About Amy Valenti

Amy Valenti is an erotica writer from the UK.

An Apologetic Update – Hot, Rich and Dominant 4

HotRichAndDominant4Hi everyone,

I was hoping to have gotten Hot, Rich and Dominant 4 out to you by now, but unfortunately a combination of ill health, my day job and a persistently noisy neighbour have kept me from getting much writing done. After several nudges by different people (and thank you, ALL of you – I feel treasured!) I thought I should make an official post explaining the delay.

At the moment, Nell is mid-funishment (fun punishment, of course) in Marc’s office, waiting impatiently for an orgasm. I know exactly what’s going to happen next, and for the entire rest of the book, and next week I’m going to be writing every day, because I will have cleared this project I’m working on.

The cover is made, the editing doesn’t take long, and it only takes an hour or so to make sure everything’s put together and uploaded. As soon as I have it done, you’ll know.

I really appreciate your patience, especially after the horrible delay between parts two and three. I promise it will NOT be anywhere near that long – no more than two weeks. In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you liked and didn’t like about the first three books – it really helps with a) my motivation and b) improving my work!

BDSM Bedtime Stories: Dominance and Deception

Oh, have I got a treat for you guys! ^_^ Thanks to the lovely BookAddict, and featuring the gorgeous growly tones of Sirly Eric from the BDSM group on Goodreads, here’s a 25-minute BDSM Bedtime Story taken from my full-length novel, Dominance and Deception.

Here’s the excerpt that’s in the video – warning, things are gonna get steamy in a MMF BDSM way… ;) Continue reading

Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 – Collars and Dollars… Out Now!

It’s finally here! I’m so excited… and exhausted. :D You can grab Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 – Collars and Dollars at Kobo, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks now. Links to Barnes & Noble and iTunes will be here soon, I hope! Check the product page for the latest.

Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 CollarsThe morning after…

Nell has spent a decadent night in Marc Cassidy’s private dungeon, and waking up with him is just as provocatively sensual. As she adjusts to the idea of being submissive during scenes and herself with him the rest of the time, she meets the other occupants of his mansion and enjoys the relaxed atmosphere around her.

Undercurrents of tension…

When the morning’s domesticity is interrupted by a phone call from Marc’s father, their plans for the evening are changed. Nell will accompany Marc to a movie awards ceremony, and she’ll need to dress the part in as much expensive finery as she wants. Nell might be getting used to the power dynamics of the D/s lifestyle, but she finds herself wondering if being showered with exquisite dresses and jewellery is more than she can handle, especially since there seem to be facets of Marc’s mood she can’t figure out. Is she expecting too much emotional commitment, too fast, or is her handsome Dom hiding something?

Cover Squee – Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 & 4

Not one, but TWO covers today! :D

As posted before, the fourth book will become ‘Making a Scene’, which means the title of the third book is now ‘Collars and Dollars’ – it took me ages to come up with, but I couldn’t resist the rhyme. *grin* Check out the pretties below! (And yes, I’ve got a limited number of pics with these lovely models, so unfortunately some of the cover images are going to come up more than once… but cropped differently each time, at least. ;) It could be worse!)

Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 Collars HotRichAndDominant4

The release date for the third book, I’ve decided, will be 26th January. Watch this space!

Hot, Rich and Dominant Three and Four – Progress Update!

HotRichAndDominant3Looks like I’m going to have to re-make some cover art!

If I’m going to get Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 out by the end of this month – which I WILL, if it kills me! – I’m going to have to leave a lot of what I wanted to do until book 4. Which will likely need to be called Making a Scene because book 3 won’t have the ‘scene’ I was thinking about in it.

So book 3 will need to have a different title. Potentially Hot, Rich and Dominant 3 – Almost Perfect, but I’m still not sure about it yet. I might be able to come up with something snappier/more relevant. Suggestions welcome, but no promises I’ll take anyone up on them! As soon as I know, I’ll be correcting my site and cover art.

Yes, I could just make book 3 longer and keep the title… but if I don’t finish a part of this soon I think people will kill start threatening to kill me. It really has been too long since Learning Curve! I can promise book 3 will be at least 10,000 words long, probably a bit longer. I’m already at 7,000 words.

Watch this space for cover art, blurbs and excerpts, coming soon – and if you’re on Facebook, ‘like’ my page and see teaser lines as they appear. :)

New Year’s Discount – Hot, Rich and Dominant

Want a little bit of sexy kink for a reduced price? To celebrate the New Year, here’s a Smashwords coupon to use on Hot, Rich and Dominant – it’s usually $2.99, but for just today and tomorrow it’s $0.99 if you use the code YA22V at checkout! Grab your copy and spread the word…

This is just for the Smashwords website, but you can download it in epub, mobi (Kindle) or pdf format when you buy it there. Happy New Year!

New Year’s Resolutions for Erotic Romance Fiction

I think that since 2013 is fast approaching, a few resolutions might be on the cards. Not sure if any of my fellow erotic romance authors are thinking of doing the same thing, but I thought I’d put mine out there and see if anyone else is of the same mind!

