Green-Haired Goth Girl Heroines
I’m at Sara Walter Ellwood’s online home today, talking about Camille, the green-haired Goth girl heroine of Breaking All The Rules
http://sarawalterellwood.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/cynthia-sax/
Here is a snippet
Camille Joplin Trent, the heroine of Breaking All The Rules, isn’t your average erotic romance heroine. She isn’t your average anything. She has green hair, tattoos, and multiple piercings.
Many readers would expect such a woman to work in a tattoo parlor or a bike shop or somewhere else that hires edgy employees. Camille doesn’t do anything anyone expects. She works in a very conservative high tech company, a company with a rigid dress code. I suspect if she worked in a tattoo parlor, she’d have blond hair and wear pale pink suits with matching pumps.
Because Camille is a rebel. She prides herself on not conforming and that means breaking the rules of any organization or group she belongs to.
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Pre-order Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Green-Haired Goth Girl Heroines
Interview with Camille From Breaking All The Rules
I’ve interviewed Camille, the heroine from Breaking All The Rules, on Bitten by Love Reviews today.
http://www.bittenbylovereviews.com/2014/03/breaking-all-rules-by-cynthia-sax.html
Here’s a snippet
A green-haired woman struts into the room, singing the words to an extremely vulgar hip hop song. She’s clad in a faded black skirt suit and heels and there are holes in her bottom lip and ears. She flops into the empty chair.
Camille: Miss Yen told me you wanted to see me. (she crosses her arms in front of her body) Whatever I did, I can explain—
Cynthia Sax: (raises her palms) There’s nothing to explain. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Camille: (mumbles) That you know about.
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Pre-order Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Interview with Camille From Breaking All The Rules
10 Romance Writing Rules To Break
When Camille, the heroine of Breaking All The Rules, is presented with a rule, her immediate reaction is to question it and then, if she thinks it’s silly rule, break it. She pushes people and boundaries.
Hmmm… doesn’t this sound like every writer you know?
Which makes it ironic that there are so many rules floating around Romanceland, rules that savvy writers should consider breaking, rules like the following
Plot And Characters
1) Your Heroine And Hero Must Meet In The First Chapter
This is such an established ‘rule’ that some contest judges will deduct marks if it is broken. Many category romances also insist on stories adhering to this rule. The thinking is that romance readers read for the romance and the romance doesn’t start until the heroine and hero meet.
I’ve broken this rule plenty of times. Why? Because we have to learn about the heroine before we care about her or anyone else she meets. Sometimes this learning takes more than 12 pages (3,000 words). Maybe she’s fighting zombies or returning home after a long absence or dealing with a personal tragedy. Girlfriend has things to do before she meets Mr. Hunkalicious.
2) Your Heroine Must Be Nice
Writers are told that their heroines must be sympathetic. Some writers assume sympathetic equals nice. Ummm… no. Sympathetic means we can relate to her. We understand what she’s feeling. This doesn’t mean she’s all sweetness and light. Some of the most interesting heroines in Romanceland are a wee bit nasty. They have a reason to be nasty and we understand this reason but they’re certainly not winning any Miss Congeniality awards.
The opposite of this rule is
Your Villain Must Be Mean
Many of my villains become heroes of their own stories. Yes, when they’re depicted as villains, they make trouble for the heroines and heroes. They might appear mean. But when they tell their sides of the stories, readers realize they have justification to act this way. I once read that the scariest villain isn’t the crazy axe-wielding psychopath. It is the normal person with a different motivation.
3) Your Heroine Must Immediately Recognize Her One True Love
I understand this rule. I fell in love with my dear wonderful hubby at first sight (20 plus years later, we’re still very much in love). Some of my heroines look across the room and KNOW their heroes are the men for them. They have been looking for their true loves their entire lives. They BELIEVE in true love.
But there are heroines who no longer believe in love. They’ve been burned by men or relationships too many times. Or their heroes are their enemies. Or, sometimes worse, they’re friends with their heroes. Even if these heroines feel something for their heroes, they dismiss their emotions. They certainly don’t recognize the heroes as their true loves.
4) Your Hero Must Say ‘I Love You.’
I like it when the hero says the words. It confirms what I think he’s feeling, makes his emotions real. Many readers feel the same way. I’ll often receive emails if the hero doesn’t say the words.
