Author Spotlight: Nicole Givens Kurtz

 

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An active author in the Charlotte area, Nicole Givens Kurtz is also a publisher of the Mocha Memoirs Press. Her press concentrates on diverse speculative fiction, written by diverse authors with diverse characters on diverse subjects.

Her most recent publication is a weird western collection, Sisters of the Wild Sage.

Ms. Kurtz is a strong voice encouraging diversity. Her publishing house mission statement is “We believe representation in speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, fantasy) is not only important, but a necessity. We publish engaging stories that amplify diverse experiences with vivid storytelling, robust protagonists, and fearless voices.

And she and those she hires really do understand that engaging stories is core to creating representation of all women and people of color.

You want some good stories – from science fiction detectives to magical knights – check out her writings. If you want a cup of mocha steam or horror, look at her publishing house.

Nicole Givens Kurtz’s website is here: http://nicolegivenskurtz.net/

Mocha Memoirs Press website is here: https://mochamemoirspress.com/

Flash: Dismount

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rating: Mature

Charlotte gave old Rowan his head and together they chased the wind back to the homestead. Eight years at University, but she had a sheepskin on the wall declaring her a veterinarian. Still, far too long wrapped up in concrete and metal. She was a dirt, wind, and rain girl.

Breathing hard, the horse and rider team pulled up to the barn. CB, the foreman, had been watching their solo race and came over. Charlotte inspected him from high on the horse while he approached. He was a fine piece of man; years of ranch work defined every muscle and carved sun-wrinkles into his chiseled face. Pushing thirty-five to her twenty-seven, he had been a fixture at Double Bar T since her teen years. He hadn’t been around when she returned earlier in the week.

“Branding all done cowboy?”  Her broad smile welcomed his company.

“Yep,” CB patted Rowan’s neck, holding the old stallion steady while his boss’ daughter dismounted onto the fence. “Got a good calfing this year out on the edges. About half again last year.”

“That should help pay off some of my loans.”

One of the hands ran over and took the reins, walking the horse to cool it off. Freed, CB came over to where Charlotte sat. He craned his head slightly to watch her, a rare instance of looking up at her. “It’s my understanding, miss, you didn’t need no loans because of your scholarship and all.”

Charlotte took off her Stetson and swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t contradict a lady. Have you learned nothing?”

A deep chuckle rumbled out of CB. “When I meet a lady, Miss Charlotte, I promise I won’t argue with her none.” He gripped her by the hips..

“Why you insolent…” Charlotte’s voice trailed off. Her hands initially steadying herself on his broad, strong shoulders clenched deep into firm muscles as CB pulled her closer. She had been expecting the typical lift and set down as they continued to banter.

Instead he first lifted her high, bringing her hips directly in contact with his chest. Holding her dead weight at an awkward angle, in a manner no city boy could ever hope to no matter how much gym time he had, CB then drew her down the length of his body effortlessly.  She felt every bump, muscle, and sinew as their bodies slid against each other.  Her nipples hardened and pushed against her plaid cotton shirt. His lips brushed them like a cloud’s touch tightening them further, begging to be sucked through the old fabric. He pressed her hips firmly against a significant bump just past his belt buckle and then her feet were on solid ground.

Fortunately CB did not let go immediately, as her ability to stand steady had been destroyed. She swayed into him, remembering for a moment her seduction using soap and water. She had initiated a physical relationship with him between her freshman and sophomore year. Every summer until she started the practice labs during the doctoral program, Charlotte had managed to wiggle her way back into his bed. Three years had put enough distance that she remembered the affair fondly, forgetting the fire they ignited in each other.

“Hey you, what do you think you are doing?” A new voice yelled across the corral.

Charlotte jumped guiltily away from CB. The huffing man, in new dark blue jeans and Western shirt still sporting its packing creases, closed the distance quickly. CB raised an eyebrow towards Charlotte.

