I saw this quote and thought, “That sums things up perfectly.” You see, I’ve been working with a close friend who started writing just over a year ago, and yesterday she told me she was done. Maybe she’d try again later, but she she’d given herself a year to write a book, and that year was over and she hasn’t met her goal so she was done.

To my way of thinking she had met her goal. She has written a book. A 60k novel. In fact, she’s also re-written a couple of times, and written several short stories as well. While none of them were quite publishable, I saw promise in what she’d shown me. And, she’d told me she really enjoyed writing.

Last night I went see the latest Underworld with one of my neighbours. We’re both movie nuts so this is something we do often, and we always end up talking about other things as well. She’s a writer of sorts for her day job (writing website content and promotional materials and stuff like that) and she asked about how I got into writing erotica. Was it something I’d always wanted to do, was it always erotica that I wanted to write or did I have a yen for other genres…that sort of thing. As I told her the story of how I got into it, I was thinking about how easy it felt when I first started writing. I just sat down, determined I was going to achieve this career, and I wrote.

I never thought about how hard it was or how easy it was. I never thought about did I have enough description or were my characters developed enough. These things didn’t really enter into my mind, most likely because I never really took classes or anything that focussed these things.

Now when I sit down to write all these fill up my head to the point that a blank screen can freeze me up for a day, or more, if I’m not careful. I worry about if it will sell, if it’s been done before, is it what readers expect from Sasha White? Things like that….and writing has become hard.

While I’ve never been a flowery “Oh I just love writing and would do it even if I was never published” type of person, I now think back to when I looked forward to sitting down to write.

For some people education and knowledge helps build their confidence, and for others, it can crumple it. Education and knowledge has made writing more difficult for me…and it seems maybe for my friend as well. But in my mind, I think the thing that makes it most difficult for her is that at her core, she doesn’t believe in herself…and I really wish I could show her that she’s so much better and has so much more promise than she could image, but I have no idea how to do that.

This, more than anything has made it clear to me that you have to be strong to be a writer. Talent is good, but talent alone isn’t enough to make it. Perseverance and hard work are things you can’t back away from if you want this career.

As much as I love being an author, I rarely look forward to sitting at the computer and writing. Which is why it’s so very important to remind myself of this quote every now and then…

‎”I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” ~Art Williams

ROGUE HEART is the sequel to GYPSY HEART. It’s Miranda and Jakes story, and when I started it I thought I knew what was going to happen, but as usual, the characters surprised me. What surprised me even more is that as Iw as writing the story, I knew there was way more to it than I could fit into the short story format needed for the anthology. This has only happened to me once before, WIth SHIFT CHANGE, my short story in the Sex in the Office: Wicked Words Black Lace.

Shift Change was the start of Katie and Joe, and Bound was their story. While I am thrilled to get Miranda and Jake’s story out there, I know it’s just the start. I hope that when you read it, you get as excited to read the rest of their story, as I am to write it.

Here’s a taste of ROGUE HEART to tempt you.

