Free Book Offer

It's Here!

The New updated and expanded 2016 version of Lexi's Run has arrived and is available for purchase at Amazon. Click here to get Lexi's Run for Kindle.

But, wait. Didn't I promise a FREE book on the post title?

Why yes, I did. So, mark your calendar because This book will be available FREE on Valentine's Day! So, please, feel free to download your copy for a good romantic and suspenseful read with your significant other or all by yourself on this holiday.

I do ask that, if you enjoy the story, you might consider leaving a review.

P.S. Although many of my stories carry an erotic theme, this book is pure paranormal romantic suspense so it is safe, fun, and romantic for the entire family!

Be a Beta Get Free Stuff

It's True!

My Paranormal Romance Suspense Novel Lexi's Run is back from editing and nearly complete. I'm now in the process of rewriting the ending.

If you are interested in being a beta reader for this work, your efforts will be rewarded.

Here's what I'm offering:

• A chance to read this completely new, expanded, and revitalized novel before anyone else
• A signed copy of the novel when/if goes to print edition
• The opportunity to take part in making final tweaks to a story and satisfaction of knowing your opinion is valued
• My sincere thanks, gratitude and admiration for your help

Here's what I'm asking :

• Read the advanced copy of the novel and provide feedback to me on everything from missed grammatical errors to characters you love or hate
• Willingness to provide a review for the novel on Amazon when it is published
• Consider the opportunity of helping me spread the word of the novel to others that might enjoy this story

Although much of my work is erotic or may have erotic elements, this novel does not. The story does involve a blossoming relationship between the main characters hampered only by occasional threats to their lives. This story covers the development of a loving, emotional relationship while the development of their physical, sexual relationship will be discovered in other stories.

So, please, might you consider helping me make this the best story possible? If you are interested, please say so in the comment section below or contact me on my personal or author facebook page.

Help Make It Free

 

Okay, so I don't normally like to ask favors, but this favor will benefit many.

As many know, I offer about half my catalog for free. Trouble is, Amazon is being excruciatingly slow at price-matching one of my titles in order to make it free like at all the other channels.

So, I'm getting on the bull horn, making the call, putting on the bat signal, and asking for your help.

The title in question is Surrogate, and I would much appreciate it you might consider going to the link to the book's amazon page here, and doing that "report a lower price" thing located about midway through the page.

If this will help, here are links to the title at other locations:

Barnes and Noble
All Romance ebooks
Smashwords

Please feel free to also use pricing from KOBO, Diesel, or ibooks if you would like.

Thanks in advance for helping me make this short piece of erotic fiction available to the masses at the greatest price ever-free!

Wicked After Dark Blog Hop

For those of you visiting my website for the first time during this hop, some introductions are in order.

I am Ellison James and I write paranormal romance, paranormal romantic suspense, paranormal erotica, and general erotica. Whew, that was a mouthful. Some of you may be familiar with my titles including my first novel, Lovestruck Succubus - A story about a demon succubus who wants nothing more than to find love. Not just any love but true love, everlasting love, the kind of love she'd only seen in mortals. Trouble is, every time she tries to love a man, she succumbs to her needs ... and kills the man she's with. She thinks she is doomed to an eternity full of struggle between her desires and needs until she meets the one man able to survive her kind of love but he brings problems that threaten her very existence.

Anyway, that was my first novel, and I must say, it is not for the squeamish or one that is easily embarrassed if caught reading a particularly spicy part of the story in, oh ... let's say ... a doctor's office. I also have a sort of paranormal short erotic piece I wrote for a branded series called The Cusp of Libra. This book is free through Smashwords. Some of my bestselling contemporary fiction is a series I write about exhibitionism and voyeurism. In these stories, Wendy Parker discovers a new passion for what some might call 'performance' sex after watching her neighbors make love through her living room window--and getting caught.

My most recent novel is called Lexi's Run. Alexis is a werewolf princess who refuses to give in to her parents plans to have her mated with the son of the current pack Alpha. She runs away from her small town of Ellijay, Georgia and hops a bus to Atlanta only to fall asleep and wake up in Montgomery, Alabama. While hiding out in Montgomery, she manages to find more trouble than she would have had if she'd stayed in her small town. In the end though, she finds her true mate, catches some bad guys and saves the day.

But I'm sure you're not here reading this for a list of my work. I'm hoping you are participating in this hop for entertainment and enlightenment. So, here goes.

I thought since Halloween is fast approaching, I would ask the question: What is it that people find so intriguing about Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Faeries, and even Mer-folks? My short answer is, intrigue. The long answer could go on forever, But I'll try to sum it up in just a few short sentences.

