We’re in for a huge treat today as we have two wonderful authors joining us on the blog. First Author Scarlett Valentine joins us to talk about her new series The ABCs of S-E-X – which is unique in that she hopes to work her way through the alphabet one book at a time with a new book for each letter of the alphabet. Here’s the unique part…she hopes to incorporate as many romance sub-genres as she can within the series. Sound like fun? It is. Read on for even more fun and a chance to win a nice prize.When you’ve finished reading Scarlett Valentine’s post be sure to scroll on down to hear from Black Velvet Seductions’ author Renee Reeves who also has a prize up for grabs.
Thanks for having me here today. As you know, today is the official release of Awakening, book one of The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter Series. I’m really excited about this series and appreciate the opportunity to tell your readers about it.
Indeed, congratulations on the release of Awakening! Thanks for joining us to celebrate the release. I’m eager to hear more about Awakening and the rest of the series.
I understand that Awakening is the first in The ABC’s Of Sex: Love by the Letter Series. Can you please tell us a bit about the overall direction of the series?
Very simply put, The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter Series follows the alphabet by the letter. Each book in the series will be released in alphabetical order. Awakening is book one, Beguiler is book two, then C and so on.
The series will include stories from as many romance subgenres as possible. Awakening is a historical. Beguiler is a paranormal, set in contemporary times but is also a ghost story. Others will include romantic suspense, sci-fi/futuristic romance, other historical eras, straight contemporary, fantasy, etc.
The series will also include stories between heterosexual couples, bisexuals, gay and lesbian, ménage, kink, and anything else where an interesting story can be told.
The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter Series is not a free for all though. I draw the line at the same things the industry does . . . rape, coercion, beastiality (unless it’s a shifter story, in which case industry accepted love scenes apply), pedophilia and the usual no-no topics.
At the end of the day, every story is a love story, ending in a Happily Ever After, or at least a Happy for Now.
How many books in the series?
Because The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter Series follows the alphabet, there will be twenty-six stories in the series. Most will be novellas, but a few may be short stories. I think novellas are the perfect length for erotica stories so there aren’t any full length novels in the works.
How will the other stories in the series relate to this series?
This series isn’t a traditional series with the same characters in each book, though secondary characters from one story may have a spinoff story of their own that includes something a bit spicier to keep things exciting. The main relation is that the stories are being told alphabetically from A to Z.
Do you have blurbs or mini-blurbs for the other books in the series that you could share?
At the moment, I don’t have any blurbs to share. But I can tell you that Beguiler, book two, is about a modern day ghost hunter. Like we all did, he grew up reading fairytales. When he read a tale called The Woman in the Wall he became obsessed—so much so that he spends years researching the legend and developing an interest in the paranormal. Now, he’s a professional ghost hunter and his crew travels the world doing paranormal investigation. This story takes him to the place where he believes the legend began. What he finds is much more than he ever expected.
Of course, this is a sexy romp. What does he discover and how will it end? Folks will just have to read the book when it’s available to find out. Beguiler should be available sometime in the New Year. I hope you’ll have me back to talk about it when it is.
Definitely! Would love to have you back when Beguiler comes out.
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In the spirit of the day that’s in it, being Halloween and all, I’d like to ask your readers to post a comment with their absolute best Halloween memory. Doesn’t have to be a long story—just a memory of something they did or that happened, why they chose a costume, a party they went to or hosted, etc. I’m giving away a little Halloween treat for the best story!
Entrants must supply an email address or web link so I can contact the lucky winner for their postal details. Deadline is tonight at midnight PST.
Thanks for letting me be here today.
~ Scarlett
“What’s a little bondage between friends?”
Available now – Awakening, book one of The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter Series
About Scarlett Valentine
Scarlett Valentine is the alter ego of award-winning romance author, Kemberlee Shortland. Together they write Erotomance — Erotic Romance.
Originally from Northern California, Scarlett has spent the last fourteen years living in Ireland. She’s traveled extensively through Ireland and Wales. When she’s not writing, she can often be found castle hunting.
Scarlett’s stories cross subgenres to explore hetero, gay and bisexual relationships in a series of stories that include time periods from historicals and contemporaries, futuristics and science fiction, paranormal and suspense, and more.
