D.C. McMillen Comes Out of the Closet and Goes Into the Fire

I gotta stop looking at the cover of D.C. McMillen's novel, The Rusty Nail. The hunk on the cover looks a little bit too much like an ex of mine ... let's see what secrets she has to tell.

I recently came out of the closet to a couple of good friends. No, I did not divulge that I’m a lesbian or that my boyfriend and I are swingers. Honestly, knowing me and knowing my friends, neither of those declarations would be met with much surprise. I did, however, announce that I am an erotica writer.

I was not sure what their reaction would be. After all, I am the girl who almost threw up when the definition of an Alaskan Pipeline was read verbatim from Urban Dictionary. (Trust me, folks, don’t look that one up. It is not something you will ever be able to unlearn.) I am also the girl who is always telling her mother to stop with the dirty jokes, already, while everyone else guffaws.

But there it was. My big secret finally in the open. My friends’ initial reactions were as follows:

      1.  I thought you were going to say you were a swinger. Oh well

      2. Whack! (this was the sound of my friend hitting her husband who offered reaction number 1)

      3. Do any of your books offer tips?

      4. Do you write about Alaskan Pipelines at all? *evil laugh*

      5. How long have we known you and you are only telling us this now?

Of course, after this immediate feedback, a flood of questions and jokes came pouring in. The one question that was not asked, however, was the only one I had truly been anticipating – Why erotica? I’ve heard this question so many times from strangers, a reporter, interviewers, and even readers of the genre so I just expected it from my friends as well. I can only imagine that the question did not come up because my friends intrinsically and intuitively understand that, buried within the multiple layers of my personality, there is a sex fiend is bursting to get out.  Yeah, that sounds about right.

To sum up my experience of stepping out of the erotic closet, I am happy to say that, overall, my friends were overwhelmingly supportive. It makes me wish I had told them sooner. Now, if only they will buy some of my damn books!

~

Louisa, thank you so much for inviting me to guest on your blog! This has been fun.

Before I go, I would like to offer a short blurb and excerpt from my recently released novella, The Rusty Nail.

The Rusty Nail is a novella about a diverse group of characters who somehow find themselves acquainted with a dive bar in the wrong area of town. The entire novella takes place in the span of a single day, and I hope you will be entertained (and turned on) as each character discovers the good, the bad, and the ugly about their partners, themselves, and their hidden sexual desires.
This novella contains blatantly erotic, sexy and graphic M/F, M/M, F/F and even a couple of solo scenes. In other words, this novella is totally hot.  

The Rusty Nail, excerpt

Myrna knocked on the window and I crossed the sparsely furnished bar to unlock the door for her. Her expression was not quite as cranky as it usually was. She was actually quite an attractive lady when her face wasn’t bunched up into a knot and she wasn’t stooped over, acting like she’s twenty years older than she really is.

“How’d it go today, Randall?” she asked.

“Two lesbians, a psychopath, and a gay guy with his straight boyfriend,” I responded.

“Same old same old then,” she retorted. “Why don’t you get yourself outta this place, Randall?”

Good question, I thought to myself. Then a picture of me sitting on my mattress with only a bottle of Jack to keep me company flashed through my head. Sighing, I turned the radio dial from the country station that had been playing all day to the news.

“Why don’t you go on home, Randall,” Myrna said as she pulled a pair of yellow, rubber gloves out of her purse. “It looks like you had a quite a day. I’ll lock up and leave the keys in the coffee can out back. Don’t worry, I’ll bury them real deep under the cigarette butts for you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. McFinn. That sounds real nice.” I paused for a moment and looked at her. She actually had a smile on her face. In this dim lighting, she looked quite fetching. As she scrubbed one of the tables I had only half-heartedly wiped down earlier, her boobs wobbled against her pale pink sweatshirt. “Better yet, why don’t you join me for a soda? It looks like you had an interesting day yourself. Why don’t we swap stories?”

She shook her head and opened her mouth as if to say no but then she closed it before the words came out. She looked me up and down like she was sizing me up.

“Okay, Randall,” she said. “I have had a doozey of a day. No point in waiting to tell Henry about it.” She crossed her hand over her chest and sat down at the table she had just cleaned. I poured two sodas in the cleanest glasses I could find and joined her.

“You have a real nice smile, Mrs. McFinn,” I said as I sat down across from her.

“Please, call me Myrna.” She responded almost shyly.

~

The Rusty Nail is now available on Amazon and other online retailers.

Find D.C. Online

D.C.’s Blog

D.C on Twitter

Amazon Author Page 

A hero with a “rough edge.” Debut author Erin Pryor shares Pillars in Time

Today, I’m hosting a special friend and fellow OCC/RWA member, debut author Erin Pryor with her sweet paranormal romance Pillars in Time. Not only did I read some of Erin’s book in its early stages – and I wanted so much more, I also invited Heather Bennett from Decadent Publishing to the 30^th OCC Birthday Bash, where Erin eventually pitched and sold the novel. In other words, I so have a vested interest. Please give Erin some love … she’s here today introducing the hero from Pillars, Nicholas 
Kincaid.


