Moving in and Looking Around

 

 As most of you know, I've moved to Florida from my beloved Texas and I've been in the process of starting my life over again. This has been a sad but exciting journey and things are finally smoothing out a little bit. At the moment I'm living in a nice, roomy apartment with my daughter. It's a beautiful place with lots of trees, woodland creatures, birds and some very nice people but still....it's an apartment. For awhile I could only keep my mind on doing what must be done 'today'. I simply couldn't allow my mind to stretch out into the future to see what might be out there. There was furniture to buy, a kitchen to stock. I mean, I had to get EVERYTHING and that's a tough job. My mind simply reeled from all the things that had to be done in order to make my new little place a home.

A home? Well, I'm getting there but this apartment isn't my own.  We're comfy and settling in. We have beds and everything we really need still before now I haven't been able to think past immediate concerns. Today, finally, I think I'm in a place where I can look ahead a little bit. I've been trying to figure out lately where I want to live on a more permanent basis. A house, condo or townhouse? After living in an apartment for a few months and having a young child living in the apartment just above I already know that I don't want common walls. Uh uh. Not happening.

In the end, I think a cozy house will be the perfect thing. Today I'm heading out to take a 'walk-through' one of them. From internet pics the place looks lovely. Nice neighborhood, the right amount of living space, etc. So yes, I'm excited to get a peek. Since I tend to be cautious about these things, I'm fairly certain this will not be the only house I check out. Several neighborhoods have caught my eye so I'm sure the next few months will be busy.

Between househunting and writing (YES...WRITING) I'm getting there and already sowing the seeds for my new life. I'll keep you posted.

Clandestine Classics: IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

Okay, I’m going to confess something right off the bat here. I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of the so-called classics. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes, etc., were never high on my list of must read recommendations for anyone. I found the books to be incredibly boring.

Why?

Probably because I’m an action junkie and probably because I like reading sex scenes. Which, of course, is why I fell in love with Kathleen Woodiwiss romances from day one and why I like thrillers.

For those of you who love the classics—good for you. Nothing wrong with liking them. Just not my cup of tea. But now we have Clandestine Classics—classics such as Jane Eyre and Sherlock Holmes with sex scenes added—and I’m pretty excited about that.

Maybe now that the novels have been modernized, I can take another look and find what I need to give me a satisfying read and at the same time appreciate what others saw all along. Now I understand that when these tales were originally written there could be no sex. Society would have beheaded the authors if they had. LOL So who’s to say those authors, had they been living today, would not have included passionate, open-door sex?

Clandestine Classics is offered to readers by Total E-Bound Publishing. Click HERE for a list of titles. Those classics are in the public domain and anyone can use them. So what Total E-Bound did was to find some ab fab authors to take a few of these books and add some very sexy word count. You might also be interested in knowing that you’re not being charged for any word count other than what the Total E-Bound authors have added.

There’s been a whole lot of hoopla over these books. Some people are outraged that the classics have been touched. I read a blog post a couple of days ago in which the blogger claimed that this generation is warping society. LOL I know a couple of the authors who are involved in Clandestine Classics. Both are lovely ladies. Desiree Holt, who took on the task of sexing up Jane Austin’s Northanger Abbey, is a veteran writer of erotic romance with over a hundred books published—and she is a SILVER BEAUTY!!! 

Sarah Masters, the author who added heat to one of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales, is an amazing individual. She writes under three or four different pen names and just blows me away with her writing talent. She’s also the best cover artist around. And she’s a MOM, wife, and a beautiful woman with incredible highlights in her hair that I’ve got to talk to her about (I want them. LOL)

Neither of these authors are warped nor are they warping society. LOL If you don’t want to read the books, don’t buy them. It’s simple.

I’d also like to mention that these books didn’t happen as a result of E.L. James and Fifty Shades of Grey. I am so tired of hearing about that book I want to scream. Does everyone really think that book was the first erotic romance on the market? It certainly seems so. No one is trying to capitalize on that book’s success. HELL!!!! Everyone is just trying to make a buck just like we’ve been trying to do for years! So just to make it clear, Fifty Shades of Grey did not start some literary sexual revolution.

We’ve been doing this for years.

As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for Ellora’s Cave, the largest publishing company of erotic romance and erotica in the world, e-books wouldn’t be such a big thing now. That’s right. I give full credit to Ellora’s Cave. Isn’t it just lovely that everyone jumped on the e-book bandwagon? Must have been all of those people reading sexed up books that did it, huh? LOL And the vast majority are women, too. SCANDALOUS!!!!

Clandestine Classics are available for you to purchase today. That’s right. It’s release day. Here’s the link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/prodtype.asp?CAT_ID=306&sb=bt&ntt=3&so=all

Now here’s a little request for Total E-Bound:

How about a little Robin Hood and Maid Marian? And I would kill for some scorching hot sex scenes between Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara---but I’m sure there are copyright issues there. SIGHHHHHHHHHHH… Guess I’ll always have to simply imagine Rhett’s sexual prowess.

Congratulations to authors:

Sarah Masters, Desiree Holt, Sierra Cartwright, Amy Armstrong, Marie Sexton. And to Total E-Bound for finding yet another way to put erotic romance on the map!  

The Search for Inspiration

It doesn’t matter what kind of artistic, ‘creative-type’ you might be. Painter. Writer. Sculptor. Actor. Musician. We all need inspiration to make what we do not only  cohesive but beautiful. We are people who make things happen creatively and without inspiration, even our best efforts can fall flat. Finding something that moves us is the key to unlocking the dreams and imaginings we want to share with the world…or maybe even just a small part of it. These days you’d think that would be an easy feat but it’s not as simple as you might think. Let’s face it, we’re busy people living in a world that races rather than walks from one thing to the next.

Maybe the most important key to discovering what moves you is to simply observe. Listen to the radio when you drive. Pay attention when walking through a mall or hanging out in a park. Watch the world around you and find those things that make you say…ahhhh. Those things are the makings of the next major piece of art, a beautiful song or a book that makes a reader sigh.

I’m beginning to think finding inspiration is just a matter of slowing down, taking stock and dragging a few deep breaths into my lungs. Finding a center, a peaceful place deep inside is key to my becoming inspired. Lately, I sit on the back porch in my search for motivation. This is where I get my best ideas, where plots evolve and plans for a book are born. Recently, I’ve relocated from my beloved Texas to sunny Florida and the view from my back patio is spectacular. Orange trees, red birds, lizards and yes, the occasional snake colors my world and in watching them, I gain peace and feel a renewed creativity that I’d believed had gotten lost somewhere along the way. I’ve learned lately that I am motivated by ‘visual’ things. Note the picture of the rugged cowboy and the isolation of his stance. The other day I saw the photo somewhere and knew I ‘had to have him’. Thank God for copy and save because now I know that I can re-visit this guy on my computer and find impetus  for another story of those rough, rugged men of the west. He might be a rancher, a hired hand or even a ‘cowboy shifter’. Who knows where this bit of inspiration might take my next book?

 I’m dying to find out.

Please stop by my website to learn more about me and my books

http://www.reginacarlysle.com

 In other news: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Vol. 2 comes out in print tomorrow at Ellora's Cave.  This book (also available in ebook) features some super hot stories. Tinderbox, my addition to the anthology, is a shifter menage. You know how I love those guys who turn 'furry'. LOL

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10221-something-wicked-this-way-comes-volume-2.aspx