Welcome Lisabet Sarai

Meet Cecily Harrowsmith by Lisabet Sarai

Hello, everyone! I'm delighted to be here at Dawn's place. When I signed up for this coveted spot, Dawn told me I could do either an interview or a post. I thought a while and decided to do an interview – but not a personal interview. Instead I'd like to introduce you to Miss Cecily Harrowsmith, the heroine of my new steampunk/shapeshifter/BDSM/ménage/Rubenesque erotic romance novel Rajasthani Moon. Cecily is quite a handful – both literally and figuratively. Voluptuously endowed, half-British/half-Ceylonese, covert operative for the powerful British Empire, Cecily speaks ten languages, is expert in the martial arts of three continents, and has been the mistress of princes, potentates and the occasional prime minister. In Rajasthani Moon this formidable woman meets her match in the form of Rajah Amir, the kinky genius who rules Rajasthan, and his sexy bandit half-brother Pratan.

But I should probably let Cecily speak for herself.

LS: What do you like best about being a spy?

CH: You are jesting, are you not? Espionage is not the glamorous and exciting career most imagine. It involves weeks of boring research, endless, uncomfortable travel to godforsaken spots at the corners of the Empire, and constant personal danger. I can trust no one. I must depend only upon my own resources. It's a lonely and difficult occupation.

LS:  Come now, Miss Harrowsmith. There must be some part of the job you enjoy.

CH: Well, it does give me the opportunity to escape London and its miserable weather. (chuckles) Honestly, if I did not believe my services were essential to Her Majesty, I'd resign in a trice.

LS: But if you hadn't accepted the mission to Rajasthan, you wouldn't have met Pratan. Surely you don't regret that.

CH: Well, that depends on how hard he spanked me the previous night. (chuckles again) No, you're right. I'm certainly not lonely anymore. Pratan is more of a challenge, both physically and intellectually, then any of my past adversaries.

LS: Adversary? A strange word to use for your lover. You do love him, right?

CH: Of course I love him. I wouldn't have risked my life to free him from the witch's curse otherwise. However, you cannot change a man's nature. Pratan will always have a wild streak. (pauses to think) Perhaps that is part of the reason I love him.

LS: And what about his brother Amir?

CH: As sexy a snake as I've ever encountered. Between the two of them – well, let me just say that they're a dangerous and seductive combination.

LS: Between the two of them... are you being literal?

CH: Ms. Sarai, this is a PG-rated blog post. I really can't be more specific.

LS: Um – okay. Let me change the subject. When you were captured and imprisoned in Mehrangarh Fort, secured by hi tech bondage that would kill you the instant you set foot outside the fortress walls – did you think you'd escape?

CH: Without a doubt. I knew I would uncover some critical item of information that would provide the key to my release, and indeed, that to be proved true. That is, after all, the most essential qualification for a spy, the ability to uncover hidden information. And, with all due modesty, I'm very good at that task.

LS: Given your success with this mission, I guess I'd have to agree. I have one more question, perhaps a bit delicate. Based on your experiences in Rajasthan, I'd say you are obviously a woman with a strong libido. Do you view this as an asset or a liability in your professional life?

CH: To be blunt - I don't know, and I really don't care. I am who I am – naturally sensual. Unusually sensitive, perhaps, to erotic stimuli. I'm an adventurous woman, as much in sex as in other areas. One might claim that Pratan and Amir were able to use this aspect of my character against me. On the other hand, I feel comfortable saying that ultimately, I triumphed – though I doubt either of the men would complain about the outcome. 

Rajasthani Moon by Lisabet Sarai

Neither kink nor curse can stop a woman with a mission.

Cecily Harrowsmith, secret agent extraordinaire, is a woman on a mission. When the remote Indian kingdom of Rajasthan refused to remit its taxes to the Empire, Her Majesty imposed an embargo. Deprived of the energy-rich mineral viridium, essential for modern technology and development, Rajasthan was expected to quickly give in and resume its  payments. Yet after three years, the rebellious principality still has not knuckled under. Cecily undertakes the difficult journey to the rugged, arid land of the Rajputs to determine just how it has managed to survive, and if possible to convince the country to return to the Empire's embrace. Instead, she's taken captive by a brigand who turns out to be the ruler's half-brother Pratan and delivered into the hands of the sexy but sadistic Rajah Amir, who expertly mingles torture and delight in his interrogation of the voluptuous interloper.

Cursed before birth by Amir's jealous mother, Pratan changes to a ravening wolf whenever the moon is full. Cecily uncovers the counter-spell that can reverse the effects of the former queen's hex and tries to trade that information for her freedom. Drawn to the fierce wolf-man and sympathising with his suffering, she volunteers to serve as the sacrifice required by the ritual – offering her body to the beast. In return, the Rajah reveals Rajasthan's amazing secret source of energy. In the face of almost impossible odds, Cecily has accomplished the task entrusted to her by the Empire. But can she really bear to leave the virile half-brothers and their colourful land behind and return to constraints of her life in England?

