Please welcome erotica and romance author Erin O'Riordan to Fang-tastic Books today.
She's chatting about her new book, Beltane, and about a few of her short stories as well as offering a signed paperback copy of Beltane as a giveaway.
Thanks for joining us Erin !
Hello everyone.
I'll start off by telling you a little bit about Beltane.
Pagan priestess Allie is marrying the man of her dreams, Paul Phillip. A buttoned-down lawyer, he may not be "exciting," but he makes Allie feel like a princess. Allie's twin sister, free-spirited witch Zen, takes a chance on Allie and Paul Phillip's wedding caterer, Chris. Chris is more the hit 'em and quit 'em type, though. When Zen meets hip businessman Orlando, she thinks she's found what her sister has with Paul Phillip. Which sister will end up with her true love?
Beltane is an erotic, explicitly sexy romance, available as an e-book from Eternal Press, on Fictionwise, and at All Romance E-Books, and in paperback on Amazon.com.
Beltane is an erotic, explicitly sexy romance, available as an e-book from Eternal Press, on Fictionwise, and at All Romance E-Books, and in paperback on Amazon.com.
This excerpt has Zen meeting Orlando for the 2nd time:
Zen went up front. She was surprised to see the same man who’d been at the bar in O’Connor’s the night before. This time, instead of a blue suit, he wore a gray pin-striped button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and gray pants. He wore another pair of Gucci shoes that matched just as perfectly. He smiled as he examined a row of herbs: anise seed for love potions, to stir up lust; mistletoe, hung above door and windows to banish nightmares; yarrow to increase one’s psychic abilities, hawthorn for protection from evil spirits, and bloodroot for love potions. It seemed to Zen that he was even sadder tonight than he’d been the night before.
"Welcome to Light and Shadow," Zen said. "May I help you?"
He nodded slightly, not looking up from the potions. "The cocktail waitress at the bar up the street said you’re a witch."
"That’s me," Zen said. She noticed, for the first time, the cross that he wore around his neck. That wasn’t so unusual. Half of her customers were very religious. "I should warn you that my powers are very limited. So if there’s anyone whom you wish to turn into a toad, I can’t help you."
He laughed. "But you tell fortunes, don’t you?"
"Yeah, that I can do," she said. "I can’t tell you exactly where you’ve been, or where you’re going, but I can give you a general idea of how things are, and how they should be."
He thought about this for a moment. "That’s good," he said. "How much?"
"Forty," she said. This was twice what she usually charged, but he looked like he could afford it. He took out his billfold and handed her a fifty.
She went to the cash register to get him his change, but he said, "Keep it."
"Thank you."
"So, where do we do this thing?" he said, adding, "I assume you’re just going to read my palm or something. I hope this won’t involve chicken blood or anything unpleasant like that."
"Through the golden door," she said, pointing. "And the chicken blood service is forty dollars extra."
As Zen and her customer entered, Gillian picked up the last of the tarot cards from the floor and stood. "Hi," she said. "I’m Gillian, the assistant witch. Do you need any help, Zen?"
"No," Zen said, "unless you feel like running to the coffee shop for a couple of lattes."
"Bring me one, too," the customer said. He handed her a ten-dollar bill. "Please."
Gillian nodded. "What do you like? Caf or decaf? Sugar or artificial sweetener?"
He laughed. "I’ll make it easy on you," he said. "I’ll have whatever you ladies are having."
"You got it." Gillian went outside, the door’s chimes jingling behind her.
"Zen?" the customer said, turning from Gillian’s departing form back to Zen. "That’s a really unusual name."
"It’s short for Zenobia," she said. "Mom read it in a Hawthorne novel or something. Please, sit down. And you are?"
"Orlando Parisi," he said.
"Could you be any more Italian?" she joked, taking the seat across from him.
"Actually, yes," he said. "I’m only half Italian. Dad was from Milan; Mom’s from Slovenia. I was born in Slovenia—well, Yugoslavia, technically. Why am I telling you all of this?"
Zen went up front. She was surprised to see the same man who’d been at the bar in O’Connor’s the night before. This time, instead of a blue suit, he wore a gray pin-striped button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and gray pants. He wore another pair of Gucci shoes that matched just as perfectly. He smiled as he examined a row of herbs: anise seed for love potions, to stir up lust; mistletoe, hung above door and windows to banish nightmares; yarrow to increase one’s psychic abilities, hawthorn for protection from evil spirits, and bloodroot for love potions. It seemed to Zen that he was even sadder tonight than he’d been the night before.
"Welcome to Light and Shadow," Zen said. "May I help you?"
He nodded slightly, not looking up from the potions. "The cocktail waitress at the bar up the street said you’re a witch."
"That’s me," Zen said. She noticed, for the first time, the cross that he wore around his neck. That wasn’t so unusual. Half of her customers were very religious. "I should warn you that my powers are very limited. So if there’s anyone whom you wish to turn into a toad, I can’t help you."
He laughed. "But you tell fortunes, don’t you?"
"Yeah, that I can do," she said. "I can’t tell you exactly where you’ve been, or where you’re going, but I can give you a general idea of how things are, and how they should be."
He thought about this for a moment. "That’s good," he said. "How much?"
"Forty," she said. This was twice what she usually charged, but he looked like he could afford it. He took out his billfold and handed her a fifty.
She went to the cash register to get him his change, but he said, "Keep it."
"Thank you."
"So, where do we do this thing?" he said, adding, "I assume you’re just going to read my palm or something. I hope this won’t involve chicken blood or anything unpleasant like that."
"Through the golden door," she said, pointing. "And the chicken blood service is forty dollars extra."
As Zen and her customer entered, Gillian picked up the last of the tarot cards from the floor and stood. "Hi," she said. "I’m Gillian, the assistant witch. Do you need any help, Zen?"
"No," Zen said, "unless you feel like running to the coffee shop for a couple of lattes."
"Bring me one, too," the customer said. He handed her a ten-dollar bill. "Please."
Gillian nodded. "What do you like? Caf or decaf? Sugar or artificial sweetener?"
He laughed. "I’ll make it easy on you," he said. "I’ll have whatever you ladies are having."
"You got it." Gillian went outside, the door’s chimes jingling behind her.
"Zen?" the customer said, turning from Gillian’s departing form back to Zen. "That’s a really unusual name."
"It’s short for Zenobia," she said. "Mom read it in a Hawthorne novel or something. Please, sit down. And you are?"
"Orlando Parisi," he said.
"Could you be any more Italian?" she joked, taking the seat across from him.
"Actually, yes," he said. "I’m only half Italian. Dad was from Milan; Mom’s from Slovenia. I was born in Slovenia—well, Yugoslavia, technically. Why am I telling you all of this?"
In addition to Beltane, I’ve also written erotic fiction for Hustler Fantasies and Playgirl. My fiction has been featured in e-zines including Clean Sheets, Oysters and Chocolate, Lucrezia Magazine, For The Girls, The Erotic Woman, and Tassels and Tales. I’m especially proud of "Spicy, Earthy, Sweet," the story I wrote for Ravenous Romance. If you’ll pardon the pun, it puts the "nookie" in "Hanookkah." (I’m bad with puns; too much Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a child.)
I’m also quite proud of my werewolves-and-vampire menage story, "Oliver’s Famous Clam Chowder," which appears in the Torquere Press anthology Love Bites. It’s my second werewolf story. My first was the girl-pirates-and-werewolves tale "Fall of the Estrela," published at Midnight Times.
You can read more of the adventures of Erin O’Riordan at my Pagan Spirits blog, http://www.erinoriordan.blogspot.com/.
One lucky reader who leaves a comment here AND signs up to follow the Pagan Spirits blog will win a signed paperback copy of Beltane!
I’m also quite proud of my werewolves-and-vampire menage story, "Oliver’s Famous Clam Chowder," which appears in the Torquere Press anthology Love Bites. It’s my second werewolf story. My first was the girl-pirates-and-werewolves tale "Fall of the Estrela," published at Midnight Times.
You can read more of the adventures of Erin O’Riordan at my Pagan Spirits blog, http://www.erinoriordan.blogspot.com/.
One lucky reader who leaves a comment here AND signs up to follow the Pagan Spirits blog will win a signed paperback copy of Beltane!
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