Halloween promotion: Keeping It Up.

 

Happy October, everyone! It is Halloween month, and that means it is time to read about sexy vampires and shifters. Since I gave away Vamping It Up, the first in the Auntie Vamp series (here's the giveaway, if you didn't nab yours), this letter is about the sequel, Keeping It Up.

Holly Barros has grown in confidence and influence since her ex-fiancé dumped her five years ago. She is ready to take over her great-aunt’s position on the International Paranormal Council. She’s got influence, she’s got the ideas, and her lover/bodyguard, former Marine Lincoln Jones, has the moves to keep her safe.

Is Lincoln capable of keeping up the good work guarding Holly’s body?

Glamorous vampire Celeste Barros has never been afraid of risks, but she has played it safe in love for centuries. Now she is ready to retire from high-stakes international politics. Perhaps a new, more leisurely lifestyle could bring a new, fresh perspective on love. Young historian Grayson Brown is interested in more than a frolic with the much older woman.

Could Grayson be capable of Keeping It Up for Celeste?

 

Also, if you like hard copies, I am having a "Scratch and Dent" Sale over at my web site! If you don't care about my first attempts at getting fonts right, or a slightly crimped cover, come on over and get books at a deep discount. Enter the code MESSY IS BEAUTIFUL and get 30% off of Keeping It Up. This sale only only lasts a week (until October 12th).

P.S. If you are interested in other scratch and dent books, just wait. I'll be having them on sale only for my newsletter people in later weeks in the month!

Buy Links:
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Behind the Character: Holly Barros from Keeping It Up

Sometimes, people ask me, "Where do you get your characters from?" Naturally, my first instinct is to say, "Why, from under the sofa cushions, of course!" Which makes me look like a jerk and nobody comes away happy. Rather than give in to my over-the-top Dad Joke impulses, I wanted to write a newsletter series about where characters come from.

The first character I want to talk about it Holly, from Vamping It Up and Keeping It Up. I really identify with Holly, because in my youth, I also made a man the center of my life, wearing what he liked and doing what he thought was fun (hint - it wasn't fun for me). I wanted to write a story about a woman discovering who she really was without him. Women's power is one of my favorite themes in my writing, and I come back to it frequently. I was desperate to write a story about a woman learning to love herself.

It took me a while to get to know Holly. I knew she was going to be of Latin descent (part Portuguese, part Central American). I wrote and wrote, trying to find a way to show that her parents loved her, but also wanted her to take the safe path in life. We deserve to choose our own adventures instead of having them chosen for us.

We also deserve to believe in ourselves and to use our voices about what matters to us. Holly needed to find her voice. And she sure was shy about telling me who she wanted to be. I got very excited when I realized that her secret desire was to go into politics. Women are woefully underrepresented in politics and that shy Holly wanted to break out of her cocoon and step onto the world stage made me so happy!

I also wanted her to have the world's greatest mentor to teach her confidence. Enter Holly Barros and Aunt Celeste.
 (To be continued....)

I made Pinterest boards for Vamping It Up and Keeping It Up!
Live Like Celeste
Vamping It Up
Keeping It Up

 

---

Have you read Vamping It Up or Keeping It Up? Can you tell me what you liked about the books? What do you want to see more of in light-hearted erotica? Authors loooooooooooooove feedback. :)

Thank you!

Pinterest Love.

I love my Pinterest boards. I use them for brainstorming on my books and for general inspiration. Here are a few of my boards and their pins.

Live Like Celeste
My friend Babs and I came up with this board one day when we decided we wished we could be Celeste Barros from Vamping It Up and Keeping It Up. Celeste is brave, bold, and super-stylish. Here are a few outfits we thought she would wear.

This is what she wears in Keeping It Up to meet her new lover.

Some Alexander McQueen.

Keeping It Up
Who doesn't love doing research? And who doesn't love doing research on a location for sexy good times?  This is the library at Vilnius University in Lithuania. 
 

Where I imagined Holly and Linc getting it on.

