Virtual Book Tour--Anne Marsh's Bond with Me

Please welcome my guest today, Anne Marsh. She's blogging about paranormal romance and she brought goodies. One lucky tour commenter will win a gift basket that includes a print copy of Bond with Me. Take it away, Anne!

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I began writing paranormal romances for the alpha heroes. Christine Feehan’s Carpathian Adrian was my first; by the time he’d rescued his heroine from the vampire’s salty semi-underwater cavern, I was hooked. Kresley Cole’s rough-and-tough Lykae and Angela Knight’s Mageverse warriors cemented my love of paranormals for me. The heroes were strong, sexy—and endlessly inventive in finding new ways to show their eternal love for their chosen mates. Although, when I sat down to write my first paranormal romance, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, the biggest challenge was a shocker. Writing sex scenes is a challenge. Writing sex scenes starring a paranormal hero is an even bigger challenge. Three things I’ve learned since that first book came out:

1. I wrote cat sex. Whoops. And announced it in the middle of a train car full of commuters. Sometimes, when you’re in the heat of the moment (and you’re, let’s face it, the new writer on the block), you forget to check the continuity of the scene. The hero of THE HUNT, my first book, is a very sexy, very alpha cat shifter. Sure, he enjoys his erotic games. What I didn’t realize, until I got the copy edits back from my editor, was that I’d begun a scene with Jafar in his shifted form—and then went on to have some really hot sex with his heroine. Without shifting him back. Shockingly, my editor was completely good with it. And PETA hasn’t landed on my doorstep yet. But it’s definitely a challenge learning to keep your timeline straight and remember when your hero is furry—and when he’s not.
   
   

2. Paranormals get themselves into some interesting bedroom scenes. Dungeons. Caverns. Mountaintops. Icy prisons. Fiery prisons. The setting can—literally—reflect the emotional issues the hero and heroine are working through. One of the aspects of writing paranormal romance that drew me to the genre was the fantasy aspect—there are no rules, other than the rules of the world I choose to create. THE HUNT is set in a fantasy wor

   ld with Egyptian overtones—my hero chases the heroine through a pyramid-like temple in an erotic hunt. BOND WITH ME, on the other hand, is set in a dystopian Moscow in the near future. This world is dark, grim—and exotic. One of my Fallen angels seduces his mate in a bath house, a hot, steamy world where any fantasy is possible.
   
   

3. Sex isn't just about inserting tab A into slot B. Sex in a paranormal romance frequently deals with accepting an inner beast. Exhibit A: Kresley Cole’s Lykae. Angela Knight’s Mageverse warriors frequently resort to sex magic. And you certainly can’t ignore the inner wolf in Lora Leigh’s Breeds. The hero of my second book, BOND WITH ME, is a fallen angel. Part of his punishment is to live in exile on earth—with a Goblin trapped inside his body. He’s spent millennia fighting to keep that Goblin under control, to keep its appetites in check. When Brends meets Mischka, however, all bets are off—she’s awakening all sorts of long lost, dormant emotions in him. And his Goblin is starting to make a guest appearance in their bedroom… so her accepting this side of him, too, plays an important role in the book.
   
   

What draws you to the paranormal genre? Do you believe the sex scenes are different from those of, say, a historical or a contemporary romance?

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Blurb:

They rule Moscow’s seedy underworld, promising untold pleasure to the females who dare to mate them. That promise – and Brends Duranov’s own raw sexual power – has hopefuls mobbing the velvet rope outside his elite club G2’s.

But Mischka Baran has no intention of hooking up with one of the Fallen. Not even after Brends gives her an unforgettable taste of the sin and seduction he can deliver with those wicked lips. She’s after information, not a stint as some Goblin’s toy of the month. What she doesn’t know is that with a sadistic killer carving up his brethren, Brends is playing for keeps, hunting the one woman whose bloodline can end the mayhem, whose bond can restore his lost wings.

Excerpt:

“You let me in,” he promised, “and I’ll make it good. I’ll give you whatever you want, dushka. No questions. No explanations.” He trailed the sword-roughened pads of his fingers down the bare skin of her arm and leaned forward. The hair she’d unbound slid around them, sealing them into a dark, decadent world of pleasure. The spicy scent of male and sex surrounded them

“For a price,” she said, desperate to shake off his erotic spell.

“Everything has its price, dushka,” Brends whispered against her ear.

She needed this. She needed him. She wasn’t going to find her cousin on her own, not before the killer did. Brends, on the other hand, could. She wished she wasn’t so attracted to him. If they bonded, he’d have an inside track straight into her head. He’d be able to connect to her. Communicate with her.

“And?” Her voice sounded dry. As if her throat was closing up.

“If the killer were to come for you,” he eyed her closely, “I’d know. I’d be right there.”

“You want to use me as bait.”

To give him credit, he didn’t hesitate. He gave her the truth, although she supposed it only helped his cause. “Yes.”

She might be able to help stop this. And stopping this was the right thing to do. Before she could rethink her decision, she said it. “Yes. Bond with me, Brends.”

Excerpted from Bond with Me. Copyright © 2010 by Anne Marsh. All rights reserved.

Links:

Anne Marsh's blog: http://annemarsh.wordpress.com/

Bond with Me buy-it-now: http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Marsh/e/B002BOFV6G/