Journey's End Now Available

Journey's End is now available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Click on the cover to the right and you will be taken to the Journey's End page on Amazon.com.

Only one Holiday Fantasy story remaining, Sold To The Lowest Bidder, and the entire collection will be up on Kindle as individual stories. I hope to have this one up sometime this week. I'll put the cover up as Coming Soon when I have it finished.

Considering the time of year, I have been in the mood for spooky, so I've been busy writing on one of the stories in my upcoming Legacy Of Shadows series - Medium. It feels really good to be working on something new.

Second Chances Now Available

Second Chances is now avalable on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Click on the cover to the right and you will be taken to the Second Chances page.

Only two books in the Holiday Fantasies collection remaining and all my backlist will be up. Journey's End will be up in the next few days followed by Sold To The Lowest Bidder.

I can then focus totally on my current works in process. I hope to have something new up and running soon.

Independence Day Now Available

Independence Day is now avaliable on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. If interested in learning more please click on the cover image to the right and you will be taken to the Independence Day page on Amazon. Or, you can read past reviews and a sample on my website by clicking the website image to the right.

As I stated in my previous post. Independence Day is one of my favorites in the collection because it deals with the subject of Domestic Violence, an issue that I feel strongly about.

Auld Lang Syne Now Available

Auld Lang Syne is now available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. If interested, please click on the cover image to the right and you'll be taken to the correct Kindle page.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. This is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. The issue of Domestic Violence has been hidden behind closed doors or swept under the rug for far too long. It can happen to anyone. For that reason, Independence Day will be up next. Hopefully available within the next couple of days.

Seduction Of The Senses Now Available

The revised, expanded version of Seduction Of The Senses is now available on Amazon Kindle. Click the cover on the panel to the right and you'll be taken to it.

Next up will be Auld Lang Syne followed by Independence Day. I'm currently working of finishing up Yours To Command, which will be my first new release for a while. I'll post the new Coming Soon covers as soon as I have them finished.

The Sense Of Hearing

She was lost somewhere in semi-darkness, surrounded by lush vegetation, its scent exotic to the point of being intoxicating. The heat and oppressive humidity caused her clothing to cling to her body like a second skin. All around her were the sound of jungle creatures preparing for night, animals calling to their mates ... and there was music. Not music exactly ... drums ... jungle drums. The evocative rhythm of the drums had an immediate effect on her senses, seeping through the pores of her overheated flesh and into her blood stream like an insidious drug. Her surroundings no longer seemed alien, the haunting call of the night creatures no longer frightening. She became one of them, another wild thing in search of its mate.

The blurb above is from a current WIP where the sound of jungle drums plays an important role. You have no idea how long it took me to find just the right CD of jungle drums with just the right sound to evoke the mood I was shooting for. When I’m working on a scene featuring the drums, that CD is playing in the background.

When writing a love scene, I play music to set the tone and the mood. I have a CD collection of Spanish love songs. I can’t understand a word but it doesn’t matter. The sexy voice and melody are all I need.

Music as well as specific sounds have the ability to influence mood either positively or negatively. How many listen to relaxation tapes? The sound of ocean waves, rain, etc?

I have a collection of various types of mood setting CD’s that I use when writing and if I don’t have just the right sound to fit a particular scene I’m creating, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll try to find it.

What sounds impact your mood? What sounds do you find soothing? What sounds have the ability to affect you in a negative fashion? We all have types of music that we don’t care for, but is there a particular sound that you have an unusual aversion to? What about an old favorite – the sound of the phone ringing in the middle of the night?

I admit it. I have a totally irrational aversion to the sound of wind chimes. Not all wind chimes, just the ones that have a tinkling crystal sound. I don’t have a clue why. I have no idea what or if any particular incident is behind my reaction to this particular sound, but I can tell you that when I hear that crystal tinkling, my heart rate kicks up and my fight or flight instincts kick in big time.

On the flip side, nothing has the ability to bring a smile to my lips or make me laugh outright like the sound of a child’s laughter. How many of you have seen clips on funniest videos of infants or toddlers laughing?

Exercise 1: LISTEN – This may sound easy but you might just be surprised. Go outside, maybe drive to someplace isolated in the country and park. Either get out of your vehicle or roll down the windows, close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? Anything? Nothing? Does the wind make a sound as it blows through the trees? If you’re in the country, what about the wind blowing dried corn husks in a field. What about birds? Can you recognize the type of bird by its call? Try to isolate and identify individual sounds. You may think you hear nothing, yet there is sound all around you.

