Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Sue Lyndon's Old Fashioned Doctor - Was She Ever His Naughty Nurse?

I'm happy to have Sue Lyndon as my guest today. She's sharing her hot new medical play novel Her Old Fashioned Doctor.

Kallista: Before we get a sneak peek at your new book, can you tell us how you got started writing?

Sue: Writing a book was always something that rested in the back of my mind, ever since I was a child. I decided to go back to school for nursing after my third child was born, but then due to some family circumstances I had to take a year off. I decided then to go for it, and to try to write my first book during that year off school.

During that year I wrote a 100K+ space opera novel (which has never been published, but it helped me learn how to write), a couple of short stories I managed to sell to magazines, and my first erotic romance novella. I never returned to nursing school, obviously. Okay, I think over-answered this question, LOL. But sometimes I think about re-editing that first novel and trying to get it published. Someday.

Kallista: Hmmm...nursing school, huh? Are any of those hot medical play scenes in your book taken from real life experiences? (Sue gives me a naughty smile and refuses to answer.) I'm gonna take that as a yes and re-read some of those scenes! In the meantime, we're all eager to hear an excerpt from your newest book:

“I can tell you’ve been crying, darlin’. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

She shook her head. “No. Nothing like that.” She stared into his eyes, wondering if she could trust him, wondering if it mattered if she spilled her troubles at his feet, just to get them off her chest. Maybe then some of the worry darkening her mood would lift. “Promise you won’t judge me?”

“I promise.”

She sighed. What the hell. “I was engaged to be married in about six months. Two nights ago I caught my husband-to-be with three prostitutes. We’ve been engaged for years, since shortly after high school, and the plan was that we’d always get married and have a big fancy wedding after I finished college. We’d just bought a house together, and I caught him in our bedroom with all three of those girls. So I packed a suitcase, hit him in the balls, and left.”

“You kicked him in the balls?”

“He pissed me off, and he was standing in my way. Technically I didn’t kick him in the balls, I swung my suitcase into his crotch. Knocked him on the floor too,” she said with pride as she recalled the pain twisting Steven’s face before she walked off.

“Remind me to never piss you off.”

Her Old Fashioned Doctor
After she catches her fiancé cheating on her, Melissa packs a suitcase and sets out on a road trip to give herself some time to recover. But things take an unexpected turn when she rear-ends Dr. John Holden’s truck in a tiny rural town and he responds by inviting her for an impromptu dinner date. The handsome medic’s charm and take-charge manner—not to mention his willingness to spank her bare bottom if he feels it necessary—all combine to set Melissa’s heart beating faster than it has in a long time. Almost before she knows it, Melissa finds herself falling deeply in love with the old-fashioned doctor, even though she’s only known him for a couple of days. But is her rapidly growing crush on John merely a rebound fling, or can his hold on her heart last forever? Publisher’s Note: Her Old-Fashioned Doctor is an erotic romance novel that includes spankings, sexual scenes, medical play, anal play, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book. This book is also available as part of a five-book collection entitled What the Doctor Ordered.

Buy links for Her Old-Fashioned Doctor:

Buy links for What the Doctor Ordered (contains 5 naughty medical play stories by Natasha Knight, Trent Evans, Tara Finnegan, Sue Lyndon, and Casey McKay):

Author bio: Sue Lyndon is a multi-published author of erotic BDSM romance and spanking romances. She enjoys a good book in any genre, loves Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, and runs on coffee and chocolate.

Here's where you can find Sue http://www.suelyndon.com

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Stevie MacFarlane's Heart-Shaped Honeymoon Disaster

Welcome, Stevie MacFarlane. You've just written a new time-travel Western In This Lifetime, Morgan's Journey and I'm dying to hear all about it.

But first -Valentine's Day is coming up soon, Stevie. Although we both write erotic romances about people who have just met THE ONE, you and I have been happily married for a long time. Oops...wait. That didn't come out quite right. Married to OTHER people! Anyway, we both know not every sex night measures up to the ones in our books. Do you have a story you'd like to share that would never happen to one of your heroines?

