Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm - Matt's story is on it's way

For everyone who wrote to me about how much they loved Teasing Trent - thank you :)  So many people asked about Mara's meddlesome brother Matt that I just had to write his story.  It's still in the works but I see a spunky spitfire in his future who will give him a difficult time.

In the meantime, I've got cover hotness.  So here it is - my favorite Army hottie - Matt Simmons

If THAT isn't incentive for me to keep writing, then I don't know what is...


Stay Naughty,

Minx

The Recipe for Naughty: The Conflict

The Conflict

Last week I talked about the main ingredients involved in building a series, which are the characters. This week let's look at the actual recipe itself, which in our analogy is what the characters are doing and why they're doing it.

The conflict.

When I first started writing about The Madame X School of Sex, I wasn't sure what kind of conflict could arise at a sex school. Everyone there should be pretty happy, right?

Not exactly.

The essence of conflict boils down to isolating the character's weaknesses and then forcing them into situations they aren't ready for. Sounds sadistic but it's the only way they learn anything. It's also what keeps things interesting. Who wants to read about a bunch of perfect people who always do everything right? Not me, that's for sure.

So, we have our heroine Sarah Caldwell. Her weakness is insecurity due to how her fiance treated her. Her attraction to her boss, Quinn, is something she doesn't know how to handle. He's way out of her league and she doesn't feel sexy or desirable enough to go after him. That's the basis for her conflict. She wants something but doesn't know how to get it. Her weakness (insecurity) is holding her back.

Quinn's weakness is not facing up to something that happened in his past. He wants Sarah but thinks she belongs to someone else. Then he gets a call from his old friend Madame X that changes everything.

Sarah is going to The Madame X School, the place he vowed he'd never return to.

Our hero's conflict stems from two things he wants being at odds. His desire for Sarah vs. His antipathy for The Madame X School (for reasons to be revealed later).

So, now that we understand the conflict - here's a sneak peek at things from Quinn's POV


EXCERPT FROM SEDUCING SARAH

Quinn Sanders hated to rush. He'd built his law career on attention to detail and a slow, methodical approach to research. Yet here he was throwing clothes into a suitcase as if his house was on fire. One phone call from an old friend and he'd abandoned his business and his social life. One phone call had spun his entire world on a different axis.

Sarah Caldwell was going to see Madame X.

The phone clipped to his belt vibrated. He yanked it from its holster and held it to his ear. His room looked like a mini-tornado had ripped through it but he didn't even care. He'd been lucky to book a flight at such a late date and if he didn't hurry, he'd miss the plane. He'd have to drive like a bat out of hell to get to the airport on time as it was.

"Yes?"

"I assume you've already booked your flight?" Madame X had a way of getting right to the heart of a matter. How she did this without ever being rude was something Quinn had yet to figure out.

"I had to pay an astronomical fare but I got a flight. I'll be there in the early morning. Thank you for giving me the heads up. This should be an interesting three weeks."

She made a non-committal sound on the other end of the line. Quinn braced himself for whatever it was she would say next. He'd known her long enough to know that the soft sound usually preceded bad news.

"I'm glad I was able to help you out but I must caution you. Ms. Caldwell is a guest of the Madame X School. If she doesn’t wish to work with you for any reason, then you must respect that. I've already stretched the limits of confidentiality. My first obligation has to be to my clients. Even if you are one of my oldest friends."

Quinn nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. I promise you I'll leave if she doesn't want to work with me. Besides, I used to be your employee. Let's just call this a consulting gig."

Sarah would have the option to decline him as her handler but he doubted she would. Plenty of the instructors and a few of the students at the Madame X Academy wore masks so she wouldn't recognize him. He was glad now that he wasn't prone to long conversation in general. It would make it harder for her to recognize his voice. Even if something about him seemed familiar, he doubted she'd make the connection or question him.

No one questioned Master Q.

"I'm sure Ms. Caldwell will get along with my alter ego just fine. You have no cause for worry."

Silence hummed over the line for a long moment before she spoke again. "You've been out of the game for a while, Master Q. I know you had your reasons for that and I won't pry. I just hope you know what you're doing and are doing it for the right reasons."

