What Women Really Want in a Man

robert-redford-shared-photo-1181617560Here’s what I’ve learned from interacting with my readers:

  1. We want a man who is strong with a sensitive side.
  2. Romance us. We want a man who will surprise us now and again.
  3. We crave empathy and understanding. Put away all your tools for fixing things and just hold us and tell us it’ll be okay.
  4. Most of us enjoy a door held open for us and chair pulled out.
  5. We love you taking control in the bedroom but not in the rest of our lives.
  6. We never tire of compliments. Telling us we look beautiful never gets old.
  7. We crave your interest in us. Take the time to get know us. Ask questions.
  8. We want a man who is confident enough to share his flaws. We aren’t looking for perfection.
  9. Loyalty and honesty tops the traits most women look for in a man.
  10. We want a man that takes his time to learn our body. His excitement steams from bringing us to intense orgasms.

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Nanowrimo and Fitness Challenge

November is the month for me to get off my ass, literally and figuratively. Although I’m not entering any of the Nanowrimo contests and I’ve already started my novel, I am using the daily discipline to help me finish Blue Persuasion this month. That’s right, you heard it here first!  Continue reading

Blakely’s Friday Interview with Matthew Peters

Please give a warm welcome to Matthew Peters, author of The Brothers’ Keepers and Conversations Among Ruins.

Matthew PetersTell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
I’m a recovering academic who now writes fiction. I’m promoting a religious mystery/thriller called The Brothers’ Keepers and a literary novel called Conversations Among Ruins.

Who or what inspires you?
Music inspires me, especially classical music, Leonard Cohen, and my favorite country singer Jeanne Jolly.

Do you have an agent and/or publisher or are you self-published? If self-published, do you use a professional editor? If traditionally published, who is your publisher?
Both my books have been picked up by small presses. All Things That Matter Press is publishing Conversations Among Ruins and MuseItUp is publishing The Brothers’ Keepers. Continue reading

Blakely’s Friday Interview with Clara Grace Walker

Please give a warm welcome to Clara Grace Walker, author of Gratification, Gossip, and Redemption.

AuthorPhotoOption2Tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
At 9 years old I realized I loved books so much I wanted to write them. While I have worked “day jobs” at times, nothing has ever felt like my true calling, save being an author. I’m a creative soul, and I like to express that in a number of different ways, including photography, scrapbooking and various crafting projects.

Currently, I’m promoting the three books that make up my Desire Never Dies trilogy: Gratification, Gossip, and Redemption, while working on my fourth novel. Exploits will be the first of a 4-book series titled Sex and Secrets. This writing gig keeps me pretty busy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂  Continue reading

Why Women Love Their Alpha Book Boyfriends…

by Frank Carroll http://goo.gl/idRdqV

by Frank Carroll http://goo.gl/idRdqV

If you’re a fan of romance or erotica, you might think women love their “alpha males” because they are perfect. However, I’m here to tell you, that isn’t so. I personally love my strong book-boyfriends flawed with room to grow. I like when there is personal conflict that needs to be resolved.

My favorite romance author, Lisa Kleypas, especially in the Hathaway Series, knows how to craft complex characters with yummy flaws to reconcile.

Some say that romance stories create an unreasonable standard for men to meet. I strongly disagree. I have found my alpha male (19+ years together) who is my utter complement. Continue reading

The Power of Choice

8650924544_cf6d44a327_oMy husband and I were at a small art fair this weekend selling our books. A woman stopped at our table and mentioned—rather passionately—that she abhorred 50 Shades of Grey (she had read the first two books). She was concerned about the lack of consensual sex in 50 Shades and at least to me, in the first book it was clearly 100% Anastasia’s decision (I haven’t read the other two). Grey placed all his cards on the table in FSOG and Ana knew what she was getting into. Continue reading

Blakely’s Friday Interview with Stuart Land

Please give a warm welcome to Stuart Land, author of Endless Sky.

Stuart-CambodiaTell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
Hi! My pen name is Stuart Land…wait, that’s also my real name. Today, I’m a full-time novelist and screenwriter. Well, today and for the next few months, I’m a novelist. I might be a screenwriter for the next few months after that, though. Sometimes I’m also a sculptor and occasionally work on movies. I worked in Hollywood for 15 years doing sculpture for special effects, and twice within the last year and a half I went to Beijing to work on Chinese films. This turned out to be a double treat as they also bought one of my scripts. It also played havoc with my novel writing since I was in the middle of two novels at the time.  Continue reading

While I Was Away

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Alice Popkorn – http://goo.gl/ex4LVu

What I realized:
While taking time off from social media and writing, it became clear to me that I need to spend more time doing what I truly love to do and spend less hours of the day on social media constantly pushing and promoting. I’m not saying there is no value to promoting; however I do believe that more books and less promotion will generate more sales than fewer novels and more advertising. Continue reading

RELEASE DAY BLAST for BITTERSWEET DECEIT by Blakely Bennett

Blakely Bennett 3 New Release Timeline 07272014 copy
Title: Bittersweet Deceit
Author: Blakely Bennett
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Cover Designer: Yocla Designs
Editing: Read Owl

 

Lainie is a thirty year old, full-figured woman entrenched in a love affair with a married man. Although Lainie loves Mason desperately, she vows never to say those three little words while he remains with his wife.

Stayman, an enigma in Lainie’s close-knit group of friends, has been circling her with interest, trying to garner her attention. When circumstances make it clear who’s blocking his way—Mason—Stay goes full-court press in pursuit of Lainie.

Lainie doesn’t see Stay as relationship potential because she is blinded by her love for Mason. However, the more she learns about Stay, the more she comes to realize she never really knew him in the first place.

An unexplainable mystical connection evolves between Lainie and Stay and she has to choose between a man she so hopelessly loves and a man who offers her everything she needs.

 

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Bittersweet Deceit Release Party

BittersweetdeceitebookIt’s so exciting to have another novel out! I honestly think it’s my best writing to date. Below are the links to buy.

Please join me on Facebook for the release event, games, and giveaways HERE.

Join the rafflecopter giveaway HERE.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
iTunes

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