Naughty New Year Blog Hop

--> KBBI studio 2, December 31

“And we’re back with our Naughty New Year Contest!” Damon checked the call lights. Three were already flashing red. KBBI had been on the air with the contest since nine o’clock, when the kiddies were, one hoped, no longer listening.

“You know the rules. Adults only. That’s eighteen and over, folks, and no excuses, like you were stoned on your birthday so it didn’t count. Can you believe someone actually tried that one? Points for originality there. You know what’ll happen if you try to mess with me. Yup, I’ll open a,” he pressed a sound effect button, “can of whup ass on you. Okay. Now we got that straight, hit me with your naughtiest New Year’s Eve plans. If you’re sitting home alone, well, that’s okay too. You got an imagination, don’t you? Fantasies count in this game. No verification necessary. Whoever wows – make that shocks -- our panel of judges the most wins that cherry red convertible that’s been sitting in front of the station all week. Me, I just want someone to get it out of here, man. It’s like walking past a supermodel every day, lookie no touchie.”

Damon’s DJ voice was completely different from his regular voice, and so was his personality. On the air he was the wild and goofy jokester, while off the air he was downright reserved. Maybe even boring. At least that’s what his ex, Sally, had told him during their last fight.

He shook off thoughts of Sally. He didn’t need her ruining his New Year’s Eve show. Her or her new boyfriend, Gary. Gary. What a stupid-ass name. Perfect for a gearhead Aussie muscleman who only wore a shirt if a 7-Eleven sign told him to.

The wild gesturing of Freddy, the production intern, caught his attention. Dead air. Fuck. Blame Gary and Sally for one more thing.

“All right, all right, let’s get this snowball rolling. Who can make me blush like a virgin at a strip show? Who can put the “F” in “What the F were you thinking? Line two, you’re up.”

A sultry girl’s voice spoke. “Me and all my sorority sisters are going skinny-dipping at midnight. You’re invited, Damon.”

“Sorority sisters, huh? What are you guys, the Gamma Delta Skank-a’s?”

“If that’s what turns you on,” she purred.

Damon let that slide. They might sound sexy on the radio, but the reality never lived up. It worked both ways, of course. Listeners thought he was some kind of sex god and were mostly disappointed.

“There we have it. Sorority sisters skinny-dipping at midnight. Say that ten times fast. I like it, I like it, but what does our panel of judges say?”  He pressed another sound effect button and a gong reverberated. “Sorry about that, girls. Have fun though. Line three, what’s your Naughty New Year’s Eve plan?”

“Am I on the air?” The caller gave a sob. “Oh, thank God. You have to help me, Damon.” Damon turned up the volume on his headset. Something in this woman’s voice sounded different – more serious. She wasn’t flirting or joking around. And she sounded familiar.

“Who is this?”

“I don’t want to say my name on the air. But my lover handcuffed me to the bed and left me here, naked and spread-eagled, hours ago. I think something must have happened to him. Help me, please.”

Damon relaxed. He prepared to enjoy himself dismantling her preposterous story. “If you’re handcuffed to the bed, how’d you make this phone call?”

“There’s a phone on the bed side table. I knocked the receiver off with my chin and pressed redial with my tongue. I guess the last call was to the radio station.”

Damon frowned. She sure sounded real, with that shaky voice. But please. Pressing redail with her tongue? He decided to call her bluff. “I’ll call 911 right away. I’ll transfer you to Freddy the intern and he’ll take down your address.”

“No! No police. Please, D. Please.”

Damon froze. She’d called him “D.” Only one person had ever called him “D.” He opened his mouth to say, “Sally, is that you?”, then snapped it shut. Pissed as he was at his ex, mentioning her name on the air was not cool. Instead he punched the “can of whup-ass” button. “I warned you guys about messing with me. Caller four, what are your naughty New Year’s Eve plans?”

While the guy talking about rubbing coconut oil all over his girlfriend’s body for a pina colada body shot, Damon ripped off his headphones. “You’re taking over, Freddy,” he told the intern.

“What?”

“Naughty New Year. How hard could it be? Sink or swim, kid.”  He grabbed his jacket and launched himself out of the studio.

He spent the short drive to Sally’s house cursing himself for being such a sucker. What kind of woman called her ex to rescue her from a sex game with her new lover? And what kind of man dropped everything to rush to her bedside, just in case she wasn’t toying with him? But there was something about Sally. Exciting, daring, addicted to the edge. But also sweet and loving and endlessly joyful.

