Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Never Enough by Lauren Dane
Expected publication: September 1st 2011

From Goodreads:

ALL THE RIGHT NOTES…

Gillian Forrester spent most of her life running from who and what she came from. Until Miles came along. From the moment she held the tiny newborn her older sister didn't want, Gillian stopped running and began to build a life for herself and her adopted son. Now, thirteen years later, as Gillian's sister lay dying, she reveals the father's identity and makes Gillian promise to find him.

Adrian Brown is the epitome of the successful rock star. He's seen and done it all, with few regrets. It takes a lot to shock him but the bombshell that he has a thirteen-year-old son rocks his world. And Adrian is even more surprised when the buttoned-up, elegant woman who's raising Miles snags his erotic and romantic attention.

The last thing Gillian expected was to find herself getting hot and heavy with a person like Adrian. But as much as she wants to open up and give herself fully to this amazing man, she's afraid the secrets of her past and Adrian's problems with trusting people may keep them apart for good. If love isn't enough can they find the trust they need?

Fetish Birthday Party

Hi Ladies and Gents,

I just got back in from a five day camping trip and full of ideas for new stories and additions to a few of the stories that I have in progress but as promised I'm posting the next installment of my Fetish Birthday Party story.... Hope you enjoy: Festish Birthday Party

Ria

Reader Request...

First and foremost I would like to wish all the mothers a happy belated Mother's day.  I hope everyone of you a wonderful, marvelous, stress free day.  If moms weren't around this world would be disastrous.  I know I would have never done my homework or chores without mom nagging me. LOL :)

I've been reading and writing a ton.  If you are following my Book Challenge from Goodreads.com you will see that I've already read 69 books since January 1, 2011 and I'm three quarters done with book # 70.  After this book I'm taking a reading break and getting some serious writing done.  Since my move into the new house two months ago there has been very little writing going on.  I've created the outline for one story and some filler for another but nothing I would call substantial writing.  I have tons of ideas jumping around and screaming in my head to get out and they will all have their chance very soon.

On that note, I have received a request to write a soap opera style story for my blog and I've decided to do this with my Fetish Birthday Party story.  Chapter 1 is available for reading in my last post and I will posting again before the end of the week.  I don't think I will be able to post daily but weekly is completely doable with my schedule.

If you would like to receive e-mail whenever I update the posts please send me a message to riacruzauthor @ gmail . com (without the spaces) I will add you to the mailing list.


Ria Cruz

Work In Progress

Hi all,

A few months ago I started posting a short story I'm working on.  Since then I've cleaned it up a bit and I'm working on the rest of it.  "Fetish Birthday Party" is now available as a pdf and has a cover.    Check it out and let me know what you think.  I'm open to feedback.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Ria

Yes I'm Still Alive

Hey there ladies and gents;

I know I promised to update with more frequency but life has been hectic.  Work has been busy as most law offices are and I'm still unpacking and getting my house presentable to humans and not just my dogs (how have decided to overrule the house)  I'm proud to announce I've been writing and have submitted a story for possible publication.  I will keep you posted on that.

Per usual my characters are have a good old time talking to me and I have taken some time to get their thoughts down in writing.  I'm also trying to plot a new story together but I'm stuck on the conflict.  I have the characters fully developed and the beginning of the story but need to throw a stick in there because there is no happily ever after without a little drama first to bring them together. Hahaha!

I'm also in the middle of planning my vacation in May, an 80's themed birthday party in mid June and a possible trip to Ohio for the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together.

What are you guys doing this summer?  Any great plans? Any one going to any of the book conventions this year?  Let me know.

Much Love,

Ria

I'm here....

Hi everyone.  This is the first time in almost three weeks that I've had a chance to sign in. I was in the middle of moving out of my rat, roach and termite infested house and have finally settled into a gorgeous new place.  I have plenty of room for everything including my own writing desk and two brand new bookcases, which are already packed top to bottom.  Since the move I also haven't had a chance to sit down and write anything but that is my mission this week, to actually take time to write.  

On another note I found all of my lost stories...yay! I completely forgot that I had set my laptop to auto backup on a weekly basis and Norton saves the documents online so I was able to recover them.  Thankfully the only thing that is lost was my last set of edits from a month ago. That's including Second Chances who before the last edit was at a word count of 44,112.  So far the longest story I've written so far.


Oh, before I forget, I had a wild dream about a couple on a space station set in the future.  Thinking about maybe developing that into a story.  We'll see how that goes.  I'll keep you posted.

