Cover Reveal! Bossing the Boss

I have a short story I got back from my old publisher that I’ll be putting back out on my own. I’ve freshened it up and created a great new cover! It’s m/f, light BDSM. bossing the boss cover

New Cover for Come When Called, the Complete Standalone Book

2d cover Come WHen Called

Come When Called original full series book cover

CWC_final2D

How about an update?

Hey folks! I’ve been neglecting my blog. Let’s see. I quit my job to write full-time! WOOHOO! Sort of. I have young kids and a house that needs a lot of fixing up. But I can now write two hours a day! Hey, it’s something. I’ll have more time to write when all of my kids are in school. Oh, the life. I can’t wait!

I started another blog with my good friend and fellow romance author, Sydney Bristol. It’s a DIY blog for all of our extraneous habits that take place when we should be writing: Drop Dead Thrifty

In two days I get back the rights to Fueling Her Fire, a novella originally published by Ellora’s Cave. I won’t be putting this right back out for sale because I’m going to significantly rewrite it. Look for it again in the future!

I also secured the rights back to Come When Called, a novel I’ve spent the last five years writing. It’s so long and there are still some changes I’d like to make to it, so I’m releasing it as a seven part serial! I’m really excited about this! Just waiting on the cover…the first episode will be available soon!

More to come–I’m back!!

<3 Piper

One of the Easiest Ways to Research a Potential Literary Agent

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

One of the easiest ways you can check out a potential new agent is to do an internet search for his/her address. Is it a real, private office address, or is it a “rental” mailing address with conference rooms available for his/her use, should someone actually want to meet at the agent’s “office”?

These mailing address companies even provide pictures of the fancy Manhattan skyscraper that the address-renting agent can post on his/her website, plus photos of big, impressive, and multiple conference rooms.

I’m not saying that just because an agent rents a mailing address of a building he or she may never even step foot into that said agent is not a good literary agent (there’s the whole “need to compete with the big dogs” argument and all) but in my opinion, because an agent has a fiduciary duty toward his/her client (and that’s a Big Deal, inherently involving a lot of TRUST), that perhaps entering into the relationship without full disclosure of where the agent is actually located 90% of the time is perhaps a bit…squicky.

Maybe it’s just me? But to me, it feels a lot like saying, “I studied at Oxford” during a job interview, when in reality you went to a community college and just used the Oxford library to study in at night… Is it s lie? No. Is it intentionally misleading? To me, it is.

Judge this practice any way you’d like, but my point is this: just be informed enough to understand what you’re getting into and make your decisions accordingly so there are no surprises. Your Manhattan agent’s office may, in reality, physically be located in Hoboken. (No offense intended to Hoboken agents.)

And this doesn’t mean I only value Manhattan agents. Personally I prefer to see companies save COSTS rather than play the “look how fancy and successful we are, did you not SEE our $10,000 leather sofa??” game. A successful literary agency in, say, Denver, just SCREAMS big balls and confidence to me.

But again, that’s just me.

When Is It Okay To Be a Bully?

When it comes to “50 Shades of Grey” and EL James, apparently, anytime.

There seems to be a real phenomena of hatred for this book and the author’s skills. Honestly, I’m troubled by the amount of impassioned vitriol I’ve encountered for this woman and her work, but seeing this finally made me want to speak out:

 

Nothing against the tweeter–he seemed to be merely saying, “Wow, someone really went to a lot of trouble to dissuade folks from reading this book.” But EL James is a fellow author, and a human being, and this kind of note placed in front of her books is just plain bullying. If this was my book, I can’t imagine how hurtful this would be to see.

As an erotic romance author I feel like I have to keep it a secret that I loved 50 SOG, lest I be judged as having no skill or taste myself due to this outspoken criticism. (*Obviously*…I mean if I loved *that* book, then what does it say about me as a novelist? Right??)

