Seven Things to Expect from a Lisabet Sarai Story - #SaturdaySeven #consistency

Anyone who has checked out my website or who follows my blog knows that I don’t really restrict myself to a single genre. I’ve written contemporary romance, historical romance, sci fi, thrillers, paranormal, urban fantasy, lesbian and gay fiction, even a bit of humor. Unlike many authors, I can’t say “I write...” and finish the sentence with a nice, neat summary of my work.

I make no excuses for my lack of consistency! I like variety in my reading, and that’s true in my writing as well. Still, there are some constants, some characteristics you can pretty much depend on when you pick up a book I’ve written, whatever the genre.

1. A vivid, usually specific setting

As I mentioned last week, I’ve done a lot of traveling and lived in quite a few places. I tend to use my experiences as background or inspiration for my stories. For me, the setting is almost another character.

This is particularly true of the Asian Adventure series I’ve been publishing over the last six months. Each of these books is set in a different Asian locale. In fact, the latest Asian Adventure tale, Dragon Boat Blues, just came out yesterday. It takes place in Ha Long Bay, northern Vietnam. I did a dragon boat cruise myself a number of years ago. I’ve tried to bring my memories to life in this story.

2. Characters who break stereotypes

I don’t usually write alpha male heroes or fragile, innocent heroines. I try to make each character as distinctive as I can. I love nerdy, intelligent guys and brilliant, assertive women. My characters also cover a wide range of ages, from late teens (e.g. NecessaryMadness) to senior citizens (Gray Christmas). Oh, and they’re not all beautiful or physically perfect, either. For instance, the heroine of Dragon Boat Blues is disabled.

3. More or less explicit sex

I don’t close the bedroom door on my characters. I’m fascinated by sexuality and not ashamed of that fact. Some of what I write would be considered erotica. My romance tends to be pretty steamy. The tone depends on the story and the characters. I can write raw and I can write tender. However, very few of my books could be rated G.

4. A plot with some real conflict

Without conflict, there’s no story. All my characters face obstacles, internal, external or both. They make decisions and face the consequences, hopefully growing and changing in the process. In some books (for instance, The Gazillioniare and the Virgin) the conflict arises from the characters’ differing values and priorities. In others (Quarantine, Exposure, BangkokNoir) I have hostile forces threatening the characters’ happiness. Either way, I don’t make it too easy for my characters.

5. Surprises

I really hate predictable books. So I try to work at least some suspense or surprise into everything I write. I want my readers to turn the pages, wondering what’s going to happen next. Actually, surprise goes hand in hand with realistic conflicts. In the real world, you can’t necessarily know how some difficult situation will turn out. Writing romance, which requires a happy ending, it’s a challenge to keep the reader guessing, but I do my best.

6. Interest in and respect for diversity

Although I’m a white, middle class woman, my characters often are not. I have written black, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and European characters. A number of my stories are told from a male point of view. Quite a few of my tales would be categorized as multicultural and interracial.

I also value diversity in sexual orientation. I want to explore the richness of human experience in my stories.

7. Decent editing and correct grammar

If a reader pays to buy one of my books, she deserves a quality product. I am now self-publishing most of my work. I try very hard to make sure readers won’t be annoyed by the sort of typos, messed up formatting, or grammar gaffes that I find in many self-published books.

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I hope you sample some of the other Saturday Seven posts today. You can find a full list at the Long and Short Reviews blog.

Sunday Snog 240: Wild About That Thing (#MFM #interracial #blues)

It’s Sunday again — time for another sizzling kiss excerpt.

I am still trying to figure out what happened with my Sunday Snog post last week. As of today (Saturday the 20^th), I’d gotten nearly 11,000 views on that post. Uh—not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but my posts normally get between 200 and 400 hits. What the heck is going on?

The only thing I could figure out is that maybe the hashtag #interracial was what pulled in readers. Now, even though I’ve written quite a few relationships between black and white characters, I am definitely ambivalent about labeling my stories “interracial”. That seems exploitative to me. When I put characters of different races together, it’s not because I think it’s intrinsically “hot” for a black guy to be with a white woman, or vice versa. My characters may be black or white, Asian or European, but that’s just what they are. Their racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds tend to be far too complex to encapsulate in a simple label.

