A Small Bite of... Donna Gallager

When the idea of writing a story with a food theme was bandied about I didn't hesitate to put my hand up.

It's not that I am overly interested in food or cooking - Just ask my family.

The reason behind my interest was I immediately thought of my mother.

Mum loved eating mangos. She lived for the summer months, swimming in the surf and sunbaking until she went a golden brown - a past time that is frowned upon these days, I know!

She also loved summer fruit. In particular the mango but she always complained how messy you became indulging in the juicy treat. On more than one occasion she decided that it would be easier to just sit in a bath while she ate so she didn't need to worry about the juice dripping everywhere.

It was an interesting sight to behold! So I took that idea and the story just about wrote itself. I know if Mum was still with me she would approve, so Mum this one's for you.

Blurb:

Love, marriage and starting a family, is the dream for many couples. But when responsibility and life get in the way, what happens to their relationship? Can a second honeymoon really help Beth and Ben bridge that growing divide between them? And bring back the fire and passion that has slowly, through years of neglect, ebbed away.

 

An excerpt from A Fruitful Intimacy

Beth hadn’t had a chance to check the time, but she knew Ben was late—again.

The twins had been exceptionally hyper since arriving home from school, joining forces to annoy their brother who in return had spent the afternoon moaning at her. All three little devils had all tested her patience to the limit. Beth had wanted the house to be tidier, in some sort of order before Ben got home from work, but as usual what she wanted and what happened where two different things entirely.

By the time Ben walked through the front door the house was mayhem. She had bits of pasta sauce splashed over her face, on her clothes and spaghetti in her hair.

“Hello-o-o! Any one home?”

“Perfect!” she mumbled as she heard Ben shout a welcome to them.

“Stop right there, you lot. I’m not finished with you,” she yelled as the kids scrambled from the table, squashing and spreading food even further as they continued to completely ignore her protests over their bad behaviour at the dinner table. Beth still couldn’t believe they had participated in a food fight, right there in front of her. She raced after her brood, trying to catch them before Ben had to listen to all three clamouring at once, trying to get their version of the preceding chaos heard, hopefully bringing a reprieve from their father.

“Boys…I…said, stop!” she roared at the top of her lungs.

Judging by the shocked look on all four faces turned her way, Beth realized she had shouted very loudly.

“Whoa there everyone, let’s all take a breather.” Beth heard Ben say as she stormed toward them. “Beth, are you okay?”

Great. Now, not only did she look like some crazed reality chef gone wrong, but she was screaming like a shrew. No wonder the man wants nothing to do with me!

“Your sons thought it acceptable behaviour to have a food fight at the table. You arrived just as I was trying to discipline them. If you had been home when you promised, this probably wouldn’t have happened at all.” Beth really hadn’t meant to add that last bit. The words had just flown from her mouth before she could stop them. This was not about her and Ben’s problems, this was about the kids.

“Don’t start Beth. I know, time just got away from me—” Ben’s cell phone came to life in his pocket, the familiar ringtone stealing his attention.

Beth watched him take the intrusive device from his pocket and glance at the screen. Do not answer that call Ben. She noticed the change in his facial features. The way he went from looking weary at the scene playing out in front of him, to being excited, happy about whoever it was calling him.

 “Sorry, I need to get this, it’s important.”

About Donna Gallagher

Sydney-born Donna Gallagher decided at an early age that life needed be tackled head on. Leaving home at 15 she supported herself through her teen years.

In her twenties she married a professional sportsman, her love of sport -- especially rugby league -- probably overriding her good sense.

The seven-year marriage was an adventure. There were the emotional ups and downs of having a husband with a public profile in a sometimes glamorous but always high-pressure field.

There were always interesting characters to meet and observe and even the opportunity to live for a time in the UK.

Eventually Donna returned home a single woman, but she never lost her passion for watching sport, as well as the people in and around it.

Now happily re-married and with three sons Donna loves coffee mornings with her female friends, sorting through problems from the personal to the international. But she's on even footing with the keenest man when it comes to watching and talking rugby league.

