The beginning of a story I always wanted to tell.

 Sometimes, the beginning of a story hits my brain and just...sits there. It's the start of a cool book, but I have no idea what happens next. With no further ado, here comes the brain worm.

What was her family's pet assassin doing in Coco Bristol's boss' florist shop? 

It was 5pm on a Friday night and Coco was sweeping the plant cuttings off the floor. The bells on the door rang cheerily. She glanced up. Her hands gripped the broom handle when she recognized one of Seattle's most deadly men. 

"Frank Rectory," the gentleman in question said. "I'm here to see Nicole Gomez."

Coco had left the family behind years ago, but she retained the sangfroid necessary to survive in a gun merchant's family. Her thorn-scarred hand knocked on Nicole's office and with a cool voice, she announced the visitor. 

"Oh, let him in," Nicole looked like a Playboy Bunny with big blonde curls and a body made for wiggle dresses. Her voice naturally sounded like Jessica Rabbit, but she was the sweetest thing Coco had ever met. She'd thought it was impossible for someone to be so unjaded, but Nicole Gomez was the real thing. Whatever 'Frank' thought he was doing with her, Coco was there to protect her friend. 

Frank, real name Jonas Squire, maintained his perfect kill record by not being what anyone thought of as assassin. He wasn't tall, dark, tattooed, and dangerous. He was medium height, with a disarming, "Aw, shucks" smile, and sea-green eyes. At least, that was his Frank Rector persona. Jonas had dozens of looks and the ability to kill in hundreds of ways. 

If he were here, it meant that Coco's mother had an idea of how to use a four shop florist chain. 

"You can go home, Coco," Nicole said. "Mr. Frank and I have private business to discuss."

Coco slipped on her hoodie, grabbed her purse, and left the shop. The Seattle rain soon swallowed her from view. She could leave Nicole to her fate. But the woman had been a good friend. Unless Jonas/Frank was honestly here for a friendly booty call, there would soon be a nasty surprise for everyone involved.

But Coco had her own surprises.

She pulled out her insurance policy - a sniper rifle she'd hidden in a secret compartment of the flower shop's brick walls. She hadn't forgotten a thing she'd taught Jonas.

A letter I never sent.

 

 

 Pamela Des Barres runs writing workshops for women. Once a year, she holds Doll Con, where her Dolls from all over the world join together and write. 

Last year, she asked us to write a letter to our father. Now that my father has passed, I will finally share the letter I wrote to him. 

 

Dear Dad,

This is a letter I will never send, so I will finally be honest with you. We've spent our time together dancing on the edges of truth neither of us want to admit. 

Truth: I am living a life you would not approve of. In fact, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't approve of me being at DollCon this weekend. 

Truth: You treated your children badly. In fact, you still treat my brother - who had a PhD and three post docs and is over 60 - like everything he does is a mistake. What made you do these things. Why were you so hypercritical? Remember when you told me I was breathing wrong? 

Who hurt you, Dad? Who taught you that this is how you treat people you love? Who were your role models?

Truth: You were horrible to my mother. I don't think you remember, but I do. I remember how you yelled at her and threw a butter knife at her. Remember how it hit her?  

Truth: When you were in a good mood, you could be so much fun. I still love museums and zoos and amusement parks. You would ask where would we get the most acceleration on a rollercoaster? Where would you get the most lift against the safety bar? We had fun talking about the physics of thrills. I think you bored easy, so you happiest surrounded by stimulation. 

Question: What was up with you listening to a football game on the radio while you had the same game on the TV while you were grading papers? It was a terrible cacophony. To this day, I don't like watching sports due to all that noise. 

I will never send this. Mom used to say to let sleeping dogs lie. So I will. 

 

Living it Up is out!

I just released a brand new book in the Auntie Vamp series! Please welcome Living It Up to the world. 

If you read romance, you know there is a sub-genre of billionaire men falling in love with women. There are often BDSM clubs attached to these stories. 

 

 I am thoroughly sick of these stories.

 

 Imaging wealth is awesome, but these heroes were awful people. I wondered what it would be like if there were stories of wealthy women. In the real world, wealthy women like Mackenzie Scott lead the world in philanthropy and stimulating change. 

