Beyond the Rules – Anna del Mar

Beyond The Rules & the Independent Publishers Awards

I don’t write to win awards. I write to delight my readers. But I have to admit, I’m very proud that Beyond The Rules won the National Silver IPPY. Why? Because the IPPY is a very special award. It seeks to recognize authors and publishers who take chances and break new ground. And that’s exactly what I try to do with each of my books. Hot, sizzling, explicit and daring plus a sprinkle of writing excellence? Explosive erotic romance.

Yep. That’s what I’m going for.

Independent Publisher Book Awards Press Release

For Immediate Release: IPPY Award Winners Announced for 2018:

The medalists in the 22nd Annual Independent Publisher Book Awards have been announced, and they represent a snapshot of America today: a melting-pot of colorful, vibrant immigrant voices and cultural influences. Independent publishing has long been known for its dedication to diversity and gender equality, and this year’s IPPY winners prove that out, with over 60% female authorship among the winners.

Launched in 1996 and conducted each year to honor the year’s best independently published books, the IPPY Awards recognize merit in a broad range of subjects and reward authors and publishers who take chances and break new ground. Small presses, university presses, and self-publishing services give experimental and entrepreneurial authors a platform to share their stories, impart wisdom, and speak out against ignorance and prejudice.

IPPY medal-winning books will be celebrated on May 29th during the annual BookExpo publishing convention in New York.

For more: http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=2302

T’s Interview with Anna del Mar

T: You are known for your bestselling romantic suspense. Why do you write erotic romance?

AdM: You are absolutely right. Most people are familiar with my romantic suspense novels, The Asset, The Stranger and The Guardian. But I also love to write erotic romance for my more audacious readers, novels like At the Brink, To the Edge and now Beyond the Rules.

My erotic romance novels feature sizzling, heart-warming romances and graphic, kinky, really intense sex scenes. But they also have a strong element of suspense, intricate plots, and characters who matter in and out of bed. Whether I’m writing romantic suspense or erotic romance, quality matters.

I write erotic romance because I think that sex is an important, natural part of our lives that should be celebrated, not suppressed. I’m always shocked by how we, as a society, continue to be so repressed and repressive on the topic of sex. We are constantly projecting sexual and sexualized images in all of our media and yet most aspects of sex continue to be taboo. Why? Let’s talk about! Let’s embrace sex in all of its positive expressions.

In my erotic romance, sex is a good thing–cathartic, transformative, healing; fun and panty-melting hot, but also meaningful. In the context of love, sex is a sublime subject.

T: Your latest erotic romance release, Beyond the Rules, is a ménage a quatre. Why a ménage and how was it different to write?

AdM: I love to explore sex and love in all of its forms. Beyond the Rules is a ménage that features three very sexy, brawny alphas and their mission to conquer one woman’s heart. In the story, Nina Leon is a brilliant hacker who crash-lands in the rugged mountains of Montana while fleeing from a deadly enemy and a painful past. She runs straight into the arms of three hot, brave, mysterious ex-SEALs who have an agreement to share everything. And now, that includes her.

Writing a ménage meant I had to juggle four POVs, four completely different characters, and four different approaches to life, romance, and sex. But, hey, I do love a challenge. I really enjoyed writing three very distinct alpha males, Tanner Vazquez, Aiden Black, and Zar Flint. I loved getting into their heads and understanding who they were and why. Each guy has his own set of strengths and weaknesses, traits and quirks. Each guy is attracted to Nina and appeals to her in a different way. And each man is eye candy in every way.

In addition, each guy has his own very specific sexual preferences. Aiden’s generally vanilla, Tanner’s flexible, Zar is all about kink. Variety only added layers to the story, fun, sexy, supremely erotic layers that caught this novel on fire.

T: How does Beyond the Rules fit in with the rest of your work?

AdM: Beyond the Rules is in the vein of At the Brink and To the Edge. The cool thing about all of my novels is that you don’t t have to read them in any particular order. If you’ve read the other novels you may recognize a character here or there, but you won’t be missing a thing. I promise.

Available now from Amazon and your favorite bookseller

The Playlist for Beyond the Rules

If you’ve followed my posts before, then you know that my playlists are all about the characters, which songs make me think of them in the story, which songs somehow reflect their lives and emotions as they move through the story.

My latest erotic romance, Beyond the Rules, is a ménage a quatre that entails three very sexy, brawny and brainy alphas and their mission to conquer one woman’s heart. In the story, Nina Leon is a brilliant hacker who crash-lands in the rugged mountains of Montana while fleeing from a deadly enemy and a painful past. She runs straight into the arms of three hot, brave, mysterious ex-SEALs who have an agreement to share everything, and now that includes her.

Tanner Vazquez is a healer at heart, a kind, giving, thoughtful personality profiler, a man who soothes Nina’s broken heart. Aiden Black is sweet, earnest and straightforward, a techy with an off-the-charts IQ who understands how her mind ticks. Balthazar Flint is an enigma, passionate, hard, intense. When he glares at Nina, she has to repress an impulse to kneel at his feet and ask for mercy. He’s a man who could very well unlock the darkness in her soul.

