Introducing ~ Delta James

Follow Delta on Amazon here.

What is one unexpected, good thing writing has brought to your life?
That one’s easy—friendships I would never have had without them. Specifically, my two best friends in the world: Renee and Chris

If you could take a January holiday with no limits on cost, location, etc, where would you go? Who would you take with you?
Renee would want me to say a cruise! But honestly, I would love to go back to Great Britain. I went once many years ago planning to see it all, but I fell in love with Cornwall and just couldn’t leave. Had I not had animals and the UK not have had a quarantine for any animals born outside it, I might have stayed.
I’d really love to go to Wales. I’ve felt called to that country for a very long time, which I think is shy my first heroine was born and raised there.
I would take Chris because it was where she was born. And Renee just because we’re kind of a team.

Of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite?
It tends to be whichever one I’m writing. But there are those that I remember more than others, usually because of the characters.
Brought to Heel—because of Dylan and Skylar, but also because it was my first paranormal/shifter romance.
Marked and Mated because of Jean-Michel and Darby
Alpha Dog because of Fitz and JJ.
Overlord because of Gareth and Sloan.
The Bargain because of Con and Katy.
Noah because of Noah and Zara.
Advance because of Roark and Sage AND because it was written as a novella and included in an anthology that earned me my USA Today Bestselling Author status.
Submission because of Gabe and Anne. I wanted Anne Boleyn to have a happy ending

What was the first book that made you cry?
Interestingly, I’ve only cried once when reading a book… and it was one I was writing. It was the hero’s death scene. The stupid thing is I knew he wasn’t going to die! I was typing away just crying my eyes out and having to use tissues. Note: I am not a pretty crier!

When did you write your first story or book? Who did you show it to? Did they encourage you?
The first book I ever wrote got looked at by two agents who wanted to work with me. My father was in failing health and I never pursued it. My first book as Delta James was published by Stormy Night Publications in June of 2018. SNP taught me so much and helped me learn a lot of what I needed to as a writer. In April of 2019, I became an indie author and never looked back!

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
That one is easy: hiring Renee Brooks to do all of my marketing. Without her, I never could have achieved all I have… and all that is to come! The second would be Skye Warren’s Romance Author Mastermind conference. Neither was inexpensive, but both have been worth every dime I spent.

Introducing - Kessily Lewel

Follow Kessily on Amazon here.

Kessily answers questions about her writing life:

What is one unexpected, good thing writing has brought to your life?
I’m going to be honest here. I don’t really remember much about my adult life before writing professionally. I sold my first story at twenty-one and have been working consistently ever since.
Switching to books, however, has led to a lot of changes. Short story and article writing tends to be pretty solitary for the most part. It was nice to realize that book authors have more of a community and that they welcome new authors in and help.
The past five years, since my first book came out, I’ve made a lot of friends in the author community and that’s been really wonderful. And of course, running Sexy Spanking Reads with you, and our other fellow authors, has been a great part of that.

If you could take a January holiday with no limits on cost, location, etc, where would you go? Who would you take with you?
Right now, I’m not sure I would want to travel anywhere. Having been locked down for so long, it feels weird going places now. I’m finding myself much more of an introvert.
But if the world was back to normal? I love Orlando and would love to have a nice long vacation there with my husband. We love Disney World but packing it all into a short trip means you don’t really have energy to do anything else. A few weeks there would be great.
I also love cruises so that would be my second choice.

Of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite?
Hmm. That’s too tough. I think I can narrow it down to my top three.
Mastering Amari is one of my few stand-alone books. The story was something I’d been wanting to do for a while. Many hours of research went into it, and it was really a labor of love. It’s probably one of my best and I’ve always been sad it was overlooked.
Scorpio (book two of Masters of the Zodiac) is another favorite, also a stand-alone, but it was a real challenge because it was part of a multi-author set and I had to collaborate with other authors to create the world and make sure everything lined up. I really enjoyed the challenge and I put a lot of extra time and effort into it.
My third favorite is a series: The Krampus Collective. I just have so much fun with these because each one is unique but also have some shared characteristics, and it’s fun bringing in the mythological aspects and making it fit in a more modern world, with a human mate.
I just realized my chosen top three are all paranormal romance and having seen that, I do have to admit it’s my favorite thing to write. I love the cowboys and actors in my contemporary books, but there’s something about magic that has always intrigued me.

What was the first book that made you cry?
Wow. That takes me way back. Hmm. The first ones I remember… The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (Robert Heinlein) and Flowers in the Attic (V.C. Andrews) both when I was about nine. Not sure which I read first.

When did you write your first story or book? Who did you show it to? Did they encourage you?
My first story was, like I said, back when I was around twenty-one. I was working as a fetish artist at the time. Making some extra money illustrating kink scenes for a magazine.
The editor loved some of the extra pictures I had done, but she could only use ones that matched stories she was printing, so she asked if I could write one to match. I think it was a western story, but I can’t remember. I had always enjoyed writing fanfic but had never really considered doing it professionally, but I gave it a try.
She snapped it up, said it was perfect, and said she wanted a story from me in every issue from now on. She was the editor for several different magazines so pretty soon I was writing quite a lot. My last estimate was around 400 published short stories under 20-ish pen names.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
I could say covers and editors, because I’ve seen a lot of good authors go nowhere because they try to do it themselves, but for something big, I’d have to say Vellum. It really gives everything that professional pop.