Donna considers herself something of a black sheep in a family of high achievers. Her brother has a doctorate in mathematics and her sister is a well-known sports journalist.

An avid reader, especially of romance, Donna finally found she couldn't stop the characters residing in her imagination from spilling onto paper. Naturally rugby league is the backdrop to her spicy 'League Of Love'
(Available from Total-E-Bound) tales of hunky heroes and spunky heroines overcoming adversity to eventually find true love.

Where to interact with Donna:

Website      Twitter      Facebook

A Short Bite With... Tamsin Baker

Today, I'm overjoyed to have another of my Hotter Than Hades buddies joining me for a Short Bite.  This is a series of interviews with members of the Edible Delights Anthology authors!

Hello Imogene,

Thank you so much for hosting me today.

I have been asked the question of how I came up with the story line for 'Hidden Talents,' and that's easy.
But how I came about joining the anthology, now that's a bit more complicated.

Last October I was floating around the RWA facebook page and found myself asking questions about BDSM. Susan Childs crooked her finger and said, 'come this way,' and invited me into the Erotic Writers group.

I was home!

I had, unfortunately missed the setting up of this anthology and didn't understand what people were talking about when it was discussed.

When I finally got the courage up to ask if I could submit, they told me that most the spots were full but I could try for the third edition.Well, I had asked if I could join, but was stuck for ideas. So, while on
facebook, I asked a friend of mine for a food related plot idea. Kate literally wrote-

'How about a story where a chef meets a food critic and doesn't know it's her, because she writes under a pen name, then they have a one night stand and she has to review his restaurant.It goes horribly and it all blows up when he finds out that she's the one who wrote the review.'

Image (Chef Using Digital Tablet) courtesy of Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thus, I had my story line.

I began writing it and two days later, the organizer posts that she needs a fourth story for submission in the first book, by the following week.

Now, I write fast when I want to, and they didn't know that at the time, so I put my hand up and said I could probably finish a first draft if they were willing to critique for me.

Well, in ten days I had written, critiqued, rewritten and submitted 14,200 words.Not bad and as it was my first attempt at an erotic piece, I was pretty rapt!

I hope you guys enjoy 'Hidden Talents,' and the other three stories contained within the Edible Delights Anthology.

Here's a short excerpt to introduce you to Mark and Amanda.

Excerpt:

“Hi, I’m Mark Dovell.”

He held out his hand and I hesitated for just a moment before reaching out with my own. His hands were big, strong. Much like I assumed the rest of him would be. My inner cavewoman jumped over his shoulder in an effort to speed the process up. She’s not a patient woman.

“I’m Amanda Cleminson. This is my friend Natalie.”

I dragged my gaze reluctantly away from him to indicate to my friend, but I managed. Well done me!

“How did you two lovely ladies come to be invited to this stuffy event?” He indicated their ritzy surroundings and Natalie burst into a round of nervous giggles. Natalie found large, beautiful men intimidating, one of the many reasons she remained single.

“Oh, Amanda works for The Sun, she invited me along.”

I smiled at Mark before turning to glare at my loudmouthed best friend. She knew how I felt about people knowing what I did. She grimaced in apology. I looked back at the hot male in front of us, hoping he wouldn’t push for more information.

“Oh? What do you do at The Sun, Amanda?”

So much for that. I stepped closer to Natalie, pressing into her in a silent plea for her to keep her mouth shut. This wasn’t the moment for her to forget her promise to me. She never meant to cause any harm, but she could be very ditzy sometimes.

“Oh just the layout, computer stuff mostly.”

Mark looked puzzled, his eyebrows furrowing over his amazing light green eyes. He stepped back to look down at my red pointed heels before his eyes slowly made their way up to my short, fitted black dress. Thank heavens I had worn something so flattering.

I flushed, unable to stop the unconscious reaction at the arousal in his eyes.

“Funny, you don’t look like a computer geek.”

Natalie opened her mouth before I could stop her.

“She has a master’s in journalism.”

