Bittersweet Mysteries

Odd title, I know, but kind of appropriate, considering my topic. I got to thinking the other day (uh oh) about the past because of a story idea rolling around in my head, and I remembered something that had somehow slipped into one of the untidy little closets of my mind. There are many, so it was lost for a good long while, but I apparently opened a cognitive door and out it tumbled.

Before I go further, let me ask you: Do you remember your first kiss? How intense the whole experience was? I know some of you do, because we've blogged here about it before and the comments were wonderful. Well, my first kiss was wonderful, too. It was the whole crush-on-the-guy-who-didn't-seem-interested-after-the-date that sort of ruined the rest of the year for me. Oh, it was one of those puppy love kinds of things, and the truth be known, I dated him on the rebound from another crush, so I was vulnerable. I spent hours thinking about him and what I'd done or hadn't done to make him lose interest and why the kiss didn't mean as much to him as it did to me and blah blah blah--all that boy drama. I learned a great deal about myself from this one little event, and, like many experiences in our teen years, it shaped me and my ideas about romance and love and, of course, kissing.

Great heroine stuff, eh? lol

But that's not the mysterious part. The memory that came back to me was that just before he asked me out, I found the prettiest little ring. It looked like a gemstone, but it was cheap and fake. I liked it, though, because I'm easily distracted by sparkly things, and since I found it on the sidewalk, I just slipped it on my finger and made it mine. So, right before this incredibly intense experience in my life, I found this mysterious little ring. Months later, after I finally figured out what a creep the guy was and my better sense prevailed, I realized the ring was gone. I went to put it on one morning, and it had disappeared from my dresser. I never saw it again.

Being a writer, I think I always wondered if it was coincidence, or was there something about that ring that put those events in motion that changed my life forever...with one kiss? Strange, isn't it?

The other mystery is much sweeter and way more romantic and has to do with kissing as well. Last week, I got an idea for a scene in a story and, as usual, asked my DH to help me with a little research. He, as usual, happily obliged. :)

The scene calls for the heroine to have her eyes closed and for the hero to unexpectedly kiss her. Not original, but still kind of sexy. So I closed my eyes and told DH to kiss me when he felt like it. He waited a second, and then brushed my lips with his. My knees went weak, among other physical reactions. It was WOW. We tried variations thereof, like his touching my face and taking me into his arms, all with my eyes closed and not knowing quite when the kiss would happen. It was amazing!

The mystery is why this type of kiss affected me so, and I have to tell you that until I find the answer, I plan to be a super sleuth and keep replaying the scene until the mystery is solved. lol

What about you? What little mysteries are hidden inside you? Anyone care to share? Please do, and happy, happy reading!

February - The Month of Love

As lovers of romance, we don't need an excuse to celebrate love. But the rest of the world likes to use February, as the month of Valentine's Day, to talk about love and romance. Here at Fierce Romance, we like to talk about those subjects all the time!



Red Sage is kicking off a brand new, up-to-date website to help you to more easily access their erotic and emotional stories of love and romance. There were admittedly some problems with the old site and I just want to point out that anyone who wanted to buy a copy of my November release, The Better to Eat You With, (or any other Red Sage title) but had a problem accessing the link, I'm happy to let you know that the glitches are fixed. You can now get your very own copy of my twisted take on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. Be sure to check out the new website.



And don't forget to stop over to the Red Sage Revealed blog. All month Red Sage authors are blogging about their hottest heroes and heroines and giving away free books as well!

Nothing is more romantic than a kiss. It's so intimate, lips brushing, breaths mingling, bodies only a heartbeat away, or maybe pressed up against each other. I love romantic movies and movie kisses get me everytime.

I'm up for some good romantic movies to watch this February, um and the other 11 months of the year. I'm ready to add to my Netflix queue. What movies would you recommend??

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Keeping the Fires Burning -- Creatively and Otherwise

Holiday times are lots of fun, but they can also become stressful. Yesterday while at a mall, I decided I wouldn’t let this busy time of year get the best of me. I entered the lot and the sea of vehicles jockeying for a parking place. Two kind drivers smiled and yielded the right of way, and I journeyed through the lanes. With temptations abounding and parties planned this month, I’d already decided parking farther away was the perfect plan. Of course, the fact space was at a minimum also set this notion in motion.

The best part of my adventure was running into some old friends and briefly catching up on what was going on in our worlds. A chat with a gentleman while browsing books started a conversation that found us discussing current fiction works of merit. After some time spent checking out various stores—and I wasn’t even shopping for gifts—I found a great bargain and then headed for the car.