Curse of the Spider Woman 
I'll be honest. I based Jordan Tasos, the hunky ex-lover of my main character Rachel Havelock on Jeremy Renner. 

Can you blame me?

And this is Rachel.

 

The Auntie Vamp series has a new release!

Celeste and her naughty historian

I have released the sequel to Vamping It Up: Everyone, please welcome back Celeste and Holly in Keeping It Up!

Back in Vamping It Up, Holly Barros gained confidence, lovers, and her life's work. Her aunt, Celeste Barros, taught the young woman the ways to self-power.

Five years later, Holly is on the edge of being confirmed as the North American representative of the Supernatural Council.
She's has grown in confidence and influence since her ex-fiancé dumped her five years ago. She is ready to take over her great-aunt’s position on the International Paranormal Council. She’s got influence, she’s got the ideas, and her lover/bodyguard, former Marine Lincoln Jones, has the moves to keep her safe.

Is Lincoln capable of keeping up the good work guarding Holly’s body?

Glamorous vampire Celeste Barros has never been afraid of risks, but she has played it safe in love for centuries. Now she is ready to retire from high-stakes international politics. Perhaps a new, more leisurely lifestyle could bring a new, fresh perspective on love. Young historian Grayson Brown is interested in more than a frolic with the much older woman.

Could Grayson be capable of Keeping It Up for Celeste?

Welcome to my Literary Lair.

Hi, I'm Linda Mercury and I write very sexy paranormal romances!

Dracula's Secret is my first book and the first in the Blood Wings trilogy. The second and third books, Dracula's Desires and Dracula Unleashed, are currently being re-edited and will be released in 2017.

As you may guess, it's about Dracula. :)

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 Curse of the Spider Woman is a stand-alone novel that blends Ancient Greek Mythology with the action-adventure tension of a James Bond movie.

With consensual sex, that is.

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 Vamping It Up is an erotic coming of age novel with a very special breed of vampire.

Read about Holly getting her mojo back here at

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 The Little Sexy Workbook is for all the people who want to have a joyous, uninhibited sex life. If you want to be able to communicate fearlessly with your lover, this is the book for you!

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Hello, and awesome to meet you! 

The Pleasure Center: Miser's Vacations

The Pleasure Center series isn't all baths and sexy. Sometimes, pleasure is about dreaming of a different life. My mother used to call these dreams and fantasies Miser's Vacations, because they cost no money but still refresh.

The Orient Express

One of my favorite Miser Vacations is fantasizing about glamorous rail travel. I love this thought so much, I've written and re-written variations on train sex and finally got it on in Vamping It Up.

I am fascinated by comfortable, leisurely travel since I love to visit new places. Can you imagine dining like this??

The Orient Express in Andaluz

I love writing on trains, too. You are away from your usual demands. I use the time for daydreaming and brainstorming.

And just for a tease, here is a section of my heroine Holly's train fantasy, just for you.

Her Marine knelt behind her and rested his face against the inward curve of the small of her back. He inhaled as though smelling her deepest essence. Holly rested her weight on his chest and closed her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her abdomen and placed his hands below her navel. His teeth tugged her tee-shirt higher. He licked the small patch of skin he revealed. Holly shuddered. The hairs on her arms raised in response to his soft tongue.

He blew cool air against the wet spot. Her nipples hardened.

Holly pressed her bottom into his body, wanting his tongue and hands on more sensitive places.

He obeyed her silent command. He cupped her ankles and caressed her legs up to her hidden ass cheeks. Her bare, sensitized skin registered the lines on his palms and the whorls of his fingertips.

He squeezed the hem of her shirt over her ass and hissed in excitement when he saw her panties. A pink satin bow sat right above her tailbone. Thin red straps of lace led from the bow out to the leg band, creating a fan-like pattern over her dark skin.

“So beautiful,” he breathed against her cheeks. He cupped the sides of her hips, just over her saddlebags, and squeezed.

His action shocked her. Her hips were her least favorite part of her body, and he was worshipping them as though they were delectable.