When I elbowed my loudmouthed best friend this time, she broke into a round of giggles. Natalie knew I didn’t want anyone knowing what I did for a living. But put a beautiful man in front of her and she turns into a typical blonde bimbo.

I shifted my focus back to Mark, the green-eyed god, as he continued to slide his gaze over me. He must be well into his thirties, yet his eyes only held the slightest amount of wrinkles in the corners. Some people age so well.

“Really?” he asked again, one eyebrow rising in question.

I smiled a sexy smile. Time to divert the conversation.

“You’re the head chef and part owner of Le ‘Quin?”

Mark laughed, which made him look even sexier. He threw his head back as he released a proper belly laugh. My mouth dropped open a little as he graced me with the most gorgeous smile I’d ever seen.

“I hoped you wouldn’t know.”

His flirty words rolled off his tongue with practiced ease. I didn’t believe him for one minute. Time to call his bluff, and perhaps attract his attention? I could flirt up a storm when I wanted to, just often didn’t bother. Tonight, I was bothering.

“Yes you did. You play on the fact you’re so talented and successful, I’m sure. But I can pretend if you like.” I batted my eyelashes as obviously as possible, aiming the tone of my voice into the sickly sweet range. “Oh Mark, did you say what you do for a living?”

Again, he burst out laughing, which caused a quiver up my inner thighs. Too much time had passed since I had good sex, actually too long since I had sex full stop. Everything about him screamed ‘I will fuck you good.’ I was listening.

“I’m a chef actually.” He smiled, playing along with the game.

I bit my lip as cutely as possible and watched as his gaze dropped to my mouth. I had a nice mouth, why not throw everything I had at him?

“Oh how horrible, such unsocial hours.”

His eyes lit up again. God they were gorgeous. Who has his sort of colouring?

“They are, I agree. But being a chef has advantages. I could cook you anything your heart desired.”

He licked his lips, which caused my lower belly to pull tight again. Time to do something about this flirting, I’m done playing. There would be no beating around the proverbial bush tonight.

“I’m quite hungry now. The food here is shocking.” I indicated the tables lined with every delicacy you could think of. All top quality. I should know, as I had sampled almost everything before he’d come over.

“Perhaps you could take me home? Cook something for me now?”

I held my breath to see if my very ballsy move worked, having never said such a thing to a man before.

Bio:

I am an Aussie girl who LOVES to read.
I spent the first fifteen years of reading romance looking for the "good" bits.
Then I found erotic romance and pure erotica reading.
Wow did my head space change.
I could now read what I wanted and found I could write a little too.
I'm only beginning this journey but I look froward to putting out los of books in the future and reading even more!
Enjoy and thank you.

Where to catch up with Tamsin Baker:

Website   Amazon     Blog

A Short Bite With ... Khloe Wren

As many of my readers will know, I'm one of the authors from the Edible Delights Anthology Volume Two. As some may not know, I've been there since the beginning. So I'm taking great pleasure in hosting the authors of Volume One here!

Today, I'd like to introduce to you a lady some of you have heard of before (she's also one of my besties! That makes it even more exciting!!)... 

Khloe Wren

Thanks for having over to your place again, Imogene! It’s always a pleasure… I’m sure there were bubbles and strawberries last time… Oh, there they are!

I have the pleasure and honour of joining some of my friends and authors I have great respect for in the Edible Delights Volume 1. So I thought I’d tell you a tale about how I got to be involved with this exciting project.

My Journey to Edible Delights

Well, I’d just received my very first contract when Angela Castle invited me to the great facebook group ‘Erotic Writers of Australia’. My first response was “But my books aren’t that erotic!” Angela just laughed at me for some reason… (I now write erotically charged books and understand her laughter!)

Soon after joining this wonderful supportive group of guys and gals, I was asked if I’d like to contribute to an anthology with a food based theme, I’d just started writing my second book in my Snow Leopard Shifter Series ‘Fire and Snow’. Having only worked on the one storyline, I thought it would be a bit of fun to write something different.

