CARNAL OBSESSION: HIS HEART’S PRISONER by Reily Garrett @reily_garrett Erotic #Romantic Suspence

Carnal Obsession: His Heart’s Prisoner by Reily Garrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carnal Obsession: His Heart’s Prisoner is book #4 of the Carnal series of erotic romantic supsenses, but can be read as a stand alone.

The book’s setting is a place called Gradenburg and is the story of Kendra and Conner. Kendra is a street rat, a run-a-way, she plays in a band and is about to play her first gig which could lead to well paid long term work. Kendra has been on the run for three years after her brother was killed and she had a huge row with her family.

Fellow band member Daeron looks out for her and has taught her how to survive on the streets, it makes her wary, aggressive and self-protective.

The gig venue is a castle, but Kendra soon finds out it is the home of a BDSM club called Ambrosia. A scuffle with an over attentive club member almost loses them the gig, but club owner Conner Crofton intervenes. Conner has been searching for Kendra, he promised his fellow special ops team brother he’d look after her, but she’s been hard to find and even now she’s ready to bolt at any moment.

Conner and Kendra knew each other when growing up, but when danger threatens Kendra can Conner protect her? And when will he admit that she is no longer a child but a women he greatly desires?

This book is plot driven and mildly connects to BDSM. There is one main feature of erotica and most other action crosses with hot romance, however readers of light romance should know that the BDSM theme runs though-out the book. This is the first book I’ve read in the series and I would certainly read more by this author.

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Book Description

Life on the street molds emotional athletes.

Three years ago, her brother’s death marked the beginning of Kendra’s new life, an existence with no home, no family, and no friends. Time in the underground byways toughened her emotional shell with the loose association of like-minded street rats where survival meant compromise and constant vigilance.
Before he died, Billy had sent her a package in care of his teammate, Conner. For Kendra, re-entrance into polite society comes with a deadly price, as betrayal comes from both sides of the grave.
Conner Crofton owns the BDSM club Ambrosia. After failing to protect his teammate on their last covert mission, penance takes form as a promise to safeguard Billy’s little sister, a girl he’d unknowingly remanded to a world of darkness and uncertainty, deception and psychopathic stalkers.
The past will always haunt us. Each must earn forgiveness and trust as passion, guilt, deception, and betrayal, interweave a destiny formed long ago. A romantic suspense with a twist.

About the author

Reily’s employment as an ICU nurse, private investigator, and work in the military police has given her countless experiences in a host of different environments to add a real world feel to her fiction. Though her kids are her life, writing is Reily’s life after. The one enjoyed…after the kids are in bed or after they’re in school and the house is quiet. This is the time she kicks back with laptop and lapdog to give her imagination free rein.

In life, hobbies can come and go according to our physical abilities, but you can always enjoy a good book. Life isn’t perfect, but our imaginations can be. Relax, whether it’s in front of a fire or in your own personal dungeon. Take pleasure in a mental pause as you root for your favorite hero/heroine and bask in their accomplishments, then share your opinions of them over a coffee with your best friend (even if he’s four legged). Life is short.

Cherish your time.

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Romancing September author Ana Calin (Day 25)

It is Day 25 of our Romancing September Across the World Tour, and today we are going to meet Ana Calin and her book “The Blacksmith”. Then you can cross to Georgia in a few hours and read her views on writing romance in today’s society with Stephanie.

Let us find out more about Ana;

1) Where is your home town?

My hometown is Constanta, Romania. (I’ve been living in Germany for four years. Constanta is yet the place where the story unfolds).

2) How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing fiction for one year but researching for two (needed the research as background for what is happening with the ‘superior beings’ in the story). (Technically, I’ve been writing for over ten years since I was an English major in college and Creative Writing was a must. After I graduated I started working as a translator and writer for web sites)

3) Has your writing always included an aspect of romance?

The Blacksmith is my first novel. Romance is its central point and will remain so in the following novels as well.

4) “The Blacksmith” is a romantic thriller, where did the idea for the story come from?

