Sunday, May 10, 2015

My Latest Purchases

 I am now the proud owner of my very first book covers. Breathless Press was kind enough to offer to sell them to me once their logos had been removed.

It feels strange to go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or ARe and only see one or two covers instead of the half dozen that used to grace my author's page on those site.

Breathless Press was not only my very first publisher, but the owner Justyn Perry encouraged me to write and offered me a place with his publishing company.

I feel as if a large chunk of my "authorly" presence has been amputated. I'm going to miss Breathless Press tremendously.


Mina Carter designed both book-covers for me and she did such a wonderful job with them. I've always loved these covers.

Soon, I hope to have From the Ashes available once more.

Alexios' Fate may take a bit longer as I'm looking to rework the first story in the Apollo's Men series before re-releasing it.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Wrecked Blog Tour and Giveaway

Thank you, Kayla, for kicking off my WRECKED Blog Tour for my upcoming historical romance.

It's my pleasure! You know I love your stories and a historical is even better.

On May 15th Dreamspinner Press will be releasing WRECKED, my fourth book with them—my seventeenth overall not including free reads.

I can hardly believe that this book is finally coming out. Editing a historical novel of this size took a while, but not nearly as long as it took to write it! 96K is the finished length. Plenty to sink your teeth into if you’re looking for a nice long, romantic read, if I do say so myself LOL

WRECKED had its birth in 2009 when my husband and I went on vacation to Key West, Florida. One afternoon we decided to tour the Key West Shipwreck Museum. I thought we would see some relics from under the sea, but I never expected to be inspired to write this book…..let alone find the name for my hero Rief in a video of a salvaging operation in the 80s, LOL.  Did you know that in the 1850s Key West was the wealthiest city per capita in America? That money was brought in by salvaging ships wrecked on the Florida Reef, a dangerous occupation which was sanctioned by the US federal courts. These hearty sailors had a reputation as pirates in some circles, and rumors abounded that they tricked mariners into hiring them, or even had a hand in wrecking the ships to begin with.

Talk about a perfect setting for a romance novel!

Now Key West is one of my favorite cities and taking the time to learn the history of this unique place was a lot of fun. I endeavored to layer all of these details, places, people of that Pre-Civil War era and I hope readers really get the feeling that they are right there in Key West with Mathew and Rief. Take a look at the blurb:

Blurb from WRECKED:
Off the Key West coast, Rief Lawson works as a wrecker, salvaging ships and their cargo. Exiled to the outskirts of society because of his mysterious gift of sight, Rief’s only respite from his loneliness is painting an unknown blond man. When a merchant ship wrecks during a violent storm, Rief rescues a drowning victim and comes face-to-face with his destiny.

It is the man from his art!

Heir to an English barony, Mathew Weston entered the merchant trade with his greedy father and soon-to-be father-in-law. Dominated by his father and smothered by the people around him—including his sweet but tiresome fianceĆ©—Mathew is terrified to follow his true desires. Marriage and obedience seem safer than a life of secrecy and possible prison.

After the daring rescue, a fire ignites between the two men. Powerless to resist his desire, Mathew learns what it means to be a man in Rief’s arms. With this newfound confidence, Mathew teaches Rief through gentle touch that he deserves the affection he’s long been denied. Yet their affair is doomed from the start. Two desperate men, wrecked in heart and mind, must find a way to salvage the chance at love fate has given them.

During my WRECKED Blog Tour, I will be sharing exclusive excerpts at all of my stops. Today I am going to start with one of my favorite scenes, when Mathew and Rief meet face to face for the first time. Enjoy!

Excerpt from WRECKED:
“Every time I look around, I see incompetence. Torino warned us not to trust the wreckers. Lawson even hired another diver without my permission,” Father spat, fussing with the cuffs of his coat. “Driving the cost up, no doubt. I will not allow these scoundrels to lessen our insurance claim. We do not need five divers.”

Though Mathew found it odd Father was concerned with a yet to be made claim rather than salvaging their cargo, he was more interested in the wrecking operation. “Why have we hired divers?”

“Yes, the way she sits, the lower holds are still flooded and the pump isn’t keeping up, so men swim down to get the cargo by free diving,” Mr. Kirkwood explained.

“Sounds heroic.”

Father scoffed and raked him with a sneer. “What would you know of heroics, Mathew? When you’re needed to see to the safety of two ladies, you fall overboard like a fop, then take ill. Come, Kirkwood. I want to find Lawson and give him a piece of my mind.” He paused to give Mathew an arch of brows. “I trust you will be returning to port with the other women?”

He spoke so loudly a few crewmen of the Mirabella chuckled as they passed.
Mathew felt his face burn and could not think of a suitable reply.

What would he say anyway?

A terrible marksman and an even worse equestrian, Mathew often chose the company of women over his own sex. As a child it had been the opposite, he couldn’t get enough of being around the other boys, especially the older, athletic ones. But things changed when his body had begun to mature. He shied away from them, preferring female companions though he had no attraction to women outside of a general appreciation of their aesthetics and their more accepting natures. At one time, he had attributed this propensity to never having a mother and thus he craved female attention. But now he understood that certain men made him nervous because he found them attractive, sensual—just the way a woman should view men.

Snickering to himself, Father walked off.

Mr. Kirkwood hesitated to follow. Glancing at the sailors still chuckling, he offered an apologetic pat to Mathew’s back. “Excuse me, Mr. Weston. I’ll be back in a moment.” After a wan smile, he followed Father.

The respect and subsequent pitying gesture caused Mathew’s humiliation to increase, and along with it, his temper. Angry at himself, he gripped the railing tight once they left, the pain of his crutch digging into his armpit and making him even angrier.

Damnation!

The last three years at Cambridge, where his friends and peers treated him as an equal, Mathew believed he’d come into his own. Successful in his studies and well-liked, his gait had improved, walking as tall as his short stature allowed. He’d even found an athletic activity he excelled at for the first time in his life, the rowing team, and he’d passed his Tripos with first-class honors. He’d actually felt like an adult.

Like a man.

Yet the second he returned to London, one word from Father had reduced Mathew to the same pathetic child he’d always been, yearning for sympathy and love, but finding only scorn and resentment instead.

He gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Going back with the other women,” he muttered to himself in a haughty baritone version of Father. “Other women, indeed!”

Just because he had feminine fantasies, did not mean he was a woman!

“Annoying isn’t it?” a husky voice said.

Startled, Mathew’s head jerked back, and he almost fell over in shock when he looked up into eyes he had not imagined.

Oh dear God….

Bare-chested, and looking every bit as wild as the storm that had wrecked their ship, stood the man who had rescued him.

Rief.

Mathew’s heart skipped, and his body flushed.

Rief was even more handsome than he recalled!

Damp, sandy-brown hair brushed Rief’s neck and brow, the whisper of sunlight peeking out of the heavy clouds revealing hints of copper and gold where it had dried. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot and tired, but the color of them Mathew had been unable to recall turned out to be a bit of everything that was the tropics. Gold of the sand at sunset. Blue of the deepest parts of the sea. Green of the shallows catching the sunlight. Whatever way he moved, they picked up the colors reflecting around him. This was a man born of the sea, a child of this restless land.

Mathew had to look like a fool talking aloud to himself!

How could he possibly be so absurd?

“Pardon?” he muttered, tugging on the edge of his shirtsleeve to cover his embarrassment and overly aware of how the sun glistened on the hairs dusting the man’s tanned muscular body—and the way the air felt much hotter than before.

“Annoying when they talk to you like you’re a child. My brother does it to me all the time,” Rief said. His soft brown curls luffed in the wind.

“Y-yes, I suppose so.” Transfixed by how much wider and taller than him Rief was, he felt like a child looking up at a giant. And why wasn’t the man wearing a shirt? Positively distracting, that was what it was!

“Makes you want to plant a fist right in their throat,” he said, with a sideways smirk that Mathew wasn’t sure was humor or serious. “Glad to see you’re up and well. How’s your leg?”

“I-it’s fine, thank you,” he managed.

When Rief grinned, a solitary dimple on his left cheek undid Mathew completely.

Is this what a swoon feels like? Get a hold of yourself! Only women swoon!

Thank you for hosting my today, Kayla. Don’t forget to enter to win one of the two copies of WRECKED


Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.


You can also find her young adult alter ego, K.D. Worth FacebookTwitter

Buy Deanna’s books at Dreamspinner Press, Decadent Publishing or at any reputable eBook seller


Tags:
Wrecked, Key West Shipwreck Museum, Key West, Pre-Civil War Key West, Florida, Florida Reef, salvaging in the Keys, Florida Keys, Key West history, Dreamspinner Press, Deanna Wadsworth, historical romance, wreckers, gay romance, gay, rafflecopter, giveaway, free book, contest, new release