Today I’m really excited to welcome back author Katie Porter (a.k.a. Carrie Lofty and Lorelei Brown) here at Book Lovers Inc in celebration of their newest release, Lead and Follow. Today is the release day of their book and I couldn’t be happier to have them stopping by here for a nice long talk about hot Russian dancers and writing sexy scenes! Lead and Follow is one of the best erotica titles out there that I really enjoyed reading and believe me when I say that you’re in for a big treat with Dima. He’s one deliciously sexy man! But let’s leave Katie talk about all that and don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the details of our giveaway!

Anna: Hello Katie, and welcome to Book Lovers Inc. Can you tell us a few things about your newest release Lead and Follow?

Lorelie: Lead and Follow launches our “Club Devant” series. We’re really excited about kicking it off! We’ve set the series in a burlesque/dance club in Chelsea, New York, mostly because we love dancers. The way they move is just perfect for erotica!

Carrie: How can you not watch a couple bumping and grinding, or professional dancers shaking it in a seriously awesome cha-cha, and not skip right to the question, “Are they doing it? Are they in love?” Well…we can’t. We’re dance junkies, and we can’t help grabbing ideas left and right from that inspiration.

Anna: Could you introduce to our readers Lizzie, Dima and Paul, the main characters of Lead and Follow?

Lorelie: Lizzie and Dima have been partners on the competitive Latin dance circuit for more than a decade. A few months earlier, Lizzie damaged her ACL in a fall, and Dima’s taken up dancing at Club Devant in the meantime. Paul…well, Paul’s a sexy Texan construction worker and part-time bartender. Lizzie tries to use him as a distraction from the new feelings Dima is stirring up in her. Paul’s very willing to be a distraction–for Dima, as well.

Carrie: Dima hasn’t ever been shy about his bisexuality, but Lizzie’s injury shakes him up and makes him very shy about the romantic feelings he’s developed for his long-time partner. The distance Lizzie’s injury shoves between them makes him realize how much he stands to lose if they break up. Paul adds an extra spark. He’s the catalyst that helps them both connect sexually, before he realizes that for him, this is just a fun time. He’s been, shall we say, curious about men–but he knows Lizzie and Dima belong together.

Anna: In what ways is it challenging to write a romance between two men?

Lorelie: The pronouns. Writing a scene with two men is a jumbled mix of pronouns–and it only gets worse when it’s a sex scene. Exactly whose hand is on whose bum?

Carrie: Men behave differently. These emotional scenes between Paul and Dima are not flowery. They’re terse but deeply affectionate. The language is different, being all the more powerful for what they’re willing to remain unsaid.

Anna: How different are the dynamics between the participants when writing a ménage sex scene?

Lorelie: I don’t know that they were much different at all. When we write sex scenes, we really concentrate on the emotional component: what are these people getting out of this moment? So I don’t know that changes much at all when it’s three people versus two. We’re still mining for the most angst and redemption we can find.

Anna: I noticed that in Lead and Follow you used many Russian phrases and quite correctly. Did you research those phrases or is either of you speaking Russian?

Lorelie: We borrowed the brain of a friend of Carrie’s husband, Andrei Cervoneascii. We owe him so very, very much. Naturally any mistakes are ours, either from messing up or from the fact that the fabulous Andrei is from Moldova, a different region than Dima’s origins in Russia. But we’d have been lost without him.

Carrie: Andrei is a wonderful guy, and he was very patient translating things like “Are you going to share?” (very appropriate for a threesome!) and “Go to hell.”

Anna: Since I have a thing for Russian dancers, I just have to make this question: How did you decide to choose as your protagonist Dima? Is it because Russians are such great dancers or for some other reason?

Lorelie: Yep, that Russian dancers are amazing was absolutely part of our decision making process. Carrie and I both watch dance shows whenever we can, and there have been certain male Russian dancers who never leave our imagination. So delicious.

Carrie: There’s a culture of masculinity in Russia and France (even Quebec) where dance is not sissy. It’s viewed as an epitome of strength and grace, which is why you also see so many astonishing Russian ice skaters, ice dancers and gymnasts. From the strict classical posture of ballet to sex-standing-up rumba, they are dedicated to the craft in ways that most cultures can’t fathom, let alone top!

Anna: Well, you can easily guess that among my favorite things in this novel was Dima! He’s one wickedly sexy man! So, I was wondering where did you draw your inspiration for his character.