I’d like to introduce you to Nina, Tanner, Aiden, and Zar through the songs that speak to me about their characters.

Nina

Just like Fire by Pink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7uLC9UeTbw

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8qDOGLCSFo

Tanner

Am I wrong? by Nico & Vinz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1tPjEOvAbE

Counting Stars by One Republic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yim4–J44gk

Aiden

Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaUo9FVpVI

When I see your face by Bruno Mars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rExJ6j5OeCo

Zar

Take me to church by Hozier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0imaSCnSuA

Believer by Imagine Dragons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MJAg0VDgO0

And finally, a happy endings for all.

Shut up and dance with me by Walk the Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjdIJ5ZSpSk

Available now from Amazon and your favorite bookseller.

Sexy Moresomes & Logistics

So, have you heard? My newest erotic romance is a ménage titled Beyond the Rules. This is my first ménage and, classic me, I went all the way and made it a ménage a quatre. Yes, not one, not two, but three extraordinary alphas and one really smart girl, a very lucky woman.

In the story, Nina is a brilliant hacker who crash-lands in the rugged mountains of Montana. She’s fleeing from a deadly enemy and a painful past, and runs straight into the arms of three hot, sexy, mysterious ex-SEALs who have an agreement to share everything and that includes–yup, you guessed it–her.

Yummy. No wonder she falls for all three!

The ménage meant I had to juggle four POVs, four completely different characters, and four different approaches to life, romance, and sex. But, hey, I do love a challenge.

So I went for a deliberate, simmering, erotic buildup, where Nina develops sexy, distinct, and nuanced relationships with each man before they give it a go in a group setting. Next I knew, this foursome broke all the rules and the novel caught on fire.

Which left me wrestling with the logistics of an all-out conflagration. Logistics, yes. When you’ve got a three to one ratio in bed, one must remember the basics:

Every part has an owner and every owner has his parts.
The owners–like their parts–are not interchangeable.
So don’t mix, but do match.
Keep track of every person and every part in every situation.
Neither part nor person can be in more than one place at the same time.
Flexibility is desired, in mind and body, but flesh and bone? They only bend so far.
Gravity matters.
Pleasure is the objective but love is the goal.

Available now for Amazon and your favorite bookseller

An interview with Anna del Mar

My interview with T’s Stuff, reprinted here in its entirety. Enjoy! A.

T: You are known for your bestselling romantic suspense. Why do you write erotic romance?

AdM: Great question! You are absolutely right. Most people are familiar with my romantic suspense novels, The Asset and The Stranger. But I also love to write erotic romance for my more audacious readers, novels like At the Brink, To the Edge and now Beyond the Rules.

I write erotic romance because I think that sex is an important, natural part of our lives that should be celebrated, not suppressed. I’m always shocked by how we as a society continue to be so repressed and repressive on the topic of sex. We are constantly projecting sexual and sexualized images in all of our media and yet most aspects of sex continue to be taboo. Why? Let’s talk about! Let’s embrace sex in all of its positive expressions.

In my erotic romance, sex is a good thing, cathartic, transformative, healing; fun and panty-melting hot, but also meaningful. In the context of love, sex is a sublime subject.

T: Your latest release, Beyond the Rules, is a ménage a quatre. Why a ménage and how was it different to write?

Writing a ménage meant I had to juggle four POVs, four completely different characters, and four different approaches to life, romance, and sex. But, hey, I do love a challenge! I really enjoyed writing three very distinct alpha males, Tanner Vazquez, Aiden Black, and Zar Flint. I loved getting into their heads and understanding who they were and why. Each guy has his own set of strengths and weaknesses, traits and quirks. Each guy is attracted to Nina and appeals to her in a different way. And each man is eye candy in every way.

In addition, each guy has his own very specific sexual preferences. Aiden is generally vanilla, Tanner is flexible, Zar is all about kink. Variety only added layers to the story, fun, sexy, supremely erotic layers that caught this novel on fire.

T: How does Beyond the Rules fit in with the rest of your work?

AdM: Beyond the Rules is in the vein of At the Brink and To the Edge. The cool thing about all of my novels is that you don’t have to read them in any particular order. If you’ve read the other novels you may recognize a character here or there, but you wouldn’t be missing a thing.

T: What’s your next project?

AdM: Next up, comes The Guardian, a romantic suspense that releases October 1^st. The Guardian is about ex-SEAL turned game warden, Matthias Hawking, who is engaged in a fierce battle to end poaching in Africa. But when a beautiful journalist defies the poachers, he will do everything in his power to protect Jade Romo, the woman who has captured his heart. I think readers of romantic suspense are going to love Matthias Hawking and the fiery Jade Romo. Take a peek, here! And while you’re at it, take a look at Beyond the Rules first chapter.