by Mlissa | Dec 18, 2012 | Guest blogs
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Melissa Schroeder. I write historical, contemporary and futuristic romances, with heat levels from sensual to erotic. My best-known series is my contemporary erotic romance Harmless series. A big thanks to Lissa for having me on her blog today!
The Harmless series is having its first committed ménage of the entire series. I have had scenes with ménages, but this is the first time I have three people in a relationship in the book. I have written an MMF before in my book The Last Detail, but this one is longer and much more involved.
I think the thing that surprised me the most was Rory. He was the newest character, only having been mentioned in A Little Harmless Fascination. Zeke and Maura had appearances in A Little Harmless Lie and A Little Harmless Fascination. The first part of their story will be told in the free story out later this month in Prelude to a Fantasy. So, Rory was my wildcard.
Rory and Zeke go way back to their teenage days in Ireland. Their affair started years before and has been off again and on again until recently. They’re now living together at the beginning of the book. Rory is the Dom in the relationship, but only with women. And that is the component in their relationship they are both missing. Both men are bisexuals and have enjoyed threesomes before, but they have never had anyone they knew well. When Rory realizes how much Zeke is still in love with Maura, he pulls her into the relationship with the idea that Zeke will “work her out of his system.” Then, things get interesting fast and mainly because of Rory.
Rory McAllister is a Dom in the extreme. His mother died when he was young and his father was a drunken bastard. There is just no other way to describe his father. So, he tries to control everything, hence the holiday ménage idea. One thing I didn’t expect was just how soft that gooey center was. Rory definitely shows the world a hard exterior. It was the only way he could survive the kind of childhood he had. Zeke knew it well. It was one reason I think Rory came back to him over the years. But with Maura, it seemed to strip away so much of the barriers he had constructed.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching him completely fall for Maura. I didn’t expect it to be so hard, so fast, but it was and I think it took both Rory and I by surprise. I hope that readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Melissa Schroeder is a military brat and military wife who fell in love with romance after accidentally picking up a Linda Howard book. Since her first release in 2004, she has had releases with eight publishers and has topped many bestseller charts, including A Little Harmless Sex that was named one of the top 100 Bestselling Nook Books of 2010. A Little Harmless Fantasy is her fiftieth release.
You can find Mel all over the web.
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FANPAGE
HARMLESS ADDICTS – Mel’s private reader group of Harmless readers. Contests, sneak peeks seen nowhere else, and parties at cons she attends.
HARMLESS SERIES PAGE
THE CURSED CLAN SERIES PAGE
Mel also writes as Kiera West.
I am putting out a prequel to A Little Harmless Fantasy called Prelude to a Fantasy. It is going to be a free story that tells about the night that Zeke and Maura started their relationship. As a reader, do you like free short prequels or sequels? Every commenter gets their name in the hat for a $25 GC!
by Mlissa | May 7, 2012 | BDSM
I was, in a word, thrilled when I received an email from my favorite BDSM author, Eden Bradley, inviting me to participate in this event. Just looking at the names on this list… I am truly in exceptional company.
We all feel different about BDSM, what it means, what it signifies. It’s individual in how it plays out in someone’s life and what it is to me will be something else to another. We all have different levels of experience. Some of us may not have any experience at all beyond in depth research. But I think we all have a respect for the lifestyle that comes through in our writing.
My own exploration into BDSM has taught me respect for different opinions, different feelings, different avenues, different sexualities. Pain has taught me focus and to breathe. Bondage has taught me release of control in a way that nothing else ever good and to just accept. Spankings, floggings these things have taught me the benefits of tears, of emotional release of pent up stress. Discipline has taught me…discipline, to do as I should which isn’t always what I want or what is expected, it has taught me to think before I act, to think over what has already been done, to focus me on what is ahead. Punishment has taught me respect of authority, how to face my mistakes and missteps. I have been taught humility, and to accept myself.
BDSM has opened my eyes in a way nothing else I’ve ever encountered has. I am profoundly grateful I happened up on the lifestyle years ago. And yes, the sexual benefits are…incredible. But it’s not all or even mostly about sex. Not for me at least. There’s more, much more below the surface.
