Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

ROUGH, RAW AND READY - releases Today! Lorelei James

Torn between the love he has…and the love he’s always wanted

Rough Riders Book 5
Red Hots!, Western Romance
Samhain Publishing
November 4th, 2008

Chassie West Glanzer hasn’t been a stranger to drama and tragedy. A year of wedded bliss to sexy-as-sin cowboy Trevor Glanzer has brought her the happiness and contentment she never thought she’d find, and mellowed Trevor’s rodeo wanderlust. Then Trevor’s old roping partner ambles up the driveway—and Chassie’s life changes drastically.

Trevor never expected to see Edgard Mancuso again, after it became clear he couldn’t be the man Edgard needed. Now Edgard is back from Brazil to sort out their tangled past, and Trevor is plagued with feelings he thought he’d buried over three years ago. Although Trevor is hat-over-bootheels in love with his sweet, feisty wife, the sense his life is missing a piece has always gnawed at him.

Chassie’s shock that Edgard and Trevor were once lovers turns to fear of losing her husband. Or worse, fear that Trevor will stay with her only out of a sense of duty. Yet as the three of them spend time together, the sins of the past blur and fade, leaving raw emotion—and unbridled passion.

Passion that could heal…or cause irreparable damage to their future.

Warning: this book contains unbelievably explicit sex, including multiple cowboy/cowgirl/cowboy ménage scenes, juicy, hot, male on male action, a bucketful of politically incorrect situations and true Western ideology

For more information on the Rough Riders series and other Lorelei James books, visit my website: www.loreleijames.com

WICKED GARDEN releases today!

I’m excited to be part of the Menage and More Anthology with authors Jess Dee and Jayne Rylon – all three books are on sale today – here’s a little about my contribution~

WICKED GARDEN
Lorelei James

One woman’s past and present collide in the ultimate temptation

Eden LaCroix loved Billy Buchanan ten years ago, but he ran out on her the night of prom. Now he’s back, and Eden thinks a fling will help her move on from their tangled past. She wasn’t counting on Billy’s wicked side—or the return of her sometime lover Jon White Feather—to appeal so strongly to her own dark, hidden desires.

College took Billy away from Eden, but it’s a mistake he can rectify now that he’s in town to make the final decision on the fate of the community center Eden manages. Except reignited sparks keep getting in the way of his objectivity. The flames only leap higher when Eden’s rock star lover comes home from the road.

Eden considers herself a one-woman man, but in the arms of Billy and Jon she feels truly beautiful for the first time in her life. But does the healing go far enough to prevent her from letting love slip through her hands a second time?

Warning: ain’t nothin’ sweet about this garden of naughty sexual delights, including threesomes, creative use of a weight bench and bonding over bondage.

Click here to buy

For more information, excerpts, contests, and the lowdown on all of Lorelei’s books, visit her website

RODE HARD, PUT UP WET - Available in Print!

Giddy-up ya’ll! Lorelei James is plumb tickled to announce that Rough Riders Book #2, RODE HARD, PUT UP WET is now available in print!

…Workin’ up a hot, sticky sweat is pure pleasure with a hard-ridin’ cowboy…or two.

Struggling stock contractor Gemma Jansen swallows her pride and tracks down circuit rider Cash Big Crow to offer him a job managing her ranch. Cash agrees on one condition: theirs won’t be strictly a working relationship. She’s the boss during the day, but once she’s corralled in the bedroom, Cash calls the shots. Despite concerns about their age difference, Gemma consents.

Cash suspects the sexy widow hides an untapped wild streak. He intends to loosen her tightly held reins of control—even if he has to break out his horsewhip to do it.

But Cash is in for a surprise. Gemma proves a rough and ready participant in any leather-n-lace game Cash dreams up

Between riding herd on his wayward daughter, Macie, and rowdy cowboy Carter McKay doggin’ Macie’s every boot step, Cash struggles to hide his true feelings for Gemma – except this time, Gemma’s grabbed the bull by the horns and she’s playing for keeps.

Summer’s going to be a hot one at the Bar 9.

Warning: this book contains: explicit sex nine ways ‘til Sunday – including ménage a trois, inventive use of ropes, naughty girls getting spanked, stubborn men getting hog-tied, graphic language and whoo-wee! hot nekkid cowboy action.

For more information, excepts, message board, blog, myspace and info on joining the wild and crazy James Gang, visit Lorelei James’ website: www.loreleijames.com

How Do You Make A Baby Story...Sexy?

