.jpg)
When Marc d’Alessio first rescued the curvaceous and spirited Italian Angelina Giardano at the Masters at Arms Club, he never expected her to turn his safe controlled life upside down and pull at his long-broken heartstrings. Months later the intense fire of their attraction still rages but something holds him back from committing to her completely. Worse, secrets and memories from his past join forces to further complicate his relationships with family, friends, and his beautiful Angel.
Angelina cannot give all of herself to someone who hides himself from her. She loves Marc, the BDSM world he brought her into, and the way their bodies respond to one another but she needs more. Though she destroyed the wolf mask he once wore, only he can remove the mask he dons daily to hide his emotions. In a desperate attempt to break through his defenses and reclaim her connection to the man she loves, she attempts a full frontal assault that sends him into a fast retreat, leaving her nobody’s angel once again.
Marc finds that running to the mountains no longer gives him solace but instead leaves him empty and alone. Angelina is the one woman worth the risk of opening his heart. Will he risk everything to become the man she deserves and the man he wants to be?
Day 12 with Kallypso Masters: Twinsie Talk
Blog
1—Twinsie Talk
The question below was another one I wasn’t able to get to
at Joey Hill’s recent After-Launch party on Facebook, so I saved it for here! This
seemed like the perfect place to talk about my hubby a little bit! (I did ask
if he minded—and, of course, he never has a clue what I might say and probably
will never see this—so he said sure!)
Q: Kallypso,
obviously your husband has been supportive of your career but has he ever
helped to write a scene or helped you to deal with the characters?
Before I get to the specific question, a little bit about my
hubby of 30 years and me. “Hubby” never thought in his wildest dreams thought
that I’d be successful at writing. I’d dabbled at it as a “hobby” (meaning not
selling anything or even trying) for 20 years. To have my fifth novel coming
out tomorrow, tens of thousands of “fans/readers” who have purchased all the earlier
ones, and to actually be making an excellent income with my writing was the
last thing either of us expected, actually.
When I decided my crazymaker job had to go and told hubby
one Sunday that I was giving notice, he was floored when I came home the next
day and said, “Well, it’s done. Three weeks and I’m out.” (Hubby heard: “Three weeks and I’m jobless
with no prospects whatsoever.”)
“You already did it?!?” he asked.
“I told you yesterday I was going to quit.”
“But I thought you were going to think about it a while,
maybe get another job…” (I did say I was doing it tomorrow, but
sometimes hubby has selective hearing.)
“Nope. I’d probably be dead from stress within a couple of
months if I stayed. So the time to go was now.” I had applied for four
writing/editor jobs already without even an interview, but at that point, I
just needed to recover. I’d been writing in a journal the previous two weeks,
trying to reclaim my creativity. It finally came back about two weeks after I
left the job—when Adam showed up in a bus station grieving his wife.
Shortly after that, I went to my writers group meeting and
heard indie author Donna McDonald tell about how she started indie publishing a
couple of months earlier and that it was going really well. This was unheard of—writers
actually make MONEY at writing and within months rather than years. (Usually
their publishers take the lion’s share of any money made, with authors getting
50 cents a book or some such.) So I went home and asked hubby if we could live
off his retirement savings for a year to see if I could make a go of this indie
writing thing. I had no doubt I could write after studying the craft so long.
So, Kallypso Masters started a Facebook page and “The Masters” started popping
in to talk—mostly to my writer friends because I didn’t have fans yet. A month
later, people started asking where to buy my books about Damian, Adam, and Marc.
Um, I’m still writing them! So I wrote faster (to the detriment of my personal
life). And three months later, Masters at
Arms was published. Four months after that, I put out book three. Okay, I
did NOTHING but sit in a chair and write for those seven months, but I knew
from other authors that it takes three books for an author to get noticed and I
was on the clock (well, not the payroll clock, because I didn’t get paid for a
very long time!) But the following month (January 2012), we knew this was going
to be a successful endeavor because I grossed five figures. In fact, I grossed
in six weeks what I would have earned in an entire year at the part-time editing
job I had quit.
But every month my husband thought surely this is the month
everyone out there with a Kindle or Nook will have bought my books and the
bottom would drop out. Um, nope! (And he still cautions me that this bubble
could burst anytime, but I grossed more this year than last and didn’t even put
out a new book—until tomorrow—so I think there are still lots of readers who
need to find me! lol)
Now, let me jump back to the original question. No, hubby
isn’t particularly involved in the research or writing of my books. He did enjoy
the benefits of me writing sexy scenes, though. I believe he said (before Masters came out): “I you’re your new
hobby.” I think I had called him and said, “Pack a bag. We’re heading to the
Jacuzzi suite tonight.” Lol
Actually, wait! There was the time I was working on the sofa
scene in Nobody’s Angel and I asked
him to be Marc. (No, I didn’t tell him I was posing him as another man! I just
said, “I need to see if I need a pillow under my butt for this scene.)
He’s waiting for the good stuff to start, but once I
realized, yes, I would need a pillow, I jumped up and left him there so I could
get back to work on the scene. Hubby later found out there were TWO guys in that
scene and man was he ticked that he was Marc and not Luke!
