Sydney, tell us a little about your writing:
When writers work
on a book, we become obsessed. Our characters are alive in our heads 24/7, we
hear their voices and play out scenes while we run, shop for food, cook dinner
and yes, sometimes while helping our kids with homework. Our plot twists are constantly
playing behind our eyes and we often run to our notebooks to write something
down before it floats away. I write provocative romance because I cannot think
of a better subject to obsess about. Can you? I love lascivious men. I love
strong, confident, sexy women. I think about sex and love and even heart break
all the time.
There is nothing
better than starting a new book. And there is nothing more exciting than
reading a hot, sexy story about two people searching for themselves and getting
lost in each other. I absolutely love writing adult contemporary romance with
an erotic flair. I’m an avid reader of
romance as well, because I truly love this genre.
I’m married with
two kids and live in California. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science
(yes, I was thinking of law school) and a Master’s degree in Education (yes, I
used to teach English). And, in my mind I look like this photo. According to my
husband, I’m damn close! Thanks honey, that’s why I love you so much. And
ladies, there’s the proof that love is, in fact, blind.
I have traveled
all over the world with my family and often get inspired on the road. I love
mysteries and puzzles, hiking and running, traveling and reading. I can often
be found sitting in Starbucks listening to people talk to each other when they
think no one is paying attention. So, keep that in mind next time you sit down
to share your secrets over a vanilla latte, the reasonably (okay, I’ll admit
it) attractive woman sitting next to you might be me, and those might be notes
I’m taking, not a grocery list.
What's going on in your life right now, work wise:
The big news
this week is the release of my boxed set Passionate Kisses: Ten Sizzling
Contemporary Romance Novels. I've teamed up with nine spectacular authors to
create the best summer read out there. Awakening is part of that set.
ONCE YOU STEP OVER THE EDGE THERE'S
NO TURNING BACK
Ever feel like everyone else has
figured out this thing called life but you’re just watching it fly by, not
really living?
Nora Young still believes she has
time to figure it all out. She can still go to law school and take on the
Supreme Court, make love in the sun, or even share her dreams with her
boyfriend. Maybe that explains her morose mood when she realizes she’s moving
up the corporate ladder at work as an Event Specialist—not a party planner
thank you very much! It might also explain the horror when her emotionally
distant boyfriend tosses out the words “marriage” and “kids” as if they’re the
inevitable next steps in their benumbed, stifling relationship.
Nora realizes she needs to take
control and create a life filled with passion, purpose and adventure.
Ryan Cole
walks into her office and seems to offer everything Nora is looking for:
passion, adventure—exhibitionism? But just when Nora starts to open up to Ryan
and his crazy adventures, his ex girlfriend warns her that Ryan’s real tastes
are dangerously extreme. Intrigued, Nora pushes Ryan to reveal his secrets but will
Nora be able to handle it when he comes clean? Does setting boundaries with
Ryan mean saying goodbye to the most passionate, sexy man she’s ever met?
Chapter 1
Jack London’s is
crowded and we all squeeze into a table near the back. We’re far from the bar,
but close to the bathroom, so I guess it works out.
Carrie, Joanne,
Willow, and I are here with Sophia to celebrate her 24th birthday.
We all met at Stanford; Joanne, Sophia, and I were starry-eyed freshmen and
Carrie and Willow were sophomore roommates giving us the lowdown on college
life. Even back then, Sophia was a cute, whip smart, blonde with an athletic
body. Not much has changed over the years.
"Okay,
girlfriend. What's next? Wine, more champagne, mixed drinks? What's your
pleasure, birthday girl?" Carrie stands to make her way back to the bar.
Even for Carrie, tall, dark haired babe that she is, it will take a while to
get more drinks.
"Um—How about some
food? I gotta drive home soon. I need to sober up a bit," Sophia yells her
response across the table.
"Whatever!
Fine. I'll order some appetizers, too." Carrie marches off into the depths
of the bar in search of sobering appetizers and more booze.
Of all of us,
Carrie is the most successful and the most confident. She knew going into
college that she was destined to be a rich corporate lawyer working her 80
hours a week, partying like a madwoman on weekends, as well as the occasional
weeknight.
Willow slides in
next to Sophia, taking Carrie's seat. Bags and wrapping paper litter the table
and floor. I move the presents over to a corner.
"How's
life? How goes the job?" Willow almost has to scream in Sophia's ear.
Maybe this wasn't the best place to celebrate.
"Oh, my
God. David is a nightmare! You can't even believe it." Sophia's delicate
features look exaggerated as she speaks of the horror of her job.
"Yep. I so
could have called that one." Willow downs the rest of her drink. She has
long flowing hair to her waist and, as her name suggests, she was raised a
flower child in Northern California. She had hopes of becoming a lawyer to help
the poor and advocate for change, however, she soon learned that often the poor
can't pay retainers and the banks holding her student loans didn't care, she
still had to make her payments. Begrudgingly, she now works at the same firm
that Carrie does as a junior associate. She hates it, but she is paying off her
loans and saving money. Looks like her new coping strategy is drinking.
Heavily.
"Okay, you
two. We’re not going to get into a 'who has the worst job’ competition." I
reach over to slide my drink back away from Willow's sticky hands.
"So, Nora.
Checked out any law schools lately?" Joanne smirks at me across the table.
I narrow my eyes at her.
"No, but
thanks for asking. How's the novel?" She bursts out laughing. Back in
college, Joanne and I used to stay up late talking about our hopes and dreams.
She wanted to write the next great American novel, and I wanted to take on the
Supreme Court, changing laws for the betterment of womankind.
Joanne now works
as a staff writer for a fashion magazine and I work in corporate events. We
often joke that we jinxed ourselves with those late night talks. Yeesh, what a
lot of hot air we wasted.
"How's it
going, Nora? Is Darren still as kooky as ever?" she asks.
"Yeah.
Darren is still Darren." I sigh, reaching for my drink.
"When are
you going to wake up and realize that guy doesn't hold a candle to you? He’s a
freak, and you need to move on." Wow, Joanne is diving straight in
tonight. We’ve had this conversation before and I really don't want to have it
again. They just don’t understand what it’s like with him. What I’m like with
him.
"Actually,
he seems to be perking up. He almost got wild with me last weekend." I
smirk at her.
Joanne's eyes
shoot up in surprise. Before she can ask me anything else, Carrie is back with
a pitcher of margaritas and some chips.
"There's
your damn food. Now drink up!" She sits down and takes a large swig of her
drink. "Okay. What are we talking about?"
"Nora just
told me that Darren had wild sex with her last weekend," Joanne yells.
Everyone within earshot turns to look at us.
My jaw drops
open for a second before I snap it shut self-consciously "Nice."
"Oh,
really?" Sophia chimes in. "And when were you going tell me?”
Sophia and I
work together and she knows way too much about my failings with Darren.
"No!"
I say truly exasperated. "I did not have wild sex with Darren. I said I
almost had wild sex. You know how he is.” My face is red and my hands are
shaky. “I’m slowly pulling out his wild child. Very slowly,” I say when I have
recovered enough.
"Wait a
minute." Willow tunes in, drunkenly. "You had wild sex with a wild child?
Who?"
We all start
laughing hysterically. Thank God for Willow.
“Excuse us.” A
male voice interrupts our hysterics. We all pull it together and look up at the
voice. A group of young, buff men stand near our table waiting for our
attention. Three of the men look like they came from the office wearing slacks
with collared shirts, but one has on tight jeans and a tight long sleeve shirt.
He is sporting a day old beard that works well on him. My eyes linger on his
pants.
“You’re
excused!” Joanne says smartly, and then bursts into more laughter.
“We noticed that
the birthday girl hasn’t had her birthday dance yet,” Mr. Nice Package
says.
“Oh! Is that
like a tradition?” Willow looks up at the men.
There are four
of them, together they look as if they are posing for a Hot Guys calendar
photo.
