Guest Blogger Sami Lee - Embracing the Risk

In real life, I’m not much of a risk taker. Whatever fun I derived from flirting with danger when I was younger (and there was some of that), I think I lost it when I had kids. I’m all about safety now, being prepared like a good little girl scout. But the spirit of the risk taker in me is still alive in my writing. When it comes to playing with words, I love to try something different, even if there’s a chance I won’t pull it off—especially if there’s a chance I won’t pull it off. Call me a sucker for a challenge. Or a masochist.

In one of my recent releases, Erica’s Choice (available from Samhain Publishing or your preferred online bookstore, buy links here http://www.samilee.com/wordpress/?page_id=78. Plug, plug, plug), I wrote male/male scenes for the first time. It was also the first time I’d written a ménage a trois situation that ended in a committed triad relationship. It was a risky proposition, because I had no idea if I would even be able to write this idea down, let alone do it well. I think it’s paid off because I love that book now.

Another new thing I tried recently was writing a novella as part of an anthology with two other authors—the Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding series (http://store.samhainpublishing.com/bandicoot-cove-wedding-series-367.html). All the events took place concurrently, so we had to know what was going on in each other’s stories so we could have the characters interrelate as much as possible. Lucky for me I was writing with two of my best writing buddies, Jess Dee and Lexxie Couper, so it was a totally fun experience. And again, I had to try something I’d never tried before, just coz. This time it was voyeurism. There’s a little bondage and a dominant hero as well, but I’d dabbled there before. The voyeuristic aspects added an interesting bit of spice I wanted to explore. I went into that thinking (as I do with most new experiences) ‘how hard can it be?’. And the answer was, as usual, ‘harder than you think, Sami. Harder than you think’.

But again I had fun with that book, got to use some funky alliteration in the title (Moonlight Mirage—I love the images that conjures), and the risk paid off in the form of a lovely completed book with a beeaaauuutiful cover. I’ve included a little excerpt below to whet your appetite for a torrid affair on a tropical Aussie island. Now that’s something new I bet a lot of people would want to try. Yes indeed.

Moonlight Mirage: Excerpt

“Are you calm?”

In a strange way, he was. Even with the force of his sexual needs coursing through him, the sense of urgency had faded to the background. Not fighting the inevitable was freeing. He wanted Hayley more than he’d ever wanted another woman, and admitting the truth of it was more calming than he ever would have expected. “Yes.”

“Are you here, in this moment with me?”

His answer was the absolute truth. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

At last, Hayley took her hands away from his face. “Open your eyes.”

The brightness caused Mitch to flinch as he raised his eyelids. The muted colors of predawn had disappeared. What replaced them were brilliant rays of light in every conceivable hue from bright fuchsia to flaming orange to deepest magenta.

Mitch regularly rose at dawn. He’d seen sunrises before. But this explosion of color was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Was it because of the location or the woman standing beside him?

Or was it simply that he had never really looked before?

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Mitch stared at the view before him, not turning his head to look at Hayley. He was afraid to. If the sky took his breath completely away, he was pretty sure his lungs would collapse if he saw Hayley bathed in all that glorious light. Unable to speak, he merely nodded.

“This is what I wanted you to see,” she said. “The start of a brand-new day when everything is untouched until this amazing kaleidoscope of color washes over it, like painting on a blank canvas. When you truly experience the sunrise, you have to believe anything is possible.”

Was she right? Could anything happen? Could Hayley forgive him for being a blind asshole, for not knowing what he was rejecting when he pushed her away? Could a woman like Hayley Bryant ever really want a boring, stuffed-shirt workaholic like Mitch Wood?

“Mitch?”

Mitch took a deep breath, filling his lungs in case it was the last time he’d be able to do it for a while, and turned to look at her. His chest seized, his heart stopped. The slightest of breezes lifted the curled strands of her hair, causing them to float around her face. The golden tresses were shot through with intense orange, making it look like a halo had formed around her. But she was more beautiful than any angel heaven could produce. She was a woman, and she was real, and she stood right before him with the look of wonder and awe on her face reflecting everything that was going on inside him.

For a long time she held his gaze, saying nothing as the sky changed colors around them. Then her gaze lowered, trailing over his face until finally landing on his lips. It was all the invitation Mitch required. Without a word, he stepped toward her and brought his hands up to cup her face. Then he dipped his head.

He wouldn’t have thought it possible for someone to taste like the sunrise, but Hayley did. She was beautiful and golden, and she enveloped him in glorious warmth. He let their lips meld in their own way, not trying to drive the kiss, using no technique whatsoever. The kiss turned brighter and hotter and more vivid until Mitch felt infused with the heat and life that was Hayley.

Utterly lost, Mitch wasn’t even aware of taking her down to the sand. One minute he stood with his arms wrapped tight around her, the next they were horizontal. Writhing beneath him, Hayley drove her fingers through his hair, holding him to her. His fingers found their way beneath the hem of her top, trailing over the smooth flatness of her stomach. It wasn’t enough, so he shoved the garment upward, exposing Hayley’s breast to the gentle morning breeze. He cupped the soft mound and squeezed.

Into his mouth, Hayley gasped. Beneath him, her body arched, her back coming off the sand as she sought a more complete touch. Mitch granted her wish, using his thumb to graze her pebbled peak. It blossomed under his ministrations, growing ripe and plump and all too tempting. Breaking free of Hayley’s ravishing mouth, Mitch trailed his lips downward, over her collarbone and shoulder. He kissed around the puckered flesh, narrowly avoiding the sensitive point that silently begged for his attention.

Hayley’s grip on his head started to pinch as she tightened her hold. “Mitch, please.”

Lust surged through his veins. Goddamn, that was what he wanted to hear. Hayley desperate for his touch, begging him for it. “Ask again.”

“Oh, God. Just put me out of my misery.”

“Ask, damn it.”

Thanks to the Nine for having me!

Cheers,

Sami

Despite falling in love with creative writing in her teenage years, Sami worked a wide variety of jobs on her way to eventual publication. As a bartender she used to scrawl snatches of dialogue on the back of flyers advertising $2 drink specials. Now she types on a computer like a bonafide, professional author—but she wouldn’t mind finding a bar that still sells $2 drinks. If you know of one, please feel free to get in touch with her and let her know ASAP!

An author of hot, unashamedly romantic stories, Sami and lives in Australia with her husband and two stupendous daughters. If that’s too far away for you, visit her web home at www.samilee.com. You can also catch her on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/sami.lee.39#!/SamiLeeAuthor), twitter (https://twitter.com/divasamilee) and goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1166869.Sami_Lee).