But apparently he hadn’t been enough for her. At least that what he assumed. He hadn’t been willing to listen to her explain why Gary was better than him. He wasn’t that much of a masochist.

He swung into her driveway and raced up the front steps. He pushed open the door, only to have his arm jerked behind him.

“You’re under arrest for breaking and entering,” growled a low male voice. In the darkness, he could just make out the outline of a police officer.

“I got a call,” Damon explained quickly. “I know the owner of the house. Sally Burke. She invited me here. I’m not trespassing.”

“We’ll see about that.” A handcuff clinked onto his wrist, the other to the officer’s wrist, as if he were a manacled prisoner. Holy fuck, this was serious.

“That’s really not necessary …”

But the officer was hauling Damon toward Sally’s bedroom, where he shoved him through the door. Sure enough, there was Sally, with all her blue-eyed, angel-faced sexiness, naked in bed. A pair of handcuffs dangled from the bedpost, but they weren’t around her wrists. She’d lied.

“I’m outta here.” Damon turned to go, forgetting that he was handcuffed to the officer. The police officer turned on the lights and shoved his hat back to reveal his face. “Gary? What kind of fucked up game is this?”

“It’s not a game,” said Sally quickly. “You never let me talk to you. This is the only thing I could think of.”

“Trick me? Handcuff me to your new boyfriend? What the fuck?”

“I just want you to listen. I love you. I still want to be with you. I don’t want to break up. I never did.”

“I don’t believe you. You wanted him.” He jerked his head toward Gary.

“Yes, but I miss you. I want you to take me back. I’m begging you.” She stepped off the bed, walked toward him, then dropped to her knees. She reached for his zipper. Stunned, knowing he should stop her, but somehow paralyzed, he watched her liberate his cock and give it a long, hungry, lascivious lick. Sally knew just what he liked, curse her, and his body responded quickly to her touch. His cock sprang up like a fucking race horse. He completely forgot that Gary stood right next to him. Groaning, he closed his eyes while Sally worked her magic. When he was hard as one of her bedposts, she withdrew her glistening mouth and licked her lips.

“Here’s the thing. I’m not the only one in this room who’s hot for you,” she said.

Since all the blood had left his head, it took Damon a few beats to realize the only other person in the room was Gary. He swung his head toward the “officer” – with the lights on, it was perfectly obvious that he was a fake, like some character out of Magic Mike. Gary winked at him.  

“I’m all about the fun, mate. Ready when you are. Sally chatters on about you and how much she still loves you, and when she let it slip that one of her favorite fantasies is a threesome, I said, let’s give it a go.”

“Give it a go,” Damon repeated faintly, the blood still pounding in his cock.

“You, me and Sally. She’ll be the meat in the sandwich, if you know what I mean. She warned me that you might not go for it, since you’re a bit on the straight-edge side. But I said, I listen to the dude on the radio. That dude can get wild if he wants to. He just needs a little kick in the ass.”

In Gary’s laughing brown eyes, Damon spotted a lot more intelligence than he’d guessed. The message came through, loud and clear. Gary didn’t want to steal Sally away from Damon. He just wanted her to be happy. And to be happy, she needed him, Damon. Looking into her pansy-blue eyes, he knew it was true. They belonged together. As for Sally’s wild side? Well, maybe he should make the best of it.

“You really want this?” He asked Sally.

She nodded, her eyes misting over. “I love you. But sometimes I just … need to play. It would make me so very happy if you would play with me. Only if you want to, though.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’m still glad we did this, so at least we could talk.”

Her head drooped, her body slumping in disappointment; even her luscious breasts looked sad, their nipples a wan pink rather than the deep rose of their aroused state. And that did it. Sally wasn’t designed to be sad. She was a laughing, carefree flower who cast joy around her like petals. Besides, it was New Year’s Eve. Why the hell not?

“Gary, how about you play with her nipples while she finishes sucking my dick?”

Sally’s eyes flew open. Gary saluted, then unlocked the handcuffs. “Serve and protect, that's me.” He moved behind Sally to take her breasts into his hands. The sight didn’t bother Damon at all – maybe because she was now pulling on his cock with great suckling tugs.

“I’ll say one thing,” Damon gasped as he surrendered to the bliss of fucking her hot mouth. 

"What's that?" Gary asked, palming Sally's nipples. 

