Yup. I’m a baaaad baaaaad girl. I write erotic romance. And if there’s a 12-step program for that just keep it to yourself because I’m not interested. Writing erotic romance isn’t something I set out to do. It just evolved. Yes, I’ve always written HOT but eventually I crossed over to the dark side and I’ve never looked back. Not only are erotic writers the most fun people to be found anywhere, they are kind, accepting, non-judgmental and possess a great sense of humor. Who wouldn’t want to write in this genre and be around such cool people?

The other day an erotic romance writer was wondering how to respond to snarky comments from others about the kinds of books she writes. Being the generous women they are, a number of writers replied offering their experiences and some very cool responses. Many years ago, I was with a group of local women, only about five or six, and we all knew each other since our daughters were friends. At this time I wrote romance and hadn’t yet begun my little voyage toward the naughtier stuff. Now, I live in a really bible-belty area in Texas. Very conservative. I seldom bring up the subject of my writing. Sometimes that is safer. Anyway, one of the ladies goes….hey, are you still writing? I smile and say…yes, I am. I’m having lots of fun with it. Nope, didn’t make a big deal and that’s my standard response to this stuff. Often the subject will drop right then and other times…no. This time however the questions came at me fast and furious. Surely I wrote childrens books or something, one said. I laughed and said, no, I write romances. One of the women who had been very quiet through the discourse kind of lifted her nose and smirked a little (I’ll NEVER forget that smirk) and said….sometimes I like to read trash but not usually.

I swear.

A gasp went up among the other women and I honestly didn’t know what to say. They quickly came to my defense saying things like…I loooooove romances. How fun! What a great thing to write! Blah blah. I swore then and there I would never be caught ‘flat footed’ again. I learned that day that I have a rebellious streak. It had been well hidden but she was born kicking and screaming that day. Now, when someone gives me this ‘raised eyebrow’ look, I am prepared.

My standard response (always delivered with a smile and using my sweetest voice)? Why yes, I DO write romances and not only that, but I write erotic romance. That usually shuts em up immediately. Sometimes they sniff and look like they’ve sucked on lemons and I’ll laugh. Sometimes I’ll laugh AND shake my head a little. That totally throws them off. Other times, I’m completely surprised by a reaction. I’ve been literally grabbed by the shoulders, shaken, and had someone yell in my face….OMG OMG, where can I get your books? Lately I’ve learned that erotic romance readers are EVERYWHERE. We have an active underground in these parts and that surprised me…pleasantly.

Do you have a standard response to genre snobbery? I’d love to hear it.

Read something the other day about a writer who’d posted an excerpt of one of her books and she got an email from some ‘concerned person’ that the names of her characters were the same as characters in a television show. The implication was that she had ‘copied’ those names and used them in her book. The male character (the hero) had an unusual name but it is ‘out there’ and has been for a very very long time. The woman’s name? Ordinary in every way. We’ve all known someone by this name and have read it a gazillion times in a million books. AND she wasn’t a central character in this author’s story.

Let me just say this. There are no new plots or new names. Everything has been used before in some way, shape or form. What makes each story different is the individual author’s voice. An author who uses the pen name Nora isn’t guilty of stealing from the other very famous Nora. If you have a character named Mary are you ’stealing’ from the other authors who have heroines named Mary? Get my drift? Yes, there are real issues involving plagarizm out there but this involves someone writing the exact thing with no variation of plot twists and lifting exact passages from another book. I’m not an expert on this issue by any means. I’ve never been accused of it nor known anyone who has but most authors read about this stuff.

We all want to be original, to write something different and unique but the simple fact is this, there will always be something in our story that has been done before. I honestly believe we must just relax, write the story of our heart in our own way and not worry about the rest. Make sense?

Those cupids are pesky little devils! They are flyin’ around all over the place with Valentine’s Day only a few day away. Admittedly, when I was much younger, I got all mooshy and gooey over this particular holiday but these days? Not so much. Maybe when you’ve been married 27 yrs. it all becomes rather ‘old hat’. Or maybe it’s just US. Ha. Who knows? Mr. Regina tends to be a practical, rather than romantic, guy. His idea of showing he loves me is to wash and wax my car,get it filled up and put ’shiny stuff’ on the tires. Mr. Romance. Ah but you’ve gotta love that and, in a way, respect it. During the early years of our marriage he would call me up, sigh loudly and say…ooooookay what kind of perfume do you want? I’ve always laughed about stuff like that but, hey, that’s probably why our marriage works.

I’ve come to realize over the years that some guys are talkers and some are doers. I’ll take a doer over a talker any day. He is dependable, tough, and the guy everyone goes to in a crisis. A few days ago he called and said…damn, honey, those roses are getting more expensive every year. I’m thinkin’…hmmmm. He’s thinking about Valentine’s Day here and this is a verrrry broad hint. So I say…wellll, I don’t think a guy HAS to go with roses, ya know. Those big, splashy gerber daisies are wonderful. He says…splashy huh? So I laugh. I say…yeah, SPLASHY. A few minutes later he calls to ask if our daughter’s apartment office will call her to pick up flowers or will they just deliver them directly and then calls to for my mother’s exact house number.

No wonder he didn’t want to do roses. He’s getting flowers for all of us! My daughter, my mom, his mom, and me. Now WHO SAYS he isn’t just a little bit romantic and very thoughtful. I’m not all that worried about the surprise being blown to hell and back. After all, Mr. Regina is about as subtle as a Mack truck. Gotta love that.

I believe the best Valentine’s Day thing he has EVER done was in 1986. I was eight months pregnant and feeling big as a damn cow or errrr….elephant. My Valentine was big, red, and featured a comical Elephant on it. After I laughed and smacked him with the card, he gave me a beautiful pair of pearl studs. An awwww moment. Gotta love that…laughter and a few happy tears.

January is almost over…thank GOD. Don’t know what it is about this month that bums me out so much. Maybe it’s the whole “after holiday letdown” thing or the dreary weather. I’ve been in a wicked funk but think I’ve finally turned the corner on that bit o blues. Weather in Texas is pretty darn sun-shiny now so I’m ready to get my HAPPY on.

Just signed on to do a multi author series for Ellora’s Cave with Desiree Holt and Ciana Stone and I’m psyched! This is a Texas-themed series and you KNOW I love to write those. Think hot cowboys and such! Still working on my story for EC’s Cougar Challenge along with another series story that I’m doing with Desiree Holt and Cindy Spencer Pape so I’m busy busy. No room for the blues here because there’s just too much going on.

Friday I’m meeting up for a mini reunion with sorority sisters. YAY. We recently re-connected on facebook and I haven’t seen these ladies in years. Really looking forward to it.

In other news, I just got a very nice review from Coffeetime Romance for Smokin’ Ace (Resplendence Publishing). Here’s an eensy bit.
Smokin Ace is full of passion, but the love between Chloe and Ace is what truly stands out. Regina Carlysle has taken a passionate love and enveloped it in sizzling hot sex. I found the story an exciting read that I was unable to walk away from until the end. I recommend Smokin Ace for a lovely interlude in life.

Smokin’ Ace is just one of the delicious tales in the Carnal Reunion series. It’s available now at Fictionwise or from Resplendence Publishing. Also just got word the entire anthology will soon be available in print. So YAY! Will let you know about the date and such.

Aw well, the kids have all gone back to college now and I feel like an empty nester all over again. Just when I was getting used to the quiet house, they come back, leave again and now I have to re-adjust once more. A continuing cycle. Spent yesterday kind of getting my house back in order and I’m looking at TODAY as if it’s the first real day of the New Year. I’d kind of hit a little snag in the story I’m writing for Ellora’s Caves Cougar Challenge. Working title for this one is DRILLED. Ha. Yeah, the hero is an oil field driller working in west Texas, hence the title. Anyway, I was on the road for five hours on Saturday…driving ALONE. The south plains of Texas are fairly desolate so it was just me and my music and miles and miles of nothing. My brain chose the long tedious drive to become overly active. Love when that happens! So I found a way past my little plotting hitch and the dang book just unfolded in my mind. Today I’m ready to kick off MY official new year and continue on. Sometimes brainstorming with friends helps but it’s also nice being creative all by your lonesome.

In other news, I got my first review of Edge of Nowhere, Book 4 in the High Plains Shifters series (EC). Two Lips gave it a FIVE. YAY! Here’s a link to read the review and while you are there, make sure to read my Author Interview for details about entering my month long contest at Two Lips Review.
http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4742&Itemid=36

I have a terrrrrible head cold today and, yeah, I’m a bit out of it but I have a new release TODAY at Ellora’s Cave. Jaguar Hunger (a shifter menage). Most know that I’m a huge shifter lover. I’ll still write my popular High Plains Shifters series because I just won’t give up my Texas wolves but a girl has to try knew things sometimes. Right? I find the big cats so appealing and couldn’t resist building a world featuring them. Jaguar Hunger may soon become a new series for me. I’m not kidding. Loved writing them and I just have this sneaky feeling there are more lonely jags out there who need the love of a good woman to bring them around. What do you think?