I’m particularly troubled that a large portion of this criticism comes from people who’ve never read the book. To me that feels like rating a recipe as “It Sucked!!” based on only reading the list of ingredients and making a judgement. Totally not helpful.

Was it the best-written book I’ve ever read? No, but then 99.9% of them aren’t. Did that really matter to me in the end? No. I read books for the characters and the story, and when it came to this book, I truly, truly enjoyed it. At its heart 50 SOG is successful because it’s a tragic love story–star-crossed lovers who want to be together but can’t, for seemingly unfixable and hopeless reasons. It just so happens that Christian and Ana’s reasons are not their parents, or war, or social standing, or that he’s a vampire and she’s a human, or whatever other trope you could fill in here. In their case he’s a fucked up guy hooked on dominance and BDSM gear, and she’s…young, naïve, vanilla and really out of her element. They can’t accept each other, but neither of them can change their true nature either. Yet they are miserable without one another. That’s a good story.

I wish we could do better as a community of supporting her as a fellow author. I know it’s likely a very small, vocal minority that’s causing what seems to be a broad-sweeping message, but maybe if some of us simply said, “Hey, I liked the book(s),” maybe that would at least help even things out.

So here’s me admitting it. And I can’t wait for the movie!!!

Did you like 50 Shades of Grey? Admit it in the comments!

A Hot Little Treat to Tide You Over

My favorite Dom, Cj Lemire (@cjlemire) has threatened to get out his whip if I don’t start blogging a little more regularly, and since I do everything a dominant guy with a whip tells me to do, here I am.

I was pretty overwhelmed for a while… The normal stuff was there–working at my Big Corporate Job, raising two kids and writing–but then we threw in a 6,500 square foot monkey wrench in the form of what I like to call, “Broke-down Palace”. We bought a big, run-down home out of foreclosure, and it needed (NEEDS) a LOT of work! But any of you who follow me on Twitter (@pipertrace) know how much I love to DIY and build things, right?? Well, this house nearly broke me.

It’s one thing to have a few projects you’d like to get on…it’s another thing to have two-hundred projects you HAVE GOT TO DO SOON and you’re a little uncomfortable having your children live and sleep in this nasty home. So I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. But slowly we’re working our way through the unending list of chores and projects, and I find myself FINALLY being able to Tweet a bit more and, hey, even blog! So here I am.

Another thing that has suffered greatly from our home project is my current book that’s wildly overdue, Come When Called. It doesn’t help that this book is over 130K words long… Here’s the official blurb and a little eye candy:

Piper Trace Come When Called cover art

 

Evie has the same problem with men that she has with cheesecake – she’s always trying to cut back, but they’re just so damned delicious. But this time she’s in real trouble. Fired from her law firm, Evie must hide from her psychotic, lawyer ex-boyfriend until she can come up with the money she owes him.

Rich and dead-sexy Ford Lachance caused Evie to get fired by seducing her into being sexually dominated for the first time…in the law firm library. But he offers her the perfect solution: be his highly paid, live-in assistant for a year at his guarded estate, and in return he will use his considerable influence to get her whatever job she wants after the year is up.

But Evie’s out of her league in trying to keep up with Ford’s escalating game of domination and pleasure.

Charley is Ford’s best friend and his opposite – warm and affectionate to Ford’s cool, aggressive sexiness. Pleasing both of these virile men at once brings Evie mind-blowing satisfaction. But she makes the mistake of falling in love with them and Ford is incapable returning her feelings…and Charley’s.

As Evie and Charley both struggle with Ford’s denial of their love, Evie still lives in fear of her ex with good reason…and Evie, Ford and Charley find they must face their feelings and decide whether this threesome can work while fighting for their lives, and their love.

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I’m editing this book right now and thought I’d give you folks a taste of it! So here it is…a brief excerpt from my full-length MMF menage erotic romance novel (with BDSM / master-slave elements). 🙂

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“You kissed me,” Ford said simply.

“What? You mean earlier? Before…” She wasn’t sure what to call it. Before we made love? Had sex?

“Before we fucked,” he finished for her, without a hesitation given to his choice of vocabulary. “Yes, before that. You kissed me.”

“Uh, technically, I think you kissed me. I just kissed back.”

“Okay, so you kissed back.” He paused and Evie wasn’t sure there was more to the statement, but finally he asked, “Did you like kissing back?”

She pulled away to study him. Was this a trick question? She had nothing to lose by answering honestly.

“Yes, I liked kissing you very much.” Deciding to take a chance, she added, “I’d like it better if I could call you Ford.”

He looked bemused. “Why?”

“Because when I have to call you Mr. Lachance, and I kiss you, I feel like I’m kissing my boss.”

“You are kissing your boss.”

“I know, but I’m also kissing dead-sexy and charming Ford, and that’s who I really want to kiss.”

He pursed his lips, and she could see he was trying to hide his pleasure at her admission. “Ford,” he tested. “I’m not sure if it will work for me. Let me hear it.”

“Ford.” She smiled. It made her almost feel like they were friends.

“Hmm, I still can’t decide. Use it in a sentence please.”

“Okay,” she said. “Ford fucked me hard while he held me down across his desk.”

“Oh.” His eyes lit in a way that reminded her of that excited boy again. Pure and unadulterated elation. “That was a good sentence,” he breathed.

“I quite enjoyed it myself—the sentence, that is.”

“The sentence—of course,” he agreed, his face solemn. “Who would enjoy being held down and fucked?” He shrugged his shoulders.

She held up a finger. “By Ford—don’t forget that part!”

“Yes, exactly. Who would enjoy such a thing?”

She knew they were both teasing, but she felt compelled to make him understand. She wanted to find that sixteen-year-old boy in him and tell him he’s not alone and he’s not a freak. Tell him that normal, healthy, successful people have the same urges for sexual dominance as he does. And conversely, the urge to be dominated completely, like her. No matter what his father beat into him.

Taking his hand, she stroked along his long fingers while she kept her eyes down. “I would,” she said simply, her tone sincere.

He didn’t answer right away, but reached out with his other hand and raised her chin. She saw confusion in his eyes—confusion and what looked like the stirrings of hope. Funny, because that’s how she always felt around him.

“What?” he whispered.

The vulnerable look in his eyes gave her the courage to say it confidently, with no waver of embarrassment in her voice. “I enjoyed it—really, honestly loved it—Ford, when you held me down and fucked me.”

“The fucking part or the holding you down part?”

“Both. Together.”

He frowned for a heartbeat in what looked like disbelief, and then pulled her close without another hesitation and kissed her, long and deep. His lips soft, his tongue gentle, probing, almost shy. And he kept his eyes closed tightly, cupping her head in his big hands. When he finally stopped, he rested his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes screwed shut.

Finally he blinked twice, his eyes growing distant again, and thanked her for her time while helping her to her feet. His polite mask had slammed firmly back into place and the moment was gone.

She touched her lips as she left the room, knowing the last kiss had been different, and that knowledge sent butterflies of both joy and unease swirling through her belly.

*****
Did you enjoy it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Official Come When Called page: Click here!

Burly Construction Hunks Bury Their Cables in My…Yard

So I was sleeping in this morning since I stayed up most of the night writing and I woke up to a loud banging on my door. I grabbed my robe and opened the door to quite a handsome, burly construction guy wearing worn jeans, work boots and a sleeveless shirt.

Hello.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” He’s polite too. And concerned about me. An alpha male with a heart of gold. Who needs coffee?

” ‘s okay,” I mumble.

“I’m here to bury– ” (this is all my fuzzy brain processed for a moment) “your cable. I just wanted to let you know.”

