The Romance Review

The Romance Reviews

Saturday, January 29, 2011

HOUSE ARREST Blurb and Excerpt








Hello Gang!


It's finally here! My latest. I will have a due date shortly, but in the meantime sit back and enjoy a HOT cop! Or have you ever wondered what was under a judges' robe?





BLURB

Judge Fernando Gonzales has a secret. Besides being the judge known for putting the mafia behind bars, he has a passion for complete control outside of the courtroom as well. He has his eyes on the beautiful and defiant reporter Janet Harrison. She has a reputation for being the mouthpiece for the mob: they come to her to rat on other members on the mafia. She’s in his courtroom, facing contempt charges because she won’t reveal her sources. Judge Gonzales is more than happy to punish her.

Janet Harrison has had the hots for Judge Gonzales since the day she first saw him in court. When she is put under house arrest, she is appalled, but at the same time, she’s shocked to find herself turned on. She’s secretly wanted to be under his control and it looks likes she’s going to get her wish.

However, things don’t go so smoothly. A terrifying mobster with a grudge is released on a technicality, and wants to even the score with the reporter and the judge who put him away. If they work together, Janet and Fernando may survive the threat of death, but can they survive their unconventional relationship?



EXCERPT


This had to be the finest moment of Fernando’s life. Not going to law school, not passing the bar, and not becoming a judge. No, this moment, right here and now, was what he’d been waiting for his entire life.

Was Janet the woman for him? That remained to be seen. He was willing to expose himself to her, to confess his secret lifestyle, and even go a step further and bring her into that lifestyle. But he could only hope she would respond.

“Janet, I’m going to share something with you that cannot leave this house.”

“Oh?” She leaned against the wall.

He saw her reporter’s ears perk up. She probably figured she was about to get the scoop of the century, some tit-for-tat secret about the Valinci family, or some past, high-profile case.

“Let’s get this straight, Janet. This isn’t a breaking news story for you to stick in your reporter’s cap and toss on your editor’s desk. This is on a personal and private level, just between you and me.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him as if he’d just ruined her freshly-mopped floors. Too bad. This couldn’t get out and he was taking a huge risk by bringing her here.

“Fine, what is it?”

“Do I have your word? Will you at least give me the same courtesy you gave the rat, and not speak a word of this?”

Her eyes softened, and she stood up straight. “You have my word.

“Come into the other room and I’ll explain. Would you like something to drink?”

“A soda if you have one. Non-diet.”

“Great.” He went into the fridge and took out two sodas. He then filled two glasses with ice.

“Come on.” He nodded to the living room.

They sat down. Janet took a gulp of soda while looking at the judge from the corner of her eyes.

“Janet, what I have to tell you involves my lifestyle. One that is based on trust, commitment, utter privacy, and being non-judgmental.”

“Whoa, are you sure you want to tell me this? I barely know you except for ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ and a talk here and there about the weather.”

“Yes, because I want to share it with you. And we’ve talked more than just about the weather. I have always felt that I can trust you.”

“Trust me?” She scooted back on the couch a bit. She was dumbfounded. “How do you know I want to know this, let alone share in it?”

“Because I know you. You may not think I do, but I know your nature very well. I’ve talked to you enough, seen you interact with others, and I saw how you reacted in my courtroom. This is something you’ll fully enjoy. You might protest at first and that’s fine. But I know you will eventually submit.”

“Submit?” She gave him the meanest scowl, and yet even that didn’t affect her beautiful face.

“Yes.” He got up and paced in front of her a bit. The next few sentences had to be carefully worded. “Have you ever heard of BDSM?”

“Yes, of course. I… you don’t mean…?” She pointed at him, her mouth hanging open.

“I’m heavy on the bondage side, although I will occasionally spank or paddle my partner, and sometimes withhold her orgasm if she’s disobedient.”

Her eyes were so huge now, they took up most of her face. He could only imagine what was going through her mind. Would she tell, or worse, leave him, before he had a chance to show her how pleasurable this could be? He wanted more than anything for her to accept him, as well as his way of life.

“Am I hearing correctly? You engage in… BDSM? You actually tie women up and spank them?”

“You make it sound kinky,” he said mockingly.

“Well, duh!”

