Catching Up with Allie A. Burrow

 

Morning, folks! Today I’m bringing sassy Allie A Burrow from across the pond for a chat. For those of you who don’t know, Allie is the raunchier alter ego of Aurelia B Rowl, who also happens to be my fabulous critique partner. We’ll be talking about writing across genres and her erotic romance debut as Allie, For One Night Only, part of the Serviced anthology from Breathless Press. Phew. Got all that?

 

v  Your debut romance, Christmas is Cancelled, has a much lower heat level than For One Night Only. You’re also writing a YA book. How hard is it to write across different genres?

 

To be honest, they really not so different – I still write a nice, almost ‘sweet’ romance, but can change up or down the language to suit. I’d like to think my voice remains the same across the range, so you still have a good idea of what you’re going to get.

 

v  I’ve noticed that you have a strong online presence for both your pen names. Both Allie and Aurelia have their own websites, blogs and Facebook pages. Being a stay-at-home mom of two, how do you find time for all that promoting?

 

Well, I admit, something has to give. Usually the housework. Plus I tend to shelve trying to write anything when a book releases, giving myself a week or two to give it the best possible start, before returning to my works in progress.

 

v  What’s the best thing about being a published author? The worst thing?

 

The best thing about being a published author is knowing that people are out there, reading my stories, with many of them taking the time to review my work. That is also the worst thing, however, as it’s a bit like being in a permanent state of paranoia, hoping that readers like you.

 

v  Can you describe For One Night Only à la Twitter style, with 140 characters or fewer?

 

140 characters? Ouch! Umm...
Corporal Mark Butler is back in the country for one night only, and Kate isn't about to let the opportunity pass her by...

 

v  What’s next for you?

 

Who knows!?

I have so many projects on the go, but external influences (including the UK government!) keep changing the order in which I can do them. My current project is a Young Adult romance that I really hope to get finished in the first half of this year, so that I can send it off to a publisher. After that, I’ll see which characters shout the loudest, and there are certainly plenty of projects for me to return to.

 

Thanks for stopping by, Allie! And good luck! J

Thanks Carmen, and thank you for having me, it’s lovely to be here.

Oh, and there's more...

About Allie…

 

Short version

 

Allie A Burrow is the raunchier alter-ego of contemporary romance author, Aurelia B Rowl.

 

She lives on the edge of the Peak District in the UK with her very understanding husband and their two fantastic children aged 6 and 4, along with their mad rescue mutt who doesn’t mind being used as a sounding post and source of inspiration. They are all used to her getting too caught up with her latest writing project... or five!... and she is guiltily counting down the months until she has both kids at school full-time.  

 

To find out more about Allie, or to check out what projects she's working on right now, you can visit her website www.allieaburrow.com

 

You can also find her hanging out on:

 

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Pinterest

Amazon

Goodreads

YouTube (as Aurelia)

 

 

 

About Serviced…

 

Erotic romance anthology Release date: 1 March 2013 Publisher: Breathless Press ISBN: 978-1-77101-022-1 Heat level: 5 Word count: 65,000+

 

Short blurb

 

All's fair in love and war, they say. Come find out if it's true in these ten stories where soldiers prove that their skills in the field are only rivaled by their skills in the bedroom.

Links…

 

Facebook Page
Goodreads

 

Buy links:

 

Breathless Press

Amazon

Amazon UK

All Romance Books
Bookstrand

Barnes & Noble – coming soon

iTunes – coming soon

 

 

For One Night Only by Allie A Burrow

 

Kate Powell only went and fell for the soldier she’d met just once before he had to jet off on a year-long posting overseas.

 

Seven months in, and Kate is hornier than a blue wildebeest in mating season with only her battery-powered friend for relief. Her skills as a pen-pal scale new heights, but then a text message arrives out of the blue.

 

Corporal Mark Butler is back in the country for one night only, and Kate isn’t about to let the opportunity pass her by. After all, who needs a vibrator when the real thing comes calling?

 

Excerpt

 

Safely enveloped in the darkness of the alcove, the bass pounded through the soles of Kate's boots and echoed inside her ribs. She lunged and caught Mark’s face in her hands, pulling him down to kiss him, her tongue forcing a route past his surprised lips and delving into the wetness of his mouth. "Take me," she breathed. Her hand stole over the carved ridges of his stomach, following the arrow-shaped path down to where it disappeared inside his jeans. "Please..."

