It's Excerpt Time---Haste Ye Back!

In just a couple weeks, my latest story with Decadent Publishing Haste Ye Back will be released.

So, that means it's Excerpt Time! Please enjoy this little taste of Haste Ye Back!

Ian didn’t deny his immediate attraction to Bryn, and he couldn’t help think she felt the same—gregarious and affectionate, her hand touched his arm, rested on his knee, and during something particularly amusing, playfully slapped his thigh, then lingered there, fingers dancing dangerously toward his inseam.

Maybe Martin and Garret had been right—this service was more than that. Spot on with their description of Madame Eve, even without the massive number of pounds he’d laid out for the arrangement. Obviously the proprietor had some sort of mental extension into the past and present to bring him someone with whom he had an immediate connection, and one who responded to him in the same manner. Like Eve had reached back into their collective conscious and recreated some long lost love and relationship.

Despite the obvious closeness and easy and entertaining conversation with Bryn, it still surprised him when less than two hours into their meeting she nuzzled against his cheek, her lips dragging over his ear when she whispered, “Uh, I hate to be blunt, Ian, but if I don’t get my mouth around your dick—and soon—I think I’m gonna die.”

 

Haste Ye Back and The One He Chose---1 Night Stand stories from Wendy Burke and Decadent Publishing!

First Round!

 Okay, I know...it's been awhile!

But, the good news is, I have completed ROUND ONE of edits for Haste Ye Back, which has a release date sometime later this month or early March. Now that's  exciting in my book!

In the meantime, The One He Chose has been getting amazing reviews. I'm shocked and proud all at the same time. If you look to the right, you can see TwoLips, Whipped Cream and Romancing the Book reviewed the story and all gave it high marks.

Just as a side note, my pal Deanna Wadsworth and I have been writing these 1 Night Stand stories with overlapping characters. Haste Ye Back is the fourth in the series of six we've planned. The series began with her Bear It All, followed by my The One he Chose, her Accidentally Beautiful will be out soon as well, then on to Haste Ye Back. While the stories stand alone in their own right, if you read them in sequence, you'll see what has happened with the characters in the previous book. After these four, well at least two more to come. And for those of you in the northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan area of the country, you may recognize some of the locations!

So, that's what's been going on from this end. Hope everyone is enjoying 2012!

Until next time...
Wendy

COMING SOON!

Special Guest:: Starla Kaye!

 There's nothing I like more than someone taking over my blog! And, I couldn't be happier that Starla Kaye has agreed to do so! So, sit back and enjoy her confessions about cowboys! And, leave a comment below with your email address and Starla will randomly draw a commenter to win a copy of Cowboys In Charge and a surprise Christmas gift!

All I Want For Christmas Is…a Cowboy

A cowboy…maybe two or three…or seven. Cowboys in Charge, my newest release from Black Velvet Seductions, an anthology of seven strong and loving cowboys and their women comes out the first week in December. This is a Christmas anthology that I hope will warm your heart.

I’ve been in love with cowboys most of my life. I grew up watching Westerns with my dad, science fiction, too. He was eclectic in what he liked and so am I. Sometimes it was the good guy I pulled for. Sometimes it was the Western bad boy.

When I first started playing around with writing, I did a lot of fan-fic type stories based on old TV westerns and cowboy heroes. Gunsmoke, with Marshall Matt Dillon (tall, strong-willed, big heart), Doc, Chester, and Kitty (the independent woman who could wind them all around her little finger) was one of my favorite shows to play with. It had my perfect set-up: the big, sometimes gruff Marshall, sidekicks, and, of course, the woman he loved and who drove him crazy at times. And it took place in Dodge City, Kansas, one of the most familiar places in the Old West.

The Big Valley was another show that intrigued me and gave me lots of story ideas. A strong-willed, widowed mother, three handsome and very different sons, and a daughter. What a great set-up for a cast for many of my early stories.

One of my novels from Blushing Books, Whiskey’s Rebellion, was loosely based on these two TV Westerns. It was great fun playing with some of the actual people and actual places from Dodge City. And I loved “torturing” a hardened U.S. Marshall by pushing him together with the younger sister of his trail buddy. She was spoiled by her three older brothers and extremely independent, perfect for driving the man nuts.

What in particular do I like about cowboys? Their devotion to the brand they ride for. Their respect for women, even in the times they are most frustrated with them. Their confidence and certainty that they know what is right and what is wrong. Of course, these are the fictionalized, perfected cowboy heroes. To knock off some of that “perfection,” add a bit of bad boy attitude.

I’ve published a ton of cowboy stories, contemporary and historical, as well as heroes from other time periods and other careers. But time and again I come back to writing about cowboys. In this newest anthology, Cowboys in Charge, I have seven cowboy heroes: Joshua, Jason, James, Adam, Ryan, Trent, and Justin. (Wow, I just now noticed I had four heroes whose names started with “J.”) The short stories include a couple struggling over having a baby, a couple facing financial problems because of the wife’s shopping addiction, a couple drifting apart and trying to find their way again, a couple deciding about kicking up the wilder side of their life even more, a couple considering divorce, a couple facing the tough decision of whether to marry or not, and a couple dealing with the too-little-time issue.

AUTHOR INFO

Website:  http://starlakaye.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/StarlaKayeWriter

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/starla_kaye

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002ZH8K3U

Authors Den:  http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=151725

Title:  Cowboys in Charge

Publisher:  Black Velvet Seductions

Release Date:  First week in December

ISBN:  978-1-936556-14-4

I know, it's been awhile!

I know, it's been awhile since you've seen something here, and for that I apologize!

Good news is, I have a new book in the works! Haste Ye Back is another 1NightStand story through Decadent Publishing. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer! It's beautiful and hits the mark perfectly! I'm telling you Katelynn Phillips has an amazing gift!

 Recently, The One He Chose was awarded FIVE CHERRIES from Whipped Cream reviews. I'm darn proud of that story!

And, in a week or so, Starla Kaye takes over my blog for a guest appearance! She chose my blog to confess about her attraction to cowboys!

Hope everyone's been well!

Wendy

Sean Casey, Trace Adkins and Me

This blog originally appeared on Decadent Publishing 1 Night Stand site in August. If you haven't seen it, hope you enjoy it! And to find out more about Deanna Wadsworth and my project for 1 Night Stand, check out Carrie Ryan's blog, Monday, Sept. 12th --a chance to win FREE books as well!

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What in the hell would those three things have in common this 1 Night Stand story which is on sale now?!

Well, it all goes to the process of how I write. I 'see' a character and I start writing about 'them.' I usually have NO idea what the women look like, but the men, well, no problem there. Now, granted my idea of a good lookin' dude might be completely different from someone else's. My mother once said about my being 'hooked' on some movie star, 'You have all your taste in your mouth.' Oh, well, to each his own and beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.

  But, back to Sean Casey. I just think he's cute as a button in a older athletic-guy way. Helps that he's a strappin' 6'4" and, at one time, played a mean first base. I needed an unassuming, all-American type for my hero and he just fit the bill. (I will ignore his one flaw- he hasn't returned my Tweets!)

 
Trace Adkins, on the other hand - well, you can blame that on Deanna Wadsworth - she got me into this whole 1 Night Stand thing, to the tune of THREE stories! Yes, there will be more (granted the Gods of Submissions look kindly on us) because to find out what happens to her massive bear-of-a-character, pseudo-Trace-Adkins look-a-like from Bear It All you'll just have to read The One He Chose! 


Then to find out what happens to my Sean Casey-esque character, well, who knows what Deanna will call her next 1NS story!


It's been a hoot working on this story. To be honest, I feel closer to them than I do/did with my characters in Respite. Don't know why that is, but maybe it's a 'writer thing.'


Anyway, The One He Chose has made people cry. I quote Valerie Mann (submissions editor), 'I read this and couldn't find one stinkin' Kleenex in the whole house and had to resort to toilet paper. You are scum for making me cry.' Best acceptance email ever!

The trailer has been well received as well. 'It gave me goosebumps,' one comment read.

I'm thrilled to find out what you think of it! There's an excerpt below.


Happy reading! 

 

“Grace.” The deep voice worked its way into her consciousness.

She sighed in her haziness and clutched the imaginary hand resting on her tummy. Whoever or whatever held her carried a familiar scent, one that elicited trust and caring.

Out on the porch, the mountain air had chilled. Despite the comfort of the presence around her, her body responded with a shiver.

A hand slipped into the lace triangle of her thong, caressing the area between navel and Nirvana.

Definitely not a dream.

She blinked, slowly coming to life. The frightened tone of her inquiry shocked even her “Who are you?”

“Relax.” His lips lovingly met her shoulder. “Ben sent me.”

He didn’t seem to have any malicious intent—well, at least not at the moment. And Madame Eve wouldn’t allow something hurtful to happen.

“What do you…?” The hand cupped her waxed-for-the-occasion pubic area. His callused digits followed a natural path. It’d been so long since someone had touched her in this manner, nearly two years. She didn’t blame Ben for the extended dry spell, only the disease which had dampened his interest and stamina.

 “I want you to relax and let me make love to you. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

So, this is how this Madame Eve stuff works.

With little thought, she relented to her physical loneliness. She closed her eyes and shoved the lace below her hips. The stranger assisted until her legs were completely bare. “Yes, please.”

He was strong, agile, and wonderfully gentle.

A warm, sincere, somewhat familiar voice tickled her ear. “Grace.”

She leaned into him, wanting to sigh in happy relief and cry in terrible sadness. His arms about her, she slowly turned into his embrace. She closed her eyes, waiting for the initial kiss.

Then, it came, gentle yet deep and although he was a stranger, she felt a profound connection, a silent conversation. She raised her hand to touch his cheek in encouragement. Blinking in the darkness, desperately wanting to see her soon-to-be lover, her eyes finally focused and the world came to an abrupt halt.

Wendy is a displaced Cheesehead, proud to have been born and bred in Wisconsin. She was a migrant worker for years in the radio business, until she landed in Ohio and refused to leave. When she isn’t writing for pleasure and publication, she is a TV newsroom assignment manager.She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty, house with her chef husband and two spoiled rotten cats.  Decadent Publishing has been a godsend for her as she can finally stop talking to the people in her head and allow them to speak for themselves!

Find her on Facebook (Wendy Burke Author), Twitter @WendyBurke1994 or send her a nasty email: wendyburke1994@bex.net 

A Bit 'Spicy,' but....

...sometimes you just have to 'go there.'

If you object to stepping over the 'moral' line of what is 'acceptable,' you may want to stop reading now, because ---yes--I am going to push my pal, Deanna Wadsworth's latest story, Bear It All. (and, 'bear' is used properly in the title.)

DW and I became fast friends when we ran into each other (nearly physically) at a Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America meeting. At the time we both wondered what the HELL we were doing there! But, since we both had 'people running around in our heads,' we were obviously destined to be friends. 

The people in her head, however, are a bit wilder than mine! She writes erotica...m/m erotica. And yes, I too had to ask - 'What is m/m?' Well, that would be man on man. Fill in the blanks yourself!

But, she writes m/m so well! Really!  She keeps telling me to 'come to the dark side,' and maybe some day, I might just venture there, because she certainly is selling books! (I would have to change my name again, but...)

There is another reason for mentioning Bear It All. Along with it being released on my birthday, (purely coincidence) it's also the first story in a short series DW and I are writing together. Read BIA, then my latest The One He Chose (release date August 9th) and you'll find out what happens with John and Travis in BIA.(See the woman on the cover here, well she is John's sister.)

So, whether it's m/m, m/f, m/m/f, s/D or whatever - everyone deserves a HEA or HFN. Hope you will find that with our characters in all of our stories!

(BTW...by the way...HEA=Happy Ever After and HFN=Happy For Now.) 

Happy Reading! 
Wen

Bear It All is available now. The One He Chose on sale August 9th.
Check out all of DW's titles at Decadent Publishing - and mine (well the one!) is there too!

See the trailer here!

When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy is a TV newsroom assignment manager. She lives with her chef husband and two furry feline children in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest. You can find her on FACEBOOK,Twitter @WendyBurke1994, and lurking about the internet!

What's really important?

 I know I've been absent for more than a month now. Well, I was a bit busy. Doing what? Well, finding out what's really important.

And, what really IS important can be summed up by this photo: my brother Denny and me circa 1965. As you can tell, he's a bit older than I am, which made for some interesting interactions growing up. I stayed with him for more than a week in June as he's again battling another serious health problem. Yep...that's what's really important...family.

Even more important than getting books written, edited and published. More important than any steady employment. It's a wonderfully-accepted duty and the ultimate honor to help him in any way I can. He's my biggest fan, not of my writing, but of just plain-ole me. Which is the highest compliment.

So, that's where I've been, zipping six hours over turnpikes and interstates to and from where I live, to my hometown where he lives. Even though his couch is lumpy (and always has been!) and I have limited access to Internet (which makes me feel a bit closed in), the important things are getting done - he is getting better, and I've been spending some busy, paper-work entrenched time with him. And, you know what? I actually enjoy climbing over those little bumps in the road with him...it makes us both stronger, and it's what's really important.

At the same time, I can't neglect this 'side-profession' I have.

I don't concern myself with book sales, as to be honest, I don't know what they've tallied! It's said you have to 'spend money to make money.' In my situation, that means GIVE STUFF AWAY. Which I am, Tuesday, 7/19 at Deanna Wadsworth's blogspot and Saturday, 7/23 at The Romance Studio. Go to either site and register to win a copy of my first release, RESPITE, from me and Decadent Publishing. The low spots as of late, have been lessened by some great reviews!

And, what's next? Well, working on the next story for DP. A short, 1 Night Stand series work titled, The One He Chose. Keeping my fingers cross for an August release date.  Dara England of Decadent Publishing again hit the mark with this beautiful cover.

So, that's what I've been doing - finding out what's really important. Those 'dark days' can be harried and stressful, but if you sit back, relax and let 'nature take its course,' you will find those nuggets of peace, joy and happiness in the midst of the chaos.

I know...because I have.

Thanks for reading!
 Wen

When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy is a TV newsroom assignment manager. She lives with her chef husband and two furry feline children in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest. You can find her on FACEBOOK, Twitter @WendyBurke1994, at her local writers' website and lurking about the internet.