Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "mmm"

Last day of the Howloween Blog Hop! Comment on this post to win an ebook copy of your choice of one my Dreamspinner Press releases. You can check them all out here or by clicking on the "Books" link to the left of this post. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! I'll be drawing a winner on October 30th.

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For the last day of the hop, I'm going to leave you with the first chapter of a WIP that is not part of my Blue Notes Series. In fact, it's an entirely different type of story. Sexy pirates and shifters. 18+, dubcon, with a bit of MMM, and definitely NSFW, ya'll, so don't say I didn't warn you!

Summary: Taren has never known anything but life as a slave, but when he's kidnapped by the captain of a pirate ship, his lifelong dream of going to sea is realized. The pirate captain Rider offers Taren his freedom in exchange for three years of his life and sexual servitude. Not a bad trade, Taren decides, given that the pleasures he finds in the captain's bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

When Taren is lost at sea trying to save a fellow crewmember, he finds himself a captive of Captain Rider's old enemy: Eoin Dunaidh, the enigmatic captain of the Blue Water. But Eoin and his crew harbor a secret that will change Taren's life forever, forcing Taren to choose between his loyalty to Captain Rider and his crew, and a call far more primal.

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When two sailing ships were engaged in battle, the attacking ship would try to get upwind of the enemy vessel and spread its sails out full, literally stealing all the wind and leaving the enemy “dead in the water.” The attacking ship could then ram the enemy, cutting it in half and sinking it.

Chapter One

Taren huddled beneath a tattered blanket as an icy wind blew through the cracks of the building. The mortar between the bricks had crumbled and the fire was a good twenty feet away, providing him little warmth. He didn’t dare move closer—he had been beaten more times than he cared to remember by the other, more powerfully built men with whom he shared the tiny sleeping quarters.

He had lost track of time since he had come to this place. Had it been a year, perhaps two, since the old sail rigger had sold him to pay a gambling debt? The living quarters at the inn were far less comfortable than Saren’s hut on the edge of the docks, but the work wasn’t nearly as strenuous. Still, he longed for the freedom of climbing the ropes of the incoming vessels and standing atop their masts with the wind in his face.

More than anything else, Taren of Laxley dreamed of sailing aboard one of the great ships. He closed his eyes and imagined the spray against his face, the rocking of the vessel beneath his bare feet. He imagined crouching on the masthead, looking out through the spyglass, trying to spot approaching ships. He imagined hoisting the sails and watching them flutter in the wind and the feel of the ship as she caught the wind.

He had to imagine all these things; he had never been to sea.

“You, boy,” a sturdy woman snapped from the doorway. “What’s your name?”

“Taren, ma’am.” He got to his feet and repressed a shiver. It would do him no good to irritate Madame Marcus at such an ungodly hour—she would see his weakness only as a complaint, and he didn’t want another whipping.

“Cook’s needing you in the dining room. Seems a new ship’s put into port. He wants an extra pair of hands.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Taren said, dropping the threadbare blanket by the wall.

Dining room duty was better than some chores. Cook might even let him scrape the dregs from the pots as they cleaned up later. Taren’s empty belly growled at the prospect and he followed the woman across the open courtyard, past an angry rooster who pecked at him when he strayed too close, and into the warmth of the kitchens.

“Cook, sir,” he said to the large man standing at the ovens, face dirtied with soot from the fires. “What do you need?”

“Grab the soup from off the counter, boy, and ask the gentlemen if they would like more.”

Taren nodded and pulled a potholder from beside the smallest of the ovens. The padding was, as with everything else, worn thin, and he felt the heat from the iron handle as he reached in to lift the pot off its hook. He ignored the pain as the metal burned his palms and scurried out into the dining room, retrieving a large ladle hanging near the doorway.

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The light in the dining hall was far more subdued than in the kitchen, the gas fixtures on the walls burning a warm yellow and making the faded red fabric walls appear tawdrier even than in the daylight. Long wooden tables ran the length of the room, several of which were filled with men, laughing and shouting, some singing off-key, most with large pints of ale in their hands.

