Woo-hoo! New Covers! Excerpts! Sale News!

It’s Cover Reveal Day! OK, it’s only EIGHT MINUTES into cover reveal day, but I have been itching to share these with you since Wicked Book Covers created them for me. As an extra Reveal Day treat, you get excerpts from the books as well!

“Fuck. A tear slipped out, despite my stringent attempt to ignore or deny it. Jase must have felt it soak into his shirt, because he coaxed me to look at him again, one big hand cupping the side of my face like it was made of china.

“Aw, none of that,” he said, leaning down and kissing the tear away. I took a shaky breath. Love is a drug, and its side effects were sometimes hard to cope with. The overpowering lust that possessed me anytime Jase was nearby was only one of them. Overwhelmed, I could think of only one way to handle it.

“Don’t even switch off the lights. Bedroom. Now.”

I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him behind me across the living room, leaving the dinner mess scattered all over the bar. Leaving my tumultuous thoughts behind, I listened to my body, and all of its parts were screaming in unison to fuck.”

“Let’s see the slut-wear,” Jase said, yanking my dress off over my head. My hands trembled, wanting to clutch at it, I felt so vulnerable. I didn’t, though, knowing how silly it was. Joe had seen me in my stage gear many times, and was about to see me in much less, I guessed. I awaited instruction, tits tingling, cunt clenching.

I knew how Red Riding Hood must have felt when she was sure the wolf was going to eat her. Here I was, skimpy bra, little hipster panties, stockings and shoes, before them, both still fully dressed. I felt more naked than I actually was. Joe made an appreciative noise.

“Spin,” Jase made a twirling gesture with one hand. I turned around slowly twice, and looked to him to see if I should stop. He nodded. Joe whistled.

“That is one fine piece of ass you own, brother.”

“What’s mine is yours tonight.”

If it was possible to get any wetter, I did. My whole body was nothing but neglected nerve endings, buzzing as they could reach out and reel in some touch, any touch. My thighs pressed together unconsciously, seeking to relieve the ache that was growing at their junction. That never worked, just drew attention to my state.

“Get those legs apart,” Jase growled. I bit my lips and complied.”

Switch It ON will be FREE on May 30th and 31st!

Switch It UP will be ONLY $0.99 June 1st- 3rd!

My First Kindle Countdown Sale is Underway!

Switch It UP is on SALE now, for only $0.99! Ah, such a deal!

You know I generally don’t do that kind of thing. I consider this blog to be a place where we can chat with one another, where I can share whatever weird writer junk is going through my brain. But having this going on made me think about being a business person, which I certainly never imagined being. Of course, indie authors must also be about the business, and this has certainly been emphasized to me. I just never though of The Switch Stories as a product. So that’s new for me. Whether I can be a success at marketing remains to be seen, but that doesn’t change the pride I have in this novel, or the hope that, should you read it, you’ll enjoy it!

It’s time to Switch It UP!

Switch It UP is available now!  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RNHYFBS

Warning! This is an erotic romance, so contained herein are graphic descriptions of sex, bondage, discipline, dominance, and submission. You’ll find group sex, voyeurism, Daddy-daughter play, and mud fetishism. Mental illness, self-harm, and consent violation are some of the difficult issues addressed. Somehow, there’s still room for art, ironic humor, and love.  

Last week, I only thought I had problems. How I wish for last week!

It’s a Dom problem. My sleazy boss at the dungeon is ripping me off and harassing my sweet, gorgeous assistant, Trey, who is too submissive for his own safety.

It’s a sub problem. Usually my lover Jase is my rock, always there to take care of me, whether I need feeding or spanking. Now something from Jase’s past is pulling him away from me. He grows more distant every day.

It’s a poly problem. Beautiful Trey is ready to explore with my gorgeous new pet, Hunter, and wants me along for the ride. And Jase’s buddy Joe has been casting filthy glances my way, along with his Dirty South grin.

Sometimes I don’t know what the question is, but I’m pretty sure sex is the answer. Time to SWITCH IT UP.

Switch It ON is free today!

This is my very first free promotion, now through Saturday! If you haven’t read Switch It ON, now is the perfect time. Switch It UP is out on December 19th!

http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Stories-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00E8KBF1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417115364&sr=8-1&keywords=switch+it+on+jh+craig

Do newbies even HAVE a “Writing Process?”

