Jennifer Lane Books

The lovey Jen LR from the At Random blog hosted me for a guest post about the Summer Lovin’ short story anthologies, benefiting the breast cancer organization Save the Ta-tas. What’s even better is that Jen LR is giving away two copies of the anthologies! Thanks for supporting Omnific Publishing and breast cancer research, Jen. Please visit Jen and Jen HERE!

Boom, Boom, Boom . . . Happy July 4th!

To celebrate America’s Independence I’m joining the Skyrockets in Flight Blog Hop. An ebook from “The Conduct Series” is up for grabs: your choice of With Good Behavior (Goodreads finalist for Romance Novel of the Year) or Bad Behavior.

I’m also celebrating the release of my first short story Swim Recruit in the Omnific Publishing Anthology Summer Breeze. Read the romance . . . Save the Ta-ta’s! Each anthology purchased will benefit the breast cancer research organization Save the Ta-Ta’s. Read a blurb of my Young Adult story HERE and check out Summer Breeze and Summer Heat anthologies HERE.

Want to read an excerpt of Swim Recruit? This is the beginning of the story.

I hope you enjoy all 13 stories in the two anthologies!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Please don’t fill out this form–Blogger’s not letting me remove it right now.

Please hop on over to Savvy Authors Blog today, where I’m doing a guest post about “How to Write Authentic Therapy Scenes”. Check it out here!

*squeals* I’m very excited about the publication of my first short story on July 5th! Omnific Publishing will release two summer anthologies, one sweet and one steamy, on 7-5-11. Check it out HERE. What’s even better is that proceeds benefit the breast cancer research foundation Save the Ta-tas.

I can’t think of a better organization to support given that breast cancer has affected my family. My mother is a breast cancer survivor. Doctors diagnosed her seventeen years ago, luckily catching the naughty cells early. She had a mastectomy and is doing so well now–I’m really proud of her.

My story Swim Recruit will be in the “Summer Breeze” Anthology along with other sweet Young Adult romances.

I’m a former college swimmer and I’m eager to share my first YA story, told from a first person point of view.

And now it’s time for the Meet an Author Monday Blog Hop. Hop around to check out the twelve Omnific authors participating in the anthologies!

 

Today I’m over at The Book Vixen’s BLOG talking about your favorite birthdays, real and fictional.

Hop on over and enter my GIVEAWAY for an ebook of With Good Behavior or Bad Behavior!

Thanks to those who entered my blogoversary giveaway. The random winner is . . .

Congratulations, Desi. An ebook of With Good Behavior is coming your way.

Now on to the featured author of the day: KASI ALEXANDER! Are you ready for some alternate romance? Is your mind open today? If so, read on.

I cyber-met Kasi through my publisher, Omnific, which released Becoming sage. I had the pleasure of reading the story and interviewing Kasi. Here’s my review:

Jill has recently divorced. She’s depressed and tired of relationship dynamics in which both partners fight for dominance, neither knowing how to deliver what the other wants. Enter Jill’s friend Jessica, who is a submissive slave named sunni. sunni’s master, Rune, wants to invite Jill to be part of their threesome power dynamic. It’s a big risk for Jill to try out this novel experience, but then again she’s been disappointed by traditional relationships. She joins the couple as Rune’s slave, learning a lot about herself in the process of becoming sage.

This was one of the first BDSM/polyamory stories I’ve read, and I thought Kasi Alexander did an incredible job of laying out the alternative lifestyle in such concrete, understandable terms. The writing was so easy and honest that I had trouble putting the book down. It felt like peeking into sage’s journal (or peeking through the apartment door keyhole), with all of the appropriate self-doubt and angst.

Because I’m not an experienced reader of this lifestyle, I have many questions. The page numbers I reference for each quote are for the epub version.

1. It struck me for the first time how there’s a similarity between BDSM and homosexuality. Both can be considered an orientation that’s feared and misunderstood. “…the orientation made a lot of sense: some people enjoyed the stimulation of pain and were able to convert pain into endorphins and sometimes into an altered state of consciousness.” (p. 30). How do people in the BDSM community compare themselves to people in the LGBT community? Do folks in the BDSM community view their orientation as largely genetic or biological, like many in the gay community do? And another question based on the quote: How does “knife play” differ from self-injury like cutting?

2. “It’s the people who are afraid that they have no control of their lives who cannot allow themselves to submit to other people.” (p. 38). Hmm. I don’t really agree with this judgment. Is sunni saying that those who don’t want to be part of this lifestyle are afraid they have no control of their lives?

3. “The difference between submission and slavery was starting to become very clear to me.” (p. 105). Unfortunately the differences between the two are still a bit fuzzy for me. What are the differences?