I think that what some find so intriguing about romantic or erotic stories of the paranormal is the ability to delve into unknown and unfamiliar worlds. In these worlds, we get to make up our own rules and, in some cases, can live on forever. This means that everything in the relationship is more intense. The sex is more intense, the love lasts for eternity, and the danger is often right there standing in your front door with an ax in its hand. This danger is especially intense when the main character of the story is a mere mortal and lacks all those special abilities writers like to imbue into there paranormal characters. Sometimes, if the main character is not mortal, they are made to suffer in some way for their immortality.

Here's an example of this struggle from my first novel, Lovestruck Succubus.

She felt the rush of energy through her body.  It started from deep within her, and emanated in all directions in waves of heat and electricity.  Pain and pleasure mixed in a borderless realm without thought or control.  Every movement was too much but she could not stop herself from moving, thrusting, and gyrating for more.  Energy left Jerry's body from everywhere.  It hung in a cloud tingling her skin to the point of stinging, but pleasurable, as her body absorbed it all.

She slowly regained control of her own movement as the cloud dissipated and her waves of orgasm subsided.  She was frozen in place, every movement too intense, and every inch of her body too sensitive.  Jerry had fallen silent and she knew he was gone.  She pulled off him, avoiding eye contact, and slid down off the bed.

After cleaning up in the bathroom, she slid her panties back on and smoothed her dress.  She felt a flood of conflicting emotions surfacing and she took some deep breaths to stave them off.

The harder Azra tried to push back those feelings that always followed her own satiation, the more they came to the surface.  She was exhilarated and depressed at the same time.  A muddy stain of conflict and depression seeped through her halo of energy and euphoria.  She always felt this way afterward but sensed it came from the desire she felt to somehow make all these men love her, and the realization that her kind of love brought them only death.  Now, even with her resolve to use this man only for her needs, she felt empty.  She only managed to prove she felt remorse for any man, not just the ones she liked.

She stood at the side of the bed and looked at Jerry, his body now just a shell, his lifeless eyes glazed over.  They seemed focused on nothing, on some endless distance overhead.  Dull eyes set in pale orbs, surrounded by flimsy ashen skin—a death mask.  The room was silent, not even the sounds of the city below permeated the quiet, as if the world paid homage to the recently departed.

Why can't I make this work?  She thought.  Can I not learn to survive without this?

Azra thought about Tarmin.  "Learn to love within your own kind," He had said to her so many times.

But, she could never be satisfied with his version of love.  She needed this intimacy, this sex with mortal men for her very survival.  If she could find a man to love her without sex, she would gladly accept her fate and perish, if only she could gain some control of her base need.  Between survival and love, her instinct simply moved her to survival.  Finally, at an emotional impasse, she looked at Jerry one last time.

"Goodbye Jerry," she said aloud, as tears tracked down her cheeks.

Emotions flooded her soul.  Depression and self-hatred once again stabbed through the cloud of euphoria, staining her heart with darkness.  She ran out of the room and down the stairs to avoid showing her tear-soaked face.  She left the hotel promising herself she would never return—and never fall prey to her silly thoughts of finding mortal love again.

I certainly hope this provided an example of the kind of struggle that can be found in the paranormal. Since I spent so much time talking about my first novel, I would like to offer a signed copy of Lovestruck Succubus, chosen randomly from those leaving comments on this post. So, just leave a comment on this post for a chance of receiving a free copy of my first novel in paperback form (or ebook, if you prefer) sent to you home or reading device.

Fifty Shades of Fantasy

Wasn't that a catchy title? I wanted to title this post "Realistic Fantasy" but simply could not resist the temptation of the title above.

Truth is, I recently succumbed to all the hype over the E.L. James trilogy and to begin reading it for myself. About half-way through the first book, something struck me as profound--although the story uses a realistic backdrop, the situation is just far enough beyond reality to qualify as fantastic fiction.

I don't mean 'fantastic' as in 'great' (I'm sorry, but the quality certainly is not great) rather, I mean 'fantastic' as in beyond the realm of the realistic. That is, in fact, what attracts most readers to fiction.

When the word 'fantastic' is mentioned, I feel we've ventured into my territory. I would consider many of my stories in the realm of the fantastic, but at a polar opposite to stories such as FSoG.

Let me splain.

The premise of my stories are based in the fantastic. I like to take the paranormal existence of my characters and make them believable by grounding them in the real world. Realistic fiction takes normal (human) characters and attempts to bring their actions into the realm of the fantastic.