Stevie: My husband and I never had a real honeymoon. Every time we planned to go away something happened. He broke his hand, I broke my foot and was on crutches, well it just never worked out for us. Finally one time we took a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. We got a room in this motel with a fancy red heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub. This was a new experience for us, so we walked downtown and bought some bubble bath. It seemed like a pretty big tub and I guess we used way to much.
I was sitting in the tub enjoying the bubbles and he was getting ready to get in so I told him to hit the switch on the wall. Big mistake on my part, huge! Suddenly I was in what seemed like a giant blender. I’m pretty short, my feet didn’t reach the end of the tub and my arms couldn’t grab the sides. Bubbles were climbing out of the tub, spilling onto the carpet and going up the mirrored walls. I really thought I was going to drown. Here I am screaming my head off, soap in my mouth and being bounced all over the place and he was laughing and taking pictures, standing there in his underwear.
Of course the photos reflected off the mirror, so he looked pretty stupid too, standing there nearly naked, so it wasn’t a total loss. He wanted me to get back in with him, swore he wouldn’t touch the switch, but having bubbles up my nose and my eyes spoiled the mood for me. I never went near it again.

Kallista: (still laughing) I think that definitely belongs in one of your books! Tell us a little about your new release.

Stevie: It's called In This Lifetime, Morgan’s Journey. Follow me to the old west, where a time traveling former Marine, meets a spunky saloon keeper. The gun-toting troublesome female tests his patience and Morgan finds he's not as politically correct as he thought. How can he be when there's nothing he wants more than to turn the little brat over his knee? Watch the sparks fly!

Kallista: Here's a sexy little snippet Stevie is sharing with us for the first time -

“Spread your legs,” he ordered quietly after removing his leg from hers. Her wide luminous gray eyes stared into his, but she didn’t move.
“Come on, Miss Sassy-Pants; do as I say. I thought you weren’t afraid of me,” he challenged with a grin.
“I’m not,” she insisted. “I’m afraid of the big, hard thing poking my hip.”
Morgan laughed. “You don’t know it yet, but he’s about to become your best friend and favorite playmate.”
Callie Mae snorted, letting her legs fall slightly apart.
“I guess some people don’t believe anything you tell them,” he said sadly, his hand moving lower. “The Show Me state is across the border.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, baby, you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Oh, honey, that’s so nice,” he cooed sliding his finger between her lips. “I love how wet you are for me.”
“What?”
“This,” he said as he slipped lower. “It’s your body getting ready for me. You’re excited. Do you feel this little bump right here?” he asked as he gently circled it.
Callie Mae nodded, worried her heart was about to jump right out of her chest.
“Well this tiny little nubbin belongs to me now. I get to play with it whenever I want. There’s another spot inside you that’s similar and that’s mine too. Understand?” he asked firmly.
“Yes,” she groaned out, arching her back. Her head was swirling. How could he make her feel this way with one finger, touching one tiny spot? It was all so confusing and why was he saying it belonged to him? Surely her body was her own.
Morgan smiled. What a wonderful time in history to live. Callie Mae knew nothing about masturbating or dildos. He would never have to compete with the latest vibrator, no groups of twittering females drinking wine and discussing who did what, with what and to whom. No, he’d been given a golden opportunity here. A beautiful, virginal woman he could satisfy the way God intended, with his body and his love. He would give her as much pleasure as she could handle and in ways only a modern man could conceive of.

In This Lifetime, Morgan's Journey

Former Marine, Morgan Whittaker is but a shadow of the man he once was. Plagued by personal tragedy, his marriage in shambles; it’s no shock to him when he’s wounded while serving his last tour of duty. The only surprise is that he’s alive at all. Now he just wants to be left alone.
Despite knowing their marriage is over, Cara Whittaker finds it painful and annoying to see what her husband has become. As a last resort at helping him, along with increasing her status at the top secret government agency she works for, she offers him a once in a lifetime chance to travel back in time.
What he finds there is more than he ever dreamed. A new life, a family and love in the form of a spunky little saloon keeper in desperate need of discipline. Can he take the risk of remaining in 1880? He’s been warned not to tamper with the fragile fabric of the future, but he knows danger is coming. Can he stop it and change his destiny or will he run out of time?
Will he once again follow the rules or will he throw caution to the wind and step up to be the man he’s meant to be?

