Guest Author & Giveaway: Shayla Black featuring "Arresting Desire" in Hot in Handcuffs

Can you stand the heat you'll find at Seductive Musings this week?  I certainly hope so!

Author Shayla Black is my guest today to share with us her new novella, "Arresting Desire" in the Hot in Handcuffs anthology with Shiloh Walker and Sylvia Day.  That my friends is a lineup that is worth every single penny!  Enjoy!!

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Welcome to back to Seductive Musings, Shayla! It’s been awhile, so I’m glad that you could take some time out of your busy writing schedule to visit with us today.

I’m thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me!

I was very excited when I first learned about Hot in Handcuffs because it had three of my favorite authors in one book...you, Shiloh Walker, and Sylvia Day. That’s pretty much a guaranteed great read :) What do you love most about writing stories for anthologies? And do you find them harder or easier to write than your full length books.

I love anthologies to be able to tell the continuing stories of characters I’ve introduced previously, but haven’t quite had the opportunity to address. They might be the smaller stories, the “what happened to these people after you closed the book” stories. Writing less than full length is always a challenge for me. I like the opportunity to spread out with the character and conflict, take my time to dig deep. With the novellas, the conflict has to stay simpler to fit in word count…and I’m just a complicated girl by nature.

Your newest story, Arresting Desire is the third book in the Sexy Capers series. Can you tell us how many books are planned for this series? How Bound and Determined, Strip Search & “Arresting Desire” are related, and for someone who has not had the pleasure of reading them, can you give us a brief summary about each of these stories? And do they need to be read in order?

I’d like to tell one more story in this series. It’s something I’ve been dying to write for YEARS. I’m hoping to put it on the agenda for 2013 or 2014. The premise behind Sexy Capers is exactly what it sounds like. Characters finding themselves in a somewhat oddball situation having to work together to solve the problem, but finding LOTS of sexy moments on the way. In Bound and Determined, that was Kerry kidnapping Rafe to help save her brother. In Strip Search, that was Mark going undercover as a male stripper in Nicki’s club to find the criminal mastermind who’d ruined his life. In “Arresting Desire”, I’ve cooked something new and fun.

As I mentioned previously, Arresting Desire, in the anthology Hot in Handcuffs, is the third book in your Sexy Capers series. Readers have been waiting for quite some time for Lucia and Jon’s story, but I’m sure it will be well worth the wait! What was it about their story that made it perfect for this anthology instead of a full length novel?

Jon and Lucia’s story is perfect for a novella because they’re both at a place in their lives where they’re open to the possibility of love. In fact, Lucia is actively seeking it in a way that makes Jon more than a little angry, so he’s got to step in to both convince her that she shouldn’t go through with her plans. The truth is, she wants him and he wants her. They just have to talk it out—and stay alive long enough to enjoy what they’ve found in one another.

Tell us about your hero, Jon Bocelli. What do you think will make readers, much like his heroine Lucia, fall in love with him? And can you tell us a little bit about their story in Arresting Desire?

Jon is Alpha all the way, but willing to do anything for family and those he loves. He’s smart and understanding, more than a little demanding in bed, but he knows how to be tender. He’s protective and decisive, but willing to listen. He respects Lucia’s intelligence immensely. When he decides he’s the man who’s going to make her happy, he lets nothing stop him.

What's your favorite scene or moment from Arresting Desire, and why? Can you describe it (or provide a short excerpt) for us without giving too much away?

Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite scenes in the book. Jon and Lucia have fun, snappy dialogue most of the way, and it was great to bring back some familiar characters to join in on the fun as Jon sweeps Lucia away—literally—to help solve a mystery that’s vital to them both.

“I will do anything to get my brother free. But I’m also going to prove that I truly want you. We’re going to follow these clues your father has left us—this week. You’re not going to run off to the Bahamas and let some total stranger take what I want.” He grabbed her arms. “What you want to give me.”

If anything, she got angrier. “Get out of my way.”

“No. Come with me.”

“Go to hell.”

“You’re leaving me no choice, Lucia . . .” Before she could question that statement, he bent and shoved his shoulder into her soft belly, then hoisted her up on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked.

