet n' Sassi

Remember, make sure to comment often or enter rafflecopter so you can qualify for the grand prize.

A box of goodies from the gang:

A New Orleans Tee from Kenina

A coffee cup from Frankie

A necklace from Vance

Copy of Magic Mike From Kajika & Naomi

15 Starbucks GC from Orrin

Beads from Shar and Michael

Also, I will be sending a prize to one of the bloggers as well!

I Like Em Pretty CBLS Blogtour - Coming May 8th and 9th!

The CBLS blogtour for ILEP is happening on Wed and Thursday. Win a small box of goodies from Kajika, me, and Shar!

Here are the links for the tour!

5/8/13

Aspired Writer

Brianna's Bookshelf

Coffee Beans & Love Scenes

Dawn's Reading Nook

It's All About the Romance

5/9/13

A Little Fiction of Every Flavour

Author Raine Delight's World

Book Reviews & More by Kathy

Bunny's Review

Regina May Ross's

Scorching Book Reviews

Sweet n' Sassi

Celebrating Great first month for ILEP and Mon Frere!

To celebrate great sales for March into April for ILEP and Mon Frere, the price is temporarily reduced to 3.49 at ARe and FREE at Smashwords

Here are the links

ARe

Smashwords

Where in the World is Michael Mandrake

I'm at You Gotta Read today with a short interview!

http://yougottaread.com/interview-with-michael-mandrake-i-like-em-pretty

And don't forget, I'm also at Babes in Boyland giving away a copy of ILEP and Mon Frere!

http://www.babesinboyland.net/2013/04/guest-post-giveaway-character-interview.html

Where in the World is Michael Mandrake?

At Babes in Boyland today interviewing Kajika Fortier and a contest!

http://www.babesinboyland.net/2013/04/guest-post-giveaway-character-interview.html

New Cover Reveal! I Love it Rough N'awlins Exotica Series Book Two

I love the cover for my new book. Thanks to Sara York for this once again, a great job for my next story. 

Here is a temporary blurb.

Livin’ in N’awlins ain’t all that easy…

Kajika Fortier loves his job, the attention he gets from onlookers, and Frankie Choteau. However, his new partner’s jealousy, mood swings, and over protectiveness drives Kajika to the brink but at the same time, excites him to no end.

To complicate things further, a murderer is on the loose looking for new blood outside the N’awlins Exotica Entertainment complex. When the first victim is claimed, cryptic messages are left behind about his love for the Native American man with hair that blows in the wind, keeping everyone at the club and NOPD on high alert.

Will the new couple survive these new issues that impede on their nearly perfect union? Or will the relationship fail, thus leaving Kajika alone and a target for New Orleans latest serial killer?

I haven't even started writing but Sara is done with the cover! Woot. Look for it late Summer????

Shar Post Giveaway for ILEP!

Shar is at Jennifer Labelle books with a guestpost and giveaway for ILEP and a 5GC

http://labellebooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-joys-of-writing-with-author-sharita.html?spref=fb

First Chapter of ILEP Posted at D.Renee Bagby's

Good morning!

The first chapter of ILEP is posted today at D. Renee Bagby's and btw, I'll be giving away a copy of this and Mon Frere 

at Sweet Spot tomorrow!

Hope you enjoy the 1st chapter!

Where in the world is Michael Mandrake?

At TRS today giving away a couple of copies of ebooks

1 of ILEP and Mon Frere

http://trsparties.com/author/rawiyaerotica/

Monday Mornin' Muse

Another picture of my hot muse. 

Yes, I said it, he's beautiful.

Shemar Moore, who plays Francois "Frankie" Choteau in the N'awlins Exotica series.

Missed the announcement?

Here it is

Fab Fiction Friday

Good morning!

Welcome to our new segment called Fab Fiction Fridays

Here is mine, a feature on my NBP release Under the Gun. Part 2 is on it's way!

Blurb: NOTE: Gun Play - Camdyn Hardy is a former cop who has his own private investigator business. Due to a misunderstanding from a client, he gets into an argument with his lover Tay. Right after, they breakup Camdyn is left alone to think about his future as a PI and his love life.

Malik Day was recently discharged under the DADT policy and is looking to get his life on track The main reason he joined was because he dreamed of being a ranking officer. Now that it’s been taken away, he desires to start his life anew and find someone to share it with.

After two weeks the men meet at a shooting range and find out they have a lot in common. Once they engage in a one on one match, they proceed to a bar to have drinks and get to know one another better. They both discover their affinity for guns as well as Camdyn’s need for a new partner at Camdyn & Associates. Malik is intrigued but afraid to ask him and decides to wait till they are closer. Camdyn is excited about this prospect as well but waits for Malik to say the word. Finally, in an erotic encounter, true feelings are revealed.

In subsequent books the twosome began their work and love relationship. Together they’ll take on cases investigating cheating husbands or wives, companies with defector employees all the while trying to maintain their newfound commitment to one another as well as having a little fun in the process.

Amazon ARe Smashwords NBP
Read an excerpt here

Post at Taboos and Perversions by Shar!

Here's a post by Shar as we go through first edits of I Like Em' Pretty

Taboos and Perversions

Saturday Sips - Captain of His Heart CONTEST

Good morning! I wanted to share another excerpt from my tory in the antho, On Valentines Day. The book is already a Silver Star at ARe! If you haven't picked up a copy, please do!

