An Excerpt from “Eternally Yours: Bloodlines” by Scerina Elizabeth
Posted: September 20, 2017 Filed under: Books, Dark Fantasy, Erotica, Excerpt, Fiction, Full Moon Bites, romance, Speculative Fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: Bloodlines, Dark romance, Erotica, Eternally Yours, Excerpt, Scerina Elizabeth, Speculative Fiction, vampires Leave a comment
This is not the first time this author has appeared on Writing to be Read as a part of a book tour. At the end of July I had the pleasure of interviewing Scerina Elizabeth as a part of her tour for Nocturnia and Spellbound. Today’s post is a part of the Full Moon Bites book blog tour for her most recent releases, Eternally Yours and Fangalicious Divas, with an excerpt from Ms. Elizabeth’s erotica vampire romance novel, Eternally Yours: Bloodlines. The content may be adult in nature, so this post is for those eighteen and over only.
Unlike my book reviews, where I tell you what I think and rate the work for you, an excerpt speaks for itself and lets the readers decide. So, without further ado…
We all looked at each other, waiting for either Chloe or William to explain it all. It was Chloe who started.
“We had been working for your grandmother for over ten years. I was her housekeeper while William was the groundskeeper. We were the ones who managed the estate when your grandmother fell ill and was unable to handle things on her own. She was a beautiful woman who was the sweetest thing and very generous. She allowed us to live on the estate just above the horse stables. When she was in the last stages of her illness, she told us all about you and your whereabouts. She also told us about your dark family secret which she instructed us to tell you about once you arrived.”
She continued, “Your dark family secret is something you would not believe so for you to truly believe and understand, we must show you.” As she said that, she got up and waited for us by the door that led down to the cellar.
We all followed her down to the cellar where she stood in front of a steel sliding door that was padlocked and chained where she asked me for the keys. Expertly she rifled through the keys to the right one, unlocked the padlock and pulled the chain from the doors. She tossed the chains to the side and stuck the padlock in her pocket. Both she and William pulled the heavy sliding door open. There in front of us was another set of stairs made of stone that looked much older than the house itself. She lit a torch on the wall. Once there was light and we could see better into the stairwell, it looked like something that you would find back in medieval times, like an old dungeon or something. The smell was stale and musty. You could tell no one had been down here in years. She led us down to the lower level of the cellar where at the bottom of the stairs was another heavy, steel, sliding door – chained and padlocked like the one upstairs. She opened the door as she had done before, she knew exactly what she was doing which washed away any doubt I may have had of her. She seemed to know her way around this house and knew much about my family.
The inner room lit up as soon as the doors opened. It looked like a mausoleum, very sterile and white with hints of gold and silver here and there. In the heart of the room, were three white marble slabs and on top of each slab was a coffin.
The one in the middle was an enormous gold coffin with a massive silver crucifix was inlaid with rubies and diamonds in the center of it. Along the sides were more precious gems and it had detailed artwork covering it. It was gorgeous.
The two smaller coffins were bronze with smaller gold crucifixes covered in emeralds and diamonds on them. Just like the center coffin, the two smaller ones had gorgeous detailed artwork.
At the very front of the room in the center, were two silver columns that looked like a doorway. I figured it was mere decorations since two silver columns were not only covered in detailed artwork but more precious gems and diamonds. Not paying much attention and figuring it was just a decoration, I continued to take in the room. It was a family mausoleum clearly and I could understand in a sense why the dark family secret would be kept down here but what I still didn’t understand was – what was it? I was just about to find out because William began to speak.
“What lies in these coffins is your family’s dark secret. From generation to generation your family has watched over and protected the contents of these three coffins. In the center lies your great-great-grandfather Jacob LaBau and in the two smaller coffins lies your great-grandaunts Latrelle & Charlamaine LaBau.
Now what am about to tell you, you will have trouble believing and you might want to have a seat for this next part.” He gestured towards a marble bench on the side of the room and we did as he said.
