We have a very special guest today.
Welcome Afton Locke!
Thank
you for hosting me today. I’m excited to discuss writing my first series and my
recent release, Rose, Exposed, a
multicultural historical erotic romance set in the 1930s.
This
post is part of the official Rose,
Exposed Blog Tour (3/26 - 4/09).
The
grand prize for the tour is vintage-style rose earrings for pierced ears (U.S.
shipping address only).
To
be eligible, COMMENT on this post. Comment should include the historical time
period and geographical setting (when and where) you’d most like to see in a
romance.
Writing My First Series
When
I set out to write Plucking the Pearl,
the prequel to Rose, Exposed, I
never dreamed the book would lead to a series. Oyster Island is a small town
where everyone knows everyone, so it’s the perfect series setting. I have the fourth
book in mind as the grand finale. If I have second thoughts about ending the
series after that, or if readers demand it, maybe I’ll extend it. Everything is
flexible in writing.
Series
writing has a lot of advantages. For historicals,
especially, it’s great to be able to reuse a lot of the research. As a writer,
I enjoy revisiting old characters as much as readers do. When we first read a
book, we’re busy trying to get to know the characters and picture them in our
minds. That can distract from the story. Readers also enjoy seeing how the
characters’ relationships play out. After the romance is resolved, the hard
work in a relationship really begins. The promise of love conquers all that we
get from a romance novel is stronger when we see it last over time.
I’ve
found writing a series has its share of challenges too. As a traveler and
seat-of-the-pants writer, I enjoy a change of scenery. Writing about the same
place again and again can lack the excitement of going somewhere new. To
overcome that, I strive to highlight different parts of the locale in each
book. The first book spent a lot of time in the oyster house while this book
focuses on the beautiful waterfront.
Another
challenge is the temptation to slip into multiple points of view in subsequent
books. I want to get into the heads of my previous heroes and heroines in
addition to the current ones. I also have to remind myself to be careful who I
show in a bad light because that person might become a hero or heroine in a
future book. Let’s just say I have a lot of redeeming to do for the fourth
book.
Luckily,
keeping track of all the little details isn’t a problem for me. I put my books
through a very rigorous editing process, which includes tracking everything.
All I have to do is go back and look at my notes.
I
can’t wait to finish this series and start a new one!
Rose, Exposed
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing
Release
Date: 27 March 2013
eBook
ISBN #: 978-14199-45205
(I love creating trailers for all my books!)
Blurb
When
Leroy Johnson gets promoted at the new oyster plant on Pearl Point, all he
cares about is working hard. When he meets the flirtatious artist Rose
Wainwright, however, nothing matters except getting her to the altar and into
bed. Healing from a recent loss, he’s not about to let her go too.
Because
Rose’s strict, social-climbing father doesn’t approve of dark-skinned Leroy,
they court in secret anyplace they can find. Although Leroy’s raw passion can
convince her to do almost anything, why can’t he understand she needs freedom,
not marriage?
Her
father wants her to be white, but Leroy wants her to be black. Playing both
sides of the fence leaves this young biracial beauty exposed in more ways than
one.
Excerpt
(explicit)
Rose,
Exposed - Copyright © AFTON LOCKE, 2013 - All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave
Publishing, Inc.
“You’re
so…dark,” she exclaimed. Instead of the disdain he expected, he heard
fascination.
Come on, lady. Don’t
tell me you’ve never seen a colored man before.
“Yes,
I’m dark,” he agreed as he politely removed her hand, “which is why it’s not a
good idea for us to sit alone together in this car. Someone might come along
and jump to the wrong conclusion.”
A
conclusion that could get him beat up or worse with the Klan close by on Oyster
Island.
But
before he could stop her, she clasped both sides of his face and pressed her
sweet mouth to his. Aw, hell. A man
only had so much self-control, and she’d just shattered his. Unable to stop
himself, he plundered her delicate mouth. Her lips reminded him of rose petals,
and he sucked the sweetness out of them as if he were a bee. The more he
tasted, the more he wanted.
She
opened, giving him access to her even sweeter tongue. His penis strained, hard
and now wet, against his undershorts. Hell, even his balls must be twice their
normal size. Taking a big breath, he pulled away from her.
“We
can’t do this. You’re white.”
She
looked down at her upturned palms. “Then I really do look white?”
Leroy
frowned. “Aren’t you?”
For
the first time, her smile disappeared, making him shiver in his wet clothes.
“The truth is, I don’t know what I am. I suppose that’s why I took this foolish
drive.”
She
must be biracial then, he realized, and not forbidden after all. The thought
made him want to dance on the hood of the car. She still looked white, though.
If he didn’t have the time to court a girl his own color, he sure didn’t have
any for a complicated one like this.
“Kiss
me again,” she demanded.
Without
waiting for him to answer, she locked her hot, damp mouth on his again and
tugged hard on his shoulders. Before he knew it, he was on top of her on the
front seat. He wished her dress weren’t so thin when two round breasts pushed
against his chest and long, slender legs shifted restlessly under his. Dizzy
with the scent of rain and her, he froze.
At
that moment, nothing mattered except finding out if her cunt was as sweet and
yielding as her mouth. He didn’t care if the entire Klan showed up, knocked on
the window and caught him thrusting between her legs on this slippery leather
seat. It had been too damn long since he’d had a woman. He needed to stop this
while he still could.
“Do
you know what you’re asking for?” Lust had turned his voice into a husky croak.
She
laughed and touched his face again. “I don’t know. What am I asking for?”
This
girl was crazier than he’d first thought. What if someone less honorable than
himself had stopped instead? She could’ve been raped.
“A
whole lot of trouble.” He sat up. “Look, this is not the time or the place. Now
let’s get you home.”
The
sooner he could be rid of her—before she derailed him from his job, family, and
everything else that mattered—the better.
WIPs Coming Soon
Rose,
Exposed
is the sequel to Plucking the Pearl, an interracial historical erotic romance.
I
have two more books planned for the Oyster
Harbor series. Next up for romance are Sadie and Henry.
In
addition to interracial/multicultural historicals, I also plan to keep writing
erotic contemporaries.
Can
an older woman find love with a hot male stripper? My current WIP, Two
Hours to Entice, will answer that question.
Where readers can find me
Don’t
miss the book signing on Oct 13th.
I’m
also hosting a Fabulous Fusion workshop with Koko Brown and Eve Vaughn to
celebrate interracial erotic romance for EC’s Fusion line.
Congratulations on your upcoming release, Afton!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone~
Tessie
www.tessiebradford.com
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