Awakening is the first book in The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series and is available 2 November 2011 though Highland Press.
www.facebook.com/ScarlettValentine
Awakening
Ysbail of Ellesmere is a pawn in her guardian’s war. For decades there has been unrest between the marcher lords and Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd, King of Gwynedd. The most recent war had been the bloodiest she could remember in her eighteen years. Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys, and his allies lost untold numbers of men at the hands of Owain’s soldiers. When a settlement of truce is presented to Madog, it’s at Ysbail’s expense. She is to marry Bedwyr ap Owain, one of King Owain’s bastard sons, and his most notorious henchman. If all the rumors and stories she’s heard are true, she knows her marriage will be rife with horror and fear.
Since proving himself worthy with his sword, Bedwyr fights at his king’s side. He’s shed oceans of blood and sent untold numbers of men to their graves. He’s become what his name foretold—the grave-knower. He’s afraid of nothing, least of all death. All men fear him, including those who fight at his side, and sometimes even his own king. Terror of him lives within women’s hearts; only the bravest of whores accept him into their beds. And children weave their own tales of the monster they hear him to be, embellishing the details to their own gruesome degrees.
When King Owain informs Bedwyr that he’s to marry Ysbail of Ellesmere as part of a peace settlement with Madog, Bedwyr is furious. A man such as Bedwyr can only survive on the battlefield. For without love, hatred will send a man like him to the edge of insanity. Then push him over. But when Bedwyr sees Ysbail for the first time, blood-thirst turns to blood-lust, and he vows to show her that she should have no fear of him.
An Excerpt From Awakening:
He glanced at his wife lying beside him, panting as hard as he. When she looked his direction she gave him a broad smile. Her face was awash with light that had nothing to do with that which emanated from the hearth. She held passion’s glow.
Rolling over, he pulled Ysbail onto her side to face him. He stroked her cheek with the back of his finger.
“Ysbail, what is it you are doing to me?” It was a rhetorical question, but she replied anyway.
“What do you want me to do to you, my lord?”
Such an innocent question, yet it was loaded with so much intimation.
“You know not what you are asking, cariad.”
“I may be naïve in the ways of lovemaking, but I am not a simpleton.”
She did not say this with malice, but of forthrightness.
“You are anything but simple, Ysbail. Everything about you speaks of dignity and pride.” When she tried to look away, he steadied her gaze with his. “You would have had to be raised in a nunnery not to know the stories surrounding me. Yet, you held your head high when you were forced to wed with me. If you were not a strong woman, I fear you could not adapt to life with a man such as me. For you will need to be strong to be my wife. My life is not an easy one.”
Ysbail raised herself onto an elbow and gazed down at him. He was not prepared for what she asked him.
“Will you grant me a boon?”
“A boon? You need ask no favors from me. Ask and I will give you want you want.”
That must have pleased her, as she reached down to smooth the damp hair from his face. She delicately stroked the scar over his left eye, and said, “Tell me how you came to be the Grave Knower.”
What a great excerpt. I can’t wait to read Awakening.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
AWAKENING looks wonderful. My kind of story & I loved the excerpt thank you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Scarlett, Congrats on your release. I love the whole idea behind this series. I’m looking forward to reading it. It’s such a unique idea.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
I’d like to thank Black Velvet Seductions for hosting my Halloween Day stop on my tour, and for letting me hold a little competition for best Halloween memory. All the stories were great. Laurie’s was particularly wicked. However, I’m going to award Karen H of NC the award because her costume was homemade and it was a terrific bonding experience for her and her mother. I’m a sap when it comes to parent/child experiences like this. So if Karen H would please send me her email address, I’ll arrange your Halloween treat. A token of my appreciation . . . a $5 Amazon gift card.
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Please stop over at my website, http://www.scarlett-valentine.com, for my next stop on the tour. Spot prizes will be awarded, as well as a stalker prize and the grand prize!
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Thanks again for hosting me. And I hope we meet again when Beguiler is available!
Hi Scarlett,
We’ll get you set up. 
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Definitely, I’d love to host you again when Beguiler is available. Just drop me an email at LaurieSanders@blackvelvetseductions. Use the subject line Guest Blogging at BVS.
Thanks, Laurie. Will do!
I have great memories of Halloween! Because my birthday is so close to the 31st, we always celebrated by thowing a huge costume party! And I mean HUGE! We would have like 500 people show up, and it was always great fun. Haunted house, fortune teller, scary game room…. Such fun!
justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Hi Chelsea,
That’s a huge birthday! Where did you put all those people? Sounds like a wild event.
How about telling us about your other books Scarlett.
