The holidays are coming, whether we're ready for them are not, and it's been suggested that I snatch up this collection of novellas while I can get my hands on it, so I'm passing on the news, because if the woman that told me it was good says so? Then you know it's going to be dang good.
The blurb sounds incredible and I know at least one of the authors in there is worth snatching up on principle alone. Good luck and may the sales force be with them! And congrats on this newest gorgeous release. Amazon: Ready 4 the Holidays? Get in the mood w/15 stories of love #UnderTheKissingBough! Preorder on @AmazonKindle http://amzn.to/2ddSTRI #Awesome iBooks: Snuggle in w/ur iPad & dream of love #UnderTheKissingBough! No fireplace needed! Preorder on iBooks: http://apple.co/2dB0uMb #AwesomeAuthors B&N: Nothing like a kiss #UnderTheKissingBough to rev up 4 the Holidays! Preorder these fab mistletoe stories on B&N! http://bit.ly/2diqckB Kobo: What's a kiss between friends? Find winter love w/ 15 #Fabulous stories #UnderTheKissingBough preorder on Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ddTyTf
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I don’t know where to start. I’ve tried to stay calm and carefree, but now I’m pissed. Facebook has decided that among the sea of sunglass spam ads, random porn, and abhorrent abusive and offensive behavior, that my innocuous posts of mildly suggestive attitude, is what needs to be taken away from it's platform. After all, you can have a porn post of a man eating out a woman, but a post where I suggest a reader might want to "save a horse and ride a cowboy"? Well, now that's just going too damn far.
I’ve been hassled for inappropriate content (hell, no) and “spamming” in comments. Spamming? Really? So how many other authors tag other authors for spotlights? I show my support for authors I know and others I know in name only, but dammit! How in the hell is girl supposed to use all of the tools at her disposal if she’s going to keep getting hassled for it? Who is this person that sees me promoting other authors and thinks, "what a monster! She must be stopped!" And who is monitoring these reports on Facebook? What on earth would make them think that I--ME!!!--would ever spam comments? The absurdity of it! The absolute f@cking audacity of it makes me completely and utterly disgusted with the forum I once held so high. One of my very favorites that I would work on day in and day out. Now my posts aren't fitting for you? Well, we'll see about that. So it was suggested that one of my covers might be a little too risqué and maybe I should change the cover to soothe some bully’s sensibilities. Umm—HELL NO! Did I say that loud enough for you? Hell no, hell no, hell no, and if my mild cursing bothers you, you can shove that up your ass too, sideways and lengthwise. The cover it’s been suggested I change was for a very dear friend who has a chronic and deadly disease, one she’s gone against the odds to fight and has pulled through again and again and again. That is the cover she wanted, that is the cover that she fell in love with, and that’s the cover she’ll damn well have! And if she wanted a horse humping an octopus eating an apple, then I’d damn well give that to her, too! This is my book, I wrote it, I chose to dedicate it, I chose to go with the cover that best fit the story and the dedication and you know the f@ck what? That’s my f@cking right! I am an indie author and I have the freedoms and liberties at my disposal to write and dream and build as I please! How dare some ignorant jerk on Facebook try to stifle me! How dare bullies try to shut indie authors up! So now, they’ve possibly permanently shut down my account for sharing what? Innuendo posts? I can’t even make the true claim to thick salty language. So where do I go with this now? I share this injustice with you and for all of the others that have been plagued by it. I refuse to wallow in the mud with the pigs that would attack me, and I will continue to share my fellow authors and support them and promote, but I guess the venue will have to be on my own. As indie authors, I guess we don't produce monies worth Facebook fighting for. How many authors are told to use Facebook and Twitter to help build up their platforms, to help connect fellow readers with the tender beauty of the words they've weighted with so much time and heart and soul? So the genre I write is romance. So, I'm an indie. I guess that's not worth fighting for. It's only a multi-million dollar industry, the written word, and stories that have transcended culture, faith, and race. But hey? Let's belittle it some more. I’m so sorry Facebook, that you have let this go on. I'm so sorry that my patronage is not worth you taking a stand and deciding that an author who has been with you and been supportive of whatever changes you make and hardly ever complained about the many flaws that left me in a lurch so many times--I'm sorry I'm not worth your time. I'm so sorry you have let this go on, supporting the abuse of your own systems. But if you don’t want me and my "spammy" and "abusive content", then I sure as hell don’t need you. Sincerely, An Author Scorned No one wants a quite untouched character in a romance. Maybe back in the older romances, but nowadays we like our heroes and heroines with a little more grit.
And usually that means they've been burned by love before. So why do stories centered around love, usually start out with love gone wrong? I've done it myself a few times and I guess. It's easy to fall in love. Maybe the first time you don't even know you're doing it and you're able to appreciate that thrill with such ease and that feeling of forever. But when it's tested...that's when things get tough. Sometimes loves survives the hatred and tenseness of life. Other times it dissolves into this sinking puddle of goop that clings to your every movement and you can't crawl out. The people who do crawl out and are willing to fall in again, knowing the stakes? Something about that just makes it so much richer, the fall so much more dangerous. That's why we let the perfect apples alone when we're searching for something to bake our forever pie with. We want the bruised, the slightly buggy, the spotty, the misshapen--we want something that'll build something great and know it's worth, not just in theory, but because they've seen it slip away before, and they know when not to let that mistake happen again. This is why imperfections make the most perfect stories. And why broken hearts seem to get all the best love stories. :) I grew up with cowboys of old. (As in cowboys of the 1950's movies. Not the real cowboys of old. I don't find a time without A/C slash disposable pads that awesome, but still.)
