The Gestalt Boudoir - Erotica & Romance

A quiet week (ish)

2012-01-25T05:54:00.000-08:00

Well this week has been filled with ups and downs. I spent most of last week being ill and generally feeling a little sorry for myself but despite this I managed to type up a large amount of writing which means now I've got tonnes of editing to do.

For the next few months I'm going to be juggling between a fine line of doing too much and needing to take time off to just relax. After those few months however things should hopefully get easier. So for the moment I'm running around throwing balls up in the air trying to stop any from falling on the ground.

Writing has been going well though and now I've got a few ideas down for various deadlines coming up in the next year. Details will come soon!

A new year a new start

2012-01-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

Once again I find another year has passed and although the last year I have been busy with work that has meant my writing has had to take a bit of a back seat. This year however that will change as I will be finishing the work in the next few months and now have the opportunity to write full time. So expect a lot more work from me soon enough.

I don't make new years resolutions - I don't really believe that one day can change an attitude or behaviour but small steps taken over a long period of time can. However this year I do plan on making changes, just small ones but hopefully things that will aid in my focusing and concentration regarding writing. And so this is a declaration that I will focus on updating this blog at least once a week - on hopefully the same day (but lets not get too hopeful) with an update of what I have been up to regarding writing.

As I write this the weather outside is freezing, in fact I'm sat wearing gloves as I'm typing this its so cold inside even with the heating on! So now I'm going to get another cup of coffee from the coffee machine and get on with some writing - presently I've got two things on the go, one a short story based around gifts and wish-lists and the other is the start of a book that I'm rather excited to be working on but isn't quite working right now.

Wish me luck!

Today is the day

2011-01-14T03:32:00.000-08:00

That I am taking part in the event at Coffee Time Romance. You can ask me questions, and enter a competition. Later on I will be posting up excerpts of my stories and of course answering those questions!

You could win yourself one of my ebooks and a pack of four encaustic cards so do come over and say hi!

Then whilst you are there check out all the other fabulous authors and stay for coffee (or hot drink of your choice available at your own house/work etc...)

Bring in the year with books

2011-01-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

Today marks the starts of the month long even over at Coffee Time Romance & More. There is a mass of authors involved and lots of prizes to be won so do check it out!

There are dotted around everyone's homepage's small heart shaped buttons, so don't forget to visit everyone's pages and seek them out. Details are up at Coffee Time Romance& More: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1627

Enjoy the event and don't forget to visit!

As for my day which is the 14th January there will be a competition in which you can win a back copy of one of my ebooks and some of my cards that I make. So keep watching!

Yearly roundup

2011-01-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

To know how much I write and have sent out I keep records. Of more or less everything I might add - even things I don't think I will ever need again.

Since I am always so nosy about how much other people write and submit throughout the year I thought I'd show you my 2010 stats. These are the stats only for Nicole Gestalt and not any of my other pen-names so it may look a little small compared to others.

Over all its been a good year in terms of words written just maybe not so good in terms of stories sent out. The good news however is I have a large amount of stories all ready to be edited and submitted so keep an eye out!

Submitted (1000 +): 11
Submitted (flash): 1
Rejected: 6
Accepted: 3

A new year a new look

2011-01-01T05:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to hoping 2011 will be as interesting as 2010.

To fit in with the start of the new year I thought a totally different look was in order for the blog. Now it might not stay like this but I rather enjoyed the wild rugged look of the picture in the background so here it is for a while.

Please do tell me what you think of it and also let me know of any posts or extras you would like to see this blog is you the readers blog as much as it is mine.

Almost 2011 already?

2010-12-29T16:37:00.001-08:00

Time seems to have just flown this year, and I've completely failed to manage to keep up regularly with this blog - for which I apologise!

Currently I'm working out my stats for this year and will be posting them up as the first post of the new year (really can't believe how close it is now.).

Watch out for news also about things occurring in conjunction with Coffee Time Romance. Details will be up soon so keep an eye out!

Hope everyone is having a good winter season and aren't being too buffeted by the weather we've all been having.

The Hotel is now out

2010-10-30T05:19:00.001-07:00

The Hotel a short spanking story is now available to read on Oysters & Chocolate.

Here is a short excerpt:

Heather squirmed in frustration, her eyes upon her husband across the table. She didn’t understand it; she had been purposely rude to him and yet he wasn’t reacting.

Her ass tingled and she shifted her weight in the chair, crossing her legs and letting her skirt rise up a little. Her husband looked away from her and continued his conversation with their hostess.

Heather had been shocked when Matt had driven them to the Dark Beach Hotel. They had been indulging their enjoyment of spanking for two years, ever since Matt had tried it out on her one evening and she had begged him for more. Their relationship had never been as vanilla as her friends’ relationships, yet spanking hadn’t been something they had tried until that night. As they drove up the long, winding driveway of the hotel she listened to his explanations, and the thought of being spanked at any time, possibly even in front of people, made her shiver with nerves, but at the same moment it had also thrilled her. By the time they had joined their hosts for dinner she wanted to feel the strength of his hands being brought down on her ass.

The story is free to read and can be found here: http://www.oystersandchocolate.com/Stories/2061/TheHotel.aspx

Touch of Silver review

2010-10-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

The first review of Touch of Silver has been released and it's filled with some great comments. Rainbow Reviews have given it four out of five stars.

Here is an excerpt of it!

"Clearly the relationship between Tammy and Kathleen is the hottest ~ and most important ~ relationship in this book. There is, however, a smoking hot consensual, but rough, sex scene between Jon and Kathleen, told as a flashback. Lovers of lesbian paranormal fiction will enjoy this book, but so will lovers of bisexual women's fiction."

For the full review head to Rainbow Reviews and check it out - link here: http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=7575

Waiting for reviews is always a nervous time so I'm glad that the first review has been favourable and would like to thank ErinSchmidt for taking the time out to review this story.

Two releases!

2010-09-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Over the past two days I've had two stories released. First of all Touch of Silver is now finally out. It's available for only $2.99 from Phaze (link here! http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Touch+Of+Silver/exact_match=exact ) Here is the blurb

When Tammy arrives in town to find everywhere but a single bar closed and shuttered, as if in preparation for a storm, her curiosity is aroused. Little does she realize exactly what kind of storm is approaching, as she is swept up into a world apart from her own.

A world of excitement and danger, one that she could never have believed existed. One that will herald many changes, and not merely for her as she experiences the touch of silver.

You can have a sneak peak by reading the excerpt here: Excerpt

Isn't the cover gorgeous!

The story is a f/f werewolf story with a small m/f scene.

So pop over to the site, for only $2.99 it can't be missed!

The second story I've had published is a short spanking story entitled A Lesson for Two. Its up on Justus Roux's website for the month and is free to read. So check it out here: http://www.justusroux.com/34.html

Dusts the cobwebs off

2010-09-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am still here! I've just been incredibly busy over the past few weeks, what with an impromptu trip to the states and college all starting up. As well as writing, I have been writing lots so am dusting the cobwebs off this blog with good news.

The Hotel a fun little spanking story has been accepted by Oysters & Chocolate. The story will be published online in October, but in the meantime you can check the site out and read all the fabulous stories already there: http://www.oystersandchocolate.com/home.aspx

I am really looking forward to this story coming out and will give more details and a link to it when it does.

Acceptance

2010-07-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

After a couple of days in bed ill I finally surfaced to discover one of my short pieces A Lesson for Two has been accepted by Justus Roux (you can find the website here: http://www.justusroux.com/ ).

It's a quick little m/f spanking piece and I'm really looking forward to seeing it up on the website.

It will be available for October, but I'll give more information closer to the month

And She Danced

2010-06-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

My short flash erotic fiction is this weeks Thrifty Thursday short story at Whipped Cream Reviews.

Its all about a woman enjoying her own sexuality and trying new things to keep the spark of romance alive.

Check it out at: http://whippedcream2archives.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-she-danced-by-nicole-gestalt.html?zx=1ba4f7154914b0fc

Where I've been!

2010-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Just to let you all know I'm still here!

I've just been very busy editing Touch of Silver and also slightly ill. Neither of which are very good for keeping up with blog posts. However the edits are going well after intensive talks with people and although my head is spinning from most of it it is getting there.

I will keep trying to update this as much as I can but until the ebook has been published I think I'm going to be a little scarce around here.

Time

2010-04-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

Today I’m blogging over at Romance Writers Behaving Badly. I had planned to talk about my upcoming release Touch of Silver but we’re back editing it to make it just perfect. So instead I have blogged about time, the one thing that we all never seem to have enough of.

I hope you will all pop over there and read what I have to say but don’t worry if you don’t have the time!

The post can be found here: http://romancewritersbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/2010/04/time.html

Weekly Roundup March 9th - 15th

2010-03-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well another week gone and a very confused me left behind. It turns out I'm a week behind where I thought I was. Not that that is a bad thing, it's not - I was just under the impression that it was almost the end of March. (That's what running around working on a pantomime will do to you!)

So this week I've spent the time working once more on the werewolf piece, though I also continued to expand two pieces neither of which are ready to be sent out just yet but I'm happy with how it is all going.

The coming week I don't see me managing to write much under any of my pen-names due to not being in and spending a lot of the time in the dark of a stage. So any writing I do will be a bonus for me and I'll mark this week down to being my 'downtime'. So here's to holidays!

Coming up soon however I'm going to be running a series of interviews with various authors. So keep your eyes on the journal. I plan to run them one a week but we'll see how that goes.

~*~

Telly:
Music: Mass Effect 2
Choc/Yummy: Thorntons moments
Mood: Missing a certain someone
Main Writing: Plotted pieces out but no actual words
Flash Writing: None today yet

Weekly Roundup March 2nd - 8th

2010-03-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

This week was an extremely busy week for me so I didn't get much writing done. However by the end of the week I managed to expand two pieces one of which has been submitted and the second is still being expanded.

I've also continued to work upon an old werewolf piece that when I was reading through my notes made me want to work on it again. So far its going quite smoothly but I will most likely be rearranging the parts I'm working on in the future.

For now I'm happily sat working on it and also working on shorter pieces.

~*~

Telly: Wild Thing I love you
Music:
Choc/Yummy:
Mood: Missing a certain someone
Main Writing: 1000
Flash Writing: None today yet

Monthly Roundup - February

2010-03-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

And here we are at the end of February. It's been a busy month in terms of various projects and next month looks like its going to be even busier.