Taren’s gaze met Serita’s. She was one of the other servants and old enough to be his mother, but her inclinations were hardly of the maternal kind. Still, she had always been kind to him—as kind as could be expected in a place such as this. She nodded and got back to filling tankards, cackling when the men handled her ample bottom and leaning over as she poured their drinks so they could easily see her full breasts. Later, he guessed, she would offer her services in their rooms as many of his fellow servants did for the paltry coins they might receive in return. The master never complained about such activities, but Taren knew he expected half of what Serita and the others earned with their bodies. Taren had never been tempted to follow a guest to his or her bedroom, although he had been presented with the opportunity on many an occasion.

He felt a rough hand on his forearm, and nearly lost his grip on the pot. “You’re a pretty one,” the owner of the hand said in a low voice. “Ain’t he, Captain?”

“Please,” Taren said in a trembling voice. “I must serve the soup.” Another hand grabbed his buttocks and squeezed. He couldn’t pull away, or he’d spill the hot soup on himself and possibly the man seated to the left of his antagonist.

Pirates, thought Taren, judging by their looks and their rough manner.

The man seated at the head of the table—the “captain”—pursed his lips in appreciation. As his gaze raked over the open collar of Taren’s shirt and the tight fit of his too-small-britches, Taren felt hotter than he had under the blanket only minutes before.

In the past year, Taren had begun to grow from a boy to the beginnings of a fine man. He now stood taller than the women, and although most of the men were larger than he, Taren guessed it was only a matter of time before he would reach and perhaps surpass their stature. This transformation had come as an enormous relief. He had no idea how old he was—sixteen or seventeen, perhaps?—nor did he know his parents. For so long, he had been the smallest of all the boys at the inn, and he had been given no reason to expect that it would ever be otherwise. Until, that is, his body had begun to assert itself.

“Come here, boy!” the captain shouted over the din.

Taren did as he was told, trying to ignore the lecherous gaze of several of the men seated nearby. “What can I get for you, sir?” he asked, as he’d been taught.

The captain, middle-aged with a coarse beard peppered with gray, was a broad-chested, bear of a man. Powerful and attractive, his weathered skin spoke of the sun and the wind, and his eyes were a piercing blue. And yet the weight of that gaze upon him made Taren feel slightly dizzy. It was a frightening thing, and the desire he saw in the older man’s eyes was raw.

The master won’t abide a servant taken without consent, Taren reminded himself as he began to ladle the fragrant soup into the captain’s bowl. He would endure the wanton looks and the fondling in silence, as he had done in the past. Then he would retreat to his duties in the kitchen, safe once more behind the wall that separated servant and guest.

“What’s your name, boy?” The captain’s voice was a deep rumble that seemed to work its way through Taren’s ears and into his body.

“Taren of Laxley, sir,” he answered, his trembling hand the only outward sign of his fear.

“Moran’s right. You are a pretty one.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The man’s hand rubbed Taren’s ass before he realized what was happening. He couldn’t move away, or he’d spill the soup, nor could he put the pot down on the table and risk Cook’s wrath. He felt his shirt pulled from the waist of his pants before he could protest, and the same hand that found his ass now found his hardening cock beneath the fabric.

“Now there’s a tempting treat,” the captain rumbled appreciatively.

Taren’s legs shook with the contact. The captain’s hand was practiced, the touch of the rough palm sensual. Taren tried to repress the moan that issued from his lips, but with little success.

“You like that, don’t you, Taren of Laxley?” The pirate removed his hand and Taren’s disappointment was obvious. “Don’t worry,” the captain added, “I just wanted to make this a bit easier for you.” He took the pot from Taren’s hands and set it on the table, then pulled Taren closer to him by his shirt.

Taren looked around the room. No one seemed to notice how he now stood in front of the pirate with his back against the table, or the stain on his cheeks he was sure was as bright red as the feathers of the rooster in the courtyard. He swallowed hard but he did not move away, the realization that he wanted the other man’s touch a shock.

