How did you start writing erotica?
The common advice to new writers is to write what you like to read. From the first time I “borrowed” one of my mom’s steamy romance novels as a teen, and kept turning back to re-read the “good” bits, I knew I liked my romance hot! When I started writing my first book, it was a given that there would be some super-hot love scenes. I pitched my first novella to a Red Sage editor at a conference and when she eventually bought the book, I knew I had found my voice.
What’s your favourite published work of yours and why?
It changes—usually it’s whatever I’ve most recently finished, LOL. My favorite characters so far are Becca from Nashville Naughty and Trent from Nashville Crush. Becca is sassy and self-assured—the kind of girl I always wanted to be. When I started Nashville Crush, I knew I wanted to write a damaged hero, and Trent fit the bill. I really felt connected to his struggle to come out on the other side of that darkness.
What erotic authors do you enjoy reading?
There are so many I enjoy! Once of my favorite erotic stories was actually a novella Mary Janice Davidson did for Red Sage (Love’s Prisoner in Secrets, volume 6). It’s hot and sext but still has plenty of humor. I also like Lora Leigh, because she doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the naughty stuff. Another author I discovered last year is Anna Zaires. Her Krinar series is amazing. I don’t typically read much sci-fi romance, but those sexy Ks are hot!!!
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2006 and was instantly stuck by how amazing this city is. Since I’m on book 6 of my Naughty in Nashville series, it’s obvious I’m inspired by Nashville. It’s a unique combination of culture and down-home friendliness. There’s an emphasis on the arts here, since so many creative folks make Nashville their home, but it’s a laid back jeans-and-cowboy boots type of place too. It’s hitting the bars on Broadway on Saturday and church on Sunday 🙂
Do you have any unusual writing rituals?
Not, not really. I have to say, though, when I’m stuck on something, the answer almost always comes to me when I’m in the shower and there’s no pencil and paper handy!
Where’s your favourite place to write?
Since I started writing when my kids were babies, I pretty much learned to write wherever and whenever. I’ve penned some very hot sex scenes at the McDonald’s Playland. My favorite place to wrote, however, is outdoors. I’m a nature girl and love being outside as much as possible.
Do your nearest and dearest know what you do, and if so, what was their reaction when they found out?
Yes, they know. When I sold my first book, my parents, grandparents and extended family were very excited for me. They told everyone they knew that I was getting a book published—even their Church Bible study groups! I kept warning them that it was pretty steamy. So when the book came out, my dad called me and told me my grandmother had read my book and said it was very sexy. Soft-core porn, I think is how it was described, LOL. I reminded him that I’d warned everyone about that, but I just don’t think they were getting the hint. My husband, my family and my in-laws are very supportive—they just don’t always read my books. Which is fine by me J
What was your ideal career when you were a child?
I totally wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid. Indiana Jones, all the way! I was lucky enough to go on a couple digs with my grandfather, who also had an interest, and I took a summer college course in archaeology and participated in a dig when I was in high school. I love history and read non-fiction books on different time periods, as well as watch a lot of documentaries.
How do you get yourself in the mood to write?
Sometimes it’s tough to get started, but when you have deadlines, you don’t’ have the luxury of waiting for the mood to strike. Sometimes I start by doing a word sprint—seeing if I can hit a certain word count goal in 30 minutes or an hour. By the time I’m done with that, my head is very much in the story and don’t want to quit.
What’s the best writing tip you’ve ever been given?
Anything Stephen King says in his book On Writing is good advice. One of my favorite pieces of advice is to write with the door closed and revise with the door open. A lot of my writer friends use critique groups, but I’ve found I have to write the whole draft and get the story to the point at which I’m happy. Then I can share. Getting feedback, good or bad, while it’s in progress really messes with my head.
If you get writer’s block, how do you get around it?
If I’m stuck. It’s usually because the manuscript has some sort of issue and I know it. It makes me want to avoid the manuscript altogether. I just have to force myself to sit down and figure out what the problem is and then brainstorm possibilities of how to fix it. Once I do that, I’m good.
If you could bring one of your characters to life, which one would it be and why?
Becca from Nashville Naughty. She’s that crazy friend you tell all your other friends about. She’d be so much fun to go out on the town with!
What’s your favourite genre within erotica and why?
I’m open to reading just about anything, at least once. I don’t like books with a lot of violence, however. I probably read contemporary erotica the most, but if it’s written well (like the Zaires series) I’ll ready sci-fi, historical, paranormal—all of it. I like a little light bondage in my romance and I’m a sucker for a hot friends-to-lovers story, too. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of the step-brother erotica and find many of those really sexy. Maybe it’s the sense of the forbidden that makes that trope work.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on the next full-length Nashville novel in my series. Nashville Surprise picks up where my companion novellas Nashville Fling and Nashville Flirt leave off (both are currently free at most vendors!) Country music star Bo Branson is definitely NOT the kind of guy my heroine, Sarah, thinks she needs or wants. She’s a sold, stable PhD candidate and doesn’t even like country music. But the chemistry between she and Bo is undeniable. She’ll have to figure out if that’s enough to warrant giving him a chance. This is definitely an opposites attract type of story! I’m planning an August release for Nashville Surprise.
