Luke Young is the Kindle-bestselling author of the Friends With…Benefits series as well as the novel Shrinkage.

Young’s Friends With…Benefits novels are filled with passion, longing, comedy, and, yes, sex. His relationship comedies feature strong, sexy female characters — women who seize every opportunity for fun and don’t let a little thing like age stand in the way of love or desire. In each book Young sets different wheels in motion, applying his comedic touch and pitch-perfect ear for playful couples’ banter. The result is warm, funny, sexy storytelling at its best.

Young also writes “spicier” books under the pen name Ian Dalton. If you like your sexy comedy heavy on the sexy, be sure to check out Dalton’s Victoria Wilde series. For more information on how Ian Dalton’s Victoria Wilde series relates to the Friends With…Benefits series please see the “Who Is Ian Dalton” area of his website. http://lukeyoungbooks.com/who-is-ian-dalton/

Welcome Luke!!

Thanks for stopping in. The first question I would like to ask is how did you get into writing?
I was one of those slightly delusional people who would watch a movie and think, I could write a better film than that. About six years ago I sat down and cranked out a movie script in about a month. It was ok and went on to do fairly well in a few screenplay contests. From there I wrote another screenplay and then realized how difficult it was to get anyone in Hollywood to actually read it much less to invest fifteen million dollars in making it. When I read about Amazon’s self-publishing program in 2010, I decided to adapt my second screenplay into a novel. Once I did, I was hooked and since then I’ve released five novels, one novella and one short story.

What are the challenges, if there are any, of being a male writer in the romance genre?
Well, there aren’t a lot of men writing in this genre, and with so many choices available now, I think that fact makes it more difficult for readers to give my work a chance. I realize that it’s tough for any new author to get attention, but when I read reviews of my work which start out by explaining: “I usually don’t read books in this genre written by a man…” it’s pretty easy to think I’ve got a little more to overcome than just being unfamiliar to the reader. I have these male parts to contend with and sometimes it’s hard for people to see past them, not literally, but you know what I mean… 
Convincing book bloggers to check out my work has been a challenge as well, but lately I’m having a bit more luck. In the last few weeks, popular book bloggers, Scandalicious Book Reviews, THESUBCLUBbooks and Ana’s Attic Book Blog have reviewed and liked my books. But all you need to do is read these quotes from two of the reviews to get an understanding of my dilemma:
“Ok, I think this might be a first for me. The author, Luke Young…well, he’s a guy…” Scandal
“…but I’ll admit it, the fact that it is written by a guy had me a little concerned…” Ana’s Attic
I’ve provided links to the review below:
http://www.scandaliciousbookreviews.com/?s=luke+young
http://thesubclubbooks.com/?p=4903
http://anas-attic.com/anas_diary/inappropriate-thoughts-victoria-wilde-1-by-ian-dalton-review/

Who are your favorite writers?
I enjoy Dean Koontz and I’ve just been introduced to the work of Jonathan Tropper and he’s great. But John Grisham has to be my all-time favorite. I could not put down his book, The Firm, and went on to read almost everything else he’s written.

What are you working on next?
I’m just starting to work on the fifth book in my Friends series. I thought I wanted to take more of a break from these characters, but I’m really missing them and I’m anxious to get back to them.

Thanks for answering my questions Luke!! Please check out the following links to find out more about Luke and his great books!!

Links:

Friends Series Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/FriendsWithPartialBenefits
Website: http://www.lukeyoungbooks.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Luke-Young/e/B004FW07CU/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/luke.young.3551
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3470494.Luke_Young

Today my guest is Jamallah Bergman. Jamallah, how did you get started in writing?
Well I can say that I’ve always been writing but as far as what got me started to become a publisher writer was when I met my good friend Mike Arsuaga. Mike (who is also a writer and also writes with his wife Cynthia) I met him off a website for writers who helped critique their stories and also submit stories about certain things. Well one evening I told him about my 1st book “If Only You Knew” and how much I had been trying to get it published with a publisher. How much I had been going through hell trying to get someone to look at it and such. Well he told me that the publisher that he publishes for, which is Secret Cravings Publishing, was always looking for new submissions and I should go and check it out. Well I went and looked into it and sent it along with a synopsis and a couple of weeks later, I got a letter saying that they accepted my story. Then once it came out, people started loving it and my dream as a writer had finally happened.

