Category: Uncategorized

What’s in a Hero?

As an erotic romance author, my biggest goal is to have my work appeal to readers who enjoy their romance on the steamier side. Well, I’m a reader as well as a writer, and I love noticing how other writers bring out the best qualities of a sexy hero and heroine. After all, if those main characters don’t make our hearts go pitter patter, it’s likely the book as a whole won’t either. So this week, my question to you is, what makes a hero—the male lead—someone you can root for and love?

Years ago, a reviewer said of Cooper in The Cinderella Curse that “Dee sure knows her men.” That comment made me happy because I love men and I love making them come alive in my books. Cooper, the photographer who makes over Charlotte, Cinderella style, is more of a beta hero. He is strong and confident and right there on hand to help Charlotte recognize the beauty he saw in her even when she was a “plain Jane.” He helps, but he doesn’t rush in and impose his will on her.

The space jockeys in The Bride of the Pryde, however, are all alpha men: domineering, quick to make demands and even quicker to expect them to be carried out. Good thing the heroine, Susan, is just as alpha. Still, as a woman, she responds to their total maleness when she comes up against them (pun intended).

I’ve written all kinds of heroes in my erotic romances, but I’m interested in what you think make a hero wonderful. Is it his strength, his humor, his decisiveness, or tenderness? Do you like a man to stand strong but silent beside his heroine when they’re with others but take charge between the sheets or do you like him to express his will with the heroine in all ways?

We all have men in our lives, fictional or real, who make us sit up and take notice. Let me know your favorite hero and what appeals to you about him. Thanks!

How Much of Myself Do I Put in My Writing? #MFRWauthor

Someone just asked me the other day if a character I wrote in Passionate Destiny had anything to do with my husband, Jack. The character’s name is Jackson, and while his character is not much like hubby’s, I like to include some variation of Jack’s name in most of my books. (Ever notice how many heroes and/or villains are named Jack?) If I don’t actually use his name, I usually add something of him, like noting his alma mater, Virginia Military Institute (go, VMI!), in Impatient Passion, or a description of where he took me on our honeymoon in my latest book, Naval Maneuvers. I think every author puts something of themselves in their books—we draw from what we know or have experienced, right?

I think also, that writing itself is such a personal endeavor. We’re often writing alone, in our own little worlds. I feel like each and every book is a kind of mini-Me in some way. Can’t get much more personal than that. 😉 My biggest goal is that the personal bits I add to my works will be liked and enjoyed by readers!

Thanks!
Dee S. Knight
#MFRW Blog Hop
Impatient Passion
Passionate Destiny
Naval Maneuvers: coming soon from Black Velvet Seductions

Buster the Labrador Retriever (#MFRWauthor first memory)

I have found that the older I get the faster time seems to go and the more nostalgic the memories, so this was a great topic for a blog.

When I was very young, %#@!* years ago, my mom had a big, black Labrador Retriever. Man, I loved that dog! And mostly because he let me do anything to him—pull his ears, ride him like a pony, fall asleep on him. My grandmother’s house had a big porch with concrete steps leading down to the sidewalk and street. Mom would put me out there while she sat just inside the house and tell Buster (the dog’s name, not mine), “You watch her now and don’t let her get near the steps.” By golly, if I dared move toward the steps he would nudge me back. I couldn’t have asked for a better protector or friend. Buster was my first introduction to dogs and I’ve loved Labs since. We’ve never had another Lab, but I grew up around beagles and shelties, both great breeds though not with a place in my heart like Buster.

Thanks!
Dee S. Knight website
#MFRW Blog Hop

A wicked or evil act? Infamy! by Seelie Kay

Infamy Seelie Kay

Release Date: Jan. 4, 2019
Publisher: Extasy Books
Romantic Suspense, three flames

An Interview with Seelie Kay:
Q. Why do you write romance?

Because I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture in my stories.

Q. Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I also love strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.

