It’s my pleasure to have the delectable Toni Sands as my guest to talk about her hot new historic Knight Shade trilogy. Welcome Toni! Knights, chain mail, sexy damsels! Do tell!
Thank you, K D, for inviting me along today to chat about my latest project. Forgive me if I loosen my lacings and settle my skirts around me. This huge scarlet cushion you’ve thrown me is the perfect match for my gown. And the delicious gooseberry wine you’ve poured must surely be down to your hard work in the vegetable garden?
I hope you’re sitting as comfortably as I am so I can begin …
Wow! Fit guys in chain mail pursuing gorgeous girls with cleavages deep enough to make Friar Tuck choke on his game pie? It sounded fun to me. So I took up the gauntlet thrown down by my lovely Xcite editor and allowed the knight of my dreams to sweep me up on his trusty steed and whisk me away to his raspberry stone castle.
Well, not quite … and I do apologise for involving you in my fantasy. But it’s not difficult to dream of bygone times, when we carry so many images from our childhood. There are countless stories of princesses seeking their Prince Charming, usually a gallant warrior or swordsman with great legs. Think of the many books and movies based on those chivalrous boys who thunder down the jousting ranges, lance in hand. Robin Hood always seems to be around in some form or other, so purely in the interests of research, I checked out Men in Tights but only after my personal favourite among the Jupiter Knights (Tebal the camp one) arrived in my story. I have no idea how he turned up but I love hanging out with him. A Knight’s Tale is another fun flick celebrating ‘silly boys with a horse and a stick’ while the Arthurian legend forms the basis for innumerable stories, movies and TV dramas, not least the BBC’s Merlin series.
My Knight Shades Trilogy (hope you approve of the name) is a mix of medieval, zany and romance. And erotic encounters. Oh and there are 
magic forces at work within it too. Our hero, Sir Gavin, hits the ground running in Book One as he and his stallion, Sarum, gallop towards a crystal cleft, the portal to another world. Magic allows a writer quite a lot of licence when suspending the reader’s disbelief but hero Sir Gavin’s own strength of character and the power and determination brought about by bonding and of course love ensures the enchantress doesn’t quite get it all her own way.
Yes, I did mention strength of character though you may huff with disbelief when you read Woman of Power and see our hero’s lusty reactions to the beautiful women he meets. Please give him a break! In Woman of Power, he’s newly returned from the Crusades and kind of like a monk who decides chastity’s not really his thing. Lust really does turn to love for Gavin where one particular lady’s concerned but the object of his desires is out of bounds. Plus, Gav’s personal journey towards emotional maturity is hampered by the tricks performed on him by that evil witch playing a complicated game of souls.
The next book, Wicked Woman, takes my knight to a frozen landscape, in part inspired by a visit to the Nordic European country of Iceland. If you like quirky and aren’t put off by freezing temperatures, you’ll be blown away by Iceland. It’s the perfect place for a writer of erotica – so much going on under the surface with thermal energy bubbling away and geysers discharging clouds of steam. The city is ablaze with lights and the bars and restaurants are often lit subtly. Very flattering if one is past the youthful, dewy stage!
Gavin and his fellow-knight accept hospitality from a woman holding a girls’ weekend while the men folk are away on a hunting trip. As Gavin might say, ‘What’s a knight to do?’ Enchantress Sibilla makes more than one appearance, ramping up our hero’s determination to escape her clutches.
Gavin’s liaisons, amorous or otherwise, have repercussions. Women tend to use him for their own means. But he’s no wimp and the third book is intended to hone his character in readiness for the challenge awaiting him as the story draws to a conclusion.
Unforgettable Woman, the final book of my trilogy and almost complete, is destined to be the most poignant book of the three. Gavin’s physical and emotional strength will be tested again as new characters join existing ones. It’s due for publication in January and I hope you’ll stay with my hot knight as he rides on …
Before I leave your roaring log fire, I’d like to follow the popular trend and talk a little about writing sex scenes, something which tests writers in many ways. Decisions … decisions. If my hero let his eyes do the touching, should my heroine take the initiative or not? Does she want to open the box of chocolates NOW? Or wait until later? The mind often provides the foreplay. Can a character’s fantasy have a greater impact on the reader than an explicit description of the actual encounter? I do hope so because this is an approach I use within my writing! If two lovers (or would be lovers) are kept apart for story reasons, the author can bring them together upon the page by giving one of them a chance to fantasise. All of us have dreams, don’t we?
I wish you all a sumptuous holiday season, whether you plan to drink mulled wine by candlelight, escape to a tropical hideaway or attend every possible party!
Love
Toni x
Follow me @tonisands
To buy Book One, Knight Shades trilogy: Woman of Power, please visit
For my lovely US readers:
To buy Book Two: Wicked Woman, please visit
and for US readers:
You can pre-order the print version of Orchid Pink
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Orchid+Pink
Every year I mention my fascination with the last week of the year, and 2012 is no exception. The last week isn’t like the rest. It’s almost like there are actually fifty-one weeks in the year, then there’s the crowded room at the end, a place not unlike my grandmother’s living room was, all crowded full of the bits and pieces and memorabilia of eighty-three years of living.
I’d like to take you on a very brief tour of my crowded room because I’m taking one last inventory of Room 2012, and what a crowded room it is! Careful there, don’t trip over all the gardening tools, and can you just step over that bag of compost. Yep, this was the year we got the allotment, weeds, rickety blue garden shed, asparagus patch and all. Hey, yoohoo! I’m over here, squished in the corner behind the four novels, one novella and three short stories. Yep, that’s me! I know, I know, I look a bit tired. Well it has been one of the most challenging years ever, so that’s not terribly surprising. There’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of 450,000 words in all those pages! Oh and then there was all the blog posts, and you know me. I’m noted for being pretty wordy.
newspapers. 2012 was the year I made my first ever national television appearance on channel 5 news, thanks to the popularity of 
Careful there, don’t knock over the pile of used train tickets and hotel receipts. It took me ages to get them stacked that neatly. 2012 was packed with readings and launches and adventures in London. And then there were the talks in the libraries in the Midlands! That was definitely one of the highlights of my writing year. The Initiation of Ms Holly was chosen by the wonderful 
I can’t recall a year that I’ve ever worked so hard, and even with all of the excitement and the adventure I’ve never had a year that I’ve suffered so much from self-doubt, some of that, I’m sure, came from the stress of writing four novels as two different authors in one year, plus a 40 thousand word novella. This was a year that tested me and stretched me in ways I could have never imagined at the beginning, when I first walked into this room of 2012, back when it was the empty room. Now, as I reflect, I’m amazed that one year could contain so very, very much, and there’s so much more I could share with you, but really, I’m looking forward to the tour of YOUR crowded 2012!
fuller; at midnight tonight, we’ll all take a deep breath, open the door and walk out into the empty room waiting for us in 2013. All we’ll take with us is our memories of the room we left and our hopes for how we’ll fill this bright new room that stretches promisingly before us. Some of us make New Years resolutions, some of us just plow in without a plan of action, but one thing is for certain, this time next year, if we live that long, we’ll be sitting in the full room again reflecting on how the experiences of 2013 have shaped us, anticipating how we’ll take the experiences into the next empty room.
After receiving a long weekend at an elegant hotel beside the majestic Niagara Falls as a Christmas gift, Jodie Gibson is determined to do nothing but relax and enjoy the scenery. And, okay, just maybe meet someone who makes her toes curl.
Proving Santa Exists Blurb:
Victoria Blisse is a mother, wife, Christian, Manchester United fan and award winning erotica author. She is also the editor of several Bigger Briefs collections, Smut by the Sea and Smut in the City.