Guest Post with M.A. Ellis & Giveaway!

SHAKEN AND STIRRED by M.A. Ellis

Susanne is one final challenge away from reaching the pinnacle of the beverage ladder—personal manager for a wealthy member of the private sector. A win at the national competition will assure her success and she’s intent that nothing will stand in her way. Not even the drop-dead sexy cowboy who sidles up to her at the hotel’s bar.

Trey is under express orders to find Susanne, weed her from the herd of other contestants and do whatever it takes to have her disqualified. It’s a foolproof plan—until the auburn haired beauty shows more than a passing interest in a bit of yee-haw rope play.

Before she realizes what he’s about, Trey has Susanne’s hands expertly bound and she’s forced to make a choice: play it safe or allow him full rein for an evening of uninhibited loving that leaves them both shaken and stirred.

REVIEWETTE

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Guest Post:

Greetings one and all, and thanks for the invite VampFanGirl! I’m thrilled to be here offering up a ‘get-to-know-the-author post’. Thank goodness I have a book or two to talk about because the ‘who is M.A. Ellis’ segment will be pretty short.

I’m a mother of adult boy/girl twins who continue to make me smile/cringe with their ever changing outlooks on life. I’m recently divorced and navigating the turbulent waters of Mar del Midlife...word to the wise, don’t set forth in a rickety, old wooden boat. Go for the fiberglass model...one that’s shiny and fast and keeps our not-quite-as-toned bodies from bouncing around too much. Read that as whatever analogy works best for you: new man, new body, new mindset.

I love to cook and bake and eat...and all three of those addictions show up in some form or another in my writing. And I try to find at least one tidbit of humor each and every day...it adds to those pesky laugh lines but it also infuses merriment into my hot and steamy tales of happily ever after.

I consider myself fairly new at the field of romance. My first book, THE CAKE BABE, was published by Ellora’s Cave in June of 2007 and no one was more surprised than yours truly to have an erotic romance with my name on it. Years ago I wrote a lengthy historical romance that won a contest and went to a New York pub...who sent me a lovely four-page, hand written rejection letter. Yes, that many years ago when people actually picked up pen and put it to paper. My children were three years old at the time and I could not fathom trying to revise while juggling temper tantrums and Ninja Turtle marathons. Although I did zone out more than a few times and dream of that Casey Jones action figure coming to life and sweeping me off my feet.

I put the manuscript, and the rejection letter, away and went on with life as a mom and corporate wife and it wasn’t until I went back to college at the age of 38 that I considered writing again. I had a very supportive creative writing teacher who forced us to step out of our comfort zone and write something totally different for our final portfolio, so I did. I wrote The Subtleties of Silence, a little erotic poem that zeroed in on two lovers who don’t need words to understand what they each crave. My professor was shocked, the class critique was off the charts and when I decided, six years later, to start writing full time...it was the genre that wrapped itself around the creative corner of my mind. Nine books later, my strong heroines and sexy heroes don’t appear to be releasing their death grip. I never really know where they’re going to lead me. And just like offspring, they usually try to push the boundaries, as was the case with SHAKEN AND STIRRED.

My publisher was looking for stories that had a drink theme and I immediately thought of a Top Chef-like competition that encompassed food AND drink. My heroine is a bar manager who is determined to win and make the move to the affluent private sector. And I knew my hero was going to be in town with a rodeo because I’m a closet PBR fan but didn’t want to make him a typical cowboy—he’s a championship bull breeder. What I didn’t expect was my heroine having a hidden bondage kink...and him being the gentleman that he is...it was only a matter of time before the rope play was revealed! It was my first light BDSM story. I’ve had another, NOT QUITE VANILLA, just release from Total E-Bound. That one is a sweet little blending of bondage and chocolate. It’s just as yummy!

I had a great time writing SHAKEN AND STIRRED and got a kick out of incorporating some of my favorite celebrity chefs as judges for the final round of the beverage division. They may not all be addressed by name, but anyone who loves food...or the Food Network...will recognize them.

I’m currently working on a book that explores the world of voyeurism and exhibitionism. It’s an older woman/younger man story, which I really love to write. And read! I also have a definite August release from Ellora’s Cave that is part of their creative arts theme: FILIGREE AND FANTASY. It’s set in Macedonia and has shape shifting Macedonian shepherds as secondary characters. Those minor characters somehow always make themselves known. I have a series of six brothers, the Hot Hendersons, that appeared out of nowhere in my first book. Four of them have their own tales told. I still have the twins to finish!

Giveaway Details:

Thanks again VampFanGirl for inviting me to tell you a little about myself and my stories, one of which I’m giving away as a PDF.

Drop me an email at maellis.author(at)gmail(dot)com and write “LOVIN’ ME SOME ROMANCE” in the subject line and a winner will be drawn on Tueday 5-11-10.

In the meantime, happy reading!
M.A. Ellis

A big thank you to M.A. Ellis for the awesome giveaway and for such a wonderfull and entertaining get-to-know-you post. I know I spent a great evening reading one of her many books and for any erotic romance lovers looking to spice up their reads, M.A. Ellis is a fabulous way to accomplish that.