Feature: Creak by Elizabeth Morgan

So, I am being somewhat naughty and lazy with this weeks post, but that is because "Creak" my first ever erotic thriller is out today with Secret Cravings Publishing. Yeah, you know, that story I have mentioned like a dozen time. Yeah, that one is out today!

I am going to be features/guest blogging at a load of fab blogs these next few weeks. So, I thought I would just keep it nice and simple today and leave you with an excerpt from my new baby. Enjoy!

~ * ~

Creak
(An Erotic Thriller)

BLURB: 

"What happens in Silver Creek, stays in Silver Creek."

 After spending the summer as a recluse due to a bad break-up, Nicole Saunders agrees to go to The Heat Wave Festival with her best friends, Kacey and Tyler.

Along with three other friends they plan to take a shortcut through the small town of Silver Creek; the last thing any of them expected was to become lost and end up pulling in to a motel for the night.

The Creek Motel is isolated and the last place Nicole wants to be, especially after meeting the glacial owner, but her discomfort is soon forgot as she finally gives in to her feelings and asks Kacey and Tyler to spend the night with her.

A decision she quickly regrets when she discovers that their friend has mysteriously disappeared from her locked room in the middle of the night. Worried, Nicole presumes the worst, but quickly discovers that Jayne's disappearance is more disturbing than any of them could have guessed.

BUY LINK: http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/

~ * ~

EXCERPT:

He stared down at me. Uncertainty flickered across his features. "You're drunk?"

"My head's a little fuzzy, but I'm sober enough to know what I'm talking about."

"Nikki, I don't want you doing something you're going to regret just because you're upset over James."

"This has nothing to do with him." I leant up and kissed him. It was gentle, hardly exciting, but at least my stomach didn't turn.

He didn't kiss me back.

I pulled away and looked him dead in the eyes. "You've waited seven years. If it doesn't feel right kissing me, then you know keeping quiet was the right thing, and I know that we just had a crazy moment earlier. One kiss and we can stop being curious and just move on."

A small smile appeared as he arched an eyebrow at me. "You've been curious?"

Warmth blossomed in my cheeks. "Maybe."

Kacey chuckled. "I so fucking knew it."

I scowled at him. "Look, we’re adults, all right? I don't want us all falling out over this."

"What if it does feel right?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out."

I took a deep breath as Tyler cupped my face. My eyes fluttered shut as his mouth caught mine without hesitation. His tongue slipped against the seam of my lips and a small pop of heat hit the walls of my stomach. I pressed my hands to his chest, my nails sliding against the material of his T-shirt as I opened up to him.

His tongue slid slowly against my own and the agonizing pace and tease of his gentleness caused my heart to skip. I slid my hands up to his shoulder and neck. I ran my fingers through his black hair as my body melted against him.

He trailed his fingers down my throat and each tip sent a different pulse of electricity straight to my stomach. His hands fell to my hips and as the pressure of his fingers began to increase with the pace of his demanding lips, my slowly sobering mind began to twist with familiar and forbidden fantasies.

And I wanted to give in to them all.

Why the hell had I ever thought that this would be weird?

We shared everything with one another, so why couldn't we share ourselves? I would never dream of hurting him and I knew Tyler would never hurt me. I trusted him more than I trusted myself and the idea of being locked in his arms while he rocked languidly into me had my entire body thrumming with need.

"Right, I can't watch this shit." Kacey grunted as he got up. "It's one thing getting a hard-on over you, baby girl. The fact that Tyler happens to be in the picture…I'm freaking slightly."

I pulled away from Tyler, my breath somewhat shallow as I angled my head so I could glance at Kacey. "I don't want you to go."

Tyler didn't shift his focus from me and I watched as realization slowly slipped across his features. "You weren't just referring to me, were you?"

I shook my head and the smallest dose of guilt began to stab at me. "I think I could kinda love you both in my own way. I have—sometimes I have—God why is this so hard?" I took a deep breath. "There have been times when I've wondered what—across the years I’ve sometimes wondered—sometimes I have considered risking our friendship." I looked over at Kacey. "Do you understand what I am saying to you?"

