Six Sentence Sunday #11 - Don't Call Me "Baby"

This is my eleventh Six Sentence Sunday. It's part of the opening paragraph of my upcoming release Don't Call Me "Baby". This novel is about a young woman's coming of age and discovering her sexuality in the wild and crazy 1980s in the U. S. I just received my edits and I expect my cover this week. 

The sun had set behind the trees, casting shadows across the park hiding the car she sat in to some extent. Catherine wished it were a bit darker outside, because she was in constant fear of getting caught, but being that it was a hot June evening, that was too much to ask for. Besides, the possibility of getting caught thrilled her, made the encounter all the more exciting for her. Every horn blowing and car pulling in made her hair stand on end. Will this be the cop who pulls us over? Can we get away with me sucking him off here yet again?

Look for this book to come out in September, 2011. Keep an eye on my website/blog and my Facebook page for updates. This book will be one hell of a sexy ride!

---

Tuesday Tales #2 - Museum

This is my second Tuesday Tales, where writers are invited to create a story based on a prompt. This week's prompt is "museum". My Tuesday Tales are part of a untitled serial. Make sure to read all back issues before reading this one. Below is my list of previous Tuesday Tales.  Enjoy!


Tuesday Tales #1 - Travel Agent

The Artifact

By Elizabeth Black

Chapter Two - Museum

Victoria tore through the boxes in the storage room. "If I don't find this piece before the exhibit opens I'm dead meat. It's holding the entire exhibit together and without it the show will fall like a load of bricks." She wiped nervous sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Do you have any idea what could happen if the artifact gets in the wrong hands? It inspires love but also out-of-control lust. We must find it before it's too late!"


She shoved detritus around inside the box as if jostling the packing material would magically make it appear, a futile thought if she ever had one. "The artifact wasn't in the crate?"


"No. The crate was empty when I opened it." Rod Jenkins sounded like he swallowed his tongue. The poor man was far beyond embarrassment. He entered sheer-fright-over-losing-his-job territory. Victoria was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she knew the benefactors would not be as sympathetic.


She inspected the holes in the wood where the slats had been nailed together. "You got a magnifying glass? I need a closer look."


She held the glass close to the wood and noticed two large holes next to each other. The center slat also had two large holes similarly spaced apart.


"This box has been opened and resealed. The artifact was inside but removed by someone in this museum. We must find out by whom and why!" A sickening thought crossed her mind. "Has anything else been removed from the exhibit?"


All the color flowed out of Rod's face, leaving his skin the color of oatmeal, even with a tan. "I don't know... I don't think so. Want to make a sweep to be sure?"


"Yes. Follow me. Let's give the entire exhibit a walk-through."


They entered the exhibit beneath two tall trailing red rose bushes that reached the ceiling. Red roses, the flower that spoke of love in nearly all languages. Victoria passed by displays, counting her artifacts as she walked. An illuminated manuscript of the Song Of Solomon, the most sensuous book in the Bible. The Venus of Willendorf. The German stone phallus carved 28,000 years ago, the oldest such known depiction of a penis in history. Researchers were unsure how the phallus was used sexually - if it was used at all that way - but it was used to sharpen flints. Germany allowed the sculpture to leave the country for the museum's grand opening. 


A second display area revealed terra cotta Buddhas with enlarged bellies women rubbed in the superstitious hope they would become pregnant. Paintings, etchings, and frescos depicting various exotic sex positions filled the walls. A reproduction of a portion of the Kama Sutra took up an entire room. A greenhouse with live plants on display used as aphrodisiacs. A display of Sumatran love beetles, which when toasted and ground acted as an love potion that tasted like oranges. These beetles were used in Sumatra as far back as the 15th century to churn the sexual desires of men and women. Down another meandering hallway, Victoria found exotic "French letters" and turn-of-the-century vibrators used to treat women for "hysteria" by bringing them to orgasm. A steel male chastity belt dating back to 1860 sat in a lonely corner away from the electronic toys and framed ads of vibrators from American 1920s Sears catalogues.


She walked to the dead center of the exhibit and the place of honor of her grand display and chewed the corner of her lip. She stood before the velvet-covered pillar and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that when she opened them her prized artifact would magically appear but she knew nothing of the sort would happen. Where the keystone of the exhibit should sit instead rested an empty bottle of her favorite champagne, Krug NV Grand Cuvee Brut. The message was obviously meant for her but she had no idea who left it or why. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing to celebrate. Whoever thought it would be amusing to remind her of the artifact's disappearance in such a crass manner would pay a price she would choose herself.


