You still have the month of May to grab books at deep discounts on Smashwords. Authors who participate have discounted their books 30%, 60% and 100% off! Natural Exposure is 60% off - just $2.40. Click below, or the banner to the right. Check out other authors giving back during this time, and if you're so inclined, add your book to Authors Give Back at Smashwords too!
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
The Blurb:
It’s business as usual for Kenzie in her boudoir studio. Every day, fascinating people of all genders stroll through and Kenzie has the privilege of making them shine. She’s photographed the gamut: sultry brides-to-be seeking a naughty gift for their spouse, the confidant trans person showing the world their true self, and triads locked in passion, each moment of their tender lovemaking on display.
Kenzie’s been a part of it all, but never has a client captivated her so completely, until she steps through the door.
Ripley never recuperated from the relationship that irrevocably changed her. Desperate to forget the past, she moves to the progressive town of Bijou Basin, pursuing a fresh start. While acquainting herself with her new life, she notices an advertisement for an erotic nude photographer. On a whim, she books a session, hoping the experience will help her reclaim her identity.
Sparks fly for both women, but Ripley discovers there’s more to Kenzie than meets the eye. Can Ripley accept Kenzie as she is and does she want to date someone so complicated? Can Kenzie prove she’s worth it?
Authors Note: This slow burn erotic romance features adult themes and language. Themes include: graphic sex, BDSM, Polyamory & LGBTQ+ Characters.
Disney!
What is Disney Tips, Trivia & Tidbits? Whatever I, and you, want it to be. What have YOU always wanted to know about Disney? I'm most familiar with WDW, but I have been to Disneyland and California Adventures, although it's been many years. We visited 4 or 5 times.
So, my Disney days will just be any bit of information that pops into my head, and if any of you want to hit me up on Twitter, email, or leave a comment here, I'll be glad to answer questions.
Previous Disney Tips, Tidbits & Trivia:
Disney Tidbits #1 - Haunted Mansion
Disney Trivia #2
Harnessing the Lightning. At this point, even the most knowledgable Disney lovers may be like WTF dude, are you off your rocker? There's not been anything called Harnessing the Lightning. And you'd be right.
But there almost was.
Harnessing the Lightning was an idea of Walt's that was to go into Edison Square at Disneyland. It was a land that never came to be, set it behind Main Street on the inside of Tomorrowland.
At the center of the land was to be Harnessing the Lightning which was a precursor to The Carousel of Progress. The show was to feature a horseshoe theater and would go through four (sound familiar) scenes from Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, much as Carousel of Progress still does today. At the time, it was 1959 and he intended to showcase 1898, 1918, 1959 and some year beyond, as CoP has continued to change it's final scene.
It's unclear why Edison Square never got built (despite being in the park map for years) but one thing is certain, that the initial show had room for very few guests. Walt re-imagined the theater for the 1964 World's Fair, so it could hold more people at at time and so more could experience it. Some script revisions were done and with the change to the theater it became "The Carousel Theater Show". Now, Carousel of Progress has been a staple of the Magic Kingdom since 1974, one I hope never goes away.
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow's just a dream away
Man has a dream and that's a start
He follows his dream with mind and heart
And when it becomes a reality
It's a dream come true for you and me
(From memory - so I may have a word wrong - but I don't think so... I know my attractions even all these years later. I can recite the Haunting Mansion Stretching Room word for word too...) :D
And though I didn't love the reasons they changed it, I didn't mind the "Best Time of your Life" song.
"Now is the time, now is the best time
now is the best time of your life..."
Sources:
Skyway to Wonderland
MousePlanet
Too mundane of trivia for you? What do you want to know next?
Did you notice the "Hidden Mickey" in the banner above?
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
There's no right or wrong when it comes to HOW one chooses to write (outlining or not), despite what some people try to say. Outlining a book doesn't make that book inherently better and nor does pantsing a book make it inherently worse. Skill of how one writes matter, not the ways in which the words get on the page.