* * * * *

Miranda Grey glanced at the lone body in the pub when she came out of the office after locking everything up. The Zodiac was closed for the night, and she was finally alone with the man who’d been driving her crazy for the past two months.
Ex-military man turned pub cook Jake Wolf was the sexiest guy she’d ever met. Blond hair, blue eyes and muscles that bulged even when he was at rest made heat curl low in her belly every time she looked at him. During the past couple of months the man had made her realize just how hot desire could burn.
More importantly, Jake was the man who made her want to toss aside all the nice girl rules she’d grown up with and become the bold bad girl it would take to tame him. The question was, was she brave enough to actually go for it now that she had him alone?
Damn right she was.
Straightening her spine and pushing out her breasts the way she’d seen so many other women do, she ran a trembling hand over her hair, licked her lips and sauntered toward him. He kept his eyes on the pool table as he lined up a shot then sent the last colored ball into a pocket.
“Alone at last,” she said in what she hoped was a sultry voice. Yes, it was cheesy line, but it was all she could think of. She wasn’t exactly used to making the first move.
Jake’s lips tilted up at one corner. “Finally decided to go for it, huh darlin’?”
Damn it! Was she that obvious?
He’d been using casual touches and seductive smiles to taunt her sensually since the first day they met two months earlier. It was time to turn the tables on him.
Heart pounding, Miranda cocked a hip and studied him, unsure of exactly how to move forward without looking like the inexperienced idiot she felt like. She’d only had three lovers in her life, and none had gotten her as turned on as she was just standing there with Jake. Lord, how she wanted to get him naked and lick him all over. The heat in his eyes, and the butterflies that swarmed in her stomach every time he looked at her promised that he would open up a whole new world for her.
As if he could read her mind he set the pool cue on top of the table and turned to face her completely. “Well,” he said, holding his hands out, palms up. “Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to take a taste?”
His challenge sent a ripple of pure hunger through her. Stepping forward until there were mere inches between them Miranda stood on her tiptoes, braced her hands on his shoulders and kissed him.
He stood still, his lips surprisingly soft and supple…and unmoving beneath hers. Heat built within as she rubbed and nuzzled at closed mouth until with a final frustrated growl she slid her hands into his hair to hold him and thrust her tongue between his lips hungrily. The instant her tongue touched his Jake came alive.
Firm hands circled her waist and pulled her flush against him as he pressed back and took control of the kiss … and of her heart rate.
Fire coursed through her veins and only his touch could put it out. Her sighs turned to moans then to growls as she rubbed and pressed against him. Miranda reveled in the hardness of his cock against her belly as her pulse raced and her insides trembled with her need. She did that. She made him hard with desire.
Jake pulled back, panting and staring deep into her eyes. “Are you sure you want this, Darlin’? I can’t promise you anything.”
“Can you promise me an orgasm?”
His lips twitched. “Yeah, I can promise you that.”
She slid her hands across his shoulders and pulled him against her again. “Then I’m sure.”
With a soft groan and a small shake of his head he kissed her again. Jake’s hands splayed across her back then moved up to cup her face as he deepened the kiss. But it wasn’t enough; he was going too slow, being too gentle. The fire in her blood demanded more from him.
Tearing her mouth out from under his she spoke before she thought. “Touch me, Jake,” she ordered as she met his heated gaze. Covering his hand with hers she led it to her aching breast. “Stop treating me like a damn virgin, and touch me like a woman.”
His eyes widened for a split second then his lips curled into a devilish grin. “Yes, M’am,” he said before he gripped her hips in both hands and lifted her onto the pool table. Stepping between her spread thighs he proceeded to do exactly that.

* * * * *

Trivia Bit: This is my second time published in a Mammoth Book of... The second short story I ever wrote, was published in the Mammoth Book of Women’s Erotic Fantasies in 2004. This was when I first began writing and knew nothing about the industry and the story was published under my given name, and not as Sasha White, the pen name I started using at the urging of my Black Lace editor later that year.

Interestingly, both of the Mammoth anthologies I have stories in were edited by the fabulous Sonia Florens. I’m a lucky gal.

First, let me explain what Fast Drafting is. Basically, it’s focusing on getting 20 pages written a day by not allowing yourself to look back, edit, tweak or flesh out your words. It’s designed so you can puke out the first draft of a novel in one feel swoop. Normally I love this. It’s right up my alley to get things done in a binge fashion, but this time I find that all my characters and ideas are jamming together in my head and on the page.

It’s a first for me, and I think it’s due to the fact that I’ve been thinking about these various stories in a vague way for a couple of years. All of them are erotic, and most are connected. The thing is, I’ve had story ideas simmering, and character profiles growing until I have a good handle on them, but I haven’t actually suited the characters to each other in any firm way, and many of them could be great fits.

It’s sort of like a big nightclub in my mind, and the characters are all circling each other, the air rife with chemistry and sexual attraction, but nobodies actually hooked up yet. *sigh* Someone has to take charge and tell them who they belong with, and I know that someone is me, but it’s not normally the ay I write my stories. Normally I just sort of start writing and the characters take over.

Once they’re all sorted out, I think I’ll have three solid hot, diverse and emotionally touching novels, and at least 2 more solid and deliciously naughty short stories…but right now I struggling.

I am determined though, that by the ned of this weekend I’ll have them corralled and paired up properly…so they can go about all sorts of improper fun.

