My author spotlight at Cara Sutra's fabulous blog!

I'm excited to announce that the celebrated erotic blogger CARA SUTRA had kindly featured me today in an author spotlight post!

http://carasutra.co.uk/2013/11/erotic-author-spotlight-series-portia-da-costa/

There you'll find a bio of me, an excerpt of THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE and IN SEBASTIAN'S HANDS and collection of covers etc that look pretty spiffing all gathered together!

THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE is out in the UK!

From Call Girl to Mistress to…

Previously, in THE ACCIDENTAL CALL GIRL and THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS

When Lizzie Aitchison first met John Smith in the Lawns Bar of the Waverley Grange Hotel he mistakenly thought she was an escort in search of a client. The chemistry between them was dynamite from the outset, and Lizzie couldn’t resist the allure of John’s fallen angel face and the way his lean body looked in a sharp business suit. In a daring leap, she decided to play along with his misapprehension, and become ‘Bettie’, the high class call girl, if only for one night.

John was captivated too. Shaken out of a state of gathering ennui, he experienced an unstoppable urge to possess this beautiful young woman whose combination of a distinctive vintage style, and a bold yet strangely vulnerable personality was the ultimate call to his senses.

They embarked on an intense, kinky affair, initially for just the duration of John’s stay in the area on business, but the two quickly became a couple, both realising they wanted more than a temporary relationship. But each had issues to overcome, and a troubled history. John’s need to control and Lizzie’s feisty independence were a volatile mix, both in the bedroom and out of it, stirred to flash-point by John’s insistence that they live together.

But when a dark shadow from John’s past falls over their happiness, Lizzie realises that she has a dangerous rival...

***

THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE is out today in the UK, bringing to a conclusion the complicated kinky love story of Lizzie, the accidental call girl, and her handsome, dominant, demanding but emotionally humane multi-millionaire lover, John Smith. They've had their ups and downs over the course of the first two books, but the biggest hurdles to their happily ever after loom large in THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE... primarily in the form of John's first great love, the fickle, aristocratic Clara. John loves Lizzie with all his heart now, but that doesn't stop Clara barging her way back into his life... to create mayhem.

Check out an excerpt from THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/accidentalbride.html

Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Kindle UK and Kindle US

Also available from other outlets, and in bookshops in the UK.

New Black Lace cover reveal

Two of my classic Black Lace titles are being republished next year and these are the dramatic, sexy new covers they've been given! Aren't they great?

You can find out more about the books here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/entertaining.html

http://www.portiadacosta.com/devilinside.html

ENTERTAINING MR STONE should hit the shelves in April 2014 and THE DEVIL INSIDE follows in June 2014

Latest release - OBJECT OF DESIRE!

Here's my latest release - a long short story about neighbours to lovers, called OBJECT OF DESIRE.

Sylvia is totally in lust with her gorgeous neighbour Dr Nathaniel Gowen, a distinguished military historian who just happens to be a hunk with a killer body. She's been watching him exercise out in the communal garden for weeks, but somehow just can't make the leap from saying hello to the handsome academic to inviting him into her flat, her bed... and her life. Instinct tells her he's a good guy as well as desperately desirable.

OBJECT OF DESIRE was previously published by Total-e-Bound, and while the text remains substantially the same, I think we can all agree on the fact that this new cover is stunning!!! What a body, eh? Clearly Doctor Gowen applies him just as vigorously to his fitness regime as he does to his scholarly pursuits.

Anyway, he's the official blurb:

See him, want him... love him?

Doctor Nathaniel Gowen is a hunk, and when he puts his godlike body through a series of graceful Tai Chi moves outside in their communal garden, Sylvia Bradford can't help but desire him. He's everything she's ever wanted in a man.

There's just one problem though. She's never spoken to him beyond saying "hello" and she's having difficulty coming up with an opening gambit.

But while Sylvia's busy working out how to make the first move, and get to know the gorgeous academic, Doctor Gowen himself comes knocking at her door. Does he really want to borrow a cup of sugar… or is it something quite different, and a lot hotter, that he's after?

You can find an excerpt of OBJECT OF DESIRE here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/objectofdesire.html

It's available to buy from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com with other outlets to follow very soon.

UPDATE - now available from All Romance Ebooks too

New cover for FIRE AND ICE!

Here the brand new cover for FIRE AND ICE! Don't you think it's steamy? Look at that clinch and the way they're so into each other!

FIRE AND ICE is very much a winter/Christmas story, inspired by the time himself replaced our central heating system and we were shivering in the cold for about a week. Of course he chose December to do the job. LOL

Anyway, here's the blurb for the story:

Sharing their body heat...