 

His mouth opened and closed and he glanced over his shoulder at the heaving dance floor. "But—"

 

"No buts." She reached for his fly, undoing it quickly, but instead of finding another layer of clothing, his dick sprang free and elicited a gasp from her throat. "I need this"—she fisted her hand around it, stroking him, and his eyes squeezed shut, his jaw jutting out as his head tipped back—"I need you...inside me"—she swirled her hand over the engorged head and his entire body jerked—"now."

 

Mark's eyes flew open and even in the dim lighting, she saw his pupils dilate, the naked desire on his face almost frightening. His fingers skipped over the back of her neck and lost themselves in her hair, getting tangled in the shoulder-length tresses she had loosely pinned up. The gentle touch was at odds with the fierce hunger in his gaze. Electric shocks surged through the many nerve endings, connected directly to her core, and she had to lean into his hand, let him support the weight of her head, suddenly too heavy to keep upright under her own steam.

 

He tilted it back and locked his gaze onto hers, issuing her with a challenge. "If we're going to do this"—he leaned into her, his lips rasping her ear—"right here, right now"—his gravelly voice resonated within her, hungry, powerful—"we're doing it my way."

 

Staggered by the transformation from man to soldier, her need for him ramped up another notch and it was all she could do to move her head the tiniest fraction. His eyes searched hers for an answer, the wait agonizing, until finally, he dipped his head. Achingly tender, his lips flitted over the top of hers, like rose petals blowing in the wind. Her eyelids fluttered closed, cracking under the strain of keeping them open.

 

Sweet, yet maddening, Kate yearned to take control and deepen the kiss, but he broke off every time she tried before catching her lower lip between his teeth as if to punish her. Their sharp edges sank into her swollen flesh without breaking the surface, his tongue immediately soothing any pain. The all-conquering, take-no-prisoners warrior had arrived.

 

 

Over A Dead Body by Leona Bushman

 

Riker thought he'd be meeting a friend and instead found him dead. When NCIS is called in, Riker's ex is there, looking as hot as ever. Even though the sight of her forced him to realize how much he missed her and wanted her, meeting her over a dead body with blood on his hands made it unlikely he'd get what he wanted—Edie.

 

Edie loved her job as a lead NCIS investigator, but why did it have to be Riker who found this murdered person? Riker had left her a few weeks before marriage, spouting logic and distance. Her heart remained cold, but her body steamed when he touched her.

Could she clear his name and forgive him or would the killers get to him first?

 

 

Reds, Whites, and Blues by Mickey J. Corrigan

 

He was stationed in Key West during the Vietnam War when he met the arty girl who didn't capitalize her name. She was cute, but strange, the kind of a hippie chick who usually shunned soldiers like himself. But sometimes opposites attract. Sometimes they have sex on the beach. And sometimes you can't forget them.

 

 

Leave Taking by Angelica Dawson

 

Will has a surprise for his wife for the tenth anniversary.

 

He's coming home.

 

 

First Date – The Italian Colonel by Jesabelle Jones

 

There are fireworks when horny English nanny, Leonie, meets squadron commander, Colonel Luca Giordano - the sex is hot, and it's only the first date.

 

 

Major’s Minah by Raven McAllan

 

Oliver knew his duty, he needed a wife and heir. Minah knew what she wanted—him. Could his ideals and her dreams be the same? There was only one way to find out...

 

 

Knock Out by Natalia Petrovskii

 

Warrant Officer Ryan Wilson is handsome and arrogant and Corporal Nicole Muchmore enjoys taking out her frustration against him on the sparring mat. One day the tables turn and before she knows what is happening he is exacting a punishment of another kind-this time totally pleasurable.

 

 

A Chance At Love by Shelli Rosewarne

 

Corporal Aidan Hamilton has the unenviable job of telling his best friend’s sister that her brother isn’t coming back. This is slightly complicated by the fact that from the moment he meets Suzanne Kelsey he knows she’s everything he’s ever wanted. While Suzanne might need someone to lean on at the moment, can he convince her that what they have is more than a short term fling?

 

Suzanne had always told her big brother that being a soldier was too dangerous, so when she sees the uniformed officer in front of her house she knows exactly what he’s here to tell her. While Aidan may set her blood on fire, Suzanne has already lost one soldier she loved and she’s not prepared to trust her heart to another one.

 

 

Taking Command by Zara Stoneley

 

Mike Sands knows that loving a soldier can lead to heartache, so when he falls hard for his best mates little sister he knows he has to walk away.

