Welcome to my Parlor: Erotica duo Brenda and Steve!
Today in the Parlor, I'm pleased to introduce you to erotic writing tag team, Brenda Woody and Steve Tindle, whose latest release, Temptation Triggers, is sure to get your blood a-pumpin'! Time to get INKED...
Sable: Hi, Brenda and Steve! Thanks for swinging by the Parlor to chat with us. Can you tell the readers a bit about yourselves?
Brenda: I’m significant other of and co-author with Steve Tindle. I was born 5-3-1960, a published author and freelance writer for eHow, Yahoo! Associated Content, Coffeejitter and Plano Sex & Relationships Examiner, Examiner.com. Waiting to hear from About.com (tapping foot), I applied to write there weeks ago. Between Steve and me, we have seven grown children and four grandchildren.
Steve: I was born 3/5/1960 (see Brenda’s date). