Guest Author - Michelle Miles

Naughty Ink is pleased to present author Michelle Miles! Welcome, Michelle, thank you for taking the time to speak with us!

Michelle Miles

Writing the Gladiatrix

By Michelle Miles

I’m excited to be here today talking about my latest release with DCL Publications, Phoenix Fire. It’s the story about a gladiatrix and her assassin lover.

Here’s the blurb:

Kill, or be killed.

Elena Gaius is Hixyl’s most heralded gladiatrix, catching the Emperor’s eye with her unspoiled beauty and fiery temper. Determined to let no man have her, he forces her into a life of unwanted accolades—for slaughter in the Games. With independence out of reach, Elena knows each day could be her last.

Cassius Antonius is a former general hired by an underground secret order to assassinate the Emperor. When he refuses, they take away the only thing precious to him—his freedom. Forced into servitude, he meets Elena and manipulates her into helping him, forming a shaky alliance and a searing romance.

The two become unwitting pawns in the struggle to save Hixyl from the Emperor’s tyranny. But plans spin out of control with the discovery of their secret tryst, and for their ultimate act of betrayal, the Emperor demands one last entertainment—to be pitted against each other in the Games in a fight to the death.

Kill or be killed ...

I dreamed the story. Specifically, the heroine, Elena. I distinctly remember when I woke up what the story would be about. Elena was tough and strong. She was forced to fight in the arena against men, earning her right to live another day. I had specific imagines in my mind about what would happen and how it would happen. And the worst part of it all was she would have to fight her lover in the arena in a fight to the death. These things I knew for certain. I just didn’t know exactly why she was forced to fight or how she had become a gladiatrix.

That morning, I thought about it the entire time I got ready for work. I chanted the story over and over in my head while I drove through rush hour. As soon as I got to my computer, I started typing out the synopsis. I had it completed in about twenty minutes and I knew I had to write it. I knew I had to tell Elena’s story.

As I started writing, I began to discover things about Elena. I wrong a long, intend prologue about her early life in an orphanage. I based my world on Ancient Rome. In the early draft, I did call it Rome just to give myself a place holder for when I could figure out what to call my world. My world had centaurs and nymphs and other mystical creatures. There’s a chariot race and numerous fights in the arena. There’s an evil Emperor, a Senator who wants to control the government himself, and an assassin determined to gain his freedom.

That was over two years ago when I first conceived and wrote it. It will be published sometime this year (hopefully in the near future!) with DCL Publications. But it took a while to sell it. I lost track of how many rejections I received for it but I was determined. It was only after I took Margie Lawson’s Deep Edits class that I realized what the opening line of the story should be:

Elena lived to kill and killed to live.

It set the tone for the entire story. That short eight word sentence, to me, speaks volumes about who Elena is and why she kills.

It would be a long hard journey for her as she fought for her freedom, knowing she would never have a chance at it. That she would have to fight in the arena until the day she died. Until she met Cassius. He changed everything for her. He offered her hope and gave her a taste of what it could be like to be free. He convinced her to help him assassinate the Emperor and she agreed, knowing with his death, she could walk away from her days as a gladiatrix forever. But her freedom wouldn’t come without a price—her life or Cassius’s. 

It was one of the most difficult stories I’ve ever written. I loved every minute of it. :) Difficult because I wanted Elena’s story to be real. I wanted to show her fighting in the arena against the other gladiators. I wanted the reader to experience watching a chariot race through her eyes. Hopefully, I’ve accomplished that.

Michelle Miles writes contemporary, fantasy and paranormal romance and is published with Samhain Publishing, Cobblestone Press, Ellora’s Cave and DCL Publications. For more information about her books, visit her website at http://www.michellemiles.net.

Face Your Writing Fears - Guest Author Brooke Anderson

Today Naughty Ink welcomes aspiring author Brooke Anderson. Brooke is finding her way into the writing world, ready to take it by storm. She shares with us some sage advice authors of any level can take to heart. Welcome Brooke Anderson!

This has been a rough week for my writing. I have two short stories I’m editing. I haven’t touched them in over a week. Each time I’ve gone near either of them, I cringed and did anything else. Today, I put my foot down and made myself confront my fear. Why was I scared to finish my editing?

Nagging self-doubt... what if?

Basically, both stories are a reader’s nightmare. Awkward sentences, run-ons, unclear descriptions, you name it. This opened the door for nagging self-doubt. I’m not talking about the helpful inner editor that says, “That ‘but’ should be an ‘and.’ That is an awkward sentence.” I’m talking about the mean voice that says, “You’re not a good writer. There is so much rewriting to do, you might as well not have written anything at all.” 