I wanted to challenge myself, push outside my comfort zone and be really naughty – see if I could keep up with my new erotic writing buddies. As I was reading ‘Their Virgin Captive’, the first book in Shayla Black and Lexi Blake’s Maters of Menage series at the time. I decided to try my hand at ménage. Lucky for Eilagh, this meant she got two hot sexy men instead of one!

Now, my brain is wired to the paranormal, so it was always going to be shifters! I chose dragons as I’ve always loved them, and have read countless stories about them. I even have my upper back adorned with a dragon tattoo (my twenty-first present to myself!).

The food had me stumped for a bit. But some random Googling brought me across this gorgeous picture, and Sealed with a Honeyed Kiss was born! Within the first chapter, it had continued to grow. My ‘bit of fun’ is now a five part series, the third instalment will grace Edible Delights Volume 3.

I also had the pleasure of designing the divine cover we have for Volume 1, my very first cover design. So, as you can see, this anthology is very special to as it’s full of firsts for me! First ménage, first cover, first trailer… the fun just never stops!!

Man, I love my job!!

I’ll leave you with a sneak peek at Sealed with a Honeyed Kiss, and I’ll see you all next time Imogene invites me over to play!

Xo

Khloe

Sealed with a Honeyed Kiss

Blown through a magic portal, Eilagh discovers she’s the Desired of sexy twin Dragon warriors, Dimitri and Max... and the target of forces far darker.

Max strolled up and down the rows of apple trees. He was on edge, his whole body tense in readiness. He'd picked up the same vibes as his twin had earlier. Something was going to happen and soon. He just couldn't pinpoint the where, who or how of it. He reached the end of the row and stopped in front of the beehive. After the blue skins had been destroyed, the orchard had been planted to cleanse the soil of their evil, for this was the site where the Great Wind had dumped the small group of blue skins after it had taken them from their world.

Apples—representing new life—were chosen. Beehives were placed at both ends of each row as a tribute to the Goddess, in the hope she would be pleased and bless them with renewed life. He placed his palm over the top of the white timber of the hive and watched as the bees covered his hand. Entranced, he stood motionless as they crawled over his flesh. The feel of their tiny legs moving over his skin calmed him, just as it always had. Bees were the Goddess' favorite pet. Them, and the honey they made, were precious, used only in religious ceremonies and rituals.

After a few minutes, he felt a lot calmer now all the tension had left his body. He spoke the sacred words of gratitude to the bees and the Goddess before slowly withdrawing his hand. Max watched as the bees peacefully flew back into their hive. As he began walking through the orchard back to the castle, a sudden gust filled with the scent of honey blew past him. He spun around to face the direction the wind came from and noticed the beginnings of a wind tunnel in the center of the row he had just walked down. Oh no. Not again. He drew his dagger from his belt as he mentally called for his brother to come quickly—with reinforcements—to the orchard.

Max braced himself in a fighter’s stance. He briefly contemplated shifting to his dragon form as he watched the wind tunnel rise up high into the air, but decided to stay human for the moment, otherwise he wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone who wasn’t a dragon shifter. In dragon form he couldn’t speak out loud, and dragon shifters could only communicate with other shifters telepathically.

The tunnel changed from translucent white to a bright red before lightning began to spark. He caught a glimpse of black hair and caramel skin as the fifth bolt arced through the tunnel. Soon after, the wind began to settle and within minutes the air was still allowing him his first good look at the visitors the Great Wind had left behind this time. Inside a ring of bright red sand and small rocks lay five unconscious females.

A little about Khloe Wren:

Khloe Wren started writing her first novel in high school, until it mysteriously disappeared from the family computer (her older brother was the lead suspect but nothing was ever proved). She didn't put pen to paper again after that for a number of years but she did keep reading. Khloe has always loved all things paranormal: sexy vampires and sultry shifters have always been her favourites. So when she picked up writing again, it seemed only natural to write paranormal romance.

