Why Is Kindle Short Length Erotica So Popular? By Jenn Roseton

Why Is Kindle Short Length Erotica So Popular?

Why is Kindle short length erotica/erotic romance so popular with e-book readers?  Not just available on Kindle, you can find short erotica stories on Smashwords, Kobo and Barnes and Noble, as well as other e-book retailers.

These days, a lot of people own Kindles or other e-reader devices, but don’t have a lot of reading time.  Short length (ie, 5,000-12,000 words, although some can be shorter or longer) erotica or erotic romance are ideal to read without investing a huge amount of time.  A lot of these stories take 30 minutes or less to read.  You can read an e-book on your Kindle while travelling to work on public transport (although that may not be advisable if you’re reading something sexy!), in your lunch break, or when you just feel you need a little “me time” or want to read a sexy story at bedtime.

A short erotic story is a great way to get yourself in the mood, or if you want to enjoy reading a short romance that has explicit sex in it, then reading a short erotic romance may appeal to you.

One of the fun advantages of owning an e-reader is nobody will have a clue as to what you’re reading!  You can make collections on your Kindle so you can place all your erotica books in one collection, your how to books in another, and mysteries in a third.  You can even use a secret code known only to yourself when naming your collections.  For example, I’ve named my collection for good erotica, *ge.  If a friend snuck a peek at my Kindle, I’m sure they wouldn’t have a clue what *ge meant.

If you want to make sure nobody would be tempted to see what was in your various collections in your Kindle, you could name each of them something boring, such as *Chewing Habits of Silkworms.

Why do I have an asterisk (*) in front of my collection name?  So it stays at the top of the list on my Kindle.  If it didn’t have an *, it would be lost in the list of over one thousand books that I have stored on my Kindle, waiting to be read.

And here’s another tip:  If you don’t want anybody to know you’re reading erotica, place the unread erotica in your Kindle into another collection.  You could call this *ETBR (Erotica To Be Read).

You can discover some great authors if you browse the top 100 paid and free erotica lists.  An easy way to find this list on Amazon is to google: top 100 kindle erotica.  Generally, the first result is the one you want.  It should take you directly to the top hundred books in erotica (free and paid).

Downloading a free or 99c erotica e-book is a good way to take a chance on a new author.  If you enjoy their book, they may have other books listed at the end that you can download right away.

So when you’re in the mood for a sexy read but don’t have a lot of time, why not download a short erotica/erotic romance on your kindle?

Jenn Roseton is the author of seven short erotic romances available on Kindle, including her new two part series, Hot and Sexy. Hot and Sexy 1: Seductive Persuasion is available as a free download. You can find out more about her books at www.JennRoseton.com or reach her on Twitter at @JennRoseton

Toxic Relationships in Romance

Shhh.... don't tell anyone this, but... I'm one of the gazillion people addicted to the Jodi Arias trial. No, this blog post isn't to stamp into that trial's fame nor my personal feelings about the trial. So why bring this subject up at all? Because the different aspects of the relationship made me think about a few things. In the trial the lawyers and witnesses often mentioned Jodi and Travis' relationship as being toxic. I agreed whole heartily when the people in the trial declared that as being part of the relationship.

But why?

I believe that every person has or has experienced a toxic relationship with another person. This type of relationship can be with an intimate partner just as Jodi and Travis but it isn't secluded to that. Today I'm going to talk about the the extra people in our lives. You know those side relationships we have with people: the neighbor we chat with over the fence, our best friend's husband, the coworker who always tries to one-up us, or maybe that one person in our life that we are drawn to, stay with a little longer but walk away feeling crappy about ourselves or whatever it was that we discussed with that person.  It doesn't necessarily mean that the person we communicate with is bad... just the relationship has toxic dynamics.

And let's look at romance novels.

What is a common theme in romance? Boy meets girl. They fall in love! The couple has a happily-ever-after.... awe. Yep, I'm a romance writer and swoon over a great love story. It doesn't matter to me if it is fiction or not. So how can we freshen up standard plot lines? After all, how many times can you read about high school loves reunited after being absent from their town and keep the story fresh? By adding the toxic relationship. Each character needs to have some good friends and/or family members, but I always add another character who makes my heroine or hero not quite feel right.

When I was going through some editing for Jesse's Brother, an editor requested I change Samantha's mom's personality. This is the biggest toxic relationship I've ever written. The relationship was a key part of Samantha's personality and the plot that I didn't want to change that element in the book. The book wouldn't have been the same without it. By leaving the toxic relationship in the story, the characters had something to overcome.