Beyond this negative voice screaming in my head, I think my stories need to be longer. Both stories seem like they are introductions to something more. I’m scared of writing longer. I’m scared of making plot holes and flat characters. I just don’t know how to write longer. In addition, part of my process is to write in twenty minute segments. Thinking about writing 50,000 words in twenty minute segments seems daunting.

Need encouragement? Call a friend

So, what do I do? How do I overcome the nagging self doubt and move forward with my writing and career? First, I must remember good writing is good editing. This is especially true with these manuscripts since they were written as part of National Novel Writing Month. Second, my sex scenes need help because they are coming from my imagination rather than describing what I did yesterday, which is what I’ve done in the past. Third, I’m still developing my skills. They will improve the more I write. You can see this in the works of big name authors, especially if you look back to some of their earlier work. Lastly, I need to remember even Sherrilyn Kenyon has that negative self doubting voice. What does she do? She calls a friend who encourages her. 

I need to take heart and move on. How? Address the problems. For instance, I don’t know how to write a longer book and I’m scared. That is valid, but instead of running away from writing, I need to find a way forward. I could go online to various forums, groups and chat rooms to find a mentor. Someone who has written a longer book and can give advice and help guide me along. I can also look at how to books for advice. My other major fear to confront is the quality of my writing. I need to find a “first reader” or a “beta reader” to help assess my level of work. Someone who will give feedback on what I do well in addition to what I need to work on. Once I have that information, I can focus on improving my weaker areas.

Don’t let negative self doubt scare you away from writing. Look beyond those harsh words and find the real problem. Then take steps to address those fears so you can move forward. I leave you with a quote that was recently sent to me. “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou

Contact Brooke at brookeanderson@gmail.com 

Follow her on twitter: @BrookeAn11

POLL: What's your favorite position?

The Kama Sutra is famous for its varied positions in which a couple can enjoy the rigors of sex.

Porn movies are famous for trying to incorporate (dare I say stuff?!) as many positions into one scene as possible.

Romance authors get to use words to describe all sorts of Tab As into Slot Bs.

Question is: In real life, what's your favorite sexual position?

Temptation Thursday

Temptation Thursday features gorgeous images of whatever resonates my inner naughtiness.

Today, I'm sharing an image of Hugh Jackman. The man is hot in just about anything, but garners lots of purrs from me as Wolverine in the X-Men movies. This picture of him, though, is intense and seething with layers of "do you know what I want to do to you?" <happy sigh>
What do you think? Like it or hate it?

The art of the Pin Up

I love pin up art! My favorite is stuff from Gil Elvgren. This talented artist created over 500 oil on canvas paintings of women from the 1930s until 1972. His compositions were always tasteful, playful and innocently sensual, even when displaying overt nudity.

I'm not sure what it is that draws me so much to his work, but I have all sorts of calendars and prints and saved images of his work. Sometimes when I'm working on a project, I'll flip through the file just to get a visceral reaction.

Gil Elvgren "Easy to Handle" 1948

Mr. Elvgren worked as an advertising artist and created illustrations for companies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric and Sealy Mattress Company. He has become widely recognized as the Master of the Pin Up.

But before Gil, there was Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the famous Gibson Girl of the 1900s. His vision of the American female as both beautiful and determined still resonates with people. I love the way his subjects always look so refined and refreshed. Probably the point, huh?

Charles Dana Gibson "Gibson Girl" 1900s

While technically not known as a Pin Up artist, Mr. Gibson's work was featured for over 30 years in weekly magazines as pen and ink drawings.

Boris Vallejo "The Egyptian Queen"

Frank Frazetta "The Seduction of Lilith"

And what would a Pin Up favorites list be with Boris Vallejo? His fantasy works are absolutely astounding. His attention to realistic musculature detail juxtaposed with fantastical images of otheworlds is astounding. His artwork has been featured in paperback fiction on covers for Conan, Tarzan, Doc Savage and a host of others.

Where one finds Boris, one must also give props to Frank Frazetta. Another wildly popular fantasy artist, he, too finds the beauty and sensual in images of horror and unbelievable. A lot of his work is also available in calendar form, but he did many movie posters and album artwork, as well as tons of unattached paintings.

What about you? Have any favorite pin up artists? Any favorite images? 

Wishing you deliciously naughty thoughts,

Jennifer

The Writer as Submissive, guest author A. Ash

Naughty Ink is excited to feature new author A. Ash!

First, a few questions:

1. Who are three of your favorite authors we should be reading?
       I'll give you one.
       Jacqueline Carey - her Kushiel's series is AMAZING. Especially if you're at all interested in BDSM. But it's NOT a BDSM book. Plenty of "meat" around the bones of these stories. Incredible characters here. My only complaint is that they could actually stand with a little more graphic sex.  <G>

2. Aside from anything electronic, what 1 thing can you not live without? 
     Do vibrators count as electronic?

3. Panties or commando?
     I don't clothe (or unclothe) and tell.
4. Favorite male body part? 
     This is a trick question, right?

