And today Sasca Ilyvich has some hints and tips for blog writers! I hope you enjoy it.

Voice in your blogs

We talked at length during a panel at Cybernet Expo about social media and the best use of it. For the Adult industry, and this includes us, it’s challenging to design blogs and copy that not only draw in an audience but convert sales. In our case as erotic romance authors, we’re aiming for readers who are viral and just as excited about our newest romance stories as the adult folks are about their favorite actress or actor.

The best way to get traffic is to have that unique voice. It doesn’t matter what you say but how you say it that brings in the readers. Are you smart? Do you have a little bit of sass in your posts? Are you prone to ranting? Are you sweet? And lastly, are you consistent?

Your blog voice can vary but readers are expecting to feel a certain emotion out of your posts. Usually it’s relevant to whatever your profession is. For example, as an author, to build readership and establish author credibility, I use my frank and honest voice over at http://saschaillyvichauthor.com whereas any blogs tied to SaschaIllyvich.com are kinky and have that definite DOM tone involved. Any writing about cigars online has a distinguishably different voice that’s geared towards that audience.

The next tip on blogging involves consistency. I cover this at Saritza Hernandez’s blog geared towards literary agents. You must update your blog once a week at least. More if you can and when you do update, you must consider SEO in your blog though there is some debate about that now due to Google Instant.

In a rehash from the blog done for ePubAgent (an agent at Lori Perkins Agency) I also covered being clear about content. Nobody will search for Sascha Illyvich unless I pop up all over the web as I’m doing lately. But they’ll search for erotic romance and that’s ME! I AM the hotness of this genre! Especially considering that I’m a kilt wearing male, I’m definitely hot! Rawr!

Lastly, have fun with your blog. Sure you’re writing for your audience but if it bores you, then why bother, right? The goal of authors is wealth AND happiness.

Much success!

Sascha Illyvich
Romance Writer – http://saschaillyvichauthor.com
Fetishist – http://www.saschaillyvich.com
Erotic Expert – http://www.writesex.net
Radio Host – http://shows.radiodentata.com/shows/unnamed-romance-show/
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/saschaillyvich

Thanks Sascha!

And it has nothing at all to do with me double booking the Friday slot at all. Nope, nuh-huh.

My Very special Friends Thursday spot goes to my good friend and awesome editor Will Belegon. We’ve known each other for years and I can assure you this guy writes some brilliantly hot erotic romance. You can check him out at his blog and here he is to tell us about the hardest thing. I hope that it is as rude as it sounds!

The Hardest Thing

I have a shirt, given to me by some dear friends, that says a writer’s favorite words are “Chapter One.” Because it is a sweatshirt and white, it rarely gets worn. (I am not often in that stage between jacket and tee shirt, and I also seem to have a talent for dripping coffee on white shirts.) However, it remains in the closet, accessible for when I want it. Part of this is because it serves as a reminder of people dear to me, but another part is that I really do adore those words.

The words I have a problem with are at the other end of the manuscript. The End.

I love the process of new ideas. The first time a character springs into my mind is wonderful. And I love getting to know them and what interests them. I’m the kind of writer some of my friends in the business call a pants-er, as in “by the seat of my.” It means I write without a solid outline and let things flow. Sometimes I know the destination before the journey starts, sometimes I don’t. And often I think I know but find that it has changed somewhere between when I left and when I arrived.

It allows for great twists and turns, for those sudden moments when everyone is surprised. Including the author. On occasion, I have written a twist that made me go back and change things, but usually I find that some obscure center in my brain had anticipated this possibility and that nothing I wrote previously contradicts my new direction.

However, there is a danger to this style. If an outline exists, you know where you are going and you simply have to figure out how to get there. Some very detailed plotters even know each step and how they occur. For these writers, the great advantage is that it is harder to get stalled by story.

Not that they can’t stall. I don’t believe there is a serious writer on the planet that hasn’t had at least some experience with the dreaded “writer’s block,” even if the experience was of a fleeting sort.

I have manuscripts dating as far back as 2004 that are in that much dreaded classification, the Work In Progress. And each of them seems to have a different reason for its presence there. My first attempt at a novel, which I still believe has a wonderful plot, has undergone multiple revisions as I have had the idea to work on it and found that, in the intervening months or years, my craft has advanced to the point where this thing needs a good edit. But by the time I’ve done that and added a chapter or two, I’ve lost my way again. And there are a dozen other works in the same file, although each has a different story for how it got there and why it isn’t finished.