Quinn couldn't stop the grin taking over his face. "I know what I'm doing. Sarah Caldwell will get exactly what she needs over the next three weeks."

Madame X chuckled. "I'm sure she will. Hopefully, you will too."

Quinn Sanders hated to rush. He'd built his law career on attention to detail and a slow, methodical approach to research. Yet here he was throwing clothes into a suitcase as if his house was on fire. One phone call from an old friend and he'd abandoned his business and his social life. One phone call had spun his entire world on a different axis.

Sarah Caldwell was going to see Madame X.

The phone clipped to his belt vibrated. He yanked it from its holster and held it to his ear. His room looked like a mini-tornado had ripped through it but he didn't even care. He'd been lucky to book a flight at such a late date and if he didn't hurry, he'd miss the plane. He'd have to drive like a bat out of hell to get to the airport on time as it was.

"Yes?"

"I assume you've already booked your flight?" Madame X had a way of getting right to the heart of a matter. How she did this without ever being rude was something Quinn had yet to figure out.

"I had to pay an astronomical fare but I got a flight. I'll be there in the early morning. Thank you for giving me the heads up. This should be an interesting three weeks."

She made a non-committal sound on the other end of the line. Quinn braced himself for whatever it was she would say next. He'd known her long enough to know that the soft sound usually preceded bad news.

"I'm glad I was able to help you out but I must caution you. Ms. Caldwell is a guest of the Madame X School. If she doesn’t wish to work with you for any reason, then you must respect that. I've already stretched the limits of confidentiality. My first obligation has to be to my clients. Even if you are one of my oldest friends."

Quinn nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. I promise you I'll leave if she doesn't want to work with me. Besides, I used to be your employee. Let's just call this a consulting gig."

Sarah would have the option to decline him as her handler but he doubted she would. Plenty of the instructors and a few of the students at the Madame X Academy wore masks so she wouldn't recognize him. He was glad now that he wasn't prone to long conversation in general. It would make it harder for her to recognize his voice. Even if something about him seemed familiar, he doubted she'd make the connection or question him.

No one questioned Master Q.

"I'm sure Ms. Caldwell will get along with my alter ego just fine. You have no cause for worry."

Silence hummed over the line for a long moment before she spoke again. "You've been out of the game for a while, Master Q. I know you had your reasons for that and I won't pry. I just hope you know what you're doing and are doing it for the right reasons."

Quinn couldn't stop the grin taking over his face. "I know what I'm doing. Sarah Caldwell will get exactly what she needs over the next three weeks."

Madame X chuckled. "I'm sure she will. Hopefully, you will too."

The Final Product

So, we've looked at the Ingredients and the Recipe for Conflict. The only thing left is the final product.

So without further ado, here's the cover art for Seducing Sarah V.1 (The Madame X School of Sex series). The cover was done by The Naughty Girls' own Minx Malone.

By the time I blog again the book should be live! Wish me luck...



Stay Naughty,
Jinx

The Recipe for Naughty : The Ingredients

So, where to start?

When I first came up with the idea for my erotic series The Madame X School of Sex, all I had was just that: an idea. I had no idea who the characters would be, the setting or even what would happen (besides the obvious). So how does a writer go about figuring this stuff out?

Daydreaming. That's how I figured it out anyway.

First, the characters. Who is just as important as What, in a story. The characters are the ones who take us on the journey. We experience the world through their eyes, their fears, their strengths and their limitations. Plus, if I'm going to write a story about something, I had better like the person the story is about. After all, we'll be spending a lot of time together.

The Heroine: Sarah Caldwell

I decided to pick a young professional woman with some self-esteem issues. Why? Because I can relate to that and I figure a lot of others can too. Sarah is a paralegal who's always done everything she's supposed to. She goes to work every morning at 8:30 am, she always separates the whites from the colors and she pays her taxes each year by April 15th.

She's perfectly ordinary. She's also perfectly tired of her boring life and she just knows there has to be more out there.

This brings us to the What? portion of the planning stage. What can happen to our perfectly lovely, perfectly boring heroine? Well, I decided to make her do something completely crazy. Something completely out of character.

She signs herself up for the infamous sex academy : The Madame X School of Sex.

Once I figured out what naughty business our heroine could get herself into, I was able to start writing. I wrote a few scenes in Sarah's point of view to get a feel for the way she thinks.


