GUEST AUTHOR: Cynthia Sax

Being married to an Italian, I can totally relate to the idea of food being the thing that brings and holds families together, and with that, I welcome my good friend Cynthia Sax!

JK Coi 

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He Watches Me… Eat

It doesn’t matter what the occasion is. Whenever my family gets together, there’s food. When writers or other coworkers socialize, it is usually over food or drinks (many, MANY drinks). When friends come over to my house to visit, I always ensure there’s food on the table.

How, what, where someone eats can tell us a lot about their character. Anna, the not-so-innocent-yet-virginal heroine of He Watches Me, is in survival mode. She’s a new graduate. She put herself through school, taking on student loans, and her job at a charity pays minimum wage. She can barely cover her expenses.

Anna lives off free samples and day-old bread. While she’s at work, she eats quickly, seated alone at her desk. She doesn’t have food to share with others. When coworkers offer her a taste of their lunch, she says no, rebuffing their offers of friendship, because she doesn’t have any food to give them in return.

Anna also doesn’t have the money to go out for drinks after hours with her co-workers. They ask her to join them. She must say no, again turning down their offers of friendship. At these social functions, her co-workers bond even tighter, and Anna is left out, becoming more and more isolated from the others, invisible and alone.

Until she meets Blaine.

When Blaine, the billionaire hero of He Watches Me, sits down at the dinner table, he shares food for everyone else before he serves himself. Strangers think this is unusual. He’s an important man. Shouldn’t he serve himself first? But friends and established business partners know Blaine puts others first. He protects and feeds the people he cares about.

Blaine also prefers to order take-out from the same Chinese restaurant he has frequented since he first founded his company. Blaine’s loyal. He hasn’t forgotten the people who helped him long before he was a billionaire and he prefers to build long-term relationships. This hints that his relationship with Anna might be long-term also.

Will their relationship be long-term? Blaine is driven to feed and protect the people he cares about. Anna is hungry yet proud and she has no food to offer Blaine in return. This food conflict is symbolic of the other conflicts in their relationship.

What do your eating habits say about you?

***

He Watches Me

She desires to be seen. He wants to watch.

Anna Sampson has a naughty secret. Every night, she slips into her neighbor’s yard and swims naked in his pool. She fantasizes that the dynamic young billionaire watches her nightly nude aquatics, his brilliant green eyes gleaming with lust.

She discovers this isn’t pure fantasy. Gabriel Blaine has been watching her via his security cameras, and now that he has returned to L.A., he doesn’t plan to stop. That’s all he wants—to watch. Anna knows she shouldn’t allow him and she certainly shouldn’t want more, but she craves Blaine’s attention, needing his gaze fixed on her body.

Part One of The Seen Trilogy

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/He-Watches-Me-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CD36FS8

Author Website: http://cynthiasax.com/

Blog: http://tasteofcyn.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.sax

Twitter: @CynthiaSax

NEW MUST READS

I figured I would let you all in on some of the books I've been reading, so without further ado, these are my spring RECOMMENDATIONS:

SEXCAPADES by Christine D'Abo

Petra Clark's blog Sexcapades inspires women to embrace sexuality. What readers don't know is that her advice isn't based on personal experience. Despite erotic fantasies about the hot guy at her local coffee shop, social anxiety keeps Petra from connecting with real men in the real world. She's more comfortable as PC, sparring online with her nemesis, the cocky D. Williams.

Counselor by day, blogger by night, Darcy Williams gets a thrill countering PC's female-friendly advice with a macho slant. And when both blogs are nominated for an award, he's intrigued by the chance to finally meet the woman who's been driving him wild with her Sexcapades.

When Petra runs into her coffee-shop crush at the awards party, sparks fly--and so do their clothes. Only after multiple orgasms does she realize who Darcy really is: the competition. Now they're facing accusations of fraud, with stalking and blackmail thrown in. But perhaps most frightening of all are the feelings growing between them...



HE WATCHES ME (Part 1 of the Seen Trilogy) by Cynthia Sax

She desires to be seen. He wants to watch.

Anna Sampson has a naughty secret. Every night, she slips into her neighbor's yard and swims naked in his pool. She fantasizes that the dynamic young billionaire watches her nightly nude aquatics, his brilliant green eyes gleaming with lust.

She discovers this isn't pure fantasy. Gabriel Blaine has been watching her via his security cameras, and now that he has returned to L.A., he doesn't plan to stop. That's all he wants—to watch. Anna knows she shouldn't allow him and she certainly shouldn't want more, but she craves Blaine's attention, needing his gaze fixed on her body.