“You guys win the Naughty New Year contest. Hands down.”

 The end (and the beginning)

Thanks for joining the Naughty New Year's Hop! I hope you're having a great time with all the naughty stories and eye candy. How about a little side contest? If you leave me a comment, I'll put you in the running for a complete set of the Receptionist series, TRAINING, RESTRAINING, and UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST. For more about the series, or my other books, click on the sidebar or check out my website.

Have an extra naughty New Year and a wonderful 2013!

Juniper

"Red-hot eroticism"

The first big review of UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST is in! Lily at Romance Junkies gave it 4 1/2 blue ribbons and had this to say:


"UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST zings with red-hot eroticism.  Author Juniper Bell mixes tantalizing sex scenes with genuine romantic warmth in the third book in …THE RECEPTIONIST series."

Full review here

What a great way to kick off a bone-chilling Monday here in Alaska. Have a great week, my friends!

xoxo
Juniper

Release day for UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST

UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST is out today!

You can tie a girl up, but you can’t keep her down…

…the Receptionist, Book 3

In the year since Dana joined Ethan and Simon’s firm, the three of them have found the perfect balance of power and pleasure in their three-way, work/play relationship. Not only that, but it’s been the firm’s most successful year financially.

Except something is missing. Her men won’t tell her anything about their past. How they met, or how they formed such an unconventional business and personal partnership. Until they start sharing their secrets, Dana fears she’ll always be the odd girl out.

Everything changes when a vengeful former partner resurfaces. Suddenly, both the business and their idyllic relationship are under siege. With a tax auditor watching their every move, the three must be on their best behavior.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Dana seizes the chance to prove herself—and finally win her sexy bosses’ full trust and confidence. Now the race is on to root the evil nemesis out of their lives once and for all—before her dream relationship cracks under the pressure. 

 ADULT EXCERPT

 

The red button on my phone blinked—Ethan was calling me into his office. “I’ll come by later,” I told Standish, and hurried to find out what Ethan wanted.

Apparently he wanted to glower at me with a double dose of Blue Fury from behind his desk. “What are you trying to pull?”

I twined my hands behind my back, a perfect little schoolgirl. “Excuse me?”

“I warned you about Standish. I said we were to behave with complete professionalism.”

“Which is exactly what I’ve done.” I lifted my nose in the air. This had the effect of accentuating my breasts. His gaze flicked across me.

“That outfit is hardly professional.”

“Depends on your profession,” I said pertly. From behind me came a click.

Excitement churned inside me. I knew that sound—the remote controlled lock on Ethan’s door. The atmosphere in the room turned suddenly heavy and charged.

Ethan’s voice dropped into the sudden tension with two stern words. “Come. Here.”

“Fine.” I stepped forward. “But I feel I should remind you of the current policy against physical contact established by the head of this firm...” I broke off

with a squeak, finding myself suddenly turned across his lap. In the space of half a second, I was staring at the beige carpet and feeling my skirt yanked over my head.

“You’re pushing me,” Ethan growled. The sound of a drawer opening came next. Ethan’s treasure chest of sex toys. Excitement shot through me, made me wet between the legs. All these sounds were like cues to me, announcing we’d reached Punishment Time.

About time. All that abstaining stuff had been driving me crazy. I decided to push him harder.

“You’re breaking the rules, Ethan. You said no physical...”

Wham. The paddle. The flat wood came down on my right cheek. I yelped as adrenaline flooded my brain. The next spank followed right on top of the previous one. When Ethan paddled me, he gave me no room to rest, no room to catch up to the pace of his strokes. I clutched the side of his leg, afraid I’d lose all sense of where I was. The carpet blurred before my dazed vision. He maneuvered his knee so my clit, with its delicate piercing, pressed against the fabric of his trousers—a fine woolen weave. Caught between his hard spanking and the pressure of his knee, I felt wild spirals of arousal somersault through my body.

Adding to the general frenzy was the fact that my breasts were hanging over the edge of his thigh and the weight of the bronze dragged on my nipples. Every time Ethan spanked me, my breasts would get jostled and a charge would shoot straight to my nipples, then ricochet back to my pussy. If only I could make him stop for a second so I could take them off.

I opened my mouth to request this, but only a desperate wheeze came out. Ethan wouldn’t stop anyway, not for a silly reason like that. I’d have to grit my teeth and bear the spiraling pleasure, the maddening friction against my clit.

