Welcome to our blog!
Amy and Jennifer ARE Seduced by Books. We’re both in our 30’s, moms, close friends, work together, and share many of the same interests including our love of reading. Amy grew up in Maryland and has been obsessed with Vampires for as long as she can remember. Jenn grew up in Florida and loves the furry, the fey, and the fangs, in that order. Currently we are both in Orlando, FL. When we can be pulled away from books, Amy loves to bake and Jenn loves to take pictures and scrap.
We decided to create a place where we could direct friends, and acquaintances for, book suggestions/recommendations (Jenn’s been known to talk to strangers on the train while traveling in NYC). Once we started out with a simple page, we evolved from there. Now we are sharing our book reviews, fun comments, recipes, and giveaways. We try to give reviews on new releases, pre-releases, and oldies but goodies that we read, or are reading. We’re going to be adding author interviews for established and up and coming authors soon.

Friday, November 11, 2011

SCARLETT VALENTINE arrives with Awakening and a Giveaway

Scarlett Valentine is the alter ego of award-winning romance author, Kemberlee Shortland. Together they write Erotomance -- Erotic Romance.
Originally from Northern California, Scarlett has spent the last fourteen years living in Ireland. She's traveled extensively through Ireland and Wales. When she's not writing, she can often be found castle hunting.
Scarlett's stories cross subgenres to explore hetero, gay and bisexual relationships in a series of stories that include time periods from historicals and contemporaries, futuristics and science fiction, paranormal and suspense, and more.
Awakening is the first book in The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series and is available Nov 2nd  through Highland Press.
 
WELCOME – SCARLETT VALENTINE!!

The challenge of mixing erotica with historical romance
First let me say, thanks for letting me visit today. And thank you so much for hosting the last day of my tour. 11-11-11 is auspicious and I hope it means all good things to come for Awakening AND Seduced by Books.

I don’t know why, but I really enjoy historical erotica stories. I’ve read several subgenres—contemporary, futuristic, fantasy, etc.—but I’m always drawn back to historical. In particular, medieval.

It probably goes back to my love of knights in shining armor, heroic warriors, and strong heroines who can handle all the testosterone in the room.

I also really love castles. As an avid castle huntress, I’m drawn to this period of history so long in our past and can only imagine or read about it in historical texts. Being at an ancient castle, walking around abandoned rooms, and perhaps knowing a little history, my imagination runs wild thinking about all the things that went on in those chambers . . . or could have. Or maybe should have!

The medieval period was the beginning of a thousand years of modern invention and modern thinking. It was a time of European expansion, and in the last medieval period of North American expansion, and with it trade and tourism. And let’s not forget the spice trade, imports of exotic fabrics and jewels, and the age of chivalry.

Adding all of this up, and it lends itself to a very enticing setting—a mysterious keep high in the mountains; firelight and candles flickering over stone walls; the scents of beeswax, turf and possibly sandalwood in the air; mead warming by the fire; thick sheepskins warming the flagstones; and a bed covered in the finest silks and damask. Cue the music—maybe a little Carmina Burana—and it’s the perfect setting for a sexy romp!

I don’t find blending historical with erotica difficult at all. If anything, the romance of the period inspires me all the more. Or maybe it’s just the castles!

* ~ * ~ *
I wanted to say a big thank you to Seduced by Books and all of my other tour stops for making the launch of Awakening such an amazing experience. I hope everyone had as great a time as I!

Please log into my website to find out who is the grand prize winner of the $25 Amazon gift card, and for more information on further releases in The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series, such as book two, Beguiler!

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to drop me a note to let me know your thoughts on Awakening.

~ Scarlett
“What’s a little bondage between friends?”
Available now – Awakening, book one of The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series

SBB - We are lucky to have you on here – thank you so much for coming – love the post, you’re right, that ‘historical’ setting definitely does lead right up to the ‘romp’ as you put it!  Below find a quick excerpt from Awakening!  So happy to be able to share one with you guys! Comment below to be entered into the giveaway and Scarlett is known to give RANDOM Surprises to commenters :) !  The more comments the more chance - follow the rest of the tour here

He gazed at her slumbering form. Firelight danced over her flawless skin. She was the fairest woman he had ever seen, her skin perfection but for the flush in her cheeks as she thought to defy him, and that of the passion he awoke in her. The fairness of her features only served to accent the deep blush of her lips.
 Her lips.
 She did not kiss him like a novice. Following his lead, she kissed him back with equal alacrity. He felt she was yet unsure of her own power over him, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she could control him with a simple touch.
And her eyes were the palest of green. Or were they blue? He could not tell. He only knew they reminded him of pools of seawater ensnared in the white sands along Cymru’s coast, and just as translucent. He could gaze long into her eyes, searching their depths, letting himself be hypnotized by them.
Her features were gentle, innocent. It was as if she had never witnessed any of the world’s horrors, that her heart and soul were pure. In that she was now married to the likes of the Grave Knower was incredulous. More so incredulous was her fearlessness. She never cowered before him. Not even as she stood naked before him, challenging him with her gaze.
 Indeed, she was the very opposite of himself.
This book is out – GET YOUR HANDS ON IT! as if the cover isn't enough!!

Ysbail of Ellesmere is a pawn in her guardian's war. For decades there has been unrest between the marcher lords and Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd, King of Gwynedd. The most recent war had been the bloodiest she could remember in her eighteen years. Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys, and his allies lost untold numbers of men at the hands of Owain's soldiers. When a settlement of truce is presented to Madog, it's at Ysbail's expense. She is to marry Bedwyr ap Owain, one of King Owain’s bastard sons, and his most notorious henchman. If all the rumors and stories she's heard are true, she knows her marriage will be rife with horror and fear.