Here's the buy link for my new book on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1COzMUM

It's not on B&N yet, but it is on Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/in-this-lifetime-morgan-s-journey

Stevie MacFarlane lives in upstate New York with her husband of many years. She currently has 11 books out, including her very popular series about an Irish-American family, The O’Malley’s. To explain her writing preference she used a quote from her Amazon Author’s Page. “All of my books are romances. I like a lot of conversation, a bit of humor, some fairly hot sex and spanking. If you're into whips and chains, these probably aren't for you. However, if you've ever watched a movie where the leading lady is being a perfect bitch and you feel like yelling at the leading man, "Oh my God, spank her you fool!" these might be right up your alley.”

You can find Stevie at: Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/Stevie-MacFarlane/e/B00AJD34BU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1422383716&sr=8-1 Website: http://steviemacfarlane.weebly.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevie.macfarlane.7 Twitter: @steviemac1175 Email: steviemacfarlane@aol.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Sex Sells - Renee Rose's Four Tips Guarantee You'll Make Money Writing Erotica

Wondering if you can REALLY pay the bills selling what you write? Are you struggling just to make enough to cover the cost of the endless cups of coffee you consume while sitting at the computer? Today, Renee Rose spills the beans on how much she makes as an award-winning author of erotica.

Renee, how did you get started writing erotica?

Renee: When I fell into writing spanking romance, I got lucky. It just so happened that the thing I wanted to write most in the world also happened to be a niche in which it’s easy to make a solid living. Within six months I was making enough each month to pay the mortgage and in a year I was making what I consider a full-time living. I read a figure (which I’m sorry, I can’t seem to dig up the reference now) that only seven percent of authors make it to five figures a year. Really? I’m in the top seven percent? Am I that good? Nope. Not at all.

I cringe over some of my earlier works–overly wordy with too much passive voice, overused words like “that” and beating the reader over the head with the character’s emotions. But I always think how lucky I was to be able to hone my craft while still making money. I didn’t spend the last two years working on one perfect novel. I wrote 20 novellas, which provide a passive income stream while I work on new books.

Here are Renee's Top Four Tips ( from her guest post on Write Sex Right )

1. Be a Big Fish in a Small Sea – Find your Niche
The trick, I think to making a living writing erotica, is to find that targeted niche. Spanking romance is one of them. We learned at Eroticon 2014 from Josephine Myles and Anna Martin that M/M Erotic Romance is another highly lucrative niche... There are many ready-made markets out there to small, targeted niches...I think it was quite easy for me to get noticed and gather a following in this smaller pool.

2. Shame Sells
Another reason spanking romance makes for quick sales there is more shame associated with it. I think people who are into BDSM, have probably admitted it to themselves and their partner, while people with spanking fantasies are often in the closet. I believe where there’s more shame and therefore less self-actualization with the sexual kink/orientation, sales are higher. Readers are looking for an outlet/expression of their kink because they may not be asking for it at home.

There are many other kinks like this. Age play, diaper play, lactation, pony play, monster erotica, anything considered taboo. There are a few targeted publishers that serve these genres, and therefore have a ready made audience. With spanking romance, there are two major publishers, and if you publish with them, you are practically guaranteed decent sales, even as a brand new author.

3. Know Your Audience
There are by far, more female readers than male, so in spanking fiction, femme dom books are not the big sell. M/f are. Josephine Myles and Anna Martin explained the same thing for the M/M romance– most of their readers are hetero women. If you don’t write to that audience, it’s fine, I’m not suggesting you “sell out” but just consider how to target your audience.

4. Keep Writing
Back when I was in my twenties, a therapist gave me an article on perfectionism. In it, the author described how limiting it can be to our success– you never publish that book because you are waiting to get it just right. As I mentioned above, I guess I might have one kick ass book if I’d spent the past two years refining it to submit to a top five publisher (who of course wouldn’t take spanking romance!) but instead I made money while improving with each book I wrote. One of the major tricks to making a living writing is to keep your output up. Your new books sell your back list and keep your name out there. If you think you don’t have enough time to produce books at the rate of one every couple months, try a productivity tool like the Write or Die web app (it’s free, you don’t have to download it, just use the one on the screen). You’ll be amazed at how many words you can write in 30 minutes a day! Certainly enough to publish a novella every two months!