“I won’t hurt you,” the captain said, his voice low, his expression unfathomable.

“I know,” Taren whispered. He shuddered in anticipation as the captain reached around him and slid it under his pants and over his buttocks. This time, however, the hand was slippery. Taren caught the faint whiff of butter from the table and saw the smile on the pirate’s face.

“Better like that, isn’t it?”

Taren nodded, too overcome to speak.

The pirate’s other hand found the soft flesh of his sac and rolled it around. Taren shivered as a large finger probed to find the sensitive ring of muscle between his ass cheeks. He nearly fell forward, but the other man’s muscular thighs held him upright.

He had never known such pleasure. The captain’s scent was powerful, adding to the intensity of the sensations that ran through Taren’s body like fire. The man’s eyes held him captive as much as his hand. Taren fought the urge to reach out and touch the pirate’s rough jaw, to feel it beneath his fingertips.

The man’s finger breached his opening, while he took Taren’s erection in his other hand, pulling and stroking until Taren had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. Taren no longer saw the room or the other men as the captain’s hand traveled up over his tip and probed the slit.

“Ahhh…,” Taren groaned. He didn’t care if anyone else heard. He couldn’t hold back anymore. And when the finger in his ass pressed completely inside, he came hard, his body shuddering with his release, his head reeling from the intensity of it.

“Thank you, sir,” he managed to croak as he came back to his senses.

The captain chuckled and licked his hand as if it were covered in honey. “No need to thank me, boy,” he said. “The pleasure was all mine.”

Taren was thankful that his long shirt covered the front of his trousers and the wet spot there. He escaped from between the pirate and the table, and picked up the soup. A heated flush still on his cheeks, his breath came in stuttered gasps as he stood at the entrance to the kitchen, trying to calm his racing heart.

Oh, God! Had Serita witnessed the entire sordid act? And what of himself? Had he enjoyed it?

No. Anyone would respond to such a touch. The thought was hardly comforting. And yet the warmth that he felt, having been satisfied by a hand other than his own, still lingered. A man’s hand, no less!

He set the soup back down on the fire to keep it warm and glanced over to Cook, who was happily tasting an aromatic stew in large spoonfuls, oblivious to Taren’s return.

“I’ve finished, sir.” Taren set about to doing the dishes while he awaited further instruction. Perhaps he might be able to explain the embarrassing stain as water from the sink. As it happened, however, Serita returned a short while later with a stack of bowls for washing, then left with the stew on her arm. She didn’t say a word, nor did she attempt to catch his eye.

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More than an hour later, the dishes dried and replaced on the shelves, Cook gave Taren leave to return to the sleeping area. Taren had avoided any further contact with the pirates, and Serita vanished after the tables were cleared, mostly likely to spend what remained of the night with a guest.

The faint color of dawn lit the horizon as Taren stepped into the courtyard. The rooster who had scolded him before called loudly from atop a stone wall. Taren yawned deeply and strode with purpose across the dirt, taking care to steer clear of the other birds that were already pecking the ground in anticipation of breakfast.

He was nearly to the doorway of the building when he heard footsteps from behind him. He turned in surprise, confused as to why any other servants were up before the morning call. But it was not a servant's face he saw—it was one of the men from before.

“What can I get for —” he began to say, but his words were cut short by a hand, clamped tightly over his mouth from behind. His eyes grew wide in fear as the hand pressed a piece of cloth against his mouth and nose and he inhaled a pungent odor. The world seemed to dim, and he remember nothing more.

Welcome to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop! What a wonderful way to learn about what writers are up to. Please be sure to check out my fellow Next Big Thing bloggers: Rhys Ford, Anne Barwell, E.M. Lynley, Elizabeth Noble, Thea Nishimori, Michael Rupured, Lou Sylvre, Rowena Sudbury, Ana Bosch, Grace Duncan, and Tinnean.

