Sunday, March 31, 2013

Game Night Sneak Peek #SPeekSunday


It’s a weekend of firsts. First time yesterday taking part in Saturday spanks, and today, Sneak Peek Sunday! Here’s a little looksee at an upcoming collection, which also features work from Trinity Blacio and Joy Daniels. All our stories have a central theme of Game Night, and mine deals the cards of poker.
The three of us also will be hosting a Sunday Social during RT titled, “How Many People Can You Fit in a Bed?”
Poker Night
She took the center part of the couch, folding her legs underneath her, and tucking a throw blanket over her bare legs. Marcus settled on one side of her. Charles tended to the fire, bringing it to a roaring inferno, before coming to settle on the other side of her. Of course.
Trapped between her past, her present and the future.
A crackle sparked and Jules jumped. “It’s all right,” Charles said, running his palm over her thigh, very similar to how Marcus had been minutes before. “Tell me, Marcus, did you ever sleep with my wife?”
“What type of question is that?” she asked, voice squeaking, not what she expected.
“Just curious. Wondering how jealous I need to be. There seems to be some sort of chemistry between you two, and I usually don’t have to worry about these things.”
            “Never. Not saying I didn’t want to, though. Just never got the opportunity,” Marcus admitted.

Game Night
Awesome graphic created
 by the ever-talented Lex Valentine.

A threesome of ménage stories by Louisa Bacio, Trinity Blacio and Joy Daniels

Poker Night

The stakes raise when a neighborhood blackout strikes on Poker Night, and a mysterious stranger from the past drops in for a pleasurable game. After a dozen years of marriage, Julia and Charles have settled into a familiar routine. An added player can either make them go bust, or infuse some much-needed luck and turn the evening into a winning hand.

Coming May 2013 from Riverdale Avenue Books

Louisa Bacio

Visit the other authors on the Sneak Peek Sunday Hop.

Friday, March 29, 2013

A Super Spanking #SatSpanks


It’s my first time taking part in Saturday Spanks. The past few weeks, I’ve been reading other participants, and couldn’t resist. Here’s a little peek into my short erotic, light BDSM: A Super Spanking.



Smack. The second slap didn’t surprise quite so much, but Sam felt the flush of blood rushing to her lower buttocks, and redness spread across her face. Smack. This one landed a bit higher, on her right ass cheek, and she was thankful for that extra little layer between her and his glove.
Shifting her weight, Sam sidestepped down the wall and bent down to clean the next section. Smack. Max followed along. Smack. The left cheek now joined in the burn.

A Super Spanking
Louisa Bacio

Fed up after living with her father and four brothers, Samantha moves out on her own. Max, the manager at her new high-rise apartment, quickly captures Sam’s attention, and seems to know the perfect kind of spanking incentive to get this tomboy in line. 

Fueled by her built-up passions and newfound freedom, Samantha samples the BDSM waters that Max offers, and tests his limits.  

Available via Amazon and other online retailers.

Hope you have a spanking good time at the other stops!

Louisa Bacio

OCC/RWA Unpublished and Published Contests


Since my guest blogger didn’t submit a column for today, I’ve decided to highlight OCC/RWA’s two contests – One for unpublished authors and one for published. Both are great opportunities for feedback, and perhaps a bit of recognition.

CALL FOR ENTRIES, ORANGE ROSE CONTEST FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITERS

The Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America (OCC/RWA) is currently accepting entries for the 2013 Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Writers.  This prestigious chapter contest is in its 30th year!  All first round judges are published authors, and finalists are judged by actively acquiring editors and agents. 

No other contest offers unpublished writers greater bang for the buck.  For a $35 entry fee ($25 for OCC members), entrants get three critiques from published authors.  If they final, their work will be read by multiple editors and agents actively acquiring in their subgenre.  There are even cash prizes!

Full entry information, contest rules, and a list of final judges are available at:

Entries are all submitted electronically.  The entries are 35 pages maximum (chapters and synopsis), and the complete work must have a projected total length of no less than 50,000 words.
Entries are accepted in the following categories:
  • Contemporary Category Romance
  • Mainstream with Romantic Elements
  • Erotic Romance
  • Paranormal/Time Travel/Fantasy Romance
  • Historical & Regency Romance
  • Romantic Suspense
  • Inspirational Romance
  • Young Adult Romance
  • Single Title Romance (over 70,000 words)
Questions? Please write to us at orangerose@occrwa.org
Space is limited to 150 entries. We look forward to receiving yours!
OCC/RWA would also like to announce the BBB contest for published authors.
* * *
2013 BOOK BUYERS BEST CONTEST FOR PUBLISHED AUTHORS 
This award will showcase the shining excellence of published authors in novella and novel-length romance fiction and women’s fiction.