Super efficient P.A. Cally Hobbes is head over heels in love with her handsome boss, the urbane and delicious Innes McKenzie. Day after day, beneath her cool, businesslike exterior, she's simmering hot for him, and she knows he's not entirely immune to her either, despite their perfect, above board working relationship.

Icy weather, a broken central heating system, and a dose of 24 hour flu suddenly change everything. With Innes alone and laid low in his frozen flat, Cally's golden chance to get close finally arrives. Innes is freezing, and she's burning for his touch, so what else can a girl do but climb into her boss's bed to warm up his chilly limbs with a dose of body heat?

An overnight recovery quickly leads to a very different kind of therapy... making all Cally's dreams of passion flame into life. Sex with her beloved Innes is everything she's fantasized about, and more. Much, much more.

But will their mutual desire and tender feelings survive a return to office propriety? Working together as P.A. and boss again, can Cally and Innes share the lasting glow of love? 

You can find more information, buying links, and a super hot excerpt here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/fireandice2.html

Available from: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk plus other outlets.

Enjoy and stay warm! :)

New cover for NAUGHTY THOUGHTS!

How do you like this brand new cover for my super hot, super quick read, NAUGHTY THOUGHTS? Doesn't she just look like she's having a really, really naughty thought right now? :)

Here's the blurb for this sexy short story:

Dare Vickie reveal her secret fantasies?

Vickie and Terrence have a delicious sex life, even though neither one knows quite what's going on in the other's head when they're making passionate love. But one night, in the heat of the moment, Vickie confesses her dark, dangerous fantasies about being punished and dominated... and discovers a brand new, thrilling side to her beloved Terrence. He's a powerful dominant who likes to play spanking games, and it turns out that the Master of Vickie's dreams and the familiar lover who's already in her bed are one and the same man.

You can check out a mini teaser excerpt of NAUGHTY THOUGHTS here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/naughtythoughts2.html

I've been nominated

Or should I say THE ACCIDENTAL CALL GIRL has been nominated. I'm up for Erotic Book of the month, for October, over at LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS. Call Girl received a glowing five star review from Gardenia there, and she also gave a 4.5 to THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS, which is pretty good going, eh?

The voting for the award is here:

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/uncategorized/october-erotic-book-of-the-month-poll/

 So, needless to say, I would be immensely and incredibly grateful if you could slide on over there and cast your vote for me, on the strength of Gardenia's glowing write-up of John and Lizzie's first steamy outing. :)

Look at these two beauties!

Here are the covers for my two latest books from Black Lace, out within a month of each other. Aren't they gorgeous?

THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE is the concluding installment of the Accidental Trilogy, and the clue is in the title as to the direction of Lizzie and John's relationship takes in the story. Yes, they're heading towards marriage, but there are plenty of bumps and pitfalls along the way for them, especially in the form of a powerful figure from John's emotional past, who could scupper all their plans completely...

THE GIFT is my winter/Christmas reimagining of my 2009 title Kiss It Better, complete with a new erotic/romantic epilogue that spicily rounds off the story of Sandy and Jay's complicated relationship, with it's sexy secrets and poignant echoes from the past...

More details, with excerpts, here:

The Accidental Bride [UK release - 21st November]

The Gift [UK release - 5th December]

Doctor Sleep - my mini review

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed this!

Danny Torrance is a wonderful character grown up, with many of his father's qualities, both good and bad. But despite his ups and downs, he's a much stronger and more likeable man than Jack. I like the references to The Shining, but Doctor Sleep could standalone, if you hadn't read the first book. I wouldn't say this is the very greatest of King, but it's a good one, fairly high up there. A very satisfying read. The baddies are particularly creepy, and yet in places, you almost feel sympathy for them. Not much, but because Stephen King is so good a writer, it's there.

And there's one master touch, right at the end, that brought a tear to my eye. A character that I thought had almost been forgotten about, but who's used beautifully to show the tremendous growth and evolution of Dan Torrance throughout the story.

Doctor Sleep has put me back on a Stephen King reading binge, the kind I used to go on donkey's years ago. I've just bought three more of his for my Kindle! :)

View all my reviews

 

A Doubly Auspicious Day!

Just sweeping in for a quick blog post to mark a doubly auspicious day!

The first happening is the publication day of THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS, the second novel in my 'Accidental' trilogy about bold, impulsive Lizzie Aitchison and John Smith, the gorgeous multi-millionaire she first met when he mistook her for a high class escort in THE ACCIDENTAL CALL GIRL.