Here is a snippet from Jesse's Brother:

“I know. I sure have missed you,” Samantha lied in an effort to mend their broken relationship. She stepped forward for a hug. The strong smell of bleach and cheap perfume assailed her nose. What a relief when her mother took a step back, releasing her from the hug. Her mom glanced down at her watch. 

“I have been waiting for hours.”

 “I was late leaving but I’m here now. How are you doing? How’s Daddy?” 

Her mom ignored the questions and sailed into her own. “Are you eating well?” She gave Samantha the once over as though she was a horse up for bid. “Of course I am.” 

“You’re looking too thin, young lady.” 

“I’m fine. Couldn’t wait for my vacation from school.” She wanted to add that she’d wished her vacation was somewhere else besides J Ranch, but she bit her tongue to hold the words, and focused on fixing the issues with her family. She turned toward the house, but Mom’s fierce grip stopped her. 

“You could have come home over the holidays. We can’t believe you would abandon your family during such important times.” 

Some tidbits about Samantha's relationship with her mom: no matter what Samantha does or says, it is wrong; her mother always has something negative to say about Samantha, and Samantha goes out of her way no matter how she feels to mend things with her mother. The dynamics eventually start to change as the character evolves.

The change:

 “Are you ready?” she heard from behind her. 

Her mother, who never came into her room, was standing at the opened bathroom door. She looked nice, Samantha had to admit, in a red pants suit. The women stared at each other in the mirror. Samantha tried to get the nerve to tell her mom she looked pretty but she couldn’t. Complimenting her mother was so foreign to her that the idea formed itself into a knot in the pit of her stomach. 

“Has Noah arrived yet?” 

“Um, no, I haven’t seen him. I’m bringing an umbrella, it rained last night.” Her mother turned to leave. 

Samantha followed her out. “Maybe he’s waiting outside with Daddy,” she said softly. 

“Perhaps you should have worn your hair down this time.” 

“Maybe.” Wow. Had Mom just suggested she wear her hair down? She’d never suggested she wear her hair down in her life. Had they gone a step forward? Would her mom start accepting other decisions in her life, such as her relationship with Noah or graduating college? 

The big changing point in this relationship was Samantha realizing that her mother's opinion did matter to her. Once that happens, things really start to change between them. To read more of Jesse's Brother http://amzn.com/B009NWWW6G

But toxic relationships between characters don't have to be huge. Here is a small toxic relationship between the main character and a background character in Cross the Line:

 Instead, a young nurse pushed in a wheelchair holding a pair of crutches while a clipboard rested under her thin arm. She held out the clipboard to me and once I’d signed the paper, she said, “Your chariot awaits.” 

I could see right through her fake smile. She wanted to push me downstairs just as much as she looked forward to cleaning the next patient’s bedpan. I moved the crutches long enough to ease myself onto the chair and felt it jerk forward. 

When she jerked the chair around the corner, my side hit the armrest. “Ouch,” I said. “Can you be a little careful?” The nurse did as I asked until we reached the elevator. 

Once the doors opened, she shoved the chair forward, almost flinging me from the padded seat. I bit back a yelp that would certainly be followed by curse words directed at the nurse. Alone or not, I just wanted to be at home. With the nurse’s hand against the wheelchair during the entire time in the elevator, the doors couldn’t open fast enough. She pushed me into the hospital lobby to the entrance. 

My breath stuck in my chest as Chris rushed in through the automated doors. Gone was the clean man I’d met the day before and been intimate with this morning. Here a firefighter stood, covered in soot, and smelling just as bad. But damn, he was still good to look at. And he had come for me. My heart soared. 

“Leslie,” he said, the corners of his mouth turned into a frown as he dropped to his knees and took my hands into his. “Are you okay?” 

“As good as can be expected. Doc said I lucked out. Apparently my injuries are minor even though they don’t feel small at all.” 

The nurse behind me snapped a piece of gum. “Are you with her?” 

“Yes.” Chris didn’t take his eyes off me. “I’m taking her home.” 

Another snap of her gum. Damn, she irritated me. “Have a great night.” 

Sure thing, Ms. Pleasant. 

Can you imagine what the chemistry would be like if they'd spent any more time together? If you want to read more from Cross the Line: http://amzn.com/B004GHN4YW

So tell me about your favorite toxic relationships in fiction! 

Wendy's Top 5 Picks- Book Blogs and Pages

I love book sites... not surprising since I'm an avid reader and author. Today I decided to share my favorite book sites. Some of them feature free or discounted books, interviews, or writing advice.

1. Much Cheaper Than Therapy blog: I looove this blog and have for many years. The authors are great and appeal to different type of authors. They offer great writing tips and author interviews. I've found new authors on this site! http://muchcheaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/

2. Angels with Attitudes Book Reviews: Besides reviews, they announce free and discounted books. Awesome Facebook page to check out. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angels-With-Attitude-Book-Reviews/145476262231326?fref=ts

3. Bitch Can Write A Book: One of my favorite pages on Facebook. They have inspirational book related memes, announce new releases, and books that are on sale.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bitch-Can-Write-A-Book/306552309365416

4. My Book and My Coffee: First off, great title. Second, if you read books on your Kindle, this is an awesome source to discover some new authors/books.  https://www.facebook.com/MyBookAndMyCoffee?fref=ts

5. Coffee, Books, and Lipgloss: The woman who runs this site is awesome! Other than that, she posts giveaways, book suggestions, and fun reviews. Stop on over there and say hello. https://www.facebook.com/CBLBookReviews

Only .99!

Confessions is on sale from April 28th thru May 3rd. Grab a copy while you can get for only .99.  http://amzn.com/B00A3FVT84

Can Chelsea and Jordan find their child, and rediscover each other?

When Chelsea Montgomery vanished eleven years ago, her hometown thought she’d been abducted. In truth, she'd given up the daughter she'd secretly had with Jordan Case.

Now he confronts her to help find the child. With a little girl's fate hanging in the balance, will the uneasy partnership -- stained by the past -- transform into something else?

My 5 Guilty Pleasures

Guilty pleasures... everybody has them. Here are 5 of mine (I really don't feel guilty):

1. Massages: I have the best boyfriend in the world (I swear it's true!) and he gives me a massage every night before I fall asleep. How awesome is that? Besides his awesome back rubs, our gym offers free hydrotherapy massages with our membership. I get one when I after I workout. Just a note: when I get a hydrotherapy massage, my honey doesn't give me one. His are my favorite!!

2. Coffee, coffee, more coffee: I usually drink coffee at home but if I'm out running errands, I stop in at the little drive-thru coffee hut near my house. I've been going there for about a year now so the owners often give me extra punches on my Buy 10 Get 1 Free card. My favorite kind of coffee? I love iced mochas.

3. The Sims 3 game: I've been a fan of The Sims game since it came out so many years ago. It's funny though because one of my sims is always an author.

4. Books: I'm an author so of course I love to read. My honey is a movie buff. We usually curl up in bed at night with a movie for him and a book for me. A perfect ending to both of our days.

5. The gym: I love working out. I lost about 100 lbs a few years ago but have started regaining the weight. Dan and I have gotten a membership at a gym. We have a hectic schedule so we manage to get in there a few nights a week but I'd go 6 days if it were up to me.

Writing Workshop in Phoenix

Date: Saturday, May 18th
Place: Crowne Plaza // 2532 W. Peoria Avenue // Phoenix, AZ 
Time: All day – 9am – 5pm
***Lunch Included***
Total Cost – RWA Members: $35.00 Lunch Included
All Others: $45.00 Lunch Included
Open to the Public
For more information about the workshop, go to: 
http://valleyofthesunrw.com/upcoming-events/events/

This year, Larry Brooks is giving us a workshop on what he calls his 6 Core Competencies of novel writing. 

Chocolate Affaire Book Signing 2013

Okay, I'm really late posted this blog... mostly because I have a lot more pictures that are trapped in Dan's camera. Anyway, in February (see how late I am) I signed books at the Chocolate Affaire festival in Glendale with my local RWA chapter. This is an annual event that I look forward every year.

I love hanging out with some of my favorite authors who I don't see nearly enough. In this picture is Marie Patrick and Cherie Lee. I adore them both and the three of us had a blast sitting next to each other while freezing in the cold wind!






We had some cover models hanging around, so you know I had to take a picture with them. The guy on the far right is my daughter's boyfriend.








My daughter helped at our booth. We got matching t-shirts this year. I love 'em!














This is me all set up and ready to meet readers! I'm probably busy talking in this picture though because that is what I did for the 3 days of the festival.














So much more wasn't captured in photographs. I got to meet two awesome people: Sharon, a fellow author, and Eva, a member from my street team. Them stopping by to grab my books was the highlight of my weekend. I also grabbed Morgan Kearns' books to finish off my favorite series. And... I couldn't pass up the chocolate covered cheesecake!