About Renee Rose

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Stevie MacFarlane Shows Us Stress Relief, Navy SEAL Style

Welcome Stevie MacFarlane! We haven't had the pleasure of chatting privately before. So first, of course, the obvious question. How did you become a writer?

Stevie: I think I’ve always been a writer, just not very structured. In 1991 I wrote Changing Her Mind, partly to challenge myself that I could actually write a novel and as a way to deal with the tremendous amount of stress I was under. My husband was very ill and I was devastated. Writing helped me escape into another world.

Displaying TroublewithAbby-SM

Kallista: I think many of us turn to writing as an escape. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Stevie: I’ve had a couple of authors show me extraordinary kindness, Mary Quast and Maggie Ryan. They are terrific women and I’m lucky to have found them. They were there for me when I needed them.

Kallista: We're glad they encouraged you, since without them we might never have been able to find out just what The Trouble With Abby is! Tell us a little about your new book.

Stevie: Abigail Steven's life changed the moment she woke up in Connor McCabe's bed. The former Navy Seal has his own code of conduct, and is hell-bent on teaching Abby a thing or two about proper behavior, for her own good, of course. Abby thinks the bossy, overgrown G.I Joe is gorgeous. He made her heart flutter and her knees weak, but she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. After all, she has a black belt for cripes sake.

Connor disagrees and has no problem pulling her over his knee for a little convincing. Adjusting a naughty female attitude is right up his alley. When trouble comes to The O'Malley family, Abby and Connor suddenly find themselves up to their necks in danger. The women need a hero, but who will it be?

Thank you, Stevie for treating us to this nice long look at The Trouble With Abby:

Pulling a black lace nightgown from one rack, she held it up to her body. “What do you think? Is this worth $3,000?” she asked. “Maybe on you,” he answered with a grin, “but for the average customer, no, I don’t think so.” “Me neither,” she sighed in disgust as she pulled large handfuls of hangers from the rack and carried the garments to the counter. “I must have been out of my mind when I priced these things.” “It’s alright, babe. You were probably tired. Mistakes happen,” he said, leaning against the wall, watching her. “I can’t afford these kinds of mistakes,” she snapped. “All it would take is for one customer to come in here and see prices like that and I could be ruined. My store would be a failure if word got around that I was way over-priced. I have to stay competitive if I’m going to make it.” He watched her hands shaking as she snipped all the tags off. “Abby, you need to take it easy. I know you’re stressed,” he continued, walking behind the counter and putting his big hands on her shoulders, massaging gently. “Relax.” “Really? You think I should just relax when my whole future is riding on this? When I’ve sunk every dime of my money into this place and a huge amount of small business loans besides?” she said, spinning to glare at him. “I’ll be bankrupt if this place doesn’t turn a profit,” she shouted, pushing away from him. “I could end up homeless, out on the street,” she continued. “Now you’re really on a roll,” Connor replied, trying to hide his grin. “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating, just a little?” “No! And now some psycho is threatening the people I care about most. You’re supposed to be good at this stuff, covert operations and all that. Why don’t you go find this guy and just…shoot him or something? You’ve got a big gun,” she pointed out. “Bloodthirsty little thing aren’t you?” Connor said, smiling as he scooped her up into his arms and began walking toward the dressing rooms. “What are you doing?” she screeched. “I don’t have time for a quickie!” “We are going to have a little talk, you and I,” he informed her, pushing open the door of the largest room with the toe of his boot. Three of the walls were mirrored and a matched pair of floral loveseats provided comfortable seating. Putting her on her feet, he sat and spread his knees, pulling her between them. “First of all, I can’t just go and shoot someone and I wouldn’t even if I could. Would I like to beat the piss out of him for what he’s done? You bet I would,” he growled.

