A Faery Dream Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway

A Faery Dream
by Heather Kinnane
Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Steam eReads
Release Date: August 15, 2013
Heat Level: Steamy
Length: 16,000

Growing up without a mother, Melissa has always felt different. Now in her 30s, and plodding along in her failing relationship with Tom, she begins dreaming of Kellen; confident, strong, everything her heart desires. But though these dreams feel more real than reality, Melissa knows it’s fantasy–Kellen’s tribe live in the forest, and he doesn’t call her by her real name, but another: Nyssa.

When Kellen steps out of her dreams and into her life, she feels that her wishes have come true–especially when he reveals he knows about her mother. Kellen has always known about Nyssa. Like her mother, Kellen is one of the Fae, the man Nyssa would have been joined with had her mother not run off to the mortal realm with a human lover. With strife brewing in the Faery Realm, Kellen visits Nyssa in her dreams, knowing her return will prevent tragedy.

Convincing her she has faery blood turns out to be easier than Kellen imagined, especially when Nyssa remembers those awful conversations with her father, about a mother who was ‘different’. But Kellen fails to tell her everything, risking not only their growing relationship, but the peace of all the Faery Folk.

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Guest Post by Heather Kinnane

The Journey of ‘A Faery Dream’

A Faery Dream is my first romance. I write a lot of fantasy, some with romantic subplots, and I’ve had numerous erotic flash fiction pieces published (for those who don’t know, flash fiction is a mini story. Some publishers allow up to 1000 words, but all of mine are under 800, some as low as 200 words!), but A Faery Dream is my first real romance.

To be honest I don’t remember exactly what got me started writing a romance. At the time, my writer’s group consisted of one author who was already published with The Wild Rose Press, (since then three more of us have had our work published with small publishers or self-published), and at least two other members of the group were writing romances, so I guess the idea got wedged into my subconscious. Either way, when I sat down to write on this particular day, the story flowed through my fingers.

I still have the very first draft of A Faery Dream, which begins with a line of a song that I was listening to at the time “I am the Lady of the Lake,” (fantasy is a genre that I love not only to write, but to read, and listen to! Anything that is a bit folk-ish is great inspiration for other worlds and times, I think!). From there the story spilled out onto the page; Melissa dreaming of a hot lover, whilst struggling to determine if her real-life relationship was worth saving. In the end the decision is clear, and it paves the way for her dream man, Kellen, to step out of her dreams and into reality as he reveals some pretty amazing secrets of Melissa’s past. The story came to me quite easily, and I’d finished it completely within a day or two, with much of the setting deriving from my local landscapes. But then the edits started.

As with all good stories, A Faery Dream went through numerous edits, as those of my writer’s group with more knowledge in that area advised me on what I could, and could not, include in a romance novella. My final polished piece was 13,000 and was duly submitted to a publisher. When after the usual months of waiting it was rejected, I read back over it, polishing it up for the next attempt. This time the wait was longer, though when I did hear back, it was not all bad news – there were changes that the publisher requested to fit better with their particular line. I could have made those changes, and possibly been published, but they were not all changes that I, as an author, was completely happy with. Another spit and polish increased the word count, and with a final review from my awesome writing buddies ‘A Faery Dream’ was sent off to new Australian ePublisher Steam eReads. And I have to say what an amazing team! I felt good about my story when I submitted it, though when I got an email a mere three days after submission, I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be good news or bad, and I opened the email with some trepidation. Did I really want to see what they thought? They loved it! And I did an ecstatic, excited dance around the room with my children, who were equally excited when I told them what had made me so happy!

Working with Steam has been an amazing experience, and a great introduction to the work involved in being a published author – aside from the writing and editing, there is the marketing and publicity to think about. I’ve started a website and a facebook page, been interviewed for blogs, and even stumbled my way through a live radio interview. I’ve placed postcards in libraries and other stores, all advertising my debut novella.

In return I know I’ve made a few sales (though it will be a few months before I know exactly how many), and I’ve received some great reviews.

