TERMINAL NEGLECT by Michael Rushnak

Cocktails Fiction & Gossip Magazine issue 4 - adult/erotic theme - 18+

Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine issue 4-adult/erotic theme 18+ only- is ready for you to read, download, and enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts, what would you like to read, and your comments. Authors love to hear from you. Hope you all have a wonderful read. Here is the link:

http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip

GetToKnowTheBook: Author Lynne Roberts 'Creative License'

I’m always interested in what inspires the idea behind a book, even when I’m the one writing it.

For me, usually there is more than one source of inspiration, but I distinctly remember when CREATIVE LICENSE was born. I was driving in the car, listening to the radio on the way to the grocery store when Katy Perry’s Waking up in Vegas came on the radio. I wasn’t really listening to it, but apparently my brain was in creative mode. I asked myself what it be like to wake up married in Vegas. I started wondering about the kinds of situations that might lead to that event and then promptly shoved the idea away because it was too cliché.

However, like many ideas, this one wouldn’t leave me alone and eventually I asked an editor friend of mine about it. She assured me it was all in the writing and convinced me I could pull it off. So I gave in and started writing what would become CREATIVE LICENSE, but then I was calling THE VEGAS STORY. Kind of ironic now as none of the story takes place in Vegas.

I am by no means a plotter, but I like to know my story has enough meat before I start writing. I always ask myself what’s keeping the two characters apart. It’s a writer’s prerogative, and duty, to torture them before the happily-ever-after. For me to do that, I needed to really nail down the characters.

Caleb’s character was the easiest. He almost arrived full-born on the page. I think I fell in love with him before Lily did.

Lily was a bit more challenging to pin down. I wanted her likeable and quite frankly, at first she wasn’t. It took a few good edits and some brainstorming before I came up with a good balance of privileged female and approachable heroine.

And then there was the setting. I decided to place the story in San Francisco, so I drove up there with my sisters, a notebook and camera.

A writer’s stories are kind of like children. You love them all. But CREATIVE LICENSE holds a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy it too.


Blurb:

Loose ends have a way of tripping you up…

Years ago, a law school graduation weekend in Vegas had been part of Lily MacPherson’s plan. Waking up next to a naked Adonis with a ring on her finger was not. After a quick annulment, she relegated Caleb Anderson to her late-night fantasies—and very short list of mistakes—until his voice on the other end of the phone asks a favor that could shake the foundations of her neat and tidy future.

Caleb is still haunted by Lily’s horrified expression that morning in Vegas. At least it had made it easy to set her free…except they aren’t. The papers were never filed. And when the nosy patroness who could launch his painting career insists on meeting his “wife”, does he confess, or call Lily? He calls Lily.

When she steps off the plane, Caleb’s determination to play tour guide disappears in the San Francisco fog. Lily thought she could keep up the pretense for one weekend, cut the last tie to her past, and move on. But their chemistry still pops and sizzles, finally exploding into passion at Caleb’s studio.

It’s everything they remember…but so is the yawning chasm of differences that, in the end, could once again drive them apart.

Product Warnings

Contains balmy ocean breezes, coffee as seduction, the creative use of melted chocolate, and naughty shower lovin’ that gives new meanings to the term “shower head”.

Excerpt: Rated PG

The computer screen blurred. Lily blinked to refocus her tired eyes on the deposition and sighed in relief when the phone rang. She loved her job, loved working for a law firm, but staring at a computer screen for hours took its toll.

Blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, she reached over a stack of law books. “McPherson.” Lily glanced at the clock as her stomach rumbled. She’d worked through lunch again. Damn.

The other end of the line was silent for so long, she thought the caller had changed his or her mind. “Hello?”

“Yes, hi.”

The rich, masculine voice sent chills down her spine and knotted her stomach. Eyes closed, she gripped the phone so hard it hurt. Even after all these years, she knew that voice. “Caleb?”

A low, sexy chuckle rumbled through the line. “You remember me.”