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Interview with Author Scerina Elizabeth
Posted: July 31, 2017 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Erotica, Fiction, Full Moon Bites, Interview, Paranormal, romance, Writing | Tags: Erotica, Nocturnia, Paranormal, romance, Scerina Elizabeth, Spellbound Leave a comment
Today’s interview kicks off the Full Moon Bites blog tour for Scerina Elizabeth, a paranormal romance erotica author, who has recently released four novellas: Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night and Spellbound: The Awakening, Eternally Yours, and Savagely Yours: The Beginning.
Kaye: How did it happen that you’ve had four novellas released so close together?
Scerina: Actually, Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night was originally released on May 1st, 2017. But due to it being my first ever published book and wasn’t edited nor proofread – I had to go back and edit and revise it than re-release it this month after being edited and revised.
Spellbound: The Awakening was originally released on July 1, 2017 and Eternally Yours: Bloodlines will be released don August 16, 2017.
Eternally Yours was accidentally published and am in the process of rewriting it. It will be about a woman who grows up in foster care. After moving to New York City at the age of eighteen, she inherits her biological family estate back in Louisiana where she will learn all about her biological family and who she truly is. She will also discover a dark family secret which she is now responsible for.
There is a prequel to Eternally Yours that I am about to release within the next week or so called Savagely Yours: The Beginning, which tells all about the beginning of Eternally Yours.
I am currently in the process of rewriting Eternally Yours which will be available on August 16, 2017
Kaye: Would you like to tell us a little about Her Dark Angel of the Night (Nocturnia #1)?
Scerina: Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night was really my first true published novella. I wasn’t planning on publishing it but while writing this little story, I discovered how easy it was to self-publish and publish my own writings. I was told by two close friends who read the early stages of Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night to have it published as it should be made into a book. That it had actual potential to make it in the literature world.
Kaye: What can you tell us about Spellbound: The Awakening?
Scerina: After re-releasing Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night, I was told that my stories and characters should be more developed with more backstory to them. I did this in Spellbound: The Awakening, but turns out it was information overload which in turn did more damage to the actual story. A close friend told me that Spellbound: The Awakening would work best as a full-length novel more than a novella – which I plan on doing sometime in the future. Extending it into a full-length novel along with Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the night.
Kaye: You’ve written some very distinct works. Vampires, Dragon Shifters, Witches… What, if anything, do the three works have in common?
Scerina: I am a huge lover of Vampires, Shifters, and Witches – that is my area of specialty when it comes to Paranormal Romance Erotica. I not only enjoy writing such stories but I enjoy reading them as well.
Kaye: What can we expect to see from Scerina Elizabeth in the future? What’s the working title of your next book?
Scerina: Right now, two other Paranormal Romance authors and I have come together to collaborate with other authors (who are interested) in a collection of Paranormal, Horror, & Erotica short stories called HallowErotica 2017 that is due to be released on Halloween – October 31, 2017. You can learn more about HallowErotica 2017 and how to enter your short fiction works @ https://scerinaelizabeth.wixsite.com/hallowerotica2017
As for me personally, my next projects are:
Bitten by A She Wolf: A New Moon Rising book which is an American who is in Europe with his best friends and girlfriend. While celebrating his twenty first birthday in a club, he catches the eye of a she wolf who is on the prowl for a new mate. A she wolf who will stop at nothing to get what she wants even if it means stealing him from his current girlfriend to make him hers.
This will be a very interesting story. I am also in the process of working on a prequel to Nocturnia: Her Dark Angel of the Night and also the first book of another series called
Angel Falls will be about a Dragon-Shifter who has just awaken after hundreds of years of being asleep underneath a frozen sea after a shipwreck. He comes across a woman who was attacked by some kind of creature and takes her back to his home where he tended to her. This is the start of a very intimate relationship and she could possibly be his true love.
Kaye: As a paranormal romance erotica writer, what kind of research do you find yourself doing for your stories?