Though I wasn’t at the shopping complex for too long, it seemed as though the parking lot had shrunk and vehicles would soon have to park on the curbs. A chilly wind slapped my cheeks, and I wrapped my scarf tighter. Bumper to bumper I inched my way toward the highway and freedom from the shopping frenzy. The interstate was close by, and I pointed my car toward it. With the radio on, I longed for an escape—a comforting and/or pampering escape.

Sound familiar?

If it does—or even if you’re curious as to what routes I take to remedy such desires—read on. Here are some pampering possibilities for solo or enjoyment with a significant other. Guaranteed to raise heart rates and warm you from head to heel.






Solo –






Fill your bathtub with glorious bubbles and bask. Include a bath tray and read a favorite book or sip a yummy beverage. Soak away the stress.






Treat yourself to a homemade facial mask or give yourself a sassy pedicure/manicure. He’ll appreciate your beauty and won’t be able to resist touching, kissing and tickling you.






Find some childhood photo albums and take a trip back in time.






Surround yourself in silence and practice yoga or meditation. This will slough off stress, clear your mind, and balance your mood.






Bake something extra sinful such as special brownies, cookies you’ll frost, or a festive cake. Call a couple friends and have them come over for chatting and coffee/tea while you share the pastries of the season before they spoil.






With a Great Guy –




Pick your favorite scented lotion or oil and get in touch with each other. Massage is a magical way to make stress and sore muscles disappear while making some pretty wonderful memories.






Hang out beneath the mistletoe from time to time. He won’t have any problem finding you there.






Light the fire in the hearth and then build the loving spark to a bonfire with your special guy. Heat doesn’t have to only be coming from the burning logs.






If there’s snow on the ground, build a snowman. Tossing snow at each other and tumbling into the cold stuff is fun and will eventually find you heading inside to warm up together and continue the playful moments.






Head for the mountains or a favorite retreat where the two of you will be alone. Each breath of cold air will find you hungry for the hugs and kisses the guy beside you will give. Start with an Eskimo kiss and explore some winter fantasies together.

Wishing you all the best for the holidays and beyond,

Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED (Recommended Read) -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Spicing up the Holidays--Tis the Season for...

After enjoying delicious food on Thanksgiving, I’m more than ready for some eye candy. Okay, so I’m ready for eye candy any day, 364 days a year (with an extra yummy day each Leap Year). Face it, no calories, but a feast for the eyes. Fantasies can take flight without having to wait for boarding or suffer delays at the security-clearance areas. Here are some holiday delights of which you can have second—and third—peeks without putting on an ounce.


Santa, Baby, don’t worry about putting those presents down the chimney. Just bring yourself…I’ll take care of the midnight snack.

What’s more delicious than any holiday buffet? A group of gorgeous men.

Whisper what you really want …









I prefer this to finding any needle ….






Okay, Santa, you can leave your hat on …





And what did I find beneath my tree?





Now that you have my attention, what comes next?





Had to include a sexy cowboy – he’s in the spirit no matter what time of year. Horse? What horse? Grrr…..





Wishing you happy holidays,

Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED (Recommended Read) -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Second Chances at Love

Recently I’ve been pondering the profound effect a loving relationship with a great guy has on a woman's life. Every day demands are aplenty, and sometimes it seems life’s pleasures are waning. But we find we can always rely on the love of our significant other to provide moments of bliss and romantic escapism. Moments on which we cannot put a price but which gain more romantic interest in our hearts with every passing minute. When we find ourselves separated from our heroes and hunks for even a day, the desire for a re-connection becomes quite intense. We miss their delicious kisses, comforting words and the role they play in planning a life together. Though we know we’ll usually see them within a span of eight or so hours, what about the times life necessitates a longer-term separation? Times when we have no choice in the matter? Our careers, family or other circumstances may find us miles away from the one with whom we’re romantically involved. When this happens, we tap into the love stored in our hearts and practice patience knowing the reconciliation will find the loving feelings stronger than ever.