How many books have you written and where can readers purchase them?
Well as of now I have five books already published with another one being out in March called “The Admission”
You can go and purchase any of my books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ARE, Secret Cravings Publishing and Bookstrand. Just put in my name Jamallah Bergman and you will find all of my books!

Can you tell us more about your latest book?
My latest book “The Biker Next Door” is my 5th book that is out. I have to say that this one is one of my favs because of the fact of how both Brad and Hailey are always at each other’s throats in the beginning of the book. I found myself laughing hard while writing it at times and if you read it, you’ll know what I mean. The sex scenes are hot as well as genuine especially one in particular that I won’t say what actually happens but it’s hilarious the outcome.

I love your covers, I think they are among my favorites. Do you have input on designing them?
Well I have Dawne Dominique for that. She’s an amazing cover artist and does all the work on all of the covers for Secret Cravings Publishing. When you sign a contract, they give you a questionnaire for the cover art and they ask you specific questions about each character for the book and the settings and etc. So I do give input as far as what I want on my covers. I do get plenty of praise for my covers and they tell me how hot and realistic my covers look which is great because when people look at my covers, I want them to have a feel for what my story is going to be about. Also I’ve have the honor to have Jimmy Thomas grace my last 3 covers (he’s been a big inspiration towards my stories I must say) and I plan on having him on plenty more in the future.

I write cougar book so I always ask my guests – is there a younger man that you would love to go on a dream date with if you could?
Oh my….well….hmmm…lemme see here….a younger man huh……well I have to say Joe Manganiello from True Blood. I honestly haven’t seen the show (because I don’t have HBO) but man he is soooooooo handsome and so tall (I love a tall man cause I’m a tall gal myself) but I would love to go out on a date with him because he seems like he’s so much fun and he has a great sense of humor too.

Joe is a great choice! Where can readers find out more information about you and where to get your books?
My website: http://jamallahbergmansstoriesoflove.weebly.com/
My Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Jamallah-Bergman/e/B006HT16WY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
My Twitter: @silentbutloud1
My email: jamallahbergman@gmail.com
My Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/jamallahbergmanauthor
My Books on B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/jamallah-bergman?keyword=jamallah+bergman&store=allproducts

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog today and I will definitely be checking out your great books!!!

Today I am interviewing Author Anna Kristell who has a great new book out called Crossroad to Love.

So Anna how did you get into writing? I’ve always been an avid reader, mostly of romance. I like almost any kind of romance novel,love chick flicks and soaps, so it made sense when I decided to write, it would be romance. I just decided one day to try my hand at writing a novel. I started my first one, but life got in the way, as it often does, and it wasn’t finished until a few years later. After that, I just kept on writing. It was only recently, though, that I began submitting my manuscripts to pubs.

Tell us about your new book that is releasing this week? Is it a series? Crossroad to Love is the first in a series. It’s about four women who have been friends since childhood, who decide to meet in Dallas for a week. Each of them is at a crossroad in her life. The main character, Katy, meets a man, of course. Ryan happens to be the most eligible bachelor in Dallas, though, so does she really stand a chance with him? Apparently, she does, until the two discover a link they share to the past. As Katy’s friends find the path to follow on their crossroad, during that fateful trip, Katy returns home with a broken heart. When a plan falls into her lap, she must decide if she can risk it all to convince Ryan to let go of the past and have a future with her. The books that follow will each feature one of the girl’s grown children, as they face obstacles on the road to their own happily ever after. The original characters drop in from time to time, and there’s always a small subplot or two going on, to make things more interesting.

Is there a genre of books that you would like to write but haven’t? Not really, romance is my thing, always has been. That’s not to say I won’t change my mind, if an idea were to pop into my head, at some point.

Do you have any favorite authors or books that you are reading now? There are a lot of authors I like…too many to name, but I’ll give it a shot. Shayla Black, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber. I loved Kathleen Woodiwess’s historicals.

I am a big fan of Woodiwess also. Will you be attending any conventions this year? I would love to, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to due to personal obligations. Hopefully, I’ll be able to work that out, so I can attend at least one this year.