“Justin, I don’t think you have met our foreman, CB McCarty. He was helping me down from the fence. CB, may I introduce you to Justin Emmet, my fiancé?” Charlotte bit her lip, her brown eyes clouded with worry.

(words 623 – first published 12/14/2013; republished in new blog format 6/3/2018)

Author Spotlight: Margaret S. McGraw

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When you go to conventions as a guest, you always have some trepidation about who else is going to be on panels with you. Will they be well spoken? Do they understand the topic? Will they let you get a word in edgewise or will you need to carry the show?

And then you walk in to the editing panel and see Margaret S. McGraw at the table and you sag a little in relief. Always professional, always smiling, well-read and knowledgeable – with her on the panel, the day just got a lot better.

Ms. McGraw is an editor more than a writer. She helped organized Lawless Lands and The Weird Wild West, as well as the upcoming Chasing the Light. Her fingers in the pie take anthologies to the next level.

If you attend a convention and she is in attendance, get a sit in the audience. She will make it worth your time.

Flash: Lowriding

Rating: Mature

CB popped back on his leather Stetson, now that he and Charlotte finished mucking the stables. He tossed his shirt into the stable clothes bin. Some things just weren’t worth taking to the bunk house and Miss Becca rather not have stink at her chow line. Charlotte or Miss Becca would pick up the laundry later, after the shirt ripened some more among the horse rags.

Leaning against a post just inside the barn, CB waited while the girl closed doors and put the equipment away just like she liked it. He rued the day he helped her with the putting back. She had a system and he broke it. After she finished tearing him up one side and down the other, he was more than willing lay about while she struggled with the picks and shovels. The woman had used no words she shouldn’t, but CB rather have the foreman curse a blue streak then deal with her on a rip.

Her eyes kept drifting to him, her lips curled in a secret laughing smile, as things got put.

Dang, he knew he was dirty, especially after two weeks on the trail checking fences, but her stares since he came in with the dawn were making him a might self conscious.  He ran one hand down his chest seeing if any manure had snuck inside the shirt before he shucked it. Slick sweat and dusty red clay combined leaving mud across his pecs and abdomen. He started wiping with both hands, but the streaking went from bad to worse.

Seeing his difficulty, Charlotte snagged a clean towel from the pile they used to wipe down horses.

“Let me,” the brunette suggested.

The little thing didn’t even top his shoulders, but he figgered she had a good idea. “If you’re game, I’d be obliged.”

 He had worked the Double Bar T Ranch since the girl was a freshman in high school. None of the hands, including him, realize Charlotte worked harder than a mule following a carrot before she went off to college. Everyone made the piece of pudding welcome when she came home for the summer, and gladly returned her chores to her tender loving and firebrand care.

“Wouldn’t offer my services if I wasn’t.” She said as she gently wiped the mud off his front side. She looked up smiling, her head cocked to the side.

Tarnation, she had the prettiest brown eyes. CB sweated a few bullets before she started circling around back. CB stepped away from the pole to help her, and his jeans slipped lower.

Well that don’t beat all, his pants were falling off. He lost weight on the trail like he always did and he didn’t have a belt on. And he hadn’t wore underpants because he had done worn the lot on the trail and turned them inside out once to boot. He looked down and saw his short curls peeking over the top of his Levis.

He wondered if he could pull them up without her noticing.

Ooh, that feels so good. She put some ginger into her rubs.

“Like the moan cowboy, sounds just like Rowan when I get it just right. Why don’t you just set yourself down and I can work you top to bottom.” The nineteen year old pushed his twenty-eight year old carcass over to a bench. “Just sit right there and I’ll get the water.”

He watched the girl move through the barn, picking up two more towels, fetching the softer hand soap she preferred, and filling a bucket. He may have lost weight in the last two months, but she had put some on … in all the right and proper places. Her jeans were snug and her top was tight; she would need some new glads before the summer was out.

While he watched, one of the straining buttons failed, giving him a peek of white satin between red and blue plaid.