But writers have to be true to our characters. If the hero would never ever say ‘I love you’, under no circumstance, not even under the threat of death (his or the heroine’s), we shouldn’t force him. Sometimes the heroine will say the words for him. Sometimes he’ll show his love in such a way that no reader can deny it.
5) A Romance Must End With A Wedding
I love weddings. The happiness overflows and I usually end up crying, even during fictional weddings. Years ago, almost every romance novel ended with either a wedding or a baby.
But this is 2014 and some of our romance heroines or heroes would never consider having a wedding at the end of the story. Sometimes the relationship is still too new. They’re committed but not ready for this step. Sometimes they don’t believe in marriage. Maybe, like Camille’s hippie parents, they don’t believe in the legislation of love. Sometimes, in the case of futuristic or SciFi romances, marriage no longer exist.
Again, writers have to be true to their characters.
Writing And Publishing
6) You Must Be A Plotter Or You Must Be A Pantser
Writers are either predominantly plotters (writers who plot, who know the entire story before they begin to write) or predominantly pantsers (writers who write by the seat of their pants, who sit down at a blank screen and start to type). Plotters think everyone should plot. Pantsers think everyone should let their muses roam free.
My experience has been that both pantsers and plotters complete the same steps. We simply complete them in different orders. My buddy is a plotter. She’ll outline her key turning points, ensuring they adhere to a three act structure, BEFORE she starts writing. I’m a pantser. I’ll write the first draft and THEN I’ll outline my key turning points, ensuring they adhere to a three act structure (that’s my preferred structure also), tweaking the story upon revision.
One way isn’t better than the other. There are best selling plotters and best selling pantsers. We end up with the same quality of story.
7) A Romance Must Be Told From Both The Hero’s And The Heroine’s Points Of View
Again, this rule is so established, that some contest judges will deduct marks if a story is told only from one point of view. Some category romance lines specifically ask for both points of view.
All of my contemporary erotic romances (He Watches Me, He Touches Me, He Claims Me, Flashes Of Me, Breaking All The Rules, and the upcoming 12 novella Sinful Rewards serial) are written solely from the heroine’s point of view. They can ONLY be written from the heroine’s point of view. The stories fall apart if the hero’s perspective is given.
Point of view is a tool. Use the best point of view to tell your story.
8 ) Your Story Must Be X Number Of Pages
When print ruled Romanceland, a story’s word count or number of pages was very important. Printing and binding a forty page story made no sense. The costs and corresponding price would be crazy high and very few stores would stock such a story.
With eBooks, this has all changed. There’s no printing and no binding. The online booksellers happily stock shorter stories. This is also true for longer stories. I’ve seen 1,200 page stories being sold.
Although some publishers still request a certain word count, there is a market for every length. Use as many or as few words as your story requires.
9) Print Must Be Your Goal
Some writers don’t feel published until they see their book in print and on shelf. For some of us (myself included), this isn’t necessary. eBook only writers have hit the best seller lists. They have large readerships and make very healthy livings.
But this might not be your goal either. There are many different reasons to write. The happiest writers in Romanceland ensure their goals line up with their reasons for writing.
10) Your Story Must Be Perfect Before You Submit It To A Publisher/Agent
Yes, your story should be the best it could be. Publishers and agents see hundreds, sometimes thousands of manuscripts. Showing your work to trusted critique partners, writing buddies, or beta readers before sending it to publisher or agents can increase the odds of receiving a ‘yes, we love it’ response.
But your story won’t ever be perfect. EVER. Even after 12 rounds of edits with a professional editor and copyeditors, your story won’t be perfect. One of the stories I think is the tightest story I’ve ever read has a typo in it.
Your goal should be to write a great story, not a perfect story.
What other rules do you think romance writers should break?
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Pre-order Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html
Topics: Coming Soon | 6 Comments »
Library Love Fest
I’m at Library Love Fest (isn’t that the GREATEST blog name?) today, talking about unusual heroines and why erotic romance belongs in libraries. Library Love Fest is the online home of the team at HarperCollins dedicated to marketing to libraries.
http://www.librarylovefest.com/2014/03/starred-review-for-breaking-all-the-rules.html
Here’s a snippet
None of my heroines are perfect. They are all flawed because I think ALL women deserve happy ever afters. We don’t have to be perfect or classically beautiful or supermodel skinny. We can dress in faded frayed suits, listen to extremely vulgar hip hop music, leave for three hour breaks in the middle of a work day.