Touch of Silver has now been fully edited and finally has been sent back in to Phaze, my publisher. I'm half way through typing up a story which I will then expand and polish up - I need to expand it but I'm yet to decide which ending I'm going to go with. When I first wrote it I created multiple ways that the ending could go and I'm planning on getting all these typed up and then decide once I can see them next to one another.

I've got lots of pieces that are awaiting editing and in March I plan to attempt to get a good number of them done and sent out.

I didn't submit anything this month since my focus was on Touch of Silver but I still have nine pieces out some of which I'm chasing up with the various publishers. Patience is the key thing when it comes to submitting work and it's something you learn very quickly as a writer (hopefully).

All in all February was a productive month but I hope March will be more so.

~*~

Telly: Time Team
Music:
Choc/Yummy:
Mood: Missing a certain someone
Main Writing: None today yet
Flash Writing: None today yet

Weekly Roundup 15th - 21st February

2010-02-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

So another week ends...and begins. Last week I spent most of the time going through the edits for Touch of Silver, they are all but done now. I have one final read through and its all set. I really like this story, I had so much fun writing it.

In other things I've been writing up a large story that with some expansion will be ready to go in a month at the most - if nothing else makes its appearance.

The rest of the time has been spent working on pieces under my other pen-names. However I'm working on some plot lines that once Touch of Silver is out I'll be writing with earnest. Speaking of which I'm off to finish my 'final' read through before sending it back to my editor - wish me luck!

~*~

Telly: Rush Hour 3
Music:
Choc/Yummy:
Mood: Missing a certain someone
Main Writing: 250
Flash Writing: None today yet

Weekly Roundup 8th - 14th February

2010-02-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

So this week was mainly spent writing. I'm currently working on three stories. One that will be about 10k once I'm finished with it, a piece that will be around 4k and then a third that should be about 2,5k. All are about totally different subjects but are mainly contemporary.

I've done a lot of edits for Touch of Silver and although didn't get it finished like I hoped I'm on the last stretch now I hope.

I typed up a short story which means I can now begin to edit that and I've been working on some small edits on other pieces (checking the story flows etc.)

Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have tied up all the lose ends and created some new ones on new projects - fingers crossed!

~*~

Telly:
Music:
Choc/Yummy:
Mood: Sleepy
Main Writing: 100
Flash Writing: None today yet

Weekly Roundup

2010-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

It's Monday! And February...which is scary to think we are already in our second month of 2010.

So edits of Touch of Silver are going smoothly. I'm trying to do it a piece at a time, I find that works better for me. If I try to do it all in one go my concentration just goes totally. I hope to get them all done by the end of the week if not sooner (well that's the plan anyway).

I'm working on a piece of writing which is a new style for me but I'm enjoying it so far, it'll be about 10k when I'm done with it...just less with some edits. I've got a market in mind for it so that will be done first draft by the end of the week also. I spent last week working on some of the details and have been working consistently on it since.

I've also got a short piece on the go which will be done by the end of the weekend. I'm starting to get into the habit of working on my longer works during the week and then for my weekend I work on short pieces.

Nothing was submitted last week but I'm working through edits of older stories that have been sitting waiting for me to get to them. I also totally cleared my writing desk finally after months of things piling up on it so I now have someplace to write once more! The way I work I tend to write everything in long hand then type it up as a first edit and then edit it and then edit some more.

And that's it for this week!

~*~

Telly:
Music: Dead Memories - Slipknot
Choc/Yummy: Terry's All Gold
Mood: Bouncy
Main Writing: 1250 + edits
Flash Writing: None today yet

Weekly Roundup

2010-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

And so it's Monday once more, and time for the weekly round up.

I went through and edited a short story, from which I had to cut a thousand words. Showing me I tend to use one hundred words when four will do, something I need to work on in the future. That story went through a final edit and then was sent out.

I've not looked at my Touch Of Silver edits yet, but that is penned in for this week.

I spent the rest of the week sorting out what pieces I've got almost completed and making charts for them, so I now know what I need to do when and how. As well as plotting a few new pieces that I will work on once I've gone through a number of the pieces on the go.

Right now I'm half way through two short stories which should be finished by the end of this week, and I have had a few more submissions.

~*~

Telly: My new addiction: Trails of Life
Music: Lake of Tears
Choc/Yummy: Terry's All Gold
Mood: Slightly worn out...need more sleep!
Main Writing: 250
Flash Writing: None today yet

Monday Roundup

2010-01-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

Roundups happen usually at the end of a week when there is something to round up...but I've never been one to follow tradition and so here is the round up for the week...well okay last week (and a mini to do list for this week).

Last week I finished a short story that will be typed up over the next few days and polished. I'm also just beginning another short both of which I hope to have sent out by the end of the week.

Last week started with the news that the charity anthology Coming Together series is now printing and working on its own so I will update the links once I get them this week. This means of course that more money goes to the charities they were written in mind of so it's all good.

I had a few rejections this week so I'm going to sit down around half way through this week and resend out pieces, with maybe a bit of re-jigging on a couple of them I'm not too sure, but it's always a good thing to re-read pieces before sending them back out.

I've recieved my edits for my newest ebook, Touch of Silver, which will be out in April if all goes well, so I will be heading in to the wonderful world of editing soon enough. In the mean time I'm just finishing the final passes on a few short stories and then have two more that I'm presently editing and polishing, both of which are around 20k in length.

I have no idea how much of this I'm actually going to get done this week but I'll keep you all posted.

~*~

Telly: My new addiction: Life on Earth
Music: random drum pieces
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Bopping along (no I'm not sure what that means either)
Main Writing: Do application forms count?
Flash Writing: See above

2009 Round Up

2010-01-11T07:27:00.001-08:00

I had been planning on posting this just as 2010 rolled around but I wasn't near a computer. So here is now the round up for 2009 with my user name Nicole Gestalt. My other round ups can be found with my other journals.

Fiction pieces submitted (longer then 1,000 words): 17
Sudden Fiction pieces submitted (pieces less then 1,000 words): 1
Acceptances: 5
Rejections: 10
Total: 18 submissions

Autumn

2009-11-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm still here! *waves* I've been deep in writing and working on cards. At present I have two pieces sitting on my computer crying out to be worked on but my attention is on a piece I'm expanding for my publisher (details to come soon!).

However I am indulging myself in cold crisp walks which always come with fresh ideas in tow, unfortunately not enough time to write them all.

Right, back to work. Watch out for news coming soon!

Chat at Realms of Love

2009-09-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight (21st September) I will be talking over at the Realms of Love site discussing my various books.

The chat is at 9pm EDT/6pm PDT or if you're in the UK like me 2am GMT.

You will need to sign up to the site but it's totally free. I will be giving away a prize also (but I'm not saying what it is you'll have to turn up and find out!).

Hope to see you there!

Realms of Love link: http://www.realmsoflove.com/

My Day

2009-09-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

I have at the moment the luck of being able to write pretty much all the time which is great for getting those words out and the many pieces I'm working on. However I thought I'd offer you all a glimpse of what I do each day.

This is an average day for me and now has been for a while due to various reasons including my health.

Once I wake up the very first thing I do before anything else is say hello to my partner, though he may not be awake at the time (isn't instant messenger wonderful?). That done I sort out my emails from the day before, or at least the ones I didn't manage to get to that day, I usually have about one hundred a day so they can take a few sittings to get through.

A dog gets walked then, before back to the computer where if luck is on my side my partner is wide awake and able to talk before he has to leave for the day. When we do chat its wonderful though it isn't something that happens every day due to one reason or another. Once he's off I have about an hour to fit in some writing and check up what the last thing I wrote the day before was before going to running around with another dog (a puppy this time who is the cutest little bundle of fur but totally uncoordinated).

That done I finally get some food, before settling down to more emails, writing and depending on what else I have on a lot of reading. I might also go through some edits of a piece of work or type up a new one depending on how I'm feeling and how the writing is going.

All this continues until like today another dog gets walked around tea time (roughly four in the afternoon). Then its back to writing and general work till 8 when my partner gets back.

I continue to write until about 2 in the morning but more on and off then during the day due to spending as much time as I can with my partner and food and anything else I need to get done, oh and occasionally (less occasionally then perhaps I'd like but I get very addicted to it quickly) we go into an online RPG which takes up a nice chunk of time but is something I can do whilst writing.

Then finally between 2 in the morning and 4 it's time for bed, ready to start it all again at 9am a few hours later.

And now I've filled in this journal...it's time for some more writing.

Have fun!

Keeping Track

2009-09-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it pays to look through your old writing files. I had thought I'd organised them a while ago but now as I sit going through them I've discovered a large number of pieces half written some longer then others but all with a full story worked out.

I am going to have my work cut out going through them all, but it's just like Yule finding lots of presents under the tree. I may cringe at the writing but at the end of the day I've got much more usable stories then I thought I had, and a vast amount of writing I'd totally forgotten I'd done.

These pieces were all written over the past year but then placed away in various boxes for whatever reason. Now I think it's time to dust them all off and see what I have.

Works in Progress

2009-09-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

As promised a list of stories I'm working on with their working titles (so these may be nothing like the end titles)

Reigning in Sarah - done, being expanded and edited

The Joining

Hunted

Forbidden Attraction

Tools of the Trade

Servitude - Now being edited

The Demon Song

Threads of Destiny

One Way Out

So as you can see I'm going to be kept busy for quite a while

Check back to this post to see how I'm doing over time, and I will make sure I keep it updated.

No I haven't vanished

2009-08-31T14:09:00.000-07:00

I promise, I've just been very deep in story lines. For the past month or so I've been writing constantly on wide range of themes.

I've got multiple stories now waiting for me to edit them as well as lots more stories on the go. So watch out for good news soon I hope.

I will be keeping more of a record upon here so people know how the writing is going and what sorts of things I have been working on.

For now I need to duck back down into the world of vampires and werewolves, and other beings that go bump in the night.

'House' Keeping

2009-07-15T12:05:00.001-07:00

Regular readers of this journal will have noticed a sudden change in layout. I decided it was time for a change and although the new layout isn't finished yet I would like to think it is certainly more visual then the last layout.

Sometimes change can be a very positive thing, so heres to the future.

Just Being Neighbourly

2009-06-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

Coming soon from Phaze is my newest ebook Just Being Neighbourly. It's a BDSM menage story which is fast and hot that is being released under the Rebound heatsheet theme.

Below is a picture of the cover and the blurb.

Just Being Neighbourly - Nicole Gestalt
Contemporary, Menage (FMF), BDSM

Feeling down following a bad breakup, Adriana tries to find distractions to help her move on with her life. New neighbor Ben seems like a good start...until she meets Ben's wife, Cassie.