Abby was eye-level and he was sure she saw the truth of that in his eyes when she backed up a step. Snagging the waist of her jeans, he hauled her back. “Second, I want your store to be a success, I really do, but no more talk about your life being over if it isn’t,” he ordered. “You do have a future, with me, and you damn well know it. I want you to stop acting like what we have, our relationship, means nothing. Do you hear me?” he said sternly, popping the snap at her waist and sliding her jeans down to mid-thigh. Gripping the cheeks of her ass, he gave them a little squeeze. “Well, it can’t mean much,” she sassed, struggling to pull her pants back up. “Oh, and why would you say that?” he asked, surprised. “I don’t see anything on this finger,” she snapped, wiggling the ring finger of her left hand in his face. “Do you love me?” he asked clearly. “When I don’t hate you,” she drawled sweetly. Connor released her butt and ran his hand through his short hair, sighing. Spinning, Abby took two steps, preparing to run, but her pants caught her up and she started to tumble to the floor. In a flash, he hooked his strong arm under her belly and pulled her over his knees. He stripped her jeans and panties off her kicking legs and slapped her bottom crisply. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the old-fashioned type,” he informed her, swatting her again and enjoying the sight of his pink hand print. “Oh, I’ve noticed,” she squealed, “a real Neanderthal.” “As a rule, I’m not particularly fond of bossy, pushy women,” he continued, spanking her rapidly with five more smacks. “No kidding?” Abby gasped. “Yes, it’s true,” he sighed, grinning at her in the mirror and watching as she nervously bit her lip. “A man likes to do things in his own way, on his own timetable. He doesn’t like to be rushed making big decisions and marriage is about the biggest in my book,” he said, letting his hand fall another three times. “I understand,” she cried, hissing as he rubbed her bottom. “No, I don’t think you do, baby. I don’t believe in divorce and that means you’ll be stuck with me and I with you for all eternity. I want us both to go into it with our eyes wide open. In other words, marriage shouldn’t be lust-inspired,” he continued, spanking her five more times.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q0JX3PY

Blushing:http://www.blushingbooks.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3105

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-trouble-with-abby-blushing-books/1120809322?ean=2940150643956

Author Bio:

Stevie MacFarlane lives in rural upstate New York with her family. When not cooking for her large family she can be found curled up with a good book or writing her heart out. She currently has eleven books published and you can find them on Blushing Books, Amazon, Barnes & Nobel as well as other popular sites. You can connect with Stevie in the following ways and she loves her hear from readers.

Website: http://www.steviemacfarlane.com

Blog: http://steviemacfarlane.weebly.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevie.macfarlane.7

Email: www.steviemacfarlane@aol.com

Twitter: @StevieMac1175

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1ux9Qoq

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Key To Annie's Heart (Hint - It's Not A Naked Selfie! )

Today I'm hosting an author who is new to me. Welcome, Keriann McKenna and congratulations on your new release The Key to Annie's Heart, written with Stevie MacFarlane. Before we get into your book, tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started as a writer?

Keriann: I’ve been writing for most of my life. My first love was music and lyrics and my first song was a dreadfully simple little tune about a boy I was madly in love with at fourteen. I’m certain I drove my grandmother to distraction as I wailed this boy’s name from the piano in the living room at every opportunity…romance was in my heart even at a young age.

Later in life I developed my craft as a poet and published work in anthologies. I still write poetry but am dipping my toes in the waters of romance, both sweet and steamy.

Kallista: I admire poets. I can't even come up with the words for a dirty limerick! Your book is set on a ranch. Are you a country girl?

Keriann: I was born in a small community in Upstate New York, but left as soon as I bought a decent car that didn’t require more oil than gas…I’m not kidding. I used to pull into a service station, hand the attendant five bucks for gas and tell him to fill it up with drain oil.

I lived in Canada and the Midwest for several years before settling in the Seattle area with the love of my life. I now live in the foothills of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Kallista: What did you do before you started writing steamy romances?

Keriann: I’m retired from the counseling field although I still work crisis intervention two nights a week. I consult with and edit for other authors into the wee hours of the night, and I rescue senior dogs and give them a forever home.

Kallista: Senior dogs? It's nice to know someone is looking out for them. We recently lost our black Lab rescue dog to old age after ten years with us and I still find myself saving treats from my dinner for her.

And now for a peek at The Key to Annie's Heart -

"Oh my God!” Annie gasped, her mouth falling open as she glanced at the pictures in her email. She quickly slammed the lid of her laptop down until curiosity got the better of her and she had to look again.