So, in a sense, many paranormal and fantasy stories must concentrate more on the realistic in order to help the reader suspend their inherent disbelief of the subject matter. I find this aspect of paranormal stories fascinating.

For instance, in my latest novel, Lexi's Run, my main character, Alexis, is a shape shifting werewolf living among an entire community of shape shifting werewolves.

How could I make her seem real?

First, I made sure that her community lives in secret among mere mortals. See, now I bet you're already thinking, "Yeah, this could be happening right now. In fact, this might explain the weird behaviour I've witnessed in my neighbor, Joannie."

Second, I made sure that Alexis lived as much of a normal human life as I could outside of her secret existence. She grew up in the small North Georgia town of Ellijay, Georgia, nestled at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. He parents took her to all the local fairs, she attended college in Atlanta, and did all the things that a normal human would do. She just did them through the filter of werewolf royalty.

This way the reader gets to know Alexis as a person, and then is okay when I throw in that extra little fact that she just happens to be a shape shifting werewolf.

This is one of the reasons I like reading paranormal romance, and I'm hoping it is the reason other enjoy the genre as well.

You see, when one is reading a paranormal story a jumping off point must be provided, otherwise the story may be too unbelievable from the start. This is in direct contrast to a story such as FSoG where normal characters do things that, in real life, one might consider out of the ordinary. But that, in itself is a kind of fantasy. And isn't that what reading is all about? It is this ability to experience things as if we are the main character doing things we would never personally do.

But I still like it best when I can experience these things through the eyes of a demon, faerie, werewolf, or dare I say ... even a vampire.

Werewolf Love

I would never have thought when I began my first novel that I would be writing about werewolves. I was attempting to write a character study (more or less) dealing with the dichotomous problem faced by a woman wanting a normal relationship but unable to sustain one.

Of course, what I came up with was a demon succubus. Hey, why not? Using a character such as this allowed me to explore the problems many face of wanting a lasting relationship, but somehow sabotaging themselves.

But, given the nature I invented for my succubus, how would she ever find a lasting relationship if she kills all her lovers? Who could possibly survive her love? That's when werewolves made their entrance into the story. I would just have my main character fall in love with a werewolf. In my mind anyway, a werewolf can survive a succubus. Oddly enough, I later found the very concept I dreamed up, was used in a television show called Lost Girl.

Of course, my werewolves were different. In fact, my werewolves were created eons ago by demons such as Azra and Tarmin. More about that later. The werewolves in my world are just like other humans, living among the rest of the population. They do tend to keep to themselves, and they have a definite hierarchy within their group. My werewolves also (for the most part) mate for life. Now there may be a rogue out there having relationships with more than one partner, but that will be another story. Also, my werewolves communicate just like married humans, oftentimes arguing or engaging in banter. Here's an example of this using Alexis and Joseph from the novel Lovestruck Succubus.

Joe Johnson sat in a darkened car next to his wife and mate, Lexi. The car was a rental and they had been sitting inside of it for nearly four hours watching Raif Lungren's apartment building. The air outside had cooled some but there was no breeze and now the day's heat radiated off the buildings and the concrete. Hot moist air filled the car making their skin stick uncomfortably to the seats. The windows were cracked open but they could not run the air conditioner for fear of attracting attention, even on the deserted street in the dead of night. The inside of the car stank of coffee, french-fries, and body odor.

They had watched Raif walk home from work. They had watched a woman follow behind him. They had watched her hide beside a tree for more than two hours. Now, they watched as she moved to the apartment entrance door, and they would wait until morning if they had to, just to see if the woman stayed in his apartment for the night. They had been watching Raif for more than two weeks. All of his activities had been noted and relayed back to their pack leader and alpha in Northern Georgia. But the woman was new, and why she was hiding outside his apartment building they had no idea, although the arrival of this new woman did bring some excitement to their normally dull observations. Lexi wrote notes on a small notepad. She listed the general characteristics of the woman approaching the apartment building, approximate height, hair color and length, and clothing worn. She noted the time, 1:43 AM, and wrote it down.

"Did you see that?" Joe poked at Alexis, and then pointed at the apartment entrance.

"See what? She just went into the apartment building." Alexis gave him a stern look through the darkness, peeved about his habit of poking her when he wanted her attention.

"No, Lexi, I didn't see her open the door." Joe always called her Lexi, and she called him Joe, unless they were mad at each other, and then it was Alexis and Joseph.

"What do you mean? I'm sure she opened the door and then went inside, you just missed it."

"I don't know. It looked to me like she went through the door."

"Maybe you need more coffee." Lexi held the thermos up for him. "I think all this stakeout stuff just makes you loopy."

