The Music of Saffron Nights

I once had a lover who had soft classical music already playing on the stereo when we walked into his apartment. Now there was a man who didn’t want to have stop and fiddle with the stereo. Smirk. He was also a man who knew a bit about setting the mood and tone of a delicious evening.

I think setting the tone in erotic romance writing can also be helped along by listening to music as we write. I know it helps me.

When I worked as a writer and editor in offices, music was a definite no-no, though I often felt the need to put headphones on and listen to a string quartet, or something, anything, to get the office blather out of my head. But it turned out to be a great exercise in concentration. I can write just about anywhere, if I have to, and focus.

When I started writing SAFFRON NIGHTS, I listened to music that put me in the mood as background music for my characters. I don’t listen to the music they would listen to. I listen to what puts me in the mood to connect with them. The kind of music that reminds me of the tone of my book. Does that make sense?

During the writing SAFFRON NIGHTS, I listened to a lot of Azam Ali,  Bliss, and Morcheeba, and  all of this music is sort of an international, sexy feel that I love. The book takes place all over the world—Mexico, Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, Italy, and Morocco.

My next book will be centered on chocolate and will be set somewhere in South America. Well, it’s all vague right now. But I look forward to dipping in to South American music to set the tone of my book.

Sometimes I can get distracted by the words in music. When that happens, I listen  to Vitamin String Quartet—a string group that plays a lot of popular music.  I gotta tell you, I love this group.

You don’t have to have a huge music collection to enjoy different kinds of music. I am an avid Pandora listener and Spotify user. Both services are free.

Now I can’t imagine writing without music playing in the background. It really helps to free my mind, along with give me more focus.

Do you find music helpful when you’re writing or reading?

Please visit my site for more information about me and SAFFRON NIGHTS http://www.lizeverly.wordpress.com . The first two chapters are available there. Check them out. I also blog on http://www.ladysmut.com.

Twitter @lizeverly1; FB author page.  Please click on the book cover if you are interested in purchasing SAFFRON NIGHTS from Amazon.

Check out my Goddess Fish Book Blast on February 6. Leave a comment on any of the blogs and get a chance to win organic saffron and cedar body wash and soap. Yum.

Get Lost in the Christmas Glow! (Hot Excerpt!)

Santa's Helpers: Christmas Glow by Megan Slayer   Cover art: Reneé George BIN: 06091-01955 Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Hot Flashes, Erotic Romance Theme(s): Magic, Seasonal Themes, Elves, Dragons & Magical Creatures Series: Santa's Helpers (#6) Length: Hot Flash Page Count: 30 Buy This Book for $2.99

And now for an excerpt!! "I'm glad." Well, glad until her time ran out. Pixie flattened her hands on his chest. His wish had come true. She couldn't hold back the smile any longer. She pushed that thought aside. She'd worry about the deadline later. "This sounds crazy, but I've dreamt of this moment." Nitro cupped her cheek. "More nights than I care to admit." He lowered his lips to hers. Pixie huddled against him and melted into his kiss. Sparks shot along her nerve endings. Heat from his touch seared her from within. She inched closer to him and raked her fingers down his back. A whimper escaped her lips. Nitro swallowed the whimper but broke their connection first. He rested his forehead on hers. A thin band of brown ringed the black in his eyes. Pink tinged his cheeks. "I want to strip you down and learn every inch of you." "We're supposed to be somewhere." "In my room," he replied. "Glow concert." Nitro recoiled a bit but didn't let her go. "It's sold out and I don't know that I want to leave this apartment. How do I know you won't disappear the moment we get into the hallway?" Pixie handed him the package she'd hidden behind her back. "This is for us." Nitro took the package from her hands. "Right now, the only present I need is you." He eased her back into his arms. "I've waited a long time for this. Never expected to hold you." He threaded his fingers into her hair. God he could get lost in the gold and green flecks in her eyes. She stared up at him through her lashes. "Kiss me?" "With pleasure." Nitro lowered his head and suckled her bottom lip into his mouth. The scent of peppermint floated around him. He smoothed one hand along her spine and cupped the back of her skull with the other. Pixie whimpered into his mouth. She clutched his shirt and rocked her hips. Each tiny movement sent shivers from his cock to his heart. He'd imagined this moment so many times. No more waiting. He broke the kiss first. "Want you," he puffed. Pixie nodded. "Yeah." She shoved her hands under his shirt and raked her nails down his chest. Nitro groaned and inched her to the closest wall. He captured her mouth once more and tangled his tongue with hers. She tasted as sweet as she smelled. He moved his hands up under her short skirt and hooked his fingers in her panties. He ran his thumbs over the fabric -- silk. Nice. He eased the panties down her hips. Pixie whimpered and broke the kiss. She wrapped one leg around his waist and rubbed against him. Nitro groaned. Holy hell, yes. He placed her on her feet long enough to pop the button on his fly and work the zipper on his jeans. He freed himself. Shit. They needed a condom. Sure, he wasn't about to sleep with anyone else but that didn't mean much. Protection was protection. "Just a moment." He left her against the wall and raced to the bathroom where he kept the condoms. Geez. Smooth wasn't his forte. He strode back into the living room and stopped short. Pixie had unzipped the front of her dress, giving him a delicious view of her lace-covered breasts. Damn. His mouth watered. He moved across the room and captured her in his arms. Nitro inched the strap of her bra down her shoulder. Pixie arched her back, offering herself to him. "Please?" Her one-word plead cut right through him. Nitro suckled on her nipple, rolling the tight bead in his mouth. Pixie clawed at him again. She grabbed the condom from him and rolled it down his dick. He shivered at her touch. God, it was going too fast. The whole coupling seemed to be flying by, but hell, he couldn't slow down. He needed her too much. Nitro hoisted her against his chest and pinned her between his body and the wall. "Yes," she murmured. "Want you."

And now for an excerpt! Megan Slayer - Sometimes It's Fun to Squirm "Ms. Slayer has penned a fast-paced, action packed story with engaging characters and uninhibited passion." BlackRaven's Reviews http://www.wendizwaduk.com/ http://wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/ http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm http://theauthormeganslayer.blogspot.com/ Friend us both on FaceBook and Follow us on Twitter! Newsletter sign up:  http://ymlp.com/xgjmjumygmgj

Music that inspires

Besides beautiful places, one of the things that inspires my writing is music. Like I mentioned on my earlier post, I’m a music junkie.  I cannot live without music. I always carry my mp3 player with me; if it runs out of battery then I’ll use my cell phone. If my phone dies and I’m left music-less then my mind will start humming one tune or another. Usually, I will also start singing or humming out loud. This drives my younger sister insane, especially because I can never remember the full lyrics to songs. LOL

Music inspires me. All my novels have special songs. While I was writing The Mercenary Slave, the song Breathe Me by Sia inspired a great part of the relationship between Wybert and Melassar. 

Here is the video:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hSH7fblcGWM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Do you have any songs that inspire you? 

Elyzabeth M. VaLey


www.inadreambeyond.blogspot.com
www.elyzabethmvaley.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElyzabethMVaLey/info
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElyzabethVaLey
 
The Mercenary Slave: 


Ambushed, captured and sold...

 After losing his best friend, Wybert is forced to give up his life as a mercenary and become a pleasure slave. The daunting task becomes harder than expected when the attraction to his slave master goes beyond the bedchamber.

Izz-Sarava was content with his life as the Zshanti's slave master until the new serf appeared. Somehow, under his presence, his control slips and his heart becomes exposed.

