Guest Author & Giveaway: Amber Lin featuring Giving It Up

My guest today describes her books as "broken love stories".  I think that is a very apt description for her story, Giving It Up.  Author Tiffany Reisz, has this to say about it, “Giving It Up is an erotic, compelling story that takes us to the shadowy, lonely places but doesn’t leave us there. Amber Lin shows us that romance isn’t just for the rich and shiny. Love can find its way even into the dark corners of the most damaged hearts.” 

Erotic romance author, Amber Lin, is with us today to share one of her favorite scenes from Giving It Up, not to mention a great giveaway :)  Enjoy!

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My Favorite Scene from Giving It Up

I’m partial to the opening scene from Giving It Up. Actually the whole first chapter. It’s not just where you will meet Allie and Colin, it’s where I met them. Allie’s at a club trolling for a night of rough dirty sex, and we get some hints to the pain that triggers this. She finds Colin there, and we get to see some hints of his life (though the significance of those hints remains hazy for some time). Plus I love a strong opening, in both my reading and my writing, and that whole first chapter packs a bit of a punch.

I also like the last scene, because it’s… well, this is a romance, so it’s happy. It’ll give you the warm tingles. No, not there—higher up ☺ Sweet and just enough sappy.

But I think my favorite scene of all, the one that stands out in my mind is somewhere between them, and that’s the one I’m going to share with you today in an exclusive excerpt.

Before we go there, I think I need to prepare you. This scene is dark and gritty. I mean, this whole book is dark and gritty! It’s also some other things like “tender” and “hopeful” or so says Cara McKenna, author of Willing Victim. So, I don’t mean to scare you away… but I do, if this is not your thing.

When Jacob had touched me, I’d burned from the pain and the fear. When those men had touched me, I’d grown cold. Frozen to ice, never thawed.

In the present I felt the warmth of Colin’s touch at my back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

I still felt the anger, the hurt, but those things were impotent. At least when you were small like me. So tired. And hell, I didn’t want to be mad at him. It probably made me weak, but that was nothing new.

I fought past the lump in my throat. “Give it to me.”

He paused. “What?”

“The way I want it. You know.”

I felt his indecision as my breath caught. He didn’t want to hurt me, I knew, but he’d want to do as I asked, because he’d fucked up. I didn’t even know if I wanted him to say yes or no.

“Okay,” he finally said, resigned.

Relief and panic warred within me, but both emotions were muted by the sharp pain on my wrist. Why did men always go for the wrist? They wanted to immobilize women, I supposed. Immobilize our hands, at least—were hands really so powerful? Then he tightened his other hand in my hair and yanked. Fuck. Yes, they were.

I slid down the side of the bed, where the hardwood floor slapped my face. My knees jolted as they hit the floor, and then again with the impact of Colin’s weight from behind.

All over, my body was twisted or crushed. It was perfect.

I surrendered. There’s a freedom in not having to move, not having to think, but knowing it would happen anyway.

My clothes were yanked out of the way, and then he was fucking me.

Each thrust slammed my head into the ground and my shoulders from their sockets. Ah, bliss.

My mind took up a chant. Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me. Make me hurt, cry, bleed. Make my outside match my inside. Help me get it out, because I can’t cry on my own.

As, the scene continues, it gets even better…or worse, depending on your perspective. But such is the tumble bumble path of healing. If you like emotional stories of hurt and redemption, I hope you’ll give Allie’s story a try.

Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it's not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.

He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren't enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.

But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

Read an excerpt

And enjoy this additional excerpt from the beginning of the book in the flipbook below:

or read it in a Google document here.

Congratulations Amber and thanks for being my guest today!  I have to agree that the scene she shared with us today is one that I found very powerful, poignant, and a life changing moment for the heroine in the story. 

If you'd like to learn more about author Amber Lin and the books she writes, you can find her at her website http://authoramberlin.com/, her blog, Twitter, & Goodreads.

To celebrate the release of Giving It Up, Amber would like to giveaway a "Giving It Up Swag Pack", which includes romance trading cards, a signed cover flat, a signature soap bar for showers together handcrafted by AnaBanana Creations and a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky Musings follower (below):

AND if that's not enough she's also giving away an erotic romance prize pack, including paperback copies of Bared to You by Sylvia Day, Simply Carnal by Kate Pearce, Lessons in Letting Go by Cara McKenna (print combo of Willing Victim and Curio), Comfort Object by Annabel Joseph, a collection of signed Giving It Up swag AND a $50 Amazon Gift Card (BN.com or All Romance may be substituted) to one randomly drawn commenter from her blog tour.  Here's how you can enter to win each giveaway...

Ways to earn entries:

• Mandatory:  Answer this question:  What do you think about dark and gritty romances? (good for 1 entry)

How to enter:

• Leave a comment at each stop on the blog tour to earn additional entries for the Erotic Romance Prize Pack.  Your comment also enters you into the "Giving It Up Swag Pack" prize that will be given away to a Musings follower. 

Rules and disclaimers:

• The winner(s) will be selected randomly from among all of the comments of the blog tour by either the author or by Goddess Fish Promotions who will also be responsible for contacting the winner(s).
• Seductive Musings is not responsible for prizes that are not honored, distributed in a timely manner, lost, stolen, or damaged during transit 
• All giveaways are subject to change/cancellation without prior written notice

Good Luck!

*Seductive Musings is an Amazon affiliate and receives a very small referral fee for purchases made via the links on the blog and through the Seductive Musings Amazon Store. Read the full disclosure here.