Less Sex?

Today I am exhausted (thus the reason for no Wednesday Brief). My  brain isn't good for much, so I've been browsing through the news and various sites not thinking. However, I stumbled upon this article by The Guardian and it caught my attention.

Why is Generation Y having less sex?

Basically, what it says, in case you don't have time to click on the link and read it, is that technology is driving people apart. According to the article, people prefer to check their emails or compare Instagram photos than to have sex because it's "easier and more comfortable". The article also mentions the idea that we now "intellectualize bodily functions", something quite dangerous that drives us away from sex.

I think there is a definite interest in sex. In books, films, art, even music. Sex is ever present in the human mind, but are we only thinking about it and not doing it? The media says nay (ever seen a Pitbull video clip?) but this article could have some truth behind it. We could be thinking so much about sex that we could decide that it's not worth the trouble. Technology has driven people to be more narcissistic and self-conscious (selfies, belfies and what not) and therefore we can take care of our own needs. Who needs a partner? No?

What do you guys think?

#TNTConfidential Author Spotlight on Iyana Jenna & A Home for Jesse

Happy Tuesday, darlings! 

Today I have the talented Iyana Jenna popping in for a visit, answering my questions and holding a giveaway! Meet Iyana and her latest release A Home for Jesse. 

Elyzabeth, I’m so happy to be on your blog again. Thank you so much for the chance!

Welcome Iyana, Please tell us a bit about a Home for Jesse (preferably something that’s not on the blurb).

It’s a story of Jesse Gray with the hardship in his life, especially since he got kicked out of the room he rented with a friend because he no longer could pay the rent. Things got worse when he lost his part time job at a fast food joint and got robbed of all of his belongings. He was only a PA. He has no place to stay and money to buy food. When Trey Miller, an actor working on the same set as him, offered him to stay at his house, there was nothing else Jesse could do but accept the offer. He promised Trey that he would pay every single cent spent on him though Trey couldn’t have cared less.

What’s your favorite line in the book?

Just one line? Let me give you a bit.

What the fuck?

Trey’s vision blurs. God, Jesse. He has carefully noted down everything he got from Trey so he won’t forget them later.

Without the context, it’s hard to know what’s going on, of course. I wish you get to know what’s happening. :)

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m 20% plotter and 80% pantser. I usually started with a rather long summary, but then I go from there without an outline.

Describe your writing space.

I usually write on the couch in my sitting room with my netbook on my lap, a plate of snacks on my left and my kitty, Horus, sleeping on my right.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

I always want to have my own paperbacks. For that, I have to write novels. So far my works are short stories and novellas. I wish to write my novels in the future.

You focus on writing MM romance. What do you envision happening in the MM genre in the next five to ten years? Do you think it’s just a fashion?

I think it’s going to get bigger and not just a fashion, with more acceptance to gays and lesbians in more countries in the world. I want to see MM books being sold in bookstores like general romance novels here in my country. I’ve never seen one in any places here. It made me wonder for we do have gay books written in my mother tongue by local authors in the bookstores, yet there are no MM foreign books? I know now e-books have reached anyone and any place but it feels great to see MM paperbacks in bookstores sitting side by side with the likes of Sandra Brown or Nora Roberts.

**March Madness **

A book to read this month—Back to His Roots by Patrick Wendling-Markwell

A film we absolutely must watch—Noah, with Russell Crowe

Favorite place to read—On my porch

What would we find under your bed if we had a look right now? Just boxes with old magazines, I guess. :)

What is the most embarrassing thing your mother ever did to you?// Or if you have children, what is the most embarrassing thing you’ve done to them? I can’t think of anything embarrassing my mother did to me. Well, she always told anyone how weepy I was when I was a kid, but that’s a fact. LOL.

A Home for Jesse

by Iyana Jenna

Published by JMS Books
Length: 19,909 words

Jesse Gray can’t get more unlucky. His roommate left him and he gets kicked out when he can’t afford the rent. Next, the owner of the fast food joint where he works part-time suddenly tells him he no longer works there. Jesse still has a job as a PA on a movie set but the pay will never be enough to afford even the cheapest room in Hollywood. There’s only one place left to stay the night -- in the park.