Available at:

• Evernight
• Amazon
• Amazon UK
• All Romance Ebooks

Dancing and ballroom love

I love dancing, I love those ballroom scenes in which the characters see each other from across the dance floor, and cupid throws his arrow and strikes. *sigh* One of my favorite dance scenes is the one that takes place in the movie “Labyrinth”. You know, that one with David Bowie as the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, the young girl that is going to save her brother? It is not technically a love scene but there’s a little charming something going on there that I’ve always loved. And, the music is beautiful (As The World fall down sung by Bowie himself). (If you want to check it out here’s a video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VppuD1St8Ec)

I think I like dancing so much because the movement of the body conveys different messages. It can be seductive, erratic, calm, sexy, hot, full of rage, full of love…so many things all piled up into one human body. Dancing is a way of release, a way to show all those emotions. Add to that the environment where it takes place…those ballrooms, discotheques, dance floors… rooms full of people where finding someone is so hard…and yet, somehow it happens. Alexander and Angelica reencounter for the first time in a ball. Here is a short excerpt from that moment.

Her lips quivered for a moment before settling into a stunning smile.

He raised his eyes from her full lips. With a sigh, he turned around, concealing himself behind the large Greek-inspired column. How he longed to go to her and sweep her into his arms.

A waiter passed by and offered him a drink. Accepting with a nod, he took the opportunity to turn around and look at her again. Her hair hung loose below her shoulders in soft brown curls, highlighted with golden tresses. Her lips curved into a smile of greeting as she waved at a friend. She stood tall, regal even, as she made her way across the room saluting acquaintances. However, even as she went about her duties, her eyes constantly scanned the room as if searching for something––or someone.

He knew what she was seeking.

"A Decade of Longing" is available at:

• Evernight Publishing
• Amazon.com
• Amazon.co.uk
• All Romance Ebooks

Remember that if you leave a comment on any of my blog posts today (with your email address) you'll be entered to win a copy of the novel!


Elyzabeth M. VaLey

• Facebook

• Twitter

• http://elyzabethmvaley.weebly.com
  

• http://www.inadreambeyond.blogspot.com/

The power of music and names.

Curious to discover the impact music has on people and animals David Merrill set up an experiment using mice.  He wanted to know whether different types of music would impede or enhance the animals learning patterns and behaviour.

For one group of mice he played classical music twenty-four-seven, and the second group listened to heavy metal over the same time period.

He released the first group into a maze and studied their learning abilities and social behaviour patterns. At the same time he released the second group of mice into a similar maze.  Unfortunately the second group of mice never reached the end of the experiment because they set about and killed each other.  Needless to say David Merrill abandoned the experiment.

The film industry has known about the impact of music on human behaviour for decades.  They use it to add influence to their scenes and, to a certain extent, to control their audiences’ reactions.  You only have to ‘listen to the kind of music used in horror, Halloween, ghost and other paranormal films.

This powerful tool is not available to authors so what can they do to subliminally influence their reader’s attitude towards certain characters?  Obviously actions, physical appearance and attitudes all play a part, but in the real world not all antagonists are ugly, badly educated, ignorant, and uncouth.  Many are suave and sophisticated, and use their looks and charms to play their victims.

But there is another tool in a writers’ arsenal.

Names!

In my debut novel, The Brat, published by The Wild Rose Press, Denny Cadmore was ‘the baddie’.  With a name like Cadmore what other part could he play?  The use of an old fashioned term ‘cad’ subliminally inserts the information they’ve met the antagonist and then verifies it as the reader progresses into the story.

In my current novel Duty Calls, published by Black Opal Books, the hero insisted on the name ‘Hawk’.  Eventually we agreed on Rafe Hawk.  A Hawk is a bird of prey, tenacious, patient and goes for what it perceives as beneficial to it.  i.e. Its wits and intelligence to catch  its prey to feed and stay alive in times of adversity.

In my upcoming novella, From Now Until Forever, published by Astraea Press, my hero is a prince.  After all there’s been a spate of royal weddings around the world, while the interest is high.  I gave my prince the surname Gasquet, simply because Henri Gasquet, the French tennis player is amazing to watch.  I gave him the name Liam because the second in line to the British throne, Prince William, married his Kate just a few days before I began writing From Now until Forever, and I saw no reason for not following the trend and cashing in while I could. LOL.

Website: http://www.sherrygloag.com

Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/

Publishers: The Wild Rose Press

Black Opal Books

Astraea Press

Amazon, Kindle, Nook and several other e-outlets.