Determined to be a friendly neighbor, however, Adriana decides to be social. When Ben and Cassie's first dinner party turns kinky, Adriana discovers there is plenty to keep her thoughts, and body, occupied.

(cover: Deborah Lewis)

Termination of Employment

2009-04-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Termination of Employment

I would like to introduce my latest ebook to be released, Termination of Employment.

Blurb:

A simple job. That’s what they had told her it would be. Once on the train however Becca learns that nothing is simple, especially where the heart is involved.

ISBN: 978-1-60659-135-2
Price: $2.00
Termination of Employment is currently available here: http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Termination+of+Employment/exact_match=exact

An Excerpt can be found here: http://phazebooksexcerpts.blogspot.com/2009/04/termination-of-employment-by-nicole.html

Melting Point: Breaking the Mould is now available

2009-03-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Melting Point: Breaking the Mould is now available and I couldn't be more excited.

Now I wait with bated breath to see how it is received, a time which I think is sometimes more nerve racking for the writer then anything else.However luckily it's pantomime week this week so my mind is all caught up with corny jokes, over the top costumes and opening curtains at the right time.

Melting Point: Breaking the Mould is available for only $2 from Phaze at: http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Melting+Point:+Breaking+the+Mould/exact_match=exact

To read an excerpt head here: http://phazebooksexcerpts.blogspot.com/2009/03/melting-point-breaking-mould-by-nicole.html

Melting Point: Breaking the Mould update

2009-03-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

Well the second set of edits have just been sent off so it's now one step closer to being ready and published on the 16th of this month.

Melting Point: Breaking the Mould has been a bit of a labour of love in a way and the two main characters Ruby and Dalton have tested me much more then I thought they would.

They first appeared as background characters in Melting Point (available in Coming Together: Under Fire) and in classic fashion demanded their own story. That story is Melting Point: Breaking the Mould.

So now everyone can read how Ruby and Dalton got together, and learn a bit more about their lives as well as seeing a little bit more into the main male protag from Melting Point who makes a little cameo during the story.

Melting Point was all about the wax, but I wanted Melting Point: Breaking the Mould to be a bit more explorative since Ruby is completely new to the world of BDSM.

As of a result this story has flogging, spanking and of course lots and lots of wax. And to answer any questions yes I am already plotting a third story staring Ruby's friend and her carrer as a BDSM music artist.

Oh and here is the blurb:

Going to a BDSM club isn’t Ruby’s idea of fun, but she’ll go anywhere to support her friend. Arriving at the club before opening time she isn’t sure what to expect but what she does find changes the course of her life forever.

Hope you like!

Vision in Green is out!

2009-02-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

Today on the day of lovers my free ebook Vision in Green is finally out.

It's a short f/f story about two woman who meet in a night club. The main character Samantha is also packing, a topic I wanted to write about for a while.

Here is the cover and a short excerpt:

Samantha wound her way around the nightclub, her fingers tapping with the rhythm of the music as she moved. The beat vibrated through her whole body, making her heart race and her feet want to dance.

As she walked she looked at the faces of the dancers lost in the moment, their bodies writhing close to one another, glistening with sweat. Samantha felt turned on just watching the scene in front of her, her hand unconsciously running over the fabric that covered her new toy.

She wondered if any of them could tell that tonight she was packing. She was nervous but excited; she could feel it pushed up hard against her leg as it tried to break free of her trouser fabric.

The best thing about this story is it's totally free just go over to Phaze and pick it up from here: http://www.phaze.com/valentinesday.html

And if you are curious about packing please head over here to find more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packing_(phallus)

Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day!

Melting Point: Breaking the Mould

2009-02-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here is the cover for my soon to be latest release from Phaze

Rites of Consummation

2009-02-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

I've just got the news that my short outdoor m/f sex piece has been accepted in the next Coming Together anthology.

Coming Together: Al Fresco will only be released in ebook form. It will be available from All Romance eBooks and is published by them in association with Coming Together. This ebook will be available from Earth Day this year (April the 22nd if I've got my figures correct), but can be pre-ordered already from: http://allromanceebooks.com/product-comingtogetheralfresco-14361-166.html

Rites of Consummation is a short piece about a newly hand-fasted couple and what they get up to outdoors.

Proceeds from this ebook go to Conservation International

EDIT:

Here is the author list for this anthology:

Adam & Eve on a Raft (Robert Buckley)
Afternoon of a Faun (Helen E.H. Madden)
Anal Alley (Sommer Marsden)
Ask for It (Jude Mason)
Blonde on a Harley (Teresa Noelle Roberts)
For Want of a Woodpecker (Ripley Patton)
Foreign Parts (Rachelle Le-Monnier)
Hailey's Comet (Jae Knight)
Happy Endings (Jamie Hill)
Hidden in Fog (Teresa Noelle Roberts)
Mahalo (Allison Wonderland)
Making Rain (Angela Caperton)
Midnight Ménage à Trois (Heather Smith)
Natural Tease (Arya Rewan)
Outside in the Rain (Andrea Dale)
Pantheism 101 (Alessia Brio)
Paradise Valley (Michelle Houston)
Reclining Buddha (Lisabet Sarai)
Rites of Consummation (Nicole Gestalt)
Silver Bells and Cockle Shells (Shanna Germain)
Slow Burn (Sophie Mouette)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Rita Winchester)
Sparrow Takes Flight (Giselle Renarde)
The Journey Home (Jasmine Black)
The Roof (Selena Kitt)
Untouched Perfection (Moondancer Drake)
Wet as Spring (Robin Elizabeth)
Wildlife (Randy Foster)

Termination of Employment Cover

2009-02-04T05:59:00.001-08:00

Here is the cover for my new ebook published by Phaze, Termination of Employment. It doesn't come out for a little while and I'm presently working through the edits but I wanted to share the cover with you all.

Vision in Green

2009-01-31T00:34:00.000-08:00

Vision in Green will be out on February 14th. I'm quite excited that it's actually out on Valentines Day. A different story will be released each day from tomorrow so keep your eyes on the site http://www.phaze.com

The free ebooks released during this time will be available indefinitely but don't let that stop you getting them as they are released.

Vision in Green is a f/f, which touches on the subject of 'packing'.

Here is a short blurb.

When Samantha visited the club she wasn't expecting to see anyone but when an old friend turns up with a vision in green in tow she knows her night is going to get a lot hotter.

Coming Together: With Pride and other news

2009-01-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

I got my author copies of Coming Together: With Pride the other day which was exciting. There is always a sense of pride seeing your name in print, and although I'm published mainly in ebook format it was fun opening up the book and finding my story.

I have been slowly making my way through the stories and are just loving the variety within the pages. There really is something for every erotica fan.

In other news, I have two ebooks recently contracted with Phaze. Melting Point: Breaking the Mould and Termination of Employment, both of which I'm really happy about. Termination of Employment is the spy story I've been working on for a little while, it's a m/f spy story which will hopefully become a trilogy. Melting Point: Breaking the Mould on the other hand is a BDSM piece, and stars two of the characters that made a brief appearance in Melting Point (My BDSM short that appeared in Coming Together: Under Fire). I'll post up more information upon them when I have things confirmed.

Next month I have a free story coming out with Phaze, it's a f/f piece called Vision in Green so watch this space for information!

Review of Rekindling the Spark

2008-11-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

I received the first review for Rekindling the Spark today and I'm really happy with it. First reviews are always something that many writers become nervous about, it's the first indication on how their story has been received so getting a good one is the icing on the cake.

You can read the review here: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/WC/1108/RekindlingTheSpark-NG.htm

A big thank you to the reviewer and also for all those who have sent feedback to me about the book.

Rekindling the Spark by Nicole Gestalt
Phaze Books
Contemporary
Short Story, M/F
Review by Hibiscus

Big, fat and frumpy is how Angela feels. After being married to her husband for more years then she can care to remember the spark seems to have gone. She still loves him as much as she ever did but somehow it's just not the same. From the first moment that she sets eyes upon her young gardener Richard things begin to change and the spark turns into a fire – but who will end up with her affections?

♥ ♥ ♥

"Rekindling The Spark" is a unique story with a quirky twist. At first it seems to be the standard story of a housewife who believes she is unappealing and kind of gives up on sex with her husband. I feel that how Angela views herself is how many woman who go through that time period in their lives may feel. I believe that Angela really loves Matthew but is unhappy with the ways things are and does not know how to change things.

In walks Richard, the gardener. Matthew has hired Richard's company to help Angela with some yard work that she is unable to do on her own. I could feel the sparks flying off the two of them from the start. Angela really is pretty and Richard makes her aware of that fact. This was especially apparent when he went to get her to show her the tree. I wondered if Angela would be with Richard. I know I would have a hard time turning down a hunk like him. I loved the surprise Angela has in store for the object of her affection.

The best part of this story is the twist at the end. I just could not believe everything I was reading! It was truly ingenious. I think "Rekindling The Spark" could blaze a whole trail of new stories.

The cold winds of November

2008-11-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

Have been making me freezing recently. Still it's the perfect weather for writing and long cold walks.

Seventy Days of Sweat has begun again. It started on Monday and I'm just short of 2k from where I should be by now. But I have been busy with a craft fair that has taken up much more time then I thought it would do. Still I think I should be caught up by the end of the evening.

I've been working on a number of pieces but am now trying to once more concentrate on a piece at a time although the way I write that isn't always easy.

Still things are progressing and I'm waiting upon word of a few pieces that I'll explain later.

It has been almost a month

2008-10-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

Since I last updated this and I do apologise. Things have been a little hectic over here for a little while but hopefully are calming back down and I'm finally getting back into the swing of things.

I'm not going to go into what's been keeping me busy since it doesn't matter very much as far as the writing goes. Just all know I have been writing all be it not a great deal. Anyway today has been a good day I managed to get some artwork done that was long overdue (I'm still working on prizes I owe, don't worry I've not forgotten about them they are just taking sometime to get to a point I am happy with). Then I managed to write a synopsis for a story that's been waiting for one. Synopsis' are always hard to write, even more so when the publishers want it in a specified set of words, luckily this wasn't the case for the one I've just written so I was able to go into much more detail then normal synopsis. I'll let you all know how the submission of it goes when I hear back!

Now I'm off to work on some more projects, will keep you much more updated.

It's been a while

2008-09-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

And I really need my wrists slapped for not updating more. All I can say is I'm sorry!