Drop by and express your love for libraries!
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Pre-order Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Library Love Fest
Writing IS Personal
Reviewing and reading buddies often wonder why writers take criticism of their work personally. It’s a product, right? Corporate executives don’t take criticism of their wonderful widgets personally. Writers shouldn’t either.
The problem is… a book isn’t a widget. I spent decades launching new products (i.e. widgets) for big corporate entities. I took these products from the idea stage to launch and often beyond. I became invested in their successes but there was always distance between the product and my self.
There’s no distance with a book. There can’t be. A great story involves emotion. Many of us read romance because the stories make us laugh or make us cry. We feel. Deeply.
When I was a reader, I thought what I was feeling was the character’s emotions. It isn’t. What we’re feeling is the WRITER’s emotions.
When writers tell newer writers to write what they know, we’re being told to write the emotions we know. I’m not a green-haired, tattooed Goth girl but I DO know what it is like not to fit in, to push people away, to worry that I’m not ‘good enough’ for love. When Camille is expressing her emotions, these are my emotions, my most inner self laid bare for everyone to see.
Does this mean reviewers and readers shouldn’t criticize stories? Of course not. Some of my best buddies hate every story I’ve ever written (they don’t read erotic romance or they prefer longer stories) and I accept that. Sometimes I write a story for a specific group of reading buddies and the reviewer might not be part of this group. Sometimes a story simply doesn’t work.
We’re making art, not cheeseburgers. Every work of art is different. We’re fortunate in Romanceland that we have reviewers to point out these differences. A well written review (including a well written negative review) helps readers find the right stories for them and this is a win for readers, writers, and everyone else in Romanceland.
But to say that writers should look at their stories as a product is misunderstanding the process. Stories aren’t products. They’re a piece of us that we’re sharing with others.
When (often newer) writers react badly to a negative review, I try to remember that what they’re feeling is rejection. The ‘cure’ for rejection isn’t more anger. It’s a hug (which studies also show make people live longer – grins). More hugs make any place, including Romanceland, a better place to be.
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Pre-order Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html
Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on Writing IS Personal
Fourth Excerpt From Breaking All The Rules
This post has adult content. If you are under the age of eighteen years old or sensitive to adult language/situations, please do not read this post.
I previously posted the first three excerpts from Breaking All The Rules.
Excerpt One
http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/03/05/first-excerpt-from-breaking-all-the-rules/
Excerpt Two
http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/03/12/second-excerpt-from-breaking-all-the-rules/
Excerpt Three
http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/03/19/third-excerpt-from-breaking-all-the-rules/
Here’s the next bit to tide you over until release day (Tuesday!)
By noon the numbers on the expense reports blur, the lines running together. I set the stack aside, remove my lunch from the backpack, and saunter to the break room. The space is empty, my coworkers preferring to buy food from the company-subsidized cafeteria.
The meals served there are good, but not as good as my beef panang curry, a recipe I learned from Auntie Ratana, one of my mom’s best friends. I warm up the dish and carry it back to my desk, looking forward to enjoying this little taste of home.
The pinch-faced lady seated one row away from me complains loudly about stinky foods. She must be complaining about her own dish. She’s eating steamed broccoli, and the scent of flatulence hangs heavily in the air.
I ignore her grumbling, open my data donation program, and eat slowly as I code, savoring the flavors of curry paste, coconut milk, lime, and basil.
The program I’m crafting is my gift to the world, a means of sharing unused data and voice capacity. The less fortunate often receive free used phones, but not the plans needed to utilize them. My program will fix that problem.
There’s no money in it. When it goes live next year I might snag a Blaine Technologies’ Change the World grant. The mentoring provided is direly needed. The funding, however, will only pay for additional business expenses, not for my rent or my grocery bill. Nate would call my project’s lack of profit unsustainable.
I peruse his schedule. He has booked a lunchtime meeting with Mr. Blaine. My friend Anna’s desk is situated outside of her enigmatic CEO’s office, and I should drop by, see Emily, the adorable heir to the Blaine Technologies’ empire. If I bump into Nate as he leaves his meeting, I can claim it’s a coincidence.