My latest offering in the Rough Riders series, Tied Up, Tied Down, is a secret baby/cowboy story.

Yes, you read that right—a secret baby/cowboy story. To be honest, it also has that kooky ‘mistaken twin’ plot device thrown in for good measure. And yes, I’ll admit I purposely chose what some readers and critics refer to as an old, tired storyline.

Why?

TIED UP, TIED DOWN -- releases today!

The fourth book in the Rough Riders Series hits cyberspace today!

Lorelei James
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1-60504-064-9

TIED UP, TIED DOWN
…The strongest bonds are the ones unseen

Businesswoman Skylar Ellison is firmly in control of her life. So getting tangled up with a sexy Wyoming cowboy—and conceiving a baby in the parking lot of a honky-tonk—wasn’t in her plan. Since it appears the daddy has taken off for greener pastures, the only thing to do is pull up her bootstraps and carry on alone.

Cattle rancher Kade McKay returns home after a year on the range, and is knocked for a loop when he learns he’s the father of a three-month-old baby girl. When Skylar refuses to marry him, Kade grits his teeth, moves in and plays house by her rules to prove he’s a man in for the long haul.

Despite Skylar’s insistence they are to remain strictly parenting partners, their old passions flare hot as a brush fire, spurring Kade to demand absolute sexual surrender from the headstrong woman. Skylar willingly submits her body to the hot-blooded cowboy but she’s leery of handing Kade the reins to her heart.

Can Kade convince Skylar the wicked sex games aren’t a temporary distraction? Or will he have to bust out the ropes to show her he wants to be tied to her…forever?

Warning: this book contains: no holes barred kinky sex scenes, wicked rope play, blunt language, and yowza! lots of hot cowboy nekkidness.

Is It Okay In Romance When Sex Isn't...Sexy?

As a romance author, I know readers live for that moment when the hero and heroine become intimate for the first time. Hopefully, if we’re doing our jobs right, the tension is unbearable before the big bang—even if that moment is at the beginning of the story.

But if we’re writing the nitty gritty details about down and dirty, burn up the sheets, can’t get enough of it sex, can’t we also write a scene that isn’t…sexy? If a good sex scene moves the plot, the characterization, and provides titillation, wouldn’t a bad, or uncomfortable sex scene, provide the same opportunity for the author? Sexual abuse issues aside, if the hero or heroine has less than stellar sexual experiences, wouldn’t that be a catalyst for change?

Or is it all about the hot fantasy? Sex is perfect every time?

I’ll admit I’ve utilized the not-so-perfect sex scenes in a couple of books for that very reason: to visually provide a reason for a character to change. Yeah, I’ve taken some hits on it, but I won’t apologize because it served the purpose. I didn’t write the scene to be rebellious, but to show that characters get into situations they thought they wanted, like a menage, and have a “what was I thinking” moment of clarity. Maybe the heroine realizes she needs only the hero to satisfy her. Maybe the hero finally understands the difference between sex and love. Maybe the characters realize three isn’t a crowd.

What about you? Do you think it’s necessary for all sex scenes to be sexy?

Lorelei James~
www.loreleijames.com

LONG HARD RIDE available in print!

I’m tickled to the tips of my boots that the first book in my Rough Riders Series is out in print this month!

LONG HARD RIDE
…One lucky woman…three sexy cowboys…she’s in for the ride of her life!..

Channing Kinkaid itches for a change; a wild western adventure with an untamed man. Determined to shed her inhibitions and embrace the steamier, seamier side of life, she sets her sights on hooking up with a real chaps-and-spurs-wearing cowboy.

Enter Colby McKay—bull rider, saddle bronc buster and calf roper. From the moment he sets lust-filled eyes on the sweet and fiery Channing, he knows he’s found the woman who’s up to the challenge of cutting loose. What rough and rowdy cowboy could resist a no-holds-barred sexual romp with a sassy young thing starring as his personal buckle bunny?

Intrigued by Channing’s bold proposition of horsing around on the road, Colby impulsively sweetens the deal; sexual escapades not only in his bed, but in the bedrolls of his rodeo traveling partners, Trevor and Edgard.

Although Channing’s secretly longed to be the sole focus of more than one man’s passions, Colby’s demand for complete submission behind closed doors will test her willful nature.

Can Channing give up total control? Especially when not all is as it seems with the sexy trio? Or will the cowboys have to break out the bullropes and piggin’ string to break in this headstrong filly?

Buy it here

Lorelei James~

Wahoo! Cowgirl Up and Ride releases today!

