Wednesday, November 2, 2022

New Book Release Spotlight/Giveaway: Searching: Dragons of New York

 


Check out a New to Me Author, Rachel Graves, in her new book, Searching: Dragons of New York and get ready to enter the tour wide giveaway as well. You could win from the author a $50 Amazon/BN Gift Card. The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.


How you keep the sex fresh in your writing.

Smut! It’s the secret to writing a good sex scene. Before you gasp in horror and clutch your pearls, think about how many different sex acts you’re willing to try. Personally, I mean. Are you willing to go to a truck stop to figure out the physics of sex in the cab of a big rig? Happy to pack your bug spray and head out in the woods to see what an exhibitionist really deals with?

No?

I’m not even a little surprised. We all have our preferences when it comes to sex, and not just about our partners. We might like a room with a lock on the door, or a spot that’s warm and cozy. But unless you’re only going to write about locked doors and warm, cozy spots you’ll need to do some research. That brings us back to porn, or smut, or erotic. Labels aren’t really important, as long as you find the good stuff.

My favorite are very well written steamy romance novels. They give me all the tab P into slot V (or however many tabs and holes as you might need) details I need to stage scenes in my story, with the added bonus of teaching me new words. I admit it, I never knew or used the word lave (to flow along or against) until I read it in a Joann Bourne novel. I don’t think I can print what I learned from Scarlett Peckham’s The Secrets of Charlotte Street series in a PG-13 blog, but wow, was it educational. And massive shout out to Helen Hoang whose book, The Kiss Quotient, radically altered my understanding of how men experience sex.

Of course, there’s also visual aids, movies, and pictures. But if you hate watching that type of thing or object to it on moral grounds, it isn’t going to help your writing. Sure, you could interview sex workers, talk with a sex educator, or have some very interesting conversations with your neighbors, but my best advice for keeping the sex scenes fresh in your writing? Read lots of books that have great sex scenes.

 



Searching (Dragons of New York, Book 1)

by Rachel Graves

GENRE: Urban Fantasy

 Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Dragons-New-York-Book-ebook/dp/B0BGFGNF7V/ref=sr_1_1

 

A dragon terrified of being discovered by the government, Ravenna Drake is constantly on the move. When the woman who raised her gets cancer, Ravenna trades her nomadic work restoring black market magical goods for a steady job. But her cautious life ends after her name is found at the scene of a werewolf murder.

 

Dr. Ian Chen, a sorcerer bonded to a powerful relic, works for the government treating supernatural citizens. He insists on investigating when his patient’s body is discovered completely drained of blood. His search leads him to the beautiful but frustrating Ravenna Drake, who refuses to stay away from the case or follow his instructions.

 

As more bloodless bodies surface, threats from secret societies and corrupt politicians force the dragon and the sorcerer to work together. If Ravenna and Ian can’t catch the killer, the people they love the most may be the next to die.


Excerpt One:

 

His foot reached out to blur the circle and the ghost changed. Agony forced every other emotion aside. He couldn’t breathe, a heavy weight settled on his chest. Panic set in as he wheezed, his heart racing the way hers had raced. Was he experiencing her last minutes or just panicking at the emotions? Could he trust himself? Darkness started to crowd the edges of his vision. Not enough air. Sweat broke out along his back. Somewhere, Cloak was saying something, but he couldn’t hear it over the pounding of blood in his ears. He was going to die here. The blackness got closer.

 

“No.” The flood of emotions stopped immediately, as Drake stepped in front of him. “That’s not how this works. You don’t get to scream at him.”

 

His head throbbed, stinging like acid dripping down his face, but he could breathe again. The darkness receded. The first thing he saw was Drake moving into the center of the stain, acting as if the blood wasn’t there.

 

“I’ll give you enough energy to manifest, but start screaming again and I will end you, even if we haven’t heard a damn thing you’ve got to say. Understand?” She paused, then reached her hand out. A shaft of sunlight came in through the window and her hand seemed to glow. Then the end of it disappeared, replaced with a chest. The shape grew outward, a filmy light turning into a woman. The process took less than a minute, and he heard the sheriff whisper to God.

 

“Dr. Chen, she can talk to you now.” Drake said it with a very deliberate emphasis on the word talk. Whatever the ghost intended, it wasn’t going to stand up to her. A deep surge of gratitude coursed through him.


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 


Rachel Graves writes mysteries that blend the supernatural with steamy, sexy scenes. Her work explores the many shades of gray found between the lines of right and wrong. Rachel's books focus on strong heroines who take charge of their own fate, their friends, and their families. Rachel is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and uses research skills honed getting a graduate degree in psychology to seek out rare folklore and magical creatures. Her writing incorporates popular monsters like vampires and werewolves as well as diverse creatures like selkies and yuki onna. Rachel has lived in a cursed town, taken far too many ghost tours, and counts down to every Halloween starting in November. You can read short stories and learn more about her on her website: http://www.rachelgraves.com/.

 

Amazon.com author page is: https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Graves/e/B011H977D0 

Good reads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelGraves

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorRachelGraves/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.graves.370

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_rachel_graves/

Personal Blog: http://rachelgraves.com/


3 comments:

Bea LaRocca said...

Good evening. If given the chance, would you like to see your story made into a movie and if so, who is in your dream cast?

Sherry said...

Sounds like a good read.

Rachel Graves said...

Thank you, Sherry! And Bea, it's hard to cast characters who are over 40 in Hollywood, but Keanu Reeves and Drew Barrymore do come to mind.... :P

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