GAME ON by Wylie Snow

Secrets, lies, lust ... whatever it takes to win.

Clara Bean, Europe's most respected restaurant critic, lands on American soil to do a promotional tour with a sports icon. But how will she keep her career-ending secret from her deliciously handsome new partner? She quickly learns that all games have rules, even falling in love.

Luc Bisquet can't seem to score any points with sassy, sexy Clara despite the palatable chemistry between them. But he's willing to endure as many penalties as it takes to crack her icy reserve, because winning is everything.

Game on!



Wounded Angel (Book 3, Earth Angels) by Stacy Gail

A descendant of the Angel of Vengeance, Nate da Luca was gifted with an uncanny ability to find things. It made his job as a detective a breeze--until he learned the hard way that some things should remain hidden. After that, his powers vanished, along with his belief in himself. Which is going to make tracking down Gabriella Littlefield for his latest client a challenge.

Personal trainer Ella Little paid a hefty price for her life--now all she wants is to live it in peace. Then a sexy hulk of a man turns up in her gym, reigniting desires she thought she'd left behind along with her real name and hair color.

Desires she can't deny even after she discovers Nate's no stranger to her dark past.

Before he can convince her the attraction is mutual, Nate's going to have to earn Ella's trust. But a demon is playing for keeps in the world of humans, using Ella as bait, and the last thing they have is time...

(Don't forget to check out the first two books, starting with Nobody's Angel!)

GUEST AUTHOR: Cynthia Sax

Cynthia has one of the biggest hearts I know. Combine that with a super savvy business sense and calming personality, and you've got the best partner in crime...ever!

I'm excited for her new book, Warlord Unarmed, and you can find it here!

I’m thrilled to be visiting J.K.’s online home today. Not only is J.K. a wonderful writer (I LOVE the Immortal series) but I also consider her to be a very good friend. She’s the type of awesome friend I wish for everyone, including my characters, to have.

Many of my characters have friends or, if they don’t have friends, they have concrete reasons why they’re solo. Maybe they move around a lot or they’re scared of being hurt or they have a dangerous secret a best friend would be certain to uncover.

Gale, the heroine of Warlord Unarmed, has a best friend – Zeta. She’ll do anything for her fellow bounty hunter, including fly across several universes when Zeta fails to check in.

One of my best friends, Gilly, did something similar (notice how the first names start with the same letter - grins). No, she didn’t fly across several universes… though that would have been super cool. Gilly’s friend in another city couldn’t find a babysitter for a special anniversary. Gilly drove almost six hours, babysat her friend’s kids for the night, and then drove almost six hours back (she had to work the next day). Yeah, she gets friend of the year for that!

Gilly’s friend truly appreciated and benefited from her efforts. Although Zeta was emotionally touched by Gale’s rescue attempt, she didn’t require the trek across the universes. She hadn’t the opportunity to contact Gale to tell her she was okay. Yeah, we all have friends like that also, don’t we? We love them but they do drive us a wee bit bonkers sometimes.

No one is perfect, not even our friends. I’m certainly not perfect. I was born with a memory glitch. I don’t remember names, dates, birthdays. I often don’t even remember my own birthday. My friends send me email reminders not only for their birthdays but for my birthday also. On the upside, if we get into an argument, I’m always the first person to apologize because I can’t remember why I’m supposed to be upset.

What is the craziest or nicest thing a friend has ever done for you?

***

Warlord Unarmed

Cynthia Sax

WARLORD UNARMED:

When Murad, a powerful and deadly Warlord, arrives to repair Gale’s beloved ship, she doesn’t like it one bit. She sees the danger lurking behind his wide, sexy smile and the temptation in his coarse touch. He stands too close. He smells too good. He muddles her mind with erotic thoughts no bounty hunter should ever entertain.

Murad is known for being lighthearted…until he meets Gale. He’s deadly serious about seducing his curvaceous bounty hunter. With one blast of her stun gun, she captures his attention, and starts his lust burning. To claim Gale for his mate, Murad will brave his cautious female’s itchy trigger finger, his overbearing older brother and Gale’s sense of duty.

Buy Links:

Ellora's Cave

Amazon

Cynthia Sax Website:  http://cynthiasax.com


JK Coi again...if you're interested, Cynthia was kind enough to interview me for her blog today! I'm visiting her here. 

The Next Big Thing

Hello! It's been a while since I blogged because things have been crazy busy, but I'm going to be more regular (like taking my fibre in the morning). With that in mind, let's start this Pre-New Year's Resolution of blogging more by doing the Next Big Thing blog hop!

I was tagged by the fabulous Hannah Kate -- who posted her Next Big Thing here.

Here goes...

Since I'm working on editing my Immortals series to get them ready for re-release with Ellora's Cave, I'll talk about that. Book 1 is Immortal Duty (formerly called My Immortal), and it's being released December 26 (Happy Boxing Day!) but right now I'm working on Immortal Kiss!

Where did you get the idea for the book? 

Well, I loved Baron's character from the first moment he walked on the page in book 1. I also knew he was going to need a really strong heroine, someone who could match him all the way! I loved when Max put her hand up and offered to take him on :)

What genre does your book fall under?

This is paranormal erotic romance

What actors would you want to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Ugh, I hate picking movie actors. Baron is a blond GOD. He's young, hot, ex-military, and smart-mouthed. I guess the perfect guy would actually be Michael Trevino who plays Tyler Lockwood on Vampire Diaries (picture him blond). For Max, I can easily see Jennifer Lawrence playing that part. She's strong and smart and pretty.

Give a one-sentence synopsis of your book. 

I'm just going to give you the blurb because I'm lazy and it's a lot easier  *grin*

It has been two years since Baron's initiation into the world of the Immortals, and during those two years he's been training with them, setting aside his past to embrace the challenges of his new future…a future without Maxine Deveraux.

 

Maxine is strong, determined, and loyal to a fault. The last person she wants to have to face is Baron Silver, the man who broke her heart, leaving her without an explanation or even a goodbye. But Maxine gave her word to Baron's brother Jackson that she'd track him down and bring him home, and Max always keeps her promises.

 

When Baron encounters a vicious vampire who vows to destroy everything he loves, it doesn't faze him in the least. He gave up everything he loved along with his humanity. But then the demon attacks Maxine, leaving her broken and battered on Barron's doorstep and he realizes there are still things he can lose...things he can't live without.

Will your book be self-published?

No. This series is being published with Ellora's Cave.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I wrote this book a few years ago, and I think it was finished in 3 months.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I don't remember if anyone inspired me to write this particular book. Over the years though, I've been inspired to keep writing by many people. My family keeps me going, my writing partners encourage me, and the people who enjoy my books make it all worthwhile!

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

The Immortals series was previously published by a much smaller publisher a few years ago and I'm very excited to be getting it back out there into reader's hands. I've had lots of requests for the books to come back. They'll be re-edited and updated a bit, but....I'm also writing the FIFTH book, which will be about the twins!

My five (5) writers for next Wednesday are:

Christine D'Abo
Cynthia Sax
PG Forte
Stacy Gail
Jenny Schwartz

Cynthia Sax’s Soundtrack To Stories

One of my favorite scenes J.K. has ever written is the opening scene from Falling Hard . Gabriel is on stage, performing, and, when I read the words, I hear the music. That’s how vivid and lush and emotional the writing is.

For me, writing and music goes hand in hand. I always have a soundtrack in my head for every story. With Lust by Moonbeam , my latest release, that soundtrack has evolved. Of course, the music I played over and over again was the original theme song for Star Wars . That’s a no-brainer as nothing says to-the-death battles and against-all-odds love and vast, glorious space like Star Wars. The hubby, a former D.J., would play Katy Perry’s E.T. every time I mentioned Moonbeam. He’d tease me, calling Rellec, the hero, a “big-headed astronaut.” (He isn’t a big-headed astronaut. He’s a sexy mechanic from another planet.)

The song I now play while working on the sequel to Lust by Moonbeam is Simple Plan’s Lust by Astronaut . This song perfectly captures the aching loneliness of the alien males. They’ve left their home planet and everything they’ve ever known to collect their human mates. Their knowledge of English and North American customs is limited, and they’re alone, so very alone. They have this one chance to find a mate. If they fail…well, as Rellec says “Failure is NOT an option.”

Do you listen to music while you read or write? What songs do you associate with stories?

Lust by Moonbeam is now available from Ellora’s Cave.

Cynthia Sax
Erotic Romance With A Hint Of Humor

Blurb:

Cathy arrives at Moonbeam, the Roswell of the North, with one goal—to prove the mysterious dead tree circles are not caused by UFOs. Meeting a devastatingly handsome lumberjack with unusual blue and green eyes is a bonus. He thinks he’s an alien, but that doesn’t bother Cathy. She can tolerate a little crazy in a one-night stand, especially since Rellec claims her body as no sane man ever has—with the hungry touch of forever.

Rellec arrives at Moonbeam with one goal—to retrieve his assigned mate, ensuring the continuation of his species. Having trained long and hard for his erotic mission, he is determined to satisfy his tiny human female and overcome her objections with out-of-this-world passion.

Failure is not an option.