“Exactly what I promised.” He braced himself with one hand on the handrail. With the other, he palmed her upper thigh to balance her.

God, he couldn’t wait to get her naked and supine. He might not be the best man in the world for her virginal sensibilities, but he’d treat her damn better than any random asshole she’d pick up at a singles’ resort for a one-night stand. Together, they would follow whatever trail Nicholas had left. Jon hoped and prayed that the Mafia boss’s clues also proved that Stefan hadn’t killed that judge. Even if they didn’t, she would solve the riddle her father had left her, and he couldn’t let her walk into potential danger alone.

Lucia was screaming when he hit the bottom of the stairs on the first floor and emerged into the club. Suddenly, the music stopped, and he could feel every eye in the place on him.

“Jon?” Nicki approached, raising her brow at him.

“I’m taking your sister with me for a while. We have unfinished business.”

“Nicki, you cannot let him do this. It’s ridiculous! This is against my will. I’m going on vacation tomorrow with Ashley. We’ve paid for Erotics Anonymous, and—”

He’d heard enough of this speech. Jon ended her tirade with a slap to the ass.

“Damn you!” she snarled.

Her sister just smiled. “Check in when you two come up for air. Have fun!”

“You did not just condone this, Nicki!” Lucia shouted. “It’s kidnapping!”

“I think she did, Doc.” He grinned. He might get to help his brother and have the woman he’d wanted for too damn long.

“Ashley!” Lucia called out.

Her friend bopped over and bent, revealing a huge grin spread across her face. “Go have fun.”

“You’re okay with this, too?” Lucia sounded incredulous.

“Sure. I don’t need you to hold my hand at Erotics Anonymous. I know exactly what to do.” She wiggled her brows. “We’ll catch up after I get back.”

Jon searched the room, looking for anyone who might object. Nicki’s husband, Mark, was the only person he spied. “Got anything to say?”

“Be good to her. She deserves it.”

Jon nodded. “Absolutely.”

Lucia squirmed on his shoulder, kicking and grumbling as she tried to get away. He swatted her ass again and headed out of the club, into the hot Vegas night, and right for his rental car.

“You cannot just carry me out of this club and—just how do you intend to get me to New Jersey? The minute we hit the airport, I’ll scream to every security officer within a hundred-foot radius.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, Doc. I’ve got a great plan B. In the meantime, you can spend some time discerning how to find the cryptovariable your dad left for you . . . and thinking about all the ways I’m going to touch you as soon as we find a bed.”

What are five sexy facts about this story that readers would love to know?

Five things that made this book really fun to write are:

1. It’s a reunion book, though Jon and Lucia had never actually dated or kissed (just thought about it a lot)
2. Jon is an FBI agent with a brother who’s a Mafia assassin currently serving time. I loved the idea of the good brother and the bad one.
3. Lucia is so smart that it put her in the freak category growing up. Earning a doctorate right around the time your age begins with a 2 means that you’re attending middle school at age 9. She graduated from high school the week she got her first period. She’s definitely had a different life.
4. Lucia had NO idea growing up that her father was a Mafia boss. And Jon was the one to break the news to her two years ago. They’ve had an interesting relationship, to say the least.
5. At the beginning of the story, Lucia receives a birthday present from her father with a riddle to solve. Only trouble is, he’s been dead for over two years.

Can you tell us about some of your upcoming releases, or new projects that we can look forward to?

It’s a busy 2012 for me! Here’s what my year is shaping up to be thus far:

• May 29 – Release of Embrace Me At Dawn (Doomsday Brethren 5)
• June 5 – Release of Mine To Hold (Wicked Lovers 6)
• July 3 – Release of Hot in Handcuffs (Sexy Capers 3)
• July 17 – Re-release of Strictly Forbidden
• Late July/Early August – Release of Their Virgin Concubine (Masters of Ménage 3)
• Late August/Early September – One Dom To Love (The Doms of her Life 1)

As you can see, I’m keeping really busy! I’m also already working on 2013 releases Ours To Love (Wicked Lovers 7) and an untitled romantic suspense out next summer that will be the first book in my upcoming Project Alpha series.