COWGIRL UP AND RIDE
Lorelei James

Book 3 in the Rough Riders series

…Ridin’ the edge of lust is fun—until someone falls in love.

Goody-two boots AJ Foster has waited her entire life for her dream cowboy Cord McKay to see her as more than the neighbor girl in pigtails. Now that she’s old enough to stake her claim on him, she’s pulling out all the sexual stops and riding hell-bent for leather—straight for his libido.

Divorced rancher Cord has sworn off all women…until innocent AJ suggests he teach her how to ride bareback—and he realizes she doesn’t mean horses or bulls. Between his responsibilities running his massive ranch, missing his young son and dealing with the sexual shenanigans of his brother and cousins, Cord is more than willing to take AJ up on her offer. On a trial basis.

The fun and games tie them both up in knots. AJ isn’t willing to settle for less than the whole shootin’ match with her western knight. But for Cord, even though the sexy cowgirl sets his blood ablaze, he’s determined to resist her efforts to lasso his battered heart.

Sweet, determined AJ has the power to heal—or heel—the gruff cowboy…unless Cord’s pride keeps him from admitting their relationship is more than a simple roll in the hay.

Warning: this book contains: raunchy sex scenes that’ll work you into a lather faster than a winded horse, graphic language, resourceful use of baling twine, ménage a trois, ménage a quatage, and yippee! hot nekkid man-on-man-lovin’.

Publication Date: March 18, 2008
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1-59998-895-X

Read an Excerpt
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Are You a Romance Purist?

What do I mean by “purist?”

Obviously the story between the hero and heroine is the most important part of a romance. But if a book has a little something more, say an unresolved plot thread, or an interesting secondary character, as a reader does it annoy you? Or make you scream “this is purely a set-up for the next book” or do you find it…refreshing?

One of the first writers workshops I attended, the presenter, an award winning romance author, passed out a sheet of paper with different scenes. We were supposed to rank the scenes in order of importance to the story. So I whipped off my answers and was more than eager to share them with the class, because I thought I’d nailed it. Wrong. I ended up getting hammered by the teacher. The scenes I loved, rich with characterization and setting, snappy dialogue, were considered useless scenes to the whole of the story; the romance. The secondary characters shouldn’t have a voice. And I was scolded that one should only have two POV in a romance – the hero and the heroine. One or the other should be in every scene. Period. Everything has to be tidied up. Period.

Being a bit of a rebel, I bristled at that advice. Is it because I write a series where each book is a standalone but is connected to the to the other – past and upcoming – books in the series? Is there a downside to seeing the series as a whole, and not just a single book?

Some of the best romances involve a secondary character, or third or fourth plot lines, with characters whose POV can strengthen motivations. It is hard to do, but done well (like the In Death books by JD Robb) it can be a masterclass in how to create layers which add to the whole of the book, rather than detract from it.

What say you? Do you prefer a strictly hero/heroine story?

Lorelei James
Cowgirl Up and Ride – coming March 18th, 2008
www.loreleijames.com

RODE HARD, PUT UP WET releases today!

The second book in the Rough Riders series is released today!

RODE HARD, PUT UP WET
Publication Date: October 23, 2007
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1-59998-674-4

...Workin’ up a hot, sticky sweat is pure pleasure with a hard-ridin’ cowboy…or two.

Struggling stock contractor Gemma Jansen swallows her pride and tracks down circuit rider Cash Big Crow to offer him a job managing her ranch. Cash agrees on one condition: theirs won’t be strictly a working relationship. She’s the boss during the day, but once she’s corralled in the bedroom, Cash calls the shots. Despite concerns about their age difference, Gemma consents.

Cash suspects the sexy widow hides an untapped wild streak. He intends to loosen her tightly held reins of control—even if he has to break out his horsewhip to do it.

But Cash is in for a surprise. Gemma proves a rough and ready participant in any leather-n-lace game Cash dreams up

Between riding herd on his wayward daughter, Macie, and rowdy cowboy Carter McKay doggin’ Macie’s every boot step, Cash struggles to hide his true feelings for Gemma – except this time, Gemma’s grabbed the bull by the horns and she’s playing for keeps.

Summer’s going to be a hot one at the Bar 9.

Warning: this book contains: explicit sex nine ways ‘til Sunday – including ménage a trois, inventive use of ropes, naughty girls getting spanked, stubborn men getting hog-tied, graphic language and whoo-wee! hot nekkid cowboy on cowboy action.