CONTEST: One copy to a lucky reader if they name the muse for Cooper in this story. Check pic on the left sidebar

Amazon

ARe

Smashwords

B&N

Captain of His Heart by Michael Mandrake - Mario Dagosta has just broken up with his high school sweetheart and hasn’t dated since. Downtrodden and not able to cope, he spends many of his days at home. A very eclectic young man who prefers Tom Clancy to gay or m/m romances.

Cooper Delaney is a retired general who watched his forty something lover walks out on him. Always upbeat and confident, he knows he will find someone suitable to be his man.
Mario has it bad for the mature man and wants more but will he be deterred by the mocking from his best friends about his choice for a mate?

Small excerpt

Later on that evening, Mario made the fish along with the side dishes. Cooper called while he set the table, letting him know he was only minutes away from his flat and instead of driving he’d be walking since they lived relatively close. Mario’s spot was in the South Loop, more than a mile away but Cooper mentioned how nice it was outside and that he didn’t mind. Mario laughed and accepted the decision. He admired the Captain’s desire to walk in the menacing heat instead of taking a taxi.

This also gave him an idea to do something he hadn’t done before. He knew it would be very forward but he was already that type of individual. Still, he never attempted to do this. Ask someone to stay at his place on the first date.

Mario and Jaz didn’t even stay together on their first night and because he’d been in a committed relationship all this time, he didn’t really have experience in this area. He wondered if Cooper would agree to it and not take offense. There’s only one way to find out.

Disturbing him from his thoughts, the doorbell rang and Mario rushed to it. He looked through the peephole and smiled; his gorgeous grey hunk standing there with flowers and a bottle of wine.

“Hiya.” Mario opened the door wide.

“Hey.” Cooper handed them to him and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Ooh thank you, Cooper. They’re gorgeous.” The half dozen roses were beautifully arranged in the simplest bouquet with baby breaths attached. He took a whiff of them and grinned. “Hey, I wanna ask you something and if you say no, I’ll be bummed but I’ll understand if I’m too forward.”

Cooper’s blue eyes twinkled and he walked closer to Mario. “What’s that?”

He could feel his stomach churn and the goose pimples form on his skin. Mario bit his lip and chuckled nervously, suddenly feeling very tense about asking the question. “Um, I wanted to know if you’d like to stay with me tonight. I really like you a lot and, since you walked over here and…”

Cooper took his hand, pulled Mario into him and crushed their mouths together.

Mario gasped and clung onto Cooper’s back through his fitted cotton shirt. He felt the Captain’s hardened muscle poking him through his jeans, making his own stiffen from the embrace. Mario continued to reciprocate and thrust his tongue inside. He tangled his with Cooper’s and enjoyed the tastes of his mouthwash. “Mhmphmm…” he groaned into the kiss and let his hands fall to his waist. “I…I suppose that’s a yes.”

“Yes.” Cooper smiled wide and leaned his head against Mario’s. I really like you, Mario. We don’t even know each other’s last names yet but…”

“Dagosta, Mario Dagosta and yours,” he asked while his placed light kisses on the side of his jaw.

“Delaney. Cooper Delaney, wow, you feel so good against me. Why were you scared?”

“I thought you wouldn’t take it the right way. It’s not somethin’ I’ve ever done before but I figured, I’m pretty straightforward with everything else so I might as well go for it.”

“I’m glad you did, um…can I say walking over here was kind of the strategy I used? I, um, thought that if worst case scenario you didn’t or said no, I’d take a cab.”

Mario held onto Cooper a little tighter. “I wouldn’t say no to you, Cooper. You’re too gorgeous to turn down and our first initial conversation was so stimulating, I feel like we could’ve talked with each other for hours.”

Cooper nodded, “Well, I hope you want more than just words, my friend.”

“Oh, I do, yes, I really do. I’ll leave it up to you how far you wanna take it.”

“As far as you do!” Cooper encompassed Mario’s lips once more. “Oh and…” he reached in his pocket. “I did bring my toothbrush.”

He smiled and grasped onto Cooper much tighter while returning that searing kiss. His new lover embraced him again and pressed his hard body against Mario’s. “Damn,” he sighed into Cooper’s kiss not wanting to pull away. “Dinner,” he breathed and wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Yes, even though I’d much rather put my lips on you, I’ll settle on eating now so I can taste your great cooking.”

“Pfft, I’m alright.” He pecked Cooper again. “Not a gourmet chef but okay. It’s not burnt and it is edible.”

“Stop selling yourself short. It had to be great coming from a man like you.” Cooper put the back of Mario’s hand to his lips.

“You’re killin’ me with the compliments, Cooper. Flattery will get you everywhere. C’mon.” He returned the affection and pulled him into the dining room. I’ve got plenty so I hope you’re hungry.”

“Not as much as I am for you but I’ll eat enough. Anything left we can have tomorrow, right?”

“Yep,” he agreed and reluctantly let go of Cooper’s grasp. He stole another peck and sprinted into the kitchen, clutching his own chest.

Oh thank goodness he said yes. Damn, I’m almost positive he’s the one. No one has made me feel like this other than Jaz.

****Make sure you tune in to Rawiya and BL as well since they are also giving you a sip of their books or WIP.

On Valentines Day Antho RELEASED

Release day has arrived for this wonderful antho from IRM!

Amazon

ARe

My sweet little romance, Captain of his Heart is included. 

I'll share another excerpt for the SIP on Sat 1/19 and giveaway a copy!