Please help me welcome Nina Lane to my blog today. Nina has graciously agreed to give one lucky commentor a paperback copy or a kindle copy of her book, winners choice. So be sure and leave her a comment.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write both erotica and erotic romance. I got started writing erotica years ago with Black Lace books, and I once had an agent tell me I have a “special talent for writing love scenes,” so I guess I took that compliment and ran with it! Because I’ve always had a soft spot for romance, I like the combination of steaminess and the quest for love, so incorporating both into one book is the ideal world. I also write historical romances under the name Nina Rowan.

Tell us about your current series.

AROUSE is the first book in my new Spiral of Bliss series. It’s an erotic romance series, but it’s a bit different because it focuses on a married couple struggling with sudden difficulties in their blissful, lusty relationship. Professor Dean West is a brilliant scholar of medieval history, and his wife Olivia is utterly devoted to him…until she discovers that he has kept a secret from her for the duration of their marriage. The books focus on how Liv and Dean overcome mistrust and doubts, not to mention unexpected temptations, as they fight for both their love and each other.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

Anything good! I love excellent Indian food (chicken tikka masala and naan bread are particular favorites), or my favorite sandwich is tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil pesto. I also love ice cream with lots of “stuff” packed it into—chocolate chips, nuts, peanut-butter cups, fudge…yum!

Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?

My writing space is a mess! My computer is on the dining table because I need a new desk, which I don’t have yet. So I sit in the dining room with papers all over the table, books piled at my feet, and a plate of incense ashes that I haven’t thrown away. Obviously, we don’t use the space for actual dining at all! I have a dream of what my “real” workspace will one day be—a lovely, oak desk with a matching bookshelf, filing cabinet, and a real, ergonomic chair. I’ll have special paintings and photos on the walls, and a corkboard to pin up important ideas and pictures. And it will be very, very tidy!

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

I love Professor Dean West. He is brilliant, sexy, strong, and he completely adores his wife. He knows about Carolingian Era politics and medieval poetry as well as baseball stats, foreign films, Russian economics, why Star Trek is better than Star Wars, and how to throw a spiral in football. However, because he is so accomplished, his biggest weakness is his fear of failure, and it’s precisely that fear that almost destroys his marriage.

Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.

Olivia West is both lovely and complicated. She’s determined, practical, and has spent much of her life maintaining the image of a good girl…so she’s a very willing student when Dean teaches her just how sexy a good relationship can be. Liv has pulled herself out of the darkness of her past and found a safe haven in the arms of her husband, but is now just beginning to realize that she might be lost in the shadow of Dean’s brilliance. Her need to be cared for and nurtured, a desire that Dean fulfills, has made Liv lose sight of who she is and what she might be. Now she has to figure that out.

What do you have planned for the future?

I have two more books planned in the Spiral of Bliss series, and hopefully the second one, ALLURE, will be out this spring. I’m also working on the sequel to my first book, THE EROTIC DARK, which reached #1 on Amazon’s Erotica bestseller list. Beyond that, I have a bunch of ideas but am trying to stay focused on my current works-in-progress. One of the greatest things about being a writer, and also one of the most difficult, is that my brain is constantly zinging with ideas, so I have to pick and choose which ones take precedent!

EXCERPT FROM AROUSE by Nina Lane:

“So what exactly is it you teach, Professor West?” I asked.

“Mostly medieval archeology and architecture, though that ties into other things. Town planning, political structures, religion. I’m going to France over winter break to do some work on the architecture of Sainte-Chapelle.”

I should have been intimidated by the illustriousness of his work, but he was so matter-of-fact about it that any potential breach between us—a renowned professor and a girl struggling to get a bachelor’s degree—faded into insignificance. And I loved listening to him talk, his smooth baritone voice thudding right up against the walls of my heart.

After dinner, we had coffee and shared a sinfully rich chocolate torte. He took a couple of bites, then sat back and watched me. Warm tension tightened my belly. I swiped a dollop of chocolate from my lower lip.

“You, ah… you look at me a lot,” I remarked.

“You’re very pretty.”

I didn’t know about that, but the compliment poured through me like honey. “I like the way you look too.”

That was an understatement. One glance at him and I went all hot and fluttery inside.

He leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table. Curiosity and heat simmered in his expression.

“What is it about you, Olivia?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you so sweet and determined and guarded all at once?”

“I didn’t know I was all those things.”

“You are. Why?”

I shrugged and sank my fork into the torte again. If I was eating, I couldn’t talk much. I ate another bite and spoke around the mouthful. “This is really good.”

Dean’s mouth twitched with a smile, but his eyes were still curious as he sat back again. He continued watching me as I polished off the torte and scraped the plate clean.

By the time he paid the bill and retrieved our coats, I’d realized the danger of Professor Dean West. If I let him, he would slide right past all my defenses. No one had ever done that before.

We went outside into the cold. He didn’t touch me. This time, though, I wanted him to. I nudged his elbow. He looked at me, then extended his arm and waited. I moved closer, falling into step beside him as we walked back to State Street.

It felt exactly the way I’d imagined it would, pressed to his side with his body heat flowing into me and his arm strong and tight around my shoulders. I fit against him like a puzzle piece locking into place.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

“Off Dayton Street, not far from the Kohl Center. I walked.”

“Next time I’ll pick you up.”

My pulse leapt at the idea that there would be a next time.

“And this time,” Dean said, “I’ll drive you home. I’m parked by the museum.”

When we reached the parking lot, he unlocked the door of a black sedan and ushered me inside before getting into the driver’s seat. I told him my address, and we fell silent on the short ride home. The buildings of downtown passed by in a blur of light and shadows.

When he pulled up in front of my apartment, my damned nerves got tense again. I fumbled around collecting my bag and buttoning my coat.

“So, thank you,” I said. “That was really nice.”

“Yes, it was. Thank you too.”

I took hold of the door handle. “I’ll just…”

“Olivia.”

I turned to face him. His eyes glittered in the light of the streetlamps. He reached out slowly, as if he were trying not to startle a kitten, and curled his hand around my wrist.

His touch spiraled heat into my blood, igniting flashes of unbearably intimate thoughts—me in his arms, his lips sliding over my throat, his hands on my bare breasts. The air grew hot, compressed.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Dean said.

My heart crashed against my chest, and a hard tremble swept through me. I parted my lips to draw in a breath.

“I… okay.”

He leaned across the console and lifted his hands to cup my face. His touch was gentle, still cautious, but the heat brewing in his eyes left me in no doubt as to his desire. We were closer than we’d ever been before, so close that I could see the darker ring of brown surrounding his irises.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then his hands tightened on me as he lowered his mouth to mine. And the world fell away the instant our lips touched.

***
AROUSE: A SPIRAL OF BLISS NOVEL is available now at Amazon:
http://amzn.to/12LfRnB

BIO

Bestselling author Nina Lane writes elegant, romantic, and sometimes raunchy erotica. Her novel “The Erotic Dark” hit #1 on Amazon’s Erotica Bestseller list. Nina wrote novels for Black Lace Books, and she has published stories in anthologies such as Best Women’s Erotica and Erotic Travel Tales. Her work has been translated into both German and Japanese. She is currently working on several contemporary and historical writing projects.

Visit Nina at http://www.ninalane.com or join her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NinaLaneAuthor
Write to Nina at nina@ninalane.com