The heroine in my paranormal erotica romance novella, HELLE IN HEELS, is dealt a far more devastating blow in regard to her romance. Helle Hawthorn, the Devil’s daughter, finds herself banished from Hell. Though she’s never been one to allow even Satan to dictate her path in an otherworldly life, she’s forced to use her wits and intelligence to mastermind a way out of a dismal situation. Daddy Devil threatens to unleash his ultimate wrath on Earth if she fails to meet his demand within a certain timeframe. Once she escapes Hades and emerges in Sin City, Helle is faced with many setbacks and temptations—among them handsome men. Since she’s reconciled herself to the fact she’ll never see her former lover again, she decides to bring her own brand of pleasure and a healing touch to The Strip—one man, one massage at a time. She finds herself unable to forget Menlikus, but she also knows her survival, and the survival of her friends, depends on them keeping their cover as the owners and operators of a day spa for men. Helle indulges some fantasies with a few of Las Vegas’ finest, including a sexy stranger who listens as well as he makes love. Despite being able to satisfy some carnal cravings, Helle finds it impossible to forget Menlikus, and she finds herself measuring other men’s efforts against memories of times spent with him. In the sequel, TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN, Hellé and Menlikus are reunited but I'll not divulge whether or not they overcome the obstacles placed in their paths--some of which may prove fatal.



Click here for more information

Click here for a steamy excerpt and to watch the video



Click here for more information

Click here for a steamy excerpt


Confession time, readers. If you were almost 100% certain you’d never be reunited with your significant other, the love of your life, how easily would you make the transition to romance with another? Do you believe in second chances at love?

Wishing you all many happy reading moments,



Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED (Recommended Read) -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Fireworks--Not Only for the Fourth

Yesterday people across our nation enjoyed picnics, barbecues, and outdoor concerts. As the grills cooled, conversations heightened and the sun bid farewell to another Fourth of July. Dusk hovered and soon yielded to darkness. Anticipation built among those gathered. Sparklers fizzed and bottle rockets popped. Lightning bugs twinkled and melting ice cubes clattered at the bottoms of beverage glasses. A fiery ruby abstract design erupted, spangled the sky and sprinkled down. The fireworks had begun.

While I adore watching fireworks, this year my focus wasn’t on those brilliant bursts but on something more romantic. What do I think of first when I think of fireworks?

A kiss.

There are kiss offs. Kiss ups. Kiss and tells. Prince Charmings kissing Sleeping Beauties and awakening them from slumber.

But the best kiss of all is a kiss from the one you love. The one to whom you’ve given your heart.

Remember the first or last time your lips made contact with a special someone’s? Their warm, damp flesh pressing yours. How you breathed in each other. Tasted each other. A spark deep within caught, flamed from your neck to your knees and consumed your whole being. The embrace deepened and rendered you giddy. Speechless. Breathless. Heart pounding. Head spinning. Your hands, mouth and tongue searching and cleaving to the one with whom you were bound in a moment of ecstasy. He tipped you backward and traced his hand along your hip. Pinwheels spun in your brain. Your eyes were closed, but his image remained. He righted your heaving body and his mouth played over your chin and neck. He whispered something and you agreed. His muscular arms enfolded and lifted you. You looked into his eyes and searched his soul. What did you see?

Love.

Commitment.

And a promise that more passion lay ahead…

I’ll always remember my first kiss and my favorite kiss. Many years passed between the two, but one thing remains certain—I am a woman who loves being kissed! A kiss tells so much about the one with whom you’re intimate.

Click here to experience the romance of kissing. A fine art often forgotten in today’s fast-paced world.


Do you remember your first and your favorite kiss?


Wishing you all many happy reading and romantic moments,

Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave Exotika
TORMENTED -- Ellora's Cave (Recommended Read from Alternate-Read.com and Dark Angel Reviews)
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave Exotika,
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave Exotika
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Sunday Sundae (aka The Most Romantic Dessert)

As I pondered the blog topic for today, I let myself drift back in time to a special Sunday in May.