As always, I have multiple WIPs (works in progress) I'm juggling. I thought I'd tell you all about one of my favorite projects, and a bit of a change of genre for me. Stealing the Wind is a gay romance, but instead of my usual contemporary, it's a fantasy/paranormal novel, the first of at least two in a series of stories about pirate shifters. So, here goes with the Q&A:


























What else about your book might interest the reader?

Stealing the Wind is a bit sexier (smuttier?) than my other books. It starts out with a menage, although the HEA/main pairing is strictly a couple. Taren is kidnapped from the tavern where he works as an indentured servant (a slave, really) and taken aboard a pirate ship (these pirates are human). The captain gives him his freedom in return for three years of "servitude" that includes sharing the bed of the captain and first mate. Taren is fascinated and attracted to both men, and some very hot sex ensues! Taren grows to love both Rider and Bastian, not only as lovers, but as men. But when Taren meets Eoin several years later, it's clear that there is something very powerful between them. I won't tell you any more, since that would spoil it, but suffice it to say Taren and Eoin's relationship is written in the stars.

Want to read an excerpt from Stealing the Wind? Click here!

I'm putting the finishing touches on the first draft of "Stealing the Wind" and getting ready to send it on to my wonderful beta readers. I'm already working on the sequel. There's just something about mermen I find particularly appealing (sexy as hell!). That, and Taren and Eoin's story isn't easily told in just one book.

The mermen in "Stealing the Wind" are shape shifters. They exist in two forms: human and merfolk. They can survive indefinitely on land or in the water, but they cannot survive away from water for long periods of time. If merfolk can live indefinitely under the water, then it stands to reason that they can also mate in their merfolk forms. Which led me to the question (because I love sexy stories): how would merman have sex? To answer that question, I had to ask myself a few others.

Question #1: What do mermen look like and how are their bodies (and parts of their bodies) put together? I loved this question, because the answer was that I could do whatever I liked. It's my imagination, right? Of course, I wanted to base my mermen on merfolk lore, and I needed them to have certain "human"...er...attributes. So I started by looking at marine animals, and especially at marine mammals. Whales are a bit too big, so I naturally chose dolphin as my "template" for the beast half of my mermen.

In "Stealing the Wind," Taren of Laxley has known nothing but slavery all his life. He doesn't remember his parents--all he knows is that he was sold as a baby. Boy is he in for a surprise when he learns that when his owners called him "special," they weren't talking about his brain! Taren discovers his dual nature after he's taken prisoner aboard the merfolk ship, Phantom, and her captain (Eoin Dunaidh) shows him what his body has hidden. Suddenly, he is half-man, half-beast, with a powerful tail, a dorsal fin between his shoulders, webbed fingers, and has fins with sharp tines on his hands and wrists. Then he realizes that his plumbing appears to be internal.

Dolphin sex organs are internal (makes sense - don't want them getting all shriveled in the water). They have "folds" - two each. The male penis is hidden inside, so the fold acts as a sheath (similar to dogs). Which led me to question #2.

Question #2: How do mermen have sex? I had no doubt that I wanted the mermen in the story to have sex in their merfolk form, so I needed to figure out what kind of sex organs they have when they transform. "Thank the goddess," as Eoin would say, for the internet. Did you know there are tons of dolphin sex vids? No joke. Apparently dolphin are very sexual (not monogamous) and tend to "perform" at aquariums (to the delight of children and the mortification of their parents!).

I watched several videos to get a sense of how dolphin sex works. They're very playful, nipping and rubbing against each other. And yes, dolphins get erections, exposing the hidden penis for sex. Only problem I saw: dolphin penises are pretty small. Smaller than human penises. Enter my imagination. How about dolphin anatomy, but a human sized penis? No need for foreskins, either, in this form. And what if certain other orifices are a bit more sensitive even, than in humans? (I think I had much too much fun figuring this all out!)

One other logistical question I had to deal with: how do merfolk communicate under the water? The answer? Telepathy or thought-reading. As you'll see, they do make some sounds, but their speech becomes thought when they are in their merfolk form.

Want to see how all this works out on paper? Read down for an excerpt from the mermen sex scene about halfway through the book (not the entire scene, but enough that you'll get the general idea). "Stealing the Wind" is set for tentative publication this summer. I'll be posting sneak peeks at the story from time to time, so stay tuned for more! I welcome your comments and ideas, of course! How did I do? -Shira

PS: Love the amazing art? That's by http://chrisgiz12.deviantart.com/ from DeviantArt!

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Summary: Taren has never known anything but life as a slave, but when he’s kidnapped by the captain of a pirate ship, his lifelong dream of going to sea is realized. The pirate captain offers Taren his freedom in exchange for three years of his life and sexual servitude. Not a bad trade, Taren decides, given that the pleasures he finds in the captain’s bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

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Want to read the excerpt? Click here: http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

Happy weekend! I'm off to our sailboat, Land's Zen, and the Carolina coast tomorrow morning. I thought I'd leave you all with a new excerpt from "Stealing the Wind," the first book in the Mermen of Ea Series, due out this summer from Dreamspinner Press. But before I do, a few quick updates....

First, I hope you all like the updates my wonderful web guru, Angsty G, has made to my website. What's new? Buttons for Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter, as well as progress bars for all my WIPs. You may also notice the new "Series" tab, where you can find all my series listed. Most of the other goodies aren't as obvious, with one major exception: I now have a newsletter! To subscribe, just enter your email address on my home page. Simple, and I promise never to spam you or to send you newsletters more often than once a month.

Next, "Encore," the fifth Blue Notes Series book has been submitted to Dreamspinner Press. If they contract the book, look for a November release date. I'm also working on a Blue Notes novella to be released during the holidays, tentatively entitled, "Symphony in Blue." It will be a sequel to the first four books, and wrap up of Cary/Antonio and Sam/Aiden, but will also include Jules/Jason and David/Alex pairings. Oh, and Massimo, too!

Lastly, I'll be starting a new free serialized story, "Who Rules the King's Heart," in my first newsletter issue. Subscribers to the newsletter will get updates on the story in each issue and a week later, I'll post the updates to the "Free Fiction" tab on my website. So you don't have to subscribe to read the story, but you will get it sooner if you do. "Who Rules the King's Heart" is an MM erotic fantasy story about a king and the half demon/half human he loves.

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to sign up for the newsletter if you'd like. To read the excerpt from "Stealing the Wind," go to my website, www.shiraanthony.com. I'm anxiously awaiting the cover art for the novel, and I'll be sharing that as soon as it's finalized, so stay tuned. Enjoy your weekend! -Shira

PS: If anyone knows who the artist is for the lovely artwork, please let me know! I found it on the web and can't find any attribution.

Welcome everyone to the When Sparks Fly Fourth of July Blog Hop! I'm one of a whole slew of romance writers participating in the hop that begins July 4th and ends on Monday, July 8th. You can find a listing of all the participants by clicking here or on the hop graphic to the left. Everyone has giveaways going for the hop, so be sure to comment on my blog and on the other blogs to be entered to win!

For my part, I'm offering up winner's choice of an ebook of one of my Dreamspinner Press releases or some Blue Notes Series swag (a collection of a Blue Notes t-shirt with the cover of your choice, pens, a mousepad, and some other Blue Notes goodies). All you need to do to enter is to comment on this post! I'll draw a winner after midnight on July 8th!

Of course, if you're talking romance, "sparks" usually take the form of sexual tension or just sex. Fireworks of a different variety than those you might watch with the 1812 Overture playing in the background. Much as I love fireworks, I prefer the sexual kind. So I'm sharing a bit of fireworks from my upcoming Dreamspinner Press release, Stealing the Wind . And believe me, this one's a scorcher--a long excerpt of an MMM threesome from the beginning of the story (although the story itself is an MM pairing).

Stealing the Wind is an adventure on the high seas with of pirates and merman shifters, as is the first in a series of mermen shifter novels (Mermen of Ea Series). This scene takes place after Taren, a young slave, is kidnapped by pirates and finds himself aboard the Sea Witch. The captain offers Taren his freedom in exchange for three years aboard the ship and in the captain and his first mate's bed. Taren, who is powerfully attracted to the captain, quickly agrees.

You can read the excerpt here. Keep an eye out for the book, which will be released on August 12th by Dreamspinner Press. Happy Fourth of July! Don't forget to comment to be entered into the drawing! -Shira

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Blurb: Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.

I spotted some old Harlequin romances (ancient ones!) at a yard sale the other day. I remember devouring books like that when I was a kid. Yeah, I had issues with the pathetic heroines (one of the reasons I prefer to write MM romance, btw), but there were certain tropes that just made my hands tingle and my gut tense. You know, those angsty moments when your heart just breaks for the main characters? We all knew they'd get their happy ending eventually, but the pain (pleasure?) of wanting them to be happy together was totally delicious!

So what are your favorite guilty pleasures when you think of romances? What tropes make you shiver and keep you reading at lightning speed to find out what happens? Is it the tried and true "friends to lovers" story, where the two friends worry about what might happen to their friendship if they follow their hearts? Is it the "enemies to lovers" story, where you can just feel the two romantic leads fighting themselves and knowing it's hopeless to resist?

I'll share one of my favorites.... I love, LOVE, the romances where the two main characters are madly, passionately in love, but something happens to tear them apart. A misunderstanding or even a person who inserts themselves between the lovers, for example. They're torn apart, only to rediscover each other years later (which can lead to an "enemies to lovers" story, if you think about it). This new, rekindled love is a more mature and deeper love than in the past.

For those of you familiar with my yaoi (mm) manga/anime addiction, you may have heard me gush about Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi , aka World's Greatest First Love. Two boys meet in high school. The younger boy, Ritsu, has a terrible crush on the older boy, Masamune. Ritsu confesses his love at a time in Masumune's life when Masamune's family is in turmoil. They begin a sexual relationship. But one day Ritsu asks Masamune if he loves him, and Masamune laughs. Ritsu is so hurt, he leaves school and Masamune behind. Ten years later, Ritsu gets a job at a publisher and guess who his boss is? Yep. So begins Masamune's quest to make Ritsu fall in love with him again. And yes, there's a good explanation for why Masamune laughed! It's very cute and sweet, and it gets me every time!

Your turn now! Tell me what your favorite romantic trope is and you could win your choice of one of my current Dreamspinner Press releases in ebook format or a swag bag (including a t-shirt of a Blue Notes Series cover or the fabulous new cover for Stealing the Wind ). Contest ends on Friday, August 2nd. Guilty pleasures welcome. Because you know there's a reason these tropes are so tried and true! -Shira

PS: Want to read more about my upcoming release, Stealing the Wind ? You can read a very steamy excerpt from the beginning of the book here (scroll down to the end of the blog post). There’s another excerpt, the opening chapter of the novel, here. The book is now available for preorder on the Dreamspinner Press website and is 25% through July 26th!

My upcoming (August 12th) release from Dreamspinner Press, Stealing the Wind is now available for preorder on Dreamspinner's website: www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor… Even better, it's 25% through midnight tonight (7/26/13) in both paperback and ebook!

I started my last "Guilty Pleasures" post by saying I'd grown up reading Harlequin romances as a kid and talking about some of the romance tropes you find in those books: "friends to lovers," "enemies to lovers," "the misunderstanding," and others. Today, just a little over three weeks out from the release of the first book in my fantasy Mermen of Ea series, I thought I'd talk about romance tropes in the fantasy genre. Don't forget that I'm running a giveaway, so be sure to comment on this post (or the earlier post) to win! Multiple entries are fine. Contest ends Friday August 2nd.

