'For the Love of Love'Over the next nine days over forty guests will be joining me to share their thoughts on love in many of its different forms: family love, friendship, passionate and contented love, compassionate love and love of food, music, animals, language and writing. What makes each post unique is that the feelings expressed are individual to every author. What brings these posts together is the underlying theme that love is one of the most powerful forces on earth.

It seemed only fitting to start an event that invites people to share their views on love on Valentine’s Day, and with such a relevant topic! Today I’m welcoming Xavier Axelson, Ann Charles, Amber Scott, Lisa Scott and Charlene Wilson as they share their views on passionate love and I’m sharing an excerpt that ties in with this theme from In Leah’s Wake.

Don’t forget to register your vote on the posts – just scroll down to the end of the post to leave your vote once you’ve finished reading. One winning voter will get a character named after them in my next book, a signed copy of the new paperback edition of In Leah’s Wake, plus a $50 Amazon gift card.  Two runners up will receive signed copies of the new paperback edition, plus a $25 gift card each.

And the guest authors can win too!  The author who receives the most votes in one day during the event will receive an Orangeberry Social Butterfly package and a 5-day ‘Tweet Me a Storm’ package from Orangeberry Book Tours.

 

 

Passionate love in In Leah’s Wake

Following the rodent with her eyes, she spotted a trampoline at the far end of the yard. She and Justine had a trampoline when they were kids. In junior high, one of Leah’s friends competed on an elite gymnastics team. The girls had spent hours on the trampoline, practicing back-flips, tucks, you name it.

‘Is it Hope’s?’ Leah asked, certain that he would say no. Hope’s mom probably did daycare or something. ‘I know it’s a kid’s thing and all.’

‘Hope’s a kid.’ Todd blew out his cheeks. ‘A big kid.’

‘Nas-ty.’ Leah whacked his arm. Giggling, she jogged to the trampoline and hoisted herself up. She bounced a few times, and threw her arms, gaining height, up, up, up-and flopped on her knees.

‘Hey!’ Todd sprinted to the trampoline. ‘You’re gonna get hurt.’

‘No I won’t,’ Leah shouted, bouncing again. This time she landed a tuck. ‘Come on up,’ she said, harassing him until he climbed on.

‘Like this.’ She bounced, her knees bent. ‘It’s all in your legs. You’ve got to push off.’

They bounced, holding hands, Todd surprisingly agile. They flipped like a synchronized team. Leah let go of his hand and jumped, throwing her arms and legs, tucking as she caught air-rising, rising-double-flipped, landing in his arms, and they collapsed onto the trampoline.

Leah lay on her back, her head tucked under his arm. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, about the Ecstasy she meant. ‘Will you forgive me?’

‘Sure, babe,’ he said. And then he told her he loved her.

A newly edited edition of In Leah’s Wake has recently been released with a paperback version due for release next week. The newly edited novel features a new chapter and several new scenes, adding new connections and insights, and tightens the book, cutting 60 pages – all while maintaining the integrity of the original edition.

For more information visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

 

PASSIONATE LOVE

 

Xavier Axelson: Love of Language

A friend recently told me she believed love was about surrendering. If it didn’t work out and you truly surrendered to it, then you could walk away knowing you gave it your all, you truly surrendered to love.

I loved this idea.

It made me think of a professor from college who said, ‘You cannot be happy and be right, you have to give up the need to be right.’ I think it’s a brave person who surrenders to love, creative fulfillment and the need to be right. It is also terrifying. Love is about being vulnerable but in that vulnerability, there is strength in knowing you were brave enough to expose yourself to the hurt, torment, and joys of being passionately in love.

As someone who writes romance I am always falling love; I get to fall in love each time I write a new book and explore a new relationship. It is a rewarding and frightening experience. Rewarding because I am the voice of untold and imagined love, passion and the heartache and scary because I have the job of making people fall in love along with the fictional characters created in my imagination. The one thing I do to ensure I don’t stray too far from the path of love and passion is hold onto truth and the honest emotion I get from the story, the words and the emotional needs of my characters. They may be experiencing something I am unfamiliar with, but I hold onto the truth behind their passionate love for one another and usually this gets me through the sometimes-murky waters of love.

Passionate love is about honesty; being honest with yourself about your relationship to love, being loved and giving love. It may sound simplistic but I’m the type who prefers the real to the fake and if you are real and honest you will be and should be loved passionately.

Xavier Axelson is a writer of erotica for Silver Publishing and Seventh Window Publications.  He is also the Los Angeles Sex Advice Columnist for Examiner.com, contributes regularly to Queer Magazine Online, and writes a column for All Bear Online Magazine.

 

Amber Scott: Passionate Love

Haven’t you felt it before? A full body awareness of someone the instant they enter a room? Vibrant. Strong. Magnetic. Ah, so pure. So rare. I still see him standing there, in that easy way of his, that one sidelong glance my way, pulling me in….

Even across a room, I’m his. All his, willing and waiting. Of course he pulls me in. How could he not when my thoughts have orbited him for hours. Wondering…what if? Would my hand tingle is his brushed it. Would he feel it, too? Would he capture my hand, toy with one finger just to watch me fidget? Yes.

Then he’d glance. His eyes telling a story in one pinning stare. What I wouldn’t give or do for that look, the one reserved just for me, the one that shuts the world down and brings my heart to its knees. It’s a craving that never gets fully satisfied, no matter how close we get.

The physical need is only the beginning, though. Once satisfied, there’s a whisper deep down, deeper than bone and muscle. Down to the soul. Where true passion lives. Where few can reach. But if they do…when he does…suddenly every tiny detail that led me here makes sense. More than makes sense. It feels meant to be.