“Yeah!” Green
shirt guy steps up from the back of the group. He sweeps his thick black hair
back and flashes a sexy smile. “It’s a tradition. The birthday girl gets to
have first choice, then the rest of you get the leftovers.”
“The leftovers?
Ha! You guys are more like first course.” Carrie starts to stand up.
“Wait a minute!”
Willow drags her back down. “It’s Sophia’s Birthday. She gets first pick.”
Sophia’s eyes
are huge and she looks mortified when she glances at me. I smile and nod at
her, encouraging. She hesitates and eyes all the men standing in front of her.
“Come on. It’s
just a dance.” Mr. Nice Package says, looking as innocent as he can, offering
her his hand.
Shaking her head
and laughing, she stands up grabbing a clean cut man from the back and leading
him to the dance floor. He’s dressed in black slacks and a white shirt with his
sleeves rolled up. Not a bad choice at all. The rest of the guys all hoot and
howl as they pass.
All at once the
remaining men turn expectantly towards us. I watch in awe as Carrie gets up and
pulls Green Shirt guy to the dance floor. That leaves Mr. Nice Package and a
dark haired man with a cocky grin playing along his mouth. Joanne and Willow
turn toward me.
“I’ll sit this
one out. Go for it!” I shout to them, sitting back happy to watch my crazy
friends.
Joanne and
Willow slide out of the booth and pair up. I watch as they make their way
through the crowd. What a night. Sipping my drink, I realize that I’m once
again watching events unfold in front of me and not fully participating.
“Are you okay?”
A deep, smooth voice asks behind me.
Turning, I see
that a man with dark hair just long enough to create that messy-sexy look has
slid into the booth next to me. A surge of adrenaline rushes into my body
leaving me breathless. Oh, he’s gorgeous with a strong jaw and the most amazing
eyes I have ever seen. Even in the dark light of the bar, they are glowing
chestnut brown. I take him in and can’t stop myself from smiling.
“What? Yeah. We
just ran out of men!” I say, laughing.
“And I am?” he
says.
“Are you with
them?”
“No. But I see
that you’re sitting here alone. A beautiful woman should never sit alone while
her friends are having all the fun.”
I pause and look
at him. He doesn’t look like a creep, but still my eyes narrow as I look him up
and down. He sits, watching me scrutinize him.
Finally he
smiles and stands up. “Do I pass?” He
asks, lifting my hand from the table and pulling me out of the booth.
Swept up in the
moment, I abandon caution and join him. He guides me to the dance floor as his
hand slips onto my back, just at the base of my spine, his thumb rubbing back
and forth across my back. A chill starts low and climbs up my body.
When we get to
the dance floor, I expect him to let me go so we can start dancing, only he
doesn’t. He spins me into his arms and holds me against his body. I almost gasp
when his hard chest presses into mine. His arm wraps tightly around my waist
while he holds our joined hands high. For a second it feels like we are going
to Tango, but thankfully we don’t. He pulls my pelvis into his and grinds his
hips erotically into mine.
A jolt of
electricity hits me so hard I would have stumbled if he hadn’t been holding me
so tightly. The music is fast and loud and everyone around us is spinning and
rocking out, but not us. Slowly, he moves our hips together as if he is
listening to his own music. I look around self-consciously. Feeling his breath
on my neck, he whispers something into my ear, but I have no idea what he said.
He drops my hand and moves my hair behind my ear, caressing my neck. Shivers
run through me. This man is all sex, and he knows it. Loosening his grip from
my waist, both of his hands land on my hips, holding me in place while he rubs
his pelvis into mine. Heat races across my skin followed by shivers.
Good God, I am
so turned on right now. The alcohol is not helping me hold it together. I feel
his hard cock dig into my pelvis, right where I want it. I need to get the hell
out of here. This man is too good at this.
“Shit. I’m
sorry.” He says after I pull away from
him.
“It’s okay.” I
say shaking my head. I look around, stunned at myself. I can see my friends all
dancing with these strange men. None of them seem to have even noticed that I’m
on the dance floor. The alcohol seems to be at full power, coursing through my
blood. Glancing back over my shoulder at my dance partner, I see that he is
watching me, his pelvis back to undulating against mine.