Where was her Aphrodite of Rhodes?


She saw the lovely marble statue in her mind's eye and her heart skipped a beat, enraptured by the warring memories of beauty and lust. Hewn of delicate marble that turned pink when wet, the Aphrodite of Rhodes stood only three feet tall. The buxom depiction of the goddess of love stretched across a bench, head thrown back, upturned face with eyes half closed and mouth half open in an expression of ecstasy. One arm rested behind her head and her other hand caressed her left breast, pinching the nipple.


No one knew who carved it but most scholars believed it to be Greek in origin. The design was much more erotic than was common for the time. The earliest known owner of the statue was Alexander the Great. Since then, Aphrodite had seduced Julius Caesar and (quite fitting) Caligula. King Louis XIV presented Aphrodite to his Marie Antoinette on their wedding day. After the French revolution, the statue was returned to Greece where it was displayed for the world to see. The Grecian government agreed to loan the statue to the Caribbean Museum of Natural History for its grand opening show Love And Sex Throughout The Ages.


Rumors of the statue's power to inspire lust and love existed ever since she owned Alexander the Great. Acquiring the statue, even for a short period of time, brought lovers closer together. One story went that an assistant spent an evening cleaning Aphrodite before attending a party and reported two days later that for the first time in her life she went home with four men ... and two women! She had taken two days off out of sheer exhaustion. Merely coming in contact with this seductress hewn in marble inspired fevered gropings, wet kisses, and heavy-duty baby making.


And now she was missing. Damn the lax security in paradise!


"Victoria? You have a phone call." A lab assistant she didn't know walked into the exhibit behind her. "It's the Museum of Greek Antiquities."


Oh, great. I'm in for it now. She nodded and raced to her office. Skin crawling with mortification, she answered the phone. 


"Victoria Crenshaw." Her mouth was so dry the words stuck to her cheeks like peanut butter.


"Ms. Crenshaw, this is Ari Mavromihalis. I'm checking on the condition of our package."


"It arrived this morning, Mr. Mavromihalis."


"She's a thing of beauty, is she not?"


"Yes, she is." Too bad I didn't get to see her in person. "She will be the crown jewel of the exhibition. Thank you so much for allowing us to showcase her."


"She hasn't been out of the country in many years and I knew this exhibit would be an ideal reintroduction for her. We've decided to allow her to go on tour with our rarest antiquities. A world tour. Once you return her to us she will leave our lovely shores again."


"Thank you for giving us the opportunity to show her to the world." Too bad all the world will see is an empty champagne bottle. Victoria wanted to cry, the anguish and fear tearing at her very being threatened to spill over to her phone call. Stalling for time, she wished the man would hang up and let her get back to worrying herself to a dozen ulcers. 


"You know of her charms, her ability to inspire lust and love in all who come in contact with her?"


"Yes, I'm aware of them."


"Don't let her out of your sight. The Greek government can't be held responsible for any crimes of passion or other passionate events."


Oh, where, where, where is that damned statue? To hell with the legends. Her only concern was finding it and preventing herself and the museum from being sued.


"I must ring off now, Ms. Crenshaw. We shall speak soon. In person. I shall arrive in Nassau in three days, when your exhibition opens. A pleasant surprise, no?"


A pleasant surprise? No! "I look forward to it Mr. Mavromihalis. I must ring off. I want this exhibition to be the best ever. People will talk about it for years to come." Oh, they'll talk about it, alright. The exhibit that makes world news for losing one of the most infamous sculptures in existence.


She slipped the phone into its receiver and leaned against her desk, shoulders slumped and head hanging in shame and terror. I'm not going to find her, am I? She wallowed in her misery with so much abandon she didn't hear the footsteps behind her as someone walked into her office.


"Vic, it's good to see you, although I wish it were under better circumstances."


Her skin tingled at the familiar voice. She straightened her body, every nerve alert, every hair standing on end, every beat of her heart thundering in her ears. No, it couldn't be. Not after eight years. She had not seen his name on the work roster for the exhibition. If she had, she would have demanded he be removed from it and sent as far away from her as possible. Heart pounding in her throat so hard she couldn't swallow, she slowly turned to face her greatest regret.


Standing before her as drop-dead gorgeous and as smug as he had been the day he walked out on her was her ex-husband. 


"Julian Archer, you son of a bitch! What the hell are you doing here, and where is my artifact?"