“You have a perfect ass,” he growled. His lips vibrated against her. The buzz traveled through her pelvic bone and set her clitoris alive.

She couldn’t help herself. Holly ground her butt against his face. She willed him to go faster, to put that delicious tingle where it would do the most good.

Vlogging It Up!

Can I tempt you with my latest book, Vamping It Up? It makes an excellent summer read. :)

Warning - naughty language!

Perhaps you need a second helping?

Go HERE if the video doesn't work.

Quotes and snippets from Vamping It Up

Every so often, I like revisiting my books and choosing lines that I particularly like. Here are some from Vamping It Up.

Holly Barros hated her sex drive.

***

She would be a good girl. Like right now.

A good girl wouldn’t purse her lips in fascination at the muscles in another man’s shoulders as he dug a phone out of his back pocket. His enormous hand dwarfed the device. Wide, sensual fingers danced over the glass surface.

Big hands, big cock, Blaine’s werewolf cousins used to whisper when they watched soccer games and compared the players. He would have to have a horse dick to fit those broad hands. Her throat dried.

 ***

His outstretched hand was cool and dry as he helped her up from the couch. He placed his hands on her hips and guided her to his bedroom. “We have the time. I’m sure we can do it more than once. Math majors are fun that way.”

More than once? Wow.

“I’m not orgasmic,” she warned.

“I’m not goal oriented,” he replied.

***

Someone knocked on the door.

“Locksmith,” a voice called from the hallway.

“Coming,” Steven called back.

“No shit,” the locksmith yelled. “The whole building knows that.”

Steven laughed. She giggled, surprisingly proud of herself. Blaine could bite her. This is what really good sex was all about.

 ***

 Celeste’s hand left the camera frame and re-emerged with a full martini glass, complete with lemon twist. “My dear. There are no cures for a broken heart. But the best bandages are copious amounts of champagne, ridiculously expensive shoes, and a procession of nubile men.”

 ***

She wanted a life filled with pleasure. The big joys, too, like the epiphanies of generosity, not just bodily sensations such as food and drink and scent, but the sensuality of intellectual stimulation.

How many times had she come back from a challenging lecture on the politics of the emergence of the parallel court system ready to jump Blaine?

Cerebral pursuits turned her on.The corners of her mouth curved in delicious remembrance of Steven’s talented and curious body. Bliss and carnality and hedonism all conjoining with mental inspiration.

***

Being CEO of BarrosCorp was a difficult, demanding job. The long hours, endless travel, and the relentless pounding against the glass ceiling left Holly with certain needs. Animalistic, carnal, raw needs. Needs that were about to be met.

 ***

“And I see something that fits our vacation mood,” Celeste smiled. She beckoned to someone behind Holly. A perfectly ripped young man in a Roman gladiator outfit approached them, a golden tray of small bites on his shoulder. He stopped in front of the two women.
“Fruit, ladies? Chocolates, perhaps?”
“Some of us embrace the power of ‘and’.” Celeste said.

Quotes and snippets: Vamping It Up.

Celeste sipped her drink. “Enough of work. We are on vacation. Cheers.”

“Gan Pei!” Holly clinked their glassed together and they drank.

“And I see something that fits our vacation mood,” Celeste smiled. She beckoned to someone behind Holly.

 A perfectly ripped young man in a Roman gladiator outfit approached them, a golden tray of small bites on his shoulder. He stopped in front of the two women. “Fruit, ladies? Chocolates, perhaps?”

 “Some of us embrace the power of ‘and’.” Celeste smiled, her half-open eyes smoldering in admiration.

The waiter sat on the arm of Celeste’s chair and selected a fat, wet, strawberry. Grinning like they had a naughty secret, she bit into the luscious fruit. The berry’s juice stained her already red mouth.