"You're usually naked when I imagine you saying you want me, but yeah."

My jaw tensed. "I hate you sometimes. I hate the way you treat women and that you can't keep your dick in your pants or your damn mouth shut—"

"But you still want me, right?" He moved closer to me. "When are you going to get it in your head that you're not just some girl, Nikki? You're our girl."

"I want you both." I said quietly, not caring that my cheeks had grown warmer. "I have for a while."

"If we try this—" Tyler took a deep breath. "And it doesn't feel right—"

"We'll stop." Kacey promised as he slid his hand beneath my halter neck and began caressing my skin. "You say it baby, and we'll stop and forget all about it."

My stomach flipped at the feel of his fingers circling my navel. "And if I don't want to stop?"

An unreadable look crossed Tyler’s face and my heart skipped as Kacey moved behind me. The warmth of his body seeped into my back, while his fingers painted trails of heat across my abdomen and along my ribs.

"Then what happens in Silver Creek, stays in Silver Creek. Unless you decide otherwise." Kacey pressed his lips to my ear. A shiver ran down my neck and spine. "Does that sound fair?"

I closed my eyes and tilted my head to the side as his lips brushed against my jawbone and down the side of my throat. A groan escaped me as his hand closed over my bare breast and he squeezed eagerly. Tyler's hands fell from my hips and I felt Kacey's right hand splaying on my stomach as he pulled me closer and ground his growing erection in to my lower back.

"Yes or no, Nikki?" he asked raggedly. "Tyler ain't the only one whose been fantasizing about this baby, and I hate to remind you, but I'm not exactly patient."

I opened my eyes and looked at Tyler, watching as he pulled his T-shirt off and revealed the lean muscles of his abdomen and arms. I reached up and cupped his jaw, idly running my thumb along his bottom lip while I lifted my left arm and wound it around the back of Kacey's head. I slid my fingers in to his mass of curls and pulled playfully. "Yes."

Hope you all have a fab Monday! :-)

The world stops when your child is ill.

The world stops when your child is ill. Really.

My poor girl has been off school for a week with an ear infection and a viral cough, and everything stopped.

Minimal writing, no tax returns filed yet, late payments, no going out to play in the snow, no sleep, and by god, exactly how much gunge can come out of a child's tiny ear???

Tomorrow will be her first day back at school.

I hear so many parents often saying that ALL their kids are ill with something at the same time. I do not know how they do it, I really don't. One ill child is enough for me!

Anyway, I say the above, because I have found it hard to get back into the swing of things (I haven't really yet), so I'm sitting here thinking, "Blog post? About writing? I write? What the hell am I supposed to write?"

Somehow, despite the above, I am 36% into Cry Of The Wolf which is a relief, because it means my 19th April release date is still very much achievable :)

I'll leave you with the latest (and somewhat ferocious) teaser from my WIP. (There is a chance that any personal anger arising from my daughter's illness may have contributed to this scene ... er-hem...):

He flung the wood aside with ferocity, a couple of drops of blood flying across the room with it; grabbed his leather jacket and helmet, and stormed out of the theatre to his motorbike, not bothering to mind anyone in the way because no one got in the way.
     The thrum of his beautiful carriage calmed him to a degree, but this time, the calmness enabled him to feel the bite of the ice that had festered inside him – in his heart.
     Like fuck was he gonna let some prick take his life and blood from him.

All teasers, quotes and excerpts are copyright © 2013 Dianna Hardy, and may be changed or deleted from the book before final publication. All rights reserved.

A sneak peek at Creak

Look what I found in my inbox at the end of last week!

Isn't it just deliciously dark, grungy, and gritty? I'm totally loving the fact that there is a Motel sign in the background. I heart that motel sign sooooo much.

Well, since this baby is due to be released sometime within the next month - still waiting for the exact date - I thought it only seemed right that I tease you with a small excerpt. Enjoy!