5. 2 line improv: make up a title and 2 line synopsis for a porn movie.
     Okay, I'm going with the not-serious answer to this one. (Because truthfully, I think I have a lot of great stories in my head that would make awesome porn movies. <G>  Hey, I can write it, sooooo...)

       (And when I came up with this idea, I later Googled it, and it's not so original. LOL.)

       Star Whores -- Luke Skyfucker and Princess Lay-Her team up with Hard Solo and Obi-Dong Kenobi to save the universe from the evil Dom Vader. Realistic sex droids/whores R2DoMe and CP3Holes carry hidden plans to Dom Vader's newest evil plan, and assist in the fight. Memorable lines from this sure-to-be classic film include: "These aren't the whores you're looking for," and "Help me, Obi-Dong Kenobi, you're my last hope."  Line from the next movie: "Luke, I fucked your father."

Great answers Ms. Ash, thank you. As a fan of porn, I would (and have) watched many space themed movies. Some are truly hilarious.  Now, on with the show!

_______________________________________

     I'm on my knees. Head bowed. Hands still. Waiting. Eager. Ready to serve my Master. The command is given, the scene begins, and my fingers fly, stroking, coaxing, building toward the climax.

     Once we climax, it's over. Well, a little aftercare. Wrap-up. Then it's over. End of story.

Literally.

     I'm talking about writing, here.  (What did you think I was talking about? LOL.)

     As a writer, I am submissive to the story. The story is the Master. (Okay, the main Master. There's another Master as well, and we'll get to that in a bit.)

     A lot of people think the writer is in control, dominating the story, the characters. Telling them exactly what to do, what to say.  Yeah. That doesn't always work so well. Because characters can and will balk when you try to force them do something they don't want to do. I've often found that when I get stuck with a story, it's because I've done something wrong.  Taken a wrong turn. More often than not, I have to go back and fix something before I can move forward again.

     Because I serve the story, the story's needs come first. I write what best serves the story. Some of my books have author notes in the back that talk about this. I'm writing fantasy here. Sexual fantasy/fiction.  Since this is fiction, not reality, you may not find mention of a condom in my story.  That's not because I don't think people should use them. I'm a big fan of safe sex. There are too many bad things you can catch by not observing safe sex. But, this is a fantasy. If it will jar the story, disrupt the fantasy, for me to mention a condom, than I'm not going to mention it.

      On the other hand, if it serves the story for me to bring up condoms, then I will.

Same thing with safe, sane, and consensual. For the love of all thing holy (and unholy), in reality, play must be safe, sane, and consensual. In fiction, however, you might not see my characters go through all those steps. If it serves the story, it will be there. But I'm not writing how-to books here. In my latest release, Over Santa's Knee, my Dom goes through a short version. Applies what he refers to as "standard hard limits" (there isn't really such a thing) and asks the sub if she wants to add anything. She does, but only one thing. And the Dom has already made arrangements with the sub's safety and there's a short mention of that.

      Because the characters were in a hurry to get down to business.

     I could have taken more time. Devoted more space to explaining what a safety is, etc. But as I said, I'm not writing a how-to book. I'm writing a down-n-dirty story.

And that leads me nicely into my other Master.

     My readers. Reader expectations.

     As a writer, I must serve my readers. I must meet their expectations, and deliver on those. I have several alter egos. They write other stuff. I take different names because I don't want to disappoint my readers. In the same way a Dom will punish a sub who disappoints, who breaks rules, readers will punish a writer who does the same. The most basic punishment? They don't buy anymore of your stuff.

     A more severe punishment could entail them roasting you in review and blasting you all over the internet.

     A mystery writer who doesn't solve the crime, a romance writer who kills off the hero, a down-n-dirty erotic writer who doesn't have anyone get fucked, those writers have failed to meet their readers' -- their Masters' -- expectations. As A. Ash, I write down-n-dirty. For stories with more "meat" to them, I have another penname.

     Now, you can't please everyone. And some people you can't ever please. I'm not suggesting otherwise. But I want my readers to be satisfied (pun intended) when they finish one of my stories.

     As submissive, I am the one ultimately in control. I can safe-word and end things. I can try to top my stories from the bottom (sometimes I do) and subtly guide things, try to achieve my goals.

     But the truth is, my stories know better than I do. My characters know what they're doing. (Most of the time.) So generally I'm content to kneel before them and let them take the lead.

     While this word-slut serves.

            A. Ash is the penname/alter-ego of a writer who is well-published in another genre with strong reader expectations. A self-confessed (but not publically-confessed until now) smutophile, Ash keeps her identities separate to serve her different readers and stories. She finds the psychological aspects of BDSM to be particularly fascinating. (Okay, yeah, and the sex part, too.)