“You insist on being disobedient, don’t you?” Spank. “Even when I spell out exactly what I need from you, that little rebel inside has to thumb her nose at me.” Spank.

“I’m sorry,” I gasped. “I shouldn’t have worn this. I’ll take it off.”

“Do you think that’s funny?” The spanking stopped suddenly. I blew out a long breath of relief, then yelped as his thumb worked its way into my pussy. With my clit still pressed against his pants leg his thumb explored inside me, pressing one spot then another, until he hit the jackpot—the one that made me jerk like a marionette. His hot thumb applied a slow, steady pressure from above, his knee from below, until I became nothing more than a quivering, whimpering slice of Dana in an Ethan sandwich. I raced toward a mind-blowing climax, bucking and twisting in his lap.

Click to buy

Unleashing the Receptionist Book Tour

In less than a week, UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST will be out, and I'll be doing a blog tour! Lovely prizes await for those who stop by. I'll be giving away a $25 gift certificate and the first two books in the Receptionist series.

10/30 Scorching Book Reviews (Nix)- http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.com/ 
 11/1 The Smutty Kitty (Kelly) –http://thesmuttykitty.com/
11/2 Day Dreaming Book Reviews (Dawn)- http://daydrmzzz.blogspot.com/
11/5 Belle's Book Blog (Mariann)- http://bellesbookbag.blogspot.com/
11/6 The Autumn Reviews (Autumn)- http://www.autumnreview.com/
11/7 Romantic Reads (Michelle)- http://msromanticreads.blogspot.com/
11/8 In Love with Romance (Evie)-  http://www.inluvwithromance.com/
11/9 Harlie's Book Blog (Marika)- http://harliebooks.blogspot.com/
11/12  My Secret Romance (Taryn)- http://www.mysecretromancebookreviews.com/


This should be a ton of fun -- just look at all those great blogs! Please stop by and don't forget to enter the contest via Rafflecopter.  

Here's the preorder link for UNLEASHING. It's already been spotted on the Samhain bestseller list. I hope you enjoy Dana, Ethan and Simon's final appearance! 

Special Offer from Samhain

Hi everyone - 

I wanted to share this special offer from Samhain Publishing.

Use "TRICKORTREAT" as a coupon code for any of our 8 featured October titles, and receive 30% off! (exp. 10/31/12)

UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST is one of the 8 featured titles (yay!!) along with new books from Lorelei James, Erin Nicholas, and more. The 3rd book in the Receptionist series comes out on October 30, so if you go ahead and preorder it now, you won't miss the special. Here's the link: 

Click to preorder

 

Enjoy!! And happy October! 

Juniper 

 

Go Wild and Deep in print

Exciting news! For the first time, I will actually have a book out in print. It's called GO WILD AND DEEP and it combines two novellas, GO WILD and GO DEEP, in one lovely book. Here's what it looks like:

Isn't that beautiful? It's already available for order on the Ellora's Cave website:

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10308-go-wild-and-deep.aspx

This is a first for me, so I'm quite thrilled. I can't wait to hold one in my hands!

Have a great weekend!

Juniper

Love's a Beach Blog Hop

I love beaches for many reasons, but here's Reason #1:  A beach launched my erotic romance writing career. If not for a beach in the Caribbean that inspired naughty thoughts, Juniper Bell might never have put pen to paper (or fingertip to laptop.) So in honor of that beach, here's an excerpt from my first erotic novella, THE EXTREMIST. Annie, a pathologically shy New Yorker, is on a boat anchored off the beach, along with the sexy and mysterious Martin ...

A shimmering, pink sand beach stretched from one side of the bay to the next, and Annie couldn’t see a single person on it. A few houses, along with several large estates, were scattered on the cliffs above. The scent of gardenia drifted over the waves from someone’s garden.

Martin went to the cooler that held their breakfast. “Hungry?” he asked Annie over his shoulder.

“Sure. I usually eat toast and a little yogurt for breakfast.”

“Change of menu, then,” he said, handing her a slice of papaya. “This is the tropics, you know. You can’t eat toast in the tropics.”

The papaya, tasting of lime and lushness, slid across her tongue. Martin watched her with his eyes darkening. “I can live with the outfit, with some slight adjustments.”

“What?” she said warily, through a mouthful of fruit.

He leaned forward and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt. Annie made no move to stop him. Another button went, then another, until the shirt was halfway unbuttoned and her bra exposed. “No bra, for starters.”