~ * ~

Excerpt:

A scrawny middle aged woman with faded brown hair stopped in front of us, her grey beady eyes almost glacial.

She studied us both. "How can I help you?"

"Hey, yeah we would like three rooms if that's possible?" Kacey asked.

The corners of her mouth curled, and a spark of delight lit her cold eyes. For some reason, the sight caused a shiver to run down my spine.

"It sure is. We charge only for the rooms, and they're thirty dollars a night." She glanced out into the dark lot. "You kids lost?"

"That depends, are we in Silver Creek?" Kacey asked as he pulled out his wallet.

"You sure are."

"Then no, it's just a little too dark for us to be driving." Kacey placed ninety dollars on the counter. "There you go."

"Thank you." She took hold of the money before she turned and walked over to the wooden cabinet on the wall and collected three sets of keys. "I'm afraid we only have rooms with double beds, I trust that won't be an issue?" she asked as she walked back over to us.

Kacey grinned. "Not at all."

"Great." She placed the keys on the counter and then tapped the open page of the guest book. "If you'd just sign your name?"

"Sure."

"If you have any questions or anything, you just pick up your phone and hit one and then hash and it will direct you straight to me —I'm Sarah, by the way —or my husband, Ernie."

"Do you own this establishment?" I asked.

"Goin' on four years now."

"It's lovely and we're so lucky that you're here, otherwise it would have been a crammed night in the car."

Sarah's smile grew impossibly wide, revealing a full mouth of crooked teeth. "Oh heck, we couldn't have that now, could we?"

My own smile faltered as uncertainty twisted in my stomach. I couldn't take my focus off the small woman standing before me. The longer I stared at her smile, the more I felt like a tiny fish standing in the presence of a hungry shark.

~ * ~

Creak

(An Erotic Thriller)

“What happens in Silver Creek, stays in Silver Creek.”

After spending the summer as a recluse due to a bad break-up, Nicole Saunders agrees to go to The Heat Wave Festival with her best friends, Kacey and Tyler.

Along with three other friends they plan to take a short cut through the small town of Silver Creek; the last thing any of them expected was to become lost and end up pulling in to a motel for the night.

The Creek Motel is isolated and the last place Nicole wants to be, especially after meeting the glacial owner, but her discomfort is soon forgot as she finally gives in to her feelings and asks Kacey and Tyler to spend the night with her.

A decision she quickly regrets when she discovers that their friend has mysteriously disappeared from her locked room in the middle of the night. Worried, Nicole presumes the worst, but quickly discovers that Jayne's disappearance is more disturbing than any of them could have guessed.

Coming February 2013 from Secret Cravings Publishing.

A Sexy Soundtrack

Last week I finished my edits for "Creak" - my upcoming release - and sent them back to my editor. I was wrong about the release date - I misread the email I received  silly me - it isn’t today. I am pretty sure it is February, but once I have a confirmation I shall let you know. Nevertheless, it will still be my first release of 2013. So last weeks post still stands. :-P

So, now that I’ve finished editing, and some stuff I needed to catch up on, I am now turning my attention back to one of the projects that I started at the end of last year.

"Truth or Dare?" It is an erotic contemporary short about a group of friends who have a drunken game of truth or dare, and well, I'm sure you can guess what type of naughty things might take place. I’m already at 4,000 and I left off just as the fun was about to begin. So, needless to say I am looking forward to sinking my teeth back in to this little number. ;-P

Truth or Dare? is the second story I have written that isn’t incredibly plot heavy because, well, the aim of the story is the two leads satisfying their sexual appetite. Despite this being a short story, I still need some music to help me with the flow and mood of the book. So, I created a Sexy Soundtrack, which is basically a list of songs that I could imagine playing in the background while my characters get it on. Yeah, I might be a little perverse in that way. Blame it on my vivid imagination.Girl needs to get in the zone. ;-p 

Anyway, the purpose for this collection of songs is, naturally, so that I can a) listen to it every time I am writing a strictly erotic story where the sexual chemistry is the main key factor, and b) when I am writing any intense/sexy scene, or sex scene for a longer book where the relationship of the characters is one of a few key elements.