The end. The most elusive words in this writers vocabulary.

I have two pieces that are the most in need of finishing (neither is that first work.) Both are basically sold already. There is no signed contract for either, but the intent is there and I know the publishers in questions are still interested. Both already have endings, though not outlines on how to reach the conclusion save for a few necessary events that I know I must fit in along the way.

One or both of these needs to be finished by the end of the year. By the end of October would be even better. So why aren’t they done? Am I lazy? No, one needs merely to examine my overburdened daily schedule to know that isn’t the case. Am I too busy then? No, for I find time to watch a movie or a TV show on DVD every so often, thus there must be time to write as well.

The reason eludes me. But I need to find it.

Will Belegon is a writer living in the mountains in the United States. He finds time to study Taekwondo, play videogames and drink way too much whiskey and wine. He also occasionally finds time to edit for other writers, including the author of this blog. Somewhere in the next couple of months, he will find time to type the end on a new novel the same way he is about to on this blog post.

The End.

Thanks Will, I wish you every success and hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Lowell is a werewolf and he is lovely, I think we should take some time to get to know him. He is the star of my story Moon Shy which is released from Total-E-Bound on the 27th September and it also appears in the Over the Moon anthology which is also available in Print.

BUY Moon Shy NOW – $4.23

Now yes, you did read me right, I did call Lowell lovely and a werewolf and that’s not a combination you often see. It’s true though, Lowell is a true gentleman, well most nights of the month anyway. And on that one night when he’s beastly he locks himself up and keeps himself away from the world. He really hates what he is and goes above and beyond to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.

This little Excerpt shows you that.

He looked at his watch. It was just a few minutes to seven o’clock. He pulled off his clothes and placed them carefully underneath his work clothes. He sighed deeply then walked over to the door at the far side of the tiny cellar. He opened it and walked in. He shut the door behind him and drew the bolts closed then checked each one of the six bolts again before he walked over to the far wall.

Lowell sat down on the pile of dirty blankets, ripped and torn and lifted the back corner of it. Under the corner was a pocket, and in the pocket was a tiny silver key. He left the key, carefully turning the blanket back down and lifted up the chain that ran behind the blanket. He found the manacle and slipped it around his ankle. He repeated the same action on the other side, until both of his legs were in chains.

He sat still, his back to the cold stone wall and he waited. He waited several minutes, he always thought as he sat in discomfort each month that he could leave it a little later and save his bottom from the cold of the floor that seeped through the blankets and into his bones but he never did. He was afraid he’d end up being late.

As the Moon showed itself in all its full glory, Lowell changed. With a pained and pitiful yowl his body erupted with hair, his back arched and his face elongated into a snout. Within a matter of seconds he was no longer a man, he was a beast and he strained and thrashed against his chains as he banged at the wall and slashed the crumbling brick with his hard, long claws.

Now Lowell may well be the hero of the piece but the story is shared with another character, Jenny. She’s a human who’s recently had an office affair go bad and ends up in a new job at the same offices Lowell works in. She bumps into him and although it takes a while for the penny to drop she realises she knows him and here is that moment of realisation for you to enjoy.

Usually she was happy to sit alone, but it seemed strange to sit by herself when there was only one other person in the whole room. It was surely only polite to ask if she could sit with the gentleman in the corner. It would seem very rude to ignore him.

”Erm, do you mind if I sit with you?” She asked as she reached the end of his table.

“No, not at all,” he replied, “take a seat.”

His words seemed friendly enough but his demeanour seemed to show annoyance, but then most people carried round an air of irritability in this place she’d found, so maybe he was friendlier than he seemed.
“I’m Jenny. I’ve just started. I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

“No, I’m the server guy, well; my name’s actually Lowell, but most people just call me server guy. I stay down in the basements, looking after the, well, servers, obviously.” He blushed and looked down on his usual Friday treat of beef burger and chips with chocolate digestives for dessert. He loved Chocolate digestives. He was a little irked that someone had broken his quiet, Friday routine but she was a very pretty young lady and he was a little intrigued by her.