“What?”

“In fact, I don’t like this bra.” It was plain white cotton, like all her bras. “Do you have any scissors in that first aid kit of yours?”

“What are you talking about?” For the first time, she wondered if he was literally crazy. Was he going to cut her clothes to shreds? She was considering throwing herself overboard when he returned from her bag, scissors in hand.

“Shhh,” he said when she tried to object. “Don’t worry so much.” His eyes held a concentrated, relentless look that made her shrink back weakly against the side of the boat. Two short snips severed her bra straps. He reached around her back and unsnapped

the fastener, then drew the bra away from her body. “Much better,” he breathed, letting one finger brush against her right nipple. When it stiffened eagerly he smiled. “You see? No one liked that bra.”

He drew the shirt off one shoulder, leaving one breast exposed and the other

hidden. They’re so white they gleam.” He stroked his hand in a circle around the breast he’d bared.

“Much nicer. Now, I don’t mind your outfit so much. Your breasts are beautiful.”

Annie felt a deep quiver run through her body. Even though his hand was nowhere near her nipple, still it jumped to attention.

“You don’t understand. I need to protect my skin. I need SPF 100,” she said in a choked voice.

“So that’s your beauty secret. I like mineral oil myself. No worries.” He held up her sunscreen and advanced toward her. She shrank back, mouth dry. “But you’d better take the whole shirt off then.” He eased it off her shoulders. Her hands flew to cover her breasts. “Now, now, that won’t do. You’re too beautiful to hide. Rest your arms along the side of the boat.”

With her arms stretched to either side, she gave her body to his touch. With slow, teasing motions, he spread the sunscreen over her pale skin. She felt the sun beating down on her head and saw the glints of gold it sparked in Martin’s hair. He began with her torso, tracing the bones of her rib cage and using a delicate touch just short of a tickle on her sensitive belly. It made her squirm slightly, with an embarrassed laugh.

“I like the way you move,” he murmured. He stood directly in front of her and ran his hand up her chest, between her breasts, ending with his hand circling her neck. Her head bent back against the side of the boat, and her eyes closed against the dazzling sunshine. 

Click here for more

So what's your favorite beach in the world? Tell me your vote in the comments and I'll put you in the running for an extra prize -- a gift pack of great beach reads. There's nothing like reading a paperback on the beach, right? I picked up some fabulous books at RWA and I'll include some of my favorites in the prize pack. 

Have a wonderful summer and enjoy the rest of the Blog Hop! Click here to get back on the tour.

Juniper

Sweet, Sexy and Scorching Blog Hop

Great news! I'll be one of the authors featured in this extra-fun blog hop! Actually, my character Ethan Cowell from the Receptionist series will be taking center stage. Have you ever wanted to know a little more about the sexy, dominant senior partner of the firm? This is your chance. The blog hop takes place at the three blogs on the photo -- My Secret Romance, Day Dreaming, and The Smutty Kitty. Maybe great authors are featured on different days. And of course, as always, there will be prizes. As soon as I know when my turn's up, I'll let you know. Hope to see you there!

Wishing you a sweet, sexy and scorching summer!

xoxo
Juniper

NEW COVER: Unleashing the Receptionist

I just love the lush, sensual look of this cover, and the deep red of the background. This is the cover for the 3rd book in the "Receptionist" series, UNLEASHING THE RECEPTIONIST, due out on October 30 from Samhain. I'd love to hear what you think of it! I'll be posting the official blurb soon.

Hot Jocks in July Giveaway

 
I know it’s a million degrees out there, but let’s hear it for WINTER SPORTS! I don’t know how this happened – maybe because I live in Alaska – but all my athlete heroes play winter sports. I’ll bet I’m the only one on this blog hop with a book featuring a biathlon champion (Lars in GO WILD.) Biathletes ski, then shoot, then ski, then shoot – they have to be in incredible shape and have amazing focus. Gavin in GO DEEP is an amateur ice hockey coach. Hockey players are freewheeling, wild, rowdy, and up for anything. So a man who can make them perform at their best – HOT! So here’s a little montage tribute to sports involving snow and ice. May it either cool you down or heat you up – or both.

 

 

Are those some cute butts or what? Okay, my giveaway: I'm offering copies of both GO WILD and GO DEEP, and international entries are welcome. Click on the blog hop image at the top of the post to return to the main blog hop page. For a complete list of authors participating in the hop, click here.

