2024 COVERS

2024 covers

Welcome to the Dark Side!

We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Magic Thursday: Hot Down Under Gals!


 
Hot Down Under
 

Take thirteen erotic romance writers, throw in a dash of crazy, add another erotic romance writer to the mix (Lexxie Couper mustn’t have read the fine print to our lunacy issues), a whole lot more crazy and a couple of shakes of single-mindedness and you have the Hot Down Under girls. Fourteen writers joining forces and making up a short story collection released November, December and January.

So how did it all come together you ask? Sorry, I always wanted to say that… *shuffles feet*

Cate Ellink and I mightn’t have been quite sober, when gabbling through the wonders of cyber-land about feasible ways to help fund an erotic writers retreat (besides the grant she organized with the wonderful RWA), she had a light bulb moment of writing and self-publishing an anthology.

Yep, we were swept away by the moment to say the least.

But great moments often need fine-tuning. Although that wave of excitement also swept through the erotic loop, there was much work to be done. Somewhere along the way the published authors: Tracey O’Hara, Beverley Oakey, Kylie Scott, Rhian Cahill, Kasey Channing, Shona Husk, Keziah Hill and Mel Teshco (moi) helped mentor the soon-to-be-published C.T Green, Marianne Theresa, Cate Ellink, Rhyll Biest and S E Gilchrist (not forgetting the fact we all critiqued each others work as well.)

And of course special thanks and a glass of bubbly goes to Jess Dee for helping to mentor and critique many of those stories as well =))

So…how the hell did one sort out the logistics of all the writers come pay day? And let’s not bring up the tax issues stuff of a group being self published. SHUDDER. I can only thank the stars Kylie Scott was on board with us and was more than happy to use her inside contacts at Momentum, the new digital line of Australia’s Pan Macmillan, where she was already contracted for her fabulous story, Flesh.

Anyhoo, one thing led to another more amazing thing and now here we all are, the new erotic Momentum gals rocking it hard! The first five short stories are already released but we’d love to come back in December and January to tell you about the rest!

In the meantime…here are those first five. Oh, and we'd also love to offer these first five stories to one commentator who'd love to reiterate our greatness *wink*
 


A Real Online Fantasy

Can an online fantasy ever become real?
When Condamine connects with Esquire in a chat room, neither expect their mutual pleasure and close friendship will become something far more intimate and real. But when the opportunity to meet Esquire in the flesh comes up will Condamine – Caitlyn, in real life – be bold enough to act out her deepest fantasies, or will she hide away from the world behind the comfortable glare of her computer screen?
 

 



 
The Final Wish

 Ishari is a djinn – the veritable genie in a bottle.
Her latest master, Caleb Salt, a hot young rock star, has one wish left. The curse of sexual need has nothing to do with the lust she feels for him, but he doesn’t seem to desire her in the same way.

Caleb has used his first two wishes to save his brother. Will he do the same with the last, or will he use it for himself? Either way, once he makes that wish, his erotically sensual genie will be lost to him forever and she’s something he’s just not ready to lose.




 

Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon

Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.
Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.

When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.

What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?


 

A Sporting Chance

In the outback town of Mount Tully, many a man's had to squeeze into a frock after backing the wrong derby cane toad on Australia Day.
But Mount Tully's surliest bartender, Jane Hood, has her steel-capped boots planted firmly on the ground, so there's no way she'd risk her independence to accept a saucy bet from the sexy but bossy pub owner, Luka Belov ... is there?

 
Room with a View

Natalie has watched as the zombie plague devastated civilisation.
Angus had been a miracle. Twenty-three years old and gorgeous he had appeared like Romeo from the pool area and thrown supplies up to her balcony. But now Angus is gone – he has abandoned her, which is probably for the best. She couldn't stand to watch him die too.

Stranded four floors up and fenced in on all sides by the infected, food and water supplies are running as low as Natalie's spirits. A lingering death from starvation seems inevitable.

But then she sees Angus striding for the pool gate with a sawn-off shotgun in his hands. Can he make it past the infected to reach her? And what will it mean if he does?



 

6 comments:

  1. Great Post Mel.
    Nice saucy covers and I am loving reading these stories all over again.
    I'll be happy to offer a special give-away when it Comes to my story "Hidden Passion's" release day. (1st January 2013) Gee I hope that 13 is a good omen... I mean ... we are on the DARK-side here, aren't we.
    Just give me the heads up :)

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  2. Thanks MT,

    I'm going to enjoy them all over again too - can't wait!

    And good luck with your release day, sure it'll be fabulous =))

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  3. It's so great to see your names out there. it's such a great idea and glad that Momentum had the wisdom to recognise it as such. (Don't bother entering me in the draw, mel. I already have a copy of BTLOSM).

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  4. Hi!
    This seems like a full hand of wild reading, and every one looks to be an ace. I will have to look into Momentum and hopefully they will be interested in my writing. Keep up the good work.

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  5. Such a brilliant idea. They all look so good I think the biggest problem would be trying to work out which to read first.

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  6. Congrats ladies - the stories sound fantastic! As a newbie I have to say it's such a terrific strategy for published authors to join forces with (and mentor) new ones, and create your own anthology. I can only imagine the laughs and ideas you must have shared at your retreat! Hmm. Anyone up for something similar in SA? :-) I'd love to read these five!

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