When I think of a cowboy, I still think about gunslingers riding horses, saloon doors swinging, good guys riding off into the sunset with the beautiful overly dressed woman of his dreams. And in a way, I think that feeling has still survived. Even if they're no longer tobacco spitting, weeks without a bath, toothless fellows, I still think I can find a hardworking man sexy as hell. All in all, whether immortalized in old movies or riding bucking bulls today, thank God for cowboys! Dang if right now I don't have a craving for a special flavor for a place I've never been. And the worst part is I want to write about it, not read it. My poor little writer heart is dying to explore the streets with the couple, and fall in love with some little hole in the wall coffee shop. And yet, I don't think it's quite done percolating in my mind. Gah! What a sweet torture.
Have you ever had a crush on your boss? I can totally see it, especially if it's a man in a suit. Who doesn't love a man in a suit? And I tie? One you can work down slowly and watch that five o'clock shadow at his throat? #Fans self# I like that I did things a little mixed up in Riding the Boss and made the female character the head of the boardroom, so to speak. If you spend a lot of time writing characters, it's nice to keep it interesting, especially finding the sexy center for friends who have known and worked with each other for years. And then let them get to know each other in other ways. I really had so much fun writing that. So what about you? Have you ever had a crush on a boss? Or while you've never had a boss with that kind of attraction, you sort of wish you had? It sure would make going into work damn interesting. Dark looks, crimson lips, and a late night work ethic have gotten Angela to where she is today. The boss in her own department. But she never counted on this... Josh has been working under Angela for years now--only not in the way he wants to. But that's about to change... When a late night turns fantasy into reality, will they be able to overcome the risks of an office romance? Secrets come to light as passions flare. Sometimes you just have to ride it through. Even if that means riding the boss... Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Boss-Contemporary-Erotic-Romance-ebook/dp/B01J8XVG0C/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31677446-riding-the-boss Have you ever had a crush on your boss? I can totally see it, especially if it's a man in a suit. Who doesn't love a man in a suit? And I tie? Aye, that I am. And yes, yes I did.
You see, while a nice girl, I also read smut. No, it's not derogatory. I like saying I write smutty, dirty romance. I've never been real interested in the clean cut. I've always liked my heroes a little dirty and my heroines able to bring them to their knees--in a good way. :) And, oh, yes. I admit it. Sometimes there's something sexy about an alpha hero. There's nothing wrong with that. Or with anyone being a beast in the boardroom while hosting a sensitive side in the bedroom. I like to mix things up. I love the idea of falling in love--so much so that I get to do it again and again and again--and hopefully bring you along with me. What else is a writer to do but hope? Here's to being smutty, dirty, naughty gals! May we always be so classy and sexy! Guys! Did you know that Alicea Creation's is creating a brand of Madam La Zuray jewelry showcasing the covers of my dirty books? Squee! Carmen Alicea is just amazing, and her talents when it comes to jewelry making makes want to around gypsy style. I mean, picking and choosing which bracelet to wear on what day is just cruel--mostly to me. I wants them all! So, anyway, if you'd like a bracelet head on over to Alicea Creations (http://www.romanceaholicblog.com/aliceacreations.html and her incredible blog Romanceaholic (http://www.romanceaholicblog.com/ and get one just for you! I can wish you no greater joy than to fall in love with love.
I'll admit it, I am. I'm in love with the tension, the first kiss, the first dance, that not knowing where you're headed, but knowing the one you want to be at your side. And I think by the massive romance industry, plenty of people agree with me. Real life is definitely uncertain. People are--well, people. Life changes, things change, expectations change, and so people change. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes not. But you can't let that affect the way you treat your heart. Every time I open a romance book, I fall a little in love again. And get some dirty under the corset action--I'm a closet historical lover. Movies, TV shows, poems, and especially books, have a way of opening up a heart and burrowing something of warmth deep inside. To be honest, I'm a little terrified of books with sad endings. A book should be this beautiful ride you get on and leads you down a path you'd never go down on your own, but damn it, don't make me love someone and then kill them off you sadistic bastard. That's right, I hear your cruel laughs on the other side of the keyboard. More than that, I feel the angst the author felt when they wrote and killed someone so dearly beloved, the masochists. I try not to be afraid of love, but to fall into it, ready to fall in love with whoever happens to catch my heart, book character or not. I hope everyone gets the chance to be so lucky. Well, damn. I thought that, too.
Lately I've been hearing about romance authors being shamed for--well, writing romance. I've always thought this was a particularly ridiculous thing to be against. Do you know how many romances have spurned on the start of lifelong book affairs? Think about it. Really. I mean, can you think of what would get a younger reader more interested in reading than a love story? I know I sure as hell can't think of one. Before I fell in love with other genres, in that awkward period between reading young children's books and the "classic literature" that gets shoved down your throat in school, I found myself completely enamored with a dirty romance. The couple were stuck on some island, and they were caught between using the condoms for water or nookie. Those characters didn't drink much. :) So why on earth should there be any shaming. Yes, I write dirty. No, I don't practice any scenes. And, yes, I am still a writer. Even if my books were just one dirty scene after another (which they kind of are) I'd still be a writer. I write love stories and I write dirty. And I don't think any writer who has the privilege to do so should ever be shamed for it. If you don't respect the genre, then please, still be a creature of class and don't insult a person you know little to nothing about. Even if you don't like the books--they're not for you. That's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. Write a review. Tell the author it wasn't to your taste. But never tell an author they're not a "real writer." Be kind and courteous. Kindergartners are taught it. I think we adults can manage the same. |
Madam La Zuray
Hello, darlings, I'm Madam La Zuray, author of dirty books you can't help but fall in love with. I bring the hot and the dirty and everything in between, all in a read you can swallow on your lunch hour. No sense in messing around with perfection. Archives
November 2017
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