The idea for “The Blacksmith” came from observation and a lot of psychology reading. Observing that many couples who’ve been together for over seven years become disappointed and start chasing the new, often even leaving their partners for a fresh start, I became obsessive on getting to the bottom of happiness through love: should one challenge the old and established for one’s dream? Or should one fight to reignite the fire of infatuation in a long time relationship?

5) The character known as “The Blacksmith” is an unknown murderer. Does his name have a significance?

The meaning behind the Blacksmith’s alias is even more important to the story than his identity. He is  a superhuman whose main purpose resonates with his alias.

6) How does the romance evolve? Does Aurelia become obsessed?

Aurelia first becomes obsessed with discovering who the Blacksmith is. What she doesn’t expect is that she’ll fall in love with him so deeply.

7) What happened to Aurelia’s husband?

Aurelia’s husband, Damian, is present throughout the story just like the boy she secretly desires, Ivan. One of these two men IS the Blacksmith.

8) What does Aurelia have to do to find the answers she needs?

Since she is the one to discover the first victim, Aurelia feels compelled to find out who the villain is. Having no reason to trust what she’s certain are corrupt policemen, she will start an investigation of her own, aided by an attorney, a psychiatrist and a biochemist. She will discover that the one she chases is no common man and she’ll go unveiling secret powers buried in her own psyche.

9) Does “The Blacksmith” have an equal love for Aurelia?

We don’t find out how the Blacksmith truly feels for Aura until the last chapters. He might be madly in love with her or long to kill her in the cruellest way.

10) Are you working on a sequel to this book? Or do you have another book that you are writing?

I’m currently working on a sequel, “Cries of the Blood”. I’ve started posting the chapters on my blog, www.anaatcalin.com. Of course, I’m avoiding spoilers for The Blacksmith. When the book is finished the chapters will be cut to trailers.

NOTE: the book contains some measure of erotica (not going overboard though), so it is recommendable for mature audiences.

To find a copy of “The Blacksmith” follow these links to Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or Amazon.de

Thank you Ana for being our guest today and Good Luck with the new book. Now step over to http://stephanie-hurt.com for the rest of Ana’s interview.

Romancing September author Tara Quan (Layla Tarar) (Day 18)

Day 18 on Romancing September and we meet author Layla Tarar whose pen name is Tara Quan. Come and read her interview with me and don’t forget to go over to visit Stephanie for a discussion on writing romance in today’s society.

1) Where is your home town?

 I was born and grew up in Bangkok, but I moved to the U.S. a while back. Home is now Arlington, Virginia.

2) How long have you been writing?

 My first real foray into writing was Harry Potter fan fiction back when I was in high school. I took a long break after I started college, but picked it up again in 2010.

3) Has it always been romance?

 Oh yes. I’m a romance junkie.

4) You use a pen name are you happy to tell everyone about how you chose that name?

 I wish I had something exciting to tell you. Alas, all I did was invert my first and last legal names before making very slight spelling modifications (i.e. removing an R).

5) What made you choose Dubai for the setting of “More Than Strangers”?

 I lived in the United Arab Emirates for two years. The country has such an eclectic mix of cultures it makes for a great character pool.

6) Your book has a mix of suspense, danger, wealth, power and intrigue, would it be fair to say that James Bond could fit right in?

 He might find it a tad boring–there are no nifty gadgets or super villains. Then again, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to wear a tuxedo as well as emerge shirtless from the sea. I also believe he’s a huge fan of high speed car chases.

7) Since “Fifty Shades of Grey” catapulted erotica up the reading lists, would you say it is now a much wider accepted form of romance?

 E.L. James has definitely made erotica more mainstream. Highly sexualized romances have always been popular–they just weren’t labelled as erotic romances.

8) Thinking about the sexual content of your book, my Granny is well travelled, could I recommend it to her?