4. “Before I came here, I had spent a lot of time by myself, and I had thought I missed it, but now it just felt lonely. I missed having Sir and sunni to point out interesting or funny things to. I just wasn’t used to being alone anymore.” (p. 111). This made me feel a little uncomfortable, like sage is becoming dependent on her partners. As a psychologist I’m constantly trying to help women speak their voice and take care of their own needs—-to like themselves more and learn to cope with the human condition (including loneliness) effectively. I guess if sage is choosing to be with her new family all the time then there’s nothing wrong with that, but something about it makes me uneasy. What’s the risk of dependency in BDSM compared to vanilla relationships? When BDSM partners split up, how well does the submissive or slave land on his/her feet?

5. “I had never gotten along that well with my mother and two brothers, and never felt like I belonged…but now I actually felt like I had a family.” (p. 115). I felt sad for sage that she didn’t get along with her biological family, but happy for her that she created her own family. I wonder if some of sage’s insecurity emanates from her unsatisfactory family relationships. They say psychologists often come from troubled backgrounds and we get into the field to try to heal ourselves (and it sounds like sage might be entering the counseling field—-maybe that’s why I identified so well with her.) Are BDSM partners more likely to come from troubled backgrounds as well?

5. “The reason I liked our relationship style was simply because I didn’t have to argue, or worry about getting my way to prove that I was a strong person; the fact that I could allow him to be in charge actually made me feel stronger than if I was making all the decisions and all the plans. It was very freeing. It was like we were combining our strength rather than trying to overpower each other.” (p. 122). I thought this was an excellent summary of sage’s attraction to this lifestyle, and I find the idea rather fascinating. Does Sir tend to find the relationship freeing as well? It seems like it would be a lot of pressure on the Dom.

I really enjoyed sage’s astute questions, as well as the relationship drama. I thought sage was inordinately patient with sunni, who is so immature and annoying she actually made me cheer for Sir getting out the paddle to use on her. But how cool that this story is not only about sage’s character development, but also sunni’s. (Sir Rune’s too?) It was a fun, satisfying ending and I definitely want to read the next installment in The Keyhole Series. Great job, Kasi!

You can see I had a gazillion questions, which Kasi has begun to answer on her blog.

And now onto the interview!

Jennifer Lane (JL): Welcome to the blog, Kasi! First tell us your journey to becoming a published author.

Kasi Alexander (KA): Thanks for having me on your blog, Jennifer. I am honored to be here and participate in this interview. It’s been my goal since I was very young to be a published author someday, but I’d never been able to make it happen until I got involved in a power exchange relationship. Once in this, my Dominant and I decided to use the exercise of writing a novel as a growth opportunity both professionally and personally. We worked together on plotting the book and deciding on the deadlines, and I was held responsible for meeting my writing goals. Before we knew it, Becoming sage was a reality.

JL: For those who haven’t read this excellent story, please explain the title Becoming sage.

KA: Becoming sage refers to the process of self-discovery of the female lead character, Jill. Throughout the course of the book and Jill’s introduction to and exploration of the world of polyamory, BDSM and power exchange relationships, she transforms from who she was into the person she was meant to be, sage. As a clarification for our readers, in the world of power exchange relationships, it is common for those involved to assume a scene name, and for the name of the submissive to be written in lower case. This is not a sign of disrespect; it is just a convention used in the lifestyle.

KA: I don’t really think it has affected our dynamic significantly. Having a book to market has certainly added new elements to our lives. If it has changed anything, it has added a level of self-confidence and motivation to the work my poly partners and I are putting into the sequel.

KA: My degree is in literature and I enjoy many different genres. My all-time favorites are George Eliot, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, P.G. Wodehouse, Diana Wynne Jones, and lately I’ve been enjoying Charlaine Harriis’ and Jennifer Cruisie’s books.

KA: Thank you! I would love to pursue writing full-time, but until that happens I will continue with my current occupation as the director of operations for a nonprofit association while diligently working on the sequel to Becoming sage and making chainmail jewelry for our family sweatshop, Poly’s Pleasures (www.polyspleasures.com).

KA: Fun? What’s fun?? 🙂 I am addicted to making chainmail (fortunately), but I also love riding motorcycles, walking my Great Dane, and taking any opportunity to educate the public about our chosen lifestyles through my writing.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity, and I’d just like to offer the parting thought that lifestyle and relationship choices aren’t automatically bad just because they aren’t the norm. Because, (as Omnific says), romance isn’t always just ‘boy meets girl’!

Thank you, Kasi. Crap, is it Monday again? Time for the Meet an Author Monday Blog Hop! Skedaddle over to Lisa Sanchez’s blog, read the instructions, and please join us!