A Sunday memory made possible by the man of my wildest and most passionate dreams. Not a bit of breeze or cloud in the sky. A lush lawn and weeping willows. Birds serenaded us from the branches. Underneath one of the trees he’d scattered orchid petals and formed a heart. Although we’d fed each other bites of grilled filet, buttery baked potato and tossed garden salad, and sipped champagne, he asked me to close my eyes while he prepared our dessert. His footfall was cushioned by the blades of grass. I lolled inside the floral heart, my pulse pounding and body tingling. He returned after a short while, gently kissed my closed eyelids and tapped my mouth with something cold and metallic. A spoon, or so my curious tongue discovered. I peeked. He wore a wide grin, and his brown eyes flashed a familiar message. His left hand held a dish inside of which he’d created a mouthwatering sundae. Four large scoops of chocolate ice cream, each dripping with fudge sauce, wearing dollops of whipped cream and crowned with a cherry. He lay down beside me, and we took turns spoon-feeding each other. Laughing when some of the dessert trickled onto our chins. Wasn’t long before two of the frozen peaks disappeared and we rested the spoons in the pool of melted cream at the bottom of the dish. I lay on my back and closed my eyes again. At his request I opened my mouth, and he squeezed maraschino cherry juice over my lips and tongue. His kiss came faster than I could clean off the sweet stickiness and not only took away the cherry juice but also my breath. After that sneaky and sexy trick, I kept my eyes open wide. He reached behind the tree and brought forward the champagne bucket, now filled with a can of whipped topping. He sprayed a ring of cream around my mouth. Without looking away, he dunked the can into the ice bucket and pressed his lips against mine. Hot. Sweet. His tongue and mouth spreading and sharing the topping and another deep kiss. We embraced but not before he grabbed the can and started shaking it. I’ll never forget his next words—“You’d better get ready, because this dessert is far from over.”

He wasn’t kidding.

Ah, the sundaes of which fantasies are made and brought to life. Romantic moments and memories such as this one are part of the reason I enjoy writing romance fiction. After all, the love of a wonderful man can make all the difference in a woman’s life.






Wishing you all many happy reading—and romantic—moments,

Shawna Moore
TORMENTED -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave Exotika
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave Exotika
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Coming April 29 to EC Exotika
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Hot Kisses and Sexual Tension

"The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender." Emil Ludwig

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Since it's just passed and my Turn Up the Heat! workshop is just around the corner, starting March 2, I thought I'd talk about writing hot kisses into your romance stories. This is a tiny excerpt from my workshop.

The first kiss is an important step in any relationship or romance story. It’s an early destination of what the sexual tension has been building up to thus far. And the kiss also takes the sexual tension to a new, higher level of intimacy. For those who write romance, your reader has been anticipating the first kiss between your hero and heroine since page one. Make it a delicious reward, a feast for the senses. Put the reader right there, kissing your hero because that’s what she wants to do if you’ve heightened the sexual tension enough (and made her fall in love with him.) Let her experience the kiss along with your heroine. That doesn’t mean all kisses need to be from the heroine’s point of view. Far from it. Male point of view kisses can be highly sensual. No matter whose point of view the kiss scene is in, give the reader what she wants. A sizzling hot, yummy kiss.

A question for you: Which book, TV show or movie contains your favorite kiss scene along with heightened sexual tension? If you're a writer, do you enjoy writing kiss scenes (why or why not?)

Workshop: Turn up the Heat! Heightening Sexual Tension and Sensuality in Your Manuscript

Presenter: Nicole North

Date: March 2 - 27, 2009

Description: Editors want to buy spicy-hot romance stories now more than ever before. How do you do it? In this class we will discuss all aspects of sexual tension and sensuality and how they relate to the developing romance in your story. You'll learn tips for successfully building sexual tension over the course of the hero and heroine's relationship from first glance, through climax, to happily ever after. Several examples will be used to illustrate different nuances of hot romantic chemistry and how to employ them in your own story. Learn how to avoid clichés and use sexiness in fresh new ways. Strengthening sexual tension will take your story from ho-hum to so hot and delicious your reader can't put it down. We'll do exercises for hands-on learning. (Please be aware this course contains explicit and frank discussions of sexuality.)

**Topics covered**
Using the five senses more effectively
Sexy talk
Word choice
First kiss
Foreplay
First love scene
How to rebuild sexual tension after sex
Why point of view is important
Hot characters
Combining physical attraction and emotion
Body language
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Revising to make a sensual romance manuscript spicy or erotic

Fun Extras
Visual inspiration
Multimedia examples and exercises

About the presenter: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27, July 2009; Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29; and Kilted Lover, Red Sage. She has finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. She admits sexual tension and delicious love scenes are her favorite elements of romance and sprinkles them liberally through her stories. What others have said about her works: "This author handles sexual tension very well. Her characters are completely drawn to each other..." and "Wow! Talk about sexual chemistry. This story has it in spades. You're a natural in the romantic chemistry department." She has a BA degree in psychology. Please visit her website to learn more and read past student testimonials: http://www.nicolenorth.com

Cost: $25 non-members / $20 YRW members

To register please visit: http://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/6.html

Thank you!
Nicole