Those of you who know a little about me know that in addition to the traditional contemporary romances I loved to read when I was little, I was also a huge sci fi geek and Trek fan. In addition to Asimov, Heinlein, and the great sci fi writers of the 20th Century, I also loved to read one particular fantasy author: Marion Zimmer Bradley. Zimmer Bradley's best known series was "The Mists of Avalon." I have to admit I never read those books. The series I still love (and re-read) to this day is Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover." An amazing combination of sci fi and fantasy that I keep on my Kindle (I have paperback copies, too!) for those times when I need inspiration.

Set on an Earth-like planet (albeit a lot colder than Earth), the Darkovans are descendents of Earth settlers, some of whom interbred with a native race of powerful beings with psi powers (telepathy, ability to manipulate weather, communicate with animals, etc.). Offhand, it doesn't sound very romantic. But what I particularly loved about these stories was that each one chronicled relationships between men and women (and one notable MM relationship--back to that in a minute) in a very romantic way. Endings were usually happy, courtships were long and very "real," and Zimmer Bradley's descriptions of people and places were at least as romantic as the relationships themselves. When I think "sweeping romance," I think of these books, rather than "Gone with the Wind," or "The Thorn Birds."

In particular, one relationship stayed with me long after I'd devoured the entire series and this one, surprise, surprise, was between two men: Regis Hastur, the ruler of the Darkovan people, and his paxman, Danilo Syrtis. It was a subtle gay relationship, mostly written between the lines, but one of the most enduring of the part of the series set in the "modern" day of the planet's history.

What, do you ask, does that have to do with mermen? Short answer: a ton! When I was writing Stealing the Wind and planning out the series, Marion Zimmer Bradley's books were never far from my mind. Although the main trope of the first mermen book is one I don't remember reading in the Darkover books (souls bound together that survive through time to find each other once again), the heart of Darkover is there. I'm talking about where romance and adventure meet to create a larger story. Taren and Ian's story is very romantic, no doubt. There are captor/captive and "enemies to lovers" tropes to be found in Stealing the Wind, but what makes their story so much like the Darkover books I grew up reading is the way their relationship and their love grows and deepens through their shared adventures. There's a happily-ever-after for Taren and Ian at the end of the first book in the sense that they are together forever, come what may. But the adventure part of their story is far from told when the first book ends.

Which leads me to perhaps my favorite trope, or variation on a trope: lovers, secure in their relationship, who continue to grow through adventure, difficulties, and challenges. They change together, support each other, and in the end achieve something greater than just the two of them. Don't worry! There is an ultimate HEA at the end of the Mermen of Ea books (actually, there are at least 2 of them)! But along the way, I want to take you on a wild ride and have you rooting for Ian and Taren and the other characters in the series, and maybe sitting on the edge of your seat, too!

Your turn now! Tell me what your favorite romantic trope is and you could win your choice of one of my current Dreamspinner Press releases in ebook format or a swag bag (including a t-shirt of a Blue Notes Series cover or the fabulous new cover for Stealing the Wind ). Contest ends on Friday, August 2nd. Guilty pleasures welcome. And if you're interested in checking out the Darkover books, I recommend starting with Heritage and Exile (actually 2 books in one, both tied my favorite, and the part of the series that features a MM romance). -Shira

PS: Want to read more about Stealing the Wind ? You can read a very steamy excerpt from the beginning of the book here (scroll down to the end of the blog post). There’s another excerpt, the opening chapter of the novel, here.

I had to laugh when I saw a post the other day on a blog site with the cover of Stealing the Wind , a snarky comment about a "boob grab" (and what's wrong with that, may I ask?) and the author was wondering how mermen have sex (she didn't quite put it that bluntly, but hey, it's a valid question, right?). Which, of course, inspired me to write about it. Because if you want to know how I see mermen having sex, you'll find out in Stealing the Wind. But I'll give you a little taste of it first.