I’ve been interviewed by the crazy crew at Two Lips Reviews as one of their featured authors for January. Head on over, check things out and get all the details for entering a contest. I’ll be giving away a box of goodies…signed books, Ellora’s Cave playing cards, a lovely Tarot card set, and other neat stuff!
Here’s the link:

http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=33

Also tomorrow is DROP DAY for my jaguar shifter menage Jaguar Hunger at Ellora’s Cave. Wanna see the cover? I’d been wanting to feature a Native American hero for a long time so Noah Littlehawk was born. Of course Aaron O’Malley is pretty smokin’ hot, too. I’ll have purchase deets later.

I’d like to be able to say that 2010 will be a hell of a year but I can’t predict that. We never know about the future. Maybe that’s what makes a brand new year so exciting. The anticipation. The mystery. Back when I was a mere youngster, I had this tendency to try to visualize things several years down the road. Maybe a lot of starry-eyed kids do that but these days, I try to keep things more in perspective. I know full well there will be good days, bad days and just flat out blah days but I’ll go with the flow and my resolution this year is to carve out as many awesome days as possible.

The thing I DO know is that I will value my friends and treat them with respect. I will love my family and hold them close. I will write until there are no more words and try my best to be a good person, friend, and mom. Looking at the coming year, I have hope. That’s all we can really ask for.

At this time of year, I think a lot of us get a little introspective. Right now it’s quiet around here and I’m still having my morning coffee but I woke up feeling a tad melancholy. Yeah, this was a good year for me and I honestly hate to see it go.

I released 6 books this year. Not bad at all. I delved into the paranormal shifter world and found I have an audience for the guys (and girls) who turn furry sometimes. I also released two hot little contemporaries, Smokin’ Ace (Resplendence) and Hotter Than Hell (Ellora’s Cave Caveman anthology). This year also gained me many new friends whom I just love to pieces and also saw me become an empty nester. Now THAT was a little sad but my college freshman is doing so good, spreading her wings, so it all worked out despite the initial worries.
In just a few short days, it’ll be time to push ahead into the new year and already I have big plans. My first jaguar shifter book arrives on EC’s cyber shelves on January 6th. Helluva way to start the year, I’m thinking and I’m knees deep in a cougar story that I’m writing as part of the Ellora’s Cave Cougar Challenge. Hoping to have this one subbed to my editor in a few weeks. I’m doing another series with Desiree Holt and Cindy Spencer Pape, writing a second Jaguar shifter story and adding more books to the High Plains Shifters series. Oh yes, and there’s Romanticon. EC’s big bash next year is a MUST GO TO event. Do you have plans for the coming year? Big Plans? If not, time is counting down to give it some thought.
I’ve learned a few things this year too. I’m more self-confident and I’ve gained a bit more ambition. I’m reaching out to do things that I never thought I’d do. Guess that’s called GROWTH. I like the concept and hope it continues in the year to come.

Here it is a few days before Christmas and things are jumping personally and career-wise. Just got a pic and author copies of Flavors of Ecstasy IV from Ellora’s Cave. My story, Hotter Than Hell (a sizzling little contemporary) is included in the collection. It comes out tomorrow so head over the http://www.jasminejade.com and check it out.

Lately I’ve been writing so many paranormal stories that it was kind of fun just doing a straight modern story. I loved every minute of writing it and hope it shows. Here’s a little blurb of the story.  

Ellie Grant hasn’t had the best luck with men, unless you count her friendship with Sam Dare—a friendship on the cusp of change as the sexy fireman challenges her to a weekend of no-holds-barred, hotter-than-hell sex.

Sam had spent plenty of restless nights aching for Ellie and he’s grown tired of waiting for her to notice the attraction. As a firefighter, he knows a little something about heat and, as far as he’s concerned, Ellie is the only woman who can make him burn.

 

Also got a brand new cover for Jaguar Hunger, my new shifter/menage. This one comes out Jan. 6 at EC. I’ll post it for everyone later in the week.