Guest Post with Author Jess Michaels and Giveaway

Today I am happy to welcome back to RFTC not only one of my most favorite authors but one of my most favorite people author Jess Michaels. Jess is celebrating the release of her newest book For Desire Alone and has stopped by to chat. Please give Jess a warm welcome.

Jess Michaels began writing full-time in 1999 after being encouraged by her husband to follow her dream. In 2003, she sold her first novella to Red Sage Press, an erotic historical romance about an Egyptian tomb and a very sexy curse. Since then she has published (or has contracted to publish by the end of 2013) 37 novels and novellas under three different pen names with several major publishers, small presses and via self-publishing. Her erotic historical romances have been national bestsellers and won awards from booksellers and readers.

In 2011, she and her husband moved to Tucson, AZ. There she enjoys hiking in the beautiful desert, spending time with her nephews, designing jewelry (which you can buy here), reading and spending time with her awesome husband and cats.

Places to find Jess: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | 

Why I Write Books

Jess Michaels

First off, I wanted to say a big thank you to Danielle for having me at her blog today. It’s always fun to visit around the web. If you don’t know me, I write erotic historical romance as Jess Michaels, historical romance as Jenna Petersen and urban fantasy as Jesse Petersen. Danielle has always been a great supporter of moi, and I appreciate it.

She also gave me sort of carte blanche to write what I wanted. This is a good thing and a bad thing for a writer. A good thing because then I could write about ANYTHING. And a bad thing because shoot, I could write about ANYTHING and that seems to make my mind empty of all reasonable ideas. I start thinking about writing about watching paint dry, I get so desperate to come up with a valuable topic.

But then I stopped panicking and I started thinking about what’s been on my mind lately. A lot has changed in my world in the last year or so. We moved across country, my husband quit his job and started a new business and we bought a new house. The one constant in my life of late has been writing. And so my mind wanders, quite often lately, to why I write books.

I’ve always felt a drive to write. I wrote stories all through elementary, junior and high school, but I never took it very seriously, even when I wrote my first full-length book in college. But somehow, through a lot of soul searching and some time off after college, I decided I would try for the big prize, becoming a published writer.

Some people might think that’s why a writer writes. To be published , to make money, to become a bestseller, and all those things are true. I support my family through my writing, so these very practical reasons to write are on my radar at all times. But they are not the ones that keep me going through the hard times. In fact, those practical goals seem to hurt me more than help when I’m low.

The reason that I write is because I have so many stories in my head and I want to see what happens in them. I write because it makes me calmer, it makes me happier, I lose myself in the process of it. I write because I’m passionate about an idea (I’ve never written a book I didn’t love) or a character or a scene. I write because when I don’t write, it makes me very sad and antsy. This fact was proven to me over the summer when I took two months off and nearly went mad by the end.

Ultimately, it’s the passion for our work that drives us to sit in a chair with a cat taking up half the space, wrecking our wrists, wracking our brains, crying over the failures, and still we write. It’s that thing that makes us keep trying. And hopefully, as readers, it’s the thing you feel when you pick up a book and get lost in it.

When friends turn to lovers, anything can happen…

A mistress should never be foolish enough to fall in love with her protector, nor trust him with her financial future. Mariah Desmond did both, and now her dearly departed protector has left her with nothing.Forced to seek another protector, she’s determined that this time, she’ll lead with her survival instinct—not her heart. But when she attends one of Vivien Manning’s infamous parties, the familiar face of her late lover’s best friend throws her for a loop.

A painful past taught John Rycroft that he’s not fit to be anyone’s knight in shining armor. His soft spot—make that a hard spot—for Mariah is precisely why he’s kept his distance. Yet the sight of her flirting with a bevy of men vying to become her next lover makes something inside him snap.

As John hauls her bodily away from her suitors, Mariah’s indignation melts away in the heat of the sizzling sexual chemistry. She quickly finds it isn’t easy to navigate John’s stormy emotional waters. Especially when his abusive father’s quest to get his son back under his thumb puts her life in danger.

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain Publishing |

Check out the Mistress Matchmaker series: 

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1 lucky commenter will win a copy of Nothing Denied

To Enter:

• Please leave a meaningful comment or question for Jess. 
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.
• US Shipping ONLY

Good Luck =)

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