EXCERPT FROM WORK in PROGRESS

Sarah let the artificial smile she’d been wearing for the past hour drop. Her face was stiff from holding a smile she didn’t feel, forcing laughter that wasn’t genuine. But she couldn’t let her friend see how dejected she really was. It would just invite more worry, more hovering.

And it wouldn’t sway her from her path.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope that held her plane ticket. Not that she needed to see it again, she’d studied it a hundred times since that morning. A plane ticket to Nevada. One chance to find out if she was really broken or not.

The Madame X School of Sex? It’s an urban legend. Doesn’t exist.

Sarah shook her head. “Oh, it exists. In a few hours I’ll have firsthand proof.”

The Hero: Quinn Sanders

I wanted a hero that provided exactly what Sarah needed, which is contrast. He's the commanding, inventive type that can balance out her fear of change. He'll introduce her to hedonism and teach her not to be ashamed of her feelings. Quinn also just so happens to be her boss.

The conflict

Being the good girl that she is, Sarah wouldn't get involved with her boss. Luckily for her, Quinn used to be an instructor at The Madame X School. So some pretty interesting things are bound to happen when he gets a phone call from his old friend Madame X.



NEXT WEEK: I'll take a look at CONFLICT in depth. This is the meaty part where we figure out why our characters are being so difficult.

Read the next post here



Stay Naughty!
Jinx

Wicked Wednesday - Minx Malone

Hi guys,

I've been working on the sequel to my contemporary novella Beg For It (Ellora's Cave) for awhile now. I couldn't quite get a handle on Italian smooth talker Andre Lavin.

Let me know if I finally got it right in my Wednesday Work in Progress.

***

Ask For It (excerpt)


“I’m not sure about this new slogan.” Andre Lavin rubbed his hands roughly over his face trying to erase a week’s worth of stress. He was so tired he almost felt intoxicated but seeing his dream come to life was worth a thousand sleepless nights. “Living the Lavin life. It sounds like a ripoff of a cheesy pop song.”

James Lawson, owner of Mirage Advertising Agency, patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. “No worries. I’m sure we can come up with something that suits you better.”

Andre swallowed a grunt of disagreement. He wasn’t so sure. He’d already seen presentations for two alternate slogans and they were no closer to capturing the essence of what he was about than the current one. He’d been waiting his entire career to launch his international campaign and he wouldn’t see it derailed now. His debut had to be top notch. His success had been too hard won for him to chance botching things now.

“I have the production figures. We’re in good shape.” Jason Gautier, his business partner and best friend appeared at his left side. His blond hair was cut into a short spiky do, more for ease and comfort than style. His friend had been accused more than once of having a calculator for a brain and a cash register for a heart. Success was his life’s blood. It was one of the things they had in common.

“Fantastic. Do we still have that conference call with the bank this afternoon?”

“Actually there was a mix up. We’re supposed to be on that call in about ten minutes.” At his glower, Jason shrugged apologetically and crossed his arms. “Don’t shoot the messenger. How do you want to handle this?”

“Gentleman, I think I have a solution.” James waved over his assistant, a young woman with short dark hair and flashing blue eyes. He whispered something in her ear and she turned and sashayed off.

He stole a quick glance at the watch on his wrist. “The conference room isn’t booked for this afternoon, so why don’t you take your call and then come back around 3 o’clock. I’ll have our designers rearrange their schedules to accommodate you.”

“Great, that’s…” Andre trailed off as something passed his vision. A petite girl wearing an oversized monstrosity of a sweater. Her dark hair was bound back tightly into a bun and she moved like she was in a rush, her slim legs carrying her quickly behind the reception desk. She turned and her delicate profile came into view. His mind registered recognition at the same time as his body. He cursed softly and turned away slightly, giving himself time to calm down. His reaction made him feel like a lecher, especially since from a distance she looked more like a fairy child than a grown woman.

She was assisting the designers with the campaign and ever since he’d first seen her a month ago he’d been battling this borderline obsession. He knew her every expression, the way she tilted her head when she was listening or pursed her lips when she didn’t agree with something. Her skin was very pale and it made her look even more fragile. She was delicately built, petite with slim hips but something about her manner told him she had a backbone of steel.