Oh shit, why was he calling her now? Memories of the most erotic night of her life flashed through her mind. Lily opened her eyes, reminding herself the most embarrassing morning of her life had followed. “How did you get this number? Never mind.”

Despite the deep breath, the receiver trembled in her hand. “Can I do something for you?”

An intake of breath and then a pause. “We have a slight problem.”

Lily’s stomach churned acid. None of their problems had been small, not for the twelve hours and twenty-two minutes they’d been married. “Yes?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “It seems the annulment didn’t go through.”

“Oh, shit.” I’m in a bad movie. This has got to be a joke. She leaned against the back of her chair. “What do you mean it didn’t go through?”

“We’re still married, sweetie. The annulment was never processed.”

Married? “Why?” Lily rubbed the ache growing between her eyes. “No. I don’t care. Just get it processed.”

“It’s too late now. We’ve been married too long.”

“We are not married.” Lily tried to swallow past the tide of rising panic.

“The state of Nevada would disagree, sweetheart.”

She could almost see that sexy grin, those sparkling green eyes. She definitely remembered what they did to her. She’d been chocolate under the heat of his sun. “I am not your sweetheart.” She reached for a notepad. Who to call? Certainly no one in the firm. Though they were all professional and talented, people talked. She couldn’t let it get back to her family or… Oh, God. Stewart. “I’ll file for divorce in the morning.”

“Um, about that.”

She didn’t have the patience to wait out the pause. “What?”

“I was wondering if we could delay that a bit.”

A pain in her hand alerted her to the death grip she’d taken on the phone. She was suddenly glad she’d skipped lunch. “Delay? Why?”

“I need a favor.”

“Well you’re out of luck. I’m fresh out of favors.”

“Lily, please listen.”

His voice had lowered to almost pleading. Something in her heart softened. What’s wrong with me? I don’t owe this man anything! He’s a stranger. “You call me out of the blue to tell me we’re still married and now you need a favor?” It came out a little more acerbic than she’d meant.

His chuckle sounded nervous. “I guess that pretty much sums it up. You’re not married or anything, are you?”

Lily closed her eyes. “No. I’m not.”

“Well.” He cleared his throat. “Except to me.”

“Not for long. Thank you for letting me know about the clerical error. I’ll handle it from my end. Good-bye.” Lily set the phone in its cradle. Quite a feat when she wanted to slam it down. She stood and walked toward the window, leaned against the sill and stared out at the tops of the trees and below them to the expanse of grass. Interns didn’t usually merit an office with a window, let alone a window facing the courtyard. It was one of the benefits of almost being engaged to her boss’s son.

Ah, Stewart. He wouldn’t mind that she slept with someone in Vegas, though he’d be a bit irritated she hadn’t been smarter about keeping it quiet. But in his eyes, marrying a divorceé was socially unacceptable. No one could ever find out about what happened in Vegas. It had been a mistake, a horrible mistake.

She closed her eyes and the image of waking next to a naked Adonis filled her mind. His long blond hair had spread over perfectly sculpted shoulders, his head cradled by well-muscled arms. A silk sheet covered his lower back to mid-thigh but had only served to tantalize the imagination of her sleep-fogged brain. For a moment, she’d been tempted to explore the promising hills and valleys of his body and then she’d moved to touch him and seen the gaudy fake diamond ring on her left hand.

She still could only remember flashes of their night together; falling into his arms, the silky warmth of his skin next to hers, his lips. She opened her eyes in an attempt to wash out the images that had tinted her fantasies in the three years since. An ache built in her lower abdomen as she remembered the sound of his voice. She couldn’t recall standing in front of a minister and saying I do, but the documents didn’t lie. “Shit.” Caleb Anderson might be a talented artist and sexy as hell, but he wasn’t in her ten-year plan.

Behind her, the phone rang again and she sighed, turned and picked it up. “Macpherson.”

“Lily, please, listen,” Caleb asked.

“You have three minutes.”

“It’s… Damn it, Lily. It’s a long story.”

“Three minutes,” she repeated. The sound of Caleb’s sigh into her ear sent shivers down her body.

“I need you to…come out here for a few days.”

Her jaw dropped open.

After a long pause, Caleb cleared his throat. “Are you still there?”

“Is this a joke?”

“No. It’s not. If you’ll let—”

“No. Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”

“Please. I know it’s inconvenient—”

“Inconvenient? That’s an understatement. Why would I fly across the country?”

“Because it could make a permanent difference in my career, in my life. Listen, it’s complicated but…” he paused and his voice thickened. “My patroness did a background check, she found out I was married. I panicked. She wants to meet you.” The words came out in a rush.

“I appreciate your position, but…” Lily hesitated. She could vividly remember the passion with which he described his art. It had been one of the many things that had kept her by the bar ordering drink after drink until her memory faded to black.

“I’ll pay for your air fare and—”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what? Lily, I need your help. Please. It’s my one big chance. It would only be for a couple of days.”

A couple of days. That’s what got her into this mess in the first place, but something inside of her softened further. She did have some vacation time coming and she’d heard San Francisco was beautiful in the summer. Holy heaven, I’m considering it.

She had to admit, part of her hesitation was the memory of his skin on hers and the fear she’d tumble back into bed with him in a heartbeat. She’d done it in her fantasies enough times. Would that be so bad?

No, it would be so good. That was the problem. She took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it, Caleb.”

“Thank you.”

She hung up the phone, buried her face in her hands, and then grimaced. “I’ve just had my first argument with my husband.”

Available at Samhain http://store.samhainpublishing.com/creative-license-p-6257.html

Cocktails Fiction & Gossip Magazine issue 3

Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine issue 3 is ready for you to read, download, and enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts, what would you like to read, and your comments. Authors love to hear from you. Hope you all have a wonderful read.  Here is the link:
http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip

‘Review and Interview’ with Author Deanna Jewel

Today on ‘Review and Interview’ I would like to welcome author Deanna Jewel and to talk about her book “No Turning Back”

Blurb:

While avenging the death of his fiancé years earlier, Nathan learns that he can love again but is he willing to chance another broken heart? Will the woman he wants also learn to love again?

Vanessa is heartbroken over recent events in her life; she’s also head strong, flaunts London aristocracy and takes on breeding horses, something unheard of in the society circles of London. She finds herself trying to put the pieces of her life back together, but can she do it alone? With a child on the way, she is forced to do just that - their future depends on her strength. Then a friend offers to help. Dare she trust a man sworn to carry out a vow taken on a death bed? She refuses to accept that his love is true when his honor of sticking to his word is also at stake.

Reviewed by Suzannah Safi (Romance Alley): Author Deanna Jewel takes you through a journey with the hero and the heroine: their heart aches, a second chance found love, and amazing history of London’s aristocratic society to whet your appetite. Smooth narration and exciting twists throughout the book. I loved Nathan and Vanessa, the two were well described that you forget that you are reading, instead, you feel you are living with them experiencing the journey. “No Turning Back” is a great Historical Romance novel you will love to take with you on your vacation, on the beach, or cuddle with in bed.

Note: For anyone who is having a problem leaving a comment for the author can email the author with their comments. Thanks!

Suzannah: Now let’s meet the author and get to know her book.

Deanna, welcome to Romance Alley and thank you for being here with us today.

When I read “No Turning Back” I couldn’t help but feel emotional toward Nathan, you have drawn such character, strong and emotional. I know as an author there are techniques on how to draw a character that we can feel, and not a cut-board character, mind to tell us?

Deanna: Thank you for having me here today, Suzannah. Creating Nathan was a pure pleasure. I gave him attributes that I like in men and he respects women like he would respect his mother. I wanted a man who had felt love before; one who would know what and who he was looking for when he found her. Nathan already knew the qualities he wanted in his woman that would make his heart skip each time he glanced at her or held her in his arms. He wanted a woman to spend the rest of his life with, to watch his children grow up with, and to fall deeper in love with as each day passed. Ok, that’s plenty……he just gets me carried away!