“Oh my goodness,” Jenny exclaimed, “It’s you. You are Lowell Kenyon, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Lowell Kenyon, do I know you?”

“No, not really, no. I was in the year below you at school. I used to watch you in the football tournaments and stuff.” Jenny flushed. She used to watch him all the time. She had a massive crush on him and he didn’t even notice her, not once. “You look kind of different. I didn’t recognise you at first.”

“Yeah, I’m not the same guy I was back in school, not by a long chalk.”

“I guess I’m not the same either, I’m taller for a start.” She giggled nervously and was relieved to hear him chuckle too.

Now we’ve got a lovely man who’s a little,shall we say, hairy one night a week and a sweet human gal who are quite obviously attracted to one another. I mean there are various obvious battiers to this relationship from the start, I mean how does Lowell bring up the subject of his werewolfishness (I totally just made that word up there folks!)and how would Jenny respond to finding out his secret? Well, as if that isn’t challenging enough, enter Desdemona.

Desdemona is a bitch. Companies hire her to assess staff and to cut away the dead wood and she too is attracted to Lowell but she knows exactly what he is because she is a werewolf too. However she revels in her affliction and is looking to share her wolfish nights of excess with a cute young pup she can train to bend to her will. Of course, as much as she adores Lowell she hates Jenny and makes things harder for her from the moment they meet.

Dessie hated this stupid company. Far too many of the employees were actually good, and the others actually increased their productivity when she warned them. She’d have to work a lot harder to create the reasons to sack some of those annoying people.

She had a million and one things to do. She needed to create paranoia and fear so people would slip up, but her mind was completely filled with Lowell. She had been on her own for a very, very long time. She’d always longed for a partner to wreak havoc with, and it seemed so surprising to find him here, of all places.

She waited ‘til a few minutes before he would leave then headed down to the basement. She could smell that silly woman’s perfume and her sweat. Jenny had been down the stairs recently.

The scent increased as she neared Lowell’s room, and she knew Jenny had gotten incredibly aroused in there, as had he. She became instantly jealous.

“Hello, Miss Conall,” Lowell said without looking up. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“As it is, yes, Lowell. I want you.”

He looked up, then, and saw the hungry look in her feral eyes.

“I noticed you’ve done much better today, except you took a few extra minutes on your lunch break. That’s not a very good idea, Lowell, not at all.” She walked over and stood right beside him, towering over him in his office chair.

“I’ve had no afternoon break, Miss Conall, to make up for that. I assure you I have worked as many minutes today as I should have.”

“I am sure you have.” She smiled and pulled on the chair arm, spinning him towards her. “But Lowell, there is more I want you to do.” She stepped across his legs and put a hand on each arm. She was above him, and he cowered back into his chair like a well and truly beaten dog.

She pushed her face to his and kissed him. She raped his mouth. His lips would not open, so she ran her hand up to his hair and pulled hard. He gasped, and she pressed her tongue between his lips. Then she sensed his wolf genes taking over. He growled deep in the back of his throat and pushed her in the centre of her chest.

“Miss Conall, I am sure you’re not employed to do that.”

“No,” she admitted, “but I did enjoy kissing someone so very much like me. You and I, Lowell, could run together. We should run together. It’s in our blood.”

He tried to hide the shock and fear in his eyes. “Miss Conall, I am sure you’re a very nice woman, but I am not interested. Sorry.”

“Very well, Lowell. I am here for the rest of the month. I am very sure you’ll change your mind, sooner or later.”

She stalked from the room. Her scent was everywhere, now, and she knew her special aroma would drive him crazy. She could be patient. His wolf tendencies were buried deep, but she would drag them out of him in time for the next full moon, and then they would have so much fun together ripping apart Demonet employees. She was going to have that girl, that disgusting, redheaded human, all to herself, though. She would destroy the competition.

See what I mean? And it doesn’t take a fortune teller to guess that some kind of catastrophic nastiness happens between these three characters. But what happens? Does Desdemona win herself a subservient pet or do Lowell and Jenny manage to let love blossom between them in peace? Well, you’re going to have to read Moon Shy to find out. You can wait a couple of weeks for the single release or you can read it now in with a selection of other werewolf loving stories in the Over The Moon Anthology.