Anna, I write cougar stories so I like to ask women this question. If you could go on a date with any younger man, who would it be? *laughs* Oh, Ginger, you would have to ask this question. You know who it would be. Our favorite Canadian friend, Ryan O’Leary, of course, did you hear that, Ryan? My husband knows all about our cougar obsessions with Ryan and just shakes his head. LOL

Yes Ryan has a lot of fans and is very cougar worthy! Thanks for stopping in today Anna and congratulations on your new book and series!
http://www.amazon.com/Crossroad-To-Love-ebook/dp/B00B1HP2KE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358303227&sr=8-1&keywords=Anna+Kristell

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crossroad-to-love-anna-kristell/1114146545?ean=2940016000053

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/

Today we have a tasty treat submitted by my friend Sue Leonard from beautiful Australia. Sue loves reading romance/erotica and her favorite authors are JR Ward, Sable Hunter, Lorelei James and Ciara Ryan. Thanks for the recipe Sue!!!

Pavlova

TRADITIONAL PAVLOVA
4-6 egg whites
pinch salt
8oz castor sugar/sugar (equal parts)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 level teaspoons cornflour

(Please note the following equivalents:
castor sugar or fine/super fine sugar
corn flour or cornstarch)

Preheat oven to 400F(200C).
Lightly grease oven tray, line with baking paper or use non-stick cooking spray.

Beat the whites of eggs with a pinch of salt until stiff (until peaks form).
Continue beating, gradually adding sugar, vinegar and vanilla, until of thick consistency.
Lightly fold in cornflour.

Pile mixture into circular shape, making hollow in centre for filling.
(Mixture will swell during cooking)

Electric oven: turn oven to 250F (130C) and bake undisturbed for 1 1/2 hours.
Gas oven: bake at 400F (200C) for ten minutes, then turn oven to 250F (130C) and bake a further hour.

(Fan forced oven: temperature and time needs to be adjusted accordingly.)
Turn oven off, leave pavlova in oven until cool.

Top with whipped cream and decorate with fruit as desired.

Jane White Pillatzke Author

Thank you Ginger for asking me to join you on your blog, I’m most honored.
My name is Jane White Pillatzke. I come from Dublin, Ireland but now live State side.

When did you first start writing?
I started writing as a child, loving to read my short stories to anyone who would listen.
As a teen I fell totally in love with Alpha males and started writing Erotica back then, but only recently did I decide to publish my writings.
My first book out is A Grave Exchange it is from the series I am writing A Grave Passion.
A Grave Exchange will leave you breathless, shaking from head to toe, glowing, turned on and giddy with excitement over such a rare find.
Ivy Steele is the character all women today find in themselves, someone strong, independent, but who has a horrid past to overcome.
Lucius Valentine is a leader amongst his men who swore to uphold his kingdom but tragedies set in and his fate is sealed, until he meets the beautiful Ivy.
Can they together dare to dream of true love, can they together survive what fate has thrown their way or will their relationship end in doom?
I hope you all enjoy reading it, it’s available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Exchange-Passion-ebook/dp/B009X2E6P6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357505554&sr=8-1&keywords=a+grave+exchange
I’m also very excited to reveal my cover for A Grave Exchange recently won an award for BEST cover in In’DTale’s magazine and is up for an award in the RNC convention in Las Vegas this August! As you can see I’m very proud. I consider my books my babies.
The second book in the series A Grave Desire is out this week!
The story is based in WWII which finds the characters Viktor and Heather in a concentration camp. You will simply HAVE to read this story, it’s so tragic and romantic and erotic all rolled into one juicy wee story!

Do you have any favorite authors?
My favorite Authors are JR Ward, JK Rowling, Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione and many many more. Anyone that moves me with their writing I will enjoy.

If you could be any character in a book who would you be?
As for what character would I like to be, that’s a most difficult one to answer but I most associated of LATE with JR Wards character Bella the woman Zsadist fell in love with, she’s strong but sweet, feisty but elegant, all the qualities I’d admire in a woman!

Thanks for being my first guest on my new blog and I can’t wait to read your new book!!
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, I look forward to reading your books very soon Ginger

A Grave Exchange (A Grave Passion)
http://www.amazon.com
A Grave Exchange will leave you breathless, shaking from head to toe, glowing, turned on and giddy with excitement over such a rare find.Ivy Steele is the character all women today find in themselves, someone strong, independent, but who has a horrid past to overcome.Lucius Valentine is a leader ….

I will definitely make this chicken recipe sent to me by friend Kristina Michelle who lives in Hawaii. Kristina loves cooking and reading contemporary romances.

Hawaiian Style Shoyu Chicken
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
5 cloves minced garlic
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 orange zest and juice
1/2 cup mirin
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tsp grated ginger

Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken for at least 12 hours.
Grill or bake and serve over brown or white rice. You can add
cornstarch to thicken left over sauce if desired.