Contest winners

Hi Honeys, I'm home!

Safely home and wading through the email right now, but will be back to blogging soon. Meanwhile, thanks for all the comments and contest entries! We've drawn the five winners:

Tempest Knight
Nicole
Chez Moi
Maria, lover of all things romance
Seeker

Please email me your postal adresses to saskiawalker @ gmail. com (no gaps) and I'll get the books off to you. :)

Hugs
Saskia

Win the KINK anthology

I’m going to be off line for the next few days and while I’m away I’m running a contest to win one of FIVE copies of the recently published KINK anthology.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment on this post. If you’ve already read the anthology you can enter -- as long as you promise to pass your spare copy onto a friend and introduce them to our stories. :)

The contest will be open until the 30th. See you then!

Contemporary erotica filled with love, lust, and kink.
From the Back Cover
PUTTING ON A SHOW

Watch Me
Some people have coffee. Some have tea. But the only thing that really wakes Bethany Mack up in the morning is sex. Too bad marriage to Grant has settled into a sex-starved routine. That is, until she spies a hot roofer next door. Broad, sexy shoulders: check. A muscular chest you could nuzzle all day: check. And under those jeans, well, the thought just makes her weak. So she puts on a little show for him through the window, letting her inhibitions loose, and discovers a naughty new addiction. But how will her husband react when he discovers just how far a desperate housewife will go for some lov'n from him?

Sex, Lies, and Bondage Tape
Clayton's one hunk of a musician. A pin-up hottie for squealing teens everywhere. And he's gay, Kelly Burton discovers when she sneaks into his dressing room for an autograph, but gets a peep show instead...But Kelly's soon distracted: a bouncer has found her. A bouncer with pecs of steel, a six-pack, and sinewy arms. After a scolding, the bouncer decides to have his wicked way with the naughty-but-eager groupie. And what follows is a night of passion, hard-rock-style...

Go here for an excerpt of WATCH ME

Go here for an excerpt of SEX, LIES AND BONDAGE TAPE

New reviews

My lovely editor at Juno Books alerted me to some wonderful new reviews for THE STRANGELING. I'm so pleased (and relieved!)the book is garnering such postive responses.

THE STRANGELING reviewed at Curled Up With a Good Book:

Fantasy fiction fans who also love a steamy romance will flock to The Strangeling, an erotically charged story about a beautiful woman with the power to defeat the armies of the underworld….titillating and highly descriptive fantasy story that offers up truly erotic sex scenes blended with nature magic and ancient wisdom. Author Saskia Walker succeeds at weaving powerful imagery with delicious romance. Fans of The Strangeling can also look forward to her next novel, due in late 2007, with the promise of more erotically charged fantasy that goes beyond the norm of romantic fiction.

…and at Dee and Dee Dish:

But, STRANGELING is so much more than erotica or magic. At it’s heart, STRANGELING shows how believing in ourselves and taking a chance really can pay off. There were also some very quotable moments in the book, and I just wanted to share one of those with you. “The best a couple can do is be strong for each other, if one of them is weak. Each one of us lives life like the ebb and flow of the tides, sometimes waning, sometimes fierce. Ultimately, though, one person cannot be strong all the time; in a couple, or a chain, they will always be strong.” Even if the rest of the book would have been a stinker (which is definitely was not), the poetic way Walker weaved those words was enough to make the book a good read…If you are looking for a straight Romance, you’ll be very disappointed in THE STRANGELING. However, if you want a very well written, Erotic Fantasy, this books for you. I know I sure enjoyed it, and hope you will too.

A good way to start a hard day! Hope it's a good one for you guys.

Alas no, I am not Wonderwoman

Since I sent my newsletter out at the end of last week, I’ve had several emails from members of my newsletter group awestruck at the amount of stuff I have coming out around now. So much so that I thought I'd better post a general disclaimer. No, I am not superwoman, far from it! I wish I was though. :)

The first six months of this year sees the publication of material I worked on for different publishers over a period of about two years, if not more. It’s uncanny that it has all been scheduled so close together, but that’s the way it can go in this business. The second half of this year will be very quiet in comparison. And 2008 will be even quieter if I don't get a move on :)

Happy St Pat's

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Once again we are surrounded by ludicrous caricatures of green leprechauns. :) Even the Horror channel is dishing up all night runs of appropriate films...well, all four versions of Leprechaun. Hmm.

