By Raven McAllan (Guest Blogger)
There's
a page in one of the UK Sunday supplements, where they pose not quite
run of the mill questions to famous people.
Now,
okay I'm not famous, and I'm terrible at answering most questions,
because well, I don't really have a favourite group, don't like going
to the Cinema, and have no idea where my ideas come from. rolls
eyes
See
what I mean? A nightmare.
However
this question thing is different, so I thought I'd give you the Raven
Rundown of Fascinating (well let's pretend they are) facts. (Or as my
friends say, Raven's Ramblings)
So
in no particular order, here's we go.
I
was born in Corby in England, which was more Scottish than Scotland.
Seriously there was only about 3% English there and I was one of
them. My best friend and I pricked fingers so I could say I had some
Scottish blood in me.
I
move to Scotland around 25 years ago with my DH. At first, I had to
translate at times, especially the slang. Now we both have the slang
in us, as they say.
Our
kids are grown up, and we rattle round in a house much too big for
us, on the edge of a forest. It's not that far from the ruined castle
I based my Diomhair series in. It's a beautiful area, except we're to
the west of the country, and are bombarded, from June to October by
the scourge of Scotland. The Midge.
The
children all had gap years. We tell them we are doing our 'gap year'
in two (or three) week chunks. Great fun and I've been all over the
world.
Favourite
city…Hong Kong, followed by Singapore.
Favourite
island…Sri Lanka and/or The Maldives.
Favourite
beach…Anywhere in The Caribbean I reckon. Though I do love walking
along Long Sands in St Andrews. We've done it in all weathers, even
snow, which looked pretty surreal.
I
relax by reading, writing, and no 'rithmetic. Listening to music,
drinking fine wine, (in moderation of course;) ) and travelling. I'm
one of those people who love flying.
Now
we have eReaders, I have space for clothes in my suitcase, instead of
a book for each day and few extra just in case.
My
first memory is sitting in a big pram and holding (okay chewing) a
hardback book. I wish I knew which one it was.
I
always insist I'm growing old disgracefully. I have no particular
style unless you call it Raven Chic. Which pretty much translates
into I still love maxi dresses, or shock horror showing my knees. In
the winter it's Uggs and in the summer Havianas or Birkenstocks. I
suppose you could say I'm an aged hippy, except where I lived the
swinging sixties hardly swayed let along swung.
When
people ask me if I wish I'd started writing at an earlier age (I now
have my bus pass) I have to say no. Oh don't get me wrong; part of me
wishes I have 40-50 years left to write. However I know me. At when I
was younger, I didn't have the confidence to write as I can, not as I
thought I should. There's a big difference, and the couple of
miserable attempts I did, and found not so long ago showed that.
Stilted, wooden, cardboard, you name it and I was it.
Now,
well I don't know if I'm better? I hope so.
What
I do know is my voice is so not what I thought it would be. If you
had asked me, even five years ago, if I thought I'd be writing erotic
romance I probably would have laughed. I never thought I had it in
me. But I do, and I do and boy am I enjoying it.
I
just hope my readers do as well.
When
I took my daughter to visit a friend years ago, and we had to pass a
ruined castle, I would never have thought that one day I'd use it for
the setting of a series of BDSM books. However when the idea for
Secrets Shared popped into my brain, I thought of it, and knew it was
the perfect place, even though in the books it's been restored.
*****
Diomhair
is Gaelic for secret. What happens there, stays there…. Whether you
want to learn or teach, be in control or controlled, Diomhair could
be the place for you.
Jess
is looking forward to her night out. Anticipation turns to dismay
when she finds out she is being taken to a BDSM club. After a
disastrous experience in her past, Jess wants nothing to do with the
life style.
David
is doing a favour for a friend, and he is instantly attracted to the
fiery Jess. The experienced Dom recognizes Jess's bluster for what it
is—Fear. There is no doubt in his mind that Jess is submissive, but
getting her to accept that fact will take some doing.
When
Jess does give into her secret desires, can she truly let go, and be
the sub David is looking for, or will she hold onto her secrets?
David
is determined to help her, but it is up to Jess to accept. Will she
break his heart or can they find a common ground from which to build
a relationship.
At
Diomhair you never know what will happen in the end.
Excerpt.
“I’ve promised Jeff I’ll
take you both to him, and I don’t go back on my promises. I’ll
hold your hand.”
Jess paled even further and shook
her head. David reckoned it was hard to believe so much colour could
leach from a person’s skin, and them still be conscious.
“And I should accept this why?”
He raised one shoulder. “Because
your brother and friend have your best interests at heart maybe?
Whatever. But listen well, you do not take it out on Kathleen.
How about I give you my word? Once we get there, if you wish, you can
leave and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” He could tell
she was thinking over his words. Her eyes were cloudy, and she
twisted one red ringlet between her fingers. Behind her, Kath was
silent. She must have understood how crucial this was.
“Like this?” she waved her
hands over her face. “Eyes wide open and not covered?”
Shit. What had made her
ask that?
“No, not quite.” He waited.
She waited, and David realised he had to speak.
“Blindfold. It’s the rule.”
Why was he being so arsy about it? He could bend the rules if he
wanted to. David realised it was because he needed Jess to trust him.
Is it just because it strikes at my ego, or because it would be
the first step to a Dom-sub relationship? He evaluated his
feelings. Definitely the latter.
Jess shrugged. “Then sorry, no
dice. I will never, ever be blindfolded. So either I go
sighted or not at all.”
