1st. Breathing His Air (by Debra Kayn, contemporary)

2nd. Prelude to a Seduction (by Lotchie Burton, spicy)

3rd. Angel Bait (by Tricia Skinner, paranormal)

4th. A Heart to Heal (by Synithia Williams, contemporary)

5th. The Wicked Bad (by Karyn Gerrard, spicy)

I know, I know. It’s a writer’s cliché, asking “what if?” But for me, it was only applied to its fullest extent in the writing of my newest story, His Fantasy Maid, which debuted May 20 from Crimson Romance. While I’d been schooled in “what if?” by countless authors over the years, the most notable of whom was Carl Hiaasen, the genesis of my stories had always been more a matter of serendipity or epiphany than taking a real-life situation and twisting it in a fictional way.

Until… on a trip to Orlando in December 2012, I found a pink notice taped to the front of my townhouse door, which read “Bikini Maid Services, 20 percent OFF.” After removing the notice from the door (and wondering how long it had been there), I tucked it into my purse to share with friends. Surely, only in Orlando would there be a service like this. Up here in the mountains of North Carolina where I live most of the year, it’s too dang cold to wear a bikini. However, after a Google search, I found out there are fantasy maid services all across the U.S. Who knew?

And then I recalled something Carl Hiaasen had said (I’ve seen him speak three times). He writes about some pretty bizarre characters, like an ex-governor of Florida who hangs out in the Everglades and eats road kill. I doubt that character was based on a REAL ex-governor, but nonetheless, Mr. Hiaasen’s contention is, “You can’t make this stuff up.” As a reporter for the Miami Herald, he should know.

This is where I started applying “what if…” to that little pink notice. What if…a brilliant medical student moonlights as a fantasy maid to pay the expenses of medical school? What if…a handsome, yet nerdy, young lawyer is poised to marry a social-climbing bitch? What if…as the preamble to the lawyer’s bachelor party, his best man surprises him with a fantasy maid? What if…this fantasy maid has him re-thinking his marriage plans?

I’m not one to outline my stories, but for this one, I had to do some research on emergency rooms, cracked ribs, and hospital policy. I had the help of a lovely friend (and nurse), Mary Everett, who provided a medical perspective.

And while His Fantasy Maid is a spicy romance (kudos to my editor, Therese Daly Ramin), it also highlights women’s friendships as my heroine, Amy, and her best friend, Ellen, navigate through the hospital and through their love lives.

I hope you enjoy His Fantasy Maid. Here’s a blurb…

Dr. Amy Maitland is a first-year resident physician, but she leads a double life. To meet the expenses of medical school, she’s also a fantasy maid. Attired in a bikini or French maid outfit, she provides light housekeeping services. While this may be an odd job for a doctor, it pays well and includes the flexible hours she requires. When she’s hired as the preamble to a lawyer’s bachelor party, she finds herself deeply attracted to the compelling Jake Sinclair, Esq. He’s gorgeous and smart, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. But fraternizing is against the rules of the cleaning service. Besides, this guy is engaged, so there’s no future there for her. She pushes him from her thoughts until he winds up in the emergency room with cracked ribs, the victim of a car crash, and she’s the doctor on call.

Years after their estrangement, ardent but frozen Theo attempts to reconnect with Margaret. She is no longer trusting of the idea of romantic love, having become pragmatic and wary during decades alone. But with the drumbeat of the early days of the Civil War in the background, how can she refuse?

The courtship that results is hasty, reckless, and intense, fueled by contradictions between Theo’s willingness finally to change and Margaret’s fears about the future. Two smart, stubborn, fiery people will need to overcome the hesitancies of their hearts and the perils of battle if they’re ever to find happiness.

by Emma Barry

Historical
Sensuality Level: Sensual

Available at: Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Author Bio:
Emma Barry is a (former) Montanan who loves hugs from her toddler twins, Earl Grey tea, her cat’s whiskers, and her husband’s cooking. Learn more about her at authoremmabarry.com.

It’s been six months since news footage revealed that earth no longer stood alone in the universe. Panic ensued. Truces were broken. All aliens were quarantined.