It wouldn’t truly be a coincidence and this would violate the rules of my game. Nate must choose to see me outside the confines of our morning elevator rides. I can’t see him. I force myself to remain at my desk, to concentrate on my project, to not think about the object of my doomed and completely absurd obsession.
My progress is slow. Coding is natural for me. I’ve been taking programs apart and putting them back together since I was a child, computers being a necessary evil at the commune. Designing the site is more challenging. I stress over every marketing decision, every color choice, every graphic and text I utilize.
The small hairs on the back of my neck rise and my body hums with awareness. Only one man has this effect on me, but it can’t be him. He has a meeting. I glance upward and my jaw drops.
It is him. Nate stands at the end of the row of empty cubicles, his expression blank, his back straight, and his feet braced apart. His fingers clench into fists and release, clench and release. He’s the Iceman, renowned for his restraint, yet he’s struggling with his control. This is how much he wants me.
“I thought you had a meeting with your boss.” I issue this statement as a challenge. He’ll know I checked his schedule, accessed his account.
“I canceled the meeting.”
He canceled his meeting with Mr. Blaine. Nate never cancels meetings. His schedule once drafted is set for the day.
“Did you?” I ask.
“Yes.” Nate’s gaze meets mine and I suck in my breath. His pale gray eyes are turbulent with stark, raw emotion, his need calling to me, seducing me.
“I see.” I stare at him. He stares back at me, his square jaw jutted and his lips pressed together. Tension radiates from him, heavy waves of desire dragging me down, down, down.
“Okie dokie, then,” I concede. He came to me. He canceled his meeting for me. I can do the rest.
I push away from my desk and walk toward him, my hips swaying, my soul filled with purpose. Nate watches me, not moving, not speaking.
“Come with me.” I cover his fists with my fingers. Energy surges from his hands to mine, the connection instant and intense, shaking my soul.
“Come,” I repeat, leading him toward the shredding room, grabbing a box of tissues as we pass an unoccupied desk. Nate follows me, issuing no protests, offering no resistance.
I want resistance. I want push back, challenge, him. Nate’s unbending personality is an integral part of him and I don’t want him to change, not for me, not for anyone.
We enter the shredding room, the space soundproof, private, utilitarian. A monstrous machine is bookended by two stacks of folded cardboard boxes. Shelves line the perimeter. White dust hangs in the stale air and covers the gray frayed carpet.
“This isn’t posh, but it will do.” I set the box of tissues on a nearby shelf and close the door, blocking the outside noise and hiding us from curious eyes, creating a secluded office oasis for the two of us.
“We’re not doing anything, Miss Trent.” Nate stands dangerously close to the exit and watches me warily, prepared to leave at the slightest provocation. “I only deal with professionals.”
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Fourth Excerpt From Breaking All The Rules
Breaking All The Rules Release Day Blitz Sign Up
Do you have a blog?
Breaking All The Rules releases April 1st (this is no joke – grins) and there’s still time to sign up for the release day blitz!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A45ADAF29A46-cynthia1
All hosts will be entered in a contest to win a $25 gift certificate to the online bookseller of your choice.
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Breaking All The Rules Release Day Blitz Sign Up
Do Erotic Romances Need Kink?
This post contains adult content. If you are under the age of eighteen years old or are sensitive to adult words/situations, please do not read this post.
“Do my characters have to have kinky sex for my story to be considered an erotic romance?”
Thanks to the popularity of Fifty Shades Of Grey, newer writers ask this question ALL the time. Is BDSM necessary for sex scenes? (BDSM, according to Wikipedia, is “a variety of erotic practices involving dominance and submission, role-playing, restraint, and other interpersonal dynamics”) What happens if my heroine doesn’t like to be tied up or spanked or blindfolded? (because we all know characters have minds of their own – I can’t convince my characters to do anything they don’t want to do)
Okay, first thing… BDSM is only one sexual kink. I write about exhibitionism (wanting to be watched) and voyeurism (being watched), two very common and couple-friendly sexual kinks. Many of my buddies write about ménages (three people), tentacle sex (exactly what it sounds like – yes, people who like octopuses a little too much), furries (people dressing up like team mascots), and the list goes on. If something can be combined with sex, there’s someone doing it.
Second thing, kink is NOT necessary for an erotic romance. What IS necessary are sex scenes that take into account the personalities of the characters involved. No two people have sex quite the same way. I have a chatty heroine who talks all the way through sex. I have another heroine who doesn’t make a sound. One heroine (Camille from Breaking All The Rules) likes to take the lead. Another heroine (Kat from Flashes Of Me) prefers to follow in the bedroom.