Ah well, being half Irish I can hardly complain. Even though I dislike the increasing commercialism surrounding our holidays, I do like to celebrate the spirit of the events (in this case whiskey or Guinness ho ho ho) and for me that means socialising. Problem is I’ve spent the previous two evenings out schmoozing whilst supporting the CAMpaign for Real Ale at the local beer festival. A girl can have too much fun, especially when she’s recuperating from a chest infection that rattled on into weeks and months. So, I’m at home this St Pats. The Man of the House is out for the afternoon cheering on the Irish with friends, and I will lift a glass to St Pat and all he stood for when my man gets home. If you are out celebrating this evening, have fun and be safe!

Otherwise I’ve had my head down here at the desk the past few days trying to get my writing up to speed. We’re away from the homestead and PC for a week at the end of the month so I need to crack on. I’ve got two major projects to get done by June 1st, one that has to be done, (i.e. contracted) and one that I want to get done before then as well. It’s gonna be tight!

I read a very informative review of THE STRANGELING from Joyce at Speculative Romance online today. I’ll post it in its entirety because it gave me some very useful feedback about my work, things that I can learn from, and brought up some things I had wanted to discuss about the story anyway.

THE STRANGELING
AUTHOR: Saskia Walker
PUBLISHER: Juno Books PUB DATE: 2007
GENRE: Romance w/ Spec Elements ISBN: 978080955793
REVIEWED BY: Joyce Ellen Armond on 03/01/07 EISBN:

What do you get when you mix a heroine with the strength of love, a hero with the strength of faith, and scary demons? A surprisingly satisfying fantasy romance.

The Back Cover Tempts Us Thusly…

"One woman alone holds the power…to undo the hundred-year-old curse of a deathless army. Maerose, a beautiful and resilient maiden, must repel this evil horde by mating with a man of faith – on Samhain Eve, at the gates of hell. Unleashed, the girl's dormant magic can save the world. But a demonic madman hungry for power threatens to doom them all…"

The Bravos:

Forevermore, Saskia Walker shall be known as The Author Who Made Me Like It. THE STRANGELING tapped my two most hated romance elements and somehow made them work.

Virgin heroine: check. The bulk of the novel describes the sexual and emotional awakening of Maerose. Normally, that's a cringe-fest for me. But for the most part, Maerose came across with dignity, believable vulnerability and admirable emotional strength.

Soul mates: check. Maerose and her hero, the magic-using Bron, are fated to be together according to the elder scrolls. Walker delivered me from the short-handed feeling I usually get from soul mate romantic development. Even though he's the preeminent elder scroll scholar, Bron is still charmingly caught off guard by the strength of both his physical and emotional bond with Maerose. Maerose avoided the "he's my magic man and I love him" emotional immediacy precisely because her girl-to-woman awakening read true.

Plus, after a little bit of a slow start, the fantasy elements of THE STRANGELING satisfied with a nice mix of accessible ideas and unexpected twists – especially in the author's vision of magic.

The Lone Cat-Call from the Back Row:

Clunky dialog jarred me out of the narrative in far too many places. When the hero says he wants to take a deep draft of the heroine's body, I start wondering where she keeps the frothy head.

Final Verdict:

Short, sensual and sweet, THE STRANGELING delivers an unexpectedly good read out of usually suspect elements, and with a slight sexual and thematic sharp edge. I stayed up past bedtime to reach the happy ending, and my bet is you will, too.

I GOTTA READ A VIRGIN HEROINE JOYCE LIKES

Loved the review and thanked Joyce for her valuable feedback. I was, of course, disappointed the dialogue came across as clunky (although there is a built-in joke in there about the good head that I won't even attempt to make ;) Seriously though, when I write a story set in an ancient world I work hard to make every word seem appropriate to the time and place, and I wonder if that’s what my problem is -- or am I just crap at this job and should throw the towel in! LOL. It's something for me to think about. On the one hand I feel my dialogue is improving over time, and I’m always working at it because it’s a weak point. On the other hand I've still got a lot of learning to do and I know that.