Recently I've been spending a lot of time running around an on-line game called Neverwinter Nights. For those of you who write sword and sorcery fantasy this place is just great for ideas! It's also very very time consuming but I've been writing along side it so things aren't too bad and don't worry more works are on the way.

Next week sees the release of Rekindling the Spark. I'm quite excited about this story, mainly because I'm interested to see how it will be received. When I wrote it I had a plan in mind although little of that has been seen in this story, it will come out more in the next ones once I've written them. This is a love story but it has a few aspects that one might not expect. However I will say no more and just let you all read it and find out.

To celebrate the release of the ebook I will be chatting in Realms of Love on Monday (15th - release day) at 9pm EST (2 - 3 am GMT)

I'll post up more about the story on Monday when it's released.

Deep Sea Heat

2008-08-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

I forgot to put this up earlier so here it is now. Within this book I have a short story called Deep Sea Heat. It's hot and fast and a holiday romance set on a tropical island with diving gear.

It's available from Amazon as well as Alyson (which is the publisher). The anthology is a f/f one and is just filled with hot sexy stories to keep you reading.

First Cold Fire Review

2008-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Once a book out authors all find themselves on tenterhooks waiting to see how the story will go down with the readers and reviewers.

I was sent the first review of Cold Fire the other day and it's just great.

Here is a copy of it but you can find the original here: http://www.paranormalromance.org/reviews/review.php?id=28735

In Coldfire we meet Kevalan, the lonely bringer of ice and snow, who finds himself wanting more from this human, Alice. He saved her from her fate of being caught by a group of men. Bringing her to his palace, he realizes that he doesn't want her to leave, but to stay with him.

Upon awakening, Alice finds herself face to face with the 'eater of maidens' that she remembered hearing about when she was a child. She is scared, yet she believes that he is not the monster that the stories told of. Alice had only been with him for one day and she comes into her own with the 'icy' treats that he has in store for her. Will Alice go back to her home or will she stay with Kevalan?

Coldfire is a story about a different type of immortal. Nicole Gestalt has written a fabulous piece that will keep you warm and cozy under your covers, seeing that the bringer of ice and snow has a hotter side to him that nobody could have ever imagined. This story will keep you reading to the very end and you'll find magic and fire around every corner. This is a fabulous story and a must read! I will be looking forward to reading more by Nicole Gestalt.

Reviewed by Ruth Schaller
Posted July 23, 2008

Cold Fire is now available!

2008-07-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

I would proudly like to announce the ‘birth’ of my newest ebook Cold Fire.

This short story is the first fantasy that I have written but I am very proud of it. I hope that this book will be shortly followed by others linking into the story since this one touches upon planar travel, and of course a sexy fantastical ‘ice man’

Here is the blurb:

In his ice palace Kevalan spends his time visiting different planes bringing cold and ice at certain times of the year. On a brief visit to one he rescues a young woman. He carries her to his palace for her safety all the while worried about his feelings for her. He only has one night on this world is it enough to form a strong enough bond, and why does she look upon him so fearfully?

For a hot excerpt visit here (but be warned 18+ only and it is not work safe!): http://phazebooksexcerpts.blogspot.c...e-gestalt.html

Cold Fire is available for only $2, so go and get yourself a hot slice of ice!

ISBN 978-1-59426-828-1

You can presently buy it from: http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Cold+Fire

If you would like to talk to me about my ebook you will be able to find me at the Realms of Love chat tomorrow 9pm EDT/6pm PDT/2am GMT. The website: http://www.realmsoflove.com/

You will need to join the site first but it is free and you will be able to talk to some fantastic erotica authors

Finished (for now)

2008-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well I'm pleased to say that last night (well this morning at 4.30) I finished the first draft of the spy story I've been working on. That's one out of the way although I'm now working through the first draft making sure it makes sense and expanding it a little.

I've got a couple more scenes to do in Melting Point 2, although they might take a little while to do since they are pinnacle scenes and they need to be done right.

Other then that I've got the last part of a small story to do and lots more to type up.

Back to the edits

I've been a bit lax

2008-06-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

In posting and keeping everyone updated I'm afraid. So let me fill you all in.

I had the Rekindling the Spark edits sent to me and they have been sorted out and sent back. The rough release date for it is September 15th, my editor really likes the story and is encouraging me to release some follow up stories which I'm presently working on.

I've got a number of deadlines that I want to hit (although these are self imposed deadlines they are still keeping me busy) so I've had my head down working on them. In the meantime we (my partner and I) have had a lot of animals to look after as well as houses and places to be.

So I am still here and will be updating soon as well as contacting the winners of the Melting Point competition!

More edits!

2008-06-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have been busy writing over the past few days, starting a new project and trying to get words down for it although it's not flowing as well as I would like so far. However I have submitted a couple of pieces this week although I wont hear back about them until much later this year.

Last night my new edits for Rekindling The Spark turned up. Rekindling The Spark was to begin with submitted for an anthology, it wasn't picked for that nor for the follow up anthology. However I was asked if I would be okay for it to be released under the Obsession Heatsheet theme for Phaze. Although I'm still not sure how it fits in the theme my publisher and editor both thing it works so I am more than happy to go with the flow.

I don't know how these edits are going to go since I've not actually looked at this story for just under a year, but I'm sure I'll get back into it!

Anyway I better get on with it although I do get the feeling that I'm going to be switching between edits and wip's but I'll get there

My recent writing

2008-06-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided I would get organised with my writing and make a list of everything that I've presently got on the go and that need things done with them. I got a little depressed when I realised that it filled one side of A5 (letter writing paper size for everyone that doesn't have A5 as a measurement), especially when I was actually still adding things that I had totally forgotten about but that dearly need some work. However every cloud as they say has a silver lining (- or something like that!), the silver lining in this case is the feeling of accomplishment I feel when I actually cross something of the list.

I've got a few pieces now waiting to go out once they've been edited and read through a number of times, then I have some pieces that I need to concentrate on. Some are almost finished and only need a couple of scenes tweaking here and there whilst others like the piece I'm working on now is only 200 words in.

Since making the list I think I'm more aware of what I have to work on and I can see what still is a long way away from being submitted.

Must dash know I'm going out to teach a class!

~*~

Telly: Nothing presently
Music: Fish
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Happy but slightly depressed
Main Writing: 311
Flash Writing: None so far
Reading: Too many things - but you know what I'm enjoying it!

Freedom to Serve is now out!

2008-06-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

The latest Coming Together charity anthology has been released today. Coming Together: With Pride contains my short hot story Freedom to Serve, it's a short m/f BDSM piece that I hope people will enjoy reading.

CONTENTS:

Introduction (Will Belegon)
Today (Kally Jo Surbeck)
Raven (James Buchanan)
A Girl's Best and Earthy Things (Heather Fowler)
Don't Look Down (Mari Freeman)
Echoes of the Past (Mychael Black )
A Brief Discourse... (P.S. Haven)
When the Angels Fall (Helen Madden)
Customer Service (Eon de Beaumont)
Nuit Blanche (Giselle Renarde)
Western Pleasure (Shanna Germain)
Chemistry (Lisabet Sarai)
Fire and Ice (Cassie Exline)
An Early Winter Train (C. Sanchez-Garcia)
Selling Foxx (I.M. Cupnjava)
Be Prepared (Storm Grant)
Freedom to Serve (Nicole Gestalt)
The Personal Is Political (Jean Roberta)
Past Perfect (Alessia Brio)
About Coming Together (Alessia Brio)

As usual no author will be making any money via royalties for this anthology, instead it will be donated to the charity in question. In this case that charity is AVERT.

The book is available presently from Phaze however it will soon also be available from the following places:

PHAZE (ebook & print)
ARe (ebook)
AMAZON (print) & AMAZON (Kindle ebook)
FICTIONWISE (ebook) & MOBIPOCKET (ebook)
BARNES & NOBLE (print) & BOOKS-A-MILLION (print)

It's ISBN numbers are:
Ebook: 1-59426-891-6 / 978-1-59426-891-5
Print: 1-59426-892-4 / 978-1-59426-892-2

Buying directly from Phaze will allow the organisers to donate a larger amount to the charity involved since overhead costs are decreased considerably. However wherever you buy it from I hope you will enjoy feeling good about a product that will also be doing some good behind the scenes!

You can find more information from the books home site here: Coming Together: With Pride

All done!

2008-05-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

So the final edits for Cold Fire went back and the story is now back with the publisher for proofreading and final jiggling of the file format etc... I'm very excited about Cold Fire, although I hated thinking about doing the edits actually doing them was a good thing for me. It meant I re-connected with the characters and it's sparked off lots of ideas for sequels.

It also meant that I had an excuse to work solely on one piece of writing. I'm so glad that the edits turned up when I was feeling slightly better because if they had turned up earlier there was going to be no way I would have been able to get them done so quickly.

Now they are all done I can focus on other projects once more. I really need to get focused on a good number of them but life at the moment isn't allowing me to just concentrate on them. Hopefully one day soon! (but don't worry I'm still writing, I'm presently working on some short 2k pieces for various submissions)

They've arrived!

2008-05-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

So I'll be dipping below the radar once more for a short while as Cold Fire edits have arrived. There's not masses to do but I want to make sure I get it right so I'll post once I've finished them!

In the meantime keep checking the Britwriters journal I've added an introduction there today and there will be many more things posted up by the wonderful writers who are part of it all.

http://wulfwaru.wordpress.com/

Is the site link :)

Well.....

2008-05-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm still ill, although I am feeling much better today. The one thing I've got to be careful of is going out and doing too much when I'm not fully well. So I'm taking things easy and still sleeping lots.

I've been writing bits here and there slowly getting that word count up, I'm not working on anything in particular since that currently takes up too much concentration, so I'm just relaxing and letting the words flow. So far it's a small little piece on packing (the practice of wearing pretend male appendages under normal clothes) which is fun but I'm trying to make sure it's not bogged down too much by words.

It was my partners birthday yesterday unfortunately because I was ill he spent most of the day running around after me (I feel so guilty!). Thankfully I'd got all his presents in advance so I had fun watching him open them all :) I got him lots of different DVD's and some books which he had wanted for ages. We'll be watching the DVD's when we're both feeling better (he's also not feeling great poor thing).

In other news yesterday I made my first post on the Britwriters Journal. Before we can talk about ourselves the deal is that we have to make at least one post on British life so I picked the Pearly Kings and Queens to write about. You can find the post here: http://wulfwaru.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/the-kings-and-queens-of-london/

Right now off to get a cup of tea!