I make no secret of the fact that we don’t live the
lifestyle. Sure, we dabble with some props and role-playing in the bedroom—what
a Dom I heard speak in San Francisco would call “vanilla kink.” So I tend to
rely on those living the lifestyle to help me know what’s what.
As for whether he’s read my books—Hubby doesn’t like to read
fiction (except maybe Jean Auel), so imagine my surprise this past summer when
he asked if he could read them and where he should start! I was giving readers
updates on Facebook about his progress for a couple months. Unfortunately, he
only got to Chapter 15 of Nobody’s Angel
before he stalled out. He keeps saying he’s going to start again, but they just
aren’t his thing.
For this blog, though, I did ask him what it was like
reading what I wrote. (The last time I let him read something, it was a
“Silhouette Special Edition” type of story I was writing back in the 90s—mostly
sweet with lots of emotion—and he read two pages and quit. “I feel like I’m
reading the guy’s diary.” Um, dear, that’s deep point-of-view. Well, it was NOT
for him! So I said, you can’t read anything of mine again.
He responded to my question tonight by saying that he had no
idea I had these things in my head. And then he wondered how I knew these
things if I hadn’t done them before. I gave my pat answer—I’m not a Marine,
either, but I get that right. It’s research and lots of help from experts, dear!
One way my hubby does
support my career is by traveling with me to the places I want to explore for
future books. One such trip was to Colorado in June/July 2012. Here’s a photo
of him walking on the road to Cassie’s cabin (or where I envision her cabin to
be). Oddly enough, I had already written about this place six or seven months
earlier in Nobody’s Hero without
having seen it at all yet! It was like walking into the pages of my book when
we went here—Hoosier Pass near Breckenridge, by the way, although it will be
fictionalized as Iron Horse Pass/Peak/Falls in the series). But that’s for Nobody’s Dream (Rescue Me #6), which
I’ll start writing before New Year’s Eve probably.
So, hubby went to bed a few minutes ago to read. I went in
to check in on him and see what he’s reading. And it was…
The latest issue of Discover magazine.
Oh, well.
Free
and Almost Free Books Available in
the Rescue Me Series
For
those new to this series who want a free glimpse into the Rescue Me world, you
can get started with the FREE introduction, Masters
at Arms. This book introduces six characters who will go on to have happily
ever after Romances shared about them. (Adam & Karla, Damián &
Savannah, Marc, and in a small part here but with more to come later, Grant.)
But
because I won’t want you to stop there, I’ve combined the first two books into
one volume to make it easier. You get the first
TWO books in the series—Masters at Arms
& Nobody’s Angel—for only 99 cents! (Saves $3 off the previously
published single, Nobody’s Angel. Nobody’s Angel introduces you to
Angelina and shows her exploration into the world of BDSM. But Marc remained so
closed off still in this book, I needed to give him time. He’ll reveal himself
in the new release Somebody’s Angel,
due out by Christmas.
You’ll
find buy links to all of my books
currently for sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, Kobo,
Apple, Smashwords, and CreateSpace (print versions), at my Ahh, Kallypso…the stories you tell blog page. (http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com/p/books-by-kallypso-masters.htm)
Here
are links to the new combo:
Barnes
& Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/masters-at-arms-nobodys-angel-kallypso-masters/1114072854
Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/382606
(Coming
soon to Apple and Libiro)
Kally
Loves Having Readers Join Her on this Journey
As
those who follow me on Facebook know, I involve readers in the process of
writing and story telling, as well. I’ll pose questions to them or post updates
as to my progress, thought processes, oh and, yes, the occasional tease. I have
a timeline profile (you must send a message along with a friend request to
claim one of the remaining 275 spots before Facebook cuts me off!), an author
page (https://www.facebook.com/KallypsoMastersAuthorPage)
you can follow, and even a series discussion group with 2700+ members
there solely there to discuss this series. (To join the discussion group, send
a friend request to Karla Montague (https://www.facebook.com/karla.montague.1) Karla will add you to the group. Don’t
be upset when she de-friends you after that. She’s strictly there to provide a
portal to the group, which is where all the discussion takes place.)
I love
meeting readers face to face, too (perhaps too much!). So if you are near any
of my appearances (see my Web site http://kallypsomasters.com for a list), stop by and say hello!
You don’t have to buy a book—I’m happy to sign swag or e-reader covers or just
give hugs and have photos taken!
Giveaway
Time! Free eBook & Swag in the Rescue Me Series!
I’m
giving away a $5 Gift Card at each stop. Be sure to leave your email in your
comment. I am also giving away a grand prize of a $500 Gift Card, be sure to
fill out the rafflecopter to enter for that one.
As
with all of my giveaways, this is open internationally.
And we’ll also send through the mail some cool swag items, including this red
Ka-thunk!™ pen, hand fan, a Masters Brat button, and other cool stuff! (I’m not
mailing the swag out until my brand-new “Embrace your inner PRINCESS SLUT™”
pens arrive, though. It’s a reference to a scene in Nobody’s Perfect.)
Want to know
more about Kallypso Masters or her books? You can find Kally online at:
Facebook Author
Page: https://www.facebook.com/KallypsoMastersAuthorPage
Twitter:
@kallypsomasters
Thanks, everyone,
for stopping by and happy reading!
Eve Langlais 
J. M. Madden 
Kallypso Masters