Though it does seem like there are more plotters / outliners / architects out there than there are pantsers / gardeners / discovery writers, there are plenty of each and both ways, as well as everything in between is valid. You do you!
That said, I'm a PROUD pantser! An author friend (go say hi to them on my sidebar - Maggie Hemlock) suggested I try it when I started writing last year. Yes, I've only been writing just over a year now. Click here to discover how I started writing, so I gave it a try. Like my inability to pick out books to read ahead of time, it didn't go well. I ended up with a 32 word "road map" that I only followed about a third of. I just can not plan, at all. It's not in me.
Case in point was earlier this month. I sat down to do my editing of Book 2 and instead I wrote the opening scene of "A Discovery of BDSM". It was fine and I edited it, and then like 5 days later I decided it was too much of a scene and not a story, so I expanded on it, on the fly, no idea to do it before I sat to write it. I knew nothing of what would happen, except I knew the last line. That's the extent of my "plan". Funny enough, I knew the last line of Natural Exposure during the middle of writing.
With all three of my Books in the Bijou Basin series - Natural Exposure which is self-published, Book 2 which is 90% complete first draft (working on 2nd), and Book 3 which has 70% or so of fist draft complete - I discovery wrote each. After the first, obviously I knew the characters but I never set out with any direction or purpose, the story just spilled out as I wrote. DisBDSM came out of the blue as did "A Bijou Beginning" - though that one I wrote during Camp April of 2019 when I was first writing Natural Exposure.
I'd love to hear from you. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you tried the other way just to see what it would be like? How did it work out? Did you do one book one way and another book another?
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
I haven't felt well today, so instead of the regularly scheduled blog post (which I was going to write today) I'm going to give you a brief look into the characters of my novel Natural Exposure. In the coming weeks, I'll be giving you a closer look at each.
For now, take a look at the 3 MCs.
MacKenzie (Kenzie) Holliday
Age: 44
Occupation: Erotic Nude / boudoir photographer - Former Disney Cast Member
Marital status: Married to her high school sweetheart, Jarrett
Orientation: bi / pan & polyamorous
Gender: Cis-Female
Hobbies: Theme parks, swimming, video games, photography, reading
Ripley Owens
Age: 40
Occupation: Accountant
Marital status: single
Orientation: pansexual
Gender: Cis-Female
Hobbies: Reading, swimming, crafting, puzzles
Jarrett Holliday
Age: 45
Occupation: Tattoo Artist
Marital status: Married to his high school sweetheart, Kenzie
Orientation: straight / poly
Gender: Cis-Male
Hobbies: Tattoos, drawing, video games, reading, poker
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
Oh wow! New Questions.
How would you assess your reading overall?
Reading time wasn't bad - just over 18 out of the 24 hours. Not my best, but not the worst. The quality of reading though - that was perhaps the worst. I decided to support some fellow Indie Authors and the writing was, sadly, not good. One of the five that I read by Indie Authors (not including my own short story) was well written / edited. The others not so much. It saddened me as an Indie Author because I've put a lot of work into my book, making it a quality read. It's sad such books can be out there that are so recklessly put together and just shoved out.
Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it?
Just to read. Took a little too long around dinner with the Hubby but other than that, all went well.
What was your favorite snack?
Ice Cream
Wanna volunteer for our next event? Stay tuned for the recap post!
Nah - sorry. I prefer to just read.
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Stats
- I completed 13 books, started 1 (that will likely be a DNF)
- I read approximately 1700 pages (with some "Audible Originals" pg counts are estimates)
- I read 8 books on my Kindle
- I listened to 5 books as audiobooks
- I read 3 Novels, the rest Novellas & Short Stories (a prequel of the student one not shown)
- I read for approximately 18 hours 15 minutes (13hr 45min on Kindle, 4hrs 15min hours on Audio)
Completed:
Started, but did not finish:
How was your Read-a-Thon? Leave me a comment and tell me about it, or link me to your blog!
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?
At 12 hours in I started A Murder of Manatees by Larry Correia - it was pretty bad :)
2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished 8, started one other.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Not sure, haven't planned ahead.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Other than Hubby getting in from work, I haven't had any interruptions. I took 2 hours off when we had dinner.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing changes, so nothing.
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
It's time for Dewey's! This is my 16th, so I'm gonna be a little lazy and reuse some of these answers and this opening statement as well. Ha!
I'm excited for this Dewey's, as I'm behind with my reading this year. Last year, during April, I started writing for the first time. SMH. It's something I never thought I'd do. A year later? I've self-published my first novel (here's how I even came to write it and my first novelette. I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo (Which was when I began writing last year) but this year I'm doing re-writes of Book 2 which has about a 90% completed draft. What a weird weird ride it's been for me. I write Erotic Romance, so not everyone's cup of tea, but if it's yours, feel free to check it out.
What's your read-a-thon plans for the day? Leave me a link, and I'll come visit you!
Opening Meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Sparta, NC ~ the middle of no where. :)
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
None stick out too much this time, I think because I'm behind more than I planned on being at this point and there's a bunch I want to read. I'm hoping to read some other Indie Authors for IndieApril, and I have a few erotic / erotic romance lined up for that.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
No special Dewey's snack trip this time, it kind of snuck up on me. But I have a few flavors of ice cream and some cheesy puffs. It'll have to do, though I'll miss having a little grabby snack like Sour Patch Kids or something.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
HI! I'm Karsyn (some of you who have been around a while will know me as Karsyn @ KaKiJoKoJa - my book review blog), over 40 (though much much younger in spirit), deeply in love with and married to my high school best friend. I LOVE to read, obviously, and am blessed with a ton of time to read. In a typical month I will read 15-20 books, often more, and when there's something going on, like Dewey's, I read a ton more! Since I started writing, my reading has suffered and I'm behind on the challenge for the year, but I'm enjoying writing. Beyond my books, I'm a gamer, and I built my own Gaming PC, 5 years ago, which I named Widget (after The Night Circus character). Widget is GREAT and we've had so much fun playing games on him! Lately I've been playing some PS4 games (Days Gone & Horizon Zero Dawn).
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is my 16th Dewey's so I'll do what I've been doing. :)
Here's a few books on my potential TBR today:
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
That time of the year again! Once again, too quick that it comes around. How is it almost May?
You know - I left that same line above that I wrote LAST April. Time flies too fast!
I believe this is my 16th Dewey's, I think. I really need to find out which I'm on. It's been a lot.
I went all 24 hours every time, which I loved, until last April. Then, I was doing Camp NaNoWriMo, and I wanted to write rather than read so I made sure to sleep. I don't care for the Reverse Dewey's (has me awake more like 36 hours rather than 24) so I slept some then too.
Planning to do the full 24 hours this time, but don't know if I will or not. We'll see. :) Not going to push it. I'm doing Camp again this year, but only for editing, not for writing the full book. I'm editing Book 2 and am about half way through on re-writes
I used to post on my Book Review blog -
Karsyn's Kickass Jocoserious Jannock Kooky Book Blogbut now I'm here as I build up this blog.
If you're new, welcome! I'm Karsyn and I'm a brand new author, pen name Koriana Brackson! My debut book just released 4/4. You can see it on the side ---> still on sale at Smashwords. It's an Erotic Romance so not for everyone. Down at the bottom are the direct links to Goodreads if you'd like to check out the blurb. Feel free to subscribe to my newsletter, which I send out once or twice a month, or here at the blog where I post daily.
Back to Dewey and as usual, I have no plans, as I'm a diehard Flybyer. (I'm also a pantser when it comes to writing, so I just don't do plans!) I have some books on my radar, but dunno if I'll get to them or not. A few that are likely are:
My Books
Natural Exposure on Amazon
Natural Exposure on Smashwords - on $$SALE$$ for $2.40
Natural Exposure on Goodreads
A Bijou Beginning on Wattpad - FREE short story
A Bijou Beginning on Goodreads
A Discovery of BDSM on Amazon
A Discovery of BDSM on Goodreads