Instinct had me opening my eyes at exactly the right moment.
Emerging from the oceans waves and coming my way was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen. Water glistened on his copper colored skin, enhancing muscles that rippled with every move. Tearing my gaze from him I swallowed the saliva that pooled in my mouth at the sight of the second man. Two steps behind Rick was Mark. A couple of inches taller, a little leaner, but equally as seductive with his brand of lazy charm and bad-boy ways. And they were both mine.
Christ, I was a lucky woman.
By the time I had my hormones somewhat under control the boys had crossed the expanse of beach from the water to where I lounged, soaking up the afternoon sun. “Don’t!” I cried, throwing up a hand when Ricks’ muscles tensed.
“Don’t what?” he asked, eyes wide with innocence.
Not fooled by his expression one bit I scowled. “Don’t shake yourself like a dog and spray me with water.”
“What’s wrong, Ange, you don’t want to get wet?”
Pulling off my sunglasses I threw him a naughty smile. “Just watching you walk my way got me wet enough, thank you.”
Rick grinned at Mark over my body. “Did you hear that? Just watching me walk makes her wet,” he bragged.
“So I heard,” Mark replied as he looked down at me, lying between them. Before I could think about how much I liked being between them he moved. Nudging me over he stretched out next to me on the oversized wooden lounge chair and laid a large hand on my bare thigh, before looking up at Rick with a smug grin of his own. “Don’t you have a lecture to give or something?”
Rick scowled and snatched the towel off the back of my chair. “Asshole,” he muttered before we all burst out laughing.
When Rick had told us he had a conference to go to in Florida, and it was being held at a beach resort, it had been too good to pass up. Mark and I had come along for the ride, spending our days playing tourist at Epcot Center or lazing about on the beach, while Rick had given several lectures and workshops on software development.
He’d joined us each night in the room we all shared, romping in the big king sized bed and loving us all night, but it was the first time he’d been able to join us on the beach, and it was time for him to go back to work.
“Dinner with the boss,” he growled. “His flight doesn’t leave until ten o’clock and I’m the last one here from our company so I have to entertain him.”
“Then after dinner you’re going to meet us at the beach hut bar, to be entertained, right?” I tried not to wiggle as Mark’s fingers tickled the inside of my thigh and naughty anticipation tightened my muscles. He’d shifted onto his side, his head propped up on his right hand and his body pressed against the length of mine as we watched Rick’s muscles flex and jump as he dried off.
Pulse pounding I glanced from one to the other. They were best friends when I met them over two years ago, and in that time they’d only gotten closer. We’d all gotten closer in the last couple of months since Rick and I had invited Mark into our bedroom on a regular basis. It had been a first for me, but I’d quickly learned that the men had not only shared a woman before, they’d been lovers themselves on and off for years-until Rick fell in love with me. Then he’d called a halt to it, not wanting to cheat. The thing is, I hadn’t been surprised when I’d learned the men had been together like that. Just like Rick hadn’t been surprised by my willingness for the ménage. It might’ve surprised me, but it hadn’t surprised him, the man who knew me better than I knew myself.
“You’ve sure got busy hands today, my friend.”
The tone of Rick’s voice clued me in and my pulse jumped, the arousal caused by Mark’s busy fingers kicking up a notch. “What did I miss?”
“I got our friend off in the water,” Mark said as his gaze left a trail of heat from where his hand was between my thighs to the bottom lip I chewed on in an effort to stay quiet. “When we were standing hip deep in those waves I reached down into his shorts and wrapped my fist around that meat of his. His engines fired up and I jerked him until he threw back his head and came in my hand.”
A whimper escaped and I bit my lip. I glanced over Mark’s shoulder and saw that the nearest people were about twenty yards away, lost in their own world. There were towels thrown on the chairs behind Rick, but no people.
Giving in to the erotic pull of Mark’s teasing I closed my eyes and saw in my mind what I’d missed seeing in the water. Mark’s fingers danced over the lycra covering my crotch, and need soon had me pressing up against his touch.
I sensed Rick moving, then his lips brushed against my other ear as he got in on the erotic torture act.
“He has the perfect grip,” Rick said, knowing exactly how much I loved dirty talk. He scraped a fingernail over the rigid nipple of my right breast and proceeded to draw me a detailed picture of what I’d missed. “Tight, but not so tight that it hurts, firm fingers and sure strokes up and down my cock. All the way, down then up, with his thumb curling over the head in a way that had me fighting not to come because I wanted it to last. The water moved around us and when I spread my legs, the waves tugged at my balls.”
I spread my legs a bit wider, silently inviting Mark to slide his fingers under the edge of my bathing suit. He didn’t, though.
“Rick fucked my hand, getting bigger and harder,” he said in one ear as he dug a grove between my swollen pussy lips until he could feel the rigid bundle of nerves beneath my bathing suit.
“My balls got tight, tingling and drawing up against me as he fisted me,” Rick said in the other as his fingers tugged and teased my rigid nipple.
“His dick throbbed in my hand.” Agile fingers tap-danced over my covered clit.
“I could feel the cum build up, ready to burst free.”
“He panted, just like you are now.”
“I came, cum exploded from my cock and into his hand, the same hand that’s rubbing your clit right now.”
It was too much, the words, the images in my head, the way they touched me out here in the open. Rick pinched my nipple, hard, at the same time Mark pinched my clit and I cried out as pleasure ripped from one nerve ending to another. Rick swooped in, his mouth covering mine, his kiss swallowing my cries as my hands gripped Marks trapped between my thighs.
When I got my breath back enough to open my eyes, Rick and Mark sported identical smirks, their pride as clear as the hard-ons poking at their shorts.
“Well,” I said. “That was unexpected.”
We looked at each other and laughed.
“That was hot,” I said, fanning my face playfully. “We’re lucky no one saw.”
“Someone did,” Rick said with a nod over his right shoulder and I looked past him to see two young guys at the waters edge, staring at us with their mouth’s hanging open. “I was going to tell you they were watching, because we know what a tease you are, but you went off before I could.”
Heat flooded my face as I scrambled to put my sunglasses back on and pretend nothing unusual had happened. He was right. Part of me was mortified that some strangers had seen the two guys playing with me like that, but another part, the part of me that these two encouraged and embraced, loved it.
Rick leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss. “It’s been fun but I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you guys later.”
Mark and I waved him off then settled in on the lounger together. We didn’t talk, and it was completely comfortable.