This morning my husband found an album online that proclaimed to be the sexiest songs ever but as he listed the tracks it turned out to be just songs with sex in the title. I mean I love Right said Fred but I wouldn’t class I’m too sexy… as a song I’d like to do it too! Out of the 40 songs I find maybe 3 or 4 of them to be sexy the others may well be suggestive but they just don’t float my boat.

So what makes a song sexy to me? It’s a good question. I like songs with a strong, slow beat and the singer’s voice has to be what I term as treacly. Soft, sweet, unctuous but with a rough edge. The words can be suggestive but that’s not an essential part but I am seduced by poetry.

Songs I find sexy include Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi, Show me heaven by Maria McKee, Pour some sugar on me by Def Leppard and Fever by Ella Fitzgerald. The one I am most embarassed to admit turns me on is Britney spear’s Toxic. It’s inexplicable it just does! And the song I immediately think of when I think of sexy songs in Black Velvet by Alana Miles and that is despite my Dad changing the lyrics to ‘Fish, chips and mushy peas.’ I love the poetry in the words, my favourite line being ‘The sun is setting like molasses in the sky,’ it’s very evocative. I’m a sucker for well used words, I’m sure you’d have never guessed that, me being an erotic romance writer and all.

On Facebook and Twitter. I asked people what’s the sexiest song you can think of and I’ve got very varied answers and I must admit most songs mentioned don’t do it for me. So I wonder what makes a song sexy and what do you think is the sexiest song ever?

Today’s Friends Friday blogger is Cari Z! She’s the author of Treasured.

Here’s the blurb:

Daniel Hart is a graduate student at the University of Arcane Studies, who works in a museum and mostly enjoys his calm, routine life. Everything changes when he meets Rhys Daveth, a visiting businessman with mysterious connections who pursues him with a passion that Daniel has never experienced before. The chemistry between them is undeniable, but things take a turn for the worse when Daniel is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, one that he suspects his new lover had a hand in. Once the truth comes out, Daniel will have to choose between the future he had planned and something deeper, more exciting and far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

And now on to the blog!

Before I moved to West Africa (I’m a Peace Corps volunteer), I was seriously considering whether or not it would be worth it to bring my computer along. I had no idea where I’d be posted, whether or not I’d have electricity and even if I’d have time to write (in retrospect: ha, haha, a-ha). Then there were the issues of insurance, transportation and weight limits. In the end, though, I considered that the good of having my computer outweighed the bad of all its third world challenges, and right after my husband it’s been the most fantastic thing that came with me.

My beloved calls me an addict, but the truth is that…well actually, okay, I may be a little bit of a computer addict. I refuse to feel sorry for this, however. We live in a country where over sixty five percent of the work force consists of farmers, where the majority of people live in rural villages, and where there is one road—yes, one poorly-paved road—spanning the country and providing support for commerce. Girls marry young and have many babies, the mortality rate is too high and the education rate is too low. I work with young mothers and their babies, and after a while, the escape that my computer can offer me in the evenings is seduction, sin and salvation all rolled into one.

I wrote erotica in the states but writing it here, where creature comforts are few and far between, feels like pure decadence. Reading it offers me a different type of escape and I happily cling to it when I can, but the truth of the matter is that this country buys its internet from what another country has occasionally to spare (that’s a dictatorship for you, sheesh, can’t make time for non-state telecommunications advancements) and downloading ebooks can be a matter of hours, not minutes. Very expensive hours. So, writing it is!

I appreciate the escape that erotica offers. It’s more than a brief mental vacation: it can change how you’re feeling, sometimes a lot. When you feel good, little things stop bothering you the way they used to, at least for a while. Intense heat becomes tolerable again, communicating in another language is a fun challenge and the obnoxious neighborhood kids and their constant cries of “yovo yovo yovo!!!” (ie whitey/foreigner/ghost) has the adorable ring to it that you remember from when you first arrived in country. Writing makes me feel good, and writing erotica (good erotica, at least) makes me feel great. I hope that the people who read my work get as much pleasure out of it as I do making it available to them.
Despite the difficulties of communication I have here, I’m doing my best to maintain a blog on my own, at http://carizerotica.blogspot.com. You can find links to my other publications there, including my newest release Treasured.

Victoria, you are as generous with your space as you are with your skill—thanks for letting me rant!

Thanks for visiting Cari and I hope you’ll come back again soon!