And therein was his dilemma. As
much as he wanted it, David accepted it was asking too much for her
to put all her trust in him without any good reason. Why should she?
He knew damned well if he was in her position he’d tell him to go
to hell. Something was seriously wrong, and he was determined to help
her get over the hurdle or phobia. For both their sakes.
“Would you agree to keep your
eyes shut?” he asked, trying for a compromise. “If I promise no
one will touch you?” David hadn’t realised until that moment how
crucial he considered her answer would be. “No one except me that
is, and I’ll only touch you to guide you.”
The silence stretched. With
infinite patience, he counted off the seconds in his mind. He would
give her two minutes and…then kiss her senseless maybe. Why this
woman should affect him the way she did, he had no idea. In truth he
wasn’t enamoured with the fact she appealed to him on more than one
level. Not only was his cock hard and his balls tight with arousal,
David’s dominant—and emotional side demanded he make sure she was
okay with everything that happened. It was a pity he was busy, too
busy to give her the care and attention she needed. He grinned to
himself. Just whom was he kidding? If she did interact, show
even the slightest interest in him, he’d do his damnedest to have
her. Under him, writhing in pleasure as he fucked her every which way
possible. Bent over the spanking bench, his hand caressing her as he
made his mark on her shapely ass. With him every step of the way, as
he explored her limits and pushed them further. However, he had a
feeling the River Clyde would freeze over before that happened.
Beside him, he saw Kath wipe her
eyes and wait with him. Jess paced up and down and nibbled her top
lip once more. How he’d like to reprimand her and tell her not to
mutilate herself. Already a red mark had appeared on her skin, and as
far as he was concerned, he should create the only red marks, and
they wouldn’t mar her face.
Jess halted abruptly and turned
to stand in front of him. He might be a good six inches taller than
her, but he noticed she was in no way intimidated. Most women looked
somewhat apprehensive when he was in full Dom mode. Not his Jessica.
The thought hit him like a lightening bolt. His Jessica? Way
too soon for that.
“You promise? No blindfold if
I shut my eyes?”
“I never renege on my
promises.” He heard what Jeff called ‘David’s Dom voice’ in
his tone—reassuring, confident and gently insistent—and winced
inside. Was that the right way to reassure her?
She took a deep breath, and
nodded. “Okay then, but I want it on the record, I’m not
happy—with any of you.”
He mentally applauded her
attitude. Her skin now had a grey tinge, and she looked as if she
could throw up at the slightest provocation, but she stood her
ground. “And I’ll make sure I tell Jeff, he’s not getting off
the hook easily. Let’s get going then, and get this bloody evening
over and done with. There’s a gin and tonic and a good book with my
name on it waiting for me at home. It was going to be cocoa, but now
it’s alcohol, a double. I reckon I’ll deserve it.”
It was as well she wasn’t his
sub, because if she was she’d be tied up and punished for her
bratty attitude. And love it, they both would. Poor Kath, she looked
more than worried, as he opened the car door for them. She scrambled
in and Jess followed at a slower pace. Every movement told of her
unease, and there was nothing he could do to help alleviate it.
“Close your eyes. Kathleen is
going to make sure you keep them closed, and if you don’t, she’ll
be punished as well as you. Do you understand?” He hated that he
had to persist with such a hard attitude. It wasn’t him at all. But
he understood it was the way to get Jess though the journey. If it
went against his chances, well, so be it. David looked through the
rear view mirror and watched her face colour.
“Bastard.”
“Not at all.” He put the car
into gear and set off. “My parents will celebrate their fortieth
wedding anniversary later this year. I’m only thirty seven.”
She snorted. “And I need to
know that why?”
Oh, how he was looking forward to
showing her. He decided it was time to needle her in a nicer
manner—well, he believed it was nicer.
“Surely it’s better to know a
little about the man who’s dominating you?”
Her splutter was all he could
have wished for.
You can find Secrets Shared at…
You
can find me on https://www.ravenmcallan.com
To celebrate Secrets Shared, I'm giving
away three books from my backlist. All I ask is you tell me where
your favourite city, beach or island is and why.
Happy Reading,
Love R x
4 comments:
Thanks for such a fun post! This is the first I've come across Raven and/or her books and I'm running over to Amazon right now! Ummm... I live smack dab in the middle of the US so I dream about beaches and islands :) I'd have to say right now, fav city and beach would be Tampa, Florida. Haven't been to an island yet, so I'm gonna say Hawaii. Thanks for the fun giveaway!
efender1(at)gmail
Florida is on my wish list Erin...Obne day I hope. Thsnks for commenting.
My favorite town is Grand Marais, Minnesota, where there are beaches in town on the peninsula that juts into Lake Superior, with pebbles instead of sand on the beach, and water so cold it feels like jumping into a cooler! There are also smaller lakes along the Gunflint Trail that leads into the Sawtooth Mountains. Those lakes are warmer and great for fishing, swimming, whatever you like to do around water. I love the area so much I've set my most recent series of romances up there.
Hi everyone. I have very patchy net at the moment, but I did a draw here and got a visitor to pick my winners.It ended up as four of you. (from both posts) Erin, Debby Sharon Baker and Fiona McGier, you each win an ebook of your choice from my back list.
Fiona and Sharon, could you send me your rmail address please. ravenmcallan@gmail.com thank you
If you don't hear from me until next week do'nt panic, as it will be net problems that should be resolved in around 10 days ( I hope)
Thanks to everyone who answered.
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