Sherrod Story – Here lies your book boyfriend…naked.
American romance novelist of paranormal, erotic, contemporary and young adult/new adult fiction
It feels weird to be working on a book pre-George Floyd. It’s not like the #blacklivesmatter movement wasn’t a thing before I started this story, but Floyd’s unintentional martyrdom has kicked the world into a different kind of angst. It’s crazy right now. The ‘rona is still out there, and race in America is like a powder keg. Continue reading “You’ve gotta admit, these K-pop bromances are a little suspicious”
For me, the best romance novels aren’t just about sex…Did I just write that? LOL. But yeah. Erotic romance lover I certainly am, but without a good story, it gets boring quick. So, I don’t skimp on the storyline. I want hero and heroine to have a frickin’ life outside of the bedroom. That life is often well populated by ta da, the side characters. Continue reading “Behind every hero and heroine there is a cast of colorful characters propelling the story and making us laugh”
I’ve always loved romance novels. Like, literally always, LOL. I’ve been reading them since before I fully understood what was happening in the love scenes.
I started reading Harlequin Presents. You’ve probably seen one or two of those old school white paperbacks with the circle in the middle bearing the hero and heroine’s picture? Those formula romance tales cemented my love for a good romantic tale. But in order for the story to resonate, the characters have to be fully formed. They can’t just fuck. Continue reading “You know it’s love when you want to know more and more about him. Then when you find out, it’s still not enough”
They say having friends set you up is a great way to find love, though I imagine love can find you almost anywhere. But if there’s already a spark between two people, there’s nothing as cute as friends pulling for you (more or less) behind your back to give a sexy new love a chance to bloom – especially in a romantic story. Continue reading “Everyone needs friends – especially friends who gently aid and assist a sexy love story”
Hey y’all. I don’t want you to be surprised when you buy this latest offering in my Demon Series and see some tough language – the n word specifically.
The word has evolved considerably, been essentially taken back by black people, which I’ve always found extraordinary. But it’s still emotionally charged, full of shitty historical context and wrathful feelings most black and white folks would gladly leave by the wayside forever. But its modern iteration is still perfect for this particular book.
My heroine Steele explains it briefly in the book, asking our hero Miles to look up the word niggardly in the dictionary.
The word doesn’t appear often in the book, and when it does it’s in very natural conversational situations. I know people these days tend to go from 0 to 100 for even the slightest offense. It’s doubtful this blog will allay that sort of response completely if folks are determined to go down that road. But at least this little preface is here for those who care to look, read and understand. Continue reading “Why I used the N word in my latest erotic paranormal romance novel.”
Sex can be weird. It shouldn’t be though.
It should be sweet, or hot, or fast or slow. But it should not be weird. Unless, of course, weird is your thing. But I’m talking about that awkward weird. The shitty kind. Not first time awkward either, I’m talking that “I shouldn’t be doing this with this person ‘cuz they ain’t shit/don’t mean me no good/only want the pussy temporarily/or some other bullshit derivation therein” type awkward weird.
But when you have sex that feels right? That feels comfortable, deep in your bones? So much so that you revel in all facets of intimacy? That’s that good stuff. In this unedited snippet from the next novel in my demon series, my heroine Steele is enjoying that kind of sex – that kind of lovemaking – with her demon Miles. Continue reading “Take me there. I want to go with you. I promise to keep my eyes wide open the whole time. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
Everywhere you turn these days, some powerful man is on fire for misconduct, losing his job, reputation going down in flames, legacy tarnished worse than metal left out in a warm Southern rain. I say better than never for that light to shine on their misdeeds, but I feel for all of the women who are reliving past shame and sadness, memories they’d probably have preferred never to resurrect again.
But it got me thinking about men who come back from the past. Only this one isn’t a perv. This one is that love that got away. The one who made your panties melt but vanished without a word. Continue reading “Not every man who misbehaved in the past deserves to be forgiven. But in rare cases, there’s one or two who deserve a second chance at love.”
One thing I love about writing “urban fiction” – I’ve always assumed that means fiction featuring street life a la Donald Goines – is it offers a stellar opportunity to both create strong female characters and disprove a lot of ideas about the people in the life.
In this unedited snippet from my latest paranormal romance our heroine Steele is revealed as a drug dealer yes, but also a sister, a mentor, and I think, a closet sweetheart. But I still wouldn’t fuck with her. *winks*
Enjoy!
SS
Benjie met her at the car to carry in the grocery bags. He handed her two one hundred dollar bills, watched her tuck them away in her bra.
“Who in there?”
“Just Lolly. But she say Eddie and them been calling.”
Steele grunted softly. “Business must be good today.”
Benjie laughed. “It’s hot out. You know smoking in air conditioned rooms while playing video games is like a city pastime when the temp get this high. Ain’t nobody tryna be out and sweat to death in the streets.”
“Preach.”
She walked in pointed at Lolly and went straight to the back. Continue reading “Steele could be as hard as her name, but for loved ones she was also a soft touch.”
In my last unedited snippet, our heroine Steele discovered that her lover is a demon. Naturally, she can’t quite believe it. This picks up where I left off last week.
Poor Miles. He’s gonna have a helluva time convincing his lady that despite the change in skin color – primary colors make for a special kind of diversity! – he’s just the same. His love is just as true.
Enjoy!
XOXO,
SS
“Darling,” it said.
Steele rolled to the other side of the bed, her feet hitting the floor with a thud. Her hand was already on the doorknob when it spoke again.
“Darling, don’t go. It’s me, it’s Miles.”
Her heart was beating out of her chest, adrenaline surging for the run, but something made her stop, turn and look. Yup, still red as hell. What the fuck? She should be running for her life. Why wasn’t she running?
“I know it’s startling,” he soothed. Continue reading “Miles: I had to convince her that I loved her the same – in a demons body – and she loved me.”
So, my heroine Steele is a tough guy. She carries a gun, routinely breaks the law, and as ex-military she has the skills and the chops to handle herself like a G in most any situation. She’s also got a past, a not so pretty past, but this? Finding out her latest lover/work project isn’t human? That’s a bit much even for a tough guy.
In this unedited snippet, Steele discovers that Miles, Australian actor of the blond hair and bright blue eyes, is actually a demon. All things considered, she takes it pretty well. Not.
Enjoy!
XOXO,
SS
“Thirsty?”
He helped her sit up and instantly there was a glass at her lips. Eva drank down the cool, infused water.
“Mmmm. Thanks.”
They stared at each other for a while.
“That was interesting,” she eventually drawled.
Miles laughed. “Interesting, hey?”
“Not good enough? How about fabulous. Mind blowing. Out of this world. I’m not even sure what happened,” she admitted.
“You came a lot, and then you fainted. Then we took a bath and you insisted on sleeping.” He still looked disapproving.
She grunted and came up on one arm, mimicking his pose with chin on hand. “That’s never happened to me before. The fainting, I mean.”
He smiled gently, his green eyes warm and shining on her face. “There’s a first time for everything.” Continue reading “It’s not everyday a woman finds out her lover is a demon.”
Sherrod Story - Here lies your book boyfriend...naked. 