Suzannah: Vanessa the heroine, did she speak to you, or was she difficult to reach. Did you ever reach to that stage where a character refuses to talk to you?

Deanna: Vanessa was not as easy to write as Nathan was. I did have a hard time figuring out just who Vanessa was. I knew who I wanted her to be, but it’s a bit more involved than that. *smile* As a fellow writer, I’m guessing you could tell.

I wanted to create a woman who knew what she wanted in life and wasn’t afraid to go after it, to take chances, not caring what others might have to say about her. Vanessa is a risk taker and determination is what drives her. She wasn’t prepared for falling in love with Nathan at all. She already had feelings for her childhood sweetheart.

Suzannah: When I love a character and feel him/her, I really feel that the author loved that character and poured all her efforts to make the character that he/she is. Is that true and was Nathan it, I have a feeling Nathan is coming back but don’t know how lol.

Deanna: I wrote No Turning Back many years ago but didn’t really have a picture in my mind of how he looked until I found the photo of a young man who just jumped off my computer screen at me. I knew immediately he was Nathan and his photo is on the cover. I was a bit surprised to find out he actually lives in London so to find a character that fit the bill AND lives where my story takes place just blew me away. Once I’d found the picture of Nathan, adding to his character was so easy to do. I won’t say anymore, it’ll spoil it for the readers. I’m still waiting for him to answer my email though…I know he’s read the email I sent him, he just hasn’t decided to reply yet…but one day he will.

Suzannah: It was wonderful to read about the London’s aristocratic society, and I enjoyed how detailed you were in describing the life. What research did you do and what was the best information that you found and said “This piece of info is perfect for my story?

Deanna: I did so much research for this book because I wanted the city just right. I’m sure there are still items that might not be exactly correct but I tried my darnedest to get it right. I’m not a horse person but was lucky enough to meet a woman online who IS a horsewoman and she helped me immensely in getting that part of the book correct. I gave her credit for that in my dedication. Again, Lynn, thank you so much for all your help.

Suzannah: Tell us about the inside information of your next novel, we like to hear juicy stuff lol.

Deanna: Well, I can’t write a romance without those warm sensuous sex scenes now can I! I’m bringing back Nathan and Vanessa in my next novel, but 100 or so years into the future from where they were and an ocean away! In No Turning Back, I never stated that he shipped items to the colonies because I just assumed the reader would know that it could happen. In my upcoming novel, Whispers at Ghost Point, Nathan is the ghost in the light house and Vanessa is actually Dana, the woman he longs to be with again but isn’t sure how that can happen. She will have to make up her mind which man she wants to be with and I’m giving her several choices!

I won’t spoil things any further than that, just know it will be worth reading to find out how things work out. Will Nathan continue to live as a ghost and only be allowed to ‘watch over’ Dana?

I also have to start work on the sequel to Never Surrender. Readers write me to find out when that might happen and I don’t have an answer yet. I haven’t even begun to figure out a plot for that one! Just know that one day it will happen.

Suzannah: Thank you Deanna for being here with us, wishing you the best of success. Hope to see more of your news, till then, take care all and I hope you enjoyed this ‘Review and Interview’ with author Deanna Jewel.

Deanna: Suzannah, thanks so much for allowing me this time with your readers. I do appreciate it. I hope they hop over to my website and surf around. There is a lot to do and several other links to visit.

I’d like to offer a contest to your readers: please leave me a comment here with your email address so that I may pick two winners to receive a copy of No Turning Back! I will pick the winners on Wednesday Dec 1

And you can find me here:

My Blog Site: http://deannajewel.blogspot.com/

My Website: http://deannajewel.com/

Read two chapters of each book here: http://www.freado.com/users/1124/Deanna-Jewel

My FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=371589027638

Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/author.php?id=25733

Cocktails Fiction & Gossip Magazine is now live!!!!

What will the magazine contain?

Fiction in all its genres, gossip, free stories, recopies, interviews, and all you can think of.

This magazine is meant to be fun for readers to enjoy. Know new authors and interact with them here on my blog. It’'s FREE, every month I will publish a new issue for you to read and have fun with new articles. You can download the free PDF or read it online.