“Top Pick” winner chosen by
Wendy Crutcher
RWA 2011 Librarian of the Year.
Categories for the contest are: 
     Contemporary Series Romance   
     Contemporary Single Title Romance (Over 70,000 Words)
     Mainstream with romantic elements & Women’s Fiction        
     Historical & Regency (Both Series and Single Title)
     Romantic Suspense & Mystery with romantic elements(Over 70,000 Words)
     Paranormal/Time Travel/Fantasy/Futuristic Romance (Both Series and Single Title)
     Young Adult
     Inspirational
     Erotic Romance
     Novella (Over 15,000 to 40,000) 
GLBT entries:  Authors are to place their entries in the appropriate category. 

JUDGING 

Preliminary round will be judged by Booksellers, Librarians and Romance Readers.  First, Second and Third Place will be awarded in each category. Highest score in each category will advance to the Final Round to be judged by Wendy Crutcher, Material Evaluator/Senior Librarian, Orange County Libraries, for “Top Pick” award.

The contest is open to all Romance Writers of America® members who are in good standing with RWA National with current membership paid. New this year, the BBB Contest is accepting e-published and self-published entries.

Contest deadline: April 13, 2013. For more information, visit http://www.occrwa.org/bbbcontest/
If you are interested in becoming a judge for the preliminary round, please send an email to the contest coordinator at bbbcontest@occrwa.org

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Homocentric Nature of the Ancient Greek World with Kayla Jameth



Welcome back to one of the most witty M/M writers Kayla Jameth, with her new short 496 BC, and some of the background research she did on the tale.  

My latest release 496 BC continues the story begun in Alexios' Fate and can be found in the MLR anthology Lust in Time. It can be read as a standalone, but does better if you've read Alexios' Fate first.
496 BC takes place on the Attic coast after Alexios and Galen set sail with King Lykos on his way to deliver Cyrus to Delphi. The title is actually the year the events take place. I had the series set roughly during that decade, but the naming of the stories in the anthology required an actual date. So I buckled down and did some research on the Persian War, structures present at Delphi during that era, and what city-states were overrun by the Persians at different times. There is a little slop (pool term) in there, but that is the closest I can come to an actual date that gets me everything I need in this story and the series in general.

But the most important aspect of this story is it gives us our first look inside Galen's heart and mind, exploring his feelings for Alexios, his new status as a recently freed slave, and his antipathy toward his lover's mentor. As well as giving a better view of slavery, class status, and the homocentric nature of portions of the ancient Greek world.



There are some basic facts that play into that homocentric culture. The first of which is pederasty. Pederasty is the practice of an older male taking a teenaged male under his wing for guidance. This relationship was often sexual, especially in Crete where it originated. Athens kept the sexual aspects as well. Although, Sparta considered the older male in the role of a foster father and thus any sexual interaction was considered incestuous.

Homocentric means fundamentally that boys hang out with boys and girls hang out with girls. None of this mix and matching that is considered PC these days. In Athens, that font of democracy, women and girls were kept in the back of the house unless they were slaves and the men owned the world. In Sparta where women had more rights than anywhere else except Egypt, the boys and girls trained, but were still segregated.

Everywhere, however, class distinctions were the rule. The upper class boys were mentored by older men of their class or higher. This was social networking at its earliest. Commoners might be apprenticed, but not mentored by their betters. Women and slaves were at the bottom. Free women might aspire to being considered better than slaves, but slaves had more relative freedom than any woman. A slave could leave the house, have a trade, and even buy their own freedom. A woman needed permission and an escort to leave her home.

Greece has been considered a place where homosexuality was embraced, but that isn't quite the truth. Pederasty is an age-based system. The eromenos, the boy being mentored, had to be a youth, not another man. Equals could not be lovers. Rarely did the relationship extend past maturity. Any sexual behavior was intercrural, between the thighs, because penetration was for women and slaves.
Male brothels did exist, populated by slaves and war captives. The prostitutes often shaved to continue to look like "youths."

Men who visited the brothels or had an eromenos were still expected to marry and produce heirs. Their wives were kept in the background and were rarely part of their lives. So the eromenos was the only one who could be considered "out" in anything approaching the modern sense and even then only until he reached maturity.

The Spartans, on the other hand, were homophobes. If two men were found together, they had to redeem Sparta's honor by either committing suicide or going into exile. Even though the Spartans revered their own Prince Hyacinthus, one of Apollo's male lovers, with a religious festival every year.
Every city-state was autonomous and had its own culture set against the backdrop of the Hellenistic world. We just lump them together as Greeks even though they arose from different clans.

Visit Kayla Jameth Online