Sorry I've not been around!

2008-05-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Although I've been meaning to update this journal all sorts of things have conspired to prevent me from doing so. For the past week or so I've been so ill I've not moved far from the bed and I've been unable to read,write and use the computer (eeek!). So I've been pretty much silent all over the Internet.

Seventy Days of Sweat has now officially finished and I'm in the process of collecting all my words together to see how many I managed to do this time around. I know it's much more then it has been on the other two but I'll make a big post about all of that later this week.

I'm also now part of a British Writers journal, I've not made a post yet but I'll be putting one up about quintessential British life shortly followed up by an introduction post about me. Have a look at all the other posts up at the moment: British Writers

Now off back to catching up!

Bump in the plot

2008-05-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

So the spy story was going along perfectly happily, I even have the end in mind. However I have a slight issue of how to get there, whatever I write just doesn't seem to work properly. So I'm going to muse over some ideas and place the whole thing on the back burner for a little while.

I know I said I'd get this one done but it's just not playing ball and the worst thing I can do is force it to work.

So I'm back to looking at Melting Point 2 and Tools of the Trade, and if neither of them are playing ball then I've got a few short and sharp pieces to work on that have been bugging me for ages. Okay so I've actually got an entire notepad full of ideas all crying out to be written but I can only do so many at a time!

So off I go to see what I can work on!

~*~

Telly: Nothing presently
Music: Billy Bragg
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Not really anything
Main Writing: 1140
Flash Writing: None so far
Reading: Nothing! I wont until I get at least one thing done

An acceptance

2008-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

So the news that I was going to tell you!

My short story Desires in Mint will be published by Tassels and Tales (see image below) and will be available to buy from their site (I don't have a date when it will be up but I will let you all know when it happens).

Desires in Mint is a fun little story of a wife who expands her knowledge and gives her and her husbands marriage a boost with some throat sweets. I hope all of you who read it enjoy it! Since it is a Nicole Gestalt story it is of course only suitable for those 18 and over.

Anyway even before the story is up on the site why don't you pop over and have a look at the place.

~*~
Telly: Nothing presently
Music: Half Man Half Biscuit... no really that's what they are called
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment I've only just got up!
Mood: Productive, with a really bad sore throat
Main Writing: 650+ words on the spy story then a quick 884 words typed up from another story
Flash Writing: I guess the 884 words is a flash piece!
Reading: Nothing! I wont until I get at least one thing done

Seventy Days of Sweat Update

2008-05-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well I thought since it had been a while I would update you all on my progress in the Seventy Days of Sweat challenge. It's now only got a week to go and I'm really hoping the organisers continue to run another one, since although it doesn't increase my output it does help to build a sense of community and that's important.

This is the third Seventy Days and in the other two although I fell a good number of words short of 60k I did get the goals I wanted done. This time however I decided that I would write at least 60k as well as getting a number of pieces totally finished. I did a rough count up earlier this week and I was just short by 7k, so the good news is I'll hit 60k this time around!

Once it's all finished I'll give my words and proper count and then I'll post up what I've written over this time.

Oh by the way as for the good news I mentioned a couple of posts ago keep your eyes peeled it will be coming soon!

~*~
Telly: Nothing presently
Music: None at present
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment I've only just got up!
Mood: Productive, with a really bad sore throat
Main Writing: Nothing so far except this journal
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: Nothing! I wont until I get at least one thing done

What happened to Spring?

2008-05-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

It seems in the past few days that winter has left only to be replaced by Summer. I'm sure the good weather we're presently having wont last but whilst it does it's best to enjoy it.

In terms of writing I've been working on the spy story still. Sometimes I don't realise the flaw in my own writings until they are pointed out to me, my biggest flaw is trying to do too many stories at the same time and then getting all stressed over the different plot lines. So I've been solely concentrating on the spy story. It's just over 5.6k and I know where I'm going with it, and will get there soon (hopefully).

Once that's done however I've got a few short pieces to work on for some anthologies before working once more on Melting Point 2 and Tools of the Trade.

I feel I've got a sore throat coming on so although I've not done much writing today I'm going to call it a night and try and get some sleep!

So I've done it again....

2008-05-06T05:44:00.000-07:00

Very often when I'm writing I don't notice the time which is why I was up until six this morning writing a story that I hadn't meant to write.

Melting Point 2 is coming along nicely although I didn't add to it yesterday much. Tools of the Trade I haven't touched at all but I'm plotting and planning in my head about it all the time. Last nights writings occurred because I was thinking about a story I've been meaning to re-write for ages, and oddly enough last night seemed the right time to do it. So now I've got another piece on the go! This one is a female spy on the run story who gets help from a delicious farmer she meets on a train. I've not got a working title for it yet but when I first wrote it I planned it to be a story in three parts or a trilogy. The way things are working out with it it looks like it will be just that. So off to carry on work on part one!

~*~

Telly: Nothing presently
Music: None at present
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment I've only just got up!
Mood: Productive
Main Writing: Nothing so far except this journal - however I wrote 2.6k last night
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: Nothing! I wont until I get at least one thing done

Good news

2008-05-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I have some good news to tell but... I'm not letting you all know yet because I need to get it all finalised. I'll let you know as soon as I can.

Writing has been going a little all over the place over the past couple of days but that's because I've got a few pieces needing editing and some still to be typed up - all of which are for deadlines coming up this month so it's been down to it.

I've got lots more procrastination tools, but I'm doing my best to stay away from them!

Anyway back to the writing!

Procrastination

2008-05-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today my print copy of Coming Together: Under Fire (which has my story Melting Point in) turned up this morning (I'll put a picture up of it soon). It's currently next to my writing computer waiting for me to read it. It's the first book that I've actually had a piece of work in so it's got the first place on the shelf, although I know soon others will be joining it.

In other news Melting Point 2 is going ok, I've slowed it down a little because there's a couple of scenes within the story that I need to get right and I want to spend my time over, although I need to keep telling myself that this is the first draft and they are usually very messy.

We've finally moved all the furniture around so I have a computer all set up for my writing. The computer isn't connected to the network so I can't go surfing on the internet with it. Now you would think this was a good plan, giving me more time to write and less time surfing etc...however it also has lots of screensavers and other lovely time eating devices upon it. I would begin to clean them off but then there is a point where that action also becomes a time eating event. So I'm leaving it all as it is and stealing myself to get the words down.

I've got a piece I need to edit this week, as well as a number of pieces to type up and then edit. As well as working on Melting Point 2 (I'm hoping to have it all done and dusted by Sunday - at least the first draft), and Tools of the Trade of course.

Anyway enough procrastination! I'm off to hide Coming Together: Under Fire so I don't get distracted by it, make a cup of tea dig out my food and....write!

~*~

Telly: Does a fish screensaver count?
Music: None at present although a random mix will be on soon
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment digging that out in a moment
Mood: Productive
Main Writing: 600 so far (will be much more soon hopefully!)
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: Nothing! I wont until I get at least one thing done

The end of April

2008-04-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

So it looks like April is going to go by without an acceptance, although I do have some maybes on pieces I sent out this month - I wont know about them until their deadline is up and that's not till sometime later this year. Still I got a lot of writing done in April so I'm happy with that.

Yesterday's writing however didn't go so well, I got a bit done on the Melting Point 2, but then had to go away from the computer which meant I couldn't continue it. So instead I wrote a few words on a new short piece for a website that I'm hoping to submit a number of pieces to. I have the first piece I did for them waiting to be typed up but I don't think I'll do that know until I have the one that's currently being written finished.

May will see me hopefully producing a lot more work, and submitting even more. I've not submitted a huge amount in April so I'm going to rectify that next month. Then of course Coming Together: With Pride will be out in June so I'm going to start the promo of that.

In the next few months I've got a busy schedule ahead of me. June/July sees the release of Coming Together: With Pride in which Freedom to Serve a short m/f BDSM piece is featured. The end of July will see the release of Cold Fire and then sometime after August Rekindling the Spark will be out.

Both Cold Fire and Rekindling the Spark are with the editor now so here's to edits!

Another Update

2008-04-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

Well I was going to sign in yesterday and let everyone know what was going on, but I sort of didn't what with writing and everything.

So I'll recap now.

On Sunday I hit just over 11k on 'Tools of the Trade' (working title). Looking at the section I was working on I began to despair that I'm becoming wordy, and I realised that I wanted to write a short hot piece just to show that I still could. When I started writing a year ago hitting 5k seemed like a mammoth task, now it isn't so daunting if the story is right, but I have begun to have a tendency to put too many words in - see I'm doing it here now.

So I began thinking if I had anything I could expand or a storyline that I wanted to explore that still had a BDSM theme to it - I don't want to stop on that theme or I fear I might loose the flow of 'Tools of the Trade'. Finally I remembered Melting Point (my short 3k piece on waxplay in Coming Together: Under Fire), in that story there is a couple mentioned that when I was writing it I really wanted to explore their story. So that's what I'm writing now.

This piece currently begins with a short wax play scene but then backtracks to the moment of them meeting when Ruby as she is now was still called Rebecca, and Dalton hadn't 'discovered' her. I wrote the first 1000 words on Sunday but yesterday I really began to write it in earnest, and hit 5k just before taking a break and then plotting other pieces. I'm just about to start the first play scene between them, although it's not really between them Dalton is just there as a guiding hand since I've decided that Rebecca is a switch. I began trying to write her as a submissive but she wasn't having any of it so now she's a switch - which works as a compromise I think and adds to the possibility of other stories with the two of them.

I've also got a side character that I'm beginning to really like so I think I might be writing about her at some point. It occurs to me as I'm writing this that there's a number of people interlinking the two stories that I want to explore further so maybe I've got the beginning of a series. They will all be stand alones if I do because I don't want anyone to say 'oh I can't read this one because I haven't read 1-x yet and therefore aren't going to bother picking it up' Plus I like reading series out of sync for some reason.

So that's what I'm up to now. The words are flowing and the writing is getting done - and yes Melting Point 2 has become longer than I wanted it to be but it is a good story I think and I guess at the end of the day it needs to be as long as it needs to be.

In other news I was looking through the two books that I track my submissions in (two very old textbooks - one for fiction less than 1000 words, the other for fiction/non-fiction greater then that word count) and I've realised that I've not sent anything out for totally ages. I've had a number of rejections but unlike my normal self I've not just turned them around and sent them straight back out again. I think a submission day is in order - but only once I've got this story out of the way (and perhaps Tools of the Trade too)

~*~

Telly: None at the moment
Music: None at present, just the noise of outside
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Productive
Main Writing: Nothing so far (but I wrote 4,000 words yesterday!)
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: A sci-fi novel that I've totally forgotten the name of and is to far away for me to see what it's called - I will remember it at one point I promise.