“It’s not as freaky as it sounds and you can’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about a lover taking you and having his way with you, on his terms.”

She squirmed, and tried crossing her legs. Then it looked like she thought better of it. Instead, she sat on her hands. Fernando suppressed the smile it brought to his lips.

“You have thought of it, haven’t you?” He knew the answer to that: her personality screamed it. Control freak from the top of that pretty head to the bottom of her cute little feet. And she did have cute-looking feet.

“That’s kinda personal, don’t you think?”

“So is what I’m sharing with you.”

“Again, why are you sharing this with me?”

“I just don’t want to share the information. I want to share the experience. Come on Janet, like I said, I know you. You want this from me as bad as I want to give it to you.”

He walked over to her and stood over her, looking down at her. She tried to look defiant, but it was hard to do with a quivering, pouty lip. “Fess up, Janet. You have thought about it.” He reached out and smoothed the back of his hand over her face. “Tell me, any of those times, did you think about me? Was I ever one of the men in your fantasies? Was I the only man in your fantasies?”

He must have hit a nerve, because she jumped up and tried to leave. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back down on the couch. “So you have thought about me. That’s good. Care to share some of those thoughts? Fantasies?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I haven’t thought about you.” Her cheeks flared a deep red.

“Liar.” He leaned in closer to her. He kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear. “What would you do if I pulled down your pants and panties, and put you over my knee right now and spanked you? Would you cry out? Would you cream on my lap?”

“No!” She stood up again, but this time, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her hard. She tried pushing him away, but after several seconds, her body went limp in his embrace. He broke the kiss, breathing heavily. Her eyes were shut, but her breathing was labored, too.

She then slowly reached with her hands and gently placed them on his chest. Fernando relaxed his arms, just a little, and watched her. When she opened her eyes, her pupils were dilated.
“You like that, don’t you? You want me to take you. Well, you’re in luck. I’m going to make both our dreams come true.”

Monday, January 17, 2011

Editing: The Necessary Evil!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

This year I see great things for all us writers. I see less procrastination, I see more sales, I see more creativity and more new story lines and plots. You know what I don’t see?

Less EDITING! Urgh!

Okay, first off, these past few months have been very productive for me. I now have five books under contract coming out at various times this year, two will be coming out within the next couple of months!

I’m also finishing up two other stories to submit, so right now I’m on a roll. The roadblock is the editing.

Now, like the title implies, this is something we cannot and SHOULD NOT avoid. But don’t you just hate it?

Actually I don’t.

WHAT!?!? You may be asking in horror.

Let me explain quickly.

If you have the right kind of editor (which I do), then the editing process should be a breeze if not very productive. I’ve learned so much from the editors I’ve come in contact with. They have given me tips, tricks, ideas and support. They have in no way, tried to change my story.

I’ve read and heard a lot of authors out there that get pissed, leave the epublisher or what have you because they say the editor was trying to rewrite their story.

I don’t know how true that is. It could be perception.

For example, did the editor ask you to show not tell? (I’m a victim of that). Did he/she ask you to use less passive verbs? (Guilty as charged too). Did he/she suggest that a character respond a certain way to an action that made more sense and was more believable? Did he/she suggest that you get some facts straight in your story, so when readers read your book, they won’t toss it across the room, because they do not believe the storyline?

I know when we write our stories and send them out, it’s like giving birth. These are our babies. We hold the words we put on paper (or computer screen) as written in stone. Not to be touched, yadda, yadda, yadda.

The above examples are not changing your story, it’s making it better, stronger, tighter.

Changing it would be, your main character is a rich tycoon looking for simplicity in his life and your editor comes along and says “Hey, why not make him homeless and he realizes through the story that the best things in life are free.”

That would be changing your story because now the plot, the experience of your character, doesn’t gel with your original story line. It’s been compromised .

Changing passive to active voice doesn’t do that. But it does put more punch in your story.

So yes, I hate getting my manuscript back and seeing all those “Track Changes” lines all over the place or seeing the passive verb “was” highlighted throughout my story. But in the end once I make the change and go with some of the suggestions (and don’t get me wrong, there are some things in your story worth fighting for, so stand your ground with your editor if you think you’re right), my story reads better and it’s as tight as a drum!