He turned at the sharp nudge in his side. Jason lifted his eyebrows in inquiry before stretching to see over his shoulder. Andre stepped forward blocking his friend’s view of the girl. He wasn’t sure what drove the protective instinct but in that moment he didn’t want his friend even looking in her direction. It was like letting a wolf loose on a lamb.


***
Ok so that's just a little taste of Andre, a character that I love to write. He's driven, he's perfectionistic and he's about to be swept off his feet by a woman who's nothing like what he expects.

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. Now back to your regularly scheduled lives :)


Minx

Wicked Wednesday - KyAnn Waters

Wednesday Work in Progress.

I envy those writers who can sit down to the computer, know their story, pound out the words and finish what they start. Nope, that's not me. For every story I finish I probably start 10. I'll get a few words or a few pages then the story fizzles and I want to write something else. I guess you could say I am a bit A.D.D when it comes to writing. I don't think I've ever finished a book where I didn't change at least one character's name at least one time. But my bad habits can sometimes work in my favor. When I'm stuck and not sure what to work on next, it's those past stories I go through to find my inspiration.

So...
As I share my work in progress with you, the names, places and title will most likely change. :)

Beautiful Storm - contemporary short story - nearly complete
(unedited - first draft)

Excerpt:
Adrian Beck sat on the beach, tunneling his toes into the warm white sand. The full moon pulled the tide in and called him to the sea. Here, in the tropical breezes of Long Caye, the stress of the city couldn’t find him. Self-imposed exile suited him well. Post 9-11 New York couldn’t compete with Belize Island. Perhaps nothing ever would. There was the crux of his problems. Once he’d lost his firm—lost everything, including those most important to him—he hadn’t felt the same zeal for life. He didn’t see the beauty in buildings anymore, didn’t want to.

The prodigy Adrian Beck, a winner of the American Architecture Award, was burned out. He’d closed his firm, what was left of it after the Trade Towers came down. He hadn’t wanted to rebuild, not after losing so much.

Closing his eyes, he let the balmy night air surround him. His open shirt billowed in the gentle wind. The crash and roll of the waves lulled him to a place where he embraced solitude.

Last week he’d received a phone call. Isa Clemet, developer of luxury casino resorts wanted a meeting. No amount of negotiations would get him back, but that didn’t seem to stop the tenacious billionaire from insisting on a face-to-face meeting. He chuckled. Post 9-11 merges with post Katrina. Not funny, but he couldn’t help seeing the humor. Clemet Casinos wanted to build on the coast in Biloxi, Mississippi. Ms. Clemet wanted the best—she wanted Adrian.

Too bad. Adrian had no intention of giving up his private piece of paradise.

Moonlight shimmered off the cresting waves. Tropical breeze coming off the sea cooled his skin. The salty tang on his lips did make him long for a woman to hold, to kiss, to spread her smooth legs and slide his restless cock into her hot welcoming sheath.

Adrian cursed. How long had it been since he’d had someone special in his life? Three maybe four years. Since before he came to Belize Island to escape the real world.

Gulls rustled in the leaves of the tropical foliage. The spongy sand popped and whispered to him—taunted him. Adrian had always compared a woman to the ocean. Sometimes she could be as fierce as a tropical storm, unpredictable and dangerous and other times calm and wet, like sailing on a cloudless day.

Adrian leaned forward and rested his arms on his bent knees. Movement on the water caught his eye. Silver shimmer stretched into the horizon. He squinted. A swimmer. Long limbs broke the surface. And if he wasn’t mistaken—a woman—swam closer.

A wave caught her and brought her to shore. She stood, a nude goddess born of the sea. His heart pounded. She emerged from the tide, water sluicing over her arousing form. He followed a bead of moisture down her face. Sculpted eyebrows arched over wide almond shaped eyes. At this distance, he couldn’t make out the color, but her skin was bronzed by the sun. Raking her fingers through her hair, she combed her long wet tresses away from her face. She paused and stared at him. Full luscious lips titled into a soft smile. Not a joyous grin, but a sinful smirk that hinted at mischief.


I'll be back later with another excerpt from my BDSM work in progress.

Happy Hump Day,
KyAnn