Checking In

2008-04-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I better check in and let you all know what's been happening in the world of Nicole. As I mentioned in my last post I have recently become inspired to pick up an old wip that had become stuck. I'm currently still working on that and am just under the 9k mark on it.

It's working title is 'Tools of the trade' and so far it's working out pretty well. It's a FemDom piece so is very BDSM heavy although I've not got to those scenes yet. My male in the story is a very gorgeous man who is totally used to being in control so when he is given some submissive training courses he begins to struggle with the idea of submitting to someone. It's very fun to write because I'm presently exploring all the various emotions that they are both feeling including and the various shifts of power. Hopefully I'm going to be able to do it justice.

Now since I've not done any writing today I'm off to get back into it.

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Telly: None at the moment
Music: None at present, just the fan of the laptop working overtime
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Productive but sleepy
Main Writing: Nothing so far
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: A sci-fi novel that I've totally forgotten the name of and is to far away for me to see what it's called

Words count

2008-04-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Often when I'm working on a piece that I like the idea of but that I feel the plot isn't really gelling I put it to one side and try and distance myself from it. Then in a couple of months maybe more I'll go back to it and be able to see my way through it all - of course this only works on pieces that aren't on deadline.

Yesterday I was idly looking through a page on the Internet when I got the answer to a plot issue from a story I was working on way back in December. It wouldn't stop digging at me so I pulled the pages out dusted them off (I tend to write stories out at least to begin with since I don't tend to be near a computer for the start of them) and began work on it once more. So between that and another project (which I've now placed to one side for a few days to allow me to get this one sorted) I ended up writing just over 5000 words. To put that in perspective normally I work on 1000 words or less. Now I don't want to put this piece down until it's finished so I'm sat here working on it pushing up that word count.

So far so good.

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Telly: None at the moment
Music: None at present other then the noise of my partner sleeping
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Active, happy, productive and tired
Main Writing: 1573 and counting
Flash Writing: Nothing
Reading: Nothing just yet

Whilst I have the time

2008-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

I am writing as much as I can. I know there are some edits that will be winging their way toward me anytime soon so I'm attempting to get as much work out of the way before they turn up.

This does mean finally getting myself into some sort of rhythm and writing many different pieces at once. I've been pleasantly surprised actually that things have been going well, each piece is different and the voice although is mine has edge depending on which story it is. I'm currently actively working on 3 pieces, with 3 other pieces ready to go through final edits before being sent out and 2 more waiting read through and edits. I've also got many more pieces to get through. Luckily I am able to dedicate a lot of my time to writing and it's something brings me great pleasure so hopefully I will be able to continue to write for a lot longer. I've also got promotional things that I need to work on and art work that is requiring some attention (oh and we're also rearranging the house - did I say that yet?!)

Back to it I think!

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Telly: None at the moment
Music: Lord of the Rings Radio Play tapes
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Active, happy, productive and tired
Main Writing: 1250 so far today
Flash Writing: Nothing so far
Reading: Currently my pieces to check for dreaded plotholes

Rekindling the Spark Cover

2008-04-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Following on from the Cold Fire Cover here is the cover for Rekindling the Spark. It has been picked up by the Phaze Obsession Heatsheet line, although the cover doesn't 'really' fit with the story (there's no gambling in it) I still really like it. Rekindling the Spark will be out later this year - details to follow.

Cold Fire Cover

2008-04-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

I am pleased and very happy to unveil the cover for Cold Fire. It was made for me by the wonderful Celia Kaye. I was a bit nervous about this cover because it's the first one I have had any input on, however I am very happy with the result. In fact it's an even more exciting moment for me because the background of the cover is actually a piece of my encaustic artwork.

Anyway I hope you all like it. Cold Fire is penned to be released on 21st July, and there will be more information coming to you all soon.

Enjoy!

Celia Kyle: http://www.celiakyle.com/
LS Designs: http://www.lsdesigns.net/
Write. Read. Romance.: http://writereadromance.com/

20th rejection!

2008-04-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

This morning (well a couple of hours ago now since it's presently 3 in the morning) I received my 20th rejection on submissions this year. I feel like a should celebrate this number for some reason so I'm writing this post.

One of the biggest things as a writer you have to face is rejection. Rejection from your peers/reading group that your story doesn't fit together correctly, rejection from yourself when you think a story isn't going well and then of course rejection from the publishers. Then on top of all of those once you have written, double checked plot, submitted and had accepted a piece there is the rejection of the readers and reviewers. It can be a very stressful time for all.

I have always looked upon rejection in a positive way. For a start getting a rejection from a publisher means I am submitting things. Each rejection gives me the chance to dust of the piece work on it some more and send it back out again. Yes of course I love being accepted and having a published look at your work and put their trust in your ability to tell a story is the most amazing feeling, but perhaps without the fear of rejection it wouldn't feel so good.

My 20th rejection was one I was 'looking' forward to getting in a strange way and now it's come I will be looking forward to the next one. Not all rejections are nice and some sting much more then others however as it happens this one was very constructive and I want to thank the people out there who took the time to go through it all.

So please join me in a celebration of rejection!
Here's to many more

Submission Day and Deadlines

2008-03-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

I keep records of everything I send out, have returned and accepted. Yesterday I was looking through those records and realised I had a number of pieces just sitting on the computer not doing anything so today I'm having a submission day. That means I'm looking at prospective markets, organising the files and sending out lots of emails.

I'm also working on two short pieces that have deadlines at the end of the week. One of the pieces I'm editing an old story that I had put aside because I liked it but it wasn't right for the thing I was working on at the time, now however I think it's right the market I have in mind so it's being polished and expanded.

In other news I had a hit early this week bringing my total up to 4 for the year. The piece accepted wont be out until 2009 but I'm still very happy and excited it's been accepted.

Right back to work I guess!

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Telly: None at the moment
Music: Pink Floyd
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Active, but with a pain in the neck
Main Writing: Nothing so far
Flash Writing: Nothing so far
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

The writing so far

2008-03-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

Has been going pretty well. I've been continuing work on a piece that I've been working on for a little while, and it's finally coming together. I've got to the first 'heated' scene now so I'm taking it slightly slowly to make sure that I get it right. However today I started a fairy tale piece due to an idea that I've had in the past few days. Since I'm writing one piece in paper and one piece on the computer I'm finding I'm able to keep the two story lines separate, which is important because the last thing I want to happen is characters swapping story lines!

Anyway back to it.

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Telly: Britain's Funniest Comedy Characters
Choc/Yummy: None at the moment
Mood: Active
Main Writing: 1,400 today so far
Flash Writing: Nothing so far
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Writing and Rain

2008-03-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Today's writing went well, at least it went forward rather than back which is always good. I had a plot issue which was causing me to ponder a bit on where to go next, now I've come to a solution which at least means I can move forward.

For most of the past year I've been writing all my work by hand first before transferring it onto the computer. I use the act of typing it up as a way to edit it before the piece is edited again, although this is sometimes a long winded way of working it presently works for me.

In the UK it was Mother's Day today, so I wish any mothers a Happy Mother's Day. The weather wasn't the best it's been pouring down all day and when it has stopped the wind has been blowing a gale. The poor neighbours cat has been visiting all day to get dry.

Now back to get a drink and finish my piece of very yummy chocolate cake.

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Telly: Presently Bottom 3 Live

Choc/Yummy: Yummy chocolate cake
Mood: Happy, but with a very sore throat
Main Writing: Just over 800 words
Flash Writing: Nothing so far
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Seventy Days of Sweat Part 3

2008-03-01T15:30:00.001-08:00

Today marks the start of the third round of Sven's Seventy Days. I will be hopefully writing as much as I can each day - I would say 1000 words which is what I aim for normally but I plan to write more that that if I can.

I've got some 'deadlines' appearing on the horizon so I would like to have as much written as soon as possible so that they are not all stacking up. This will not only please me and give me more tweaking time (although that isn't always a good thing) but my 'editor' as well since he goes through the work at least once before submitting.

As well as working on my main pieces, I'm also going to be attempting to write a piece of flash (work less than 1000 words) a day as part of FAD, an event set up on one of the writing forums I visit. The idea behind this is so that by the end of the month I'll have 30 pieces of flash that I can submit to places. I'm hoping that I will get a good number of decent pieces out of it but I'm prepared for lots of pieces that need work doing to them.

Right now I need to go and get on with some writing.

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Telly: None although watching Brother 3 playing on the XBOX

Choc/Yummy: Yummy chocolate and crisps

Mood: Happy, but tired

Main Writing: Nothing so far

Flash Writing: Half a piece done

Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Run down of second round

2008-02-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Although this is a long time coming but since the third round of 70 Days of Sweat begins tomorrow I realised that I had to post up what I ended up doing last round.

Fiction 5+K
Urban Fantasy - still a work in progress

Fiction 1-5k
IoF - submitted
LiS - needing typing up and editing
MP - submitted, accepted and published
DSH - submitted and accepted
IS - WIP
Odd Fantasy - WIP
BDSM Piece - WIP

Fiction less than 1k
BaS - to be edited
TC - submitted
Lost - to be edited

Phaze Leap Year Sale and Giveaway!

2008-02-29T14:08:00.000-08:00

Leap Day only comes around once every four years, and Phaze is celebrating with a special sale and Take a Leap Giveaway, with two ways to win!

All through Leap Day, 2.29.08 until midnight EST, you can get 29% off all eBooks in our store using the checkout code LEAP2008. When you purchase a title from the Phaze.com catalog on Leap Day you will be eligible to win one of TWO Phaze.com gift certificates valued at $29 each.

You can also enter the drawing by sending an e-mail to leapyear @ phaze.com (no spaces) with your Name, E-Mail Address, and one sentence describing the best way to "take a leap" on this extra day.

How would spend your Leap Day: an actual "leap" with a bungee cord attached your ankles, or a metaphorical "leap" toward an exciting new job or romance? Let us know; we'll post the answers we like best on our blog.

All entries for the giveaway must be in by midnight, 2.29.08 to be eligible. No purchase necessary to win!

Until then, stay Phazed and Enthused!

Phaze
www.Phaze.com
Exceptional Erotic Fiction

Phaze Oscars SALE!