I’ve been writing fiction since nearly the moment I could hold a pencil, but I never considered myself an author until fairly recently. Even after I had joined authors’ groups on Facebook, and created a page there, I didn’t know. Even after I’d added “author” to my e-mail address, and created this blog, I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until I’d run around my day job with a pencil, looking for a quick scrap of paper to make a note, because I’d just had an epiphany that illuminated a dark spot in my current work like a divine floodlight straight from Heaven itself. I ended up writing this eureka moment down on a piece of brown industrial paper towel, because I couldn’t let it get away. That’s when I knew.

The agonies of creation are sometimes aptly named, especially when the words are right there, and the time to put them down is not. When the time is there, but life somehow prevents it. Worse is when the words won’t come, time or not. Agony can become ecstasy when all of a sudden a phrase sounds so brilliant in the mind’s ear it should be sung rather than spoken. This amusement park ride is not restricted to the folks who write highbrow, capital L “literature”. If you just have to get it down, get it out, get it on the page or the screen, you’re an author, no matter what the snobs might say.

Whether you’re a good author remains to be seen. Some days, I’m convinced I’m amazing, others, I’m certain it should all be deleted before anyone sees it. I assume someday you’re sure, but then, I always thought a day would come when I’d feel like an adult, and though I’m squarely into “middle age”, that day has not arrived. So maybe even the big boys and girls have doubts, though of course they’ll never tell.

I never once considered my “process”. I wrote as it came, having little luck at forcing it, although I followed the advice of keeping to a schedule. With the day job, that meant cutting back on sleep. I never realized how hollowed out I’d feel when I was done, when that hour could be spent playing Candy Crush, or reading articles on how to sell myself like a cheap whore on the internet. Hey, whore is a term of endearment in my vocabulary! I learned that she (or he) who writes this way is known as a “pants-er” as in flying by the seat of one’s pants.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will recall that I flew way off course doing that, and my book stalled out and threatened to crash. Luckily my dear friend and writing guru prevented that, and helped me get going again in a better direction. I learned a lot, and continued researching my subject and genre while I did so. I visited the Muse twice, certainly inspirational, and discovered the story as I went.

I thought it might be better to be a plotter, those logical lads and lassies who outline, and create character descriptions that rival many biographies. How can you fly off course, after all, if you’ve got a map? Mine just said “Here be sex scenes” instead of dragons or sea monsters. I’m not sure that I can change my “process” any more than I can my height, or my sexuality.

I’ve had an inspiration for the opening scene of Switch It OFF, you see. And I think what will become the second one. After that, my map gets all misty. Even my destination is only vaguely visible at this point. I’ve attempted to outline, and all I get is a headache. I may be destined to chisel out my story like a sculptor brings life gradually to a block of stone, and feeling much like the stone is in my brain when my chisel gets dull.

As the sprint towards publication of Switch It UP—and it had better be a sprint, let me tell you—begins, I may have a small space in which I don’t have this concern. But the Muse is whispering in my ear, and he’s a dirty boy, as usual. I may have to take off without a map, or even a compass.

Move along, folks, nothing to see here.

Review: Switch it ON by J. H. Craig

An absolutely lovely review, by a blogger to watch!

Knows What She Wants

Full disclosure: I received this story in exchange for an honest review.

The Switch Stories by J. H. Craig follow Miss Madeline, a professional dom. But as the title suggests, there’s more to her sexuality than dominance. To my delight, there’s also more to her character. The way she acts around Jason is different from how she acts with Trey, with clients, with Ian, or with anyone else, in the most realistic way possible. She can be soft and withdrawn, strong and nurturing, or impressively badass, depending on what the situation calls for. Between her different roles and the different facets of her personality, I found her to be a truly three-dimensional character—and a likable one, at that. This gets major points in my book, because characters make or break erotica for me. When they’re as intriguing and dynamic as Miss Madeline, it’s easy to get invested in their stories.

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What in the hell is “YKINMK”?

YOUR KINK IS NOT MY KINK. Your fetish is not necessary mine. My best friend likes to say “Whatever blows your dress up!” which instantly calls to mind the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe, riding the steam. Which blows my dress up. Your dress may remain unmoved. And that’s OK!

As I’ve shared in the past, FetLife is one of my favorite research sites. On it, they have a feature called Kinky & Popular. A writing there struck close to my heart. The author was lamenting a lack of diversity among the images displayed, and even a lack of kink. I’d noticed that myself, and generally just stick to the writing as she did. There are many paths through the woods, boys and girls, and wolves on every one, waiting to eat you up, or beat your ass with a flogger, if that’s what you’d prefer.