Isn’t it?

In between naptimes and dishes, Amber Scott escapes into the addicted twists and turns her characters take. She often burns dinner, is hooked on chocolate and still believes in happily ever after. Co-founder of the Indie Book Collective, this Top Kindle 100 bestseller makes her home in Arizona with her husband, two kids and someday, many, many cats.

 

Lisa Scott: Passionate Love

Lots of bad choices and impulsive decisions can be blamed on passionate love. When I was dating my husband, he drove twenty-six hours straight from Florida to Maine to visit me on a whim. I scheduled eighteen credit hours into three days of classes in college so I could visit him on long weekends. We spent hundreds on long-distance phone calls. When you’re in passionate love, nothing else matters but him.

For better or worse, passionate love only lasts so long. Like the flick of a match, it burns hot and fast. That roiling in the tummy and fluttering heart so common in new, passionate love, give way to something more solid and real. Those butterflies usually flutter off. And sometimes, the match burns us. Who hasn’t been hurt by love?

But when a match meets the wick of a candle, the flame transforms into a long, slow burn. It’s enduring and lasting, even if not as hot and bright. And so it is with passionate love.

Some people get addicted to that flash and burn, tearing through matches, never finding their true love, bailing when that initial passion tapers off. They never get to see the way passionate love ignites the steady burn of love. It’s still there; it’s just different. My husband might not drive cross-country to see me now, but he does shovel a path in the snow from our house to my car, and then brush off the windows for me. That’s the stuff of love in slow-burn mode, and I’ll take it any day.

Lisa Scott is a former TV news anchor who now enjoys making up stories instead of sticking to the facts. The first book in her Willowdale Romance series will be released by Belle Bridge books in November 2012. In the meantime, she’ll be releasing short stories linked to the Willowdale series, in addition to her Flirts! collections.

 

Charlene Wilson: Passionate Love

I’m thrilled to have a chance to guest post about Passionate Love.  Thank you for having me.

I’m one of those sappy romance authors. I love to bring out the whole-hearted, soul-inspired, all-logic-disappears moments that my heroes and heroines experience. So, when I think about Passionate Love, it’s a love where your heart beats in time with your loves’ breathing, rises when he/she looks into your eyes, dances with his/her laughter. It’s a love that makes anything possible and crosses boundaries; be it national, social status, even death. A beautiful example? The video of Ghost with Unchained Melody playing behind it. (Click the link to see what I mean).

I love the emotions portrayed in Ghost. I love the old Righteous Brothers’ song, Unchained Melody. It falls right in with the passion that my hero, Cole, in Cornerstone Deep Echoes felt when he said, ‘My life, my love, my existence is yours. Every breath you take is a song to my soul.’ And he went on to prove it to Mianna.

This Valentine’s season, my wish is that all of you have the chance to experience such a love-a passionate love that will sweep you away to whole-hearted, soul-inspired, all-logic-disappears moments.

Have you been fortunate to have experienced such a love? I’d love for you to share. (The PG13 ones, of course. *wink*)

A writer of paranormal romance, Charlene loves what magic can add to relationships. Her first novel, Cornerstone Deep, was published in Nov 2010. Her second, Cornerstone Deep Echoes, was released February 2012.She currently lives in a small rural town in Arkansas and enjoys close family ties with her two beautiful daughters.

 

Ann Charles: Dancing with Dialogue

‘Should I ask Joyce out?’

‘That’s something you should run by one of your guy friends, not me.’

‘Who do you think I should ask to dance tonight? The brunette in the hot-pants or the redhead in the mini-skirt?’

‘The brunette keeps rubbing all over Mr. Cowboy Hat.’

‘Good point. The redhead it is.’

‘You do realize she’s narcissistic.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘She watches herself dance in the mirror.’

‘Dang, you’re right. Who should I dance with then?’

‘Don’t ask me. I don’t know your type.’

‘Bull. How long have we been friends?’

‘Too long.’

‘What’s with the attitude tonight?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Spill it.’

‘There’s nothing to spill.’

‘That biker dude over by the bar keeps staring at you.’

‘That’s his problem.’

‘Why don’t you go get us some drinks?’

‘I’m not thirsty.’

‘A little flirting might cheer you up.’

‘I’m not in the mood to flirt.’

‘That’s too bad. You look really good in those boots.’

‘Shut up.’

‘When you walked out wearing that dress, my mouth went dry.’

‘Since when do you pay attention to what I wear?’

‘With you, I pay attention to a lot. I bet you could snare any guy in here you wanted tonight.’

‘Any? You’re wrong.’

‘Prove it.’

‘There’s no need.’

‘Because I’m right.’

‘No, you’re not.’

‘Then prove me wrong.’

‘I already have.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Think about it.’

‘I don’t get it.’

‘I know. That’s been the problem since we met. I can’t stand this any longer. Here’s a ten for my drink.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Anywhere else.’

‘Wait!’

‘I’m tired of waiting. Let go of me.’

‘No, I’m not letting go. Not now. Don’t leave me.’

‘You’ll be fine without me.’

‘I won’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want to ask Joyce out. I never did.’

‘Great. You don’t need my help after all. Now, let go.’

‘And I didn’t want to dance with the brunette or the redhead.’

‘So, why did you even drag me here tonight?’

‘Dance with me.’

Ann Charles is a multi-published, award-winning author of mysteries sprinkled with romance and humor. She is currently toiling away on writing her next book in between hanging out with her kids and husband and being yelled at by her cat. You can find her online on Facebook, Twitter, and at her websites: http://anncharles.com and http://www.anncharles.com/deadwood.