2008-02-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

For today only Phaze are having a special Oscars sale. All books in both print and ebook have a 30% discount. The sale will end at midnight (EST) tonight [that works out to be around 6 in the morning for UK readers).

So go an spoil yourself with a book or two. Maybe try a new author out or fill any missing books from an author's back list.

When you place your order use the following special code to claim your discount: GOLD2008

Have fun and read hard!

It's February?!?

2008-02-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

January ended for me rather quietly in fact I didn't even realise we had slipped into February until someone told me. The weather here has been fun it was snowing all day yesterday but it's all gone again now, for once I'd just love it to stay around it's just great inspiration.

The writing is going well, I've got some good news which I'll let you all into soon. I've been working on some pieces but currently it's a bit of stop and change everytime something else appears. It's not a great way to write but at the moment it's working for me so I'm not going to complain too much! I'm presently working on three pieces on and off, one is mearly ideas currently but the other two are moving along quite nicely. They are only short pieces and I doubt will be any longer than 10k (although the last time I said that the piece I was working on just wouldnt end and is now currently 17k).

Anyway off to start writing for the day!

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Telly: None
Choc/Yummy: Nothing at the moment
Mood: Happy
Writing: Nothing today so far
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Writing...writing...writing

2008-01-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the words just wont come. not because of writer's block but just because they are happy to stay within your mind organising themselves until they want to be ready. Yesterday I didn't write as much as I wanted to in the end because the words just decided to go away for a little while. It might have been because I was trying too hard, or because I was tired and am still a little ill I don't know. Either way I decided to call it quits and went away from the computer.

Today I had a few errands to do so didn't start writing till late but now the words are flowing better, and I can't understand why I was having the problem I was yesterday. I really must learn that sometimes rest and not doing anything is a good thing! In fact the rest must have been a good thing because I was woken up early with a full plot line just racing through my head not wanting to let go.

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Telly: None
Choc/Yummy: Nothing at the moment
Mood: Slightly happier
Writing: Just under 1k - now only just over 1k to go!
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Melting Point Excerpt

2008-01-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

Title Melting Point - Coming Together: Under Fire
Author Nicole Gestalt
Genre/Series Erotic Anthology - Contemporary BDSM Erotic Romance
Release Date Now Available
Publisher Phaze
Publisher URL http://www.phaze.com

Blurb:

Clarissa is lead through her first experience with wax by the very sexy and steady handed Martin.

Excerpt:

"Will it hurt?" Clarissa asked, the nerves causing a slight tremor to enter her voice. Martin smiled and looked down at her. He ran his hand down her body, briefly circling her nipples.

"Not one bit, my love. After all, you are lovely and smooth after that shower."

That shower!

Just thinking about it made her body cry out in pleasure. It was the first time she had allowed anyone to intimately shave her, and Martin had taken great delight in getting up close and personal with her body. Each touch had sent shivers through her body. He had masterfully taken a razor to her; there was no wasted motion, each movement had a purpose. As she lay on the table, Martin pulled up four flat pieces of wood from the sides, forming a shallow box. She looked at him quizzically.

"It's to prevent any wax running off the table; I had it specially made for the purpose. Don't worry, you just sit back and relax, and I'll have it all ready in no time."

Copyright © 2007 Nicole Gestalt

Available in both paperback ($16) and ebook ($7).

ISBNs
ebook : 978-1-59426-857-1
print : 978-1-59426-881-6

Link to
Book:http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Coming+Together+Under+Fire+by+Alessi\
a+Brio+and+Will+Belegon,+eds.

Other Authors included in Coming Together: Under Fire are:

Will Belegon, Alessia Brio, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Shanna Germain, Brenna Lyons, Lefty McGee, Stephanie Vaughan, Teresa Noelle Roberts, Sommer Marsden, Michelle Houston, Jeremy Edwards, Mari Freeman, Laurence Doyen, Lisabet Sarai, Vana Lafayette, Jamie Hill, Rachelle Le-Monnier, Vincent Diamond, Justanne Farrow, Jude Mason, Dr. Mabeuse, Tilly Greene, Selena Kitt, Sapphire Phelan, Victoria Blisse, Aurora Black, Skylar Sinclair, Rebecca Leah, Samantha Sommersby, Gabrielle Miel, James Buchanan, and Gwen Masters

Updates and Chats

2008-01-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well the past week has been a busy one for me as far as author chats are concerned. I feel like I've been running all around the Internet. I've 'crossed' so many time zones I'm presently just totally exhausted. However the writing hasn't dropped because of this I'm glad to say.

Yesterday I finished a short first person POV piece which I will be editing once I have my cup of tea in front of me. The pieces was from the woman's perspective and I think it works quite well although I'm sure to find some cringe worthy things in the read through!

I've hand written another piece that I will be editing at the beginning of February. I'm not going to go through it straight away because I've got some other pieces that need my attention first.

Cold Fire has been sent to the editors so I'm expecting edits to appear in my inbox at some point although I'm unsure how long they will take. To prepare for this I'm trying to get as much work done before they turn up as I can so I've been writing away every moment I have.

I've also plotted out a BDSM fantasy piece that I think could work quite well as a series. Once today's work is out of the way I will be getting on with it! I always love being excited about the next project, it's what really keeps me concentrated on the present one.

In book news Coming Together: Under Fire is now available from Amazon, both in the UK and USA. The links follow:

Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Together-Under-Alessia-Brio/dp/1594268819

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coming-Together-Under-Alessia-Brio/dp/1594268819/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1201400495&sr=8-1

My story Melting Point is only short but focuses on waxplay. I'll post a blurb and excerpt up for it a little later.

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I've borrowed the following format from Portia Da Costa
Telly: None
Choc/Yummy: Nothing at the moment
Mood: So sleepy!
Writing: Just outlines of BDSM piece
Reading: Once a Rebel by Angela Ashton

Just Fifteen minutes

2008-01-21T16:43:00.000-08:00

The other day I was doing some research into a subject that one of my WIP's centres around. I stumbled across an interesting 'rule' that had been implied in a Master/slave household. Each morning the slave would get up and do fifteen minutes cleaning in a certain room. It got me thinking what can you do in fifteen minutes? I hate cleaning it's one of the main things that spins me into a complete panic however I've now started to use the same routine so each day I do just fifteen minutes cleaning in a room I feel needs it. So far it's working pretty well so much in fact that I find myself feeling able to do another fifteen minutes later in the day.

Perhaps I should break things up more into fifteen minute blocks. It will definitely cut down on procrastination and looking at emails etc...

I'll let you know how it goes :) In the mean time I've got fifteen minutes of cleaning to go do! Give it a go and let me know how it goes for you.

And so it ends...for now

2008-01-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day of the second round of Seventy Days of Sweat. I'll be putting up my 'word count' later this week once I've finished counting it. Although I wrote much more this time I didn't do as much as I would have liked. However I have had some success with the pieces I've done and I have written much more varied things then I would have done had I not done the challenge.

Hopefully there will be another one to come but I'll post more information up about when I find out more.

I hope everyone who took part enjoyed themselves and accomplished even the smallest goals.

Nicole's Newsletter

2008-01-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Great news!

The January/New Year newsletter is now available.

The newsletter contains all my newest hits for writing, as well as information about my newest releases. I run competitions only available to those who read the newsletter and each month post up an interview with a different author.

If you would like to receive the newsletter contact me and I'll send it to you.

Writing Goals

2008-01-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

To make sure I hit deadlines and submit to markets I would like to get to I have a wall-chart that has all the deadlines marked up on it.

I put the 2008 wall-chart up on the first of January and am now currently filling it up. I've got down to March and I have a very busy few months ahead of me. By the end of the year I want to have written much more then I had last year. If this is going to be the one thing I do full-time I need to get down to it and work hard. At present however every time I sit down to write I hear the remaining mince-pies calling me and the boxes of unopened chocolate begging to be opened.

Yesterday I sat down and worked out some plots for a few short pieces that I want to do so I'll be working on them from today.

When you are given a theme it is always fun to see where that one word will take you. It's always a good idea to brainstorm and go from there. I start this process by getting the definition of the word itself then I write down my first thoughts about the word, before letting my mind wander from that point on. Even if you only use one of the ideas you then have lots of other story ideas to go back to at a later date all of which may work in the right place.

My sudden fiction is going well, this year I've set myself the task to write a new piece and send it out every month. I'm currently on 4 for this year so I'm a little ahead of myself but that's so much better then being behind like I was last year.

Seventy Days of Sweat ends next Tuesday I've been doing ok with it although I've not signed in for a month or so due to various reasons but I have been keeping an eye on what I've been writing and how much. I have enjoyed doing this challenge as it has given me a reason to keep focused which is pretty invaluable. Hopefully they will be doing it again because the support from all the different writers has just been fantastic.

Right now I'm going to start work on a short piece as yet unnamed but with a BDSM taste.

Freedom to Serve in Coming Together: With Pride

2008-01-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

As promised here is the information about the anthology that my short story Freedom to Serve has been accepted into.

Like Coming Together: Under Fire this is another chairty anthology. It is called Coming Together: With Pride, money raised from the sale of this book will be used to benifit AVERT. I am very happy to be a part of this anthology since it's a subject matter thats quite close to my heart and is something that recently in the UK at least has been recieving a lot of publicity (which is a good thing because where there is knowledge it minimises misunderstanding and increases prevention).

Coming Together: With Pride is a multi-author anthology of erotic fiction edited by Alessia Brio. ALL proceeds from the sale of this volume will benefit AVERT.

PUBLISHER: Phaze
EBOOK ISBNs
1-59426-891-6
978-1-59426-891-5

PRINT ISBNs
1-59426-892-4
978-1-59426-892-2

TENTATIVE RELEASE DATES

June 2008 (ebook); July 2008 (print)

CONTENTS:

Introduction (Rachel Kramer Bussel) Today (Kally Jo Surbeck) Raven (James Buchanan) A Girl's Best and Earthy Things (Heather Fowler) Dom at the Bar (Mari Freeman) Echoes of the Past (Mychael Black ) A Brief Discourse... (P.S. Haven) The One That Got Away (Remmy Duchene) When the Angels Fall (Helen Madden) Customer Service (Eon de Beaumont) Nuit Blanche (Giselle Renarde) Western Pleasure (Shanna Germain) Chemistry (Lisabet Sarai) Fire and Ice (Cassie Exline) An Early Winter Train (C. Sanchez-Garcia) Selling Foxx (I.M. Cupnjava) Be Prepared (Storm Grant) Freedom to Serve (Nicole Gestalt) The Personal Is Political (Jean Roberta) Past Perfect (Alessia Brio) About Coming Together (Alessia Brio)

If you would like to find out more about it please visit: Coming Together: With Pride

First hit of the year!