Setting the bucket beside him on the bench, she stepped between his legs to take off his hat and place it on her head. His eyes were in line with the gape in her shirt. Wouldn’t take much to pop another one. The buttons immediately above and below were straining like puppies on a leash.

A cold wet towel plopped on his head. “Now let’s get down to business CB.”

Shock of the cold made him reach out and grab the easiest thing handy. Happened to be Charlotte’s butt. She wiggled, not hard, just a something not right. Instinctually, like answering a horse shiver, he moved his hands down a bit ‘til they were comfortable. Cupping her sweet ass cheeks.

He outlined and massaged her ass, praying her daddy didn’t walk through the door, while she washed his hair, shoulders and face. Charlotte traced his face gently, gave him a quick peck on the lips and then leaned over his body to wash his back.

Okay, now he sometimes forgot to board the train as his fellow hands put it. But if a woman hits him with a clue-by-four he might figure things out. He reasoned it had to be easier for her to walk around to his back to wash him, rather than lean over him, pressing her breasts into his shoulders, her butt supported by his hands, and one leg wrapped around him for balance.

He brought a hand around to her front and rubbed the wide open juncture of her legs.

This time she was the one who moaned like Rowan.

“Oh dear,” Charlotte announced, “I am just getting wet through and through. Would you mind if I take off my shirt CB?”

“If you want to Miss Charlotte, I just don’t want no problems with Mr. Teahon.” CB’s hands continued to massage of her backside and front zipper. “My job here is as fine as you.”

Charlotte’s cadence changed from the East Coast university she was attending to her childhood tempo as her voice roughened in passion. “Aww, I didn’t expect no sweet talk CB.”

She lowered her leg outside of his denim clad one, pushing it against her own leg with his hand caught between. She lifted his face, holding it firm.

 “Now you don’t go worrying about my paw none. I have already told him what I want, told him even before I went off to schooling. He said if my eye hadn’t wandered by the time I got back and you were amenable-like, he would lock up the shotgun.”

Charlotte brought her other leg to the outside of his legs then sat aside CB. His buttons to her zipper. “So tell me, cowboy, are you amenable? I got some proof here saying you be willing and able.”

(words 1,122 – originally appearing at Breathless Press 9/29/2013 for the 7/15/12 Sunday Fun (unknown copyright on picture); republished new format 4/15/2018)

Author Spotlight: Sarah M. Anderson / Maggie Chase

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One of the marketing questions every author needs to ask when they change their primary genre, is should they go with a pen name or keep their primary name or work with somewhere in between. Sarah M. Anderson writes contemporary western romances, but wanted to create an erotica historic series set in the west. How to go about it? If she completely separates them under different names, she would need to create two web-presences, or only market one of her “people”. If she didn’t create some separation, the series where she explores MMF, FF, BDSM, and other non-Harlequin topics, some of her regular readers will feel betrayed buying the book unexpectedly. So she set up a alternate name, but provided a clear window between the two. The Maggie Chase cover indicates her primary writing name, and her website has her Maggie Chase personality under a tab.

And when I went there – Good Grief! My name is there too because of my Goodread reviews of her books:

That was unexpected. I read a lot of books and review a lot of books on Goodreads – I cherry-pick from the 120 plus reviews I do in a year for the twelves I publish here. (I have over 400 reviews posted on Goodreads at this time.)

This particular quote comes from my review of His Sapphire, the BDSM book of the series.

Ms. Chase has created an amazing cast of character for her Jeweled Ladies’ series – each with different needs and wants. Each talk differently and have different goals. And – this is extremely rare – some of those goals are at cross-purposes! Usually everyone in a series are all good, likeable people in a circle of friends with similar goals. This series is set in the wild west with politicians, and freed slaves, with ladies of the night, and ancient feuds. One of the most amazing erotica series I have ever read.

If you like erotic romance and want something wild-west western, look into this series.