So naturally, watching him and his team work, digging and bending over in their work jeans, I write a hot quickie ménage in my head. Unfortunately it’s mainly Penthouse Forum stuff. Not sure Ellora’s Cave would be interested. 🙂

But I did work up the courage to ask if I could take their picture! So here it is. The construction team in all their glory. *fans self*

Good morning to me…

 

Incredibly Unromantic Things This Erotic Romance Author Says to Her Husband

I hope to keep updating this post. And as ridiculous as it is, it’s my version of a love note to my husband, who not only is the perfect partner in crime for me, but is also the perfect partner for me. Thank god for his confidence and sense of humor.

This post should prove to you that’s there’s someone for everyone. Even me.

**WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU’RE EASILY OFFENDED BY HIGHLY OFFENSIVE THINGS**

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1/14/12:  It’s my hubby’s birthday and I take him out for dinner and drinks to celebrate. My husband is honestly a man of great integrity and a true romantic. I am NOT romantic. (Ironic, given that I write romance novels, no?) Plus I cannot resist a good naughty joke (just ask the HR department at work…).

So we’re sitting at the bar having drinks and I’m looking down at my wedding ring, which is on my right hand because I’ve lost a little weight and it’s gotten loose, and on cold nights it’s in danger of falling off. I had to put it on another finger so I wouldn’t lose it. So — joking — I hold my hands up and say, “Look, I’m not married!” And he very seriously asks, “You take your wedding ring off?”

“Well, only because otherwise it’s going to fall off and I’ll lose it.”

“I NEVER take my wedding ring off.” (very sincerely) “I can’t believe you take yours off.”

“Well I’m sorry, but I need to get it re-sized!” We silently drink beer for a minute. “You really never take yours off?”

“Nope.”

“Not even to shower or swim?”

“Nope.”

“Not even to put on lotion?”

“I don’t put on lotion.”

“Not even to work in the yard?”

“Nope.”

“Really?” I did not know this.

“Really.”

….I pause to drink more beer and think about how it’s very sweet and romantic that it means something to my husband to never take his wedding ring off.

“So not even when you’re wedding-ring-deep in the cunt of a Las Vegas whore?”

Shaking his head. “Not even then. I’m a man of honor.”

“It’s true. No one would question that.”

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1/15/12: I used this story in a blog interview with Emily Cale. I told her I had this conversation with a “friend” of mine because I was too embarrassed to admit I actually had it with my husband. 😀

We’re driving in the car and something happens that prompts me to say, “Wow, that takes me STRAIGHT back to high school.”

He says, “Oh yeah, some things take me right back too, like certain songs or like certain movies…”

Me: “Or like a mediocre cock attached to a redneck…”

Hubby, silently shaking his head.

Me: “Oh yeah…takes me right back…”

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2/6/12: So hubs comes home from work and I hadn’t seen him when he left that morning. He looks fucking hot and I want to compliment my man — really illustrate for him how good he looks. So I tell him the best compliment that comes to mind, “Babe, you look so hot today that if I was a call girl and showed up at your hotel room, I’d be totally PSYCHED!!”

He kisses me and says, “Aw thanks! And it’s funny that you say that, because she totally was.”

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To be continued… Or maybe I should say, “This shit will never end.” 😀

Fueling Her Fire Got Four Hearts from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews!

My first review y’all! FOUR HEARTS from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews: “Great! Move it up the TBR pile!”

BAM!  CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW

Marissa Dobson, the founder of Sizzling Hot Book Reviews, had this to say about Fueling Her Fire:

  • “Sweet read of old loves and misunderstandings”
  • “The sex was hot and steamy between Kip and Dylan”!
  • “Great characters”
  • “Hot and sexy love story”!

Squee!!!  Now quit wasting time and check it out right at the source: CLICK HERE TO GO TO SIZZLING HOT BOOK REVIEWS

Then if it sounds good to you…maybe…BUY MY BOOK!  🙂  And if you write me a review on any book-selling site, I promise to call your name out during sex! No matter how awkward. (I might need to give my man a head’s up about that one…)

As always, your favorite dirty whore, (I’m hoping),

Piper Trace