Guest Blogger: Sarah Ballance

WRITING FOR DISASTER RELIEF

From Sarah Ballance

Today I've brought a slightly different kind of guest blog, and I'd first like to thank Elizabeth for offering her blog so fellow author Elaina Lee and I may share this with you.  As you read through this information, please keep in mind our new titles—Elaina's TO URN HER LOVE and my story HAWTHORNE—are available for just $3 each with all proceeds to benefit the relief efforts highlighted below.  We hope you'll consider a donation through a book purchase, and thank you very much for your time as you visit with us today. 

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, there's a moment when we forget all boundaries.  Geographic, political, and socioeconomic divisions fall, and there, for some of the most painful, beautiful moments in time, we are one.

Then—hour by hour, day by day, week by week—the vast majority of us lucky enough to do so will move on.  As the headlines change our focus moves elsewhere, and save for the occasional media update, many of us don't look back.

Some, however, struggle to look ahead.  Here's a glimpse at the staggering numbers and the broken realities affected residents of Alabama and Japan must face every day.

ALABAMA TORNADOES – April 27, 2011

The mile-wide F5 tornado that literally sliced the state of Alabama in half stayed on the ground for an astonishing 300 miles—a record-breaking distance, according to National Geographic.  It also left a path of utter devastation in its wake, and recovery  hasn't been easy, as evidenced by these facts reported by blog.al.com.

·       25,081 families were denied FEMA insurance, including many whose homes had been wiped completely off their foundations.  FEMA's reason?  Insufficient damage. 

·       Following the April tornadoes, FEMA deployed 523 inspectors to the region.  Together, they've inspected over 5,000 properties a day.  That's a lot of destruction, folks.

·       Of the $4 million in initial FEMA aid for Alabama, $3.1 million went for temporary housing alone.  

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE – March 11, 2011

A June 29 update from Red Cross Japan reveals the following sober statistics:

·       75,215 people from the three most affected prefectures are still living in shelters or other temporary housing.  7,427 are still missing, their loved ones fearing the worst.

·       119,776 claims for unemployment were filed between March 11 and June 8 in the three most affected prefectures.

·       97,183 people have been evacuated from the area surrounding the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.  35, 514 have left the Fukushima prefecture, forced to start over with nothing.

You Can Help … Today

Authors Elaina Lee and Sarah Ballance, through the generosity of the Astraea Press charity program, are proud to announce 100% of profits from their novellas below will go toward Alabama and Japan Disaster Relief, respectively.  As an additional token of appreciation for your support, if you have purchased either of their titles you are invited to contact Elaina or Sarah for a free gift (while supplies last).

TO URN HER LOVE | Elaina Lee | romance | BUY LINK | BLOG 

Web http://www.elainalee.com/   | blog  http://elaina-lee.blogspot.com/  | buy link http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1011841&mode=product&product=4810596

Caylie Abrahms bad day gets worse when the teen brother she's responsible for proudly hands her a gift.  Just wanting to show how much he appreciates all his sister does for him, Kyle steals what he believes is an ornate glass vase.  The gift is anything but however, and now Caylie has to find the owner of an urn.  Worst yet, she has to explain her dear brother stole someones loved one.

Against all odds she learns the urn belongs to Rick Marshall, her best friend from college, the man she'd poured her heart out to and been rejected by.  She never thought she'd see him again, let alone have to hand him back his father in glass.  Will her resolve remain strong in his presence, or will she suffer another broken heart?

HAWTHORNE | Sarah Ballance | mystery, romance | BUY LINK | BLOG 

Web http://www.sarahballance.com/  | blog http://sarahballance.wordpress.com/  |buy link http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1011841&mode=product&product=4810595

After a terrifying encounter with the unexplained, it took ten years and the news of her grandmother’s passing for Emma Grace Hawthorne to return to her childhood home.   She sought peace in saying a proper goodbye, but what she found was an old love, a sordid family history, and a wrong only she could right.


Living in the shadow of Hawthorne Manor, Noah Garrett never forgot about Emma Grace.  In a house full of secrets, his search for missing documents revealed a truth that could cost him everything.  What he found gave Emma the freedom to walk away from the mansion, her heart free and clear, but at what price to Noah?


If you'd like to receive free promotional materials, please contact Elaina @ forthemusedesigns at gmail dot com or Sarah @ sarah at sarahballance dot com.  Available while supplies last.