Scerina: I have always been a lover of anything and everything Paranormal Romance & Erotica. I have read numerous books and novellas based around these genres, also based on movies and shows which I watch. I don’t really do research as I go by memory of what I learn from other books, novellas, movies, tv shows, folklore, and of course superstitions. I add my own little twist to them to make them my own for my stories, to keep them original.
I usually do my research when I read other Paranormal Romance Erotica stories as well as a bit more research when I need more information about something in particular.
Kaye: What time of day do you prefer to do your writing? Why?
Scerina: I basically write whenever I feel inspired or motivated which is basically anytime really. I love to write when is quiet so that I can focus more on my stories and the creations of my stories.
Kaye: What is the one thing in your writing career that is the most unusual or unique thing you’ve done so far?
Scerina: The ability to create a unique world or environment for my characters that is unlike any other – originality. The ability to add my own personal twist to a legend or folklore or something that we so often hear about to make it my own.
Kaye: Are you a plotter or a pantser? Why?
Scerina: I like to say am a plotter, but sometimes the plot takes an unexpected turn and that is when I go with the flow of the story.
I guess you can say am both a plotter and go with the flow kind of author because my the story lines tend to change depending on what my inspiration is at the moment when am writing.
Kaye: What works best to sell books for you, as far as marketing goes?
Scerina: I love posting on Goodreads related Groups to promote my books and novella as well as in Facebook related group to promote. Twitter is another excellent promotional tool as well. I also promote my latest releases on my own site as well.
I love to post excerpts from my current projects to catch the interests of the readers to give them a little glimpse of my newest project – keep them on their toes so to speak. So when my book is released, they will want to read it.
I also love the idea of book promotional trailer videos and banner ads with quotes from the book as well.
Kaye: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Scerina: I love to read other Paranormal Romance Erotica stories, as well as watch reality t.v. I am a huge fan of real life paranormal reality shows and I enjoy watching any kind of Paranormal/Horror movie.
Kaye: What’s your favorite social media site for promotion? Why?
Scerina: My official site of course. But, I love to promote on Goodreads, Facebook, & Twitter. I love these places mainly because they are very popular and a lot of people who share the same interest and passion for Paranormal Romance Erotica are on there looking for new books and novellas to read.
Kaye: What is the strangest inspiration for a story you’ve ever had?
Scerina: Well this is one for a short story that is based on an old eighties horror film called The Unholy – a demoness who seduces priests. Not only does she seduce them but she also becomes pregnant with their unborn child making it, the anti-Christ.
I have a very creative imagination that can sometimes be very sick and twisted which shows in my stories sometimes. Hopefully it is what makes my stories all the more interesting and keep the reader’s interest.
Kaye: Why do you think some authors sell well and others don’t?
Scerina: As I learn recently from a really negative review, too much information and too many characters can really kill a good plot. Especially if it is a short story.
I also learn that sex really does sell especially in these kinds of books as it keeps the reader’s interest and makes them hungry for more.
But if you are using sex as a sell too, you better have a good story line that goes along with it, as sex alone won’t keep the reader’s interest. Yah sure, they love a good sex scene and all that lust – but having a good story line makes it even better.
Kaye: What kind of Chinese food do you order all the time?
Scerina: Fried Rice and Dumplings 😊
I want to thank Scerina Elizabeth for joining us here on Writing to be Read today, and wish her the best of luck in her writing endeavors. I’m sure we’ve peaked the interest of many paranormal romance erotica readers. You can find out more about Scerina on her Website or Goodreads, or check her out on Facebook or Twitter.
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“Wolves for the Holiday 1.1” has potential to be more
Posted: June 9, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Erotica, Fiction, Paranormal, romance, Speculative Fiction | Tags: BookReview, Josette Reuel, Paranormal Romanace, romance, Wolves for the Holiday 1.1 4 Comments
Wolves for the Holiday 1.1, by Josette Reuel is a short story with the potential to be a longer supernatural romance. As with many short stories, it feels like there should be more. The ground work is laid for secondary characters to have relationships, providing plenty of subplot material that Reuel fails to take advantage of, and readers are left wanting more. This story has the potential to become a novel length work, if more fully developed.
