About Me
- Pamela Clare
- I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.
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Monday, July 23, 2012
Sexcerpt Monday
Happy Monday!
This week is going to be a busy one. In addition to having a wicked writing deadline for Striking Distance, the next I-Team novel, I’m flying to Anaheim for the Romance Writers of America conference being held there July 25-28. It was a last-minute decision based largely on the fact that it gives me a chance to meet face to face with both my editor and my agent — and a chance to meet several of my readers who live in that area. I’m very excited about it!
I registered too late to participate in the big literacy signing that runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Anaheim Marriott, but I will be there with Defiant trading cards that I can sign for readers. So if you’re planning on attending, please look for me there!
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| I’ll be signing these at RWA. |
I thought it might be fun to play a little game with excerpts just for fun. I can pick a sexy excerpt from anything I’ve written, and you can try to guess what it’s from. I won’t give any clues, and names will be deleted from the scene. I’ve been posting little sexcerpts on my Facebook page, and readers seem to be enjoying them.
So, without further ado, here’s this snippet, written long before anyone heard of Fifty Shades of anything...
She
smoothed her skirts and looked around the room one last time. He’d arrive any
minute. The candles on her bedside table cast a warm glow over the room. The covers
of her bed were already turned down. In the middle of the bed lay the only pair
of shackles she’d been able to find on the plantation. Though old and unused
for years, they still worked. The key hung on a silken cord between her
breasts.
The
creaking of footfalls on the stairs told her he had come. She smoothed her
skirts nervously, her heart pounding. Could she really do this? She felt
herself start to smile, but forced it away. A quiet knock came at the door. The
handle turned. He stepped in and turned to close the door. He looked so
handsome, dressed in a clean linen shirt and breeches. She had to fight the
urge to rush forward and fall into his arms.
He turned toward her, staring. “You look beauti—”
“You’re
on time, convict.” It took every ounce of determination she had not to smile or
giggle. “That’s good. It will go easier on you.”
She could see in his eyes the moment he understood her game. His look of confusion
was replaced by surprise and then amusement before his gaze grew cold and hard.
“I’m to be punished, then?”
“I
can no longer tolerate your insolence, convict. I mean to teach you a lesson.”
It was good she had rehearsed her lines. It would have been impossible to say
them else. Was she really going through with this?
He
leaned against her bedpost nonchalantly, crossing his arms. Defiant and
confident, he reminded her so much of the man he’d been when she’d first
purchased his indenture. “And what makes you think I’ll cooperate, Mistress,
when I could just as easily break your pretty neck?”
“You’ll
find what I have in mind far more pleasant than what you’ll receive if you
disobey.”
“I
see.” His gaze raked over her body in blatant sexual appraisal, and she
shivered in anticipation. “And just what do you have in mind?”
“Undress—slowly.”
He
raised an eyebrow, then untied his shirt and slowly pulled it over his head. It
fell, forgotten, at his feet. Candlelight cast the bronzed muscles of his arms,
chest, and abdomen in glorious high relief. He reached for the opening of his
breeches and began to untie them, his muscles shifting beneath sun-bronzed
skin.
She felt desire flow like warm brandy through her veins. “Slowly, convict.”
His
gaze locked with hers again as ever so slowly he pulled on the ties, undid his
breeches, and let them drop to the floor. He was rock hard, his sex thick and
heavy.
She
found she could scarcely breathe. “Your hair. Remove the thong.”
Not
breaking eye contact, he reached back with one hand, and his dark hair slid
free, falling just below his shoulders. He looked untamed, fiercely male, and,
with his lash scars, not a little dangerous. He stepped toward her.
She
stepped back and pointed to the bed. “Stop! The shackles. Lock one end around
your right wrist, then pass the chain behind the bedpost, lie down, and lock
the other end around your left wrist.”
He
looked at the bed and saw the shackles. She heard his quick intake of breath
and saw a shadow pass over his face. Then it was gone.
“Don’t
you trust me, fair mistress?” His voice was dark as sin and soft as velvet. His
eyes held the allure of every man who’d ever tried to beguile a woman into a
false sense of sexual safety.
“Never.”
She smiled and spoke in a rich, seductive voice she didn’t know she had. “But I
will have your complete cooperation.”