Mad, Sad and Frustrated

I just found out that my car was broken into and my backup hard drive with all of my stories was stolen along with the GPS and a few other material possessions.  To make matters worse I had already started to delete everything from my laptop because I was having it reformatted.  Thankfully I had about ten stories saved on a small USB drive but I still lost eight stories. 

This is the second time something like this has happened to me.  The first time was when my Sidekick crashed.  I was using it to write things on the go, whether on my lunch break or when we went camping last summer.  The damn thing crapped out on me before I was able to send everything to my email and TMobile wasn't able to recover anything.  I lost one entire chapter of a short and two story outlines that I had written on my Sidekick's notepad program.

I'm sad and frustrated.  Everything I had ever written was there including my manuscript for Second Chances.  I want to cry...thank fully I had that file backed up both on my USB drive and my e-mail. 

I know I can put them back together but I'm just thinking about all of the hours of work that were put into my stories.  My research files, my character bios, and all of my character inspiration pictures are all gone.

After I get some tequila treatment I'm going to get some sleep and when I wake up tomorrow morning (or afternoon) I'm going to sit down and write everything all over again. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Writing...

I'm back on the saddle and writing up a storm and it feels great.  I was inspired to write a short paranormal romance involving a small town of witches, wizards and warlocks a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure yet to what extent I will write the sex scenes for this story since most of my shorts have been very erotic but I have a feeling that this one might just be a straight up romance and although the basic plot is set out I'm still putting my outline together.

Witch craft and magic is not a subject that I know a lot about (only what I've seen in movies) so I've been doing a lot of research.  I want to get the basics so I could add my own creativeness to the story.  One of the books I'm reading is:

The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-Paganism

  

It's very thorough and reads like a regular encyclopedia.  Everything can be found in alphabetical order and it provides plenty of pictures and diagrams and covers everything from Abracabra to the Zodiac.  

 

While researching for what is currently titled: Chloe & Blaez, A Witch Romance (I always separate my stories by character name and genre or story line until I give it a proper title) I'm also writing part II of my Birthday Fetish Party.   

 

I'm really excited about this story as it will my first menage and my first girl on girl scene as well.  Part II will be from Damian's POV and will mostly take place during the limousine ride to Whet.  Part III will be split between both of them but giving each the same amount of time to voice what they are experiencing.   This part will contain the girl on girl scene and takes place in the private room reserved for Kathryn's party.

If you get a chance to read let me know what you think.

Loading...

Loading...

Thursday Thirteen

Here are Thirteen of best books I have read over the last year:


13.  Unmasked by Paige Tyler
I posted a review about this one a few months ago.  Loved it.  Ms. Tyler can do no wrong in my eyes.

12. The Lovely Kittengirls of Mew Orleands by G.G. Royale
Original concept for a story.  Loved the characters.  I started reading the second one but haven't had a chance to finish it but Ms. Royale doesn't disappoint, it's as hot as the first one. 

11. When Angels Fall by Lena Matthews
 Find out what happens when an Alpha male gets tired of his girls passive bedroom behavior and insecurities.  Great read!

10. Happily Even After by Lena Matthews
Ms. Matthews was the one to turn me on to I/R stories and I love her for that.

9. Tempted by Megan Hart
Hot, sexy and heart wrenching at the same time. I read the book in an 8 hour sitting then went back and re-read it the next day to make sure I didn't miss anything.  Too good to put down.  I laughed and cried on this book.

8. Coming Undone by Lauren Dane (Book 2 of the Brown siblings series) Great follow up to Laid Bare.

7. Inside Out by Lauren Dane (Book 3 of the Brown siblings series) 

6. Truly Scrumptious by R.G. Alexander
3 hot chefs, 1 lady with a unique name, lots of sharing and the best use of icing I've read.  Will have your toes curling.

5. Wrapped Around Your Finger by Fallon Blake
Loved, loved, loved, this one.  Great combination of my favorites: erotic romance, BDSM and cooking.  Check out my review on Good Reads.

4. The Geek Next Door by Lauren Fraser (geeks and nerds need love too!)

3. Her Boyfriend's Boyfriend by Cheryl Dragon (hot M/F/M-poly erotic romance)

2. Ink Spots by Lissa Matthews
If you like your Hero's sexy, covered in ink and some piercings, this book and the rest in the series are for you!

1. Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn (see notes on # 2)
This was scorchingly hot! ps: if you are going to wiki the piercings mentioned in this book make sure you are not at work and there are no minors around...


And just for a teaser here is a Thursday Hottie:

Enjoy!

Once Lovers

Hi ladies and gents.... I hope everyone is having a a great first week of the new year.  

I've been busy at work but have been getting some writing done and wanted to share with you a rough draft of the prologue to "Once Lovers", a short story I'm working on. 

Let me know what you think...

               With her feet cemented to the floor Robyn McMahon was left with no other option than to watch from the door in complete disbelief what was going on in the corner of the bar.  Through the sea of people and the dim lights Robyn knew for a fact that the man running his hands all over a busty blonde in a tiny red shirt was none other than Geo, her fiancé.  The tinge of tears burned in Robyn’s eyes but she remained strong waiting to see when Geo would remember he had asked her to show up to the going away party his friends put together.  

Robyn told him she would try to make it but reminded him she was studying for her Physics final.  When he arrived from his leave unannounced five days ago, Robyn ended up breaking every study group she had set up.  With two days left she needed to go over as much as she could in order to get passing grade in the course.  

Her roommate, Kelly had plucked the textbook Robyn had been reading out of her hands and forced her to get dressed for the party.  Although she originally wasn’t going to show up, Robyn was now glad she had.  If not she wouldn’t have found out what kind of man she was getting ready to marry.

At one time in her life Robyn thought she had known everything there was to know about George Ramirez.  They had lived next door to each other since the age of fifteen, and he had been her first crush, her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first lover.  For seven years he had been her everything and now watching him fondle another woman Robyn knew that he was her first heartbreak as well.  

Anger lit Robyn’s eyes as Geo nibbled on the other woman’s neck and his hands wrapped around her slender waist.  The woman in return pressed her oversized breasts against her undersized shirt and rubbed against Geo like a cat in heat.  Heaviness settled in Robyn’s chest and she was no longer able to contain the rage making her legs become mobile once again. 

Over the loud rock music Robyn heard a male voice call out to her but she kept forward, her eyes still glued on Geo and the little tramp.  She still wasn’t sure how things would go when she confronted Geo, but Robyn was good at playing things by ear.  She made it no more than five steps forward when a strong arm came around her, pulling her to the side nearly causing her to stumble over.  

Steadying herself Robyn recognized the man that had stopped her.  His name was Kent Parker and he was one of Geo’s Army buddies.  Kent had tagged along with Geo during their leave claiming he had always wanted to visit South Florida.

“So nice of you to join us Princess, I thought you were studying tonight?” he asked with a sarcastic tone.  Since his arrival, Kent had made it his business to somehow get on her last nerve making snide comments about Geo spending too much time with her.  What was too much for him was not enough her.  The last time Geo was home was six months ago when he had proposed. 

“I took a break to come for Geo.  He asked me to,” she told him lifting her chin in defiance.  She wasn’t going to let Kent get to her.  

Kent lowered his head to reach her five foot seven frame, “Are you sure? Because it looks like you’re not the only one here for him,” his voice loaded with mockery as he pointed to Geo and the blonde.  

Robyn pressed her lips together in anger.  It was enough she had witnessed her fiancé's betrayal, she didn’t need his buddy rubbing it in.  “Get out of my way Kent!” she fought hard to keep the tears from falling.  

Kent tightened his grip on her forearm, “Listen sweetheart, I hate to break it to you but it’s the truth.  Why don’t you go back to your books and let the man be a man…”

She didn’t let him finish his words.  Pushing away and out of his grasp Robyn slapped Kent’s face as hard as she could.  Her slim hand contacted hard muscle.  It should have felt good to hit him, instead Robyn felt worse.  The pain in her chest erupted and so did the tears...

                

(c) 2011 - Once Lovers by Ria Cruz  

FYI.... This was my inspiration for Geo.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

I got the Amazon Kindle for Christmas and I must say that I'm totally addicted and fear I may never put the darn thing done.

On an upside Second Chances has become my obsession and have found the big holes that were missing and will not have to after all my hair pulling, almost crying and over-smoking of cigarettes, destroy what I am calling from now on My Child....lol j/k. But I really do feel attached to it and would love to share it with the world once it is done.  Although, I have heard that a writer never thinks their work is done....

