I shall let you in a little secret (actually it’s not a secret at all, LOL)... Allie A Burrow is the pen name for my naughty alter-ego. She doesn’t get out much though. Not like my main alter-ego, Aurelia B Rowl.
As Aurelia, I am very active on social networks and Facebook groups, which is how I have met – in the virtual sense – many fabulous, and extremely generous authors. The writing community is so supportive, it’s nice to be able to give a little something back so each week, I have a guest on my blog, alternating between Aurelia and Allie, for both mainstream and ‘adult’ romance stories.
I have a blog request form on both of my websites, so anybody can ask to get involved. I also do shout outs with available dates on Facebook and Twitter and they are generally snapped up pretty quickly. I also have a Young Adult blog, still very new, that I intend to grow over the next twelve months.
Well, you heard the lady. Fill in the form! Your Christmas Giveaway looks to have been a big undertaking. What gave you the idea? How did it go? Did you get the turnout you'd hoped for?
I got the idea for a Christmas giveaway because I had a Christmas release myself – my debut as Aurelia – plus I am a sucker for Christmas stories. It was a big undertaking though, especially as it coincided with my blog tour for Christmas is Cancelled, but it was also lots of fun.
The eventual prize kitty was incredible, a huge prize with so many great sounding books. Despite my Allie blog still being in its infancy, the contest garnered almost five-hundred entries so I’d say it was a resounding success, and I have been asked several times to host a similar event as well as a summer event.Wow. I might have to consider trying something like that. wonders if she knows enough people What media platform has helped you reach readers? Is another better for blogging?
I’ve always been on the internet a lot – too much, in fact – so as soon as I decided I was going to write, I created a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, and then created a blog. I am also on Google+, YouTube, Pinterest and more, however I tend to hang out on Facebook the most, just out of habit, but I also have it set up so that my posts link into Twitter.
All the time though, I try to direct followers to my blog or my website – my own little real estate on the internet – as that is all mine and isn’t going to disappear beneath a million other posts.
I went through a similar process when I started out. Is it true Serviced is your first publishing credit? How exciting! What lead to your submission? Did you have any friends or fellow authors urging you on?
Serviced is my first publishing credit as Allie, and it started out as more of a dare to myself.
I started writing in October 2011, having done no creative writing of any sort since I’d left school nearly twenty years previous. I completed my first manuscript last summer and submitted it, and it was snapped up straight away – but that was as Aurelia, my contemporary romance and young adult persona – and that’s when I saw the call-out for hot military themed stories.I never intended to write explicit romance; I couldn’t even write a kissing scene without blushing or cringing this time last year, but my short story turned out pretty well, so I submitted it for Serviced and it was accepted. I needed to keep the ‘naughty’ stuff separate from my ‘mainstream’ stuff so Allie A Burrow was born, which was the name voted top by my followers on Facebook. (Useless fact: my pen names are anagrams of my real name.)
Over the past fifteen-ish months since I first started writing, I have been supported by so many people, both aspiring and published authors, and now have an amazing critique group that I can run ideas and first drafts past. Without them, I doubt I would have achieved such early success or had the confidence to break out of my comfort zone and take a risk.
Understandable. My penname is a plant, which makes sense since I'm a botanist. Glad you took the plunge! Tell us about your story in the anthology and give us a tease!
For One Night Only is very – and I mean VERY – loosely based on a true story. The spark of inspiration came from my own memory banks, but I am far too much of a good girl to do what Kate gets up to...
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| Not the vibrator in question. Available at pinkcherry.com |
Seven months in, and Kate is hornier than a blue wildebeest in mating season with only her battery-powered friend for relief. Her skills as a pen-pal scale new heights, but then a text message arrives out of the blue.
Corporal Mark Butler is back in the country for one night only, and Kate isn’t about to let the opportunity pass her by. After all, who needs a vibrator when the real thing comes calling?
Safely enveloped in the darkness of the alcove, the bass pounded through the soles of Kate's boots and echoed inside her ribs. She lunged and caught Mark’s face in her hands, pulling him down to kiss him, her tongue forcing a route past his surprised lips and delving into the wetness of his mouth. "Take me," she breathed. Her hand stole over the carved ridges of his stomach, following the arrow-shaped path down to where it disappeared inside his jeans. "Please..."
His mouth opened and closed and he glanced over his shoulder at the heaving dance floor. "But—"
"No buts." She reached for his fly, undoing it quickly, but instead of finding another layer of clothing, his dick sprang free and elicited a gasp from her throat. "I need this"—she fisted her hand around it, stroking him, and his eyes squeezed shut, his jaw jutting out as his head tipped back—"I need you...inside me"—she swirled her hand over the engorged head and his entire body jerked—"now."
Mark's eyes flew open and even in the dim lighting, she saw his pupils dilate, the naked desire on his face almost frightening.
If you want to know what happens, you’ll have to read the story LOL
