Guest Post: Losing Control

Title: Losing Control
Series: Appointment with Pleasure, #2
Author: Tina Donahue
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Release Date: December 28, 2012
Buy Link: Amazon

Blurb:

When it comes to passion, there are no rules.

She wasn’t supposed to hunger for him. Tim was off limits to Catherine, a high-priced call girl with an uneasy past. Indulging in his raw desire shouldn’t have happened, especially at a party attended by the nation’s elite. Tim doesn’t know she works for the agency. If he did… That’s not something Catherine wants to confess. Drowning in his strength and heat, aching to see him again, she keeps her secret.

Tim has never met anyone quite like Catherine. Exotic, elegant, earthy, she’s the best of all worlds. Their evenings are sensual delights where voyeurism, bondage and a growing bond satisfy carnal needs and stir something deep within—until he stumbles upon the truth.

Shaken by her lies, Tim needs to prove the depth of Catherine’s lust and yearning once and for all. For him, their erotic adventure has only begun.

Guest Post

Lies, lies and more damn lies…

In fiction, characters drive many plots with their lies, well meaning or otherwise. Eventually, their fabrications land them in hot water, threatening their lives, careers, or in the case of romance, their love.

In real life, it’s certainly as dicey.

I’m not one to weave fantastic tales in my private life. I’ve never been a good liar and I’ll tell you why. I was caught at it big-time when I was 14. In those days, I was extremely shy, fairly unpopular and attending an old-girl high school where the kids were privileged and behaved as the entitled often do. I attended the school on scholarship. Think Jo in Facts of Life. I didn’t have gorgeous clothes, nor did I live in a ritzy house. As far as having a boyfriend—yeah, right. I was convinced that was never going to happen for me.

In those dark days, my only escape was the dance classes I took on weekends. The girls there were not as rich, nor as snooty as the ones I went to school with, so when two of them struck up a conversation near me, I decided to join in. They were complaining about their boyfriends as only 14-year-old females can do. Not having a guy to call my own, I thought of a boy I’d met recently at a mixer. Dude totally ignored me. Didn’t matter. I knew his name, and that was enough. With little forethought, I told the girls I was dating him. They exchanged a startled glance. I thought it was because I was too ugly for him to consider going out with me.

Not even close.

Their BFF was dating this guy. So why did I say I was going out with him?

Because I’d lost my mind? I wanted to die. Even now, the memory pains me.

However, it did give me insight into my story for Losing Control, Book Two in my Appointment with Pleasure series. The plot begins with a fabrication that spirals out of control. In the beginning, Catherine believes her lies are necessary, until she falls in love with Tim. Then, it’s nearly impossible for her to make things right again.

Excerpt

He was the one man she’d been forbidden to meet…to sleep with, exploring her most pressing carnal needs. With him, there would be many. Deep, hungry kisses, the feel of his nudity confining hers. His body hot, hard, demanding. His clean skin scented with musk. At the thought of what she wasn’t allowed, Catherine Oliver whimpered. He didn’t hear. He was in the foyer, at the bottom of the mansion’s sweeping staircase, one of tonight’s party attendees, not yet aware of her presence. Good sense told Catherine to slip back into the powder room where she’d checked her makeup and hair a few minutes before. A group of women exited the spacious room now, some young, others matronly, all decked out in pricey gold necklaces, shimmering diamonds, rubies, pearls, designer silks and velvets. They left a trail of subtle perfume in their wake as they moved past her and the landing to the far end of the hall. Expensive fabrics swirled delicately around their ankles, a perfect match to their well-bred murmurs and subdued laughter. Beneath it, Catherine heard Alexa Marsh’s warning in her mind. “Tim Bellamy might be at the party this evening. He’s bad news, believe me. Stay away from him.” Catherine didn’t retreat, not taking as much as a step back. A lifetime of having others say she couldn’t do this or couldn’t be that had nurtured a stubborn streak. It and pure will had propelled her from less-than-humble beginnings to this Georgetown estate tonight. What she knew of Tim Bellamy—along with seeing him in the flesh, so to speak—kept her rooted to the spot, curious, needy for more. She trailed her fingertips over the polished mahogany banister, imagining she was touching the hard planes of his chest, his strong arms, his cock stiffened for her alone. God, he was something. In his early thirties, he wore his dark blond hair cropped short on the sides with a bit of length at the top. After a few minutes of bed play, those thick locks would surely tumble over his forehead. His eyes were gray, his features masculine, downright aristocratic, a strong jaw and rich mouth. The kind a long-ago ruler might have owned, his deep baritone equally impressive as he ordered his newest concubine…an untried virgin…to pleasure him or else. On a quiet sigh, Catherine leaned against the rail, drinking him in. Despite his blond hair and ashy eyes, his complexion was a healthy bronze, as though he’d recently spent time in sun-drenched climes rather than the District’s dreary winter. It wasn’t hard to imagine him naked on a beach, his lean, muscled body flexing with each step he took across the sand, or him riding a horse bareback, his strong thighs hugging the animal, the breeze tugging his hair. A wave of warmth radiated from Catherine’s chest to her face. She gripped the rail, unable to pull her attention from him. His expensive tux draped his frame perfectly. He was a tall man. Six-two according to the dossier the agency had on him. One she’d gone through repeatedly, drooling over his photos, impressed by his education and that he’d turned his back on his family’s business to carve out a career of his own. Not only had he succeeded in that endeavor, those on the Hill respected him. Whether his stand on issues was popular or not, he was a man others knew would never go back on his word. He never promised what he couldn’t deliver. He didn’t lie. Catherine liked that and wished she could say the same about herself, rather than watching him like some sicko voyeur. It was all she was allowed and it wasn’t nearly enough.

AUTHOR BIO:

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic romances (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition.

The French review site, Blue Moon reviews, chose her erotic romance Sensual Stranger as their Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category). The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for Lush Velvet Nights, and two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011 and 2012). Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years).

Tina is featured in the 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com

Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Losing Control, I’m offering a contest.

I’ll choose THREE winners (at random) from those who comment on the various sites during the tour. The more you comment, the greater your chances of winning one of my backlist ebooks from this list:

1.            Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT

2.            Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit

3.            Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award

4.            In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT

5.            Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT

6.            The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller

7.            Take Me Away - #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books

8.            Unending Desire – Best Book Rating LASR

9.            SiNN – Nominated for Book of the Week LASR

10.          Sinfully Wicked – Magnificent – Romancing the Book