All of my reviews touch on the authentic quality of my fetish scenes, and that’s directly due to the fact that I was involved with the local scene extensively for years. That same best friend performed in, and in some cases created, shows for an extremely popular weekly fetish night. She remains my technical advisor and sounding board for all things fetish.

The troupe performed highly inventive and entertaining fetish shows that perfectly balanced the artsy-fartsy with the spanky-spanky. They were appealing for precisely this reason, so much so that the patronage of the night was drawn more often from the vanilla world than from the fetish scene. Doing a show a week, they’d have to keep it fresh and diversify. OR they could do the same old, same old, wherein scantily clad pretty boys and girls would get their asses lackadaisically beaten. This is what the management chose to do, selling skin over substance. The night died.

In Switch It ON, Mistress Madeline tries to broaden the horizons of the patrons of her shows. She puts in a little something for everyone. I believe that is important in life as well as the “scene”. My thing may not be your thing, but we can respect and enjoy each other’s things. Whoops, that sounded dirty. I think that helps prove my point.

Polyamory and you… and you… and you.

The next of the Switch Series is called Switch It UP. That was chosen for a very specific reason, because it’s all about change, and specifically Madeline allowing other people into what had been a very private space for her. Not just for sex, mind you, but for love and family and all that jazz, things she didn’t think she needed. So, I’ve been reading a bit about polyamory.

I’ve been involved in relationships that might fall under this category, but what does it really mean? According to Wikipedia: Polyamory (from Greek πολύ [poly], meaning “many” or “several”, and Latin amor, “love”) is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. It is distinct from swinging (which emphasizes sex with others as merely recreational) and may or may not include polysexuality (attraction towards multiple genders and/or sexes).

More love in life is a beautiful idea. I’ve read much beautiful writing indicating that polyamory can be exactly that. But wait, aren’t people naturally drawn to that one special person who’ll be their soul-mate forever? When I stop laughing, let me give you my opinion. Keep in mind it comes from a person who isn’t particularly good at relationships of any kind more intimate than friendships.

Some people actually are, I believe, suited for just one person forever. The sad part is that not everyone is, and Western Society seems to feel that monogamy is THE ONLY WAY. As a Pansexual and a Switch, that seems a little restrictive to me, and not in that fun, cuff-me-to-the bedpost kind of way.

What about jealousy? Complete honesty, transparency, and a sense of fairness come to the rescue here. From my extensive research, I believe this is possible. From my field study, let me just say that I haven’t seen that much of it.

Blame it on Reedus.

Sorry about the gap. Blame it on Reedus.

If you like Switch It On, though, you have to thank him as well. He’s my inspiration, my rock, my prayer and its answer. I can honestly say there would be no Switch Stories without him, and I doubt I’d have had the courage to share them with you if he hadn’t been by my side. In my imagination, at least.

Imagination and reality are about to collide. In a week I will be standing in front of him, my thank you letter clutched in my sweaty little hand. In preparation for this moment, all else has come to a virtual standstill. Work on Switch It UP has gone from slow to stop. My researches, my musings, my daydreaming have all converged on how I am possibly going to avoid throwing up, passing out, or crying uncontrollably. If I avoid all those things, how will I ever let go?

I hope to return with new focus, new strength, and new filth  fantasies to share with you.

 

Switch, analyze thyself!

So, I’d meant to do one of these every week. On my Facebook page, I am doing little shares called “Stuff I Learned While Researching on FetLife”, and I thought I would sort of sum up what new ideas I had contemplated over the week. This author thing, though, is time consuming and confusing! So I’m a little late with this.

I find it more clear every day that the relationships I was personally involved in through BDSM would probably be considered abusive by outside observers, and even by me. The more I read about what responsible Dom/mes should and should not do, the more I am sure I am lucky to be alive and as mentally intact as I am. My former Master of 7 years was so far in the Fetish Closet as to not be able to find a way out, and he kept me there, too. The end result was my leaving the scene pretty much entirely, and him entering a sexless, if loving, relationship with someone else.

As I learn more about “community” and what it means to be a part of one, I am touched by the caring and consideration that I see. THIS is what I went in looking for, THIS is what I ended up writing about in a totally fantasy-based way, only to discover that my fantasies are many people’s realities. FetLife is an amazing place and it’s difficult to feel alone or outcast there. It makes me wonder if there is a real place for me in the actual community, outside of cyberspace.

Community is going to be a very large part of Switch It OFF, the third book I have planned in The Switch Stories series. So stay tuned!