2008-01-05T06:15:00.000-08:00

I got news yesterday that I have had my first acceptance of 2008. I'm very excited about the project that it's been accepted for although I'm not going to say anything about it until I know I'm able.

Now I must concentrate on the other submissions I've got to make even though I want to bounce up and down in celebration.

Onwards and Upwards

2008-01-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well the first rejection of the year is in. The piece that has been rejected has already been sent back out. I'm glad the first one is over and done with and now the only way to go is onwards and upwards!

The first post of 2008

2008-01-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a happy new year. I hope you all had a great and productive year last year and wish you all the best for this one.

Since it is now a new year I thought I would round up my submission stats for last year.

I began submitting on 1st January 2007 with my very first written piece since then I've continued and I hope this year will bring even more submissions and fingers crossed acceptances.

My stats for 2007:

Fiction pieces submitted: 17
Non - Fiction pieces submitted: 3
Sudden Fiction pieces submitted: 20
Acceptances: 3
Rejections: 22 (there are still a number out that I'm waiting to hear back from)
Total: 40 Submissions

Overall I'm very happy with my progress considering I really only began to write seriously from the last week of December 2006. My ebook Summer of Fire has been getting some fantastic reviews and my short piece in Coming Together: Under Fire was so much fun to write I'm going to be working with the characters again. Of course this year has just begun but I've already got a short ebook coming out in the summer and I hope to add to that statistic very soon.

I have learned so much about writing and myself this year I know things will only go up.

Win a copy of Summer of Fire or some cards made by me

2007-12-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Since it's the time of giving and sharing I thought I would run a little treasure hunt through my journal. If you would like to take part please email me the answers to the following questions:

1. In 2007 which month has the most posts?

2. When did I get my first acceptance this year?

3. What is it called?

4. When did it come out?

5. What was the characters name that I picked in the 'Name a Character' competition?

6. At the end of the first Seventy Days of Sweat how many approximate words had I written?

7. What charity anthology is my story Melting Point going to be in?

Please send the answers to: spanknicole@hotmail.co.uk with the heading TREASURE HUNT (please make sure you do this otherwise it will be eaten up as spam).

I will pick the winner out of the correct entries and then post the result up on here on the 1st January so you have until then to find all the answers.

The winner will be able to chose between a pack of handmade cards or a copy of my e-book Summer of Fire.

Good Luck and have fun!

Hint: Every answer can be found within this journal if you get stuck check out the themed posts down the side of the window.

Melting Point edits round one

2007-12-12T04:18:00.000-08:00

Well the edits for Melting Point have now been sent back. Although at first glance there was an awful lot of red it didn't actually turn out to be that bad. I'm very excited about this story and am hoping if feedback is good to possibly do some follow up stories on the couple involved, and perhaps their friends - who knows.

I finally got back to writing last night after a stint of being too busy to even think about plot lines. Now all the Christmas fairs are over with I'm able to fully concentrate on the writing once more. I had been planning on writing a story that I have had down on my ideas pad for months now but when it came to it the words just wouldn't flow so clearly it still needs some more mulling over. Instead I have begun a shape-shifter story that encompasses a couple of genres, I'm not sure how it's going to go yet so I wont say any more but it's good to get back to writing!

Happy News

2007-12-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I found out that a short story of mine entitled Melting point has been accepted for a Coming Together anthology. The Coming Together anthologies are the brain child of Alessia Brio with all proceeds going to designated charities. You can find more information here: Coming Together

My story will be in the anthology entitled Coming Together: Under Fire with all proceeds going to help victims of the California Wildfires. I am so happy to be a part of it and hope people will enjoy my story. It's a piece on wax play, and the characters have just leapt into my heart so watch out for more from them. The publication date is penned in at the moment for January when both the e-book and print format will be available.

Here is the line up:

Coming Together : Under Fire

Coming Together: Under Fire is a multi-author anthology of erotic fiction and poetry edited by the dynamic writing (and now editing) team of Alessia Brio and Will Belegon.

ALL proceeds from the sale of this volume will benefit relief efforts for the victims of the 2007 Southern California wildfires.

Phaze
TENTATIVE RELEASE DATES
January 2008 in both ebook & print
(sooner, if possible)

Prologue: Introduction (Will Belegon, co-editor)
Fire and Ice (Rachel Kramer Bussel)
Kindle (Shanna Germain)
The Fire God's Woman (Brenna Lyons)
Slow Burn Blues (Lefty McGee)
Blind Date (Stephanie Vaughan)
Candle Spell (Teresa Noelle Roberts)
Good with His Hands (Sommer Marsden)
Fire's Heat (Michelle Houston)
The Secret to Perfect Fondue (Jeremy Edwards)
Desire Becomes Demand (Mari Freeman)
Awake, Love (Laurence Doyen)
wither (Alessia Brio)
Fire (Lisabet Sarai)
Adagio (Vana Lafayette)
A Night at the Inn (Jamie Hill)
Make Me Yours (Rachelle Le-Monnier)
Cold Hands, Warm Heart (Vincent Diamond)
Woman, woman (Justanne Farrow)
Flaming Rescue (Jude Mason)
Bondage Sonnet 2 (Dr. Mabeuse)
Melting Point (Nicole Gestalt)
Ask Alice (Selena Kitt)
Shadow Lover (Sapphire Phelan)
Goddess of Poetry & Fire (Teresa Noelle Roberts)
Flaming Hot (Victoria Blisse)
Spontaneous Combustion (Aurora Black)
Swing It, Baby (Skylar Sinclair)
In Fire (Rebecca Leah)
Rising Phoenix (Samantha Sommersby)
Désir Brûlant (Gabrielle Miel)
Burn Zone (James Buchanan)
Dark Disguises (Lefty McGee)
Inferno (Michelle Houston)
Fire Escape (Shanna Germain)
Drive-In (Tilly Greene)
Creatures of Fire (Teresa Noelle Roberts)
The End of the World (Gwen Masters)
Epilogue: About Coming Together (Alessia Brio)

*Poetry is italicized.

You can find more information here

Getting back into the swing of things

2007-11-26T03:04:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I decided to take a week of writing so that I could concentrate on getting stock ready for the Christmas stall. It's taken me two weeks but now I'm finally getting back into the writing swing of it all. Normally it doesn't take me so long to get back into writing but or some reason the projects I've been working on just haven't been gripping me as much. So I began looking online once more for markets and guidelines and would take my fancy and have finally got something I want to write about. Well at least until I get back to being used to writing every day then I can continue to work on the pieces that have more urgent deadlines than the one I'm writing now has.

The piece I'm currently writing is a fantasy sword and sorcery style although it switches between 3rd person and 1st person. It's a bit more experimental for me but I'm enjoying working on it and it's a breath of fresh air for the time being.

In the mean time I'm still waiting on a number of pieces that are out there. I had a bit of a sudden impulse to go back through the pieces that had been sent back to me and so they are all back out now. I'll let you know how things go when I hear anything.

Why do I write?

2007-11-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me recently why do I write. I've given the question a lot of thought and I guess I write because I can and because if I didn't I would very quickly get lost under the plot lines that run through my head.

Although I'm a published author I write for the pleasure of writing and although other people say this it is true that I would continue to write even if I had never had anything published. Seeing your name on a story and getting reviews because of it is fantastic and I love being paid to write but its just the icing on the cake.

I also write because it's been recommended as something that will help me by my doctors. It helps me get my ideas out on paper rather then pushing them away in my head. I use writing as a tool and am just glad so over-joyed that I have readers who can understand what I meant!

So i write because I have to I think, and if I didn't I would be a much more tense person.

First few days of November and a Sweat update

2007-11-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

It's the first few days into November and autumn has got it's grip on the country. We went for a walk today and the trees were all in full autumn colours. I collected some leaves which I'm planning on using for a series of cards and paintings although I'll have to find some time to do that!

The writings been going well I've finished another short story yesterday after being ill for the past week hopefully it will be sent out tomorrow. Since that's done I'm now about to start my next piece and am currently sat with a guide book of Paris in front of me. I've not been so this is the next best thing!

The 70 days of sweat is going well, it's been just under three weeks now and my word count is approximately just over 20,000 words which works out to be just under 100o words a day. I've got a clearer idea in my mind now of the projects I'm wanting to work on for the next month or so and I'm even trying to only work on one at a time something I've not attempted before. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Samhain and a new start

2007-11-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

It was Samhain the other day and since it is the pagan new year (the end of the summer and a time for self contemplation) I have decided to make some changes. They are a bit like new year resolutions but its more a trait that gets changed as opposed to anything else.

My trait that I am going to try and change/lesson or even get rid of is my habit of not being decisive. I tend to not make a decision until I've looked at every single outcome and even then I tend to worry about the paths I could take. So from now on I'm just going to go for things and try not to over think everything.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Back online

2007-10-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well that isn't entirely true since I never really went off-line in the first place but I'm back up posting again. As it turned out the deadline that I was working toward actually disappeared so I was able to get a little respite from the story and work on another that I'd been wanting to write for a little while.

I've just submitted my first actual science fiction story, I'm very excited about it because I really like the story-line and it just felt good putting it together. Before my amnesia Science Fiction was the only genre I used to write in and although I'd done some introduction to Science Fiction pieces in the English class I went to I'd never completed a story in that genre till now. Actually I've finished two but I've only submitted one the other will be typed up and edited once I get a moment. For now however I'm working on a special story that needs to be in before the end of the week (the call only came through on the weekend so I was very glad I didn't have my other deadline looking) I can't say anything more about it but I will do when I'm able. I'm loving the story and the characters and part of me really wants them to become characters that pop up time after time we'll see.

Anyway back to the writing!

Disapearing for a week

2007-10-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

I've got a huge deadline coming up at the end of the week so I'll be ducking under the radar for a little while. However before I do I will be around at the Sexyreads chat 9-10pm EST tonight it was great fun last month so if you would like to pop over and talk to some of the authors of Phaze or just want to say hi and introduce yourself feel free to come along.

To get the chatroom you will have to become a Sexyreads member but it's free and everyone is very friendly. The chat room can be found here:

I hope to see all there and if I don't I'll see you next month. Have a great Samhain and Halloween if I don't speak to you all by then! I'll update once my work is done.