Resolution #1: Finish what I start.

HotRichAndDominantIt’s probably my biggest failing as a writer – I have a terrible attention span. I get all excited about a story arc, get a couple of instalments in, then get distracted by a new and shiny idea that is just begging to be written. You should see the state of my hard drive – the amount of stories I’ve started and abandoned would shock you!

Because I started out my writing career in the fan-fiction world (and turned some fics into original fiction before EL James and the Fifty Shades boom, thank you very much!), this habit used to reap rewards: write a chapter, proofread it, post it, and bam – feedback within a couple of hours. That got pretty addictive.

However, when people are paying for your stuff you can’t just abandon it to chase a new, shiny idea every five seconds. I’m starting to realise that, and I am going to be better at finishing what I start in 2013, starting with Hot, Rich and Dominant. Part three (probably followed by four) is next on my cards, and once I’ve finished up Nell’s and Marc’s story I’m planning to return to the world of Hidden Heat to finish the sequel, Holo Betrayal.

Then I might go on and let myself dabble in my new BDSM thriller’s world (tentatively titled The Intimate Stranger, and I could go on for pages and pages about it if I wasn’t trying to be good!) before I return to Rack and Ruin for Smurfette’s story. The poor girl has been without a Mistress for far too long…

Resolution #2: Steer away from 2012′s clichés.

mehThis year, erotic romance has seen a huge surge in popularity, which is absolutely fantastic – for me, for fans of the genre who no longer need to hide their guilty pleasure, and for authors who are finding their way into the hearts of readers and the bestseller charts. However… there are certain things that are starting to get old, at least for me.

How many times this year have you read about the heros of your favourite books telling the heroines, “Come for me”? More than a few, I’m guessing. I’ve been guilty of writing it myself, I’m sure – it used to be one of the hottest things I’d ever read, the first couple of times I noticed it. Now, though? I’m starting to roll my eyes every time it crops up in something I’m reading. The more it’s used, the less effect it has on me.

It’s probably something that was a cliché way before 2012, but this year is the first I’ve submerged myself completely in the world of erotic romance, so forgive me for being a bit slow on the uptake.

I also want to steer clear of billionaires once I’ve finished Hot, Rich and Dominant – I’m not sure about your average reader, but as a writer I feel like that genre is 100% tapped out – sort of like the zombie genre in horror at the moment. Zombies and billionaires have been everywhere this year! Now, billionaire zombies… that might be an interesting combination, but probably not romantic in the slightest. ;)

If you’re reading this, what are your own personal hated clichés? Help me avoid them if possible! No promises, but I can do my best…

Resolution #3: Do more research.

bondage photopinYou might be thinking, ‘Boring!’ at this one – but when you’re writing about BDSM it’s more fun than you might think to research it. Whether it’s talking to sadists, masochists, Dom(me)s or subs about their experiences or having a little refresher course on what it’s like to be tied up and tormented, there’s always a new experience to be enjoyed and written about. Though admittedly, sometimes it can be hard to take notes at the time, what with your hands being tied and everything. ;)

Sometimes I wonder if I’d be into kink if I didn’t want to write about it. Then I laugh at myself for even having that thought. *grin*

Resolution #4: Diversify.

diverseloveIt’s true that I’m mainly a kinky writer these days – I just like the D/s dynamic, and the less formal sadist/masochist one, too much to write stories that are completely vanilla. But even while sticking to elements like pain-play and submission, there’s so much you can do with erotic romance. I’d hate to be the kind of author who just churns out the same story with slightly different locations and characters every time.

So my resolution is to do as much with the genre as I can – I want to write some inter-racial BDSM in 2013, and stories about some big, beautiful submissives as well as thinner girls. I want to write a post-apocalyptic kinky romance. I want to turn some traditional story tropes on their heads. I have a million different ideas, but I won’t be exploring them until I’m done with resolution #1, obviously.

I’d better end this post before I start getting too enthusiastic about new stories before I finish the ones in progress. ;)

'Meh' photo credit: Яick Harris via photopin 
Bondage photo credit: dadevoti via photopin
Tree photo credit: Sand Creation via photopin

New Release – ‘Die for Him’ is Out Now!

dieforhim_800Yay! Die for Him is out today at All Romance eBooks and Amazon US/Amazon UK. Links to Kobo, Barnes & Noble, etc. are coming soon – see this page for the latest as they appear. :D

Merry Christmas! Once I get Christmas dinner over with, I’ll be spending mine sitting amongst family while they watch TV, pretending I’m not writing smutty things when I am. ;)

Hot, Rich and Dominant in Smashwords’ Top 25!

HotRichAndDominant3Yay! The first Hot, Rich and Dominant is at #24 in Smashwords’ Top 25 bestsellers – this makes me so happy! It might drop out again tomorrow, but just being in is an amazing Christmas present for me.

Between Christmas and New Year, I’m hoping to get some serious HRD3 time in. Thanks so much to those who have given feedback – I hear you, and I’ll do my best to leave a few plot strands unresolved for a fourth book. :)

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy December to those who don’t…