Taste of Cyn

Interviewed By Blakely Bennett

By Cynthia Sax on June 21, 2014

I’m being interviewed on Blakely Bennett’s online home!

http://www.blakelybennett.com/blakelys-friday-interview-with-cynthia-sax/

I did this interview in February.

Here is a snippet…

What advice do you have for writer’s just starting out?

The usual advice about reading until your eyeballs explode and writing every day is GOLD. I’d also encourage writers to write balls to the wall, all out, putting everything—your heart, your soul—into your writing. If you don’t cry when you read your writing, your readers likely won’t cry either. If you aren’t adding something different to Romanceland, why would readers buy your stories?

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: Guest Post | Comments Off on Interviewed By Blakely Bennett

Fathers (Dads) In Romance

By Cynthia Sax on June 13, 2014

Sunday is Father’s Day in North America so I thought it would be a great excuse to talk about the dads making an appearance in my stories.

If I could only recommend one of my stories to read this Father’s Day, it would be Flashes Of Me. This is a romance first and foremost but the secondary storyline is the relationship between Kat and her beloved father. (If you don’t appreciate your dad now, you will appreciate him after this story.)

Kat idealizes her father. He’s her mentor, her anchor, and she quotes his wisdom often, using his insights to guide her decisions. This exchange between Kat and the hero Henley (‘the stranger’) is telling.

“I left the experience section of the application blank.” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I helped my father, but I didn’t know if that counted as experience and I didn’t want to lie.” I lied about my last name. I didn’t want to lie about anything else. “My father always tells me business deals are built on trust and trust is built on truth.”

My stranger turns his head and meets my gaze, his forehead furrowed with thought lines. “Your father always tells you that?”

I nod.

There’s a long pause in our conversation, as though he’s giving my father’s words deep consideration. “He’s right,” my mystery man finally concedes, his voice gruff.

I beam at him, liking him even more for agreeing with my father.

I don’t know if Kat would have trusted Henley as much as she does if he had disagreed with her father. This is how strong the connection between Kat and her father is.

In Alien Tryst, Kane’s view of relationships and what a man should be is formed by his father. In this scene, we seen how close his parents are and how his father immediately volunteers to go first, protecting both his wife and his son.

“If your experiment works, Kane, our son.” His mother looked at his father. “Our only child will live.” His parents hugged each other close. Kane couldn’t remember them ever spending more than a day apart.

“I’ll be your next trial,” his father volunteered.

Kane follows his father’s example, putting himself at risk to save Eshe, the alien woman he loves. He also assumes that wherever she goes, he’ll go (or vice versa). He doesn’t expect to be a lone wolf. For him, a relationship means being together.

Sometimes a dad doesn’t have to make an appearance to influence a character. Bee’s dad in Sinful Rewards left her mom when he found out she was pregnant. This abandonment changes their lives forever, purging them into poverty, making her mom a pariah in her small town, and affecting Bee’s view of her self-worth.

Who are your favorite dads in romance?

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: Guest Post | Comments Off on Fathers (Dads) In Romance

Ever After

By Cynthia Sax on June 10, 2014

With all of the buzz around Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, I decided to watch Ever After again. This is one of my favorite fairy tale movies, and, although it is framed as a ‘historical recounting’, this is a fairy tale, a completely fictional piece of fun.

One of the things I love most about this movie is how the ‘evil’ stepmother is portrayed. She behaves horribly but I understand why she isn’t nice to Danielle (played by Drew Barrymore ). She earns my sympathy.

The Baroness, played wonderfully by Anjelica Huston, is an ambitious, proud lady. She values titles and wealth, and seeks to be close to the French court.

So why does she marry Gustave, a wealthy yet untitled rural landowner?

Because she loves him. She gives up her ambitions, her dreams, everything for him. Then she finds out that she is alone in this all consuming love, that Gustave will always put Danielle first. As he tellingly says to Danielle, “I may be a husband now but I’m a father first and forever.”

When Gustave leaves the manor, Danielle claims that they must wait for him to wave, that this will give them good luck. In a fit of jealousy, the Baroness refuses to wait, entering the building.

Gustave then suffers from a heart attack and falls from his horse. The Baroness runs to him, her guilt and worry painfully obvious. Did she cause this bad luck? Danielle arrives at his side first, adding to the Baroness’ guilt. She should have reached him first. She clutches him, crazed with worry.

Gustave turns away from his new wife, rejecting her, and tells his daughter, Danielle, he loves her. He dies with the Baroness heart wrenchingly wailing “You cannot leave me here.” She has given up everything for love and has been left with nothing.