Trey Miller is the star on a TV series where Jesse works. They bump into each other one night while leaving the set, and Trey thinks Jesse is much too good-looking to only be a PA. When he learns of Jesse’s financial condition, he offers a place to stay at his house. Having no other options, Jesse reluctantly accepts the offer, but what’s the catch?

~~~EXCERPT ~~~

Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

This ain’t so bad. Jesse pats his laden backpack. He stretches himself on the bench and lowers his head onto the bag, grimacing at the bumps pressing against his head and neck. Awesome. He is going to have major cricks and headaches come morning. That is if he’s not suffering from early signs of pneumonia.

Jesse shifts and grunts and finally gives up. He sits up, takes off his jacket, and spreads it over his front before he lies down again. Moving a bit again to find the most comfortable position, he thinks, Fuck, now my shorts are stuck in the crack of my ass. Jesse reaches down and pulls them free -- ah, that’s better.

He takes a deep breath. So he’s a bum now, is he? His ma would be heartbroken if she knew. She could blame him for being such a hard head and insisting on having his own way. Jesse stares blankly at the leaves swaying on treetops, at the shadows of the swings dancing in the dark, at the stars blinking mockingly down at him. At least the fact that they are up there means that the sky is cloudless and Jesse doesn’t need to worry about the possibility of rain tonight. Getting soaked when the only place he has to sleep is this park would be a pain in the ass, not to mention hazardous to his health. Jesse also hopes no cops will come patrolling tonight.

Weary to the bone, Jesse curls both hands under the side of his face and gives in to slumber.

* * * *

“Come on, Trey, one more glass. Don’t be a spoilsport.”

What one more glass means for Brent must be different from what it means for Trey. They have been here for hours. Trey had sneaked a glance at his watch once. It showed four -- and that must have been half an hour ago. Still there is no sign they are leaving soon.

Trey regrets his decision not to drive his own car and ride with Brent instead. Fuck. He’s going to screw up his shot big time tomorrow -- or rather, this afternoon.

“What celebration am I spoiling again?” Trey leans forward. Brent looks taken aback but he immediately offers a smile, which looks more like a snake’s sneer.

“Trey, that’s not nice.” He wags his forefinger.

“The hell with nice.” Trey rests his head on his folded arms on the table. “I’d rather be with Jess --”

Oops. He slipped up and said it out loud.

Brent and the others sitting around the table seem to come to a consensus to stop whatever they are doing and switch their attention to Trey.

“Jess? Jess who?” Brent asks. “I thought you were with Kimberly.”

Trey feels blood rush into his face but he sighs inwardly in relief that Brent doesn’t know who he was talking about.

“Kimberly? Right. And you said she’d be here! Where is she, Brenton?”

Brent visibly cringes at the name and Trey feels like guffawing. Eat that, asshat!

“My name’s not Brenton.”

“So what? You haven’t answered my question.”

And neither has Trey, but Brent has forgotten about that. Trey gulps down his drink, and tries to shut down from everything going on around him.

Available at: 

JMS Books || Smashwords || Amazon || ArE

About Iyana: 

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has five of them. Their names are Larva, Nyil, Cil, Mermood, and Horus. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Get in touch with Iyana: 

Blog || Website || Amazon|| Goodreads|| Facebook || Twitter

a Rafflecoptergiveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

#8Sunday #SexySnippets #WeekendWritingWarriors: The Witches' Mischief 3

Happy Sunday, lovelies!

 

Today I'm offering another 8 from my recently contracted novel The Three Thieves and the Dom, book 3 of The Witches' Mischief series. 

 

Last week we were with Conall while he was on his way to find his girls. This week, I'm giving you a few lines from one of the girl's perspective. Grace is alone and remembering Conall...  
 

 

*creative editing to keep to the guidelines has most definitely taken place*

#SexySnippets and #8Sunday Sentences  

  

 

Slipping off her gloves, Grace placed them together with her bonnet on top of one of the trunks. She stared at the chest directly in front of her. Softly, she placed her palm on the rough surface, running her fingers over it and feeling every dent and splint of the wood. She missed him. It was silly, really, but touching his things made her feel closer to him.

She closed her eyes, remembering his musky scent and the way his rugged jaw scratched her skin 

 

every time he kissed her. She loved it. She loved the burn he left behind mingled with the soft touch 

 

of his lips.

More Weekend Writing Warriors? Click Here  || Follow them on Facebook and Twitter

More Sexy Snippets? Click Here  || Follow them on Facebook and Twitter

The Three Thieves and The Dom - Book 3 of The Witches' Mischief Series

