BOOK SPOTLIGHT @InesWrites: The Loyal Steed by Ines Johnson #MFRWauthor

The Loyal Steed
Ines Johnson
Heartpsell Media, LLC

Jaspir has been in love with Lady Merlyn since they were children, but she has always been out of his reach. Trained as a Pleasure Hound and now surviving by selling his body to rich women, his heart has always remained loyal to his true love.

Liam was promised to Merlyn in their youth, but he’s always known that he's not the man in her heart. With their betrothal approaching, Liam seeks out Jaspir for help. Eager to ensure the happiness of the woman they both love, Jaspir agrees to train Liam in the pleasure arts.

What starts as rivals in an uneasy truce, soon turns carnal when Merlyn learns of their secret lessons. In a society where men are second class citizens, Merlyn is torn between the attentions of two men who would do anything to rule her heart.

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EXCERPT

""Our time is up, Merlyn.""
""Should I buy more?""
Jaspir hesitated. He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. She had his heart, but he would never be allowed to possess hers. He set her back on her chair.
""No,"" he whispered. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. ""No,"" he said more firmly.
Another hour, another day would change nothing. It had taken years to get over her. Who was he kidding? He'd never gotten over her. He never would.
""My time is up because you have another lover coming?"" she asked.
Jaspir pulled away from her, staring into her golden brown eyes. ""No. There is no one else.""
She cocked her head to the side, the birdlike motion signaling that she was investigating his words. Just as Merlyn only spoke facts, she had a knack for sensing when someone told half-truths.
""I have no other lovers coming today."" Something compelled him to go on, to assure her of her place in his heart. ""You own my heart, Merlyn. I have loved you, and only you, every day since the first day I met you. I will continue to love you every day of my life.""
She searched his eyes, her head cocking the opposite way as she considered every angle of his new statement. ""Why is it that I believe you? There is no possible way to prove your declaration. Love isn't a tangible thing that you can point to. It isn't measurable.""
Jaspir took her hand and placed it on his heart. ""Do you feel that? What reason does a heart have for racing?""
""It’s a fight or flight response from the autonomic nervous system.""
""Do you think I'm preparing to flee due to fear of you? Or that I'm preparing to harm you?""
Merlyn shook her head.
""Look at me, Merlyn. What do you see?""
""I see that your pupils are dilated."" Her eyes dipped lower. ""Your nostrils are flaring, and you are panting.""
""I can tell you that my stomach aches when I think of you. My palms sweat and I feel light headed. Not to mention what happens in my sex organs. That's nearly every system of the human body engaged at the very thought of you.""
""These symptoms happen every time you think of me?""
""Without fail.""
""Fascinating,"" she breathed, eyes bright.
Jaspir grinned at the curious creature before him. She pressed one hand to his heart. The other she ran over his forehead. Her fingers came away with beads of sweat. Her thumb returned and traced his lower eyelid.
""I'd like to study this phenomenon some more."" She looked into his eyes. Her own pupils were large, her nostrils flared, her breath came in small pants. ""May I return to make more observations?""

ABOUT Ines Johnson
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!

Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.

Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ineswrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ineswrites
Website: https://inesjohnson.wordpress.com/

BOOK SPOTLIGHT on Pumpkin: a Cindermama Story by #MFRWauthor Ines Johnson @InesWrites

Pumpkin: a Cindermama Story
Erotic Fairytale Retelling
Ines Johnson
Heartspell Media, LLC

Single mother Malika “Pumpkin” Tavares lost faith in fairytales after she fell for a toad. Now she believes she’s not cut from the storybook, heroine cloth and searches for Mr. Good Enough amongst the sidekicks and supporting men of the town.

Love at first sight isn’t a cliche for town royalty Armand “Manny” Charmayne. For generations the Charmaynes have spotted their soulmates by seeing a golden aura the first time they laid eyes on The One.

When Manny meets Pumpkin he sees…nothing, but sparks fly off the richter scale. The more he gets to know her the more he considers defying fate, if only he can convince her to take a chance on love again.

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EXCERPT
The Mistress of Ceremonies hurried through her introductions and then the microphone was in Manny's hand, but he didn't take out the notes of his prepared speech.

""Many of you knew my mother,"" he began. There was a murmur of nostalgic assent throughout the crowd.

""You may not know that after her diagnosis, she spent most of her days watching romantic comedies. She believed she could laugh the illness out of her body. Her favorite moments in these films were something called the Grand Gesture. That scene just after all hope is lost because one of the lovers, normally the guy, has done something stupid that's led to the end of the relationship. So he thinks up this bold, romantic move to get the woman back.""

A glance around the room told Manny that he held the largely female crowd in rapt attention.

""An example of a grand gesture would be a guy telling his estranged wife that she completes him in the midst of an angry mob of women. Or rescuing her underwear from the class geek and returning it to her at her sister's wedding. Or holding a boom box over his head, in front of her bedroom window, early in the morning, while blasting the song that was playing as he deflowered her.""

A different wave of nostalgia swept through the crowd this time as they remembered these treasured moments of Hollywood cinema.

""In the real world, some people might call these behaviors creepy, or stalker-ish. But not my mother. She loved them. She believed in love, believed that when you loved someone you said it loud, you showed it often, and you never gave up.""

Manny paused here, partly for effect, mostly to collect himself as visions of his mother's joyous face played in his head. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his chest.

""The national divorce rate is 50 percent.""

There was no surprise in the room, where most of the men were older and the women on their arms were younger.

""There's never been a divorce in the Charmayne family. Not one recorded anywhere in our family line.""

The sparkle of young women's eyes threatened to blind Manny from where he stood on the stage.

""What that means is when a Charmayne gives you their pledge, they are committed.""

The decision was a split second one, but once Manny made it he stuck with it. He stepped around the podium, mic in hand and dropped to one knee. The gasp of every woman in the room was near deafening.

""To earn your vote, I will do whatever I have to, including blast Peter Gabriel in the streets. Charmaynes don't quit. I'm committed to this, to the people of this town. I hope that I can count on your vote.""

The room erupted in thunderous applause, and the women's eyes sparkled even brighter.

ABOUT Ines Johnson
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!
Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.

Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24927912-pumpkin
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ineswrites
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https://twitter.com/ineswrites
Website
https://inesjohnson.wordpress.com/

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Pleasure Hound by #MFRWauthor Ines Johnson @InesWrites

The Pleasure Hound: Part One

Ines Johnson

Erotic Romance (Menage, Dystopia, GLBT)

Heartspell Media, LLC

A young monk is given the chance to redeem himself from scandal when he is called upon to train a young woman and her two bonded mates in the orgasmic arts. But what starts as a simple ritual soon turns carnal when the monk’s heart begins to yearn for the woman, and hers for his.

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EXCERPT

“I promise that the choice of mates will be yours,” Dain continued. “And I hope…” He

paused and looked down at their joined hands.
He looked so uncertain. Chanyn had the impression of Dain as a child asking for permission to have something he didn’t think he deserved, but desperate for it anyway.
“I hope,” he began again, “that you will consider myself and Khial for a-”
“Yes!”
Dain startled at her response, then he smiled. “Good. I had hoped…” But he didn’t finish. He nodded again and then squeezed their hands together. “This is good.”
Chanyn’s heart thudded in her exposed chest, she was sure Dain could see it. He gazed into her eyes. Was this it? Was her first kiss going to happen now? Dain rubbed his thumb back and forth over her hand. His eyes dipped to her lips. Chanyn parted them in invitation. Dain brought his eyes back up to her face. His eyes widening more as he looked at the desire clearly written on Chanyn’s face.
Dain disentangled their fingers and patted her knee. “This is really good news,” he repeated and then rose. “I’ll make the arrangements today.” He walked over to the large desk that took up most of the room.
“Arrangements? For the marriage?”
He glanced up. “Oh no, no. Arrangements for your training.”
“Training?”
“Of course. With a Pleasure Hound.”
Chanyn looked on, dumbfounded. He talked of marriage and then was about to get her some kind of dog to train. “A dog would be lovely, I suppose.”
Dain laughed. “A Pleasure Hound is a man trained in the art of pleasing a woman.” He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Chanyn shook her head. “I still don’t understand. Why would I need another man to…” To what exactly? Have sex with her?
Dain could see the realization dawning on her face. He came back around from the desk and sat next to her once more. He reached for her hand, but thought better of it.
“Chanyn,” he began. His face now sheepish. “I’ve never…been with a woman before. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do to please you.”
“But shouldn’t we, you know, figure that out together?”
Dain looked scandalized. He reeled back from her. “I would likely hurt you. A Pleasure Hound is trained to find out what pleases individual women. Then they teach the woman’s bonded mates those particular techniques. Its an ancient tradition going back over a hundred years.”
Chanyn still looked dubious.
“In our culture women rule the household. When we are bonded everything that I have will essentially be yours.”
Chanyn knew that in the twentieth century women fought for and earned a place in the government and the right to own many forms of business. But she hadn’t a clue that the roles of men and women she read about in the past thousand years had shifted so completely on its axis.

ABOUT Ines Johnson
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!

Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.

Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.

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