The Baroness can’t blame the man she loved so she transfers all of her anger to Danielle, the daughter. Does she act like a bitch? Yes. Do I understand why she acts this way? Absolutely.

THAT, in my opinion, is how one crafts a great villain.

Sinful Rewards 1

Belinda “Bee” Carter is a good girl; at least, that’s what she tells herself. And a good girl deserves a nice guy—just like the gorgeous and moody billionaire Nicolas Rainer. He is everything she wants in a man.

Or so she thinks, until she takes a look through her telescope and sees a naked, tattooed man on the balcony across the courtyard. Hawke is mysterious, the bad boy she knows will bring only heartbreak. He has been watching her, and that makes him all the more enticing.

But when a mysterious and anonymous text message dares her to do something bad, she must decide if she is really the good girl she has always claimed to be, or if she’s willing to risk everything for her secret fantasy of being watched.

Is her mystery man the reclusive billionaire with a wild side or the darkly dangerous bad boy?

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sinful-Rewards-1-Cynthia-Sax-ebook/dp/B00I7V89H0

Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sinful-rewards-1-cynthia-sax/1119055390

Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Ever After

The Pantster’s Guide To Writing A Series

By Cynthia Sax on June 6, 2014

I’m a pantser, a writer who writes by the seat of her pants. Before starting a story, I usually know my characters, (maybe) have a glimpse at a first scene, know it will be an erotic romance, and that’s it. Yes, I can feel my plotter buddies twitching. It is chaos, I tell you, chaos! But I can’t write any other way.

I also write series, three or more stories set in the same world with characters who know each other. Sometimes there’s an overreaching story arc (defeating the big baddie or finding a man for Camille – grins). Sometimes it is a sexy brother type of series (there are three friends and I want them all to find love).

How do I write series when I don’t even know what the next scene in a story is?

It is similar to how I write a single story. With a single story, I know the ending. The two (or more) characters will find lasting love and be together. I don’t know how they’ll get there but I know that’s where the story is heading.

With a series, I have additional goals or destinations for my first (or second or third story). Yes, the two (or more) characters will be together but, in the case of the sexy brother series, at least one of the other characters will also be introduced.

In He Watches Me/He Touches Me/He Claims Me, Anna and Blaine end up together and are gloriously happy (well, as happy as our rather serious billionaire can be) but Camille, the heroine of Breaking All The Rules, is also introduced.

A story in a series with an overreaching story arc will have a third goal. At the end of the story, the two (or more) characters will be together, the main character in the next story will be introduced, AND there will be progression in the bigger mission.

How much progression?

It depends on how many stories I wish to have in the series. In the Warlord four story series, I knew I wanted all three brothers to find love. This meant at least a three part series. I also eventually wanted one of the Warlord brothers to face Tolui (the brother was supposed to kill him in the third story but Tolui refused to die). I chopped up this big end goal into smaller goals, progressively escalating the conflict and the stakes.

And this escalation is important. We’ve all read a toe curling first book in a series and wondered “How will the writer top THIS?” That’s what readers expect. If you blow up the Death Star in the first installment, you should do something even bigger or more shocking (like, say, announce that the big baddie the hero is trying to kill is dear ol’ dad) in the second installment. The conflict in the third story will be even BIGGER.

I’m a fan of circular story telling so often when crafting the final story in a series, I give a nod to the first story. Maybe I’ll mirror a scene or refer back to the first story. I also like to bring back or mention the previous couples (or more), giving readers some updates on them. This usually isn’t planned though. It is part of the pantsing magic.

Do you have some tips on writing series? What do you like about reading stories in a series?

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.

Buy Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY

Buy Now At Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-the-rules-cynthia-sax/1117501082

Buy Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html

Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on The Pantster’s Guide To Writing A Series

Friends With Benefits

By Cynthia Sax on May 27, 2014

This weekend I watched Friends With Benefits, the Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake romantic comedy for about the gazillionth time. There are quite a few of f*ckbuddy romantic comedies and hands down, I think Friends With Benefits is the best of the bunch.

Why?

1. The extremely witty dialogue

Every time I watch Friends With Benefits, I pick up on some clever throw away lines. The mom telling Mila’s character that she didn’t want to twat block her. The jokes about liking Harry Potter not making you gay. The LA/New York jokes.

There are one time jokes and then there are jokes that repeat throughout the movie. Every time they get on a plane, there’s a different discussion about planes flying themselves. There are Guess My Daddy jokes with Mila’s mom. They make math jokes, referencing Justin’s character’s issues with math.

