New Covers for V. J. Devereaux
Aren’t they gorgeous?
Brothers in Blue and Red: Saving Maya
The Bound series
And a new title and cover
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Aren’t they gorgeous?
Brothers in Blue and Red: Saving Maya
The Bound series
And a new title and cover
Read More »
I really don’t want to go back to the 1950s and 60s with their prudishness over sex. Lennon and G. R. R. Martin were and are right. It’s madness that we can’t show love in all its facets but we can show violence with abandon.
With the advent of women’s erotic romance we saw a rise in the acceptance of women’s sexuality. Go, us! It was and is a beautiful thing. We can finally say that women do like sex, and we always have.
Think about your own romance, wasn’t it great and wonderful to look at the person you love and crave their touch? To not only want hugs and kisses but to jump their bones at any time? It’s reality. When we love someone, sex is a part of that. To deny it is to deny ourselves. I love reading Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb because her characters openly love each other in all the permutations of love – including sexuality. Her characters sometimes squabble, sometimes disagree, and sometimes try to figure out the rules of this whole love/romance thing. But they also make love with abandon, with respect for each other, giving each other pleasure. That’s a beautiful thing. And she’s not the only author who does that.
If I do have a problem with some romance or erotic novels it’s the ones that harken back to old, bad references. The ‘bad boy’ who reforms in novels rarely does in real life. Tolerating bad behavior renders it acceptable. There is a truth to the statement that if Grey from ’50 Shades of’ had been some guy living in a trailer, he’d have been arrested for stalking, at the least. That, though, is the decision of the author.
Oddly, though, in the face of the ‘me, too’ movement – about saying we wouldn’t tolerate abuse – once again the backlash is on us. There is a movement toward ‘clean’ romance, a discomfort with our sexuality. Why? And why is it on us? We’re not the ones who did anything wrong. What in the world is wrong with saying that you love someone so much that you want to enjoy all the parts of a relationship, including sex. Let’s not let anyone push us backwards with the excuse of the bad behavior of some men.
Instead, let’s be honest about it – most of us love sex, when it’s done right. There’s nothing wrong with it. So let’s write about it done right.
In many of my books, my characters are falling in love. Do they have sex? You betcha. My characters love each other with abandon, completely, but also with respect. My women are tough and competent, my men are strong enough to love them. Both may fight internal battles, or external ones, but their love holds true.
I’m not going backward, I’m going forward.
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A few years back I was inspired to write a political action thriller. An avid news reader, I’d been accumulating odd bits of information on a variety of subjects, including politics, terrorism to drug trafficking. One source of puzzlement was why this country has no truly fast response group, so for the purpose of the story I invented one, the National Intelligence Organization – a purposely vague title both for the agency in the book and for the book itself. Rather than our somewhat militaristic approach of wait, assess and engage, the NIO was designed to go in and assess on the run and neutralize the situation fast with as little loss of life as possible.
I’m a bit of a global thinker, putting together facts that seem random but have since proven to be not so fanciful.
The NIO is a case in point. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that in real life the Israelis have something very like the NIO for combatting terrorism, but they’re more public about it. (The Israelis also don’t allow women agents, just data gatherers, unlike Nike.) The NIO of the book isn’t public, they prefer staying in the shadows, and sharing the information they gather, or situations they deal with, to increase awareness and decrease any interagency issues.
Not to mention it makes for a darn good book.
Nike is a kick-ass woman who doesn’t take anyone’s sh*t!. She is rough, tough, and sexy appeal on a stick.
A reviewer gave it five stars – “Gripping and Emotional. Looking for a rip-roaring action thriller with great characters and emotion? You can’t go wrong with Nike’s Wings…”
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The #Epic #highfantasy #audiobook Song of the Fairy Queen! A tale of Kings, #wizards, #fairies, #magic, epic battles, and the alliances forged between nations and people. In print, ebook and now in Audio! With the brilliant Zak Price narrating! https://www.audible.com/pd/B07GY3PVYQ/… …
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