Still, I’m trying an experiment, using the same hashtag for this post, which includes an excerpt from another “interracial” ménage story, Wild About That Thing. Here’s the blurb:

There's more than one way to beat the blues.

Two things are important to Ruby Jones: her teenage son and her struggling club, the Crossroads Blues Bar. Her love life comes as a distant third, despite the efforts of Zeke Chambers to convince her otherwise. Zeke's the lead singer in her house band, a devoted friend, and an occasional lover. He can drive her wild with desire, but can't get her to make a commitment. Deserted by her cheating ex-husband, Ruby's determined she's going to make it on her own. She's hot-blooded like her bluesman daddy, happy to satisfy her physical cravings, but she's not about to let any man into her heart.

The stranger who takes the stage on the Crossroads open mike night upsets the delicate balance in Ruby's world. Remy Saint-Michel inspires irrational, irresistible lust as well as inexplicable sympathy. Overwhelmed, confused, guilty and worried about her prized independence, Ruby decides that the only way to deal with her two lovers is to push them both away. Zeke and Remy, though, have other ideas.

I’ve got an X-rated excerpt below that includes a passionate kiss. After you’ve read it, I hope you’ll click over to Victoria’s place, for more sexy Sunday Snogs!

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He slept beside her, his breathing deep and even. A complex perfume hung in the air of her small bedroom—sweat and semen, pussy and sandalwood incense.

She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to think. She just wanted to lie there with her lover within reach and the rest of the world far away. Being with Zeke seemed to be the only thing that brought her this kind of comfort. She loved Isaiah dearly and enjoyed his company, but in her son’s presence she could never quite banish her worries.

The thought of her son roused her. She leaned over to peer at the alarm clock. When she saw the time, she sighed and gave Zeke a gentle shake.

“Wake up, baby. You’ve gotta go.”

In one smooth motion, Zeke rolled towards her and gathered her into his arms. Her breasts flattened against his furry chest. “Let me stay, hon,” he murmured, nuzzling the sweet spot under her ear. His thickening cock prodded at the sticky juncture of her thighs. “It’s still early…”

“Nearly six,” Ruby replied, relaxing into his embrace despite herself. “Isaiah will be up soon. You know how I feel.”

“You feel wonderful,” Zeke replied, kneading her breast with one hand while wriggling the other between their bodies, down to her pussy. Ruby sucked in her breath as his fingers slipped inside her folds to stroke her clit. “And I can make you feel even better…”

“Zeke…” she began. He stopped her objections with a deep kiss. His moustache tickled her upper lip. She tasted the bourbon he drank between sets. She loved his soft, lush mouth—she couldn’t pretend otherwise. The leisurely way his tongue played with hers suggested that he’d be happy doing nothing but kissing her forever.

“You don’t really want me to go,” he continued when they broke for air. “You’re soaking wet, and your clit—” Ruby moaned as he flicked the swollen nub with one calloused digit. “—your clit is like a little marble.”

“Yes… Oh, God, yes…”

Zeke reared up and settled back onto his heels, his fingers still dancing between her legs. “You couldn’t wait to get my clothes off earlier,” he commented. It was true. As soon as the club closed, Ruby had practically dragged him up the stairs to her apartment. “But I can tell you haven’t had enough yet.”

“No—yes—wait—oh!”

Zeke grasped one of her thighs in each meaty hand and pulled her open. Then he bent and swept his tongue along her cleft. Pleasure shuddered through her. She arched up, wanting more. Her lover teased her, flicking back and forth between her swollen lips, but avoiding contact with her clit. She thrashed underneath him, desperate for direct stimulation.

“Please…please, baby…”

Finally he took pity on her. He burrowed his face into her pussy and sucked hard. Lightning shot up her spine. Tension coiled inside her. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she forced his head deeper into her drenched cunt and ground her clit against his nose.

His teeth nipped the aching bud of flesh. The tiny pain cut her free. Pleasure welled up from her depths and spilled over. His strong hands held her fast, splayed and vulnerable, as she jerked against his still-lapping tongue.

Before the last sparkles of sensation faded, his cock was at her entrance. He drove into her still-quivering cunt, hot and hard. Her muscles clenched around his bulk and a new climax seized her, sharper and deeper than the one before.

Zeke didn’t let her rest. He pounded into her again and again, just the way she liked, so fierce she thought he’d split her open. As he thrust, a third come gathered, like thunderheads on the distant horizon.