Joe resigned the argument, thinking she was right and he was probably just seeing things that were not there. He lifted his Styrofoam cup out to her and smiled in acceptance of her terms. Lexi filled his cup, smiled back at him and settled back in her seat. They fell into silence, Joe slowly slurping coffee, Lexi huffing and shifting abruptly in her seat in annoyance at his loud, sloppy drinking.

They had sat in the car another forty minutes when the apartment building door flew open and a kind of half-human half-wolf creature came through at a full run.

This scene from Lexi's Run served as part of the introduction of Joseph and Alexis (Joe and Lexi) in the first Novel. It is told from Joe's point of view. It may seem strange to some readers that the second novel went backwards, but I thought this was a great way to highlight the relationship of Joe and Lexi. I thought it would show how they became so familiar with each other. They weren't always so informal. In fact, this next scene shows how they almost never got together.

Joseph walked across the old crumbling asphalt parking lot, and over patches of loose gravel in front of the abandoned auto parts store toward the bar. As he crossed the alley, he heard a voice and, looking into the darkness, he saw a man and a woman in the shadows by a garbage dumpster. The man said something, and the woman jerked her hand away from him. Joseph's body reacted before his mind even realized the two were not standing in the dark for romance. The woman was backing up, and the man was advancing toward her.

"You alright Ma'am," he heard himself say as he closed the distance between him and the assailant grabbing at the woman.

He made it to the man in five easy steps. The man was preoccupied with the woman, allowing Joseph the opportunity to wrap his arm around the man's neck and drag him away from the woman, making sure to jerk his knee into the man's back at every step backwards. Joseph kept dragging the man backwards until he was brought off balance and went to the ground. He rolled the man over as forcefully as he could and then knelt down with his knee in the man's back, yanking the man’s arms around his back to meet his knee. Joe grabbed his zip straps out from the left side of his waistband, and tightened them around the man's wrists before bringing his attention back to the woman.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Joe looked up at the woman, standing among the dark shadows of the alley.

He could only make out her general shape in the dark, but he was certain he saw her eyes, just for a brief moment, nearly glowing, something primal reflecting in them through the darkness. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the alley, and the two standing in front of him came into better view. He recognized the man as Lefty, the local sleaze ball, and the very skip Jake contracted him to bring in. His luck was certainly changing from earlier in the day. The thug wannabee down and secure, Joe turned his attention back to the woman again.

"It's alright, I got him under control," He said to the woman, as he jerked Lefty up by his cuffed wrists.

Standing closer to the woman, he got a better look at her. She was looking not too pleased that he stopped Lefty from doing to her ... whatever it was he was thinking of doing. In fact, the smug look on her face made her seem completely ungrateful that he just saved her life, or, at the very least, her honor. Her pale skin reflected the dim light from the crescent moon overhead, and contrasted sharply with her dark hair. Joseph didn't usually think much of women one way or the other since his mother died, but even in the dark, he saw something special in her, a kind of confidence, a deep, animalistic skill for survival. He was beginning to wonder if he hadn't shown up, if she would've taken care of Lefty herself. Then she spoke, and removed any doubt about her confidence.

"I'm alright," the woman said. "I didn't need any help." She crossed her arms, and moved into a stance that, even in the darkness, came off as arrogant.

"Yeah, I could tell, you had everything under control," he said, with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

She glared at him; a cold hurt showing in her eyes, even through the dark, and he regretted the words as soon as he said them. Truth was, the woman looked like she could take care of herself. She was taller than most women, with a solid build. She was more voluptuous and toned than stick-thin, and her eyes showed strength. Even in the dark alley, her eyes conveyed volumes. Joseph liked beautiful eyes, and he liked a strong woman. He decided to take on a different approach in talking to her.

"I didn't get your name."

"I didn't give it." She turned, and began to walk away. "Like I told you already, I had everything under control until you showed up."

"Sorry if I interrupted your ass-kicking, but I've been looking for this guy." Joseph left out the fact that he had just started looking for him.

"Well, you got him," she said, not even looking back as she walked toward the street. "Can I get back to work, now?"

"You work here?"

"No, asshole, I don't work here.” She turned and looked back at him, planting her feet at shoulder-width. “Not on the street. I'm a waitress at the Pink Pony." She huffed and turned again, walking toward the alley entrance.

"Oh, I didn't mean ...” But it was too late. She'd already rounded the corner and disappeared.

"Wait," Joseph yelled after her as he moved as quickly as he could toward the street, pushing Lefty in front of him.