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Excerpt:
He licked his dry lips and forced his mind back to his objective. “Tell me what you want.”
She looked down at him, then smiled. “First, I want you to undo your jeans. I want to see how much you want me.”
Thank God. Dan popped the button and carefully unzipped his jeans. Cool air and the release of pressure was a minor relief.
“Good. Now pull them down, just a little, but not all the way off.”
Dan tugged them down to his thighs, leaving his boxer briefs where they were. “How’s that?”
“Perfect.”
She got to her knees between his legs, which he couldn’t spread very wide, trapped as they were inside the legs of his jeans. Harper stroked him through the cotton of his underwear and he couldn’t suppress a deep groan. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She was going to cause an aneurysm if she decided to tease him like this for very long.
“Does that feel good?”
“Amazing,” he managed to get out through clenched teeth. “Totally amazing.”
“How about this?” She leaned in and her hair swept the bare skin of his thighs. He felt her breath on his dick and then her warm, moist mouth stroking him through his underwear. Her hand dipped down to cup his balls.
Unable to tamp the urge, he thrust into her hands, wanting more, needing more, but needing Harper to decide what she wanted even more.
“Harper.”
She stroked her hands up his chest, under his t-shirt to his nipples, which were as hard and pebbled as hers.
“I’ve always loved your body,” she said and pressed a kiss to his lower belly. “Hard and masculine, but earned through hard work, not hours in the gym.”
Her soft lips and tongue felt like heaven when she kissed and licked him. And hell, too. But he forced himself to lie still.
She shifted to straddle his torso and he could feel her wetness on his belly.
“I love what a big and strong man you are. And I’d not talking just about the muscles.” Harper continued to stroke his chest. “Take this off,” she said, coming to his t-shirt.
Dan quickly pulled it off and lay back again, looking at Harper, loving how much she was enjoying his body. He propped an arm under his head so he could see her better.
“Anything else?”
Harper leaned forward and bit at his nipple playfully. “Stuff I love or stuff I want removed?”
“Both. Either.”
She moved further up his chest and kissed the side of his neck. She threaded her fingers through his hair and it was all Dan could do to stay still and let her. He ached to kiss her, to hold her, to touch her as she was touching him. “I love it when you take control and love me so hard my orgasm almost sends me into a coma.”
That was all the hint Dan needed. In less than a second, he’d shoved down his underwear, flipped Harper to her back and was buried deep inside her.
He knew he let out a loud groan when her slick flesh enveloped him root to tip and he didn’t care who heard. He tangled his fingers in her hair roughly, knowing that’s what she wanted now. Dominance. Hell yeah, he could do dominance.
*****
BLURB:
When Harper Perry’s latest Hollywood debacle blows up the internet, the fallen starlet returns home to Nashville…and the man she left behind. She needs someone to make her Tennessee home livable–someone who will be discreet while she lays low and lets all the negative press blow over. Former lover Dan Ryan is just the handy man for the job. With her personal life being primetime tabloid fodder, her career on the skids, and her concert tour facing cancellation, Harper has a lot to figure out. The last thing she needs is the irresistibly sexy handyman working his way back into her life…and her bed.
Dan Ryan has never forgotten the girl who left town the second he confessed his feelings for her ran deeper than the sizzling hot hours they spent burning up the sheets. And with half a dozen women on speed dial, he’s tried! But once he sees Harper again, he knows why no other woman has ever touched his heart–he gave it away to Harper years earlier. Now that she’s back in town, however briefly, Dan is determined not to let Harper get away a second time…even if he has to give up everything he’s worked for to keep her.
*****
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Bethany Michaels is the author of over a dozen steamy contemporary novels as well as a few Regency-set historicals and light paranormals. The first book in her “Naughty in Nashville” steamy country music series, Nashville Heat, was a finalist in RT Magazine’s Reviewers’ Choice awards for Best Small Press Erotic Romance.
She also creates cover art for indie authors through Dragonfly Press Design (www.dragonflypressdesign.com).
When not writing, Bethany enjoys movies, travelling, the outdoors, volunteering with her kids’ scout troops and visiting the cool places around Nashville where her books are set. A native Hoosier, she now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and children.
Links:
Website: www.bethanymichaels.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethany.michaels
Twitter: @bmichaelsauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/bethanymichaels
Amazon Author Page (US): http://www.amazon.com/Bethany-Michaels/e/B0035SF1EE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1423733835&sr=8-2-ent
Amazon Author Page (UK): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bethany-Michaels/e/B0035SF1EE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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GIVEAWAY!
Be sure to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here.
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for hosting me today! Just wanted to let readers know that if I’m a “new to you” author, I have two freebies available for you to try–Nashville Heat and Nashville Fling. Both are available at all the usual retailers. Have a great day!
The series sounds really fun!
Sounds like a great series. Thanks.