Reader Advisory: This book instantiates kidnap/captive fantasies. It includes robot bondage devices, animated nipple clamps, electric play, clockwork dildos, flogging, spanking, anal sex, double penetration in a dirigible, a small amount of F/F intimacy, scenes of MFM and sex with a werewolf in shifted form.

Excerpt (Rated PG)

Tossing the switch onto the mattress, he turned his back to her and strode over to the communications console. The apparatus glowed as he flipped it into active mode. Cecily wondered where he’d got the viridium to power the device. Unless of course the rebels had managed to smuggle the precious mineral into the country from elsewhere… But where? All the neighbouring kingdoms had been brought under Her Majesty’s sway.

“Amir—are you there?” Pratan lowered the volume of his voice as he spoke into the mouthpiece, and switched to Hindi, but Cecily had excellent hearing and a natural linguistic facility.

“Brother! How are you? I’d hoped to see you here at the palace tomorrow for the new moon festival.”

“I’ll be there. With a guest.”

“A guest. And who would that be?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s a woman—a damned seductive woman—whose carriage I ambushed this evening. She looks Indian—dark skin, black hair, plenty of flesh on her bones—but I think she’s English. She’s got these amazing blue eyes… Her given name is Cecily. That’s all I’ve managed to get out of her.”

“With your skills of persuasion? I’m most surprised, brother.” The Rajah’s amusement came through clearly. “And you’ve given up?”

“I figured I’d let you take a crack at her.”

Amir chuckled. “I could enjoy that, though Sarita might object.” There was a pause. Pratan scratched his head. Cecily found herself distracted by the way the muscles in his back shifted. “Bring her along then. Should I send the aerocopter to pick you up?”

Cecily shuddered. Faced with the threat of a trip by air, could she maintain her silence?

“No, no—I think I’ll commandeer her vehicle—quite a fine self-propelled amphibious coach, a good deal more sophisticated than any of ours. I imagine it should have more than enough fuel to make it to Jaipur, since I suspect that’s where our mystery woman was heading.”

“Sounds as though it will be an excellent addition to our fleet. I’ll alert the engineers. So I’ll expect you tomorrow, then. Travel safe, brother.”

“As long as I keep my—ah—guest securely bound, I doubt that I need to worry.”

“Accha! I look forward to meeting her. Ram ram.”

“Ram ram, Amir. Till tomorrow, then…”

“Wait a minute. ‘Cecily’, you said? Something’s tickling the back of my brain… Let me examine the Universal Electropaedia…” In the ensuing pause, Pratan glanced over his shoulder towards the bed. She assumed a demeanour of indifference. “Ah, yes…Dark complexion, you say, and blue eyes?”

“Correct.”

“Between twenty-five and thirty years of age? About eleven stone?”

“Ten stone four pounds!” Cecily interjected before she could help herself.

“Yes, and tall too, for a woman. And from the way she’s straining against the ropes, I’d say she understands every word we’re saying!”

Her spirits sank. Did the Electropaedia actually include an entry for her? Why hadn’t the Empire’s censors excised it? This unforgivable breach of security might well have sealed her fate, though she wasn’t about to give up yet.

“Brother, I believe that you’ve succeeded in capturing one of Queen Victoria’s most notorious agents—Miss Cecily Harrowsmith. According to reports, she is brave, brilliant, beautiful, and as dangerous as a king cobra.”

Pratan rubbed his bruised shin where she’d kicked him and grinned at her with genuine menace. “That sounds like her.”

****

You can get your own copy of Rajasthani Moon at Total-E-Bound (http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=2135), in all ebook formats including direct download to your Kindle. 

Buy links:

Total-E-Bound
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=2135

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Rajastani-Moon-ebook/dp/B00D47R9E6/

Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rajastani-Moon-ebook/dp/B00D47R9E6/

All Romance Ebooks
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-rajastanimoon-1216568-147.html

Looking for a steamier excerpt? Go to http://www.lisabetsarai.com/rajasthaniex.html

Meanwhile, to thank you for reading, I'm giving away a copy of my award-winning M/F/M science fiction menage Bodies of Light to one lucky person who leaves a comment. Please include your email so I can get in touch with you if you win!

About Lisabet

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – nearly fifty single author titles, plus dozens of short stories in various erotic anthologies, including the Lambda winner Where the Girls Are and the IPPIE Best Erotic Book of 2011, Carnal Machines. Her gay scifi erotic romance Quarantine won a Rainbow Awards 2012 Honorable Mention.

Lisabet has more degrees than anyone would ever need, from prestigious educational institutions who would no doubt be deeply embarrassed by her chosen genre.  She has traveled widely and currently lives in Southeast Asia with her indulgent husband and two exceptional felines, where she pursues an alternative career that is completely unrelated to her creative writing.

For more information about Lisabet and her writing, visit her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com) or her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com