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I’m sure your website has your books listed but not everyone who visits here will click over to the website so I usually ask authors here to share their back list.
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What else have you written?
Hi Laurie,
Scarlett is the name I {Kemberlee Shortland} use for writing erotica, and only those books are listed on her site, http://www.scarlett-valentine.com.
My traditional romance is listed on another site, http://www.kemberlee.com. As Kemberlee, I’ve published several short stories and a novel called A Piece of My Heart. All of the rights to my short stories have reverted back to me know and will be republished in the New Year, but A Piece of My Heart is available in print and digital. The short story sequel, Constant Craving, is availabel digitally.
A Piece of My Heart and Constant Craving are primarily set in the Irish west against the backdrop of the Connemara region of County Galway. Mick and Kate grew up together to become childhood sweethearts. Everyone thought they would be together forever until something tears them apart. Now, ten years later, a family tragedy forces them back together and they must fine a way to work through things, including finding forgiveness of the past.
A Piece of My Heart is part of the Irish Pride series. Rhythm of My Heart will be available by summer 2012. And as I said, the other short stories currently listed on my website will be rereleased in the New Year as well.
Thanks for asking!
Hi Scarlett,
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Thanks for joining us here and spending your Halloween with us.
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Hmmmm…a favorite Halloween story. It would have to be the year we decided to show up and surprise my sister, her husband, and their daughter on Halloween. We didn’t tell them we were coming…and they weren’t expecting us because we lived several hundred miles away.
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But we arrived after several hours in the car — hours we spent mostly thinking up ways to get the biggest surprise for our buck.
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We arrived in the middle of the afternoon while my niece was still at school and surprised my sister. She told us that my niece was still at school and they were having a Halloween costume parade at the school for the parents. She invited us to tag alone.
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I decided it’d be fun to play a trick on my niece after the parade at the school. After the event during which I remained out of sight I put on my Halloween costume–a mask which completely obscured my face — and a long furry robe like business that completely obscured my body. I started walking away from the school with the idea that my sister would collect my niece and then stop and pick me (a hitch-hiker) up on the side of the road.
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It all went according to plan. She picked me up…I got in the car…all the while her daughter was telling her what a bad idea it was to pick up hitch-hikers.
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I couldn’t help myself…I kind of got into character…and when my sister asked me where I wanted to go I told her I wanted to go to the graveyard…
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My niece edged over to the far side of the car…as far away from me as she could get. Her eyes grew large.
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Having fun herself my sister asked why I wanted to go to the graveyard.
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I told her I was hungry.
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My niece started telling me directions to MacDonald’s.
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I told her I was looking for maggots in the grave yard.
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At about that point my niece climbed over the back seat into the back of the station wagon and I decided we’d had enough fun at her expense and took off my mask.
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It’s a memory that we all share and have laughed over for many Halloweens. My niece is a mother now…with a son and a daughter who are themselves in school. My sister is an old lady (she’s a little older than me — wink) and we still laugh over the time I showed up unexpected in costume. Of course…this wasn’t the only time I did that. There were a couple of other times I showed up in costume on Halloween.
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I love Halloween! It’s fun–forget the treats…the tricks are more fun.
Wow, Laurie! That’s some story. Your poor neice! LOL It’s fun to have a sistor-conspirator though. Has your neice told her kids about the Halloween prank?
We were the talk of the neighborhood.
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Yep, sometime tricks are much better than treats. Here’s my own story –
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Before I turned ten we lived in a house with a big enclosed patio. The front door to the house was inside the patio and had a long overhanging roof over the porch.
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On Halloween, and this goes back to the late 60s/early 70s, my folks wouldhost a Halloween party for our family and friends. People would be in costume and milling around the patio and in the house where scary music was piped all around. Dad would hang a strobe light at the end of the porch, as it was the first thing seen just inside the gate from the front yard. The strobe light made people look like they were walking in one of those really old movies.
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On the porch, mom would sit in a witch costume. Her face was done up with black light paints and the black light would be mounted over her chair to make her glow. She held a huge bowl filled to almost overflowing with candy, and this weird light up thing with a glowing witches head on it.
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To get candy, kids would have to tell her a joke or some other story. Then they’d walk to the other end of the porch and down onto the patio to double back to the gate to leave.
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They’d think it was all just a light show and costume party until my dad leapt out of the bushes beside the gate in a wolfman costume and growled. It sent kids scattering to the four winds, dropping their candy loot on the way.
