Desiree Holt, Guest Blogger :: Do you trust me?

I think writing is something that has always been in my soul. I’ve written for magazines, newspapers, newsletters, you name it. But in my heart lay the blossoming desire to write…..a book. The book. After all, I thought, how hard can it be? Boy, talk about delusional. When we finally retired and I had the chance to sit down and write, I stared at the same three chapters for two months.

And here’s where I make my secret confession. Except for one book in high school, unlike most romance writers, I had never read a romance until five years ago. I know, I know. Shameful. I feel as if I should beat myself badly about it. But there it is, the very sad fact.

I stumbled through that first manuscript, which was truly awful, but with the help of a great critique group, finally learned about those pesky things like POV, head hopping, backstory, show don’t tell, all the things you’ve never heard iof until you get that first heart-shattering rejection.

Writing erotic romance was the result more of a dare than anything else. I have friends who write nothing else, and my hunky husband challenged me to do the same. A challenge to write erotic romance? By my husband? But my god, I said. I’m a grandmother. What will people think? They’ll say, who the heck does that old lady think she is?

On the contrary. They’ll think you’ve led a very exciting life,” he laughed, and urged me to do it.

I was sitting with a manuscript that also wasn’t going much of anywhere, a romantic suspense that editors either didn’t find romantic or didn’t find suspenseful…or didn’t like at all. But this is one of my babies, I cried, soaking my keyboard with my tears.
So turn it into one of your hot little numbers, my husband said. B y this time I had taken his dare and had sold several novellas and some full length erotic romances, primarily to Ellora’s Cave. So I thought, well, what the hell. Why not?

I took the story, which happened to be one I was totally in love with, kept the basic plot, and rewrote it as an erotic romantic suspense. The great thing abut it is, my characters were so excited they jumped up and down and said, At last! At last! In fact, they nearly ran away with the book and I had to whip them into shape.

But it was worth the very long journey this book had to take to reach publication. Do You Trust Me? Was just released in both ebook and print form January 30 by The Wild Rose Press, and is available in all the usual places. Here’s a little taste of it for you.

Excerpt

What came next stunned her, freezing her in place. McCall put his wine glass down on the counter, reached for her and brushed his lips against hers. Just a brief contact but it seared her down to her toes. Her bones felt as if they were melting and she could have sworn the ground shifted beneath her feet.

Move, her inner voice commanded, but not one of her muscles would obey.

McCall traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, an artist’s stroke painting the surface. A tiny sound whispered from her mouth. As if it was a signal he was waiting for, he captured her in a kiss so hot it burned her lips. His hands cupped her face, holding her head in place, while he fed on her, his tongue pressing inside and tasting the texture of her flesh.

She gripped his wrists but not to pull them away. She couldn’t have broken the kiss if someone paid her to.

Time stood still while he devoured every corner of her mouth, his fingers lean and hot against her cheeks. When he lifted his head his silver eyes had darkened almost to black.

Rina felt dazed and weak.

He studied her face, his breathing uneven. “Two choices. Either tell me to leave or tell me where your bedroom is.”

She had trouble getting the words out. “Upstairs. Last door on the right.”

Book Description

A cryptic message from her brother leaves Rina Devargas with a secret and no one to trust…

Carrying the fate of a nation in a locket next to her heart, Rina’s life is turned upside down as her brother’s partner, McCall, moves into her home under the guise of keeping her safe. Though she surrenders her body to his dark desires, someone betrayed John, and until McCall gives her a sign, Rina can’t be certain that someone isn’t him.

Assigned to protect her, Connor McCall must gain Rina’s confidence the only way he knows how…

Having once shared a night of forbidden pleasure, McCall reawakens her submissive appetite for dominance. However, keeping his mind on the job and his hands off Rina proves difficult–remaining aloof from his feelings for her, even more so.

He’s been down that road and paid a handsome price for it—the life of a fellow agent.

With an assassination plot brewing and killers after Rina, will McCall gain her trust before it’s too late?  Or will their dangerous desires ultimately destroy them all?

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