Friday, February 13, 2015

THE LADY VANISHES Tour/Guest Post & Giveaway with Nicole Camden


THE LADY VANISHES (Pocket Star; On-sale: February 9, 2015; eBook; $5.99)  is the first in the brand-new series The Billionaire Tricksters of Boston by erotic romance sensation Nicole Camden. It features sexy magicians and ladies whose desires tempt them ever deeper into a world they don’t quite understand...
 
Billionaire tech genius and inventor Milton Shaw never had life easy. Growing up in the foster system, his only escape was into the world of magic, studying Houdini and perfecting the art of sleight of hand. Too smart to fit in, and isolated from his peers, he vowed that one day he would be so powerful that no one could touch him.

Stern doctor Regina Gallows hates nothing more than attention and trickery. In fact, she went into science to feel in control of her world. Yet when her work brings her into contact with the sexy tech superstar Milton Shaw, she finds her body warring with her idealism…and her desires shifting from unlocking the magician’s secrets to unlocking his heart.
 
Blog Guest Post

The Trouble with Nerds by Nicole Camden

So any child of the eighties remembers that scene in Revenge of the Nerds when the ultimate nerd kisses the beautiful blonde cheerleader and she likes it. I kissed a nerd and I liked it! Katy Perry may not be taking up the anthem anytime soon, but I remember watching that scene and thinking, “Yeah, nerds can be sexy.” Of course, I was a nerd then and am a nerd now even though I regularly research kinks, fetishes, and sex toys, so I may be biased. But still, writing a nerd hero in an erotic story is a challenge in many respects. Why? Well, true nerds can be sexy, but in order to appeal to the fantasies of many who read erotica, he also needs to be fit, perhaps wealthy, strong-willed, etc. He can’t go full Urkel, or at least, I couldn’t manage to see the hero of my newest release, Milton Shaw, a genius software designer with an obsessive interest in magic, as a complete and total nerd.

Not that I tried that hard. The truth is, I love nerds, but there’s a reason why my favorite nerd characters are Spenser Reed from Criminal Minds, Daniel Jackson (James Spader) from Stargate, Dave Malkoff from Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann, and John Crichton from Farscape—though I’m not sure you can call astronauts nerds. These characters are also incredibly passionate, vulnerable, brave, and occasionally kick ass. So when writing Milton for THE LADY VANISHES, I knew that despite his obsession for magic, love of computers, complete lack of tact, and general spastic behavior, he was also loyal, and bold, and incredibly big-hearted. And a billionaire. Can’t forget that one.

There were times when I was discussing the book with my editor and she’d suggest that I have Milton engage in more masculine activities, or tone down his sensitivity. I hesitated at those times, because I didn’t want to stray too far from Milton the nerd and make him completely unrealistic, or a total asshat like a lot of other billionaire characters. But then I remembered that nerds, at their core, are great because they defy society’s expectations. Milton doesn’t buy a sex swing and tie Regina up because he’s a tortured soul that likes to be in control, he does it because it sounds like a good time, and he’s right. That’s what I wanted for Milton and Regina. Fun. There is no reason why sex, even tied up, spanked, or otherwise kinky sex, shouldn’t be fun.

Once I realized that Milton was, at his core, a curious man with a huge… heart, I gave him free rein to be as nerdy, masculine, strange, and wild as he wanted. I stopped trying to fit him in a nerd box or a billionaire box and just let him be himself.  I fell just a little bit in love with him, even when he screws up royally. Luckily, my heroine, Regina, falls in love with him as well.

So, here’s to all the nerds out there and the people that love them. I hope you enjoy reading Milton’s love story in THE LADY VANISHES as much as I enjoyed writing it…even when he gave me trouble. The best ones always do.

Regards,

Nikki  C
 
 Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win one (1) ebook copy THE LADY VANISHES. Please enter by leaving your comment/ email address below. Winner will be selected Saturday February 27, 2015. Good Luck!!
About Nicole:
Nicole Camden, author of “The Nekkid Truth” in Big Guns Out of Uniform has returned to erotica after a decade of teaching, dog-rescuing, and other mayhem. She lives in Houston with her husband and two dogs.
 
 
 

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