I expect readers of my contemporary set stories might be surprised I wrote a virgin heroine. In my contemporary work my female characters are independent women very much in touch with their sexuality. It wasn’t something I had to think about, it was instinctive: this was right for the story. I’m really glad I carried it off in an acceptable way for a reviewer who cites it as a hated romance element.

When I set out writing THE STRANGELING I had Patricia McKillip's WINTER ROSE in mind, a novel I totally adore and worship. I was trying to get some way near evoking the kind of world she had for me in that story – eerie, rustic, beautiful and yet sometimes cruel. I wanted to create something like that for a story with an overt, explicit romance. I expect I’ve made some hideous error by making any kind of comparison between such a truly great fantasy writer and myself, a stumbling novice. It’s like comparing a sows ear (my effort) to a silk purse (Patricia’s book.) But I also believe we have to have our heroes and our goals as writers, to help us in our journey. How does the saying go...like the sailor who uses the stars to guide him, we may not reach what we follow but we find our destination along the way... or some such? Maybe someone knows the correct version.

The “predestined lover” angle is something I wanted to talk about when this book came out. There's been discussion on line about authors who use this plot angle, which crops up a lot in paranormal romance because it's often appropriate to stories such as werewolf and vampire tales. I admit I sometimes feel cheated if I read a story when a guy looks at a woman and recognises her as his mate, because it can short circuit the potential male conflict about the relationship. I say can, because not all writers use it to short circuit, but as a means to explore that dynamic. Depends who’s doing it. So why did I choose to do it and take the risk? Again, it was about the story, it was what the story wanted and needed, but I didn’t want it to be easy for my hero and heroine, I tried really hard to show that the “predestined” angle carried its own peculiar set of issues (like an arranged marriage would.) Joyce’s review shows me I achieved that, at least in some part, which gives me a good feeling (i.e. I let out a long withheld breath…).

I feel like I’m moving at a slow but steady pace on this writer’s journey, and each step is teaching me so much. Of course I wish the perfect book would come out every time. Maybe one day. :) I’ve had interesting feedback on this particular story in reviews, and it really helps. I’m always keen to learn from constructive criticism. Anyway, better get back to it or it’ll be time to crack open that Guinness before I know it ;)

Cheers all!

Wanna know about your erotic personality?

Erotica author Sage Vivant has a new non-fiction book due out soon called YOUR EROTIC PERSONALITY, and I can't wait to get my hands on it! Sage has some wonderful interactive media on her site to give you an idea what to expect from the book. I had a lot of fun with quiz and the movie! Check it out:

Watch the movie
Take the quiz
Order the book
Listen to the podcast

READER CONTEST!

To celebrate the publication of THE STRANGELING, I’m running a contest for readers to win a signed print of the gorgeous cover art by Timothy Lantz. I’ve got one framed on my office wall and it really is a pleasure to look at.

To enter, send me an email to the following address: saskiawalker @ gmail.com (no gaps) with the answer to this question:

The heroine of The Strangeling is called Maerose. What is the name of Maerose’s sister?

Please put the following in the subject line to help me stay organised ;)
"Strangeling cover art contest entry"

I’ve got three 8 by 10 inch prints up for grabs, and I’m going to leave the contest open until the end of April, to give readers a chance to enter. I’ll post the results here and on my newsletter. Good luck!

Now shipping: THE STRANGELING

I’m hearing via the grapevine that THE STRANGELING is now available. Hurray! Apologies to the readers who put in advance orders, I think Juno is up to speed now.

I’ll launch my reader contest soon, but in the meantime I want to point you to a great deal over at Juno Books. If you sign up for the newsletter, you can claim $2.00 off books ordered direct. This means you can pick up THE STRANGELING for only $7.95 USD! If you are in the UK and you want to try a batch of Juno books, it may well work out cheaper to use this deal and ship to the UK.

Here’s the link for the newsletter.
Here's the code for the discount.
Here’s the link for buying direct from the publisher.

I’ve also been getting feedback for THE STRANGELING, and I’m very pleased indeed with what the first readers have had to say:

"If you are a fan of this kind of stuff you will find this book a joy. Walker knows her genre and she riffs on its themes brilliantly." Mathilde Madden, for Reflection's Edge

"THE STRANGELING is the sort of story that haunts the reader long after the last page is turned. Saskia Walker has a true gem with this superb fantasy novel coupled with all the elements to make a great paranormal romance as well. This reviewer will definitely be keeping an eye out for further fantasy novels from this fabulous author!" 5 Klovers. Debbie, for CK2s Kwips and Kritiques.