Which again brings us to the importance of utilizing the senses as a writing tool to add depth and realism to a scene.

As the sun concluded its fireball descent, turning the sky to crimson and the surrounding hills to darkened silhouettes against the horizon, Mara couldn’t bring herself to go inside. She remained on the deck watching the stars come out, listening to the sound of the waves lap against the shore, and the distant hum of motors on the boats of night fishermen, watching as the their running lights glided across the lake. Gradually her senses became attuned to other sounds: the “gurump, gurump” from a bull frog, the answering croak from some distance away; the hoot of an owl; and the persistent the chirping of crickets and tree frogs. There was the occasional splash as a fish jumped, and just what she didn’t need, the buzzing near her ear of a pesky mosquito, her signal to go inside. On top of everything else, she didn’t need to find herself covered with itchy welts.

The scene above is from Independence Day, one of the stories in my Holiday Fantasies collection. For this scene, I sat outside at night, on a deck overlooking a lake, closed my eyes and listened (and had a tape player running), taking note of the individual sounds.

I’ve said it in other posts and will say it again - we have become such a fast pace society that I personally believe we tune out a lot and in the process, miss out on more than we realize.

Exercise 2: LISTEN - At night while in your home, turn off the television, the music, all the lights, just sit and listen. You may think you hear nothing, but there is a sound to the silence. Do you hear subtle noises you’ve never noticed? Do you maybe hear a sound that a house makes when settling? Do you have a fireplace and enjoy listening to the popping and crackling sounds the logs make? Is there a bush or tree outside that brushes against the side of the house or window? What about the sound of rain upon the roof or window? The sounds are there. You just have to open yourself to hearing them.

I don’t think I need to elaborate how sound influences making love and if we’re shooting for primal excitement, who doesn’t love having sex durning a thunderstorm? Bottom line, the sense of hearing is one of our most erotic senses. In real life, or the written word, the sighs, soft whimpers, and moans from your lover as you give them pleasure serve as a natural aphrodisiac. What a turn on!

On the flip side, I once dated a man who was a groaner. From the first kiss to climax, the same groaning sound continued non-stop, sounding much like a worn out fog horn with the switch stuck in the on position. Needless to say, the experience was not repeated.

I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring the five senses with me during the series.

As readers, I hope you discovered a few tips to heighten your senses and spice up your love life. As writers, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas you can use to add a bit more depth and realism to your writing by utilizing the senses.

Please feel free to comment. I’d love to hear from you.

“Listen to the sounds in the silence.”

Up next – Seduction Of The Senses, the story, soon to go “LIVE” on Amazon Kindle

The Sense Of Smell

Never had she experienced such total sensual overload. The stars were so brilliant she felt as if she could reach up and pluck one from the sky. Nature’s serenade from tree frogs and crickets were accompanied by the gentle splash and of water tumbling over rocks in the fountain. Lying upon a fir throw they’d spread in the garden, surrounded by night blooming jasmine, the sweet, citrus like, floral scent had an almost overpowering, aphrodisiac affect. She reveled in the salty, masculine taste of his skin upon her lips, the flavor of the wine he’d passed from his mouth to hers. It felt as if every nerve end in her body had risen to the surface of her flesh as fine tuned receptors of pure sensation.

The paragraph above incorporates various senses. We all know that smells have the ability to turn us on. Or, turn us off. Used in writing, the sense of smell can leave a lasting mental image in a reader’s mind. “His breath smelled of dirty ashtrays and cheap whiskey and his clothing smelled of dead fish and rotting sea weed.” By simply describing the smells, does the sentence above give you a mental, visual image of the character, possibly the setting?

Needless to say, some people have a stronger sense of smell than others. There are those who can name a wine and vintage by the aroma alone, a flower by the scent, or the name a perfume by the fragrance. Is the ability purely physical, or a refined skill that can be learned and enhanced? I’m not sure how effective attempting to strengthen your sense of smell would be, beyond making a concentrated effort to pay closer attention to the pleasant scents or unpleasant odors around you.

Exercise 1: How long has it been since you took the time to take pleasure in the scents around you? Go to the mall and stop by the cosmetic counters. Check out various perfume/cologne scents and take note of how they make you feel. Are some over-powering? Do you prefer subtle? Do you prefer a light floral scent or an earthy musk scent?