But it seems that A Faery Dream’s journey doesn’t quite finish there. So many people have already asked about a sequel, and my muse must have been listening, because as I write this I’m at 26,000 words on an almost finished manuscript for what is temporarily titled, ‘A Faery Dream 2’ or AFD2 for short. It’s been interesting revisiting a story that I thought was done, but I’ve really enjoyed it, and for those of you wanting more, I hope you do too!

Book Trailer

Excerpt

“I’m here…”

“Hmm…?” Melissa murmured, struggling to bring herself to consciousness.

“I’m here Nyssa, I’m waiting.” The deep voice sent thrills down her spine and before she knew it Melissa was out of the tent and walking towards the forest.

“That’s it Nys, we’ve been waiting for you.” Melissa forgot everything else as she travelled deeper into the woods. She glanced around trying to see where he was and suddenly he was there, standing proud, his only covering a piece of animal hide around his waist.

“I’m glad you came,” Kellen said and Melissa found herself falling into his arms. He held her tight and she felt complete.

“I’ve missed you,” she said, her mind belatedly wondering at the absurdity of that comment. But the thought was gone before she could grasp it and she shook her head, confused.

“You’ll know, in time,” he said, stroking her face. “You’ll know everything. But right now you need to come with me.”

She looked into his eyes and found her body responding to the longing she saw there. She leant in for a kiss, but found herself whisked away.

“None of that till after.” A kindly old woman smiled down at her. “Now you must get ready for the rite.”

Melissa was helpless as they removed the old oversized t-shirt she wore as pyjamas and began to dress her in something she couldn’t identify, something soft, mesh-like, that clung to her body like static. Finally she followed the parade of women to the bonfire. They wove in amongst the men, lined up as they were, and eventually formed a circle; alternating men and women. Melissa looked up to see a familiar face smile hello, and returned the greeting.

“Time to celebrate,” the other woman said and they began their light-footed dance, stepping and skipping hand in hand around the fire. Melissa looked to see the sweat running down the faces of all around her, the firelight glistening off the wet chests of the men. The movement of bodies around her was intoxicating, and Melissa found her body syncing with their movements, as she joined the men and women in their chant.

Suddenly it broke off and Melissa found herself scooped up by a strong pair of hands. She looked up into Kellen’s eyes again, lost deep as he leaned in and placed his lips on hers. The electricity sprang through her body was nothing she had ever experienced, and as he lay her on the soft mossy ground she found herself clinging to him. He pulled away, laughing at her desire as he began to work his way down her neck, nuzzling, kissing and caressing every inch of her skin. Peeling back the costume he revealed a pert upright nipple, taking it in his mouth and teasing as Melissa’s body moved in response to his every touch.

He peeled off the dress, and she felt a sense of pleasure as he admired her body. It seemed he could not keep his hands off her for long, running his fingers across her stomach in gentle circles, trailing them up and down her sides, using his tongue to taste and explore her breasts, her abdomen, her navel. He brought a finger to her mound, stroking the soft hair and teasing her clit before deftly inserting a finger and making her moan with delight.

“You are so hot, woman!” His groan reverberated through her, making her shiver with desire. He couldn’t wait any longer, lowering his face to nuzzle her mound, his tongue darting in and out, teasing and circling and sucking. The sensation sent her into throes of ecstasy.

“Oh. My. God.” She moaned, raising her hips to meet his mouth and tongue.

“Please, please.” She couldn’t get the words out but it didn’t matter because somehow he knew and in a moment was there, his cock pushing its way into her, the weight of him delicious on her small frame.

He was slow at first; building her up to another orgasm before speeding up his thrusts to fulfil his own needs. She found herself aware of everything; every movement as his body clenched and released, his seed filling her as his juices mingled with hers.

She lay back, spent, and he relaxed on top of her.

“Where am I?” she asked, her mind finally awakening to the scene, the memory of the night.

“Home,” he said. “And soon you can come back for good.”

About the Author

Giveaway Time!!!

Prize is winner’s choice of any Steamy eReads eBook (1 each to 3 winners). Contest is tour-wide, open internationally and ends Sept 18. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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Happy Reading,

Alison