"a wonderful one sitting fantasy" Harriet Klausner, for Alternative Worlds.

and most recently from Milady Insanity: “The Strangeling reads like a fairytale. A dark, sensual fairytale. It’s the kind of book you want to read curled up by the fireplace in winter, perhaps with a nice cup of hot chocolate in your hand. 4 out of 5.”

That’s just the kind of book I wanted it to be! I’m delighted with the reviews and comments. It was always a dream of mine to write fantasy alongside contemporary erotic romance, and I’m very excited to be at this point in my life. It’s a short novel (category length) and I’m hoping to tempt readers of my contemporary work to try this one as well. The story is a fantasy romance with erotic elements, set in a rustic world. Here’s the back cover summary:

One woman alone holds the power to undo the hundred-year-old curse of an invincible army of dead men who wait to prey upon the living. Maerose, a beautiful, resilient maiden must drive back the evil spirits by mating with a man of faith on the dark night of Samhain at the very gates of the underworld. Her dormant magic can only be unleashed by willing submission to her predestined lover . . . but a mad man aligned with the demonic forces of the underworld threatens to possess her in his place.

Click here for an excerpt!
I'll be posting the reader contest very soon.

Problems commenting?

I've had two people email me over the last few weeks, reporting they were unable to post comments on the blog. If this has happened to you, can you drop me a quick email using the link on the right? Thanks! I may need to report it.

Publication news: A,B,C,D

The first four books of Alison Tyler's exciting new erotic anthology series are now shipping!

"From Amour to Zippers, this alphabetical extravaganza of erotic delights features 26 hot volumes of explicit, playful stories."

I loved the idea for this series, so very collectable, and with the most gorgeous covers. I'm so pleased to be part of it! I've got stories in A IS FOR AMOUR and D IS FOR DRESS UP. The first 4 books in the series are now shipping from Amazon, and will be with Amazon UK and on bookshelves here soon.

Here's a brief snippet from "Arran's Lure" my story in A IS FOR AMOUR:

Alone in her bed, Juliet lay with her sheets twisted between her arms and legs, thinking about Christopher. Wanting him. Craving him. There was a point where her physical desire for him had turned into an all-consuming hunger. Since then, she had been continually restless with need. Finding sleep was no longer easy. The longing she felt for that one person whose shared passion would provide her lifeline, her relief, had long since become overwhelming.

“Christopher Bardsley, what on earth have you done to me?” she whispered into the night, and a smile passed over her lips.

She felt high at times, at others wretched. Her fierce physical desire also manifested itself in a painful, gnawing ache that emanated out from between her thighs, through her core, as far as her throat and mind, where she was tortured with memory and longing. Her fingers tightened on her rumpled sheets, as did her thighs too, her body rolling restlessly. Masturbation just left her hungry for what she couldn’t have, a particularly cruel twist of fate. She needed to express herself to him, to join their bodies together again. And he was so far away. Over four hundred miles, to be precise. It might as well have been ten thousand, the way she felt. She was at home in London, trying unsuccessfully to focus on her freelance journalism—that which had been her one and only love, before she met him—and he was off the coast of Scotland, on the Isle of Arran.

And here's a taste of "Skin on Skin" from D IS FOR DRESS UP:

“Deep breaths,” Jade whispered to herself, as she attempted to quell her erratic breathing. Walking down the narrow passageway, she eyed the purple-painted walls that were lit occasionally by triangles of hazy light. The beat of a bass guitar sounded through the walls and the floor. The atmosphere grew heavier as she reached the door at the end of the passage, resonant with a heady mix of heat, sound, and scent. Her heart rate quickened. She paused, noticing that the paint was cracked in the top left-hand corner of the heavy black door, lifting and peeling away, revealing the bare wood beneath. Jade had a keen eye for such things. That was why she had come to The Cave that night, to relish the surface coverings, as well as that which lay beneath.