Not surprisingly most of the songs on this soundtrack are heavy, upbeat, or openly about sex, but they are so damn catchy, and work a treat.

The songs I am currently listening to for "Truth or Dare?" are as follows:

Christina Aguilera - All I want to do is love your body

Usher - Scream

Maroon 5 - Give a little more

Another project I started at the end of last year - and you may remember me mentioning this one - is a paranormal erotic short titled, "Let Me In." The songs that are helping inspire some smexy scenes in this baby are:

Rhianna - Where have you been all my life

Enrique ft Ludicras - Tonight I'm f*&$ing you

Nine Inch Nails - Closer

I don't know about you, but I personally feel that you can tell a lot about a story and its characters by looking at a soundtrack, don't you think?

Heard bad things about indie books? Sometimes they're true, but so are the good things!

I think I must be one of very few authors who don't have friends or even many family members who are bookworms. My sister and my mother are the exception, and I love them for reading my work, because my books are definitely NOT their usual genre ;) In fact, I may be wrong, but I think I am the only independent author that they've read at all. And they are not into eBooks, only paperbacks.

So... it's been mentioned to me over the past year, by various people who don't read indie authors, about typos in self-published books. In an attempt to reply, I've just added this to an info section on my own site: my own general rule of thumb about what to expect if you're reading an indie book - different people may have different experiences. What I've written below is my own...

Typos in independently published books.
You're going to get them. When I read a commercially published, full-length book, I expect to find one or two typos in it - I almost always do. When I read an independently published book that HAS been proofed and edited, including those published by small (independent) presses, I expect to find, on average, one typo per 20,000 words - again, I almost always do. For a full-length novel, that's between 3 and 6 typos depending on the size of the novel. That's my personal general rule of thumb, based on my experience of writing, publishing and reading. Of course, the ideal is to aim for no typos at all, and we should always strive for the ideal.

I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else is in the same position as me, where absolutely no one else I know reads indie books, lol. This is now what I tell them when they talk to me about typos! I also add that if I love an indie book, it'll be because it's more imaginative, raw, creative and impassioned than most commercially published books, and that is also the god-damn truth.  Commercial publishers will simply not allow some of the things you might find in an indie book, and I'm not just talking about sex, but "holy cow plot twists", bold characterisations and more.

The reason I continue to read J R Ward and Larissa Ione is because somehow, (in my opinion) they have managed to keep that "edge" to their writing despite being commercially published. But indie authors I can think of, off the top of my head, who have written awesome, edgy books are C J Roberts (her Dark Duet series), Kitty Thomas (both those authors are 18+), our very own Elizabeth Morgan (do I need to mention Scottish werewolves again???) and Emma Mills has a great YA series, Witchblood, which is full of plot. I recently also read M Leighton's Down To You (New Adult Cont. Romance), and there was a scene in the middle of it...

SPOILER

...where one of the love interests enters the lead female's room in the middle of the night and she still wants to make love to him (and they do) without her actually knowing which guy he is because it's so dark.

Would that have been 'okayed' by a publishing house if the manuscript had been sent in? Who knows, but I LOVED that scene, and also the ending...

another spoiler

...where you think you're reading a contemporary romance, then all of a sudden - BAM - plot twist and you feel like you've entered an action / suspense novel instead.

That's what I'm talking about!

I miss that kind of edginess in commercially published books.

So next time someone asks you / complains to you about an indie author, do think on the above points. They're certainly the main reasons why I have yet to send a manuscript off to a commercial publisher / agent ;)

Kicking off 2013 with a new release!

Happy New Year!

My first post of 2013 and what shall it be about? Why my upcoming release of course. :-P The manuscript that I am currently editing and taking a little break from to write this post. So, I'm afraid it isn't going to be a super long one.

