Okay so it looks like I fell off the planet. Promise - I'm still here. The last four years have been ... hard. There's no other word for it. Everything is fine. I'm fine, but I've been the caregiver of my mom who has Dementia. Between her needs, work, etc I seem to have lost control of my time. I am still writing and am trying hard to get back to my blog.

In case you weren't aware Phaze and HSWF which where under the Mundania Umbrella have closed. I was smart enough to get my titles back before all this happened. I'm happy to say the three books I sold to HSWF have been picked up by Melange Books and are available through their Satin Books imprint. I have even sold a new title to them called Magical Quest due out in 2022

I have also been lucky enough to find a publisher for my Vespian Way series. I'm now with Blushing Books under the name of Bethany Drake. I have five titles out with them right now and am close to submitting two more. There's Desire's Destiny, Desire's Duty and Desire's Promise. Then there is two in my werewolf series, Tears of the Queen and Legend of the Tears. I have just finished the rough draft of the third book in the series and have plans for a fourth one the moment I submit it.

I'll probably still be sporadic here on the blog. Unless I win the lottery and can hire someone to help me I can't avoid it, but know I'm still here still working hard in the background and am hoping to do better at keeping my blog alive.

Barb:)



Saturday, May 14, 2016

Welcome my Latest Guest Michele Zurlo! @MZurloAuthor

I want to welcome Michele Zurlo. First I’d love you to introduce yourself.

I’m Michele Zurlo, author of over 20 romance novels. During the day, I teach English, and in the evenings, romantic tales flow from my fingertips.

I’m not half as interesting as my characters. My childhood dreams tended to stretch no further than the next book in my to-be-read pile, and I aspired to be a librarian so I could read all day. I’m pretty impulsive when it comes to big decisions, especially when it’s something I’ve never done before. Writing is just one in a long line of impulsive decisions that turned out to showcase my great instincts. Find out more at www.michelezurloauthor.com or @MZurloAuthor




Tell us about your latest release.

Re/Defined (Doms of the FBI 4) is the latest installment in my Amazon best-selling BDSM romantic suspense series. Here’s the blurb:

Amy Markevich nurses fantasies about dominant agent Jordan Monaghan, but she knows they’ll never come true. He’s younger, to-die-for handsome, and so very different from her. She settles for friendship and dreaming from afar, even when he agrees to show her the platonic side of submission.

Jordan has always known what he wanted, and as he gets to know Amy, he’s convinced that she’s the complete package. Her sexy curves and passionate nature contrast sharply with her childlike innocence and exuberant joie de vivre. She calls to him—body and soul.

Just as he’s about to reveal that he’s a Daddy Dom and that he suspects Amy harbors an inner “little” and a submissive side, Amy witnesses a gruesome murder, and a terrorist organization puts her on top of their most-wanted list.

As they are forced to run for their lives from this unexpected enemy, Jordan helps Amy to accept her true nature—as a little—and to redefine everything she thought she knew about belonging to him.

Warnings: anal play, mini-golf, bondage, sensory play, suction cups, and laser tag.

Now I have a few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us writers.

1.) Who is your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show. And why?

I have to go to Doctor Who and pick River Song. She’s a villain because she kills the Doctor, but she’s also an antihero because she was mostly on the side of good. I don’t think you can like a true villain the way you can like an antihero. I like her because she’s smart, sassy, and sexy. She doesn’t care how she prevails, just that she does. She bends rules and keep secrets, and I like a woman with depth.

2.) Who is your favorite character out of your books? Why?

Choose a favorite? That’s so cruel! I love all my characters equally. As I write the stories, I fall in love with both of them. I watch them grow and become stronger, better people, and I love that about them. They make it possible for me to continue to have faith in humanity. I write strong, sassy heroines who push their Doms to be the best men they can be. Darcy Markevich Legato has been with me the longest. She’s had to overcome a lot of grief and hardship to find happiness, but luckily she had Malcolm to help her through it. Keith and Katrina, Dustin and Layla, Jordan and Amy, David and Autumn—they’re all my favorites. Right now I’m working with Tru, Jed, and Liam. She and I are at odds because she threw a huge wrench into my storyline by insisting on having two Doms instead of one. I haven’t written ménage in a long, long time.

3.) What do genre do you write? What made you pick that one?

MZ: I mostly write BDSM Romantic Suspense. That’s the genre where I’ve found the most success. I have a great series—Doms of the FBI—and I’ll be launching a spinoff series early in 2017.

4.) What are you working on now?

MZ: I’m working on edits for Re/Leased (Doms of the FBI 5) and the draft for Re/Viewed (DFBI 6). While that’s going on, I’m brainstorming the first book in the new series, tentatively titles SAFE Security. I’ll feature characters introduced in Re/Leased.

5.) What got you to start writing?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I put that dream on a shelf and became a teacher. I’m a kickass teacher because one of my students won a national essay contest sponsored by Major League Baseball. His prize package brought Sharon Robinson, daughter of the incredible Jackie Robinson, to my classroom. During our talk, I told her that I’d always wanted to be a writer, and she told me that it was never too late to follow my dreams. MLB helped out with a laptop for the teacher (I love contests where teachers get stuff too!) and I was off. I worked hard and learned a lot, and two years later, my first novel was published.

6.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Everywhere. I’m a sponge. I see, read, pay attention to everything. The information bounces around in my head and mingles with characters and scenarios. Out of that, I weave stories.

7.) What would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?

People are often surprised by things I think are inconsequential, like the fact that I teach or coach Science Olympiad teams, or that I talk baby talk to my dog but not my kids.

8.) Do you have any special talents?

I’m not sure I believe in talent. I believe in hard work, dedication, and following through on a commitment. I believe that anyone can learn or accomplish anything they want, myself included.

9.) What was the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck with you? Why?

Never give up; never surrender.

10.) If you could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what would you talk about?

I wouldn’t talk to a famous figure. If I could, I would talk to my aunt Laurie who passed away several years ago after a long battle with recurring cancer. She was a dynamic woman who made a huge difference in my life.

11.) What song would you say describes your life?

It depends on my mood. Right now I’m mourning Prince, so I have Starfish and Coffee stuck in my head. It’s about opening your mind to possibilities you wouldn’t normally consider, and I feel like when I’ve done that, I’ve become a better person.

12.) If you could come back as any animal – what would it be?

A cat. I want to be pampered, petted, and treated like royalty.


a quick note - the cool thing? I'm on her blog today as well - https://michelezurloauthor.wordpress.com/


Link to the Wonderful World of Michele:
Twitter: @MZurloAuthor






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