 Holly blushed but she didn’t glance away. She watched as her aunt licked her lips, leaving a moist sensual shine. The boy’s eyelids dropped and he focused on Celeste’s mouth. The two shared a languorous, heated look, setting the cool indoor air on fire. He whispered in Celeste’s ear, making her lashes lower in agreement. With a small tilt of her head, Celeste motioned for their gallant to serve Holly.

He pivoted, a grape waiting for her in his fingers. Holly opened her own mouth, making him come to her. He sat on her chair and laid the purple-black globe on her tongue. She bit, relishing the juices bursting through the thin skin.

Their attendant stood, his thigh muscles shifting under his battle kilt. He blew Celeste a kiss, winked at Holly, and disappeared into the crowd. Sweat gathered on the back of her neck. The little display lasted less than a minute but the power of pleasure and attraction filled her.

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New book!

As you know, I have a new book out! Vamping It Up, an erotic coming-of-age novella was released on October 25th. This is my fourth book, and the first I've self-published. And I am so stoked. :)

How about another teaser snippet?

She stretched and yawned. What adventure could happen next?“

Good morning,” a half-asleep masculine voice greeted her from the hallway. Holly opened her mouth to say hello, but her jaw stayed open.

A half-asleep Dante was a mostly-naked Dante. Oh, last night, he’d looked mighty fine in a pair of black trousers and a half-unbuttoned white linen shirt. In the morning light, though, he wore a pair of red boxer briefs cut high on the thigh and the crotch cupped his package.

She swallowed. Dante had no worries in the cock-size department. Her nipples rose against the satin.

To buy:
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Available both in e-book and print.

Vamping It Up: Are you ready?

Vamping It Up will be released on Friday, October 24th, 2014 - Just in time for your Halloween reading needs!

To whet your appetite, here is what happens after Holly decides to free herself from her ex's mindset.

***

“Hey, what did that door ever do to you?” Her neighbor, Steven Dearborne, spoke from his doorway. The only time Blaine met Steven, her former fiancée claimed the other man was a horn dog. “Don’t talk to him. He wants to fuck you. A guy doesn’t smile at a girl unless he wants to fuck her.” She had believed Blaine’s assessment. After all, her ex-fiancé was older and more experienced. Hindsight told her his order revealed more about Blaine than about Steven. As a result of her blind trust, she knew very little about Steven.

He was a graduate student in math, shaved his head, and wasn’t with his noisy girlfriend any more. Today, his bald scalp gleamed with perspiration.

Unlike slender, hairless Blaine, Steven’s auburn chest hair decorated a broad barrel chest set with heavy muscles. He would have been right at home in one of those old pirate movies with strong men chained to the oars. Holly gazed at his chest. His pectoral muscles rose from his sternum in a graceful arch. His belly wasn’t a cobbled eight pack, but it was flat and tight, belying the stereotype of the sedentary math major. His reddish body hair was fine and pettable, like the softest fur.

Under that thin coat, his muscles moved with a supple enticement, drawing her attention to the line from his navel to his crotch. Holly glanced down, expecting to see the ubiquitous cargo shorts all men wore around campus. Instead, Steven wore a black and tan sarong decorated with enormous, frolicking geckos. His lax genitalia pressed against the thin cotton. He hooked his thumb under the waistband of his sarong and fanned his fingers.

Steven was framing his wedding tackle. Steven was uncircumcised and dressed to the right. Well, hello, Steven.

Vamping It Up; Are you ready?

Poor Holly! What is she going to do now that her long term fiance has revealed himself to be a liar and a cheat?

***

The harps sounded again.

I want the ring back. Bring it by tonight.

 Rage welled inside of her, hotter than the blistering road. The sun no longer burned.

“Fuck.”

 Holly rarely let herself use the ultimate profanity. As the expletive burst from her mouth, a valve inside of her soul released.

Fuck him.

Fuck his father, fuck her dependency, and fuck her making him the axis of her universe.

She wasn’t going to be his patsy, his best friend, his lover-but-not-really. Holly was done being his doormat.

She poked out the words to her return message. You want it, you get it yourself.