Earth’s final war is here and time is running out…

Talla Kolhm is a Draeken warrior-woman, beaten down but never broken. She refuses to feel any emotion, especially love or compassion. When she meets a kindred spirit in Jax Jerrick, a human soldier with his own share of scars, they develop an uncommon but comfortable rapport. But when a deadly toxin is released across the planet, all aliens are quickly blamed and ordered to be executed. With the help of her human, she escapes, and, despite her vows, Jax reawakens her darkest desires.

Betrayed once before, Jax can barely bring himself to trust another woman. Regardless, as Jax deals with his past, Talla reawakens his heart. While battling their simmering passion, they join the resistance committed to finding an antidote. And so the fight begins. Talla will do anything for earth’s survival, even sacrifice herself and her heart, which may be the only way to save us all.

by Berinn Rae

Paranormal
Sensuality Level: Sensual

Available at: Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Author Bio:
Berinn Rae writes romantic science fiction/fantasy starring women with kickassitude. When not writing, she can be found flying old airplanes, watching SciFi movies, and pampering an incredibly spoiled sixty-pound lap dog. Learn more at www.BerinnRae.com, on Facebook (Berinn Rae), or on Twitter (@BerinnRae).

Release date:

Now with added explicit scenes of seduction, shameless pursuit, and solitary frustration, as we follow Bathsheba’s initiation into physical love.

by Pan Zador and Thomas Hardy

Wild and Wanton
Sensuality Level: Sensual

Available at: Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Author Bio:
Pan Zador lives in Wales and Ireland, and Hardy’s Wessex countryside is well known to her from childhood holidays. Her first love is theatre— her second love is romance with a capital R!

Thomas Hardy [1839-1928], English poet and novelist, ran into difficulties with the stern Victorian morality of his editor when this book was first published in 1874 in serial form in an English newspaper. He was forced to censor his more daring romantic material; now, his new co-author hopes, the balance has been redressed.

Release date:

by Kathryn Brocato

Contemporary
Sensuality Level: Sensual

Available at: Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Author Bio:
Kathryn Brocato is lifelong reader and writer of romance who lives with her husband, dogs, and chickens in Southeast Texas. Learn more about her at www.kathrynbrocato.com and visit her Facebook page.

by Heather Thurmeier

“Heather Thurmeier writes sweet, funny romances that capture your heart!” — New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Probst

Contemporary
Sensuality Level: Sensual

Available at: Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Author Bio:
Heather Thurmeier is a lover of strawberry margaritas, a hater of spiders, and a reality TV junkie. Her passion is contemporary romance—writing stories filled with laugh out loud moments, uber-hunky heroes, feisty heroines, and always a happily ever after. You can find out more at her website http://heatherthurmeier.com.

I was walking across the kitchen a few weeks ago after my editor had sent me a JPEG of my new cover for The Jade Dragon, my second book in the Greenwood Witches trilogy, and I was suddenly overwhelmed. I’m published. I have two book covers. I have two books out in the big wide world. How amazing is that!

Where did I come up with the idea of The Jade Dragon? It was born from a kernel of an idea that formed while writing the first book, The Silver Rose. I started playing a game of what-if and before you know it, the jade dragon in that first book took on a much more significant role than I had ever envisaged and I knew it had to be the focus for the second.

I’ve never written a book to deadline before. I’ve always had the luxury of time in the past to write when I felt like it. That is, until I was contracted after submitting three chapters and a synopsis to Crimson Romance. “How long will it take?” they asked. I calculated in my head and then recklessly said, “Four months!” Four months when the first book had taken me about five times longer – perhaps longer. There’s nothing like a deadline to motivate you although it wasn’t easy. I work full-time during the day outside the house. I have a young grandchild I want to spend as much time with as possible. I have friends I still need to maintain relationships with. I started getting up early and going to bed late, because the desire to succeed and the passion to finish this book on time was important to me.