Since proving himself worthy with his sword, Bedwyr fights at his king's side. He's shed oceans of blood and sent untold numbers of men to their graves. He's become what his name foretold—the grave-knower. He's afraid of nothing, least of all death. All men fear him, including those who fight at his side, and sometimes even his own king. Terror of him lives within women's hearts; only the bravest of whores accept him into their beds. And children weave their own tales of the monster they hear him to be, embellishing the details to their own gruesome degrees.

When King Owain informs Bedwyr that he's to marry Ysbail of Ellesmere as part of a peace settlement with Madog, Bedwyr is furious. A man such as Bedwyr can only survive on the battlefield. For without love, hatred will send a man like him to the edge of insanity. Then push him over. But when Bedwyr sees Ysbail for the first time, blood-thirst turns to blood-lust, and he vows to show her that she should have no fear of him.

Thanks to Goddess Fish Promotions

10 comments:

  1. Thank you again for hostimg me today. I'm so sad that this tour is coming to an end, but I've met some really great people. And I hope Awakening will make the readers happy.

    I'm here all day if anyone has any questions or comments.

    I will be drawing the name of my stalker and the grand prize winner tomorrow, so everyone please log into my website for winners names, and I'll drop back here to post those names as well. So everyone who comments, be sure to put your email address on your messages so your entry can be counted!

    And don't forget, I'll be over at Whipped Cream's site starting the 28th for the week. Log into my website for details. www.scarlett-valentine.com

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  2. I'm sorry to see the tour end. You are officially on my list of authors. I am looking forward to reading AWAKENING very soon.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  3. Thanks for your comments, Mary. I've appreciated them all along. I'm not sure what I'm going to do after the tour is done. They say if you do something consistently for two weeks it becomes habit ;-) I guess I better get Beguiler done so I can do another tour!

    I hope you like Awakening. Please do email me with your comments when you're done. I'd love to hear what you thought.

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  4. Thanks, ladies, for hosting today. And thanks to Scarlett for being such a great author to tour. We had a wonderful time, too!

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  5. Hi Scarlett,

    Yes, good things do come to an end, but not all...I found your work and that doesn't end! Oh, and thanks for the bday wishes on my FB page! So to celebrate, I'm back again to figure out another question for you.

    I am a reader pretty much stuck in the 19th century. I love the Regency and Victorian periods best for my reads. But, the older I get, the more I find waters I want to dip my toes in. Historical Erotica is one that I'm looking at now...so it really is not true...you CAN teach old dogs new tricks! This old dog just got another year older today!

    Anyway, question time: What other eras and settings do you plan for your books? For example, will you be setting a story in North America and/or in a later time period? If so, when and where?

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  6. Happy birthday, Karen! What a great day to have a birthday . . . 11-11-11!

    Thank you for your comments about my never-ending work ;-)I appreciate the great reception Awakening has received so I'm definitely inspired to continue writing more stories in the series.

    Great question, as usual. I have set stories in North America (my traditional romance, that is, as my other self). A duet of short stories was set in my home town. They're currently out of print, but will be republished in the new year . . . Tutti-Frutti Blues and Dude Looks Like A Lady. They were originally part of the No Law Against Love anthology, where each story in the collection was based on some crazy law that actually existed, or still does. Back in 1986, it was illegal to eat ice cream on the streets of town. You had to either consume it in the shop/restaurant where you bought it, or take it to your car, or take it home. But you couldn't buy a cone and go window shopping! That law was repealed a couple years later. One still on the books but not enforced unless someone tries to sue the city is that one has to have a permit to wear high heels. The law was enacted in the 60s when heels were crazy-high and people broke their ankles on the cobbled streets when they tripped and fell.

    I've written two other stories set in the same area, but in earlier times -- Sarah's secret starts off in San Francisco and the story takes the heroine south to The Grove where the Chautauqua Methodists had one of their summer religious retreats (10 weeks every year from the mid 1800s). Those people eventually started living in the area and the town of Pacific Grove was born. Some of the original tent houses still exist and are protected, as is the community hall which is the oldest building in the town. My story Madeira is set a bit earlier than Sarah's Secret, during the time just before California became an American state.

    I definitely want to set other historicals in North America. I'm part Cherokee, among other things, and I'm fascinated with that part of my heritage. I would love to come up with a great Native American love story, or discover one during research that I can write about.

    As far as the rest of the ABC series goes, I'm definitely planning on as many settings and eras as possible.

    I'll tell you what, Karen, as a birthday present to you, how about YOU pick a time period and location for my C book. Give me a suggestion or three for a one-word C title. I'll come up with a story based on your location and time and write it. You never know. It could be written and published by this time next year! What do you say? Are you game?

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  7. I very much enjoyed *scribbles out stalking* following you on your blog tour, Scarlett! It has been great fun and I wish you the very best success!

    justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

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  8. Thanks for everyone's comments. As I'm ahead of most readers and I'm signing off for the evening, I will check in tomorrow for new comments before putting the tour to rest and organzing the drawing for the stalker prize and the grand prize.

    Please log into my website Saturday afternoon for the winners names! www.scarlett-valentine.com

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  9. Scarlett thank you so much for coming by - you were great - And Karen got the best birthday present - AWESOME!!! I (Jenn) thoroughly enjoyed Awakening - you are definitely on my Must read list. Please feel free to stop by any time - you let us know you are always welcome!

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  10. Hi Jenn,

    Thank you so much for hosting me yesterday. It was a lot of fun and I hope to be back for Beguiler if you'll have me. I'm glad you liked Awakening. I really appreciated your review.

    I'm posting winners this afternoon on my blog and FB and Twitter. www.scarlett-valentine.com for links.

    Thanks again. You're the best!

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