SOURCES:  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/04/110428-tuscaloosa-birmingham-alabama-news-tornadoes-science-nation/ | AL.BLOG.COM http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/06/alabama_tornado_recovery_fema.html |RED CROSS JAPAN http://www.jrc.or.jp/vcms_lf/kokusai_290611.pdf  | Photos by Elaina Lee (July 9, 2011)

Six Sentence Sunday #10

This is my tenth Six Sentence Sunday. The text is from my WIP, Secrets and Lies. This book is a mystery/family saga. I plan to have it finished by January, 2012. My book is about a woman searching for answers to a family tragedy, and she finds herself in danger the deeper she looks. What she uncovers threatens to tear apart her family and possibly cost her her life. In this scene, my protagonist Kate Stanwood is breaking into the home of a woman who has been threatening her uncle. Kate hopes to discover why as she searches through the woman's house while she is gone. But... she comes home early to Kate's surprise, leaving her trapped in the attic.

Any eight-year old with a screwdriver could get through that door. The lock was nothing more than one of those twist-the-little-knob numbers. All she needed to do was to insert a stiff, flat object between the edge of the door and the jamb like a shoehorn, shove aside the bolts, and pry open the door. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her wallet, and grabbed a credit card. She hadn't purchased anything with it in such a long time that she hadn't noticed that it had expired two years ago.

Does this door accept Visa? 

Keep an eye on my Facebook page, my blog, and my Yahoo group for updates on this book. It's quite a twisted little tale and it will be an incredible read. Just when you think you have figured it out... you're wrong! Enjoy my Six Sentence Sunday!

Tuesday Tales #1 - Travel Agent

This is my first Tuesday Tales, where writers are invited to create a story based on a prompt. This week's prompt is "travel agent". Below are this week's participants with a short taste and links to their Tuesday Tales. And below that is my entry, a serial I'm going to write each week. Enjoy!

Click on the author's name to go to the blog where the rest of the story begun here resides:

J.F. Jenkins 
I don't have to work Saturday or Sunday, which is a Godsend if there ever was one. I could use a little break, and a nap. Sunday though I got up earlier than I normally would on a day off so I could primp myself for church.

Kathleen Tighe Ball 
Running around her apartment, trying to pack at the last minute, Randi Summers mentally went over her to do list. Filling in for her coworker Tammi didn’t bother her, it was the short notice that did.

Sara York  
Deck sat in the coffee shop across from the travel agency. The girl working the phones wasn't the main travel agent, only the agent's assistant. She knew too much to be a normal assistant though.

Michael Charton 
Esmerelda Rodriguez boarded the number 6 train at 110th Street.  It was only four stops to 77th Street and her job at East of Manhattan Travel.

Jean Joachim

Clint moved the last of his boxes into Nina’s house. She helped him organize his clothes in the closet and drawers. When they were done, they sat down to coffee, neither spoke.

The Artifact

By Elizabeth Black

Chapter One - Travel Agent

Victoria Crenshaw couldn't believe her ears. She stood so quickly she knocked her chair over. "What do you mean, the artifact is missing?"

Rod Jenkins, the assistant museum curator, stammered as he talked. "When the crate arrived it was gone. I have no idea why. The manifest listed it. The box was full of packing material as if it has been packed but nothing else was in the box. We need you to get down here pronto."

Although Victoria welcomed a trip to the Bahamas, she didn't want to go under these circumstances. This artifact was the keystone display for the opening of the museum and its disappearance did not bode well for her, her team, the museum, or the exhibition. Such a mishap could cost careers. Including and especially her own.

She rang off and poked at her phone with a pencil. While she listened to the dial tone, she gnawed on her pencil, leaving more tooth impressions on the wood. "Hey, Rachel. I need a flight to Nassau as quickly as you can get me there." She had relied on Rachel Wood as her company's travel agent for over ten years. If anyone could get her to the Caribbean safely and as quickly as possible, Rachel could. "And put me up in our usual suite."

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"I don't know. As long as it takes. I hope not long but I can't guarantee anything." 

Rachel tapped for a few moments while Victoria chewed on her pencil, heart thumping hard with tension. "I can get you on a 3 a. m. flight. That gives you some time to pack."

"There aren't any flights in the morning?"

"That is morning."

"I mean late morning, like 6 or 7 am."

"I'm afraid not. The next flight isn't for another two days. We're at peak season. Everyone's traveling to the beach."

She sighed with exasperation. "Oh, well. It'll have to do. I'll sleep on the plane. Yes, book it please." Her phone beeped. "Hold on a second. Another call's coming in."