Dear Followers,

Thanks so much for joining me on this blog adventure over the past year. My one-year anniversary swept right past me in mid May without me knowing it, but I do know this is my 100th post so I’d like to celebrate it by giving away an ebook of With Good Behavior or Bad Behavior! Just leave a comment to enter, including your email address if you think I don’t know it, and I’ll announce the winner on June 20th, 2011.

If you have trouble leaving a comment on Blogger, feel free to email me to enter at jenniferlanebooks (at) gmail (dot) com.

I’d also like to link to my five favorite posts from the last 100. These posts seemed to generate some interesting and funny comments!

August, 2010: Do flashbacks help or hurt the story? Read more HERE.

September, 2010: How do you like your hero hair? Long, short, scruffy, bald? Check it out HERE.

November, 2010: Men in Uniform Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen HERE. So far I’ve read Indivisible, Hawken’s Heart, Mr. Perfect, Hidden Threat, and Life, Liberty & Pursuit.

January, 2011: Do you prefer Alpha or Beta romantic heroes? Find out HERE.

April, 2011: Young Adult or Adult fiction: what’s your favorite? Check it out HERE.

Thank you for following the blog, and good luck on the giveaway!

Now it’s time for MEET an AUTHOR MONDAY, hosted by Lisa Sanchez. Visit her blog for details.

Not too long ago I reviewed Enemies and Playmates by prolific author Darcia Helle, and today I have the pleasure of being a guest on her blog “A Word Please”.

Grant Madsen, the hero of The Conduct Series, is reluctantly talking about himself on the blog, sharing ten things about him that start with the letter “F”.

The gorgeous actor Wentworth Miller inspired me to create Grant’s character.

What’s the most unique or romantic marriage proposal you’ve ever heard?

As a romance author, I strive to find creative ways for my romantic leads to pop the question. An engagement is an important part of the plot and the relationship, and I want to make it special.

I just finished reading the fun and sexy romantic suspense novel Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard. The more Jaine and Sam insult each other, the more they fall in love. It makes sense that Sam’s proposal isn’t sweet and gooey.

Sam: “I love you Jaine Bright. Will you marry me?”

Jaine: “No way in hell!”

After more insults Jaine remembers she’s had three failed engagements.

Jaine: “I don’t do really well with engagements. Gives the guy too much time to think.”

Sam: “I’m skipping the engagement part. We’re not getting engaged; we’ll just get married.”

Jaine: “In that case, yes I’ll marry you.”

Ha ha! I love a proposal that fits the characters’ personalities.

And then there’s the great scene in Pretty Woman when Edward Lewis, scared of heights, climbs up the fire escape to propose to prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold Vivian:

Edward Lewis: So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?
Vivian: She rescues him right back.

*sighs* There’s a point in The Conduct Series when Grant comes up with a VERY unique location to propose to Sophie. No spoilers!

What’s your favorite real or fictional proposal?

Is it Monday again? Waah! Time for the Meet an Author Monday to cheer me up, hosted by Lisa Sanchez:

<script basic_linky_include.aspx?id="91732"" src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=91732” type=”text/javascript” ><script basic_linky_include.aspx?id="91732"" src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=91732” type=”text/javascript” >

I’m having a happy Monday (off work!) and I hope you are too.

Today I’d like to discuss fiction novel series. I heard a comment on Goodreads that series tend to get better or worse as they progress, which intrigued me. Since I’m writing my own fiction series (The Conduct Series), that comment also made me a little nervous. Will readers enjoy #2 and #3 even more, or will they think the story’s “jumped the shark”?

Obviously all we can do is our best job as writers, knowing some readers might love it and some readers might hate it. As a new author, I’m hoping subsequent novels will improve simply because I’m learning so much about writing as I go. I was pleased when Rachel from Oklahoma recently left this review on Goodreads for Bad Behavior (#2):

“I don’t know how Jennifer Lane got all that story line into this book I’ll never understand, but she did it. I really like that we get to see into Sophie and Grant’s therapy appointments like we get to see their parole appointments too. Not to mention how far Grant and Sophie both come in this book, it’s amazing, and it doesn’t seem contrived just to get the book moving. I can’t wait to see what happens in book #3!”

Thinking about the progression of my favorite series, I’m not sure if I agree they vastly improve or tank. Some of them seem to maintain the same high quality throughout, even though the focus of the story might change as the characters develop.

The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons: I loved each of these books equally, happy for the opportunity to witness the ups and downs of a married couple.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: Incredibly, each book gets even longer in this series! But I’ve enjoyed all seven books so far.

I know some readers had issues with Breaking Dawn, but I believe this was one series that did improve as it progressed.

The first two books were fantastic, but I felt a real let-down with Mockingjay (#3).