Can you make sex scenes steamy without using toys or exotic situations? Of course. A great erotic romance writer can make a hand holding scene steamy. And sometimes kink can get in the way of the scene, drawing readers out of the story, because for a kink to work, to be hot, it has to be right for the characters.
Do you prefer kink in your erotic romances?
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
Pre-order Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY
Topics: Guest Post, Writing Tips | 1 Comment »
Another Great Review For Flashes Of Me
Awww… this review made me cry
Lace shares “Cynthia Sax has done it again and with her writing talents anything is possible. The plot is fast-paced, as there is never a dull moment. Flashes of Me is a story that has a woman needing to find her place in this world, as well as a man who needs to know it is possible to love. From start to finish, Flashes of Me was brilliant.”
You can read the full review here
http://www.blackravensreviews.com/?p=13998
Henley, the head of cyber security at Blaine Technologies, is a man no one crosses. He watches employees constantly using his network of cameras and enforces his rules by any means possible. Rumors of his violent past, his scarred hands and huge size have resulted in him being feared by everyone… almost everyone.
Katalina, the new intern, worries about the revelation of her most painful secret much more than she fears her sexy boss’s wrath. She sees the loneliness in his dark eyes, feels the gentleness in his marred fingers, tastes the need in his kisses, and she knows he watches her. His silly rules about not stripping for the cameras and no sex at the office are destined to be broken.
Kat likes to be watched. Henley can’t look away. Will this beauty be able to tame her beastly boss?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Flashes-Me-Novella-Cynthia-Sax-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXO
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-flashesofme-1411711-149.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flashes-of-me-cynthia-sax/1117322925
Topics: Reviews | Comments Off on Another Great Review For Flashes Of Me
Third Excerpt From Breaking All The Rules
This post has adult content. If you are under the age of eighteen years old or sensitive to adult language/situations, please do not read this post.
I previously posted the first two excerpts from Breaking All The Rules.
Excerpt One
http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/03/05/first-excerpt-from-breaking-all-the-rules/
Excerpt Two
http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/03/12/second-excerpt-from-breaking-all-the-rules/
Here is the rest of the first chapter (’cause I love you)
I strut down the hallway, my head held high, a jaunty bounce to my walk.
The office walls are painted gray. The industrial carpet and cubicle dividers are a shade darker. My coworkers are dressed in black and white, their suits crisp and their hair neat.
I call out cheery good-mornings as I pass people. A prissy woman with carefully arranged blond curls shushes me. A grim-looking woman clucks her tongue. Silence is the unspoken rule on the legal floor.
I don’t follow other people’s silly rules and wish the next coworker I meet a louder good-morning. My dad says I can’t help myself. I’m the evolution of the hippie, the offspring of two rebellious souls, genetically inclined for anarchy, taught to question everything.
All I know is I don’t fit in. Anywhere. I left the commune because the members wanted to restrict my computer time, their weak-assed attempt to convert me failing. I got booted out of the hacking community because I pushed too hard for peace and love. I certainly don’t belong here, at Blaine Technologies.
I venture deeper into corporate America. The sea of gray is constant and never ending. The lights are fluorescent. The hum of printers softens the quiet. Somewhere Mother Earth is weeping.
“Green,” Miss Yen, my boss, hollers, the tiny lawyer always knowing when I arrive. I hurry into her office, rapping my knuckles against the door as I enter.
My stylish boss clearly had no input in decorating her office. Ugly vertical blinds cover the floor-to-ceiling windows. An even uglier modern painting hangs on one interior wall, meaningless stripes of white and gray slashing a stark black canvas.
Filing cabinets line the perimeter, forming a wall of temptation I couldn’t resist. Their flimsy locks were no match for me. I scanned the contents one late night and found nothing of interest, Miss Yen keeping her secrets elsewhere.
She stands behind her black lacquer desk, her hands on her hips, a scowl on her beautiful face. Her dark suit hugs her slim body. A long silver scar skims across one of her cheeks. Gray file folders stuffed with paper are stacked on the desk in front of her.
My shoulders slump. I recognize these files, having spent six endless days compiling them. “Is there a problem with the expense reports?”