The plot line to Rachel's story has been changed as well since it would technically be the sequel to Second Chances. (It is still titled Breaking the Rule but that will probably change)

I've also spent a lot of time over at Goodreads and you should swing by to check out what I'm reading at any given moment.  I also have several books up for swap.

If I don't post again before January 1st, I wish you all a Happy, Prosperous & Love Filled New Year!!!!!!

Unmasked by Paige Tyler - Review

I’ve read several books by author Paige Tyler and have never been disappointed.  Her writing makes you feel like you’re in the same room with the characters and that is never a bad thing.  A little bondage, lots of spankings and what do you get?  A night full of fantasies if you ask me.  Last night I started and finished Unmasked and I have to say, Ms. Tyler you have done it again!

Tabitha Buckley works in the marketing department of a record label.  The object of her desire, Robert, is in A&R.  When Tabitha’s friend gets them both invited to the hottest Halloween costume party and knowing that Robert will be attending and in what costume, the Phantom of Venice, it’s an offer they can’t refuse.  Little did they know upon arriving to the party that it was more then punch and h'orderves they were serving up.  A spanking party to titillate the senses.  Having being spanked before, Tabitha is game but when more than one man shows up in the same costume as Robert means she has to approach each one.  By the time Phantom #3 comes around and gives her the spanking of a lifetime Tabitha is sure she has found the right one.  With a great twist at the end, Unmasked had me on the edge of my seat, not only in anticipation but I was sure I could feel every hand going down on Tabitha’s backside.  

If you’ve never read anything by Paige Tyler you should.  A few other good reads from this author are:  Good Cop, Bad Girl; Mr. Right-Now and Caught Red-Handed (a free read)

Character Bios

I've been so engrossed with editing that I finally had a chance to do some new writing last night.  With no editing and no add-ons I had complete creative freedom on where the story was going.

It felt good to create a new world and new characters.  I like this process as I'm able create them from the inside out.  From strengths and weaknesses to hair color, height and tone of voice.

Some of my favorite characters have inspiring backgrounds, others you wish you'd never met in the middle of  a lonely street corner after dark and others you want to smack and say "Wake up and smell the coffee because what you want is right in front of you but not for long..." but overall they all have a spot in my heart.

My favorite character to date would have to be Rachel Avila.  She is a 28 year old freelance journalist from Boston. Growing up she was a tomboy mostly because she was raised by her widower father.  Rachel has a fraternal twin brother Raymond.  Physically she is tall, curvy, long wavy hair and if anyone could play her in a movie it would have to be Rosario Dawson.  Characteristically she is a good friend with a big heart but she was in an abuse relationship that left her emotionally scarred. Her weaknesses include Thai food, whiskey and hunky musicians. 

When Rachel is given the once in a life time opportunity to take the most sought after interview in the music industry will she be able to look past the fact that her abusive ex Noah is to be the replacement drummer for the band??? Or that Tony the lead singer has been the object of her fantasies for years???

Finally connected again!

I know I haven't updated in a few weeks but it has been because I've been busy and not because I haven't wanted to.  Boss was getting ready for a trip to the other side of the world and I was swamped with work.  Then taking advantage that he was not in the office I took care of all the work that he left for his 17 day trip in a week.  That was a blessing and a curse.

Now I have barely anything to do and he is not due back until next Monday but I was able to take a mini-vacation where I did not look at my phone or e-mail for three days.  I took my laptop to try and do some writing but that didn't happen.

I arrived this morning with only 3 hours of sleep, no chance for coffee and to find a little "present" on my bedroom floor from my dog.  Grrr!

On a positive note D (as she will be named) has finished chapters 1 through 7 of Second Chances and has kindly asked for the rest so she can find out what happens.  Guess that is a good sign.

The outline for my shape shifter story is about half way done.  I'm stuck on a few details but those can be worked on.  I have to do some research about the location where my story is taking place and also about the profession of our Hero, Xavier. (I'm actually considering renaming him now.  It does not seem to fit him anymore.)  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Lounging poolside on Saturday the idea for a new story came to me.  I have to put those down today so I can developed it further at another time. 

Going to try for a power nap then some writing.  After today I must rejoin the rest of the world.

Until then I wish you all a great week!

Writing

Working on chapter 3. Done with the editing of the first sex scene and sent it to my friend in New York. She's already told me she enjoyed it and that's it's pretty hot.  It still needs a little more editing but already feeling encouraged to continue writing in the erotic romance category.

