Hello everyone! Today I am so pleased to welcome Maryn Blackburn who is here representing the Absolute Write authors group.  The gang has put together the Underground Erotica anthology and Maryn has brought a copy to give away to one lucky winner, as well as a great tour wide giveaway. So please join me giving her a big welcome!

Cigarettes and Chocolate by Maryn Blackburn

When the erotica authors at Absolute Write agreed on the theme “underground” for our first anthology, my initial thought was two in a casket. Hey, I’m pressed right up against this person and–Wait, I can’t breathe!

But it wasn’t a horror anthology, and as always, a mountain of laundry waited in the basement, where I might literally place characters underground, but this time with air.

So, two people in a basement. Why don’t they just leave? (What, without doing my laundry? Bastards.) Because somebody above ground is waiting to kill them. Like in wartime.

Well, that settles who the people are, then: two soldiers who don’t know whether they’ll survive. When death seems real and potentially imminent, people take risks. They speak from the heart. They act on what might be their last–no, their only–chance at a moment of intimacy, especially after their forced closeness reveals they both want sex forbidden in the societies to which both hope to return.

That’s when the basic lines of the story snapped into place, enemy soldiers waiting out a battle and an air strike, cautiously getting acquainted as they try to stay alive on a winter night. That story was pretty good–but when the twist occurred to me, that’s when I thought I might be on to something and started writing in my head.

I hope readers will agree. Of course, if my story’s not to your liking, there are plenty of others in this underground collection, each of them good in its own unique way.


Bio

Maryn Blackburn lives in the Great Lakes region with her husband, adores their two kids, drives the requisite minivan, yet refuses to own a golden retriever. To her relief and pleasure, her life is ordinary, including such traditional pursuits as home cooked meals, sewing kick-ass Halloween costumes, repainting the house room by room, amassing an impressive clutter collection, and writing explicit fiction. Her stories most often feature realistic portrayals of characters exploring their sexual interests and their own limits.


Excerpt, Cigarettes and Chocolate

Trompeter wrapped him in his arms and pulled him close, as if Gene were a child. His hushed voice soothed. “Is not today you die, Gene. Is another day, when you are the old man who has lived the life he wishes. Not today, not now. You and I, we survive this day. Together.”

Still, Gene trembled. To his amazement, Trompeter kissed his hair, then his forehead, his eyes, cheeks.

I should stop him, Gene thought, but I don’t want to.

He had a secret of his own.

The German’s lips were soft, tasting of tobacco. Gene kissed back. What did it matter, when they could be blown to bits any moment?

Trompeter broke the kiss first. “I have kept this hidden for so long. The Reich does not want such men as me, so I have tried to be someone I am not.”

“Back home, people beat up guys like that. Guys like us.”

Trompeter ran the side of one finger along Gene’s cheek. “In Germany as well. But we are not at your home or mine. We are here, alone, where we may be the men we are, ja?”

Gene’s answer was to kiss him with all the ardor he’d never felt for the few girls he’d taken for a soda or picture show. His cock throbbed hot and hard. He clutched Trompeter’s waist with desperation, pressing their bodies as close as they could be when swaddled in quilts and military winter issue. “I want… I want you to…”


Blurb

underground eroticaWelcome to the Underground!

The erotica authors of the Absolute Write are taking you underground—sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. Karenna Colcroft’s haunting story gives sex in public an unexpected twist, and Erin Lark makes waiting out a storm into something special—and hot!— before Kate Lowell draws you deep into a cave for a steamy encounter. Lauren Gallagher sends you back to the 1930s for some gambling, bootlegging, and a little forbidden ménage, while Maryn Blackburn brings two enemies together in the wintery depths of World War II.

If you’re in the mood for something extra spicy, you’ll love how C.P. Foster opens up a very new world for a curious barmaid. And stick around because Cleo Peitsche and Jack L. Pyke keep the kink coming.

Come join us—but fair warning. Once you go underground, you may never want to come back…

All proceeds from this anthology benefit the Absolute Write online community.

 

Next Stop: Karenna Colcroft talks about her story, Late Train, at Scorching Book Reviews on March 6.

Links:


Giveaway

The authors of Absolute Write have three great prizes they are offering up. First, they are giving away a copy of the Underground Erotica anthology at every blog stop. Leave a comment here to for your chance to win.  The contest closes on Friday, March 7th at 11:59 pm EST.

There are also two Rafflecopter giveaways, one for a m/m prize pack and one for a m/f prize pack.

The m/m giveaway includes:

Bite Me Tender by Kate Lowell
Choice of backlist by Lori Witt
Choice of backlist by Karenna Colcroft
A Good Feeling by S.A Meade
For The Long Haul by Azalea Moone
Make Mine to Go by Dilo Keith
Forgotten Menagerie Anthology from Storm Moon Press
Tease by Mina Kelly

and you can enter to win here: MM Romance Rafflecopter giveaway

The m/f giveaway includes:

Stray by Erin Lark
Choice of backlist by Lauren Gallagher
Two books by Cleo Peitsche
Amazon Gift Certificate from Jack L. Pyke (10 pounds or American equivalent)
Immortally Theirs and Reaper’s Redemption (MFM)* by Scarlet Day
Five Haunting Nights by CP Foster

and you can enter to win here: MF Romance Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rafflecopter Tourwide giveaways end on March 18th.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
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