Okay, not until next month-- but it’s already making a splash! Check this out:
A four star review from RT Book Reviews that calls it an “erotic paean to steampunk.”
A lovely review from no other than Publishers Weekly that raves: “Not content to titillate, these passionate vignettes will also satisfy steampunk fans intellectually with nuanced discussions of self-sufficient women and the roles that machines play in our lives.” (Oooh… passionate and intellectual-- that’s quite a compliment!)
Over 400 hits on YouTube in 8 days for Nikki Magennis’s incredible Steamlust book trailer! Have you seen it yet??
Isn’t it beautiful? (And I am so honored Escape the Clouds let us use their beautiful music. It’s perfect!)
Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance releases on October 11!
This week’s topic at Oh Get A Grip! is blood. Here is a taste of my take on the subject:
It seems that as much as 10% of a pregnant woman’s blood contains fetal DNA. Which means that, if that DNA could be isolated from the mother’s DNA, doctors would need only do a blood draw to determine all sorts of genetic information that now involves invasive, painful and potentially risky procedures. Imagine the possibilities: with a single needle stick, being able to tell if your unborn child is carrying a genetic disorder. It boggles the mind.
It is also mind boggling to know that not only is my body possessed by the creature that wriggles and squirms and makes my belly bulge in odd and uncomfortable ways-- but this creature is also in my very blood. I am not myself. I am two people. For now. And in two weeks when a surgeon’s scalpel separates us, he will still be part of me. For always. Much like my writing, sent out into the world, is still a part of me. Always.
The word legacy has historically been used to describe what men leave behind. Sons, land, reputation, laws-- the word legacy is filled with masculinity. It is about making a mark on the world, something women were long denied even though it was their blood that flowed to bring those men into the world. My two boys will set their own paths and make their own marks on the world and will carry in their veins the blood that contains my DNA. My legacy, or part of it, in blood and flesh.
You can read the rest here: Flesh and Words
This week’s topic at Oh Get a Grip! is “Soundtrack.” I wrote about music as inspiration and the first story I wrote after Patrick was born (which appears in Rachel Kramer Bussel’s new anthology Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women.
Music comes and goes from my life-- sometimes little more than background noise, other times providing much needed creative inspiration. I go through musical phases-- times when I will pop in a favorite CD and listen to it again and again… for months. Or times when I discover a new (or old) favorite singer and have to listen to every song they ever recorded. Or times when a friend will turn me on to a new song outside my usual musical tastes and I will find myself being immersed in a whole new world.
Post-baby #1, I spent a lot of time listening to music. I needed a break from the usual household noises, which were either total silence or heartbreaking infant wails. It was winter, my husband was deployed and it was just the babe and me. There were days when the lyrics to the songs I played were the only adult voices I heard.
You can read the rest of my journey back to writing (thanks to Jakob Dylan) here: I Ain’t Changed, But I Know I Ain’t the Same
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I’m also over at Girls Who Bite today, blogging about vampires and other lovely paranormal creatures. I’m very much looking forward to Delilah Devlin’s new anthology and I love, love, love the blog she has set up to promote the book! Do stop by and check out the interesting interviews, excerpts and contests going on!
Have you ever daydreamed about running away? Have you ever actually followed through? I wrote about my latest running away fantasy over at Oh Get A Grip! this week:
The text message made my heart race. No, not in that way. In a different way-- a way that stirred the wanderlust in me.
“There is a two year tour to London that starts in February 2013...”
Oh!
The text was from my husband, a naval officer. The tour would have us packing up and moving to London for two years. The logistics are a bit mind boggling at the moment, but the opportunity to live in London for two years seems worth it. Almost?
I have have had a love affair with London since 2003, but I’ve been in love with England since I was a little girl. The monarchy, the pageantry, the history… England was where a woman could be a powerful leader-- and a princess in a castle. At least, that’s the way my young imagination interpreted it.