She glanced down at her outfit, hoping it would blend in with what she would find beyond the door. A cut-off latex top, sleeveless and skin-tight, left her midriff bare. A leather miniskirt was cinched around her hips, zippered from waist to hem at both front and back. Shiny soft plastic boots clung to her legs, like skins on her own skin. The decadent outfit gave her cover; it also gave her nerve. She lifted her chin. Jade was a shy but deep-down determined sort. She had an insatiable curiosity for all things sexual, which was inevitably leading her on, and she could insinuate herself into most places with utter stealth.

The door opened and a figure darted past her. Jade took a deep breath at the scene beyond. The room was full of bodies, moving, dancing, whispering against one another. The sound was vibrant, industrial dance music that sliced through the senses. It invaded her body with its powerful, undulating rhythms. A pulse point rapidly began to pound inside of her. Flashes of brilliant color broke the pools of darkness that met her eyes: a transparent neon shirt flickering with movement, a streak of deep-scarlet satin hanging low on a tattooed back; white skin shining beneath the black straps buckled across a dancer’s back.

Strobe lights sprang to life, flashing a series of frozen images of the crowd in negative versions of themselves, before submerging them again into a heaving, dark mass of dancing. Fetish. Alternative. Jade smiled. How could she not love a fashion that revealed the body with such erotic candor? A wave of heat was building between her thighs.

She slipped easily among the bodies, unseen, brushing against them, her eyes taking in each and every clinging fabric, wistfully peeling them away in her mind. There was nothing like luxurious, fetishistic fabrics to reveal the erotic potential of the body beneath. After seeing a TV feature on the London fetish and alternative scene, Jade had abandoned the mainstream clubs she used to go to with her girlfriends or the gang from the office. She was working her way through a list of London alt.clubs with a mixture of arousal and trepidation. Had she known how tempting an eager innocent was to the fetish generation, her arousal might have reached boiling point before she’d even set foot inside one of the venues.

A woman in PVC sidled past her. Jade closed her eyes and breathed appreciatively. Like latex, PVC molded to the skin by virtue of the heat it met. The material outlined the body, emphasizing every naked inch of skin beneath, every curve, every ridge. Peeling warm PVC or latex off after a night constricted in the body-hugging material was one of Jade’s most pleasurable indulgences. The way the malleable, synthetic material lifted away from the skin beneath was exquisite. Shocked naked, every square inch of the skin felt the cold air racing over it, every nerve ending felt wired with sensation. It was one of the most delicious sensations she could imagine, and she wrestled with fantasies about sharing it with another, allowing someone else to peel back her synthetic skins and reveal what lay beneath.

See details about the first four books at the Cleis Press website.

WRITING: Second novel/subs

Today the sun shone here in Yorkshire. All day! It felt so much better. Let’s hope it lasts. I’m slowly starting to get on top of my chest infection, still coughing, but hoping to get back to a normal schedule soon. It has really knocked me back, not to mention the antibiotics. The news of the novel sale has helped pick me up though, as you can imagine.

I said I’d reflect a bit on the submission process for this, my second contemporary erotic romance novel. I’d seen many newly signed authors reporting about the pressure surrounding the second novel. It's true. You write it from a very different place -- experienced, more knowing, calmer, more aware. You’ve been through the editing process and the reviews, learned from them. You’ve also got people with expectations involved, important people like editors and agents. It has to be bigger, better, more exciting than the first novel. That’s scary, but exciting, too! I know I've learned heaps since I wrote DOUBLE DARE, and I was keen to show that. My attitude was “bring it on” :)

Procedures are different, though. When I was aspiring, deadlines were of my own making, and subbing material was like sending it into a wild blue yonder where the fantasy of hearing back was the thing that kept me going. I talked a bit about partials a few days ago, and RECKLESS was sold on a partial. It’s actually my third contract sale on a partial (SEX LIES AND BONDAGE TAPE, and UNVEILING THE SORCERESS being the first two.) When I opened the partial for RECKLESS I absolutely loved what I have there, but now that it’s contracted I can’t wait to go back in and layer in all the little ideas I’ve had for it over the intervening time. That’s what I was thinking about when I posted about partials. ;)

And there was plenty of intervening time. If you put “Reckless” into the site search box above left, you’ll find that I mentioned the proposal when it was subbed, back in June. Why the long wait? Because the schedule was full/closed for the time being. My editor loved what I’d put in, but nothing could move at that time. One of the things I've learnt (that never even occurred to me when I was originally aspiring) is how much the publishing industry operates around the schedule. Obvious when you think about it, but it only began to sink in for me a couple of years ago, when I noticed how many books each line put out. If it’s, say, one per month, that’s only twelve slots per year. If the publisher fills the schedule a year in advance, the window may open and close at certain agreed times. That’s not how I pictured things happening when I was sending stuff in, back in my early days, but in retrospect it explained a lot. It really helps to put yourself in the editor/publisher shoes, and think about what restrictions and procedures they might be working under.