“I
see.” Naked, he walked to the bed, picked up the shackles, and closed one end
around his right wrist. It locked with a click. He sat and moved backward
across the bed, then reached behind his head and passed the chain behind one of
the bedposts. “What makes you think these chains will protect you?”
“Do
it, convict.”
He
lay down, then reached back to cuff his left wrist. Click. He lay diagonally across the bed, completely vulnerable. His
arms were stretched over his head. His chest rose and fell with each breath.
His rigid sex stood defiantly against his abdomen. His legs, spread slightly,
stretched the length of the bed, his feet hanging just over the edge. A tremor
passed from her belly to her sex.
His
gaze, cold and menacing, bored through her. “Do you like what you see?”
“Aye,
convict. And it’s good for you that I do.” Almost trembling with excitement,
she loosened her bodice until her breasts were visible. Then she moved to the
bed and began to caress him, first his feet, then his ankles and calves. Where
her hands touched, her lips and tongue soon followed. She heard his breath
quicken, felt his muscles tense, and reveled in his response. She worked her
way up his muscular legs and over his powerful thighs, but, although she
touched the sac that carried his seed, she did not touch his shaft. “You’ve a
remarkable cock, convict.”
He
groaned in frustration. The chains caught on the bedpost, clinking as he
strained against them. “Is this to be my punishment then? To be tortured with
kisses, soft hands and words?”
Some
part of her she’d never known awoke within her, and she felt herself grow more
daring. Like a cat toying with its prey, she stretched across the bed beside
him. She ran her fingers teasingly on his abdomen, outlining his erection.
“Your
punishment is that you shall see, but you shall not touch. You shall want, but
you shall not receive—not until it pleases me.”
He
groaned again, and she kissed his chest. Her tongue found his flat, brown nipples,
and she licked and teased them. Her fingers savored the soft skin and hair of
his chest, felt the firm planes and ridges of his muscles. Everything about him
was intoxicating—the feel of him, his manly smell, the way his muscles tensed
beneath her touch. To have him in her power like this was the most intoxicating
thing of all, a heady elixir that heightened her senses and her hunger.
She
kissed a path along the valley that ran down the center of his belly, then took
his shaft in her hand. She’d learned a few things about pleasuring him since
the first time she’d tasted him, and she was going to put them all to good use.
Holding him firmly with one hand, she began to tease the head with her tongue,
tracing swirling shapes over, around, and under. Then she took him into her
mouth and began to move her mouth and hand together up and down his length,
laving him with her tongue all the while.
“Sweet
Jesus!” His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed. His hands gripped the chains
that held him fast. His hips matched her rhythm, and she could tell his
climax was near.
She
stopped, fondled his sac, and let his passion cool.
“Christ!”
His voice was ragged with arousal.
She found herself battling to control her own flaming desire. She’d never been in
control before, and the thrill of it was like a powerful wine coursing through
her blood. She wanted him inside her, but she could not, would not let herself
have him—not yet. She ravished him with her mouth and tongue again and again,
taking him to the brink, then stopping. His entire body was taut with unspent
passion, and the sounds that came from his throat told her he was as desperate
as she. Unable to bear it longer, she lifted her gown and straddled him. She
saw his pupils dilate when he felt his skin touch her bare thighs and bottom.
His
gaze devoured her. “I want to touch your breasts.”
She opened her bodice more, lifted her breasts so that he could see them, and
circled her nipples with her thumbs. “No.”
His
eyes held hot fury and lust. He jerked on his bonds, the muscles of his arms
and chest straining, but the chains held fast. “You are cruel.”
“But
not heartless. I want your cock inside me now. That ought to please you.” She rested her hands on his chest to balance her weight, then lifted her
hips and carefully guided him inside her.
They
moaned almost in unison as their bodies joined. She rode him, grinding against
him to pleasure herself. Though she knew it would not be enough to bring him to
climax, it was everything she needed. With him thick and hard deep inside her,
she quickly felt her peak near and let it wash gloriously over her as her
sheath contracted around him.
Her
cries of pleasure mixed with his tortured groans, and she knew his anguish was
real. She would have to end this game, or at least give him his reward for
playing along so nobly.
“Have
you learned your lesson, convict?” She reached between her breasts for the key
and dangled it before him.
Then
a hand clamped over her mouth, and, in a whirl of motion, she found herself
facedown on the bed, one arm bent behind her back.