I read about Henry VIII and his wives-- I memorized their names and their stories. I got up early to watch Princess Diana get married and I watched her funeral with tears in my eyes. I didn’t get up early to watch Prince William’s nuptials, but I recorded it. When I was a teenager, a British accent would make me swoon. Not much has changed.
I’m not good at running away-- not in any real sense. I may have fantasized about running away when I was a kid, but I never attempted it. The price to be paid when I was dragged home was simply not worth the risk. I dreamed of running away to Europe, to travel the world, to study abroad, to be a photo journalist… but as deep as the wanderlust runs, there is also a need for comfort and consistency and a sense of place and identity.
Read the rest of the story and tell me about your experience with running away. And check in at the Grip tomorrow when the brilliant and beautiful Alana Noël Voth will be guest blogging.
Duty and Desire: Military Erotic Romance for Women
Edited by Kristina Wright for Cleis Press
Submission Deadline: October 15
Publication: Fall 2012
Payment: $50 per story and two copies of the book, on publication
E-mail:
The only thing stronger than the call of duty is the call of desire! This anthology of military erotic romance will serve up a team of hot-blooded men (and women) from every branch of the military who serve their country and follow their hearts wherever they might be stationed. When the mission is done, the unit is recalled or the ship pulls into port, they set their sights on a new target—the pursuit of passion and love. In and out of uniform, stateside and abroad, these military warriors meet passion and danger head on. All’s fair in love and war—in and out of uniform.
Heterosexual in focus with a female audience in mind, Duty and Desire will include stories of U.S. soldiers, sailors, aviators, Marines and Special Forces (Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, etc.). However, members of the British Royal Navy, Israeli Army and all other international military personnel are welcome, as well! The usual taboos apply. While I won’t hold you to the letter of the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), I do not want to see stories with military members engaging in illegal activities.
In erotic romance, the sexual component is critical to the development of the romantic relationship. According to Romance Writers of America, a romance must include two key elements: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying, optimistic ending. So be sure to give me a romantic story with scorching hot sex and a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending.
Submission Guidelines: Unpublished stories only, no simultaneous submissions. The desired story length is 2,000-4,500 words. Double-space and indent the first line of each paragraph. Do not put extra spaces between paragraphs. Include your full contact information (legal name/pseudonym, mailing address and phone number) and a bio of 50 words or less written in the third person. Please paste your story into the body of your e-mail and attach it as a Microsoft Word .doc file. I will consider up to three stories per author.
Payment will be $50 per story and 2 copies of the book upon publication. Contributors retain the rights to their stories. Please note that Cleis Press has final approval over the manuscript.
Send your submission to with Submission: Story Title in the subject line. Please direct any questions to the same address.
About the editor:
Kristina Wright (http://www.kristinawright.com) is the editor of the Cleis Press anthologies Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women, Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance and the forthcoming anthologies, Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance, Best Erotic Romance 2012 and Lustfully Ever After: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance. Kristina’s first anthology, Fairy Tale Lust was nominated for a Reviewers’ Choice Award by RT Book Reviews and was a featured hardcover alternate of the Doubleday Book Club. Her erotica and erotic romance fiction has appeared in over eighty print anthologies, including With This Ring, I Thee Bed (Harlequin Spice); Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica (Avon Red); Nice Girls, Naughty Sex (Seal Press); three editions of Best Women’s Erotica (Cleis Press); four editions of Best Lesbian Erotica (Cleis Pess); six editions of the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica (Running Press) and the erotic romance collections Seduction, Liaisons and Sexy Little Numbers (Black Lace). She received the Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense from Romance Writers of America for her first novel Dangerous Curves, which was published by Silhouette Books. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Passionate Ink. She is also a book reviewer for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association and the book club moderator for the Sexis Magazine’s Naked Reader Book Club at EdenFantasys.com. She holds degrees in English and Humanities and has taughtEnglish Composition and World Mythology at the community college level. She lives in Virginia and is married to a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
