Guest Post From Author R.E. Hargrave

A Divine Life

On my blog today I have a guest post from Renaissance Romance Publishing author, R. E. Hargrave. Currently on sale is her second instalment from her Divine Trilogy, A Divine Life.

 

Summary;

Over the past year of being Jayden Masterson’s collared submissive, Catherine O’Chancey has worked through the mental terrors left behind by her old Dom — she thinks. To celebrate their collar-ing anniversary, Jayden organizes a special day, during which her final limits and fantasies will be realized. Will it prove to be more than she can handle? Can she endure the erotic onslaught her mind and body will experience and survive unscathed?

While Catherine faces dark shadows and pleasurable highs, Jayden finds his own inner strength being tested. He has come to realize that, somewhere along the way, Catherine has taken possession of his heart, mind, and body. Now he faces his biggest challenge ever; he must let go of all his submissives but one: his jewel, Catherine. Can he leave his philandering ways behind? Has he made the ultimate mistake by putting his jewel into the hands of others?

Excerpt;

“So, how does that work? I mean, how does one draw the line between Master and husband?” Was such a complicated relationship possible? Could Jayden see her that way? Just thinking his name caused a funny feeling in Catherine’s chest. Her thoughts continued, now on overdrive . . .

No. Master didn’t do personal relationships. He’d said as much when they’d first signed their con-tract together. They’d both agreed to the understanding that this was nothing more than a sexual relationship. Hell, he was fucking two other people besides her that she knew of. If there were a chance that he wanted something more with her, he wouldn’t have handed her over to complete strangers today. Would he? Oh, God. Sir Jonathan’s offer to take Catherine on repeated itself in her memory, along with the knowledge that she had more sessions today with an unknown number of Doms. Was that what today was? Had the ‘inspection’ Sir Jonathan performed not been part of the scene? Was Sir Jonathan looking her over as a potential acquisition? What about Miss K offering to take her on back in February? Catherine’s stomach soured again.

“No. No, please, no. I — I can’t,” Catherine mumbled and began to shake.

“Erin?”

Her world began crumbling around her, and panic took root. Catherine gasped for air, wrapping her arms around her mid-section.

“Erin! What’s wrong?”

Paige’s shriek snapped Catherine to attention, and she raised her watery eyes to meet her new friend’s.

“Paige,” Catherine started to cry. “He figured it out. I tried to be so good, so careful. He knows, and he’s going to get rid of me!” She thought she’d done so well at hiding her secret over the months, protecting her heart.

Paige had wrapped her arm around Catherine and was rubbing slow circles on her back. With a wince, Catherine became quite aware of every lash mark from Sir Jonathan’s whip. They now burned to her core when Paige’s soft hands brushed over them. Catherine flinched away from her.

“Shh, Erin,” she said in a calming voice. “Who knows what, sweetie? What are you talking about?”

Turning wide eyes on her, Catherine choked out, “Jay . . . Master. He knows I’ve fallen in — in love with him. I wasn’t supposed to. He found out, and now he’s interviewing me with strange Doms to get rid of me. I broke the rules and he —” she swallowed a sob, “he doesn’t want me anymore!”

Author Guest Post;

I find myself obsessed with knowing what inspires all authors to write, and where they draw the ideas from. With this in mind I asked R. E. Hargrave to answer me the following;

Please tell us where you draw your inspiration from in your writing, and what you think is the foundation of a good author.

First, and foremost, thanks so much for hosting me today!

Now, for your question. Allow me to begin with what I personally feel makes a good foundation for an author. The answer, in one word: Life. 

A good writer gets out there and experiences all that life has to offer, from the great moments to the less than stellar. But it’s these experiences that give us—writers—a solid base to draw inspiration from.

In this fast-paced, high-tech age, people are more selective with their purchases, and their time is precious. When they spend their hard earned dollar on a book, hopefully that book will be a mini-vacation from real life; between those covers should be another world created from the written word.

How is it possible that an author can take you away in their stories? By writing with feeling; putting words down with deep-felt emotions that they’re able to bring to life because they Have. Lived. Them. Therefore, the writer knows, inside and out, what they are describing. First crush and first heartbreak; losing someone to death, whether it be gentle and natural, or a violent one; holding your baby for the first time, then watching that child grow—these are all things that are special, yet unique for each person. Familiar enough to relate, but when told from a new perspective, the reader gets to experience them all over again.

Shall I demonstrate? This excerpt is from book one of The Divine Trilogy, To Serve is Divine. Having been in Bass Hall, and having seen a live performance of The Phantom of the Opera, I was able to incorporate my personal experiences. Enjoy . . .

Catherine wasn’t fast enough to stop her escaping gasp when Master lowered his lips to tease across Micah’s. It was nothing more than a glancing touch, but the personal nature of the action unsettled Catherine.

Master’s eyes were dark when they turned back to her. 

“I’m not a puppet to be controlled, pet. It would do you well to remember that when you try to orchestrate an outcome.”

Embarrassment and shame crept into her. Without doubt, Master was right. Since she had tried to force his hand, she deserved whatever discipline he wanted to dole out. Catherine would be humble in accepting her punishment. She’d been disrespectful and rude, and that was uncalled for.

Punctuating the moment, the lights in the hall dimmed at the same time she lowered her eyes and slid from her chair to kneel at Master’s feet.

“Please accept this girl’s profound apologies. She is willing to receive any reprimand her Master desires to bestow upon her,” Catherine murmured, and the words were almost drowned out when the orchestra played their concert F.

The lone note rose into the air until it reached its peak, and the orchestra held it steady and unwavering before letting it fade away. It was an exquisite display of the acoustics the room held.

If Catherine had dared to break form it would have been to cross her fingers in the hope’s that she could remain quiet with whatever was about to happen. Instead, she resigned herself to the excitement that traipsed across her skin at the delicious naughtiness of it all. There was no denying that her thighs were now sticky, or that she wanted to rub them together.

Down on the stage, the opening scene of Phantom of the Opera began with the loud rap of the auctioneer’s gavel reverberating throughout the hall.

Catherine and Micah stayed kneeling until the first song filled the great space. At which point, Master set his plans into motion.

The cool thing about building that creative foundation? When you open your eyes, ears, and heart, you'll find that inspiration is everywhere. A picture, a song lyric, an overheard conversation, even a stolen moment in a lover's arms—they are every day parts of our life. Don't be afraid of them; live life and embrace both the good with the bad, and only your imagination can fence you in.

Author Bio

R.E. Hargrave lives on the outskirts of Dallas, TX where she prides herself on being a domestic engineer. Married to her high school sweetheart, together they are raising three children from elementary age to college age. She is an avid reader, a sometimes quilter and now, a writer for Renaissance Romance Publishing.

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