Internet dating was new to Annie Campbell. Only a couple of men caught her eye; the first never responded to her message. The second man responded immediately asking for her private email address. Novice that she was, she gave it to him. She was shocked when, within ten minutes, he began sending her photos of himself standing in front of what appeared to be an enormous marble fireplace. He was totally naked from the waist down and holding his huge cock.

Some of his captions were “You’re so hot, baby! I want you to lick me all over” and “This would feel great deep inside you, call me.” The freak even included his phone number.

She wasn’t a prude; she was looking for a gentleman, not a one night stand with a man overly-impressed with his own rod. Embarrassed that she looked at all five pictures, she had to admit he had some nice equipment—too bad his ego was bigger than his dick and possibly his brain. Perhaps, under the different circumstances, she would have considered meeting him without ever knowing he was inclined to send such pictures; the thought was scary.

Shaking her head, she deleted the photos and resigned herself to the fact that he was a low-life with nothing better to do. They can’t possibly all be like this, she thought, as she blocked future emails from him.

Annie began to think this internet dating thing was truly a waste of her time, possibly even dangerous.

About the book:
To live a rancher's life in the Rocky Mountains had always been Mac's dream. He loved his place on Fall River. He was a success by anyone's measure, except his own. He failed to keep his wife content to be at home, although "home" was a dream put to architectural drawings. Too many nights she preferred to stay in town with friends rather than make the trip up the mountain. She liked to party, and winding mountain roads coupled with too much to drink ended her life. Could Mac ever forgive himself for his wife’s death?

In all his ways Mac was basic, even when it came to sex. He was a standard missionary position kind of guy with an occasional variation. That would have to change; he wanted a wife and a family—a second chance.
Annie Campbell was a busy event planner at a five star hotel in the city. Fiercely independent, she wouldn't consider herself sexually savvy; she certainly was open to new experiences. It had been six lonely years since her husband died. It was time to move on and setting her fears aside, she joined an Internet dating site. After reading what she considered to be a damn near perfect profile, she sent Mac a brief note and waited. He had no idea just how independent she was. She had no idea how over-protective he was—but they were about to find out.
Could Mac pull it off? Could a country guy woo a city gal, stop researching how to please a woman, and put it into practice…and what about Annie? Could she surrender some of her independence and learn to submit to him? Read their story!
A contemporary western romance, The Key to Annie’s Heart is the first novel in the Fall River Ranch series. MacDermot’s Bride, Book 2, is scheduled to be released by March, 2015, and will be followed by a prequel, The MacDermot’s of Scotland. Each is a stand-alone novel intended for mature readers.

Find Keriann at -

Webpage: http://keriannmckenna.com Blog: http://keriannmckenna.weebly.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keriann.mckenna Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeriannMcKenna

Friday, January 23, 2015

I Can't Handle Writing Erotica Today - My Teenage Daughter Was Accosted

I write stories about domination and BDSM, populated with feisty heroines who secretly crave a strong man and the Alpha males who step in and take charge. But right now, all that has me feeling a little sick.

I woke up this morning planning to drive my daughter to school and spend the whole day working on my latest book. She's a high school senior in an early college program, attending classes at the community college. On the way to school, she told me she'd seen one of the counselor yesterday to report an incident that happened while she waited outside a classroom. Most of her classes this year are with adults of varying ages. Apparently an "old guy" in his forties sat down on a bench in the hallway next to her. She said he was obviously drunk. He began talking to her, asking questions, moving closer, and finally putting his arm around her shoulders.

Heather got up and walked away but the guy pursued her down an empty hall. She was able to get away, then headed to the office to report the creep to a counselor.

Yesterday when I picked her up, she mentioned that some guy she didn't know was coming on to her, but didn't go into detail about what had happened. I assumed it was one of the boys in her class giving her a construction-worker style "Hey, baby" as she walked by and told her to ignore him. Like most women, I think she was ashamed at first to tell anyone what happened, even her mother.

We've seen it over and over. Many of us have experienced it ourselves. The victim ends up feeling like she's the one at fault - like she somehow caused the incident or should have been able to handle it differently. Young or old, women are usually smaller, physically weaker. The men are bigger, stronger - sometimes even rich, famous and powerful. Think TV icon versus his victims who finally came forward and are being accused of lying - all twenty-five of them.