Conall Dougal, infamous rake, wakes up one morning to find his most precious possessions have been stolen by the women he loves. Devastated, he goes in their search determined to find them and extract the truth from them in any way possible.  

Penelope, Isidora and Grace are on the run. They’ve committed a crime and left behind the man they love. Presumably safe, they are stunned when he turns up ready to claim them back and discover the truth.

But, what is the truth? And will Conall’s special kind of coaxing make them speak?*

*Unedited blurb

Learn more about Books 1 & 2 here: http://www.elyzabethmvaley.com/naughty-fairy-tales-the-witches-mischief-series.html 

#TNTConfidential Author Spotlight on Jewel Quinlan & Rock Star Ex audio version

Happy Thursday darlings! Don't have time to read? Not to worry, Jewel Quinlan's book Rock Star Ex is now available in audio book version!

 Rock Star Ex is Now Available in AudiobookVersion

You can now find it on Audible, Amazon and iTunes

Written by: Jewel Quinlan

Listening Time: 3 hrs and 6mn

Narrated by: Josh Goodman

Social media consultant, Eve Everett, is less than thrilled when her business partner hooks them up with a job covering celebrity rock band Arsenal.  Their new lead singer, Devon Quinn, is the man who broke her heart five years ago.  But there’s no way Eve can turn down the assignment. It’s the big break their fledgling company needs. 

To boost Arsenal’s social media presence the band’s manager wants intimate coverage, especially of Devon,  which means traveling with the band  in their tour bus while they promote their new album.  It’s not long before Devon tries to rehash the past but Eve would rather leave it buried where it is.

When Eve is asked to be part of a music video, she decides it’s a great opportunity to reap some revenge by showing Devon what he’s missing. But soon she’s the one losing control. Will Devon once again claim her heart as well as her body?

Excerpt:

“It’s good to see you again, Eve,” he said softly so the others wouldn’t pick up on it.  He knew she wouldn’t want to hear it.  It couldn’t be helped, but it just had to be said.

            Her head snapped up, eyes wide.

            “That’s what I wanted to say the other night, but you didn’t give me a chance.”

            Big mistake. 

            Her eyes narrowed.  “I didn’t give you a chance?  Then I’d say we’re even.”

            

“Look, Eve, things didn’t happen the way you’re thinking.  It wasn’t like that.”  He set the bottom of Tommy’s guitar on the floor, his hand on the neck, and leaned closer in to talk to her.

           “The way I’m thinking?” she repeated.  Standing up straight, she stuck one foot out to the side and said in a low hiss, “Look, Devon, the facts are the facts.  You left and I never heard from you again.  Not once.  It has nothing to do with the way I’m thinking.” 

            He tensed.  It was happening again.  She was misunderstanding him.  “No, look, that’s not what I mean, okay?”

            “Oh, then what do you mean?”  She cocked her head at him and waited.

            “It’s…it was hard on the road, to keep in touch with anyone, for a lot of reasons.  You don’t know what it was like.  I mean we were bouncing around from place to place, driving for long periods of time and then having to work until really late at night.  It was pretty much impossible to communicate.  Besides, you had no answering machine back then, remember?”

            She visibly puffed up.  “I see, so it’s my fault you couldn’t communicate with me?”

            “I’m not saying it was anyone’s fault, Eve.  Just that there was no way to call.”  He felt relieved.  He had finally been able to tell her, to explain.  Maybe now she would understand.  Well, when she calmed down at least.

            “And you couldn’t write a letter?”   She spoke quietly but the words dripped acid. 

            She had him there.  Even though she was several inches shorter he suddenly felt very small.  He looked down and stuck a hand in his pocket, not knowing what to say.  That was an even more complicated topic.

            Her cold eyes were on him.  The silence stretched on for another moment.  Before he could gather any other words to try to explain she turned and headed back up front, her ponytail slapping him in the face as she went.

Ebook Version Available At

EvernightPublishing

Amazon

All Romance e-Books

Barnes & Noble

BookStrand

Sony

Apple iBooks

Goodreads– add it to your reading list

About Jewel: 

From a young age, Jewel Quinlan had an abundant imagination and strong desire to write novels.  She particularly enjoys writing paranormal and fantasy romance. An avid traveler, she has visited fifteen countries so far (which she enjoys using as settings in her novels) and has plans to see more of the world. She has a particular fondness for Bavaria and studies the German language as one of her hobbies. During the day, she works as a pharmaceutical sales representative and, at night, she writes romance. She currently lives in Orange County, California with her two dogs; Shimmer and Penny.

For more information visit her websiteand blogor you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter