Kicking off a Great Year!

As 2012 draws to its close and the new year is about to begin, I have to confess to being blown away by the reaction I’ve received thus far to my writing.

My life hasn’t always been the easiest – if you read my profile you’ll most likely infer that I didn’t have the most stable of backgrounds, and you’ll be correct. But I’ve done okay for myself, getting out of a home that was no good, keeping myself alive and moving on, working hard but glad to have a job, and all the while letting my imagination run wild.

I started putting some of that imagination down on paper, then when I settled down a bit and finally got my tiny hands on a computer I started writing some of those stories in electronic form. A couple of friends suggested I try sending them off to magazines, or e-publishing them, and while I was never quite able to bring myself to submit to publications I began e-publishing just a few short weeks ago.

My first two stories, PRIVATE DINING and ROOM SERVICE (part of The Tides Inn Erotic Tales series), went live on Nov. 24, and after a few days of checking them out, making sure all was okay, I began doing a little marketing.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, and I felt if just a handful of people bought the stories I’d be ecstatic.

More than a handful bought.

When I did a free give-away for PRIVATE DINING, I found thousands of people willing to download the work, moving it well into the top 50 Amazon erotica category. Even after the free promo ended, people kept buying both PRIVATE DINING and ROOM SERVICE, which is a continuation of the PRIVATE DINING.

This past week I uploaded two new stories in a different series, JENNIFER LOST and JENNIFER BOUND, part of the Ville D’Esclavage series. A few of those were bought and downloaded even before I announced their availability! (And if you’re wondering, Ville D’Esclavage is roughly translated “bondage city” or “town of bondage” if that gives you any idea of which way those stories might lean).

This weekend (Dec. 29-Dec. 30) I’m doing another free promo, this time for JENNIFER LOST, and while the first day of the promo wasn’t quite as strong as the one for PRIVATE DINING, I’m still pleased.

Just a few short weeks ago the idea that people would buy my work – well, it was little more than a dream. 

Now it’s happening, and it’s quite exciting!

More importantly, though, through Twitter and Facebook I’ve come across some really great people. Some have bought my work, some haven’t, but it’s been great fun to chat with others – some writers, some not – and I think the best benefit of the self-publishing has been meeting others, even if the meetings have been of the electronic variety.

I have more writing coming this year – a third tale in The Tides Inn series to wrap up the story arc begun in PRIVATE DINING and a third tale in the Ville D’Esclavage series to tie up that story line, as well as a full-length murder mystery/romance/bondage-related novel (that’s some combination, huh?).

Most of all I hope to meet more people in the upcoming year – maybe even you. Go ahead and drop a comment here, or look me up on Facebook (shandramillerwriter) or Twitter (@shandramillerwr).

I hope you buy one of my works, maybe more, but most of all I hope we can maybe share a hello or two.

A few erotic gifts for last-minute Christmas shopping

We made it past the Mayan Doomsday, but your personal D-DAY is just around the corner because Christmas is here and you haven’t finished your shopping.

Maybe your significant other has everything she (or he) needs; perhaps you need a little token gift for a coworker or casual friend; possibly you just procrastinated and now you’re up a creek without a paddle. Heck, maybe you worked hard, got your Christmas shopping done early and now you're looking to give yourself a little present.

Ever thought about e-gifting a book? It’s inexpensive, you don’t have to worry about on-time delivery (in fact, delivery is FREE), and it’s just a cool 21^st-century thing to do.

You can give an e-book to anyone who has a valid e-mail address, and they don’t even need to own a Kindle to read your gift. For complete information on how to e-gift a book, visit giving an e-book, then check out my offers here:

For those who like a little spice with their meals, may I suggest my tale PRIVATE DINING? Pamela, who serves as a waitress as the ritzy Tides Inn, pulls out all the stops to show her best customer, Brett, that she can be more than a table server. But Brett turns the table on her, and Pamela finds being a server entails more than a simple meal. PRIVATE DINING is just 99 cents.

In ROOM SERVICE, Pamela learns that Brett has an appetite that goes far beyond what he had for dinner, and she is the only dish that can satiate his desire. ROOM SERVICE is just 99 cents.

In JENNIFER LOST, the first in my new series, ville d’esclavage tales, Jennifer is thrilled when Andrei invites her to be his escort at a masquerade party at this ancestral home. The party turns into a show, with a magician and his assistant on stage, performing the usual routine of magic tricks when the show takes a dark and erotic turn – and Jennifer watches, enraptured, as a woman is taken on stage, bound and disrobed, while the magician and his sultry helper have their way with her. Soon enough, Jennifer finds herself the center of attention. JENNIFER LOST is just $1.49.

Her saga continues in JENNIFER BOUND. After the performance, Jennifer finds herself the target of two men, each of whom wants to make her their own – literally. And Jennifer finds she cannot resist either of the men. JENNIFER BOUND is just $1.49.

Whichever of my works you give, I hope the recipient of your greatly enjoys the work.

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo

Jennifer Lost: A new dark erotic tale now available

At the end of November I released my first two erotica tales, PRIVATE DINING and ROOM SERVICE. I really didn’t know what to expect – while I’ve been writing for several years, I’d never considered my work for publication. A writer friend of mine suggested I give it a go, and rather than play the game of submitting stories to markets and waiting forever to get a reply, I opted for the self-publishing route.

PRIVATE DINING and ROOM SERVICE are short stories that sale for 99 cents each, with a continuing story line through the two of them. I have been pleasantly surprised with the response, both in the fact that people are actually buying the stories, and a few are even catching up with me on Twitter to comment. Soon enough I’ll be producing a third work for that series, which I’m calling Tide’s Inn Erotica Tales. 

For now, though, I’ve finished two additional pieces that are part of a new series called ville d’esclavage tales. Ville d’esclavage is French for bondage town, if that gives you any hint at what direction those stories might take. The first in the series, JENNIFER LOST, is now available at Amazon.com, and soon the second in the series, JENNIFER BOUND, will be available. I’ve tried to make them sensual and fun and maybe a little bit naughty. Okay, maybe a whole lot naughty.

Here’s a bit about the first story in the series.

Jennifer has long fantasized about being with Andrei Sorin, and her dream seems to be coming true when he asks her to an annual Halloween gathering at his ancestral home.

There she sees a number of people – some she knows from town, others she doesn’t recognize – but the get-together is great fun. After retiring to a small auditorium on the grounds, Jennifer is fascinated by a live magic show, watching as audience volunteers are brought on stage for various tricks: one disappears, then is brought back whole; another is seemingly sawed in half, only to be put back together none-the-worse-for-wear; and then the show takes a dark, erotic turn.

Jennifer watches as her friend, Ashley, is coaxed on stage as a volunteer. There she’s bound, blindfolded, stripped and gagged while the magician and his assistant work a new form of magic, using pain and pleasure to change Ashley from a frightened, struggling captive into a willing servant, craving more than they can give.

Jennifer is horrified – at first by what she sees unfolding on the stage, and later by her own puzzling reaction. Mentally she knows she should be revolted by what she sees, but physically she has a totally different response. Soon enough Jennifer finds herself on stage, bound, helpless, at Andre’s mercy. While she struggles at first, soon enough she, too, hungers for more. Afterward, Jennifer is left wondering what she allowed to happen, why her body reacted the way it did, and whether she can let herself remain under the power of a man like Andrei.

JENNIFER LOST is the first of the ville d’esclavage tales, a series about a small North Carolina town where everyone is prim and proper, with a dark eroticism simmering just beneath the surface.

JENNIFER LOST, just $1.49.

I hope you buy the story. Most importantly, I hope you enjoy it and feel it was worth the cost. 

Please drop me a line, or comment here (maybe even join my blog as a follower?) and tell me how you like my work.

xoxo

Flashing through the night

Last week I spent about an hour outside late one cold night watching the Geminid meteor shower. It was a thrilling display -- astronomers predicted after midnight as many as 130 meteors might be seen each hour.

I don't know how many I saw, but it could have easily been a hundred or more. Most were little pinpricks of light, gone almost before my mind had registered seeing them. Some were brighter, arcing across large swaths of the sky, their tail giving off a bright glow. And a few were even larger -- one streaked through the darkness, broke in two, each piece then speeding onward. Even after the meteor had vaporized, two greenish-yellow tails remained visible for several seconds.

I couldn't help but be in awe. Depending upon their origin these meteors had been floating in space for thousands to millions of years, just chunks of metal and rock drifting for millions upon millions of miles. Then last week they collided with earth and gave off a brief but brilliant display.

I am a relatively young person, hopefully with most of my life ahead of me. I just started what I hope is a long and successful writing career. I most definitely don't want to flash quickly and then be gone like so many of those Geminids. However long this lasts -- both my life and my writing career -- I hope it leaves a brilliant, beautiful trail that others will enjoy for years to come.

Playing in the rain

When's the last time you played in the rain? Splashed in a mud puddle?

I did Sunday. The weather had been misty off and on all day and the skies opened up shortly after dark. I couldn't help myself -- I took off, running down the dirty old lane where my house sits.

I live outside of town, isolated in what the real estate agent called a "rustic cabin" but many people would call a shack. That's okay. I'm not hung up on labels. It's a solid, good house that's looking kind of drab, though I'm brightening it up little by little.

Like I said, it's isolated, on an old dirt road that eventually ends at a creek. When the rainfall began I jumped up and ran -- no flashlight, no illumination of any kind -- just me, the rain and the dark.

That's when I found the big old mud puddle. I stumbled when I passed through, and for a moment had visions of sliding face-down across the mud. Thankfully I regained my balance, then returned to the puddle and danced and jumped and had a grand old time.

Soon my clothes were plastered to me like a second skin. I didn't care. I felt like a kid, and I can't wait for another storm.

Go ahead, give it a try. Next time it rains in your part of the world, go outside. Take a walk, a run, skip along, and if you're lucky enough to find a puddle or two stomp in them. Splash the water. And remember what it was to be a kid.

Slumbering under the Milky Way

Have you ever slept under the stars?

I did a couple of nights ago. It wasn't something I planned, it was just an urge, a need, a desire.

I go for frequent walks at night, and Tuesday was unseasonably mild, as the weather people like to say. The night was also exceptionally clear. Orion was climbing above the horizon, like the mighty hunter that he is, announcing his presence to the world. And nearby, not far from his outstretched shield, was the nebulous, mysterious, unmistakable Milky Way.

The longer I stared, the more brilliant the sky became, with what looked like a billion stars twinkling from their far off perches in the sky. I slipped off my shoes, let the dewy chill of the grass seep into my feet, felt the very ground calling to me -- before long I was nude, lying in the grass, gazing into that world of outer space.

Later I awoke. The cold brought me back to consciousness, I suppose with the stirring of the breeze, the gentle touch of wind against bare skin. I thought about remaining there -- and I did for a few minutes, continuing to watch the stars -- but I was expected to arrive at work the next day, on time, to answer the phone and file papers and a hundred other inane little tasks, so I got to my feet, went inside to see it was already 2:30 in the morning, then climbed in the bed and slept.

Sitting here now, at my desk, everyone else in the office gone, I can recall the feeling of the air, the sense of the cool wet grass against my bare skin, and I wonder why we, as a race, ever left that state when we could simply stretch out under the stars and sleep, wake with the sun, bath in a river, walk to the fields and do our daily chores?

A FREE story for you

Was gonna write this soon, but got lost outside walking and watching the clouds float across blue sky. Beautiful day.

I’m doing my first give-away today and tomorrow (Sunday and Monday), offering Private Dining for free. I had planned the give-away for Saturday and Sunday, and even listed the freebie with a couple of listing services, then Saturday discovered the short story remained at 99 cents. Then I realized I had selected the wrong days. Amazon has to shoulder some of the blame here – the screwy calendar you use to select your free days ENDS with Sunday, rather than begins. I simply clicked on the last day of the week and the first day of the next week – only later realizing their calendar is different from the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

So, anyway, I figured it out and Private Dining is now free. I hope you’ll download, enjoy, and tell others who might like the tale. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Shandra

Taking off!

This week I'm finally venturing into the wild world of e-publishing.

I've been writing off and on for a few years, though my particular lifestyle hasn't always been conducive to writing, at least not in electronic form. Bouncing around from town to town for eight months every year, generally riding or working 14 hours a day doesn't leave a lot of writing time. And what writing I could do was long-hand. I shudder to think how much of that writing I've lost over the years.

I've been more or less settled now for a year or so, regular job, actual apartment, and finally a computer. Now I'm trying to figure out blogger, FB, twitter and the rest of the e-world.

So forgive me if I seem a little slow, if I'm not exactly prolific at the writing thing yet, but I'm here, and I plan to stay for a good long time. I hope to make a lot of friends, maybe get a few fans who enjoy my work, and who knows what the future may bring.

Anyway, my first two works are erotica pieces, part of a larger Tides Inn Erotica Tales series. The first two installments are Private Dining, and Room Service. Each is 99 cents. I hope you'll take a look, maybe let me know what you think.

Even if you don't get to the stories, drop me a comment here, follow my blog -- I'll follow yours right back.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just checking this out. Blogger seems to be a series of trails to no where. I've added a couple of pages -- about me, my published work, yet they won't show up.