                Her latest release is Over Santa's Knee, a BDSM Christmas story that started with a few stanzas of a naughty version of "The Night before Christmas." It's now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

                Visit Ash's website: www.AAshErosWriter.blogspot.com , follow on Twitter: AAshErosWriter.

Welcome to Naughty Ink

Welcome to Naughty Ink, a gathering place for readers, authors and lovers of the written word. Each week, we’ll feature a different guest and find out what makes them tick. We’ll learn about characters, writing processes, sex, a lot more sex, maybe some sex thrown in and pretty much whatever else crosses our minds! 
Please keep in mind this is a blog that quite often will feature ADULT topics, words, themes, sometimes images, etc. Our goal is to titillate, excite, educate… We hope you understand everything written here assumes adult choices and decisions, as well as safe, sane and consensual sexual entanglements.

If you’re interested in writing a guest blog, please e-mail me at jenniferaugust@jenniferaugust.com. I’d love to have both authors and readers!

____________________________________________________________

Naughty notes:

Sex is glorious. Sex is fun and exciting. It feels good. It has wonderful mind, body and soul benefits. Sex is like the perfect balm to almost anything that ails you. It can be enjoyed alone, with a partner, with multiple partners. You can incorporate role playing, toys or romance, just to name a few. Why wouldn’t you have sex?

Let’s start with some surprising and fun facts about sex:

In Victorian England, women diagnosed with hysteria (i.e., the inability to achieve orgasm through vaginal intercourse) would visit a physician in order to attain said orgasm. Methods most often included use of manual manipulation on the clitoris (rather than the vagina). In the early 1880s Joseph Mortimer Granville invented what basically was the first vibrator, though he intended it to be used to help muscle aches and not the “ache” of women. Uh-huh, good luck with that one Joseph. Turns out, though, not many doctors actually cared for the massage technique. It took too long and by all accounts, they found it annoying. Hence, the advent of more practical and at-home methods of dealing with womanly hysteria. This gave rise to things such as the portable vibrator, water massagers and even a chair one could recline in, spread her legs and be treated over and over again until the hysteria was gone. That is, if she were multi-orgasmic. Even as late as the 1910s, Sears & Roebuck featured at-home massagers in its catalog. Hm, can you imagine asking Santa for one of those?

Next up - sperm! Or should I say super sperm? Did you know the protein found in sperm can help reduce wrinkles? Sperm also contains zinc and calcium which can prevent tooth decay. The semen from a single ejaculation may contain between 40 and 600 million sperm (that’s a lot swimmers!). The taste of sperm varies from person to person and is greatly influenced by diet. Broccoli gives sperm a sweet taste. I’m just sayin’. Sperm can only swim forward. Semen makes women happy. A report shows that women who have regular sex and contact with semen score better on happiness assessment tests.

Sex the pain reliever: Sex is an all-around kind of feel-good thing. Having sex cures headaches. Having sex at least twice a week can cut the potential for a heart attack in half. Engaging in frisky business can help stave off the flu, the common cold and Alzheimer’s. Having sex once or twice a week (but really, why stop there? Be an over-achiever and go for three or four. In one day. Or something.) can boost your immune system. These regular lovemaking sessions have been found to produce the antibody immunoglobulin which can protect you from colds and infections.  One of the chemicals released during sex, Oxytocin, relieves pain. Perfect for those late-night spankings. Endorphins also do an admirable job with that. And finally, sex is said to be ten times more effective than valium. No wonder he always falls asleep afterward!

Naughty words:

Today’s dirty word is: fluffer [fluhf]: A person hired to keep male performers erect during breaks in filming of pornographic movies. Sheesh, all the fun and none of the glory!

Get your naughty bits:

Today only! Her Dark Master is on sale at Ebook Eros. Only 10 copies are available at 99 cents each! 


Read about Victoria Ashford, a seemingly mild-mannered Regency Debutante who has more than one naughty idea on her mind. When she learns she's to be married off to a much-older colonel, she engages in a daring masquerade to enjoy one night of passion with Matthew Corwin, the man of her dreams.

She doesn't count on his vow to unmask her.

Once Matthew discovers the truth, will he ruin her? Or save her?

December 1, Keys to Submission, coincidentally the sequel to Her Dark Master, will be available from RedSage Publishing.

When scandalous, exiled Sophie Turner asks Lord Ryder Ashford for help unraveling a mysterious riddle, she soon finds herself immersed in a new world of sensual delights and bound by his passion.

Ryder knows Sophie is a most unsuitable candidate to be his wife, but quickly realizes she has his heart and in order to make her his, he must save her from a determined killer. 

Wishing you deliciously naughty thoughts,

Jennifer

Find me on Facebook & Twitter or visit my website at www.jenniferaugust.com