Now back to your regularly scheduled summer!

Juniper Bell

On Sale for June

Great news for budget-conscious readers (and who isn't?) Every single Ellora's Cave title is 30% off at All Romance EBooks for the entire month of June.

All Romance EBooks


Dude. That's a lot of books. And that includes four of my books:

MY THREE LORDS

GO WILD

GO DEEP

BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION

So go! Check it out! Go wild! (Or deep.) Enjoy!

"A Fantastically Hot Read"

I absolutely love this review of BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION from Riverina Romantics. It's the first review I've seen, and I wasn't sure if my unusual narrative technique would work. But this reviewer totally got it. Choice line:

"Sweet baby Moses floating down the river! Talk about a fantastically hot read! This novella by Juniper Bell was just what the doctor ordered."

http://www.riverinaromantics.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-beautiful-obsession-by-juniper.html

So if you're wondering whether to give BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION a try, maybe this review will help make up your mind!

Click to buy.

BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION IS OUT

It's a beautiful day! BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION is now officially available for purchase on the Ellora's Cave site. Here's the link and a little bit about this story. It's a super-hot M/F/M/M menage novella that takes place at a fictional (really, I swear!) Ivy League university. Here's the blurb: 

 

Jack Cartwright has put his wild sexual side firmly in the past so he can focus on his graduate studies. All he wants is to finish his thesis. But the appearance of three mysterious students in a neighboring suite throws his careful plans into chaos. Especially when he catches the three of them together…in bed.

Clare, Luc and Rob have a highly unusual relationship. Friends since childhood, the two boys rescued Clare from unimaginable horrors. They’ve been her protectors ever since, and something more. But Clare can’t stop thinking about the sexy, smoldering resident advisor down the hall, and what fierce urges might be hiding behind his controlled exterior.

Now Jack’s dark sexual needs threaten to derail his career as the irresistible threesome lures him into their secret erotic world. But when obsession takes hold, rules don’t stand a chance.

Reader Advisory: Contains m/m/f/m, anal play and other activities not usually associated with an Ivy League institution.

 These characters popped into my mind and wouldn't go anywhere until I worked out this story. I discovered more about them as I wrote -- there may well be more stories to come about these three unusual students. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION. 

CLICK TO BUY

Hug a Tree Blog Hop

 

 Let's hear it for Earth Day! Maybe it's just me, but I can't think of a better way to honor our beautiful planet than to get down and dirty, bare-naked, up close and nitty gritty with the forces of nature. So here you go. Enjoy.

 

Happy Earth Day to one and all! But please, watch out for tigers. 

To celebrate the upcoming release of BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION from Ellora's Cave, I'm giving away a hot-off-the-presses copy to one commenter. Tell me which of these photos you like best, and I'll put you in the running. (Scroll down for more.) 

To return to the tour bus, click here.

Peace on Earth,

Juniper

Beautiful Obsession Release Date

Exciting news! Beautiful Obsession comes out on April 25 from Ellora's Cave. It also happens to be the release date for Kelly Jamieson's next book, so she and I will be doing some joint promo together. (Fun!) 


Here's the blurb for this book -- it's an extra-steamy Exotika that I hope you enjoy. 
 

Jack Cartwright has put his wild sexual side firmly in the past so he can focus on his graduate studies. All he wants is to finish his thesis. But the appearance of three mysterious students in a neighboring suite throws his careful plans into chaos. Especially when he catches the three of them together…in bed.

Clare, Luc and Rob have a highly unusual relationship. Friends since childhood, the two boys rescued Clare from unimaginable horrors. They’ve been her protectors ever since, and something more. But Clare can’t stop thinking about the sexy, smoldering resident advisor down the hall, and what fierce urges might be hiding behind his controlled exterior.

Now Jack’s dark sexual needs threaten to derail his career as the irresistible threesome lures him into their secret erotic world. But when obsession takes hold, rules don’t stand a chance.

Reader Advisory: Contains m/m/f/m, anal play and other activities not usually associated with an Ivy League institution.

Click here for more, including an excerpt.

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter weekend, Passover and/or general Spring happiness. 

Juniper 

Best Book of 2011 Nominee

Well, this is a complete thrill! My free short in the Receptionist series, THANKING THE RECEPTIONIST, is up for an award for Best Erotic BDSM Romance of 2011 at The Romance Reviews. Here's the link to vote.

http://www.theromancereviews.com/bookvote.php

I'd greatly appreciate any support you feel inspired to give! Voting is open until March 31. And of course, it's an honor just to be nominated.