 If she is a fan of contemporary romances, I don’t see why not. More Than Strangers is rated as “spicy” by my publisher. It contains consensual sex between a monogamous heterosexual couple. The language is descriptive, but I didn’t use any of the “c” words (for this one). There is a bit of kink but not lifestyle BDSM. I would compare the heat level to Linda Howard’s books (though the frequency of sex to word count ratio is higher).

9) Are your other books “Tower in the Woods” and “Warlock’s Pawn” both erotic romances? Tell us a little about their story lines.

 Yes, they are both erotic romances. Tower in the Woods is the Rapunzel fairy tale set after a zombie apocalypse. Mother Gothel is an evil cult leader, Prince Charming is a federal agent, and Rapunzel is a nerdy sniper. This one is rated “hot” (a notch above “spicy”).

Warlock’s Pawn is a fantasy romance set in a magical desert world. A conquering sorcerer and a fey princess fall in love while trying to survive political intrigue and assassination attempts. It’s rated as “erotic” (my publisher’s highest heat level). Pass me a fan someone!

10) Are you in the process of writing a second book in the Safe Harbor series? Will it be a sequel to “More Than Strangers”?

 I’ll probably be done writing it by the time this interview goes live. Since it’s a Christmas story, it might end up coming out next year (I’m behind schedule). It’s a direct sequel and the main characters from More Than Strangers play cameo roles.

Find a copy of this book here at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Thank you so much for being our guest today, Good Luck with the new book release. Don’t for get to step over to Stephanie’s blog http://stephanie-hurt.com/

Romancing September Author E.L Lindley (Day 2)

Welcome to our second day on Romancing September Across the World, today we meet E. L. Lindley and we talk about her book “Family Ties”. Zip over to Georgia USA in a few hours and meet E. L Lindley once more on Stephanie’s blog where they discuss writing romance in today’s society. We had a fantastic start to the tour yesterday, I hope you are all enjoying our guests.

Let’s find out more about our author;

1) Where do you live?

I live in Sheffield, which is in South Yorkshire. It’s actually my home town but, after leaving for university in 1980, I didn’t live here again until about 9 years ago. I always came back regularly for visits though and lots of my friends live in this area so I’m really happy to be back.

2) You’ve written 7 books to date are they all romances?

I suppose they all fit under the umbrella of romance even though they are all very different. I think romantic fiction is in a really exciting transition phase at the moment, mushrooming into lots of different sub-genres. Two of my novels, Family Ties and Don’t Look Back are probably more straight romance whereas the others fall into the romantic thriller category. Four of my books are part of the Georgie Connelly series, which are light hearted crime capers, featuring Georgie and her love interest, James Finn. There are lots of other regular characters as well and they are great fun to write because Georgie gets into all sorts of scrapes. Dare To Lose is a more serious thriller but has lots of romance thrown into the mix as well. I created Nicola Mills, the lead character in Dare To Lose, as something of an homage to older women, after reading an article stating that readers liked their heroines to be no older than 34. Nicola is pushing 50 but I think she is a very likeable, engaging character.

3) “Family Ties” is mainly set in Los Angeles, but where did Beth live before that, what drew her to that place?

Beth grew up in London but went to university in Edinburgh, where she eventually lands a great job as artist in residence. All this is thrown into disarray, however, when her mum dies. Beth had a difficult relationship with her mother, who was a single parent and it’s only after she dies that Beth manages to find the identity of her birth father. He has a successful business based in Los Angeles and, once she makes contact with him, he invites her to stay with him and his family which has life changing consequences for her.

4) How does the title of the book help Beth to move on from the past?

Beth’s mother was a very dysfunctional person and she wasn’t always truthful in how she presented things to Beth. Beth has been emotionally damaged by her mother and it’s only after her mother’s death that she can begin to unravel the ties that bound her to what was basically an unhappy life. Finding her father and allowing herself to become part of his family is a second chance for Beth. The title is born out of the idea that sometimes the ties that bind us to the people we love are not healthy and family doesn’t have to be defined by blood. Beth is tied to her father and half-brother by blood but she is equally connected to her father’s wife, who welcomes her into the family wholeheartedly.