More about Kessily:

I started out as a fetish artist for C.F. Publications more years ago than I care to admit. Within a few months I ended up writing for various magazines as well, and I've been doing both ever since. I've written 15 novels, a few novellas, and hundreds of short stories and articles over the years, and I've had one book of spanking illustrations published.
I spend a lot of time online making new friends from all around the world. I have a deep love of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy and I enjoy exploring D/s relationships through those genres. I have a blog where I explore topics of D/s in a less fictional way, discuss my books, and throw in the occasional short story for fun at Kessilylewel.com

Introducing ~ Poppy Flynn

Follow Poppy on Amazon here.

Poppy answers questions about her writing life:

What is one unexpected, good thing writing has brought to your life?
It’s not really any secret that I have a son who has been declared medically unfit to attend school several times since he was seven years old. Those periods have sometimes spanned years. His digestive system doesn’t work properly, and when he was eleven, he finally needed surgery since all the other options proved fruitless.
Being able to write, and work from home was an unexpected lifeline. A way for me to make a living while still taking care of my son. It always makes me think of something my mother used to say about blessings in disguise… or when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

If you could take a January holiday with no limits on cost, location, etc, where would you go? Who would you take with you?
Since starting my Masters of Paradise series, I’ve had to do a lot of research on the Caribbean and the Bahamas in particular. So, I think I’d take a cruise with my husband and see it all for myself.

Of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite?
I am particularly fond of my Serendipity series. It’s a humorous, fantasy, magic academy series about a clumsy witch called Seren Starlight. But while I loved it, it’s not what my readers know me for, and it bombed in terms of being a commercial success. I guess this is what is truly meant when authors are advised to ‘stay in their lane.’

What was the first book that made you cry?
Lordy, I’m not sure I can remember that far back! I’m an emotional reader, so lots of books make me cry. The first book series that really caught my interest was The Lone Pine series by Malcolm Saville which I started reading when I was about twelve. It’s a teen mystery series, with the very lightest touch of romance in that several of the teenagers it’s written about are girlfriend and boyfriend. One of the final books in the series is where everything changes, where they’re all on the verge of adulthood and moving on with their lives; moving away from each other, so I think it was probably that one. It’s called Where’s My Girl, and I still have the original paperback.

When did you write your first story or book? Who did you show it to and did they encourage you?
I wrote two books full of angsty poetry throughout my teen years, and at twenty-one I realised I wanted to write something more substantial. I was an avid reader, but this was the days before PCs were a household item, and before Windows or Google were even a twinkle in their creators’ eyes.

I also wanted more from the books I was reading. I wanted sex on the page, I wanted series, and I wanted dual points of view, none of which were common back then. So that’s what I wrote… typed on a word processor and printed out. I sent them to Mills and Boon since that was the only address I could find, as it was printed at the end of their paperbacks. They were all rejected, all five of them, and book six was the second book in a series. With the first one rejected, there didn’t seem any point in continuing, and without the wonders of the world wide web at my fingertips, I had no idea what else to do with them. Since I was pregnant with my second child, I hung up my pen, metaphorically speaking. It’s one of my greatest regrets that I didn’t start writing again for another twenty-five years. But then, and now, my family have always been incredibly supportive, and for that I’m truly thankful.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

The best money I ever spent was a mere $25 to join a reverse harem multi author set called Loved by Three. The series was incredibly successful – and still is, twenty months later – giving me my bestselling book, Smokin’ Cowboys. I was also able to release Stranded with the Storm Chasers into the same series at no extra cost. I got the biggest return on a small investment, but more importantly, I was afforded the realisation that I really could make a living as an author.

More about Poppy:

Poppy Flynn was born in Buckinghamshire, UK and moved to Wales at eight years old with parents who wanted to live the 'self-sufficiency' lifestyle.
Today she still lives in rural Wales and is married with six children.
Poppy's love of reading and writing stemmed from her parents’ encouragement and the fact that they didn't have a television in the house.
"When you're surrounded by fields, cows and sheep, no neighbours, no TV and the closest tiny village is four miles away, there's a certain limit to your options, but with books your adventures and your horizons are endless."
Poppy x

Vikings - a box set from a group of stellar authors!

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A tiny Scottish settlement at the mercy of its enemies.
A harrowing bargain struck for nine fearful and reluctant brides.
Delivered into Viking hands, the brides of Achnaryrie now belong to their conquering masters but, as wedding nights bring surrender to duty, will fierce lovers also surrender their hearts?|The Highland wilderness is savage, life is perilous, and the future uncertain, but each Viking has sworn protection, and there are no lengths to which a man will not go to safeguard the woman he loves.
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Teaser snippets from the Prologue

The Vikings were merciless, murdering barbarians. And they were here.
With a despairing sob, Eithne turned from the sight below. She could still run, might be able to make it into the depths of the forest before the first of the raiders reached the village. She had perhaps a few minutes…
“To take up arms against men such as them would lead to certain death.”
“Better to die with honour—”
“Better still not to die at all. I have another idea. We shall negotiate.”
“By your presence here, I surmise you wish to speak with me.” He leaned down to murmur in her ear. “Or, if you prefer, there is still time to run for your life.”
“You would catch me,” she countered.
“Aye, probably.”
“And kill me.”
“It may not come to that.”

Intrigued, amused, and not a little astonished, Brandr folded his arms to regard her. “A bargain? You seek to bargain with me?”
“I do.”
The female held his gaze, an accomplishment which eluded many of his most hardened warriors. His respect for her audacity and fortitude nudged upwards. “Go on.”