He pulls me
close again and slides down my body, his hands trailing a sinfully hot trail
along the sides of my breasts to my hips. Looking down, I see his head is just
at my hip line. His big brown eyes stare into mine while he dances back up, his
hands running along my stomach and again across my breasts. Never lingering
long, just gliding across my heated skin.
“Jesus,” he
breathes in my ear, “Where have you been all my life?”
As if the cord
has been yanked from the wall socket, my brain shuts off. Letting the music guide my hips we move in
unison, hip-to-hip, hands trailing over each other. Hot muscle moves under my
hands as he dances. Becoming bolder, my hands grip his hips, forcing them into
mine. He leans back laughing, encouraging me. In my wild abandon, I fling my
hands over my head, shaking my head side to side, all while continuing to grind
my hips into this sexy stranger.
How or why he
chose me, I’ll never know. But he did choose me. He thinks I’m sexy. His
arousal makes me actually believe him. I know this is crazy, but sometimes getting
a little crazy is good for the soul.
When the beat
changes with the next song, I turn around and rub my ass into his crotch,
pumping my hips back and forth, side to side. He stays with me, never letting
our bodies lose contact. Leaning back against his hard chest, his hands slide
down my sides, fingertips racing across my thin shirt. My skirt inches higher
as I sink lower, dancing down his hard body.
I feel his hands
on my skin under my shirt. The direct skin-to-skin contact boils my blood
instantly. My head falls back onto his shoulder, giving him full access to my
stomach and chest. I feel him bumping into me, keeping the beat for us. There
is nothing but the music and his touch. We are one, moving together, creating a
sexual frenzy around us. Closing my eyes, my hands thread through his hair, my
head leans on his shoulder, while his hands grab my hips, squeezing and tilting
my ass into him.
All too soon the
music stops and the beat changes again. But the pause has popped our bubble. I
look around and see that all of my friends are back at the table, watching us.
Turning back around, I face my smiling dance partner.
“You’re amazing.
So sexy,” he says, making me blush.
“Um.” I stutter
in his ear. “Thank you for the dance.”
He walks me back
to my table, his hand possessively on my lower back again. Carrie, Joanne, and
Sophia are all staring at me with their mouths hanging open. Willow’s eyes are
closed, and she is swaying in her seat.
“Ladies,” he
says to the table then turns and disappears into the crowd.
I sit, grabbing
the nearest drink, downing it like a shot.
“Holy fucking
shit,” Joanne says.
Willow’s eyes
snap open. “Oh! You’re back. Thought maybe you found a new home for the night!”
“Wow!” I manage
to say. “I have never. Never.” The words evaporate before I can form a complete
thought. Never in my life have I ever felt anything like that. I’ve had guys
tell me I’m attractive, but I have never felt it like that. For the first time
in my life I felt sexy, really sexy.
“You were
amazing out there. When did you learn to dance like that?” Carrie asks, still
in awe.
“I didn’t.” I
say back to her, just as awed as she is.
“Well, it looks
like Darren had better step up his game!” Sophia says.
Everyone erupts
into laughter.
“Speaking of
Darren. Did someone here say you guys finally had wild sex? ” Willow asks again
after we recover.
"Sadly no, I was saying
that Darren and I ALMOST had wild sex last weekend," I correct her, still
breathless.
"I kinda
thought you guys broke up because he wouldn't marry you, or move in with you or
something like that." Willow trails off, thoughts muddled in her
intoxicated state.
"Condoms!"
Carrie shouts to the table.
"What?”
"You need
to carry condoms with you all the time. That way when you and Limp Dick have
the opportunity to do the nasty you can. They’re so much less hassle than
dealing with, ya know. On the fly.” Carry explains.
“Really? You
think buying condoms are the answer to my sex life’s problems.” I snort at her.
“No. What you
really need is that guy’s phone number.” Willow drunkenly tells the table.
“Holy shit, that was really fucking hot out
there!” Joanne says again.
“Yes, that was
really fucking hot!" I say reaching for my drink again.