5) Cal is an ex-marine was this a deliberate career choice for a hero?

Creating a romantic hero is possibly one of the most fun parts of writing. I have to fall in love with my leading men or I know I’m not doing my job properly and so basically I create men I want to go out with. I do confess I have a soft spot for men in uniform but, more than this, casting Cal as an ex-marine ensured that he was always going to be tough, capable and dependable.

6) There are many different romance styles, how did you choose the level of intimacy in this book?

That’s a very topical question because the recent emergence of erotica as a sub-genre within romance has perhaps changed readers’ expectations where intimacy is concerned. With Family Ties, I attempted to maybe be more explicit than I am in any of my other novels but I think it’s still pretty tame. I have to admit that as a reader, I prefer it when the sex is less explicit and left more to the reader’s imagination, which is probably reflected in my own writing.

7) Beth has a lot of emotional issues to work through, where do you get your ideas from?

Beth does have a lot of emotional issues to work through but I think we probably all do. Beth’s situation is quite extreme but we all have insecurities and hang-ups that can prevent us from going after what we want in life. I spend a lot of time observing people and wondering what makes them tick and I’m a bit of a magpie with my friends’ lives. I steal all of their experiences and work them into my stories, hopefully embellished enough so that they don’t recognise themselves.

8) Would you ever try writing any other branch of romance such as paranormal romance, historical romance or thriller romance?

I really enjoy reading all kinds of romantic fiction but I think writers are probably just more naturally drawn to specific areas. For me, I tend to stick to thrillers and contemporary issue based romance. Before I even start to plan my stories, I spend a long time thinking about them and my mind seems to naturally head down the same route. I think historical romance is probably quite unique in that it would require a lot of research and I suspect historical writers have a passion for the era in which they set their stories.

9) If you were ever asked to write something steamy like erotica, would you be tempted to publish under a different name?

To be honest, Family Ties is probably as steamy as I’m likely to get. What I didn’t realise before I set about trying to describe the intimate scenes between Beth and Cal was how difficult it is. I think writing erotica is probably a whole skill set that I don’t have. I remember when I was part way through Family Ties, a friend and I went out for lunch and spent the whole time trying to think of euphemisms for having sex. I’m sure the other diners wondered what we were up to as we giggled uproariously like naughty school girls. I have a feeling that if I was to write an erotic novel it would probably turn out to be more squirm inducing than steamy.

10) Will your next book be a romance too?

I’m currently about halfway through a standalone romantic thriller. It’s about a woman called Maggie who is looking for her sister. She retraces her sister’s movements to Texas, where she went to meet a man with whom she’d been corresponding on the internet. Maggie is forced to hire a local private investigator to help with the search and he just happens to be the man of my dreams. Hopefully he’ll feature in lots of other readers’ dreams as well!

You can find “Family Ties” at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Please join me in thanking E. L. for being our guest today and wishing her well with her new book. Don’t forget catch up with over at Stephanie’s blog next.

Her Dark Angel by Felicity Heaton

Her Dark Angel by Felicity E. Heaton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There’s all sorts of romance writing out there. This one edged the erotica. There was the desire, then the sex, more desire, more sex and then there was just the sex. There was a small story line in the background of a short read. All types of books appeal to all sorts of people and Felicity has written quite a few.

View all my reviews

50 More Shades of Grey

I truly believe that not a week goes by when 50 Shades of Grey doesn’t get more publicity in some form or another in Britain, I’m not sure about the rest of the world? A run-away marketing success. Today the Mail on Sunday You Magazine has an article about writing your own erotic bestseller. There are the top ten rules for success, the opportunity to attend a writers workshop in london on the 6th November and finally your chance to enter a short story competition writing your own erotica piece. Winners will get their entry published by Black Lace Books as part of a forthcoming eBook collection. Just complete 4000 words and submit by 31st october. Visit you.co.uk for all T’s&C’s.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Go on take a chance, you only live once!