Guest Author: Olivia Ventura

Please welcome Olivia Ventura to my blog.

Happy to have you here Olivia to talk about your newest release.

Not always Happily Ever After

Did anyone else watch season one of Once Upon a Time and think, huh? Don't get me wrong. I actually enjoyed it, and will probably watch season two. But confusion set in pretty early. Spoilers to follow...

My dilemma? The purpose of the show seems to be for Emma to break the curse, allowing everyone to return to fairytale land. The question I ask is: why would they want to?

Think of it this way. In fairytale land:

Cinderella's husband disappears

Jiminy Cricket turns an innocent couple into puppets and becomes a cricket

The Huntsman becomes a slave to the Evil Queen's whims (although on Earth, he dies, so it's really a lose/lose for him)

Hansel and Gretel are separated from their father, destined to roam the woods forever

Red Riding Hood eats her boyfriend (and not in a good way)

Why would any of these characters want to go back?

Funnily enough, some of these not-so-happy endings are actually based on the original fairy-tales, which were meant to be cautionary stories for children, i.e. Hansel and Gretel was supposed to keep the kids from wandering in the woods alone.

In Catch a Shooting Star, my latest release, Jess tells children's stories. She makes up her own, and I can guarantee that none of them end badly. The shame of it is, you can't earn a good living that way...

Social misfit Jessamy James pays the bills with a cleaning job so she can do what she really loves: tell stories to children. She meets NFL superstar Nathan Powell when she cleans his house. He’s intrigued by her reclusive attitude, and she’s drawn to his open personality and lack of defensive walls. It doesn’t take long for attraction to set in, and for a relationship to blossom.

When Nathan is accused of dealing drugs, Jess is caught up in the media storm and finds her own vocation slipping through her fingers. They struggle together to clear his name and rescue both their careers.

Click here to read an excerpt or to buy Catch a Shooting Star. Or go to www.oliviaventura.net

Friend and Like me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter. I'll be receiving a shipment of swag soon, so giveaways are on the horizon!

Thanks for joining us today, Olivia.

Hooked Up at the Wedding

Today is a wedding celebration!!!!

We're celebrating our current release - Hooked Up at the Wedding

Join Emma Lai, Sandra Sookoo and myself over the next few days as we celebrate our newest release.

We will be having some fun, today see below to see how to win a free book.

The Final Dance by Emma Lai

Ashley Beaufort’s duties as maid of honor take her back to the ballroom after all the guests have left, but the bride’s shoes aren’t the only things waiting for her, and she gets the chance to live out a fantasy with a her favorite country-western singer.

Buttercreamed by Sandra Sookoo

Kyle Morrison is a cocky cake decorator with an ego to match his talent. If there’s one thing he likes more than seeing a bridal couple enjoying his creations, it’s hooking up with a willing woman at a wedding.

When he’s propositioned by Paige, who’s also a fan of his work, how can he resist such a sweet challenge? Sex in a work room is more than icing on the cake.

Unexpected Gift by Marie Tuhart

Most men can't handle Sabrina Orin’s job as a doctor since the hours can be 24/7, but she still has needs. What better way to satisfy them than to hook up with a hot guest at a wedding?

Ryan Caine never expected to find a woman at the wedding he’d want to hook up with, and when Sabrina agrees to go to his room with him, he finds he doesn't want to let her go, but she's gone when he wakes in the morning. What’s a man to do?

Letting Memories Go by Emma Lai

After seeing John Cabot, her first love, over spring break, Liza Chambers realizes she needs to let some memories go before she can move forward. She seizes the opportunity at his sister’s wedding to put the past behind her. Will her actions rekindle their old flame, or only create more bittersweet memories?

Proper Women Don’t by Sandra Sookoo

Delia Latham’s back in Savannah for a friend’s wedding. Though she’s moved away from the life of tradition and snobbery, she’s always needed to tell her old beau—Chase—goodbye.

When Chase and his friend Jarod catch Delia unawares while she’s skinny dipping late at night, how can she refuse when he suggests a three-way hook-up? Proper women don’t do such things. Good thing she’s not one of them.

Unexpected Surprise by Marie Tuhart

Eric Montgomery has had the hots for his best friend’s fiancee’s maid of honor for months. When he finds her in his hotel room and his bed, he thinks the gods are granting him a gift.