“I
tried to warn you, mistress.” His voice was harsh. “You should never ask a
felon to lock himself up. He might not be trustworthy. Scream, and it will be
the last sound you make. Do you understand?”
MacKinnon’s Rangers trivia
Interviews with Eileen Hannay and Gary Zaboly, experts on Colonial Rangers
An urban farming update
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Striking Distance — a first glimpse
Thanks to everyone who made the release of Defiant so special. There’s been an incredible buzz around the book, and your excitement, your reviews, and your word-of-mouth recommendations for the book are responsible for that. Thank you!
Some quick Defiant news:
All About Romance gave Defiant a fantastic review with Desert Island Keeper honors. Click here to read that review.
For those of you who’ve read the book and want to be part of an ongoing chapter-by-chapter discussion, come join the closed Defiant discussion group on Facebook.
And, yes, Joseph will get his own story. That’s the question I’m being asked most frequently in emails these days.
Some quick travel news:
I will be attending the Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim, Calif., July 25-28. I signed up too late to participate in the big public literacy signing on July 25, but I will be there with romance trading cards from Defiant to sign and share. If you’re in the area, please stop in, find me, and say hello. I am looking forward to face-to-face meetings with my agent, my editor and good friends: Jill Shalvis, Julie James, Marie Force, Joyce Lamb, Jenn LeBlanc and others.
Bar tenders, prepare yourselves.
But back to books...
I’ve gotten a start on the next I-Team #6, which is titled Striking Distance. I’m under an extreme deadline crunch, which means I won’t be online nearly as much as I have been until the book is finished. I’m behind on reader emails, and I doubt I’m going to catch up. So sorry about that! Please know, however, that I do read everything you send me.
So what’s Striking Distance about?
It tells the story of SWO Chief Petty Officer Javier “Cobra” Corbray, an active-duty SEAL, and Laura Nilsson, a popular broadcast journalist nicknamed The Baghdad Babe by troops. Laura was taken hostage by terrorists while reporting in Pakistan and is dead. Or so the State Department thinks. When Corbray discovers during an op that she is very much alive and has been held prisoner for the past year and a half, he puts his life on the line to rescue her.
That’s how Javier and Laura meet.
From there, the story takes place back in Denver and revolves around Laura putting her life back together after 18 months of being a prisoner. I won’t tell you how Javier and Laura are reunited, but it was fun for me to write. The suspense thread of the story explores the circumstances of Laura’s abduction. Was it her own fault? Was it a random act of violence against a journalist? Or was she betrayed? Most importantly, who is trying to kill her?
It’s my first time writing an active-duty military hero, and so far doing the research for that has been a lot of fun and very interesting. For the prologue where we actually see Javier on a mission in full combat mode, I had to use a vocabulary that is completely new to me. As someone who sees words as toys, I found it refreshing and exciting.
Yes, some of us get our kicks in weird ways. Don’t judge.
As I’m writing, I see actor Jon Huertas as Javier — a man of mixed descent, including Puerto Rican (Taino Indian and Spanish), Scottish, African American and Cherokee. Laura is a dual citizen of Sweden and the United States — my first heroine with European ties. I’m really enjoying that because, of course, my sister has dual citizenship (Swedish and U.S.), and I have a deep love of Scandinavia.
I see Swedish model Petra Silander when I think of Laura. It’s hard to find photos of Ms. Silander wearing clothes, but I did manage to find this.
I’m having a lot of fun learning bits and pieces of Puerto Rican Spanish, which is apparently different than the Mexican Spanish with which I am nominally familiar. Thanks to Arlene and Beatrice Rios and their friend Wilson Cruz for their help. So far, we’ve focused mostly on swear words and how Javier would talk to his beloved Puerto Rican grandmother.
The I-Team crew are back, including Nate, Megan, Emily and Jack West from Skin Deep.
So there’s a quick glimpse of the next I-Team novel.
In addition to writing, I’m very busy with the garden, getting up at about 5:30 a.m. each day to do work outside while it’s cool, then coming inside, washing off the mud, and getting to work. Growing our own food — or as much of it as we can — is important to me for so many reasons, not the least of which is health. I will admit that by the end of the season, I am usually looking forward to that first hard frost so I can STOP working outdoors and free up more time for things like sleep.