The mermen in "Stealing the Wind" are shape shifters. They exist in two forms: human and merfolk. They can survive indefinitely on land or in the water, but they cannot survive away from water for long periods of time. If merfolk can live indefinitely under the water, then it stands to reason that they can also mate in their merfolk form. Which led me to the question (because I love sexy stories): how would merman have sex? To answer that question, I had to ask myself a few other quesitons.

Question #1: What do mermen look like and how are their bodies (and parts of their bodies) put together? I loved this question, because the answer was that I could do whatever I liked. It's my imagination, right? Of course, I wanted to base my mermen on merfolk lore, and I needed them to have certain "human"...er...attributes. So I started by looking at marine animals, and especially at marine mammals. Whales are a bit too big, so I naturally chose dolphins as my "template" for the beast half of my mermen.

In "Stealing the Wind," Taren Laxley has known nothing but slavery all his life. He doesn't remember his parents--all he knows is that he was sold as a baby. Taren discovers his dual nature after he's taken prisoner aboard the merfolk ship, Phantom, and her captain (Ian Dunaidh) shows him what his body has hidden. Suddenly, he is half-man, half-beast, with a powerful tail, a dorsal fin between his shoulders, webbed fingers, and has fins with sharp tines on his hands and wrists. Then he realizes that his "manly" plumbing is internal.

Dolphin sex organs are internal (makes sense - don't want them getting all shriveled in the water). They have "folds" - two each. The male penis is hidden inside, so the fold acts as a sheath (similar to dogs). Which led me to question #2.

Question #2: How do mermen have sex? I had no doubt that I wanted the mermen in the story to have sex in their merfolk form, so I needed to figure out what kind of sex organs they have when they transform. "Thank the goddess," as Ian would say, for the internet. Did you know there are tons of dolphin sex vids? No joke. Apparently dolphin are very sexual (not particularly monogamous, unlike my two mermen) and tend to "perform" at aquariums (to the delight of children and the mortification of their parents!). Here's a link to one of the vids I watched. You'll see some of the behavior reproduced in the excerpt.

I watched several videos to get a sense of how dolphin sex works. They're very playful, nipping and rubbing against each other. And yes, dolphins get erections, exposing the hidden penis for sex. Only problem I saw: dolphin penises are pretty small. Smaller than human penises. Enter my imagination. How about dolphin anatomy, but a human sized penis? No need for foreskins, either, in this form. And what if certain other orifices are a bit more sensitive even, than in humans? (I think I had way too much fun figuring this all out!)

One other logistical question I had to deal with: how do merfolk communicate under the water? The answer? Telepathy or thought-reading. As you'll see, they do make some sounds, but their speech becomes thought when they are in their merfolk form.

So what follows is an excerpt from Stealing the Wind. Definitely NSFW, 18+. Enjoy! And if you haven't heard already, Stealing the Wind is up on the Dreamspinner Press website for preorder! -Shira

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Burb:

Mermen of Ea: Book One

Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.

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Excerpt from Chapter 16

WARNING: NSFW, 18+ only please!

Here's the link: Mermen sex excerpt

 

Today is release day for Stealing the Wind ! I'm so excited for you all to meet Taren Laxley and Ian Dunaidh, as well as the other characters who inhabit the complex universe of the Mermen of Ea. I'll be blogging over the next month about the series in various places and topping it all off with a Facebook chat on the Dreamspinner Press page with special contests, excerpts, and fun discussions. Comment on this or any other of my posts until Sunday, September 8th, and you'll be entered to win one of several prizes including: a Stealing the Wind t-shirt, a Stealing the Wind ceramic mug, an ebook of your choice of my Dreamspinner Press releases (not including Stealing the Wind).

Want to enter the giveaway contest? Just comment below. Want to read more about Stealing the Wind? Here's the blurb and the links where you can purchase the book in ebook or paperback formats! -Shira

Stealing the Wind, by Shira Anthony

Mermen of Ea: Book One

Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.

Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4101&cPath=55_484

AllRomanceEbooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-stealingthewind-1267623-145.html

Amazon: Link to come! (It takes a bit longer to get the book posted on Amazon)