“Is there a problem?” The woman known as the dragon lady snorts. “You might say that. Finance rejected them.”
The finance department is Nate’s realm, staffed with employees as uptight and unbending as he is. “They rejected all of the expense reports?”
“All of them,” Miss Yen confirms. “If finance finds an error in one report, their new policy is to reject the entire submission.” Her lips twist. “Supposedly they’re busy with security issues.” She glances at me. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Green?”
“Why would I know anything about that?” I strive to appear as innocent as I possibly can. If Nate had correctly named me as the culprit, Mr. Henley, Blaine Technologies’ head of cybersecurity, would have already fired me. He warned me that my next violation would be my last. It seems the company caps allowable employee offenses at thirty-two.
“Leave the other departments alone and focus on this task.” Miss Yen pushes the stack of files toward me. “Confirm each and every line. Once Mr. Lawford sets rules he doesn’t deviate from them. If the expense reports have errors he will reject them again.”
“Yes, Miss Yen.” Nate’s sexual frustration is causing trouble for everyone, and I should feel contrite. What I feel is smug satisfaction. His control is severely compromised, my victory over him imminent. I haul the files back to my gray cubicle.
No one else sits in temp row. Kat, my friend and fellow intern, has been promoted. She’s spending all of her personal time planning her fashionista wedding to Mr. Henley. Anna, another best friend, is a new mom and works for her husband, Gabriel Blaine, the CEO and founder of Blaine Technologies. Both women are head over heels in love with their executives.
I have nothing except a sure-to-be short-lived sexapalooza with an Iceman and a charitable side project I don’t know how to launch. The pinch-faced lady seated one row over fills the air with floral-scented fumes. I add one crazy work neighbor to my list.
I toss my backpack into an empty desk drawer, log onto my computer, and peruse the first expense report, confirming line after line. The coding is correct. The numbers tie back to the receipts. The only mistake I find is a two-cent variance on one of the totals, a freakish error due to exchange rates and rounding.
Blaine Technologies is a billion-dollar company and the expense reports have been rejected for a two-cent discrepancy. I grin. Nate will be mine before the end of the week.
I tap on the keyboard and access his schedule. The security issues that have him concerned don’t include his account. His password, MoneyMan7, remains the same. I add “Think about Camille’s breasts” to his to-do list.
Mere minutes pass before he checks this line item as completed. Nathan Lawford is thinking about my breasts. This lifts my spirits and I hum happily as I examine the next expense report.
Is he stroking himself while he fantasizes about me? Has he closed his office door, unzipped his pants, and curled his fingers around his thick cock? His shaft will be as straight and as rigid as he is, the hair around his base blond, fine, and neatly trimmed.
I shift in my chair, my pussy moistening. He’ll pump himself vigorously, in sure up-and-down strokes, as unrelenting with his own body as he is with the expense reports. A dab of pre-cum will form on his tip. I lick my lips.
Will he taste as clean and as fresh as he smells? I’ve hacked into his medical records, the escort company he favors requiring regular checkups. Nate is healthy, virile, a male in his prime.
And he’s thinking of me, quirky, crazy Camille Trent. I unclip my phone from my waistband, open my blazer, and take a photo of my breasts. The black corset I’m wearing contrasts vividly with my ivory skin and the overhead lights deepen the shadow between my curves, making me appear even better endowed than I already am. I send this naughty image to Nate’s personal e-mail account, giving him more to think about.
Teasing my sexually frustrated executive brightens my otherwise dull day. I smile and apply all of my attention to the stack of expense reports, determined to follow the rules for once in my insubordinate life and give Nate the perfection he requires.
Nathan Lawford, Blaine Technologies’ chief financial officer, is known as the Iceman. He conducts his personal and business affairs without emotion, never allowing himself to become involved with anyone. When Nate sees something or someone he wants, he negotiates, paying a simple, set monetary price.
Now he wants Camille, the company’s green-haired intern.
Camille Joplin Trent never expected to be paid to pleasure the man of her dreams. She can’t quite figure out why this is a bad thing. Nate is intelligent, handsome, sophisticated, everything she’s ever wanted in a lover and never thought she could have. Their contract is for a month, thirty lust-filled days of making every sexual fantasy they’ve ever had come true. At the end of this month, the rules state their relationship will end.
Of course, Camille has never been good at following rules.
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