Q. Why did you write Infamy?

The characters featured in this story—Sheikh Harun Ali and his wife, Marianne Benson–are both lawyers who focus on international law and their practice is devoted to compensating the victims of terrorism. So I was looking for a new hook, something on the horizon that could pose a serious threat to the world and in particular, the United States. I found it in an article on advances in “cloaking” technology or making planes disappear. For years, we have had stealth planes that do not appear on radar, but can be seen in the air if anyone is looking. I wanted to take that a step further: What if someone created a means to actually cloak a plane and hide it from everyone’s view? What if that technology fell into the hands of terrorists? And “Infamy” was born.

Q. How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?

After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens through which I view the world and that naturally guides my characters and plots. Little peculiarities that I have witnessed in lawyers and the law always work their way into my stories.

Q. Any plans to write outside the romance genre completely?

Actually, I ghostwrite non-fiction for other professionals—doctors, lawyers, financial gurus—so I dip my toes into a lot of different genres. However, I have been itching to write a book about a relative who founded a religious cult. I researched it for years and found a lot of information that had been buried. I have a pile of paper a foot high. Someday, I need to go through it carefully and start writing. I have the interest, just not the time.

Blurb:
Infamy. An evil or wicked act. Terrorists bent on revenge have found a way to make planes disappear from the sky, without a trace. And when one winds up buried in a Wisconsin cornfield, it’s a race against time to rescue the passengers from certain death.

When international law attorney Sheikh Harun Ali is lured to the Amazon and warned of a frightening plot against the United States, he and his wife, Marianne Benson, enlist the assistance of their neighbors, covert agent Cade Matthews and his wife, Constitutional Law Professor Janet MacLachlan. Ultimately, these feisty lawyers are pushed to the wall, desperate to find a plane that has been buried in an unknown cornfield, the passengers still on board. The terrorists’ hatred for the Alis is absolute—the Alis once left their organization bankrupt and broken—but they hate America more. And their fiendish games are just beginning. They are seeking a much bigger prize, one that could destroy a nation and possibly the world. An act that will live in infamy.

Infamy Seelie Kay

Excerpt:
Cade grasped his water bottle with both hands. “Before his brother died, he said eight words.”

Harun nodded. “They are going to make American planes disappear.”

Dianna’s eyes grew wide.

Anders rubbed a hand over his face, then through his long dark hair. His deep green eyes stared up at the ceiling of the plane. “Fucking hell. Nine-eleven all over again.”

“That is our fear,” Harun said. “However, so many precautionary measures are in place in this country, simply hijacking planes and flying them into buildings is no longer easy. They must have a different plan.”

Cade emitted a heavy sigh. “And that is what we need to figure out. What exactly do those eight words mean? For example, he did not specify that the planes would disappear in America, which could mean that they will disappear abroad or over oceans.”

Anders sat up straight. “And disappear could mean many things. Crash. Hijack. Pull a Malaysia. How many ways can you make a plane disappear?”

Buy links:
Publisher: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2291-2-infamy/
Amazon: coming soon
Smashwords: coming soon
Barnes and Noble: coming soon

Snatching Diana -- Infamy Seelie Kay

About Seelie Kay:
Seelie Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than 30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. When she writes about love and lust in the legal world, something kinky is bound to happen! In possession of a wicked pen and an overly inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, and The President’s Wife.

When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. She resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

Ms. Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Author links:
www.seeliekay.com
www.seeliekay.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SeelieKay
Facebook
Amazon author page

Prior Books:
Kinky Briefs
Kinky Briefs Too
Kinky Briefs Thrice
Kinky Briefs Quatro
Kinky Briefs Cinque
The Garage Dweller
A Touchdown to Remember
The President’s Wife
Snatching Diana
The President’s Daughter

Coming soon:
Cult (Part Three, Feisty Lawyers): TBD
Seizing Hope (Divorce Divas anthology): TBD