Peace and love,

Juniper

Chatting with Lily Harlem

When I was little I had a pen-pal in the UK. We wrote every month or so about our friends and our schoolwork and our pets and so forth. Eventually we fell out of touch but that’s okay, because now I have Lily! That’s author Lily Harlem and I’m just getting to know her. But I already know we have a lot in common. We both write contemporary erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave and … our first names are plants. Bonus … she lives in the UK!

So here we go … my first pen-pal/fangirl conversation with Lily. And by the way, make sure to pop over to her blog because she's talking about me today. (Good things, I hope.)

Hiya, Lily! First of all, I know you live in Wales, but what’s it like there? I imagine lots of sheep and meadows and hot British guys. True?

Hey, Juniper, it really is awesome to be having a natter across the miles, and I have to say Alaska is somewhere I would absolutely love to visit. Shows like Northern Exposure, Men in Trees and that fabulous Ryan Reynolds/Sandra Bullock film, The Proposal, has given me the bug!

I have lived in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and now Wales, so I am a definite anglophile. There is something wonderful and unique about each country, and every time I’ve moved on I’ve been both sad and excited. Scotland is just beautiful, the Irish people a joy to be around, and England always makes me feel warm and content, probably because that is where the majority of my family live. But for now I am in Wales and I have to say feeling very settled here. And yes, there are lots of sheep. Lots of sheep, horses, cattle and some amazing coastline which Mr. H and I spend many a happy hour exploring with our dogs.

As for hot guys, then yeah, there’s plenty of them too, as long as you like them rough and ready. The Welsh men are hard working, rugged farmers, they play rugby like it is a religion and speak their minds. So if you like a man who is really a man, and don’t mind calloused hands and an occasional black eye, then Wales might just have to go on your to-visit-list.

Rough and ready – you’re talking my language, no matter what the accent. Okay, next question:

 

You often write in the first person. For instance, Cold Nights, Hot Bodies (which I loved!)  is from the point of view of naughty virgin Ashley. What is it that draws you to that way of telling a story?

Yes, I do write in the first person a lot. I guess I like the intimacy of it. The way I can really get into a character’s head and share all of her thoughts and experiences with absolutely nothing in the way. I also love how the protagonist has to be in every scene and the reader gets to see through her eyes, the hunky object of her desires.

Creating a hero whose thoughts you can’t write down on a page is a challenge I enjoy. His interest, disapproval, lust, foul mood, desperation has to be shown and not told. His dialogue, actions are what brings him to live. And I like that, because it is how we all go through life, reading other peoples body language and either believing or disbelieving what they say to form our opinion of them.

Oh, and the other thing I like about the first person – the sex scenes. I love going into the head of my heroine while she is have hot, no-holds-barred sex with that sexy rock-star, big and tough hockey player or cute guy she has just persuaded to take her virginity!

Oh yes, there’s that naughty Ashley again! She might be a virgin, but she does read lots of erotic romance. Her reading habits make her very openminded once she gets involved with the uber-hot Shane Galloway. Do you think that’s true to life? In other words, can reading erotic romance improve your sex life?

Hah, fab question and something I actually did a little undercover research on before writing this book. I have a lovely friend who complained to me that bedroom antics with her fella were waning. There was no real reason for it they were in love, both hot etc.

When I asked her what she was reading (in another conversation) she told me she only read murder mystery, always had and always would. Well me being a little bossy, I told her to get something raunchy to read and stop with the depressing stuff.

When a week later, she was still reading some awful thing about people getting chopped up in tents and thrown into a lake to be eaten by crocs, I took matters into my own hands.

I raided my secret shelf of sexy paperbacks. Plucked out a combination of blushing romances to down and dirty hotness, and marched down to her house. She was a little hesitant at first but once she started reading she couldn’t stop. She kept texting me – “OMG! You gave me a book that refers to his thing as a shaft!” and “They’ve only just met and they are shagging like rabbits!”. LOL! She was soon back for more, and has now just about depleted my stash.

Has it helped? Hell, yeah, she’s ‘in the mood’ when the bedroom light goes off now and is planning a ‘sex for breakfast, lunch and dinner holiday’ with her man.

Is he happy about the change? Abso-bloody-lutely!!