When first three wolves, and then later, three naked men show up at a secluded mountain cabin, where three writer friends are taking a writer’s retreat, things promise to get a little weird. That’s where the problem lies, for three women in a secluded cabin just wouldn’t react the way these women do, so I had a hard time buying into the story. The premise is good. Actually, the premise is great, but Reuel fails to suspend my disbelief.
Then there is the romance element, which is good, and almost believable. However, having our heroine submit to the Alpha male makes her appear weak, conforming to typical female stereotypes. The males are stereotyped as well, but I could buy that because they are wolves, after all.
After our two protagonists have their romp in the hay, there is no follow through. The story just ends, leaving the reader feeling cheated. Relationships with her friends and his pack members are alluded to, but not shown. We can only guess what was happening in the rest of the cabin while the main romance is blossoming in the bedroom. I will say the bedroom scene itself was done tastefully.
Wolves for the Holiday 1.1 has a great premise, but fails to deliver, doesn’t carry through the full romance arc, has a weak female protagonist, but does include a well written bedroom scene. I give it two quills.
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“Tangled Web” May Be Just the Beginning
Posted: March 17, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Erotica, Fiction, romance | Tags: Book Review, Books, Erotica, Jade C. Jamison, Reviews, Rock Star Romance, romance, Tangled Web Leave a comment
Tangled Web is the first book in a new rock star romance series by Jade C. Jamison. I picked up this book because I was so impressed with another book I reviewed by the same author, Bullet, and this book did have the same power to draw me into the story. However, this story is much shorter and left me feeling like there should be more.
*****************************Spoiler Below*******************************
Two old friends discover that they each had hidden feelings for the other. In Tangled Web, we watch as this discovery emerges, but the story ends as they realize their feelings for one another. While it is the moment the story has been leading up to, it feels more like a climax than an ending. It is the moment when everything changes, but I felt short changed because the reader isn’t allowed the opportunity to learn the outcome of the grand event. We don’t get to see the “Happily Ever After”. I guess it is assumed, but it would be more satisfying to see it unfold.
The story is good, the erotic scenes tastefully written, and I quite enjoyed this read. Tangled Web has the potential to be a really good romance, but it left me wanting more. I give it three quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Monthly Memo: Playing Cupid
Posted: February 16, 2017 Filed under: Erotica, Fiction, romance, Screenwriting, Screenwriting, Uncategorized, Weekly Writing Memo, Writing, Writing Tips 2 CommentsSince this month’s memo date falls near Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write about how to pick your protagonist’s love interest for a story. I find you can’t always decide on the dynamic between a couple until you write out their first meeting. So with that in mind, here is how I go about doing that.
To start, we need to first pick your core protagonist. If you have one in mind, that’s great, skip to Step Two below. If not, begin at Step One.
Step One: Pick your protagonist.
An easy way I find to create a core protagonist when I’m really struggling is to think of three people I know. Then I think of a prominent personality trait for each of them.
For example:
Person 1: Talks too much, and rambles.
Person 2: Is obsessed with dogs.
Person 3: Is always negative.
Try to pick traits that don’t overshadow each other. So don’t pick traits like one loves cats and the other loves dogs. Once you have the three traits, combine them to create the partial personality for your new protagonist. Using those traits as a jumping point, come up with other details about the character you are creating. Male or female? Age range? Occupation?
For mine, we’ll say it’s a female, who is a vet, and who is in her late 20s.
Keep expanding the details of your protagonist until you feel like you have a good general idea of who they are.
Step Two: Find the love interest.
If you already have a protagonist in mind, make sure you can describe them as if they were one of your friends you’ve known for years. What’s their hobby, what’s their job, what’s their secret wish, what’s their favorite thing in the world, and what’s their biggest pet peeve? You should be able to at least answer the above questions, but preferably much, much more.
Once you have the general idea of the protagonist, it’s time to find their love interest. Whenever I have to find a love interest, I always make a list of the places my character is most likely to be because these are the places the love interest is most likely to be found.