Next, try the men’s counter. Is there an aftershave or scent that you like on a man? Is there one that totally turns you off? Why? Does it remind of you of someone? Is there a scent that you associate with anyone in particular? For example: Old Spice, your father or grandfather - Stetson, an old boyfriend, etc.

In my book I’ll Be Seeing You, the heroine is an artist who was blinded in a freak accident and had her vision restored with a cornea transplant. In the scene below, see how Lyssa Ryan’s other senses became stronger to compensate for the loss of vision.

Laying quietly and listening to the sounds in the corridor outside her room, Lyssa attempted to judge the time.

It was relatively quiet. There was a ding indicating that someone had rung for a nurse. She could hear the squeak-squeak-squeak of rubber soled shoes against the tile flooring and indistinguishable words from lowered voices in the direction of the nurses’ station. All in all, the sounds told her very little. The time could be anywhere between the time she went to sleep and six-thirty in the morning. Activity picked up around six-forty-five prior to the seven A.M. shift change, followed closely thereafter by the clickety-click clatter of wheels from the carts carrying the breakfast trays. Accompanying the sound would be the aroma emanating from the food trays.

Lyssa’s rehab therapist told her that with most people, their other senses became more acute to compensate for the loss of one. In her case, the heightened sense of smell had been a less than pleasant acquisition. She was now acutely aware of odors she hadn’t noticed before. While in the hospital, Lyssa found the smell of antiseptic mingled with the aroma of multiple food choices less than appetizing, to the point of nauseating.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of her sightless state, beyond the obvious, was the inability to distinguish day from night and as such, to gauge the passage of time which seemed to stretch out before her like a deep, dark, endless tunnel.

Exercise 2: Take a stroll through a flower shop or garden. Smell the flowers. Try to detect the differences between the fragrance of each flower. Do you find certain scents calming? Do certain scents evoke pleasant or unpleasant feelings or memories?

How do scents heighten the senses during love making? That one is a bit harder for me. Going through my material I’ve found few instances where I’ve used the sense of smell during the actual act. Something I need to work on in the future. However, the visual effect and smell of scented candles go a long way to help set the mood for romance. Does your partner wear a scent that you associate with him/her? Do you use a special scent to entice when you are in the mood for love?

I’m sure we’ve all read stories where someone comments that a room or bedding smelled of sex. Is there a lingering, detectable scent after sex? Would you be able to recognize the scent for what it was? I’m not sure I would. Nevertheless, the description, “smelled of sex” brings vivid images to my mind of what went on in the bed, in that room.

Exercise 3: You’ll love this one. Again, go shopping. Purchase new bath supplies in a scent you haven’t tried before; soap, bubble bath or bath salts, etc. Get some scented candles to match. Set the scene. Turn off the lights and light the candles. Lay back and have a long, luxurious, soak. Lose yourself in the warmth and the fragrance surrounding you.

We can’t talk about the sense of smell relating to sexual desire without mentioning pheromones. Some believe pheromones are the key to "love at first sight." Hummmmm? Pheromones do not have a detectable scent but are in fact a natural, air-borne chemical hormone that is picked up by the olfactory membrane in the nose and in turn, is said to stimulate the limbic region of the brain, also known as the "Seat of Emotions." This area of the brain is responsible for our emotions and passionate desires.

There are a lot of perfumes on the market which claim to have a human sex pheromone base and promise to attract the opposite sex. Do they really work? If you’ve tried it with success, be sure to let us know and well all run out and buy it.

In writing - After I’ve completed the first draft of a book, one entire revision is done to add description, finding places where I can apply the uses of the senses to add depth to a scene.

In real life – working to develop your 5 senses and focusing on them while making love will not only enhance your own pleasure, but in the pleasure you give you lover as well.
If you try any of the exercises above and are surprised by the results, please feel free to post a comment.

Until next time when we explore the sense of hearing – Stop and smell the roses.

The Sense Of Taste

Evening was rapidly approaching by the time they got around to riding the double Ferris Wheel which stalled with them on top, the position giving them a panoramic view of the fairgrounds. Taking in the multi-colored lights adorning the rides and booths, the music, and the festive atmosphere, Mara settled back in her seat with sigh of contentment.

“Having a good time?” J.T. asked.