It helped to have a heroine who spoke her mind. Alanna is both vocal and passionate in her opinions. I so enjoyed writing a character who thinks nothing of saying what she is thinking all the while harboring a dark secret that could ruin everything that is important to her. Then there is the tall, dark and dangerous hero Gregori who has such a huge heart. I fell in love with my characters as they veered into areas I had not intended to take them. I’ve written five books in total and I know one is not to favor “one child over another,” but this child, this book, was an amazing ride. I hope you enjoy the journey too of this, my most favorite book so far.

To learn more about me you can visit my website at http://www.rowenamayosullivan.com and subscribe to my newsletter if you wish to be notified of promotions that I will hold from time-to-time.

As salt seasons food, for me, romance enriches fiction. From Shakespeare to Sayers, Ludlum to Spielberg, writers who devise amazing adventures and unforgettable characters season their stories with romance. Salt lining the rim adds zest to a margarita. Like anything else, however, too much salt can ruin the taste. I can write a salty tale (pardon the pun), but don’t enjoy porn or even eroticism where there is sex without a story.

D. H. Lawrence, established as a novelist, not only could not find a publisher, he could not hire a typist to key the very salty Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Eventually, he paid an Italian publisher whose staff neither spoke nor read English, to set the type for the book. Even after it was published, Chatterly was banned in England through the 1960s.

When I was a kid, movies titillated us with a kiss, then left the rest to our imaginations, as cameras panned from couples on picnic blankets to the treetops. I read Chatterley as a teen, with a flashlight under the sheets. Most avid readers are familiar with that modus operandi. Over the years, it took more to stimulate audiences. We evolved to bikini movies with teeny boppers cavorting on sandy beaches, on to the X-rated flicks today, as it takes more and more to stimulate.

One of my granddaughters sighed and said, “Nana, I can hardly wait until my mother says I’m old enough to read one of your books.” Even she can read this one. Nightingale probably is PG-13.

Q: Laid off, instead of looking for another job, can I support myself with my writing?
A: Yes, if you take a nine-to-five writing job. No, if you plan to live on income from penning the great American novel. There’s a story about seat mates on an airplane. One asked Two what he did for a living:

“I’m a brain surgeon,” said Two, “what do you do?”

“I write books,” said One.

“Ah, said the surgeon, “when I retire, I may write a book.”

“I know what you mean,” said One. “When I retire, I may do a little brain surgery.”

The point being: writing a book isn’t as easy as people think.

Q: How do I write a book?
A: A pond is filled one drop at a time. A garment is sewn one stitch at a time. A book is written, one letter at a time. Asked that question, a successful author I know said simply, “Put your butt in the chair.”

I know no magic formula. It’s like anything else worthwhile, you have to give it your time and your energy.

Q: Really, how do I write a book?
A: There is no one right way. Attend a writers’ conference. You will hear many theories on “How to Write a Book.” Some writers outline their ideas in a page or two. Others do outlines of thirty or forty pages. Tony Hillerman said he wrote like a man driving in the fog, only able to see the road immediately ahead of him as he went. That formula is called “writing by the seat of your pants.”

I write “to a premise.” In ten words or less, I write the premise––where I want to go. I post that sentence. When I wander, I look at those words and get right back on track. I don’t know of any other writer who does it that way, but it works for me.

Q: Do you have a special place to write? A quiet room away from distractions? Music? Candles?
A: Sounds fine, but when I get “in the zone,” I am not aware of my surroundings. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter at a table in a cafe. I don’t believe you need special props or surroundings, although they might work as good excuses.

Q: How do you know when you’re through with a book?
A: I know when I’m through telling the story I intended to tell. Uncertainty comes with the editing. A writer never quits tweaking a manuscript. Even after the published work is in print in front of her eyes, she still thinks she might have put a comma here or there, or used a semicolon, or cut/expanded a thought, or…. See?

Q: What should I write about? What’s selling?
A: If it’s selling now, it probably won’t be by the time you’ve written and submitted something. Recently at a workshop, one editor said, “Do not send me anything with vampires. I am drowning in vampire stories.”

~ Sharon Ervin, author of Nightingale