The media, in television and movies, has promoted BDSM to be deviant, to be maybe not wrong, but not exactly right or acceptable, that there’s always something that could have been ‘fixed’ about the person or changed about them so they didn’t want or need these things any longer. It’s a shame the lifestyle is viewed this way, is broadcast this way. But, it’s easy to cast a shadow over things that aren’t understood…
I hope you’ll come visit on Wednesday and Thursday over at the Smutketeers blog. There are giveaways, as well as questions and answers.
If you have a chance before then, check out some of the authors listed. You might have read them all or there maybe some new to you ones…
~lissa
by Mlissa | Feb 20, 2012 | Giveaways
Wednesday is my actual birthday, but as some of you know, I usually have a month long celebration on my blog here. I didn’t do it this year…obviously, but never fear, I’ll be back to it next year with authors and bloggers telling stories and giving away presents to readers. For now, though, you’ll have to settle for it just being me.
Presents this year will consist of books (including my new release, Forever In Blue Jeans, book 3 in my Blue Jeans and Hard Hats series), gift cards, tote bags, coffee items, cupcake items, and the big one…no, not an ereader, not an iPad, we authors do those all the time, but rather, a Keurig.
Yes, this one. It brews 3 cup sizes, you can program the time on and time off, even program the water temperature. I adore mine. Y’all know I adore mine. Unless I’m having iced coffee crack, I use my Keurig every day. It might be for hot water to make hot chocolate for the family, or to use the already hot water for instant oatmeal, but it gets used every day. You can get tea, coffee, and cocoa in K-cups. I generally prefer the coffee or tea or just hot water. I don’t care for the hot cocoa K-cups, but that’s just me, I know others who love them.
So, that’s the birthday list… Don’t be surprised though, if I change it up a little and add a few other little things here and there.
Today, is a tote bag I found at Barnes and Noble. It’s bright, colorful, and perfect for toting books.
I know many still read print books, but whether you do or not, you can never have too many tote bags (okay, you can because I’ve been told I have too many, but…I don’t listen and neither should you). Along with the tote bag, you will receive 3 books. What 3 books is up to you. Whether digital or print (up to $15 per book), is up to you.
What do you have to do?
Tell me what 3 books or what series you’ve always wanted to read, but just never have.
Are there classics like Linda Howard, Julie Garwood, Elizabeth Lowell, or Susan Johnson that you’ve never read and wanted to?
What about Nalini Singh, Larissa Ione, or J. R. Ward?
How about Shayla Black or Maya Banks? Delilah Devlin? Lori Foster? Dakota Cassidy?
Mari Carr? Vivian Arend? Cat Johnson? Melissa Schroeder? Samantha Kane? Cherise Sinclair? Moira Rogers? Eliza Gayle?
Tessa Dare? Jess Michaels? Julia Quinn? Lisa Kleypas? Nicole Jordan? Courtney Milan?
There are so many to choose from and those names above don’t even scratch the surface of good books out there. I haven’t read even a fraction of all the books I want to read, of all the books I keep saying I’ll get to just as soon as I can. So, tell me, what do you want to read that you simply haven’t yet?
The winner of the tote bag and books will be chosen Friday by noon and posted Friday afternoon. There will be giveaways all week long here on my blog. There will be one on my Facebook Fan Page as well, along with one during the Author Chat at Righteous Perverts on Wednesday night, February 22nd. So, feel free to come by and ‘Like’ my Fan Page, feel free to drop by the chat Wednesday night and meet some authors and fellow readers. Of course, none of these extras are required, but I did want to give you the options of all presents.
Most questions you’ll have to answer this week are about birthdays, so…be ready to divulge information. 😉
Have a great Monday, y’all… Oh, and don’t forget, you have until 6PM EST today (Monday, February 20th) to enter to win books or M&M’s from my celebratory post after Kyle Busch and the #18 M&M’s Toyota won the Budweiser Shootout in Daytona on Saturday night. Click here to be taken to that post…
~lissa
