#WIP it Wednesday with Rach

Welcome back to WIP it Wednesday!

I'd like to share some info with you about my current WIP, titled Queen of Hearts. It's a Female/Female erotic romance, and it's the first one I've ever written without a male hero. It's been... interesting.

Here's a little about the book:

Maya is a Gemini. She exhibits the classic Gemini traits: She is adaptable, affectionate, versatile, witty, intellectual, tense, cunning, and holds a deep-seated fear of commitment. Which means she's a perfect match for Aquarius Erica.

Erica, also true to her astrological sign is friendly, a humanitarian, honest, loyal, original, inventive, fiercely independent, intellectual, contrary, unpredictable, unemotional, and detached. She is also a serial monogamist who nit-picks everything. 

Astrology says they're compatible, but neither woman can be sure. 

So it's a holiday book, kind of like Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce, which will be out in just under two weeks, but it's different holiday. 

These characters, like so many others, just kind of came to me, and I used a new astrology chart character building exercise I had worked out in order to really craft the basis for these characters. This will be a novella and should be out in January, just in time to be enjoyed before Valentine's Day! 

Here's a little snippet from the scenes I wrote last night: 

Erica woke to the most delicious smell. Bacon, eggs, and something else. She sniffed, trying to identify the smell. Strawberries. She rolled her neck and opened her eyes to the brightly lit room. Maya stood in the doorway wearing nothing but Erica’s Kiss the Cook apron, carrying a tray full of food.

“Oh, my God!”

Erica couldn’t believe it. Breakfast in bed? She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done something so sweet for her. She waited for the rush of thoughts telling her the negatives of such a sweet move, but nothing came.

“Morning,” Maya said, coming into the room and sliding the door closed with her foot. Erica sat up in bed, letting the blankets pool in her lap and Maya stopped for a second, admiring the view. “Let me revise. Good morning.”

So I've been having a few issues writing with an all-female cast here, specifically in love scenes. I never realized how often I use pronouns in love scenes and how important it is to say, she licked his thigh, and how much it has to change when it's two ladies. Because she licked her thigh could mean that my character is licking her own thigh and not her bed partners. Any other same-sex romance authors out there have issues with this sort of thing? How do you fix them? 

I hope you enjoyed your little taste of my WIP and will check back soon for more details. 

~ Rach

#WIP it Wednesday with Rach

Welcome back loyal readers!

I'm bursting at the seams with a new book! And yes, I know I just started a new novella for NaNoWriMo, but I just couldn't ignore this other book any longer. I sparked the idea and wrote the first few lines of the book about three months back while I was in the middle of writing Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce, which was on a deadline and in need of all of my attention. So I wrote a couple of little notes and left this other book alone.

So I wake up the other day with an ENTIRE scene written out in my head. And I couldn't stop thinking about it or these two characters. So here's a bit about the book and the hero I have absolutely become obsessed with:


Chase Masters (in my head played by the incredibly hunky Channing Tatum) is a 28 year old Dominant who has been in the BDSM "scene" for quite a few years. He's the owner of a BDSM Club that is in trouble of being closed down. He can't find a suitable sub or even a girlfriend after the last screwed up relationship he had. Chase is a Capricorn, which means he's disciplined, careful, and patient - all great qualities for a businessman and a Dom. But he's also prone to some pretty hefty mood swings. He's a Dom that's not into pain, but relishes the control, and even more, the trust required of his partner.


Elizabeth "Liz" Clark (in my head played by the stunning Kristin Kreuk) is a 26 year old independent modern woman who spent her entire life rebelling against's her father's domineering rule. He would say no, she would say yes. No matter what. She always did the opposite of what she was told and very quickly realized she would never allow a man to treat her the way her dad rules her mom. She's also an author. So when she's plagued with the idea to write a BDSM story, and her editor keeps nagging and nagging her, she's refuses to  run from the challenge, even when that means entering the BDSM world to do an insane amount of research about a lifestyle she doesn't understand. Liz is a Scorpio, which makes her rebellious by nature. She's also determined, emotional, passionate, and obstinate.


So far, Chase and Liz have made for an explosive combination, and I'm only half-way through plotting the book.

Because the ideas just kept coming at me, I've started writing scenes out of sequence, which is a new thing for me. And, because I'm not actively involved in the BDSM lifestyle, I also have LOTS of research to do, which has been fun, interesting, and time-consuming. So this book should be a challenge, in more ways than one. Wish me luck!

~ Rach

Let the Games Begin - Taking the NaNo Plunge

Well, it's that time again. Halloween is over and November has just begun. 

That means it's time for all these crazy writers to get together and commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days. That's 1,667 words every day. Because November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

I did start a little early (I like to break the rules that way). So I've already got 1,700 words of the wedding novella. 

Here's my plan: 

Use the first 3 weeks of NaNo to write the draft of A Marietta Wedding which will hopefully be the full story, since it'll be a novella (shorter than a novel, but longer than a short story). 

Use the last week to start another book and write 5-10K depending on how long the novella is. 


Yesterday was WIP it Wednesday and I talked about my wedding book here. I'm really excited to work on it for NaNo. It should be exciting. 

I NaNoed (yes I've made it a verb) An Affair Across Times Square last year, which was my first time participating in this crazy train and I won. I'm shooting for the stars again this year with the sequel to my first NaNo book. Wish me luck! 

Anyone else joining me in my NaNo quest? If so, what's your project about? 


~ Rach

WIP it Wednesday

Welcome back to WIP it Wednesday!

Today we'll be talking about my newest WIP, A Marietta Wedding.

I spent this past weekend at a writer's retreat and I got some great work done on this book with researching and finishing the first chapter. But today, I'll just share with you the premise of the book...

All Mandy Lachlan wanted was her own identity. All she had to do was run away to Paris to find it. Instead, she finds love, a baby, and a marriage proposal.

Julien Chevalier needs to be free of Paris and his life there. As soon as he graduates, he’s moving to New York. But when he falls for a young American professor in love with the charm of his birth city, he’s determined to sway her back to the states with him.

But will her reluctance to commit make Julien run away to New York without her? 

This book is going to be filled with challenges for me and I can't wait to get into the heart of the story. It will be my first novella-length story and also will feature a couple that is not only inter-racial but also from two pretty different cultures. It'll be the first book set outside of the US, and will be sprinkled with details of the beautiful city of Paris and French phrases. 

I'll be sure to share updates about the book as I progress. 

Six Sentence Sunday with Rach

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday!!!!!!!

I was going to post something from my WIP, but decided to give you all another little taste of An Affair Across Times Square this week. So here it is...

          “What do you want me to do?” Her words shook as she spoke. She surfed so close to the edge. So close to coming apart that just a few strokes of a hand would send her spiraling out of control. God, how she wanted to be out of control.

          “Slip your panties off.”

Get your copy here: http://books2read.com/u/38rZgO  

Well, there it is. Your little tease of spice to heat up your Sunday morning. I hope you enjoyed it and that we'll see you back here real soon. 

~ Rach

Why Times Square? A Q&A with Rach

So someone asked me this weekend why Times Square? She was really curious as to why I set An Affair Across Times Square in NYC, specifically in Times Square. I didn't have to think much about that, since I really had a great concept of where the whole idea for the book came from. 

I was at a conference in NY and staying at a hotel in Times Square and I came back to the room one afternoon to change between sessions and I looked across the street and could see into the office building there! And an idea was born. In the opening scene of the book, Layla Morgan goes back to her hotel room, gets partially undressed and... let's of some steam, shall we say? In full view of the building across the square.  Then she does it again... while he watches! It's a hot opening scene and it was the germ for the whole rest of the book. 

It couldn't have been set anywhere else in the world. I wish I had a shot from inside the room into the building across the street for your viewing pleasure, but I do not. Instead, here's a shot of Times Square that I took about five years back during a trip to NYC. I've always loved Times Square and all the craziness that ensues there. So it was a blast to set a book eighteen stories above the craziness... separate from it, but also so much a part of it. 

An Affair Across Times Square is available here: http://books2read.com/u/38rZgO  

Thanks for stopping by. And don't forget to enter our Three-Way Giveaway Contest - follow us, be entered to win three free books! 

~Rach

Six Sentence Sunday with Rach

And now for Six Sentence Sunday! Here's an excerpt from a hot little scene from An Affair Across Times Square... 

She felt the heat of his body through her thin dress, the cool air slipping between her bare thighs, chilling her slick folds. On the right of her body, she felt Tyler’s hand slide under the hem of the dress. She forced herself not to react, not to let everyone in the small space know how close she was to coming. His fingers stilled a moment, and she heard a soft groan behind her as he caressed her bare hip.

That’s right, baby. No panties. 

You can buy the book here: http://books2read.com/u/38rZgO   

Fifty Shades: A New Perspective

Hi everyone, 

I know that the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James has been talked about ad nauseum, but I wanted to offer up something new that I don't think has been discussed before. 

I don't want to talk today about the specifics of the books, or whether they were "good" or "bad" or "well written" or how much money James is making, or the characters in the books or even the plot lines. I want to discuss something I've noticed about the industry since these books have hit the shelves in the states. I had never heard of these books until a few weeks after coming back to the US in May of this year and suddenly, it was all anyone was talking about. The books were in K-Mart and Walmart as well as all major booksellers, nation-wide. 

And here's what I've noticed in the past two months. The ramifications for the industry of erotic romance (my industry) is changing before my eyes. No longer is erotic romance shelved off on its own in the book stores. It's not hidden behind other books, it's not secluded in one corner, it doesn't make up the "naughty" section of an otherwise "upstanding" and "respectable" book store. 

In Barnes & Noble, there are three front-facing racks of "New Romance" one full rack is the standard paperback size ranging from Historicals to Paranormals and everything in between. The second rack is Harlequin and all of this month's titles. Again, ranging from Paranormals, Erotic Romances, and Suspense. Between these two racks is a third I haven't really seen before. The top row of this rack is new romances in hard cover. There are only 7 of these. Below that are trade-paperback sized books. If you've seen a copy of any of the Fifty Shades books, this is the size that they were published in. Of these 24 covers, eight are erotic romance. Many of these books are also modeled after the cover of the Fifty Shades Books - dark covers with the pop of one element to attract the reader's attention. 

This means that out of 24 new romances on this set of shelves, 1/3 are erotic romance. This is unprecedented. I don't think I've ever seen it before. 

Is EL James the best writer since Jane Austen? Probably not. But that's okay. I've seen a lot of negativity surrounding this book the past few months, and people will always criticize, that's normal. But for those of you readers and writers in the industry of erom, or romance in general, I just wanted to share what I have seen that I think is a direct result of the Fifty Shades trilogy. So for that, I thank EL James and her publisher for helping to make this genre more widely-read and for helping to bring erotic romance to the forefront of the industry. 

Fundraising Anthology

Hello everyone!

I have a very important post to share with you all today. A group of writers has banded together to publish an anthology to raise money for a fellow writer to help her with the financial costs of fighting breast cancer. Donna Munro was diagnosed earlier this year with breast cancer. Donna is an alumnae of Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction program and a friend of mine. We've put together an anthology of so many different pieces, I can't even tell you about them all. 

Hazard Yet Forward is a compilation from seventy plus authors who've submitted pieces in all different genres. Many are current students or alums from Seton Hill. It was compiled by Matt and Natalie Duvall and Deanna Lepsch. The cover art (which is gorgeous and below) was done by a friend of the program, Coelynn McIninch! 

The anthology goes LIVE tonight at midnight on Amazon. I'll post the link later tonight here and on Facebook. The anthology is 9.99 which is about 40 cents per piece that is included in this incredible book. Every cent goes to Donna to help in her fight against breast cancer!!! There are some incredible stories in this book, including one by yours truly called "Midnight" under another pen name Jo Crosier. 

Blog Tour!

Good Morning, 

Welcome back to Divas of Desire.  

As you know, my first book is coming out in just under a month. To celebrate this, I'm doing a little bit of a blog tour. At each stop, there will be some more information about me and about the book. I'll put up some excerpts and some more insight about the book. I will also be having some friends stop by here to do a bit of guest blogging as well over the next few weeks. 

But first, a little more about the tour dates and what to expect at each stop: 

July 26, 2012 -  I will be at Sally Bosco's blog at www.sallybosco.com. Some bio info, the blurb for An Affair Across Times Square and a bit about craft, specifically how I used National Novel Writing Month to write the book. 

August 17, 2012 - I'll be at Mary DeSantis's blog at www.outofthelockbox.blogspot.com. Mary interviewed me about the book and you'll also find a sexy snippet from chapter 2 of An Affair Across Times Square. 

August 21, 2012 - Release Date - I'll be blogging at Rachel Leigh's blog at www.rachelleigh.co.uk. That's another interview with the blurb and a tease from chapter 1.

I'm very honored and excited to be doing a blog tour and I hope you'll stop by and share some love with me on these days. I have a few more invitations at some other blogs, but no firm dates yet, so I'll post those as they come in. I'll also be putting updates on my Facebook page. So stop by there if you'd like some more info. 

I've also made a couple promotional videos with a reading of the blurb and the first scene. I'll be posting those soon on Facebook, here, and/or my website. 

I've decided to put up some pictures with many of my blog posts, just because I think they're pretty. Some will have to do with my books and others will just be pictures I'd like to share.  

This one has to do with An Affair Across Times Square. 

Can you guess where this is?

~Rach 

Romance According to Rachell: The countdown

I hope you all didn't miss me too much last week. My rugrats were keeping me very busy. 

I have an official release date for the release of An Affair Across Times Square. So I'm here to celebrate with you! The release date is exactly five weeks from tomorrow. August, 21, 2012. Let the countdown begin! 


There's also a bit on that site about the process and idea for An Affair Across Times Square. So I thought I'd share a little more with you all about the book. Here's the little teaser that goes along with it...

Layla Morgan is tired of getting into trouble, and getting hurt. And she fears her wild nature is going to strike yet again. But maybe this time, she’s finally met the guy that can stand close enough to touch her inner flames, and not get burned. The man across Times Square seems enthralled by her wildness instead of scared in the face of it. He can’t seem to look away as she shows him just how much fun she can have… with herself.

After one glance of silky skin and talented fingers, Tyler Lachlan doesn’t stand a chance of resisting the delicious distraction of the mystery woman from the Marietta Hotel. He’s sure there’s more to her than her sultry voice and mahogany thighs, but he doesn’t know if he’s willing to risk his career to find out.

Could what began as a voyeuristic affair across Times Square develop into something more? 

And what better way to celebrate than by giving presents???? I'll be doing some giveaways here and on some other blogs over the next five weeks. I'm still scheduling my guest blogging spots, but check back here next Monday for the schedule and even maybe the first of my give-aways. 

~Rach 

Romance According to Rachell: First signing

I just got back from Seton Hill University where I had my very first signing this past week. It was put on by the Writing Popular Fiction alum and it was a fantastic event. Lots of people stopped by to get some signed swag. Here are my pretty little post-cards that I signed that night. 

I had a blast! Lots of friends and fans stopped by for the cards and I held a short reading of chapter one later that night. It was a blast. I should have a short audio clip to post in the near future. Check back next week for that one. 

In other news, two new book ideas in the mix that I should start working on eventually. I'll be sure to share all the naughty details with you all soon. 

And I got to spend some great time with my editor from Loose Id, and a bunch of other friends last week at Seton Hill. :-) 

A little bit of Rachell

Hello there, 

My name is Rachell Nichole and I live in New York. I write erotic romance and I love every minute of it (okay, well almost every minute... sometimes it's painful, and not in the good way ;-p) I've just finished the first round of edits on my first erotic romance, An Affair Across Times Square, due out later this year, and that's been my least favorite part of the writing process so far. 

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and I'm definitely a child of the digital age. I've had a computer in my house since I was a kid and I've been using the keyboard to weave my tales for more than a dozen years. I will publish this book with Loose Id, LLC. For updates on the book or upcoming news, check back here every Monday for Romance According to Rachell. You can also visit my website (if you dare) at www.RachellNichole.com 

I'll be posting fun and exciting new blogs every Monday, so come start your week off right! 

A friend, and fellow writer, of mine, Nona Raines asked me a few weeks back if I would be interested in doing a group blog. I thought it was a fantastic idea and we asked Danica St. Como, another writer friend, to join us in our quest... and the Divas of Desire were born. 
Each week, we three Divas shall blog about whatever we desire. Some shall be daring and I promise to post some pictures, especially of photos that have inspired my writing. 
~ Rach