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But that didn’t stop them from grabbing their friends and pushing them inside the gate to go for candy
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In the morning, my brother and I would grab a big bowl and head out to the front yard where on the grass was all the dropped candy from the night before! Add that to the candy loot we got ourselves from the neighbors and we made our like bandits. I don’t think our neighborhood was ever that fun once we moved.
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Of all my childhood memories, that’s got to top the list of them all.
Haunted houses…yards…and family Halloween extravaganzas are so much fun. When we lived in Indianapolis a couple of the people in our neighborhood put on elaborate events each year. One year the neighbors up the street had a pirate ship front end that stuck out of the front of their garage. Another year they had an Area 51 theme. Another group down the street had a chainsaw massacre scene set up.
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The kids I mentored at the time (5 of them) always came to our house to trick or treat and they loved those spooky set-ups. Usually they’d get scared and run off…but want to go back to look at the spooky places again.
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My nieces kids are still pretty young five and six or so…so I don’t think she’s told her kids about the time her mom picked up a hitch-hiker. But I’m sure she will one of these days when they are a bit older…old enough to really enjoy the tale.
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Kids love hearing the family tales. My nieces and nephews (from my other sister) are all in their 20′s now and they still beg my mom to tell the story about when…
The family stories connect the family and create an oral tradition that is passed down through the generations.
Your series sounds intriguing, Scarlett. You’ve much work ahead of you!
Looking forward to reading Awakening.
Hi Cathie,
I’m looking forward to the rest fo the series. It’s going to be fun coming up with not just stories, but also in the challenge of writing in so many romance subgenre. I hope you like Awakening.
But by the same token…you have no sub-genre constraints on your creativity like you would if you were confined to writing in one sub-genre. You can let your imagination lead.
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Awakening sounds like a fabulous read. I like the fact that the heroine doesn’t cower from the hero who seems from the blurb to have a definite bad reputation.
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It sounds like an intriguing book.
Exactly, Laurie. Getting stuck into a single genre can be limiting for some authors. To write other genres or subgenres, they either have to get a pen name for each {as I did for Scarlett and erotica} or they publish with different publishers. For example, Linda Howard writes traditional romance through Harlequin and her romantic suspense through Pocket Books. Other authors I know write futuristic/sci fi romance under one name, fantasy in another name, and traditional romance in yet another name.
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For Scarlett, her only constraint is the 26 letters of the alphabet. Awakening was set in 12th century Wales. the B book, tentatively called Beguiler, is set in modern day, but is a ghost story {paranormal}. The C book could be anything from fantasy to sci fi and anything in between.
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And hopefully everyone will find something within the series they like.
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As my other self, so far I’ve only published contemporary romance, but my current WIP is a time travel back to early 11th century Ireland. I won’t be looking for another pen name to publish it and hopefully this story will be published before April 2014, as it’s a story about the greatest leader in Irish history, Brian Boru, and the Battle of Clontarf which took place on 23 April 1014. The 1000 year anniversary is coming up and I want the book available for celebrations.
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Watch my respective websites for more information on book releases.
http://www.scarlett-valentine.com
http://www.kemberlee.com
Very interesting interview. The concept is exciting.
Thanks, Wilma. I hope you enjoy it.
Hi Scarlett,
Congratulations on the release of Awakening. This sounds like a very interesting concept for a series. Since you are a new-to-me author and I know very little about you and your books, I’ll look forward to reading your wook.
I’m a big fan of historical romances and read them 99% of the time. In keeping with my love of history, my favorite Halloween costume was when my mother made me a Martha Washington dress, complete with the wide 18th century paniers and white wig. I felt like I was back in the American Revolution and I loved that costume!
Karen – I think you’ll love Scarlett’s work – I’ve read her other genre and is was grand! Cheers Scarlett!
As for Halloween memories – I recall walking with me best friend, Edie through the fallen leaves, crunching with each step. The cool snap in the air, and our “great invention” for a trick or treat bag – pillow cases! And yes, they were heavy by the end of the night!
Hi Sandi,
That’s a great Halloween memory. I hope you and Edie are still friends. By the sounds of it, you’re probably still working through that pillowcase full of sweeties!
Thanks for your comments on my other work. I hope you like this genre as well.
Hi Karen,
Sounds like a great costume! I hope you have pictures. And it’s a wonderful memory of your mother. Thanks for sharing!
And thanks for your comments on Awakening and the series. I hope, as a historical, it lives up to your expectations.