MISTRESS is about John and Lizzie trying to negotiate a proper relationship, rather than just what seemed like a lovely, but temporary fling, in CALL GIRL. It's a very sexy story, naturally, but it's all about the two of them working out other issues too, and balancing two lives that are very, very different.

You can find out more information about THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS and read an excerpt HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other exciting thing going on at the moment is the arrival of yet another cat at Casa Da Costa!

This is Prince a cat we've adopted all the way from France! Himself went down to the Loire Valley, on a motor cycling holiday, to stay with some friends, and while he was there, he struck up a relationship with a stray cat who'd... well... just been abandoned by his owners. One day Prince had a home, and someone to feed him etc, then next, they upped sticks and went, leaving him behind to forage for himself. I find this unbelievable, but some people are like that. Prince had been on his own since April, eating lizards and whatever else he could catch, but once himself started feeding him and paying him attention, he instantly became friendly and appreciative. Cat and man formed a bond, and himself knew he couldn't just up sticks and leave Prince!

Of course himself couldn't bring him back there and then, not only because of being on the motorbike, but because of animal import formalities, but he's just been back in the car, a month later, and has brought Prince home to live here with us. He's currently confined to the living room, with Mork, Mindy and Felix shut out of that room, so we can effect a gradual and diplomatic introduction when Prince has had time to recover from the journey. He's already settled well, has been eating lots, and has shown instant affection to me. He's a real sweetie!

Semi Hibernation

I'm sorry that this blog isn't amounting to much these days. Deadlines, health issues, you name it, mean that I don't have much time for blogging and have to focus on writing or micro blogging on Twitter or Facebook.

So, for the moment, I'm putting the blog into semi hibernation, and leaving you with a cute pic of our latest cat, FELIX. He's a former housemate of Mork and Mindy, but not related. When we took them, we believed Felix was going to be properly cared for... but it turned out he was neglected, so we took him too, and reunited him with Mork and Mindy. They're not great friends, but have a workable relationship, and Felix seems enormously contented to have found a proper home at last.

As I say, even though I'm not blogging here, I'm reasonably active on Twitter and Facebook, so follow me there! :)

http://twitter.com/PortiaDaCosta

http://www.facebook.com/portiadacosta

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portia-Da-Costa-Author/17924191491

Diamonds in the Rough... out everywhere!

Well, sort of everywhere... 

Even though friends report seeing DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH in UK shops like W H Smith, the print version seems tricky to get hold of online thus far, although the Mills and Boon web site has copies available. There are tons of places to get a digital version though.

Anyway... DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH is here, and it's the second full length novel in my Victorian set Ladies' Sewing Circle series, and pretty much my big self indulgent Sherlock Holmes fantasy. The handsome hero Wilson Ruffington is a 'consulting scientist' rather than a consulting detective, but he shares many of Sherlock Holmes' eccentricities, although with one significant exception. Whereas The Great Detective was canonically portrayed as asexual, Wilson is very sexual indeed! Especially when it comes to his dealings with his distant cousin Adela, who he can't seem to keep his elegant scientific hands off. 

Feisty, independent Adela Ruffington is similarly drawn to Wilson. She finds him physically irresistible, even though otherwise, there's nothing but antipathy between them. Wilson can be self absorbed and thoughtless, his mind full of his science, and that means he doesn't always employ much in the way of tact and delicacy, even though his heart is very much in the right place. 

These two fiery and pugnacious lovers have a lot of issues to contend with. Due to a complicated will, Wilson inherits all of Adela's grandfather's enormous wealth, leaving her, and her mother and her sisters as good as penniless... and that's not all of it. Wilson is also the lover who took her virginity, back when they were both young and infatuated with each other, and adding injury to insult, he then he caused her to break her nose, when she fled from him after an almighty argument!

So, many obstacles stand between these two. It almost seems impossible for them ever to get along as friends, never mind as sweethearts... and yet, somehow, they're drawn together again, to face their own demons, and as a team, a couple, and even as husband and wife, they join forces to banish the problems of other people that they both care about.

For a flavour of their relationship, read an excerpt here:

http://www.portiadacosta.com/diamonds.html

And if that whets your appetite, you can purchase Diamonds in the Rough from one of these outlets:

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH - links

Digital Kindle US Kindle UK Nook UK Kobo Diesel Ebooks All Romance Ebooks Harlequin

Print Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com W H Smith Harlequin Waterstones

Digital and Print Barnes and Noble Mills and Boon

Here it is on the shelves of W H Smith, piccie courtesy of my author buddy Saskia Walker!