So, tell me…what do you want to see articles or workshops on? If it’s a subject that I personally don’t feel capable of tackling, I’ll see what I can do about finding someone who can, and getting them to come here…so throw me some suggestions. :)

Have you got everything you need to make 2011 a great year? Personally, I got a few things that I think will help me stay on track this year.

A good attitude is the first item on my list. Kristen Lambs Guest Post at Genreality last week reminded me of just how important our own thought process is to achieving my goals. I signed up for the ZEN page-a-day email calendar. It came just after midnight tonight, and made me grin. It wasn’t a super zen saying, and I’m sure they won’t all hit me between the eyes, but they will remind me that I need to work at being more positive in my mind and thoughts and not just in what I say.

I’m set to read a lot more because I bought myself an iPad. :)
It was tough choice between a Kindle and the iPad, but apple won out for me. Now I just have to remember to not play the games when I should be doing something else.

The other big thing I have to help me get and stay on track this year? A Keurig one cup coffee maker. you see, I’m new to drinking coffeee. I only started in August because when Delilah Devlin and I were on a writing retreat I decided to try and quick my pop habit. She made me coffee each morning, and I drank it. I lasted three days until I gave in and went to the store for some cola. Since then I’ve been slowly trying to replace pop with coffee in my daily drinking, but I’ve been having trouble. I hate making a pot because every pot tastes different and half the time I drink a cup then four hours later have to dump half the pot and make more so I can have another half decent cup. I asked for a one-cup coffee maker for christmas, and as my family would love ot see me quit the pop habit-never mind that I’m the only one in my family who doesn’t drink coffee- I got one. And you know what? I love it! I also love the fact that because it was bought at Costco that it came with 90 k-cups, of all brands and flavours so I can find what I like best. This will help me health wise because I can give up the pop habit and still get my caffiene, and also because -I admit it- I feel a bit more like an adult, and a writer, with a cup of coffee on my desk instead of a coke. How silly is that?

Whatever, it’s what’s in my mind that effects what I do, right?

The other day I asked about resolutions or no…today I’m telling you I have one resolution…to be more positive about myself…all aspects of myself. That means to stop obsessing about my weight, or the fact that I had such a hard time getting back into writing lately. Instead I’m going to focus on how great I feel now, to acknowledge the things I love about myself, and to focus on the joy of writing. That’s not to say it will always be easy. It’s not, I know that, but I am going to focus on the good, and not the bad or hard. And I have to admit, Unit this past week I never realized just how much starting the day with a good cup of coffee helps with that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!