Wowza, we have a lot to look forward too!

Three stories from three of the hottest authors! Allow yourself to imagine the man behind the dark sunglasses. Hear the purr of his zipper as he lowers it, then reaches for the shiny metal hanging from his black leather belt. It’s futile to resist arrest. Give yourself up to the fantasy. Besides, he thinks you’re so hot in handcuffs… 

FBI Agent Jon Bocelli never stopped wanting beautiful professor Lucia DiStefano. She's interested in taking her first lover, and he intends to be that man. When her past puts her life in danger, Jon risks everything to save her and prove this fling is forever.

When Deputy Marshal Jared Cameron investigates a series of arson attacks in a seaside town, the biggest blast of heat comes from sexy fire inspector Darcy Michaels—until their scorching after-hours affair is compromised by a secret from Darcy’s past. 

Mica Greer and her former lover, ex-FBI agent Colby Mathis once shared an intimate past and a powerful psychic gift. Now, they’ve been reunited by a bizarre series of murders—and an electrifying passion that could put them both in jeopardy.

Read an excerpt from "Arresting Desire"

And for your reading pleasure please enjoy this special additional excerpt from Arresting Desire for Musings readers in the flipbook below:

or read it in a Google document here.

  

Thank you so much Shayla for being my guest today, especially since I know you are incredibly busy...which we are all very grateful for since it means more books for us!  Shayla was one of the first authors that introduced me to romances with a truly (Dom)inant Alpha heroes, and now that I think about it, the first book in her Wicked Lovers series might have been the first erotic romance I ever read.  I've been hooked on her books ever since.  LOVE. THEM. & can't get enough ;)

If you'd like to learn more about Shayla Black and all of the wonderful stories she writes you can find her at her website www.shaylablack.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

To celebrate the release of the anthology Hot in Handcuffs, Shayla's publisher Berkely Heat would like to giveaway a print copy of the book to one lucky Musings follower.  And you'll get not one, but two chances to enter to win this book when author Shiloh Walker visits next week to share her story from this same anthology.  Here's how you can enter to win one entry today....

Ways to earn entries:

• Mandatory:  Shayla would like to know, "Do you prefer to read about perfect people, or flawed people?  I was asked this so I am passing this on!  LOL"  (good for 1 entry)
• Mandatory: You MUST be a Google Friend Connect (GFC) follower in order to be eligible to win (unfortunately an email subscriber, or subscription in Google reader, and a follower are not the same thing so make sure you are signed up as a follower if you'd like to win this book)
• If you have a blog, or even if you don't, you can earn extra entries by telling your friends. If they successfully enter to win and mention that you sent them you can each earn extra entries. You can blog about it with a link to this post, post it on Facebook, Twitter, email...or even word of mouth (good for 5 entries for the referrer and the commenter for each friend) . Please note that to earn the points they must mention your GFC name so that I can match you.
• You can also earn extra entries by sharing the flipbook excerpt on Facebook, Twitter, your website or blog or other social media sites. You can earn 5 entries for each place that you share it and leave a link in the comments.
• Purchase any item from the Seductive Musings Amazon store by using this link, or the Amazon widget contained within this post and email a copy of your purchase receipt to me no later than the deadline to enter (email available in sidebar). Sorry purchases made prior to this date do not apply, and link contained in this post must be used. No faxes or snail mail copies are allowed. No purchases are necessary to win. (good for 25 entries, or 50 entries if a purchase is made from the featured author's available titles)

How to enter:

• You can choose to enter as many different ways that you want, but please place all of your entries in ONE comment 

Rules and disclaimers:

• This contest is open to US addresses only
  
• You must be at least 18 years or older, or of legal age in your country
• The contest will end on July 19th at 11:59 pm EST and winner will be posted after they have been selected
• Winner(s) will be selected using Random.org
• The winner(s) will have THREE days from the date they are posted to provide a mailing address. If you do not contact me within three days a replacement winner will be selected. NO EXCEPTIONS
• The book(s) will be mailed directly from the publisher or author and no substitutions are allowed
• Winners will be subject to one copy per household, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, that you will only receive one copy of the title in the mail
• 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.