She switched to the new call. A cheery voice broke into her collapsing world. "Hey, Darling. How about we eat out tonight?"

She groaned inside. He's going to be pissed. "Oh, God, Don, I'm so sorry. I have to fly to Nassau tonight."

"Again? You just flew there a few weeks ago."

"It was two months ago for a week, and you went with me. You know my job is demanding. I warned you about that when we started dating." They had been dating for six months and Donovan Fleming never could get a grip on how important her career was to her.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. Why can't you slow down like we talked about?"

"Like you talked about. You know I can't slow down, especially now with the museum opening and the exhibit going live soon."

"You can't put it off a few days?"

"Sorry, I can't. I have to leave tonight. It's an emergency." Her fingers tingled. She held the receiver so tightly her hand went numb. I'm too tense. Breathe! Calm down. This is just another one of your petty arguments. After moving the phone to her other hand, she shook out her fingers until the circulation started in them again. "Don, I have to go. I have the travel agent on the other line."

"Fine. Go to Nassau but don't expect to find me waiting for you when you get back."

Before she could reply he hung up on her. Dealing with his tantrums was the last thing she needed. She switched to the other line and spoke to Rachel.

"Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to keep you on hold for so long."

"No problem. I booked your flight and you're set in the suite. Check your fax. Your itinerary is coming through now. Enjoy your trip."

"I wish I could. It isn't going to be fun. Last minute problems, as always." She sighed as a headache stabbed her in the left eye. She always got headaches when under stress. "Thanks so much for your help, Rachel. You're a life-saver. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Just remember me for the Christmas bonus," Rachel's pleasant laugh calmed Victoria's frayed nerves. "You have a safe trip. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

She rushed home to pack and nearly forgot her bathing suit. Why fly to Nassau without taking the time to swim? Although the trip would likely prove to be a royal pain in the ass, and she panicked over what had happened to that artifact, she looked forward to the break. This museum was the Caribbean branch of the New England Museum of Natural History. If the opening and the show went well, she knew she'd find herself living amid the palm trees and clear blue water. Her current position promised one hell of a promotion, relocation, and raise. If it weren't for that damned artifact disappearing!

Victoria rushed out the door and headed for the airport, wondering what adventures awaited her in paradise.

Great Review For "Women On The Edge Of Space"

I got a great review from Coffee Beans and Love Scenes for my science fiction story published by Circlet Press for Women On The Edge Of Space! (Scroll down to find info on the antho.) My story is "Unfolding Her Wings". The reviewer had this to say about the anthology (highlighting my emphasis): 

"The book is an anthology with eclectic authors like Elizabeth Black, Laurel Waterford, Shanna Germain, Cecilia Tan and Danielle Bodnar. These five women lose themselves in this collection of short novels. The dialogue of Black and Tan are priceless as well as their writing styles. While sci-fi isn't my normal genre, I thought I would try it as I am an erotic author myself and love the genre. The romances that all five women have are on the lighter side (vanilla) of erotic but very well written and the endings to every story had me craving more. Aside from not being able to understand the space lingo and circumstances, I was impressed and MUST commend these women for going where no woman has gone before. (Sorry for the bad pun there, couldn't help myself.) If the reader is not a fan of sci-fi and can set aside the outer space and sci-fi lingo, I recommend these shorts for ALL lovers of romance." 

I was praised in the same breath as Circlet owner and fab writer Cecilia Tan! Plus Black and Tan is one of my favorite beers. Heh heh. This review made my day. ;)

Six Sentence Sunday #9

This is my ninth Six Sentence Sunday. The text is from my WIP, Secrets and Lies. This book is a mystery/family saga. I plan to have it finished by January, 2012.

His father lay face up with his arms and legs splayed at cock-eyed angles, like a marionette that landed in a broken pile when tossed in its box after the show was over. 

A gaping hull was all that remained of his fathers' face. Robbie averted his gaze so that he wouldn't have to look at where those accusing eyes had been. He squeezed his own eyes shut so tightly he saw his blood flowing in dark waves that mimicked the spray of splattered gore on the wall behind his fathers' head. When he composed himself, he opened his eyes. Bugs Bunny heckled him from the television, one finger pointing at him as if all of this was his fault.

Keep an eye on my Facebook page, my blog, and my Yahoo group for updates on this book. It's quite a twisted little tale and it will be an incredible read. Just when you think you have figured it out... you're wrong! Enjoy my Six Sentence Sunday!