 

I wanted to show what could happen if women got financial clout, and what their fantasies could be. So, I created the Fortuna Group and the Emerald Club for women to see what we could do. Like smashing the patriarchy. 🙂

 Here's the teaser!

 

Get What You Desire.

Ten years after Holly Barros' triumphant taking over the North American Paranormal Council, she is exhausted, burned out, and worst of all, too tired for sex. This is a sad, sad place for a sexually-fuelled vampire.

Celeste Barros, Holly's great-aunt has spent the last ten years after stepping down from the Paranormal Council enjoying her retirement. She is content with her found family of lovers and friends. But she years for something more than contentment. She wants to make a difference again.

Change the World.

Holly's burnout and Celeste's restlessness come together with the idea of the Fortuna Group, an independent non-profit that will create solutions for women's issues, such as finances, environmentalism, and, of course, getting the pleasure that is a woman's birthright.

When people push back against such a wild idea, Celeste takes a risk and bets all on the chance to live it up.

Perfect for readers who need a feel-good (very good) story with lots of delight and permission for pleasure.  

 

 

Talk about your books: Dracula's Secret.

 

Yesterday, I was meditating about my books - what I'm going to do this year, what my goals are, what I want for my writing.

 

I heard a very clear message that said, "Talk about your books." I thought I'd start at the very beginning with Dracula's Secret. 

 

The idea of Vlad Tepes being born female came from a nightmare. In it, I dreamed that Dracula in a dress was talking to Napoleon's generals for the Peninsular campaign. They didn't listen to her, so she went outside, changed into men's clothes, and they proclaimed her genius. 

 

Other than this being a weird insight to my brain (I don't normally dream about Napoleon, I promise), this image stuck with me. The folk tales of Dracula's violent behavior made sense if someone had been born a woman and was trying to keep her people safe. 

 

  

From there, I wondered what kind of person could love someone like that. That brought me Lance Soliel, a man with his own darkness.  I based him on Daniel Craig. 

 

And two dark characters needed someone to bring them hope, and thus John Jante, one of my favorite characters, came to my vision. 

 

He's based on my Charming Man, who is very pretty and smart. But he doesn't like having his picture posted, so you will just have to take my word on it. :) 

 

If I were to jot down what tropes this story uses, I'd say:

 

Morally gray characters searching for redemption, age-gap relationship, international intrigue, fast burn, and fallen angels.

Photo blast.

Never miss an action shot.

 

The Oregon Coast.

Lady MacBeth claiming her crown. 

Some Weinmar Germany atmosphere.

Hi there!

 

 

Hair flips are always in fashion.

Pleasure is self-care.

 

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus,  taught that what is pleasurable is morally good and what is painful is morally evil. To quote:

Epicureanism divided pleasure into two broad categories: pleasures of the body and pleasures of the mind. Pleasures of the body involve sensations of the body, such as the act of eating delicious food or of being in a state of comfort free from pain, and exist only in the present. One can only experience pleasures of the body in the moment, meaning they only exist as a person is experiencing them. Pleasures of the mind involve mental processes and states; feelings of joy, the lack of fear, and pleasant memories are all examples of pleasures of the mind. These pleasures of the mind exist not only in the present, but also in the past and future, since memory of a past pleasant experience or the expectation of some potentially pleasing future can both be pleasurable experiences. Because of this, the pleasures of the mind are considered to be greater than those of the body. Emphasis was placed on pleasures of the mind rather than on physical pleasures.

(Yes, this is from Wikipedia. Yes, I know.) 

(By Unknown artist - Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1447258)

He had many more things to say, but the concept of pleasure, of the delights of both mind and body had stuck with me. I believe that pleasure can be the medicine we need to survive the dangers of life.

I seek delight through many venues and for many reasons. I have a marked tendency to melancholy and worry. If I am absorbed in the luscious sensation of the perfect red lipstick on my lips, then I am more likely to remain in a healthy mindset. 

This summer, I plan on seeking delight in as many ways as possible. What could you do for your pleasure? 

Love,

Linda

 

P.S. Don't forget - I'm still having a sale over at my website. So if your pleasure is about books, come on over. ;)