Erin will be giving away one electronic copy of Pillars in Time to a commenter. So remember to leave your email address!

Nicholas Kincaid. How to sum him up in just a few short paragraphs? It’s like trying to draw a perfectly straight line without a ruler. He isn’t a man that could fit in any stereotypical box. He is perfect in all the right places, with a slight rough edge. Simply put, he is every woman’s dream.

As corny as it may sound, I drew my inspiration from my husband, added a Scottish brogue, and discovered Nicholas. He’s a man’s man, but not one to ignore the needs of women, especially his woman. When he loves, he loves with all his heart.

When developing him as a character, I took traits that I believe every woman looks for in a man. Someone who is strong, who is a great leader, and is attentive to the needs of others in a way that doesn’t diminish his masculinity, but enhances it. I searched high and low throughout the internet, sifting through pictures of men, trying to “find” Nicholas.

It didn’t take long before I stumbled upon a photo of Henry Cavill. I envisioned him with slightly longer hair and knew he was my Nicholas. Sure, he is a handsome face to look upon, but it’s his eyes that made me decide that he was the one. Add to it that there are two of them (Nicholas has a twin brother), and things only get better.

So, if you’re looking for a handsome, strong, passionate man, you need to look no further. Nicholas is the man of every woman’s fantasies. Pick up a copy of Pillars in Time and discover Nicholas for yourself.

Pillars in Time

Determination is Cadence Hamilton’s middle name. She sets her sights on a lofty goal in a man’s profession: to be the most sought after architect on the West Coast. When she hears of the chance to draft the renovation of a 14th Century Scottish castle, she jumps at her dream job…never expecting to be whisked away to the century itself.



Nicholas Kincaid, sole heir to Dunmaben castle, is in a horrible predicament: marry or forfeit his lands. But the woman who visits his dreams keeps him from falling into wedded bliss. With the clock ticking, he follows duty to marry to avoid losing his beloved home and will do whatever it takes to ensure the security and safety for all, both in and outside of his walls. Except the woman, who beholds secrets he seeks, becomes his distraction….



Neither Nicholas nor Cadence anticipates the threats close to home, or the lives that will be lost in the process. As their relationship is tested and unknown enemies revealed, will their love conquer all? Even the boundary of time?

Available via Decadent Publishing and other Online retailers.

Visit Erin Online:

Blog

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Wicked Ways with @Cassandra_Carr, a Vampire, a Witch & a Werewolf

Sometimes writers get together and do quirky things. Some may see it as another form of promotion, but in all seriousness -- from my standpoint -- it also helps to break free from this isolated activity. Most creativity takes place within our heads, and the writing itself is done while we're secreted away. That's why offices are often referred to as "writing caves." We hibernate. Alone.

Outlets such as Twitter and Facebook provide a glimpse out into the world -- where others understand what our process is like, juggling a regular job, family life and writing on top of it all.

Recently, Cassandra Carr and I broke free, and let down that barrier between fiction and reality. I interviewed Conner and Brady from her new release, Impact, and she sat down and grilled Lawrence, Lily & Trevor from The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf. Gain a little insight into these characters, and maybe the minds of their creators.

Exclusively on the Day Dreaming Blog -- Thanks Dawn!

The Villain Drives the Plot with Storm Grant

Storm's offering a contest. See below for details.

I first heard "The Villain Drives the Plot" from Dr. Cynthia Walker during her annual MediaWest writing workshop. I wrote it down. I thought about it a lot. It’s important.

Recently, Query Tracker posted a short and compelling article by author Danyelle Leafty on villains. Danyelle says:

♦  The villain sets the tone of the story.

♦  The villain sets the stakes.

♦  The villain defines the hero.

She gives some great examples of each. You can read the entire article, here.

She also says: No villain=no conflict=no plot=no point. At first I disagreed, but reading further, I realized what she meant. Now don’t make the mistake I did of thinking that all villains must be people or aliens or undead, etc. A villain can be the weather or an event or a natural disaster. As Leafty defines: “something, somewhere, needs to be working in opposition to the [protagonist], and that something is the villain.”

Lately, I've read a few romances and a lot of erotic romances with no external villain. Or indeed, no external conflict. That's hard to do. I usually find stories in which the only conflict is inner conflict weak and repetitive. Now there may be great examples out there of books without “villains” that are strong, but my thinking is, why not use ALL the tools in my writerly toolbox?