He reached the crumbling parking lot just as the woman stepped into the building, the door closing behind her.

"My name's Joseph," he yelled as the door closed.

"Damn you, Lefty," Joseph yelled in his ear as he jerked him toward his truck and pushed him along, making him stumble across loose gravel. "You just cost me a date."

"More like, I just put the two of you together," Lefty countered. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Nobody really, Lefty.” Joseph told him as he opened the passenger door of his truck and threw lefty inside. “I'm just the guy that gets paid for collecting trash like you and bringing them to jail."

It seems these were just two normal people meeting for the first time but soon, it is revealed that Lexi, and her relationship with Joseph is nothing close to normal. I write all this because I am attempting to warn my readers and possible future readers that the direction of this ongoing story is going to change even more with the third novel. What started as a story about a lonely demon succubus is becoming a story of the relationship between demons of old and the shape-shifting werewolves they created in an attempt to rid the Earth of humans.

My werewolves are not demons but they are definitely paranormal. They have special healing abilities, advanced hearing and smell but they are not completely immortal. They do grow old, and eventually die, as shown in Lexi's Run. Nonetheless, they do have the ability to shift to any form between human and wolf.

When it comes to love, there is only one kind for my werewolves—everlasting. With few exceptions, they stay with their mate (chosen or selected) for life. I hope this article provides some insight into my personal world of demons and werewolves. I hope that you would make it your world as well. And, I hope you stay with me because, in the next installment of this ongoing saga, things are going to get a little bumpy.

Stay in Your Lane

The few readers that frequent my website know that I've recently published a new novel in the Immortal Desires series.

I wonder how many reader I've lost because they were expecting erotica, and instead, found romantic suspense. That's the nice thing about being a completely independent writer-I can write whatever I want. Nonetheless, I must also suffer the consequences of jumping genre and confusing readers. And now, with a newly published work set out there in the big cold world, I realize that, to a certain extent, I must start again and build an entirely new audience ... or do I?

So I ask you for your thoughts. Would you stay with an author you like if they suddenly jump genres? Do you make your purchase selections solely on the author, or are you apt to give something new a try if it is written by an author you are familiar with?

I ask this for two reasons. First, the next two novels (and a few free shorts as well) in the series will continue in the same vein as Lexi's Run. I know the first novel has a strong erotic element but the rest of the story just does not call for it.

As all of my readers know, I write erotic stories just like fantasy or romance or suspense. To me, it's all about the story. That may explain why my writing is, as some have said, "all over the place." But again, that's the nice thing about independent writing.

So, tell me, will you follow an author you like if they write across genres? Do you prefer series books to all tie in together or do you like standalone books within a series?

Paranormal Romance Today

credit: Robert Giordano, design 215

Why are so many readers discovering and falling in love with paranormal romance lately? There's no doubt that books like Twilight have played a key role in fostering a new demand for stories of romance beyond the normal. The trend is continued in other genres such as EL James' Fifty Shades, which was originally listed within the erotica genre, until it was picked up by a mainstream publisher and re marketed as romance, but that's another story.

Not long ago, if one searched under 'paranormal' in any book-buying medium, they would be directed to horror books or books about ghosts. Soon though, things changed and authors began to make those characters normally associated only with the strange and fantastic, into more 'normal' characters. What I mean by this is that the characters in stories started to become more like regular old mortal humans. This made the characters more identifiable, while maintaining the allure of them being somehow special, somehow more than normal.

Next, we introduce the romantic element and, viola! We fall in love with super characters that, although they have problems and flaws like everyone else, they are still superhuman, or even more, not human at all.

So, why do you love to read paranormal romance stories? Is it the excitement of characters that are beyond human? Is it the possibility of a relationship between a human and say, a werewolf or vampire?

Personally, the reasons I like to read paranormal romance are the same reason I like to write stories within this genre.

I love the possibilities that come with a character that has special powers. I like to think about those special powers, and how they must be used to resolve a conflict of kind, or even save the character's life. I like the special problems and joys that I imagine one might find when pursuing a romantic relationship with another that has some kind of power. Maybe they have to learn how to control that power and their is an element of danger in the relationship.

In my stories, I like to make my special characters as normal as possible (most of the time.) I want the reader to forget that the characters are werewolves, or demons, or even telepathic. I want the reader to be pleasantly surprised when are suddenly reminded that their beloved character can shape shift or use their special powers to detect danger.

So, for those of you out there that love your paranormal romance, keep reading, and I'll keep writing. Oh, and be sure to check out my books under Ellison James at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and everywhere else. Sorry, just had to get that plug in there.