I won’t be blogging as much over the next several weeks, but I do hope to bring you weekly random sexcerpts from my books — clips of sexy, funny or romantic scenes — as well as some fun in the form of a MacKinnon’s Rangers trivia contest. So stay tuned!
Monday, July 09, 2012
After the Epilogue
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| The front of the Defiant trading cards |
There’s something bittersweet about finishing book you really love. If the story was emotional, you feel drained, raw around the edges. You’re sad that it’s over, and yet you’re also basking in the joy that the story brought you.
I think authors experience their own version of this when a book they loved and worked so hard on finally hits bookstore shelves. I know that last Tuesday when Defiant came out, a part of me just wanted to cry. The wait for Connor’s book had been so long. There was a time when I didn’t think I’d ever be able to write it. And then, last Tuesday, it was out.
The breathless emails I’ve gotten, the raving reviews, the sweet messages you’ve sent have also choked me up. Knowing that something I’ve written affected you so deeply is very touching for me. Not everyone loved it, but most of you have really enjoyed it. And, well, you can’t please everyone all the time.
I thought I’d answer some frequently asked questions about the book and the series. (Contains spoilers! Ye be warned!)
1. Am I going to write Joseph’s story? Yes, absolutely. I can’t say when it will be out, but I will write it. He is a brother, even if he isn’t a MacKinnon, and he deserves his own happy ending.
2. Am I going to write Lord William’s story? How could I not? I adore him, even if he is a selfish, manipulative jerk. Now that he has experienced absolutely powerlessness, true suffering, and fear, he is going to be a changed man. No, he won’t be courteous, kind and forgiving. But he will be in a position where I can put him through his own transition from anti-hero to hero. His character arc is four books long. It starts in book one and moves through to the end of his own story. But, again, I’m not sure when I’ll be writing his book.
3. How can you say goodbye to the MacKinnon brothers and to the Rangers? That was hard. It was so very hard! I sobbed! We’ll see the brothers and their families again in Joseph’s story. We might even see a Ranger or two. But the time when the Rangers were a unit and lived and fought side by side is at an end. But then all good things must end. Even Star Trek: The Next Generation ended.
4. Will I write any novellas about the brothers in the future? I hope so! They’ve lived in my head for eight long years. I don’t want to let them or Annie, Amalie and Sarah go. I think a nice MacKinnon Christmas novella or some other short story might be fun.
5. What about the MacKinnon children? I don’t know. They’re too young to fight in the American Revolution but that doesn’t mean they can't have stories. I’ll have to wait and see what the Muse has to say about it. Interestingly, the MacKinnon men are young enough that they will fight in the Revolution. I don’t know what that means, but maybe I’ll have to bring them back for some novellas set during that time.
6. What can you do to support the book? Post reviews. Share your love of the story with your friends. Mention the book in discussion groups and loops. Share the link for the trailer (your friends will thank you!). “Like” the book on Amazon.com and B&N. Word of mouth is the most important thing.
I’m saving other questions and answers for Thursday evening’s big video chat via Shindig Events. Last time there were some technical difficulties. Hopefully that will all be worked out this time. Also, there is a private discussion group on Facebook dedicated to talking about Defiant chapter by chapter. Click here to ask to join. We just started, so you haven’t missed much.
To register for the After the Epilogue live video chat, click here. The fun begins at 8 PM Eastern Time/7 Central on July 12. You’ll be sent a reminder email just before the event, which is FREE, begins. During the chat, you’ll be able to chat privately with other readers or ask me questions about the book. It’s your chance to talk about the story without worrying about spoilers. It works best if you have a camera and a mic, whether built-in or not, but you can participate by hearing what’s being said if you don’t. Five participants will win $20 Amazon gift cards IF we can figure out how to collect names and make it work. We weren’t able to give books away last time like I had planned.
And now I just want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of you who made the release week for Defiant so very special for me. I am so grateful to you for your support and your excitement. If I started a list of names of those people who contributed to the joy of this past week, it would go on forever. But I do want to mention the Street Team and thank them for their support online and in the bookstores in helping to spread word about the novel. You know who you are!