Close proximity to the sexy best man has left Marina Landers desperate for release, and when Eric appears in her hotel bedroom, she seizes the opportunity to find out if the rumors about his domineering ways are true.

They have a wild night of kinky sex, both thinking when morning arrives, they'll go their separate ways, but things don't go quite as planned.       




Today, I will pick one lucky winner from comments, please put your email address with your comment.


To check out the book you can go to the following:


Sybarite Seductions click here
For Amazon click here
For Smashwords click here
For ARE click here


On Tuesday visit Emma Lai's blog by clicking here
On Wednesday visit Sandra Sookoo blog by clicking here


And on Thursday visit Sandra Sookoo blog for a wedding bash blowout by clicking here

Hope you enjoy our Hooked Up at the Wedding bash.

New Book Release

Today, I have a new book release with two other talented authors Emma Lai and Sandra Sookoo

Hooked Up At The Wedding

Unexpected Gift by Marie Tuhart

Most men can't handle Sabrina Orin’s job as a doctor since the hours can be 24/7, but she still has needs. What better way to satisfy them than to hook up with a hot guest at a wedding?

Ryan Caine never expected to find a woman at the wedding he’d want to hook up with, and when Sabrina agrees to go to his room with him, he finds he doesn't want to let her go, but she's gone when he wakes in the morning. What’s a man to do?

Unexpected Surprise by Marie Tuhart

Eric Montgomery has had the hots for his best friend’s fiancee’s maid of honor for months. When he finds her in his hotel room and his bed, he thinks the gods are granting him a gift.

Close proximity to the sexy best man has left Marina Landers desperate for release, and when Eric appears in her hotel bedroom, she seizes the opportunity to find out if the rumors about his domineering ways are true.

They have a wild night of kinky sex, both thinking when morning arrives, they'll go their separate ways, but things don't go quite as planned.      

You can purchase Hooked Up At The Wedding at http://sybariteseductions.com or any of your favorite e-bookstores.

Stop by on Monday 6/4 for some fun around the release of Hooked Up At The Wedding.

Memorial Day

To all of those past, present and future who have served

Everyone is talking about Fifty Shades of Grey

This book has hit the NYT best seller list and has been talked about in the media.

I waited until the books were available in print, pre-ordered them, and when I got them sat down to read them wanting to figure out what the fascination about these books were.

If you're going to read the books, don't read past here.  I don't want to spoil the books for anyone.


First off, these books are not what I would classify as Erotic Romance.

And the reason I see why these books took off is: Christian is every woman's fantasy.  He's a man who wants to take care of his woman, give her anything and everything she wants, he wants to cater to her every wish.

Once you get past the, shall I say, bad writing style, the books actually aren't bad.  As a reader, I read them looking for what was making them a hit in the media and with other readers.  As a writer, I cringed at the repeated word usage, the writing style and the lack of editing.

Christian is one tortured hero, and most romance readers love hero's like that.  Ana is a heroine who will stand up to him and throws him for a loop because she does.  He's arrogant, domineering, and romantic.

He's the classic 1980's romance hero we use to read about before romance writing went politically correct. The hero's were arrogant, domineering and wanted nothing more than to take care of the heroine over her objections.  The books were written from the female point of view only, very little male point of view if any.

This is a total woman's fantasy, a man who wants nothing more than to take care of her.  And this is not a bad thing.  I'm not saying it is.  It's okay to want to have a man who will treat you as the center of the universe.

I can hear the chorus of "no we don't" echoing right now.  Notice I didn't say, a man to take care of you, but treat you as the center of the universe.

As women we're caretakers, we take care of everyone else, but ourselves.  Sometimes, and I do mean sometimes wouldn't you just like to give that responsibility over to someone else and have a day for yourself.  A day where you're the center of the universe, where your every whim is catered to.

I know I would.  But then again, that's why I write what I write.  I write alpha males, who are domineering at times, arrogant at times, but always looking after the woman in their life, no matter what.

It may not be politically correct, but my hero's want the heroine to understand that she is cherished and he will protect her until he dies.