"Creak" is an erotic contemporary thriller. I originally wrote it for an anthology call, but due to circumstance changing with the publisher the anthology got cancelled. It is the first thriller I have written as well as the first ménage. As you may have noticed by now I enjoy a little variety when it comes to writing, and well, genres. I like to stretch my limits and find where my boundaries are. So yeah, this is another first for me in a few ways; one being that it is my first release with Secret Cravings Publishing, which is cool.

As always I had fun writing this story. I adore my main characters and the relationship they share. Although, I may have to admit I have a soft spot for Kacey one of my leading males. He's naughty in the most annoyingly delicious way. ;-P The other fun thing about this particular project is that I got to indulge in all the things I picked up from watching horror and thriller movies. Basically pick out all the things that creep me on the most, and I have to say, this is a creepy book; or at least I hope it is. Ha.

So yeah, first release of 2013. Very exciting, and I look forward to seeing the book cover and basically hearing all your honest thoughts on the story. And now, I shall leave you with the blurb:

Creak
(An Erotic Thriller)

“What happens in Silver Creek, stays in Silver Creek.”

After spending the summer as a recluse due to a bad break-up, Nicole Saunders agrees to go to The Heat Wave Festival with her best friends, Kacey and Tyler.

Along with three other friends they plan to take a short cut through the small town of Silver Creek; the last thing any of them expected was to become lost and end up pulling in to a motel for the night.

The Creek Motel is isolated and the last place Nicole wants to be, especially after meeting the glacial owner, but her discomfort is soon forgot as she finally gives in to her feelings and asks Kacey and Tyler to spend the night with her.

A decision she quickly regrets when she discovers that their friend has mysteriously disappeared from her locked room in the middle of the night. Worried, Nicole presumes the worst, but quickly discovers that Jayne's disappearance is more disturbing than any of them could have guessed.

Coming February 2013 from Secret Cravings Publishing.

Entering 2013 with a bang... And an excerpt!

Well, in terms of writing and books, I could not ask for a better start to 2013, which is nice because I spent a lot of this Christmas dealing with an ill toddler among other things, and I got ill myself and did nothing but sleep for pretty much a solid 24 hours soon after Christmas day.

So it's nice that on 31st Dec, Releasing The Wolf broke into the top forties of the Kindle US Fantasy>Paranormal Bestseller List, and that it hit number 32 on New Year's Day :)

Today brought another little high, as it went to #20 and also entered two other lists, putting it at #1797 paid in the Kindle store:

I've never had that before, so yeah, I'm enjoying it :D  At some point it'll disappear from the lists and the novelty will wear off, so I'm making the most of it now!

And I promised my readers a little excerpt from the upcoming book two, Cry Of The Wolf (released 19th April) as a thank you, and here it is:

WARNING: This excerpt is HOT. Which means it contains adult content.
All excerpts are copyright © 2013 Dianna Hardy, and are subject to change before publication. All rights reserved.

“I don’t believe that,” she frowned. “I don’t care if I’m a wolf – I have a mind, I have thoughts and the ability to make decisions, and all those things are nothing to do with some animal behaviour I can’t control.”

Without warning, his hand darted past the waistband of her jeans and underwear, past her pubic mound, and pressed firmly against the folds of her sex.

She gasped – tried to fight it – then moaned – tried to fight it – then writhed against him to heighten the sensation … and she had learnt over the past few weeks that her arousal wasn’t just lust-based. Sometimes, the smallest thing that had absolutely nothing to do with sex would set it off, and her arousal was also not limited to sexual heat: her hearing became aroused, her sight became aroused, all her senses; the way her surroundings stroked her skin, the way the air tasted on her tongue and carried the scents of the day through her nasal passages…

“Ooh, Ryan … god…”

“Three seconds, Lydia,” he whispered into her ear, his voice hoarse because he was as fired up as she. “It took three seconds from my touching you, to you gushing all over my hand, and the full moon’s in a week. It’s only going to get worse.”

There's more from my rough-and-ready werewolves on the 19th April ;) Don't go anywhere.

Have a great evening, folks! xxx