As a way of saying thanks, I would love to send a signed Defiant trading card and/or signed book plate to anyone who wants one. The cards are glossy and pretty and work nicely as bookmarks. The book plates have my signature and stick to the inside of the book, turning the copy into an autographed copy. (Ebook readers! Check out Kindlegraph to get your autographs!)
To get your signed Defiant trading card(s) or signed book plate, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Pamela Clare
PO Box 1582
Longmont, CO 80502
I’ll get them in the mail. Please specify which you prefer — a trading card (up to four), a book plate or both.
So what was your favorite moment in Defiant?
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
DEFIANT release party
Welcome to the DEFIANT Release Day Party!
Who stayed up late last night to see the release of the live-action trailer? I don’t know when I’ve felt such anticipation. Thanks to those of you who shared the experience with us — me, my son Benjamin, Jenn LeBlanc of Illustrated Romance, Karl Biermann, Derek Hutchins, Cora Kemp, Kate McDermott and Mike Gamache — last night on Facebook. It was epic fun!
If you haven’t seen the trailer, click here to see what all the excitement is about, or scroll down to the post prior to this one.
If you want to blog hop, you can visit Happy Ever After Reads, where I’m guest blogging today. Or you could stop by USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog for a guest post I wrote about the making of the trailer. You could also stop by Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance for Kati R’s review of the book. Or you can head on over to Romantic Historical Lovers where Emery Lee and Jill did a tandem review. I’m thrilled to say the book is Jill’s FIRST full five-star review for 2012.
There are also several reviews up on Goodreads already. Click here to view those. There are also discussions about the series going on in my Goodreads fan group, and some Goodreads members are joining together to do a buddy read of Defiant.
If you’ve read the book and want desperately to talk about it, you have a few options. There’s the fan group above. There’s also the After the Epilogue Video Chat Party on Shindig Events on July 12 at 8 p.m. ET/7 Central. Follow the link to claim your free spot. And if you really want to discuss the book page by page, you can join me in the private Facebook Defiant Discussion Group. We should be revving up to talk about Connor and Sarah’s adventure by this weekend.
In the meantime, let’s party!
I can’t tell you what it means to you that this book is finally in your hands! It’s been a long wait since Untamed came out in 2008, and there was a dark year when I was afraid I would never get the chance to give Connor his story. But those worries disappeared when Penguin bought the MacKinnon’s Rangers series, and now we get to enjoy Connor’s story at last.
What did I love about writing this book? You mean besides hanging with a very sexy shirtless model all day while shooting the trailer?
For one, it’s the first MacKinnon’s Rangers book I’ve written since my visits to Fort Edward and Rogers Island (Ranger Island) in upstate New York. Though I think I did the location justice before, I could really see it when I wrote Defiant because I’d actually been there.
I also loved all the people I got to meet in the course of researching this series, people like Gary Zaboly, whose map of Rogers Island is published in both the book and ebook versions of the story; Eileen Hannay, who was the executive director of the Rogers Island Visitor Center and who is now a good friend; and Tim Todish, the researcher who annotated Robert Rogers journals. There’s nothing more satisfying than sharing a deep interest with other people.
Most of all, I loved being able to lose myself in the wilds ofupsate New York again, to see the forest, feel the vastness of the wilderness and spend time in the company of the MacKinnon brothers and their wives again—not to mention Lord William and Lt. Cooke.
Lady Sarah was a real discovery for me, with her love of music and the terrible shame that drove her from her family. I love exploring the strength of feminine women, and Sarah has courage to spare. Her coming together with Connor felt to me like the liberation of her soul — and the salvation of his.
Being able to give Connor his story was such a joy. I hope you enjoy it, too! Which brings us to...
BOOK GIVEAWAY TIME!
I’m giving away FIVE signed copies of Defiant! To be entered into the drawing, help me spread the word about the book via Twitter and/or Facebook. Then comment below, telling me what you loved about the first two books in the series — share quotes, snippets of sex scenes, your favorite story moments. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! The deadline to enter is 12 AM on July 6. I’ll use a contest randomizer to pick five winners on Friday morning.
Have fun!
And thank you so much for sharing my excitement about this book!
Monday, July 02, 2012
It’s been a long wait, but today Defiant, MacKinnon’s Rangers Book III, is finally out!
To celebrate, here’s the live-action trailer, as promised.
Enjoy!
Stop by tomorrow morning for fun, games and a chance to win a signed copy of the book!
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