So in answer to your question, Juniper, yes, I really do think erotic romance can help your sex life. It can make you feel like you are getting some if you’re not, and give you new ideas and put you in the mood if you are!

I like that -- it’s nice to feel you’re doing a public service, isn’t it? We’re both members of the “When One is Not Enough” blog, featuring ten bestselling ménage romance authors. I always love your blog posts because they have such extensive information in them. (If you don’t believe me, check the archives, y’all!) Do you do a lot of research for your posts, or do you rely on information you’ve already gathered for your books?

I love being part of WOINE, such a great bunch of authors and readers to hang out and have fun with.

Usually I start from scratch when researching a post. Sometimes I know exactly what I am going to do, other times I wander around the web until something grabs my attention and I realize I want to know more.

I have a bit of an obsessive personality which effects lots of what I do, so once I start on something, whether it is writing a WOINE post, scrubbing the house, planning a trip. I tend not to get distracted until it’s done. This has advantages and disadvantages, for instance when a novel takes a month or so to write everything else goes to the wind. It’s good for the novel, but not so good for anyone who has a birthday I’m supposed to remember or for clearing up dog hairs from the corners!

I know what you mean – regular life tends to fall off the radar when you’re wrapped up in a story. I like the way you set Cold Nights, Hot Bodies in a very ordinary office world where the big events are the boss’s impending retirement and Ashley’s “employee of the year” prize. I was wondering if that’s why you write contemporary, so you can bring characters like that – people you might run into on the street – to life. Is that the case? Have you ever been drawn to historical or paranormal?

Thank you, I am pleased you liked Ashley’s big events and so pleased that they came across as important to her and brought her character to life.

Bringing every day people and experiences to the page is most definitely why I am drawn to contemporary. I like to write about what I see around me, real experiences, real emotions. Not that a reader can’t lose themselves in my books, they most certainly can, its just stepping into someone else’s world for a little while and pretty much knowing what you will get. There are no other worlds to learn about, or vampire/shifter rules – though in some you will have to meet a team of hot hockey players. But of course you know all about that, Juniper, we share the same appreciation for the bad boys of the ice, don’t we?!

Historical, paranormal, sci-fi, no. I don’t particularly read them and have never done more than dabble with writing them. (Though there is a free read/podcast on my website about Mr. and Mrs. Darcy’s wedding night which was a bit of saucy fun to write!)

I have published a fairytale fantasy, Enchanted Submission, about Rapunzel and the newly divorced Beast getting it together. But I kind of made it contemporary, with Cinderella and the girls knocking back shots of vodka before going to a BDSM club. Prince Charming is a completely insatiable womanizer and Tinkerbell a little nymphomaniac!

OMG, that sounds hilarious, I have to check that out! One last question: when can I get the next Lily Harlem book?

Two in the pipeline!

At Total-E-Bound, my UK publisher, I have my first co-author due for release on 2^nd of April. It is called That Filthy Book and is written with the amazingly talented Natalie Dae.

It is again contemporary and is about a married couple going on a journey of sexual discovery, re-awakening what it once was that made them so crazy for one another. Then with the help of a very dirty book, they take their regained confidence and urge to experiment to a whole new level. It was enormous fun to write, and Nat and I completely bounced off one another, the scenes just got filthier and filthier and in the end, when it came to picking a title, we just called it what we’d called it all along – That Filthy Book!

At Ellora’s Cave I have a free read called Stockholm Seduction. It was released eighteen months ago and I’ve had lots of reader comments to the tune of ‘We want more”, “Great start, where is the rest?”.

The story of Penny Tipping, the British Foreign Secretary’s daughter, getting kidnapped down-under by the seriously sexy Ty, seemed to hit the right spot for many. So, I let the characters talk to me again and told the rest of their story. Stockholm Surrender is due out at Ellora’s Cave in the spring, and is a full-length novel with the original freebie as the prologue. Its hot and sexy and I loved the twists and turns that went with Penny falling for her captor and longing to be taken again.

Thank so much for having me today, Juniper. I hope you will stop by my blog soon for a cup of tea and a chat. There is nothing better than being able to get together for a gossip about sexy novels.

Hugs

Lily x

Thanks for chatting with me, Lily! I'd love to do it again some time over at your place. In the meantime, for more about Lily's books, visit her website. You can also click on each cover to find out more about the book.

www.lilyharlem.com

Have a great week!

Juniper