Hi,
I’m delighted to welcome Annabeth Leong to Superotica to tell us all about her new zombie title, Run For Your Love. (See, I’m not the only one to have a bit of thing about zombies at the moment…) And speaking of which, just two more days till our fave zombie-bashers are back on TV – be still my beating heart!
Anyway, over to Annabeth:
The scariest part of the zombie apocalypse probably wouldn’t be the zombies. That’s not to dismiss the horror they represent, but they’re frequently presented as primitive and predictable, all-consuming need in a human body.
Most of the time, however, when things happen in the world, I’m amazed by how incredibly brave, resourceful, and giving some people can be—and by how cruel, calculating, and uncaring others are.
The zombies in my book, Run for Your Love, aren’t the real threat. They’re a question mark that brings out human nature.
For Zach, my hero, it brings out his pacifist principles—early in the book, he risks his life to save a zombie. For Viola, the heroine, the breakdown of the world around her allows her to finally admit what she wants out of life. Some people create terrifying compounds based on misguided machismo while others set up organizations designed to treat both people and undead with as much human dignity as possible.
Now I’m four paragraphs into writing about an erotic romance, and I haven’t said anything about sex. That’s because we’ve now gotten to the reason I write about sex. For me, erotica is the best way into exploring human nature. The sort of sex people have with each other tells me so much about what’s going on between them.
In Run For Your Love, I found myself writing the sex hot and sweet. My focus turned out to be on female pleasure. Viola has spent most of her life dating men who don’t respect her as much beyond an object. When she and Zach get together, they discover her sensuality. This is a stark contrast from what she’s experienced with the ex-boyfriend who still hasn’t stopped pursuing her.
I didn’t plan this as a foil, but I think it became one. A lot of Run for Your Love is about true masculinity versus machismo, and when Viola and Zach are in bed together, they find out about the strength of real femininity as opposed to the weakness of the manufactured caricature that Viola has been living for most of her life.
The zombies in Run for Your Love force people to get down to the elemental, to what really matters, and for me that includes discovering the power of sexual connection. The scariest thing of all in this zombie apocalypse is losing these elemental truths once they’ve been discovered.
Excerpt:
Zach gently pushed me back up into a sitting position. “I want you to…” He trailed off the sentence, settling his hands on my hips instead. I took the hint and began riding him. He led me to lift almost all the way off his cock, then to take him in again in one long stroke. My orgasm had sensitized my insides, so I felt every inch of him entering me and pulling out again. I wished I could slow down and savor the sensation, but I knew the rhythm he was asking for. Taking a deep breath, I put myself to work, making my breasts bounce with the force of my movements, and trying with difficulty to ignore the aching of my bullet wound.
It took a minute to notice Zach trying to get my attention. “Viola,” he said finally, and it didn’t sound like a moan of ecstasy. He tightened his hands on my hips until I couldn’t move freely. I paused, panting from the exertion, and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“You don’t have to…” He blew out a breath. “It’s not a race.”
“I can’t keep this up for too long,” I explained. “If I have to make you come from being on top, then I have to do it before I run out of—”
“Viola.” He pulled me into another kiss, this one long, tender, and extravagant. When he finally released my mouth, he whispered, “You don’t have to ‘make me come.'”
“What are you talking about? I asked what you want me to do.”
“Did I ‘make you come’ just now? Be honest.”
“Well, you were certainly part of it.”
“Right.” He punctuated the statement with a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Be part of it. Don’t be responsible for it.”
I sort of understood what he meant, but not really. I cocked my head at him. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. Here.” He returned me to where I’d been before. “How do you want to move?”
I shook my head in confusion. “The way I did when I came.”
“Do you totally hate the way I wanted you to move? Or is there a way you could do it that would feel good to you?”
I bit my lip and tried the thing that had come to mind when he’d first started moving me. A slow slide up and off his cock then an achingly slower drop until he settled into me deeper than I’d thought possible.
“Jesus,” Zach said.
I blinked, his voice jerking me out of the intense inner pleasure I’d gotten from the motion. “Was that okay?”
“That feels incredible. So much better than when you tried to pound us both to death. Please do that.”
I struggled to believe that what felt good to me could also feel good to him. Nothing in my previous experience had suggested men and women had anything in common as far as what they wanted in bed. Still, I’d trusted him so far. It seemed foolish to stop now. I tried the move again…then again.
Almost unconsciously, my hand returned to my clit.
I snatched it away. “Sorry.”
“You’re allowed to enjoy yourself too,” Zach said, pulling my hand back to that wet, wanting place. A little uncertainly, I touched myself.
Blurb:
Shotguns seem to be everyone’s favorite accessory for the zombie apocalypse, but Zach Paul believes he can survive without hurting anyone—not even the zombies. An elite-level runner, he plans to speed away from every danger. Then Zach meets a woman he can’t bring himself to leave behind, and staying beside her tests all his principles.
Viola Ortiz fought free of her controlling boyfriend just before the zombies came, but now she believes her macho ex is the only one who can protect her. She sets out to reunite with him, only to encounter Zach instead. The tall, lean runner is everything her ex is not, and Viola is shocked to find he turns her on as no man has before. Viola’s ex, however, isn’t willing to let go of her, and soon it’s clear that other survivors are as dangerous as the zombies.
Zach and Viola can run, but they must find safety before they lose their humanity in the struggle to protect their lives and growing love.
Buy Links:
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-runforyourlove-1315996-340.html
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Run-For-Your-Love-ebook/dp/B00FS6MX6K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381488572&sr=8-1&keywords=run+for+your+love+annabeth+leong
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Run-For-Your-Love-ebook/dp/B00FS6MX6K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381488461&sr=8-1&keywords=annabeth+leong+run+for+your+love
Breathless Press: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=493&zenid=6f219fb8a467b51c18d4d8e998caa03a
Bio:
Annabeth Leong has written romance and erotica of many flavors — dark, kinky, vanilla, straight, lesbian, bi, and menage. Her titles for Breathless Press include the contemporary werewolf erotic romances Not His Territory and Not the Leader of the Pack, and Run for Your Love, a romance set in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, blogs at annabethleong.blogspot.com, and tweets @AnnabethLeong
Buy One, Get One Free Offer:
Did you miss Annabeth’s previous titles with Breathless Press? Not to worry. E-mail proof of purchase of Run for Your Love, such as an Amazon receipt, to annabeth dot leong at gmail dot com and let her know your e-book format of choice. Annabeth will buy a copy of her werewolf novella, Not His Territory, for anyone who sends this information before November 12, 2013.
TAMSIN'S SUPEROTICA 