Even in a novella, why not have both internal AND external conflict? I'm tired of the "I want to be with him but I can't allow myself to for fill-in-the-blank reason." Why not have the internal conflict AND someone trying to foreclose your mortgage which won't matter if the river keeps rising but every time you try to build a levee, someone shoots at you? Raising the stakes, to me, does not mean repeating the reasons why they can’t be together with increasing hysteria.

I prefer to have a lot of villains. Harry Potter has not just Voldemort, but a lot of others who are either in league with Voldemort, or just live to give Harry a hard time, from Malfoy, to the Dursleys, to Rita Skeeter, to... even people who mean well get in his way.

 In my latest release, FEW ARE CHOSEN from Riptide Publishing, the villain is a dreaded reflux demon. It spits acid and breathes first and is generally unpleasant:

Its eyes bulged from its toad-like head, which swiveled about, searching for prey. I stepped further back into the shadows. It sniffed at the air, its noseless nostrils hairy and moist. Where its bare flesh poked out of its clothing, its pink skin rippled as if walnut-sized parasites roamed beneath it. It raised a giant ax. For a moment I thought the ax was its hand, until the clouds drifted aside and moonlight illuminated filthy clawed fingers wrapped around the ax handle.

The hero, Blake St. Blake, has trained his entire life for this, his first demonic confrontation. He sees the demon as the embodiment of evil. Yet, is Blake a reliable narrator? The demon tells him it’s come to Earth for:

I’m gonna get a cassse of Bud, and then sssome grossseriesss. And maybe a fffatted calfff. There’sss a butcher over on Missshigan that hasss really good beefff.” Its shoulders raised in what may have been a demonic shrug. “D’you know where there’sss a Wal-Mart around here?”

So to you and me, the readers, it’s a funny demon, possibly harmless (although we’ll see later that it isn’t.) To Blake, it must be slain.

So yes, Leafty’s definition is bang-on in this case. The villain does set the tone, the stakes, and defines the hero.

I’m about to start writing my first mystery. Oh, don’t worry. It’ll still be funny, and paranormal, but it’ll start with a murder and end with a satisfying conclusion (plus a sexy romance, of course.) So I’m researching how to write a mystery, and all the experts advise to start with the villain. What does he want? Why does he want it? What happened to him to make him that way?

So has Richard Castle says, “There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers.” Maybe I’ll get to be “the kind that pays better.”

So long live the villain... unless he accidently succumbs to his own evol plans!

BLURB:

FEW ARE CHOSEN by Storm Grant

Sparks fly between virgin teenage demon hunters when the Chosen One turns out to be… the Chosen Two?

Apprentice warrior Blake St. Blake is the Chosen One, raised by an ancient order to defend the world against evil. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least his neighborhood in downtown Detroit.

When a dreaded reflux demon is sighted in a local cemetery, Blake is sent off to his very first battle, armed with his sword, his super-senses, his black leather duster, and a few well-rehearsed one-liners.

But another Chosen One gets in Blake’s way—an apprentice wizard named Shadow. While the boys argue about who’s the more chosen of the two, the demon escapes.

Blake wants to be angry, but it turns out he and Shadow have a lot in common. Besides, Shadow’s pretty cute, and Blake can’t help but think that the wizard’s skills (and hands and lips and other bits) might make the perfect complement to his. Blake and Shadow are brave enough to challenge the reflux demon in a second battle, but will they have the courage to tell each other how they feel?

Title Details

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-937551-22-3

eBook release: Feb 20 2012

eBook formats: pdf, mobi, html, epub

Word count: ~12,000

Page count: ~40

Heat Wave: On-screen, mildly explicit love scenes

Type: Standalone

eBook             $2.99            

http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/few-are-chosen

- - - - - - - - -

Storm Grant Bio: Storm Grant is a writer of short and long tales, her work spanning both genres and genders. Storm's stories offer titillation and merriment, and in a few cases, horror. In the last few years, she’s published with MLR, Torquere, Phaze, Blood Bound Books, eXessica, Amber Quill, and Riptide Publishing.

Storm Grant (also writing as Gina X. Grant)

Email / Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Contest:

Play The Name Game for FEW ARE CHOSEN and win a copy of ALL THREE of these entertaining books from Storm Grant’s backlist: Gym Dandy, Shift Happens, and Tart and Soul. (Two full-length novels and a novella!)

1. What is Shadow’s real first name? ___  ___  ___  ___

2. What is Shadow’s mentor’s first name? ___  ___  ___  ___  ___

3. What is the name of the Order that raised and trained Blake? The Order of the ___  ___  ___  ___

How to enter: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS! Instead, to qualify:

1. Email your answers to the three questions, above, to storm.grant@gmail.com.

2.  Then post a comment to this blog stating that you’ve emailed your entry.

You may enter once for each stop on the blog tour, thereby increasing your chances of being the grand prize winner!

One grand prize winner will be selected March 5.

Blog tour, details here.