The sex in Fifty Shades, get repetitive, is not a true representation of the BDSM world.  And I found the ending very disappointing.  The author treated the BDSM aspects of Christian's behavior as something that could be cured, BDSM is a lifestyle, not a disease.  While it is hinted there is still a hint of spanking in the books, the hero just suddenly gave it all up, deciding he didn't need it, all because of the love of the heroine. It just didn't ring true for me.

What I did like was at the end of the third book the author included some scenes from Christian's point of view, which would have been nice to have been incorporated into the books.  It showed his fascination with Ana and would have given the readers great insight to his personality.

All in all, the Fifty Shades books gets a C minus from this reader.

Publishing – Your Choice

Today I'm going to talk about publishing, be it Traditional, Small Press or Self-Publishing.  And I'm going to apologize ahead of time in case I start to rant.  This has been a hot button for me lately.

I'm going to state this up front, there is no right or wrong in publishing no matter which options you pursue. 

It is your choice.  I'm going to repeat that your choice.

Over the last few months I've seen more and more blog posts that if you go Traditional you don't know what you're doing, same for Self-Publishing, not very much about Small Press.

Everyone has their own reasons for doing what they're doing with their publishing careers, but no one is stupid, an idiot, doesn't know what they're doing, etc. because they've chosen one area of publishing over another.

Self-Publishing is up and coming, only because Amazon has made it so with their KDP program.  Some authors are making lots of money, getting recognition from Tradition publishers, even Amazon's own publishing arm.  And there are authors who are not. There are horror stories and outstanding success stories. And authors have to be prepared to front money up front for content editing, copy editing, cover art and even possibly having someone create all the files for all the e-readers out there.

Small Press not a lot is being said for these publishers, these are e-publishers who have established business.  Most of their authors put out e-books only with some POD (print on demand).  Again, there are authors making lots of money, getting recognition from publishers and authors who are not.  There are horror stories and outstanding success stories. The author usually does not pay the small press publisher a dime, the author makes their money on royalties, although some small presses do give an advance.

Traditional publishing, this is the tried and true method of publishing. Traditional publishing has the distribution that Self-Publishing and some of the Small Press do not.  In many cases, world-wide distribution. Again, some authors make lots of money, others do not.  There are horror stories and outstanding success stories. Here authors make their money on the advance, and once the advance is earned out then royalties.

I am currently with a Small Press publisher, and I'm still pursuing Traditional publishing.  I've had dozen of people tell me, "don't go Traditional, and give up your Small Press just do KDP." 

Sorry but that's not for me at this time.  There is nothing wrong with KDP, Amazon's business model works for them.  It doesn't work for me.  I have a pretty good idea of what I want out of my writing career, at this point in time, and Self-Publishing isn't it.

Self-Publishing maybe for other people, and that's fine.  But it is my choice on what I do.  I'm really tired of people saying, "Do this, do that, you're stupid if you don't, etc."

I am a small business, I've research Self-Publishing, Traditional and Small Press.  I know where my stories fit and who my audience is. I'm well aware of contract pitfalls, what to look out for and the knowledge of how the publishers pay. And I was always taught that money flows to the author not from the author, with Self-Publishing I would have to pay cost up front (content editing, copy editing, cover artists) before I even put my work out and them hope I can make back that money.

This is my responsibility as a small business, to keep my small business going, I have to weigh the pros and cons of the choices I make.  Again my choices.  I've seen so many people in the last few weeks not taking responsibility for their choices in publishing and bemoaning the facts when things don't go their way.

Who you publish with is your choice, no one else's.  What you decided to do is not wrong or right, it's your choice.

Publishing is fluid, it is changing daily.  I don't have problems with anyone's publishing choices, for they are your choice, just don't tell me I'm wrong because I've chosen to follow my own path.

A New Step in the Process

Well, I've found a new step in my writing process.

Retirement from the day job.

Yes, this last week, I was finally able to say goodbye to the day job outside the house.  This does mean a very big change in my life, which is both scary and exciting at the same time.

I am now a full-time writer.  I can write when I want and not have to worry about getting up for work the next day, or that my lunch hour is over or I have a conference call to attend.

Over the next few weeks, I have to figure out a schedule that will work for me and the family, because I still do have family obligations to take care of.

But this has been one of my dreams for years and it wasn't until this last week I realized how hard I worked in making this dream come true.

I'm also on KMN Books blogging today, feel free to stop by and leave a comment, if you want, by clicking here.

Have a great week.