Getting the second novel sale is incredibly important, and I’m thrilled to bits to be at this stage!! It's the best news. For me, personally, my SEX, LIES novella was more accomplished than DOUBLE DARE, and I want to make that next step and show what I can do with RECKLESS.

I’ll post a bit about the story ideas and my planned writing schedule for this one at the weekend.

Whoop - the Publisher's Marketplace posting!

6 March, 2007
Fiction:
Women's/Romance
Saskia Walker's RECKLESS, a contemporary erotic novel with a gothic edge, about a London art appraisal expert caught in a struggle for power and dominance between two brothers while valuing their inheritance in Catalonia, to Kate Seaver for Berkley Heat, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency (world).

More from me later. Hope you're all having a good week.

Go for it

The 2007 Brava novella contest is now open. This is a superb opportunity for writers to get their work in front of an acquiring editor. Go for it!

Exciting news – new sale!

I can now announce the exciting news that my second full-length erotic novel, RECKLESS, will be published by Penguin Berkley Heat during 2008!

RECKLESS is a contemporary erotic with a gothic edge, set in London and Catalonia. Here’s a brief outline:

At the age of twenty-nine, London valuation expert Katrina Hammond is evolving into a stronger, more sexual woman. When she subsequently finds herself at the center of a struggle for power and dominance between two brothers, she welcomes the darkly erotic charge the situation brings.

Katrina's job is to value a collection of art objects for auction in the Catalonia villa of the Teodoro family, where Sergio Teodoro rules. Sergio is a dominant master who compels her attention. Nicolas, his younger brother - a disinherited artisan - also seeks her out, seducing her. As Katrina uncovers the subterfuge surrounding the collection, she finds that there is more to Nicolas and Sergio’s battle than meets the eye, and more to her growing allegiances than may be good for her.

I’m going to blog about the story, my love for Catalonia, and about the submission process for this one at some point soon. Meanwhile, we're off to drink a glass or two of bubbly to celebrate the news! :)

Contest winner

Many thanks to all of you who entered the weekend contest, and especially for your comments about the books and the covers! You can see more of the Juno cover art (by fantasy artist Timothy Lantz) on the Juno gallery page HERE.

Mark, my Real Life Hero, picked a number out of 29 as the lucky winner. Congratulations to entrant number 8, dannyfiredragon! Danny, please mail me with your postal address saskiawalker @ gmail.com (no gaps)

Weekend contest: Juno books double-giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of my fantasy novel, THE STRANGELING? How about bundled together with a copy of BEST NEW PARANORMAL ROMANCE? I’ve got a pair up for grabs!



To win the books just leave me a message in the comments, and we’ll pick a random winner on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Reading

The only good thing about being ill is that I don’t feel as if I'm stealing reading time for everything else I should be doing… well, not as much as I usually do, at any rate :)

I’m currently having a rip-roaring time delving into James Lear's THE BACK PASSAGE, (blatant innuendo entirely appropriate to the book. :) Anyone out there who enjoys explicit man-on-man erotic stories has a real treat in store with this book. Set in the 1920’s, the plot is an Agatha Christie-esque murder hunt, written with heaps of humour and panache. The hero, an American amateur sleuth, elbows his way through English culture, class and manners with wry zeal, and shags his way from clue to clue in the most outrageous fashion. On one level, the book brought to mind a favoured read of my twenties, Evelyn Waugh’s VILE BODIES. On another, it was a hilarious sex romp with enough innuendo to fill a good few Carry On film scripts. In the midst of this was a truly compelling murder hunt.

Gripping, seat-squirmingly sexy, and thoroughly charming too, I enjoyed every page of THE BACK PASSAGE and recommend it highly. Kudos to James Lear, and to Cleis Press for signing this superbly filthy queer extravaganza of a novel. It made my incarceration a whole lot easier to put up with.