 

But can Jade let him, when one taste has left her desperate for more? Or dare she take command of the situation and prove to both of them that maybe what they have is worth taking a risk over?

 

Sometimes one night of passion is not enough, sometimes you just have to stop thinking about the future and live in the present.

 

 

Riding Out The Storm by Natalia Petrovskii

 

Corporal Anna Jordan keeps her secret fantasies about her superior officer, Lieutenant Kyle Campbell, well hidden. When the two must take shelter from a winter storm during a training exercise she has no idea her wildest dreams are about to come true!

 

 

Day 2 at the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago

                Holding out for a Hero was one of my favorite workshops so far. Panelists Cynthia Eden, Lisa Renee Jones, Elisabeth Naughton, and Caridad Pineiro talked about how to create a hero that we can care about. They mainly talked about the alpha hero, the beta hero and the anti-hero. Beta heroes are gaining popularity, they say. They defined the beta hero as the underdog, the man who isn’t comfortable being a hero (in some level, even reluctant to be one). They pointed out that at first it’s hard to sell the beta hero for a paranormal or suspense book, since those genres usually call for take-charge, problem-solver alpha males. However, usually they can introduce the beta hero as the alpha hero’s sidekick; and, as the readers begin to like and want to know more about the beta hero, he usually gets his own book. By the way, Caridad Pineiro is one of the nicest authors I’ve met. She congratulated me for my Indulgence sale and gave me not one, but two hugs.

            Lisa Renee Jones emphasized that the hero can’t just be good-looking. The physical part matters, but what will take the reader into the emotional journey is his inner conflict.

            Cynthia Eden delivered a great speech about the anti-hero. She described him as someone who has the qualities of a villain, but at the same time has qualities we must admire. The key is backstory, letting the reader know why the anti-hero became this way. We don’t have to agree with his actions, only understand why he acts the way he does. Eric, from True Blood, came instantly to my mind. (Sighs)

            Writing Big in a Short Format was presented by Harlequin authors Caitlin Crews, Molly O’Keefe, and Ann Voss Peterson. They delivered a succinct, strong, and enjoyable presentation about three key factors (emotion, characters, and plot) to keep in mind when writing novellas or short, contemporary romances. Really, these three are connected. Molly said that the magic happens when we bring fresh characters to tried and true tropes (like the secret baby, the sheik, the bad boy millionaire, etc). The secret is to find the specificity of these characters, what makes them unique and what will make them different from what else is out there. Ann talked about plot and how every scene in the book must move the story forward. Asking questions out loud, like “What does my character want?” and “What will make my character change?” may help. She also said that she outlines an emotional arch, which I thought was pretty cool.

            Caitlin Crews finished the presentation by talking about the importance of raw, naked emotion. It’s about showing not only how the character reacted physically, but also inside. What did the heroine feel when the hero told her he was leaving?

            Another workshop I enjoyed was Surviving Edits and Revisions, by Stacey Kade and Linnea Sinclair. They talked about their experiences and shared letters from editors. Upon receiving a long list of revisions from your editor, here’s what they suggested: First, go through the positive feedback and small changes. Second, edit the things that you don’t necessarily agree with, but that won’t kill you if changed. Last, do the ones you don’t agree with. They also said that editing is a cooperative effort; so if there’s something you feel strongly about, you can tell your editors something like, “I can see why you think that way, but this is what I was trying to do,” and see what happens. Hey, trying never hurts, right?

            Last but not least was What’s Hot Now. Panelists Kelli Collins, Lindsey Fober, Miriam Kriss, Kate Pearce, Reece Butler, and Kelly Jamieson all talked about the trends of erotica romance. I really enjoyed watching these smart and funny women share their ideas on the matter. They talked about the rise of erotica romance, and how it’s gaining popularity even amongst traditional New York publishers. Agent Miriam Kriss said that she doesn’t think this will be permanent, but would like it to be. EC Senior Editor Kelli Collins is confident that erotica romance is in high demand. Someone from the audience pointed out that she has finally started to notice male/male books gaining space on the shelves. I was surprised to find out that male/male books are written by women, for women. Someone said that the ones written by gay males are different in style, content, and emotion level. Interesting stuff.

            Well, that’s it for now. I just wanted to share my impressions before I forget them—I might have a couple of drinks later, so it’s a possibility.

            What do you think about these trends?