Heather is small and delicate and quiet. In short, the perfect victim for a sexual predator. I had a long talk with her - told her if anything like that ever happens again, she needs to get really loud, really fast and then get as far away as possible from the man. Yell at him, holler for help, threaten to call the police, create as big a scene as she can and don't be afraid of embarrassing herself or him. Come out strong and hard. It's the last thing he'll expect from her- and if she's lucky, God willing, it will be enough.

I'm spared the guilt of wondering whether I caused this. No one in my home town knows what I write or the pen name I use. So I don't have to ask myself if this creep singled my daughter out because he's read something I wrote.

My heroines are never victims, forced to do anything they don't already want to do deep inside. And from what I've read, 90% of the readers of books like mine are women. Women of all ages and all walks of life. Happily married. Single. Divorced. Students, soccer moms, grandmothers.

As always, I'm turning to writing to work it through. And here's what I know is true. It doesn't matter who you are, what you may fantasize about, what you read, what you write or what you wear. NO ONE has the right to touch you without your permission, to treat you with anything less than respect.

But I've lived in the real world too long, Heather. And I know that saying it doesn't make it so.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Deduct Your Dildo - Sex Sells Tax Tips for Erotic Authors

Today's topic always gets me hot. MONEY!

This month we'll all be getting 1099's from our publishers. If you're a brand new author - Congratulations! You now fall into the category of a small business for tax purposes.

If you're new to earning 1099 income, you're also going to get a nasty shock. Every dime you earn isn't just subject to income tax. If you made over $400 as an author, you're also facing a bill for self-employment tax - 15.3% of your net income.

That means if you were successful enough to make it into the top 5% of all authors and earned $10,000 or more, you owe Uncle Sam at least $1,530 extra!

But if you've kept good records, every dime you spent on a deductible expense will lower that amount. That means if you treated yourself to a new Kindle for about a hundred bucks in 2014, you can probably deduct it. It may not sound like much but the $15.30 you save pays for takeout pizza next time you're trying to meet a deadline and don't have time to cook.

Besides being a self-employed author, I've owned four other small businesses, from a real estate company to a food concession at Miami Arena. Over the years, I've learned a lot about how to take advantage of every single deduction available.

Here's where I issue my disclaimer: I am NOT an accountant or a tax attorney. The following information is gleaned from years of personal experience. If you have any questions about specific deductions, talk to an accountant. If you don't have one, feel free to use my personal rule of thumb for picking a good accountant. He or she has to save me MORE than I'm paying to have the return prepared!

Here's a list of basic deductions a small business can claim:

1. Business Equipment
This includes computers, printers, copy machines and printers. Here's a useful quote on what constitutes business equipment from Jeremy Slaughter at Demand Media:

"Businesses may also require specialized equipment such as tools, manufacturing equipment or heavy machinery. For tax purposes, you can deduct all of this equipment along with any other equipment used in the operation of a business. They key is determining how to deduct each type of equipment.
Small businesses can expense any equipment with a useful life of less than one year. Common examples include electronics not considered to last more than a year and hand tools such as shovels and rakes. Business owners typically deduct equipment like this as “small tools and equipment” on an income tax return."

Okay - specialized equipment, electronics not considered to last more than a year and HAND TOOLS? Sounds like vibrators and dildos to me! ( Assuming you find a way to use said equipment in a scene in one of your books)

2. Travel Expenses
Did you attend a writer's conference workshop, convention? Did you visit a new location for one of your books? Airfare, gas, tolls, hotels, meals, cab fare - all of those can be deductible expenses. Keep receipts from everything.

3. Supplies
Here are a few examples - yellow pads, ink cartridges, printer paper, business cards

4. Other deductions
Advertising, including giveaway prizes and ads in on-line trade publications
Books
Internet access
And if you're doing really well, you can set up a self-employed retirement account and deduct every dime you're saving so you don't have to write porn when you get old!

Don't miss my other posts in this series:
Why Write Erotica - Here Are 10,000 Reasons

Kallista Dane's Naughty Nights

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