Khloe lives in country South Australia with her incredibly patient husband and two daughters. When she's not sitting at her laptop writing, she's spending time with family or friends, kicking butt at karate or feeding her addictions of reading, eating chocolate and drinking Coke.

Where to Interact:

Facebook     Twitter    Website     YouTube

Thanks Khloe for coming to visit.  Okay, and just as an aside... Don't you just love the cover of Edible Delights Volume One?  That was developed by the gorgeous Khloe too!

And I can't wait for my copy of this anothology... there are some scorching hot stories in here!

Imogene

A Short Bite With... Jan Graham

As many of my readers will know, I'm one of the authors from the Edible Delights Anthology Volume Two. As some may not know, I've been there since the beginning. So I'm taking great pleasure in hosting the authors of volume one here!

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Jan Graham.

For some strange reason food and sex seem to be the perfect match. I’m not sure why. Is it because as women we love both, could it be that some food is so divinely decadent, like the chocolate moose cake at my local café, that it makes you moan in delight. In my romance writers mind, I like to think that it’s because food is something that can be shared with people you love. It’s a leveler between men and women. Your man may not be able to say I love you so much, baby, but he can give you a box of chocolates, cook you a barbeque or take you out for a meal. Of course I’d prefer him to lay the chocolates out over my naked body and then eat them off me to express his love, or lather me with chocolate body paint and start licking. J

Where is this crazy woman going with all this nonsense, I hear you ask. Well it’s a lovely intro for the reason I’m blogging at Imogene’s today, Edible Delights Vol 1. A group of Aussie authors recently got together and decided to write stories that involved food. Of course, we all write erotic romance, so that instantly makes the food stories we composed decadent and erotic tales of love, served with a generous dollop of whipped cream, of course.

My novella, All You Can Eat, features in volume one (there are three volumes in total). I couldn’t decide on what food I’d highlight in the book, so decided to let readers have it all. All You Can Eat morphed into a smorgasbord of kinky food play that leads my hero and heroine to love.  To give you a hint at what it’s about here’s the books recipe.

Combine one sexy chef, a dominant food critic, and a generous splash of mistaken identity. Apply heat to create a deliciously erotic banquet for two.

I hope you enjoy the novellas included in the Edible Delights anthologies. Volume 1 is set to release this month, so keep a lookout for more updates on when it's available. The books are not only a great way to introduce yourself to some Australian authors you may not have heard of before, you could even pick up a few sensual food recipes to spice up your life along the way.

All You Can Eat Blurb:

As a Chef, Katrina McGregor knows she can’t please everyone so when a prominent food critic slams her signature dish she’s faced with a choice. Crumble under the weight of one man’s opinion or use it as motivation to change. Katrina’s curiosity peaks when she’s invited to trial her new menu at the critic’s country estate. Why has he taken such an interest in her career and is food the only thing that Conrad Fletcher has on his mind?

Conrad Fletcher refuses to be held responsible for Katrina assuming his elderly father and namesake is the critic who condemned her food. If his plan to seduce the voluptuous little chef who captured his attention weeks earlier succeeds, not only will Katrina have a critically acclaimed menu, she’ll also be in his arms and home forever. The only thing that threatens to prevent successfully achieving that goal—her reaction to a simple case of mistaken identity.

For more information about Jan Graham and her books check out the following sites.

http://www.jangraham.com.au  

http://jangraham.blogspot.com/

http://facebook.com/JanGrahamAuthorpage
http://twitter.com/jan_graham

Author Bio:

Jan Graham describes herself in many ways. She is a full time writer, friend, submissive, orphan, widow, aunt, and sometimes, a wild child. Despite any hiccups the universe may throw at her, she believes in
experiencing everything life has to offer and being the best person she can be. Jan recently moved to Newcastle, NSW, Australia, where she spends her time writing erotic romance. Her writing falls under a variety of genres including BDSM, contemporary romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance.

Jan has often been quoted as saying: "I am glad to finally give the characters that swirl around my head on a constant basis, the opportunity to put themselves down on paper and I hope they entertain my readers as much as they amuse me."