For my example: My character is most likely to be in her vet’s office, at home, or maybe volunteering at an animal shelter. So the place she’s most likely to meet her future love interest is in one of those places. Let’s go with at the Vet’s office.
Once you choose where they may meet, then it’s time to choose who the love interest is. What kind of person would go to that place? For mine, it’s clearly going to be a pet owner, or maybe a vendor selling vet supplies, or even a coworker. I chose the easy one, pet owner.
Now go through the character building questions again – what does this love interest look like? What do the like to do? Why are they at this place interacting with your protagonist? Do they share any of the same personality traits as your protagonist? Do they starkly contrast to any traits? I usually like to have one strong thing that the two characters connect with (for mine, a love of animals), and then I have two or three things they can disagree on and fight over (for mine, attitude and the proper treatment for the pet).
Step Three: The first interaction.
The key to every love story, in my opinion, is the first interaction. In general, I find that love story first meetings go one of three ways: either the couple feels an instant spark, they instantly hate each other, or they barely notice each other at all except mild acknowledgment. So decide which of the three ways your meeting is going to go.
If they’re going to get along, decide what they instantly connect on and go with it. Write the scene and let try to make it last a few pages in the first draft. Show the strength of their immediate connection. Is it just physical, or is it mental, or both? Do they plan to meet again? Or never again? Explore the scene and free write a bit, you can cut it down later.
If they’re going to fight, then what is it that’s going to make them hate each other? Since my protagonist is always negative, I think it would work best if she and the pet owner get in a fight initially. She wants him to treat his dog with a specific medicine, but he’s adamant that he wants to treat the dog naturally. Whatever your characters are fighting about, write the scene.
It’s generally works better if they can both be somewhat right, because you want them both to be likable. So for mine, I wouldn’t make the illness for the dog anything serious, maybe something minor like fleas, and then the fight isn’t something that would make the owner, or the vet, unlikable.
If they’re barely going to notice each other, they still have to connect on some small scale so there is something to build their relationship on as the story progresses. So what is the small detail they’re each going to remember about each other? Do they both buy the same item in a store? Do they both do something kind for the same stranger without knowing it? Does something one does have a positive impact on the other somehow?
Write the scene and see what transpires between your protagonist and new love interest. Remember, you aren’t writing the entire relationship, you’re writing the first meeting. You want to leave room for their relationship to grow and develop. So make sure when the pair parts, there’s room for things to continue changing between them.
I really think the first meeting is the key to developing any relationship because it sets the tone for everything to come in the story for that couple. Once you have that first meeting right on paper, then you can build the rest of the relationship from there.
If you want another way to start the story for your love interest, you can also try my “Meet Cute” writing prompt on Author the World.
Until next month, happy writing!
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“Bullet”: The Story of a Toxic Romance
Posted: January 20, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Erotica, Fiction, romance | Tags: Book Review, Bullet, Erotica, Jade C. Jamison, romance 1 Comment
Bullet is the first book in Jade C. Jamison’s Rock Star Romance series. This book was presented as an erotic romance, so I approached it with expectations of one big non-stop sex scene that would make me blush just reading it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although there were explicit sex scenes, they were sprinkled in like a good seasoning, used to enhance the romance story, enhancing rather than overwhelming the main course.
Jamison takes readers on a journey into the world of heavy metal rock, where the music is loud, the partying hard, and sex is abundantly available. Valerie is young and a little naive, but she loves metal and the long-haired, pierced and tatooed bad boys that go with it. In college, she meets Ethan, who fits the profile, and she falls for him hard, so hard that her love for him brings her running back to him again and again, no matter how bad he mistreats her.
Bullet is the story of her relationship with Ethan and his band mate, Brad. It’s the story of drugs, sex and rock and roll. I give Bullet four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth gives honest reviews and never charges. If you have a book you would like reviewed you can contact Kaye at kayebooth[at]yahoo[dot]com