The harps sang with Blaine’s response. If you want to cop an attitude, that’s your problem, not mine.

Holly dumped the phone back into her bag. With the same hand, she removed the offending Batman comic she had bought for his gift. With deliberate, precise movements, she tore open the slick plastic bag. She gripped the front cover and with a surge of strength, shredded each and every page into tiny, multicolored confetti.

The story had been a steaming pile of misogynistic doo-doo anyway. She dumped the heaping pile of crap into the garbage can by the driver.

Hell.

She should have gotten her money back. The refund could have paid for her first vibrator.

Vamping It Up will be released Friday, October 24th! Meet Holly Barros, a shy, young woman who is about to find out some very unwelcome news.

***

An angelic harp arpeggio emanated from her backpack. “Oh.” That was Blaine’s text message tone. She plunged her hand into her cavernous bag. Probably some last minute instructions for tonight’s party planning dinner. What to wear, perhaps, or who she needed to talk to. Huffing and puffing from the heat, she unlocked the screen.

Theresa  is having my baby. I won’t marry you. 

Holly froze. He couldn’t mean Theresa Harrison, the bane of Holly’s existence? Her arch enemy from kindergarten to sophomore year of high school?

She blinked her eyes, shook her head. The heat must have done a number on her vision. Blaine couldn’t have said that. She must have misread it. Confident again, she opened her eyes.

And there it was, in damning black and white.

Theresa is having my baby. I won’t marry you.

The words twisted in front of her. The bottom of her stomach plummeted, leaving her hollow and brittle. The seat burned her thighs, but it barely registered. Nothing mattered except the message on the screen.

Blaine didn’t want her. Her entire existence for the last five years had been centered on Blaine. When she traveled to see her aunt or to attend out of town school functions, he complained. Holly knew it was because he loved her and wanted her around. She called him every morning to wake him and she called him at night to tuck him in.

The skin on her scalp yanked tight, adding to the headache streaking along her brow line. Unthinking, she unwound her ponytail. The curly black strands stuck to her forehead and neck. She’d not cut her hair since she was seventeen when Blaine told her he liked long hair. Even the cherry-dotted mini-sundress she wore was in response to Blaine’s tastes, even though its beige background clashed with the brown skin and black hair of her Portuguese ancestors.

Small, strong, with a full bottom but small breasts, she secretly wanted to wear pin-up girl clothes to show off her rear. Instead, the little dress was cut straight up and down; a style best suited for a narrow-hipped, fair-skinned waif. Like Theresa.

Who was she if she wasn’t Blaine Harrington’s girlfriend?

Vamping It Up Cover reveal!

Do you want to see the cover for my new novella? I said, DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE COVER FOR MY NEW NOVELLA????
 
Well, since you insist. ;)
****

When half-vampire Holly Barros’s fiancé dumps her via text, she knows she’s gotta do something new with her life. Her glamorous great-aunt, vampire Celeste Barros, states that the girl needs a vacation, and how!

Celeste flies Holly from Seattle to Las Vegas, where she discovers the real meaning of Sin City. The Strip is full of sexy men, eager to tempt and please the broken-hearted young woman. 

Can Holly find out who she wants to be, vampire or human, in the midst of the whirl of Nevada? She’s willing and ready to find out!

 

***

Holly will be released on the world soon!

Vacation!

World's coolest tree in Lahaina.

Hello from Maui! I'm soaking up sun and relaxation before I start the push to self-publish Vamping It Up.

But to keep your appetite whetted, here's an excerpt from Chapter Two:

“Shit.”

Holly stared at the broken key sticking out of her apartment’s deadbolt. Frustrated beyond belief, she pounded her fist against the metal door.

Damn, that was satisfying.

She pounded again. And once more, with all her strength. The impact jarred her clavicle.

“Double shit.” She shook out her arm. The gathered sweat under her dress cascaded down her back.

Yuck.

The air conditioning in the apartment building hadn’t been turned on yet, either.

She dropped her head on the blessedly cool door. “Triple shit.”