Which leads to the next why…

2. The characters are full

They’re not perfect. They, in fact, have very serious issues and they also have a past, a childhood, family, small imperfections like Justin’s character being unable to do math. They feel real yet are larger than life, more witty than any of us can ever aspire to be. Their relationship issues are very consistent, connected (they deal with similar issues in very different ways), and I could see how they are the only people able to help each other.

I believe that their love will last and I feel the chemistry between them. Mila and Justin look and act like a couple, as though they enjoy being with each other, are having fun together.

3. They change

Neither character is the same at the end of the movie. At first, they have a relationship based on sex without emotional support. Then they enjoy a relationship with emotional support and no sex. Finally, they’re able to tackle both at the same time, something they wouldn’t have been able to do at the beginning of the movie.

Have you watched Friends With Benefits? What was your favorite line?

Sinful Rewards 1

Belinda “Bee” Carter is a good girl; at least, that’s what she tells herself. And a good girl deserves a nice guy—just like the gorgeous and moody billionaire Nicolas Rainer. He is everything she wants in a man.

Or so she thinks, until she takes a look through her telescope and sees a naked, tattooed man on the balcony across the courtyard. Hawke is mysterious, the bad boy she knows will bring only heartbreak. He has been watching her, and that makes him all the more enticing.

But when a mysterious and anonymous text message dares her to do something bad, she must decide if she is really the good girl she has always claimed to be, or if she’s willing to risk everything for her secret fantasy of being watched.

Is her mystery man the reclusive billionaire with a wild side or the darkly dangerous bad boy?

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sinful-Rewards-1-Cynthia-Sax-ebook/dp/B00I7V89H0

Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sinful-rewards-1-cynthia-sax/1119055390

Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Friends With Benefits

Are Billionaire Heroes Cliché?

By Cynthia Sax on May 22, 2014

I write about billionaire heroes in my contemporary erotic romances and I’m often asked if billionaires are becoming cliché. Are you tiring of them?

In my humble opinion, billionaire heroes will become cliché when writers write clichéd billionaires. I view billionaire as being a short form for successful, a man at the top of his game, the alpha of the business world. I doubt we’ll ever tire of these types of heroes. We want our heroes to be successful.

My billionaires (or multimillionaires in the cases of Henley from Flashes Of Me and Nate from Breaking All The Rules) aren’t Christian Grey. E. L. James has fully explored her intriguing Fifty Shades Of Grey hero. There’s no reason for me to write about a similar billionaire. Heck, I doubt E.L. James would want to write about a similar billionaire!

My billionaire heroes are all different, with different issues, different problems, different likes and dislikes. They hold different jobs, see their roles in the world very differently.

A billionaire financier is nothing like a billionaire hacker or a billionaire security professional. A billionaire raised by a single mom isn’t the same man as a billionaire orphaned at a young age. A billionaire who has gone to prison will have a different view on the world than a billionaire who has never been in trouble with the law.

These billionaires are as unique as you and I are.

This means I can’t predict how you will react to my heroes, if you’ll like Nate as much as Henley, Henley as much as Blaine. I’m chewing my fingernails to the nubs wondering if you’ll like Nicolas, the billionaire real estate developer in Sinful Rewards (Test reading buddies love him but what if these test reading buddies are the only ones? Yes, writers are a wee bit nuts. We worry about everything.).

But this is the risk writers take when we write any new character, even a sexy billionaire. In order to bring you fresh characters, characters who aren’t clichés, we risk bringing you a hero you might not love as much.

What type of billionaire hero would you like to see? A biker billionaire? An artist billionaire? A lottery billionaire?

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.

Buy Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY

Buy Now At Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-the-rules-cynthia-sax/1117501082

Buy Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html

Topics: Guest Post | 2 Comments »

Food To Fall In Love With

By Cynthia Sax on May 14, 2014

Eating is one of the most sensuous activities we can engage in (besides sex – grins). It engages all of the senses. We smell, taste, feel, see, hear (chewing, slurping, crunching) food.

Eating is also an activity we often associate with love and company. We cook for the people we care about. First dates often involve a meal, perhaps at a fancy restaurant. Chocolate is one of the most common gifts men give the women they care about.

Food plays an important role in almost all of my stories.

In The Seen Trilogy (He Watches Me, He Touches Me, He Claims Me), Blaine, our billionaire hero, serves Anna, our heroine. He’s a wealthy successful man yet he’s telling her that she’s more important than he is. He’s communicating without words that he puts her first and he’ll take care of her.

This is even more symbolic for Anna as she hasn’t always had enough to eat. She envisions a future in which she won’t ever have that worry.

In Flashes Of Me, Kat convinces Henley to eat broccoli and other green vegetables, foods believed to reduce the possibility of cancer. This is how she tells him she worries about him and she wants him to remain healthy.

In one scene, Kat sends Henley beef and broccoli. He then sends her chocolate covered strawberries. She is telling him “I’ll take care of you” and his non-verbal reply is “I’ll take care of you also.”

In Breaking All The Rules, one of the ways Camille expresses her individualistic, rebel self, is by eating fragrant curry at work. A friend of her mom’s taught her how to make these curries so there’s also an emotional connection. The curries are a little taste of her quirky home.

Camille expects every man she meets to reject her curries and to reject her. Nate, the conservative, extremely non-ethic hero, is perhaps the last person on Earth anyone would expect to order curry yet he does… for Camille. He’s telling her that he embraces her rebellious nature, that he will change to make their unusual relationship work.

Do you use food to convey your feelings?

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.

Buy Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY

Buy Now At Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-the-rules-cynthia-sax/1117501082

Buy Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html

Topics: Reviews | 1 Comment »

King Kong (2005)

By Cynthia Sax on May 13, 2014

Being a romance reader, I always look for the hero in every movie, whether or not that movie is a romance. In the 2005 version of King Kong, my favorite character, the man I think is the hero is Captain Englehorn, played by the hunky Thomas Kretschmann . I know, I know this sounds like a bizarre choice but just hear me out.

At first, the sexy Captain doesn’t seem like a hero at all. He’s taking the film crew out to sea for the money, to pay his bills (not just his bills, his crew’s bills). He resists being a hero at every turn. Carl Denham, Jack Black’s character, has to bribe him to leave port quickly. When he hears Carl is wanted by the police, the Captain decides to turn back. He threatens to leave Skull Island without the film crew when they go ashore without his permission.

But he doesn’t leave. He sends his own crew to save Ann Darrow, Naomi Watts’ character. His crew is extremely loyal to him. People aren’t loyal to a leader unless they believe that leader cares about them. The Captain has clearly earned their loyalty in the past. Yet he risks the people he cares about to save a woman he barely knows.

The Captain arms his crew with weapons he owns. He then figures out how to down Kong. Does he profit eventually from the venture? Yes. At least, I hope so (we don’t see this onscreen). He’s also a big game hunter and receives a personal pleasure from bagging this VERY big game.

That’s not why he aids in the rescuing of Miss Darrow though (without the Captain’s crew, Jack Driscoll, Adrien Brody’s character, has no chance at rescuing the heroine). He’s assisting in her rescue because he believes this is the right thing to do and, in my eyes, that’s heroic.

My favorite line from the movie is…

Carl Denham: I’ve risked everything I had on this film.

Captain Englehorn: No Denham, you risked everything I have.

Who do you think is the hero in King Kong?

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.

Buy Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY

Buy Now At Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-the-rules-cynthia-sax/1117501082

Buy Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html

Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on King Kong (2005)

Favorite Real Life Mom – The Best Mom In The World

By Cynthia Sax on May 9, 2014

No discussion about mothers would be complete without mentioning my own dear wonderful mom. My mom is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. My father was a very bad man and she put her own life at risk numerous times trying to shield my five siblings and I from him.

When my father became completely unstable, she packed us up and left. My mom, due to her religious background, doesn’t believe in divorce. She made this decision, thinking it would doom her to purgatory. Yeah, she put her kids’ welfare before her immortal soul. That’s a huge sacrifice.

She also didn’t have any money. She’d never held a job outside the home. We had no place to stay, no food to eat. My heavily armed father wasn’t keen on letting us go. My mom must have been terrified but we didn’t know it. She made every ordeal an adventure and we survived, eventually thriving.

My mom wasn’t perfect and she knew her limitations. She paired us up with mentors, folks who could help us achieve our dreams. This must have been tough for her. I remember coming home and telling my mom that so-and-so was a better mom than she was. Yes, I was a little brat (and I regret it to this day). But my mom continued to send me to visit this ‘better mom’, putting my future before her feelings.

My mom made me the woman I am today. This is why I often dedicate stories to her or name characters after her (her name is Shirley). She doesn’t use computers and she doesn’t read erotic romances (not even mine) so these nods are more for me, than for her. They’re a reminder that I wouldn’t be here without her.

Why is YOUR mom the best mom in the world?

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.

Buy Now At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Rules-Erotic-Novella-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GXY

Buy Now At Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-the-rules-cynthia-sax/1117501082

Buy Now At ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingalltherules-1453084-149.html

Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Favorite Real Life Mom – The Best Mom In The World