Here is the link http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip

Cheers!

Suzannah Safi

‘Review and Interview’: Explicitly English by Rachel Leigh

Today on ‘Review and Interview’ on Romance Alley, I would like to welcome author Rachel Leigh and to talk about her erotic short story ‘Explicitly English’

Blurb:

Laura Markham needs to forget - just for awhile. Be someone else for change - live as her parents will never have the chance to. And for Laura, that means leaving the City for the English countryside and doing just what the hell she feels like…wherever she feels like doing it…British stockbroker, Stephen Cambridge knows by going home to his country retreat two days early, he's likely to surprise his contracted interior designer. And when he finds out she's the woman who performed the solo masterbation show for him on the inward bound journey, Stephen will do anything to further convince her to miss outward bound train and stay with him forever…

Reviewed by Suzannah Safi at Romance Alley: ‘Explicitly English’ is an erotic short story for the readers who enjoy a quick taste of erotic fantasy, they will enjoy the read in a train trip, on the beach, or just in their privet room. There was a slight of a twist that I hoped the author had expanded on, but the length of the story maybe didn’t allow it. Still, it’s like tasting a piece of chocolate that melts in your mouth and you enjoy the taste.

Now let’s meet the author and get to know her book.

Rachel, welcome to Romance Alley and thank you for being here with us today.

Suzannah: Thanks for giving me the chance to read Explicitly English, and congrats on your first published short story. Now my question to you which many ask: your short story is pure erotic; explain why do you write erotic and what you want?

Rachel: I want my readers to have an experience, a fantasy that takes them out of their own world for a little while. Although my story is straight erotic (no paranormal/sci-fi elements), it is ultimately a romance, which is what I love to write. I want readers to enjoy the satisfaction of knowing great sex can last!

Suzannah: Rachel, I know every reader loves to know the author behind the story. You are a reader before you are an author. What Rachel Leigh likes in a fantasy romantic book?

Rachel: Great, intriguing & sexy characters are a must – I want to know what has happened to this people to shape who they are today and want they plan to do to make themselves happy. I like characters to be achievers, go-getters – not people who sit around and wait for the universe to give them what they think they deserve.

And of course – sensuality is a must. I want to feel the tension and humor between a couple so I totally understand why they should be together.

Suzannah: Why you think, some readers like erotic stories, personally I believe it’s healthy for adults to fantasies and live a fantasy in a book. Do you think it’s healthy to read erotic lol, and what is your next project?

Rachel:  Totally! What could be more healthier?? Readers of erotic stories are looking for escape and possible scenarios for their own lives. Harmless, satisfying fun – nothing wrong with that at all.

My next erotic short story is under submission right now, tentatively entitled ‘Coming Back’

Blurb:

Kelly Hampton loved and lost him – for the last two years she’s looked for him in other men but now she refuses to emotionally cripple herself any longer. No more sex until she knows for sure she is in love.

And then the love of her life walks back into her bar claiming to still love her. Her heart hitches and her body heats – no-one has ever come close to understanding her, or worse…satisfying her like him.

When Sean McKenzie left Jessop Hill with his mother to protect her from his father’s fists, he should’ve known he would never love again after his explosively erotic relationship with Kelly. But now his father is dead and Sean is back for the only woman he will ever want. Their reunion is full of fire, pain and passion – and once they touch, the sexual connection is too much for either of them to resist…

Suzannah: Do you have anything else to tell your readers… and tell us where to find you.

Rachel: Just to ask that you pop by my blog whenever possible as I host two guests authors every week as well as regularly posting myself…and there are very often those all-important giveaways on offer.

http://www.rachelleighromance.blogspot.com/
http://www.rachelleigh.co.uk/

Suzannah: Thank you Rachel for giving me the chance to enjoy your short story ‘Explicitly English’ and have this interview. I enjoyed your story and getting to know you better. I wish you all the best and much success for the upcoming projects. I hope to have another ‘Review and Interview’ with you.