For the first time, Mara realized that J.T.’s arm, which had been resting across the back of the seat, was now wrapped protectively around her shoulders. Considering the distance between them and the ground, it wasn’t the brightest thing she’d ever done, but Mara turned slightly in her seat and looked up at him.

“I’ve never enjoyed myself more,” she answered honestly. She wanted the kiss she’d longed for since last night. Her hand slid up his chest and her tongue snaked out to moisten her lips in an invitation she hoped J.T. wouldn’t resist. She held her breath as he brought his lips down to hers and sighed with pleasure at the initial contact.

Her soft, responsive lips tasted of cherry slush and cotton candy, and were more potent than a fine Scotch whiskey that went immediately to J.T.’s head and fired his blood. And just as he’d suspected, one taste of her would never be enough.

* * * *

We have unfortunately become a society of people who rush through meals and eat on the run without even tasting the food we eat. Working full time and writing I’m probably more guilty than most. Living alone, sometimes cooking and eating seem to be a waste of valuable time or I get busy and often forget to eat altogether.

Be honest and really think about my next questions. Do you eat to live, or live to eat? What was the last thing you had to eat? Do you even remember what it tasted like? Did you grab something to eat out of habit, to fill time? I suspect that if we took the time to slow down and pay attention to the taste and flavors of the food we eat, we’d probably eat less but enjoy it more.

Exercise 1: Either prepare your favorite meal or go out to your favorite restaurant. If you stay at home, go all out with wine and candlelight, maybe soft music in the background. Slow down and take the time to enjoy your food. Pay attention to the taste of what you are eating. What does it really taste like? Is there an after taste? Can you taste various flavors or spices on your tongue? If it’s spicy, is the heat immediate or the kind that creeps up on you?

Exercise 2 – You’re going to like this one – Chocolate! I’m sure we’ve all read the recent reports regarding the health benefits of dark chocolate. Some experts even believe the benefits outweigh the extra calories – especially if eaten in moderation. Just to name a few:

•Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.

•Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

•Chocolate stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure

•Chocolate contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant

•Chocolate contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants

Some cultures actually consider chocolate to be an aphrodisiac. Don’t know about you, but I’ll take chocolate over oysters any day. It has also been said that good chocolate has the same chemical reaction on the body a having sex. So lets think about this a minute. Eating chocolate and having sex = double the pleasure, with the added benefit of the calories burned by having sex cancelling out the calories in the chocolate. Makes perfect sense to me.

So now let’s get back to the exercise - the pleasure of tasting that chocolate.
Feel the chocolate in your mouth. Good chocolate should literally "melt in your mouth." Chocolate melts at about 97 degrees. While melting the chocolate should feel rich and luscious in your mouth. You should not need to chew good chocolate at all, just let the flavors release on their own. Examine the texture of the chocolate -- it can vary from smooth to grainy. Good chocolate has a rich, velvety texture. Poor quality chocolate feels waxy or greasy.

Taste it. Pay attention to the flavors that just pop into your head. Spend time being aware of how the flavors change over time as the chocolate continues to melt and coat more of your tongue.

Does chocolate really act as an aphrodisiac? Who knows? Who cares? What more does a person need than a mood elevating, stimulating, pleasurable, not to mention, great tasting, experience?

Exercise 3 - Anyone read the book 9 ½ Weeks or see the movie? Remember the scene where Mickey Rourke was feeding a blindfolded Kim Basinger from the refrigerator? This exercise is definitely requires a partner. You can make it as clinical as you like to explore and heighten your sense of taste, or as sexually adventurous as you like.

The tongue is highly erotic, in kisses, against your skin, or used to bring about incredible orgasms. Have you ever paid attention to the feel of your partners skin against your tongue. Is there a taste? We think of the pleasure another’s tongue can bring us without even realizing the pleasure we give from utilizing our own.

Each person is to select various foods and drinks keeping them secret from their partner. Take turns feeding each other the food you’ve chosen while blindfolded. Can you quickly identify what you are fed by taste alone? What about the shape or texture against your tongue. What does it taste like? Is it pleasant or unpleasant? Does the taste give you a sense of pleasure. Note: Be nice. Don’t deliberately feed your partner something you know they dislike. Definitely a quick way to spoil the mood.

Feel free to post a comment and let us know what foods you think would be ideal for use in sexual foreplay? Chocolate covered strawberries? A banana dipped in chocolate?

Anyone besides me have a sudden craving for chocolate?

Until next time when we explor the Sense Of Smell