Here's a tiny unedited excerpt of what I wrote:

...Alex knew he wouldn't last much longer if she continued like this but there was no way in hell he was going to make her stop.  Instead Alex grabbed a fistful of her hair and slowly guided her to a less torturing pace.  She moaned around him in response. He knew he hadn't hurt her. It was only a sign of her own arousal building. Vanessa confirmed this when she looked up at him...

Next up is the rewrite of the confession scene. I want it to be dramatic and heart breaking to hear the reason why Vanessa left Alex and what his reaction is.

Work in Progress

In between working on Second Chances (yes, I still haven't finished reviewing it) I've been creating the outline and character bios for a new paranormal romance story. 


It is currently untitled but revolves around a werewolf pack in the Catskill Mountains but there are pixie's, werecats and vampires involved in the story as well. I'm still in the process of world building so it will take me a little bit longer to put together then my contemporary stories.


I know the paranormal theme is very popular now and hope by the time I am done with my story it still will be.  What makes my story different from others? Lets see...It's placed in a present world but humans have known about shape shifters and other worldly creatures for almost 20 years when my story starts.  There are conflicts with other packs, family issues and a werewolf who can not shift. 


Here is my inspiration for some of the characters....

Thomas - The Pack's Beta

Xavier - Hero

Celeste - Heroine

What do you think?

This and That

I haven't posted in a few days because of my birthday festivities.  I've been celebrating for the past week and haven't done any reading, I still have to submit my assignment for writing class and finish Second Chances. 

But on a positive note, I received and e-mail from G.G. Royale and my short "Runner's High" is now available on her blog, for everyone to read.  If you have a moment go by and check it out then come back and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Updates....

June is finally here! I love June and not only because my birthday is days away but for everything the summer has to offer. Not that I have much to complain about living in Miami but this last winter was pretty darn cold for us.

Summer means getting out of the office and still having a few more hours of daylight. We can turn on the barbeque grill any day of the week, unless it's raining of course. And although we just started our "Storm Season" we don't mind a few light showers here and there.

Back to my updates, my short Runner's High is featured in erotica author G.G. Royale's June Newsletter. Sign up for it on her website www.ggroyale.com

I have revised Second Chances up to chapter 16 which means I only have 6 more to be complete. It has taken me longer then I had expected due to conflicts with my full time job and a bout of writer's block a few weeks ago but everything seems to be moving on track now.

Breaking the Rules my other full length is going to be the next project I have to complete. It's a little over half way done at approximately 22,000 words.

This will be week three of my eleven week creative writing class and so far I've received positive feedback on the two assignments I've turned in. I've had to really think outside of the box and look for things that otherwise would be overlooked. I should have a new assignment today which means I will have to make time over the weekend to get that done.

Hope it works out for me, family is having their annual reunion this weekend.

Second Chances and Updates

If you've been keeping track of my blog you know that I have been revising Second Chances since mid-March. It's been a bittersweet project because it has gone from 30 short chapters to 22 longer chapters. I am also happy to have taken my time with it because I found a few gaps in the story compared to the outline I created.

Last night I tried putting some things together but I felt like I was just writing nonsense so I'm going to let it sit and hopefully I can get inspired.

On a positive note, Runner's High has been chosen for the June edition of G.G. Royale's Newsletter and Blog. I was told it should be up as of June 1st so sign up on her blog to receive it.

G.G. is an erotica author and an editor from New Orleans. Her book The Lovely Kittengirls of Mew Orleans is an erotic, BDSM themed (D/s) with a unique concept (at least I had never heard of kitten play before), captivating characters and wickedly hot sex scenes. Margot is a sub in need of a master and Max seems to fit the part but he has to conquer his own fears in order to be what they both want.

I truly enjoyed this page turner (or mouse clicker since I read it as an e-book) and I am sure fans of this genre will enjoy it as well. Ms. Royale has two new books coming out soon so I recommend that you check out her website.

Flash

Here is a piece of a short story I wrote a few months ago for a writing class.  Enjoy.

Looking down at the little boy holding her hand
Jessie sighed.  Andy, her best friend's son had his
mother's dark curly hair and the same deep blue eyes as
his father.   Jessie had contemplated many times what her
children with Steven would be like during the thirteen
months they had been engaged.  She imagined a little
boy with his reddish brown hair and wicked green
eyes.  Sometimes it was a little girl with her fair skin
and her cinnamon freckles.  Unfortunately her dream
was taken away one dark rainy night two years ago.