My First Bestseller - Throwback Thursday

On select Thursdays, I like to share a throwback to past writing, book trailers, or randomness about me and/or writing life.

Every piece of writing I've ever done holds a special place in my heart. Each one brings back memories of sweating blood over the right words, the right characters, the right twists in the story at the right moment. Penning stories quickly became a passion, a pursuit I would have continued had I never earned a dime because I loved doing it. That said, I WAS sort of dreaming that someday, I might entertain scores of readers while I was at it. 

Three novels and numerous short stories, essays, anthology pieces, and an entry in the Chicken Soup series came and went before I would get anywhere near a publisher bestseller list, and for a while, writing even took a backseat to the day job along with some freelancing in the editing and submissions field. While working as an editor, I got inspired by the world of erotic romance--and I decided to jump in with both feet and launch a new pen name. Quitting my editing and submissions jobs, I tackled this idea to write a smoking HOT romance. A title idea came to mind first: Kata Sutra. The story that grew out of that would be a menage based in a dojo, a setting I had spent some time in while training in karate years before. Sprinkle in some hard muscles, danger and intrigue, secret motives, and plenty of hot sex and Kata Sutra came to fictional life. 

Writing my first menage wasn't the easiest task. I finished most of the rough draft before realizing that one of the male characters had taken a big backseat, and not only was he hiding secrets from the other two characters, he was hiding them from me as well. Eventually, I learned what Makoto was really all about, and the final draft was ready for readers.

 To my shock, readers were hungry for the tale of my sexy martial arts teachers, and Kata Sutra began climbing the charts right away. The book topped out at around #5 on my publisher's bestseller list, was well reviewed, and became a recommended read as well as a book of the month contender.

Kata Sutra

by J. Rose Allister

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Master Your Passion...

When Desiree signs up for eight weeks of self-defense classes, the last thing she expects is hands-on, two-on-one training in erotic arts from a pair of muscled and breathtakingly gorgeous karate instructors. But can their passion survive the secrets each of them is hiding?

EXCERPT--  ADULT (R):

Shaking herself loose from the grip of shock, Desiree launched herself into the room and inserted herself between the two men before either could make another move.

“Stop,” she said, taking on Evan's usual commanding tone. “Stop it, both of you.” Adrenaline fed her in gasps that matched the ragged breathing of the two winded opponents.

“Desiree.” Mak shook sweaty locks from widened eyes. “You're still here.”

She knelt between them, placing a hand on both their superheated, hardened chests to keep them in place. “What the hell is going on? First you're peeing over each other to see who can squirt a stream of sparring instructions the highest—all of which failed, in case you hadn't noticed. Now you're going Bruce Lee on each other to see who gets a shot at me?”

The two flicked accusing glances at the other, but other than forceful whooshes of breath, they kept silent. “Or is pretending to fight over a female standard practice in Upper Belt Sparring?”

Mak pulled his torso upward, but she pushed him back. “Uh-uh. Not until I get an answer.”

He complied with a sigh and folded his arms behind his head. “How about it, Desiree? I've seen the way you look at me. I felt a connection. Tell our teacher here that you and I have a date with Tiger Balm.”

Evan ignored her attempt to hold him on his back and pushed up to lean on one hand while shoving back a sheen of his dampened blond waves with the other. “And when you're letting him down easy, don't forget the part where you almost kissed me after the last class.”

Her eyes flew wide. “I almost kissed you?

“Don't deny it.” His voice, still breathless from the match, dropped to a low growl that shuddered through her. “Your nipples were so hard I thought they'd rip right through your top.” His eyes dipped. “Like they are right now.”

The parts in question tightened even harder. What the hell did he expect? She had her hands on two muscled, panting, gorgeous men. Men who wanted her.

“And I say it's because of our pre-class warm up.”

“Enough!” She tossed her head back, shaking hair from her face and trying to keep composure. “I'm not a wishbone, guys. You can't tear me in two and get what you want.”

The whole thing was unbelievable. What the hell should she do? Evan, godlike and powerful, yet intimidating. Mak, personable and charming, yet with a hint of danger of his own. She hadn't had a date in months, sex in even longer. Now two of the hottest guys she ever imagined inside of her were fighting over her like snarling wolves. Just like a dream—a truly wild, out-of-this-world fantasy. Sculpted bodies all hers for the taking. She merely had to choose which one.

A rush of pleasure flooded her abdomen through the thought of being so desired, along with the tingling contact of her palms against two hot, male bodies. How could she pick between them?

The answer snapped into place against this thought. Something she'd never dreamed, let alone considered possible outside a fairly wild fantasy life. Did she dare?

She fought to keep her voice calm. “You've shared a lot of things in this dojo. You share a passion for karate. A voice here among the students. A friendship. A friendship I'd like to share.” She skimmed her hands over both their chests until she grazed their nipples. “With both of you.”

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I'm J. Rose Allister, wife, working mom, and the author of over twenty-five books. Somewhere in between one and the next, I love hanging out here on my blog and over on Twitter. Give me a comment or follow-I love chatting with people!