Everyone at the
table erupts. It’s obvious we’ve all had a lot to drink tonight! Still stunned
from my dance, I sit back and take a deep breath. Joanne is right. I have never
been that turned on by anyone on a dance floor. If that’s what he’s like
dancing, imagine what that man is like in the bedroom! A wave of heat crashes
over my body thinking about it.
“Okay, my
friends. This has been a fantastic birthday. But I really need to leave.”
Sophia starts to gather her gifts.
We all pile out
of the booth, picking up presents, bags, purses, and coats. As we make our way
toward the door, I glance around the room. My sexy stranger is nowhere to be
seen. He’s starting to feel like an illusion. Did that really happen? Or was
that some alcohol induced fantasy?
Sophia hugs
everyone and we all say goodbye. We finally start to head in different
directions and Joanne takes Willow by the hand and leads her to the car. Willow
slurs something to Joanne and hands over her keys. Good call on that one.
I turn to
Sophia. “Happy Birthday, you!”
“Oh, my God!
That was crazy. Those guys made the whole party! And that one guy you danced
with. Holy cow!” She gushes as she fans herself.
“I know, right!
So that actually happened. I didn’t just make that up?” I ask, only somewhat in jest.
“I saw you! Nora
Young, you were hot! Hot like, I’d take you home and do you hot!” She is
laughing at her own jokes.
Shaking my head
at her, I give her one last hug.
“You need to go
home and go to bed, girl! See you on Monday!”
I watch her walk
to her car before I turn and head off to find mine. I can’t stop thinking about
that dance. We were hot together out there. That kind of passion is something I
thought only existed in movies or books.
But I felt it, boy did I feel it. It was so sudden, and then he just
left. I loved that it was so flammable and then he was just gone. No
expectation for more, no requests for anything other than just one hot dance.
My creep radar wasn’t screaming like it usually does in those situations.
Something about the sexy undertone of his voice maybe. Or most likely that
third drink!
That man had
passion like I have never seen before. That’s what’s missing from my entire
life. I want that; need that! Carrie’s right, I need to be more aggressive with
Darren. I’m starting this weekend, I’ve got some shopping to do and then I’m
going to knock Darren’s socks off!
The parking lot
is full when I get back to my apartment, so I park around the corner. That is
one of the biggest problems here, no assigned spots. I make my way up the
stairs and as soon as I’m through the door I start stripping off clothes.
Collapsing in bed semi-naked, without brushing my teeth, I think about what my
life would be like if I lived with that kind of passion.
Praise for Awakening:
****4
Super Sexy Stars****Whoa! This was one hot book! My first by Sydney Holmes, but
I'll happily read more;) Nora and Ryan's chemistry was off the charts. Love
scenes were erotic but tasteful, somehow. Kjen
I
was drawn in by Nora and Ryan and hope the next book comes out soon.
Michelle
AWAKENING
is a great read. The storyline is believable and the characters are realistic.
Everyone can see a bit of Nora in themselves and we can all relate to the theme
of whether or not we should chase our dreams or just play it safe. Amie
Gaudet
I
don’t know what’s up with these characters, or how the author did it, but she
totally hit the nail on the head with this one. Dana
Great
debut novel by an excellent wordsmith. Anna
I
am looking forward to the next installment of the awakening series to see where
Nora and Ryan's story ends! Lindsey
One
sexy hot read and recommended. This is my first book by the author and I found
it to be engaging and well written.
Obsessed by books blog
Loved
how the author brought out a deeper connection with them than just hot
sex. Connie
Purchase @
Background on the Author:
Sydney Holmes writes contemporary romance with an erotic flair, or as she likes to say, “Hot and spicy romance that keeps you up at night!” She believes there is nothing more exciting than reading a hot, sexy tale about two people searching for themselves and getting lost in each other. Sydney found her HEA with her wonderful husband and they now have two amazing children. She graduated from The George Washington University with a BS in Political Science and holds a Master’s Degree in Education. She lives near the ocean in California and travels as often as she can. This is Sydney’s debut novel.
·