Lorelie: Oh, we have our inspiration…but we never tell!

Carrie: We don’t want to color readers’ expectations or ruin the fantasy for them if our choice doesn’t match the picture in their heads.

Anna: How do you usually write your stories? Is one of you writing the female POV and the other the male, or do you both write both POV?

Lorelie: We split up by POV, yes. For Lead and Follow, I wrote Dima and Carrie wrote Lizzie. It’s usually some aspect of the character’s personality that helps us choose who writes which. For example, Lizzie is a bubbly extrovert so it only made sense for Carrie to write her. Then we take turn by chapters.

Carrie: The lucky thing about this book is that because it is a love story between Lizzie and Dima–with Paul’s threesome action as a way to make them see the light about how much they care for one another–we only dealt with two POVs. Lizzie and Dima. The real trick was our first full-on triad happy ending in Chains and Canes, the second “Club Devant” book (our in July), where we dealt with three points of view! How to split the third?? But we managed, and that book is damn hot.

Anna: How many books have you planned for this series? When should we expect the next Club Devant book?

Lorelie: There are five books planned for “Club Devant.” As Carrie said, Chains and Canes. The third is Pretty and Twisted, an m/m story between a flamboyant gay dancer and a working man who–until now–has believed himself straight. That’ll kick off 2014 for us.

Anna: Apart from “Club Devant” series, what else is on your schedule? What should we expect from you in the near future?

Lorelie: Well, we have book four of the “Vegas Top Guns” series, titled Hard Way, coming out in April. “After his wife demands a divorce, a frustrated fighter pilot nearly forces himself on the woman he loves, yet she’s craved his raw possessiveness for eight years. To save their marriage, they learn to trust again—including an exploration of the ultimate taboo.” That’s a really naughty book, and it was wrenching to write–lots of emotion. I hope people like it.

Carrie: Then “Vegas Tops Guns” finishes up with book five, Bare Knuckle, in October–the story of a voyeuristic boxer and an exhibitionist showgirl. So much fun! We’ll be sad to see our first series wrap up, but we have another military-themed series in the works. More about that shortly! It’s going to be a blast.

About the Author

Katie Porter is the writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown, who’ve been friends and critique partners for more than five years. Both are multi-published in several romance genres. Carrie has an MA in history, while Lorelie is a US Army veteran. Generally a high-strung masochist, Carrie loves running and weight training, but she has no fear of gross things like dissecting formaldehyde sharks. Her two girls are not appreciative. Lorelie, a laid-back sadist, would rather grin maniacally when Carrie works out. Her three boys love how she screams like a little girl around spiders.

Visit Katie:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

About Lead and Follow

The best partners share everything…

Lizzie Maynes’s torn ACL threatens more than her career as an international Latin ballroom champion. During her lengthy recovery, her longtime professional partner, Dima Turgenev, has been dancing at the Chelsea District’s most notorious burlesque, Club Devant. More than just dancing, he’s been experimenting with shocking new moves that make her want to pull him off stage and get back on tour as soon as possible–the better to keep their successful friendship safe.

Dima knows all about safety, and the lack thereof, because he blames himself for Lizzie’s injury. Far from the pressures of competition, Club Devant is the perfect creative venue to rebuild his rattled confidence. He’d love for Lizzie to join him and revel in the club’s intoxicating freedoms. By exploring the new sensual energy simmering between them, they could become more than friends.

Paul Reeves, a recently divorced Texan starting over in the Big Apple, is all for joining the dancers as they blaze through sexual boundaries. But he also knows their sizzling trio won’t last. Lizzie and Dima belong together. Before the last sparks fade, he plans to transform two stubborn friends into lasting lovers–one raunchy lesson at a time.

Warning: Burlesque meets ballroom in this f***ing sexy book when a smoldering Russian dance god and a blonde firecracker with hips possessed by the devil share a sunny, filthy-minded Texan–for just a dance or two.

Buy it at: Publisher | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

 

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~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Katie has generously offered a copy of LEAD AND FOLLOW in any digital format for one lucky commenter!

About Anna

Anna is a psychologist from Greece.You can almost always find her with a book stuck under her nose,so it's no wonder that all her friends make a joke of her.Apart from reading she dreams of the day she'll be able to travel around the world!Anna also blogs at Books to Brighten your Mood.

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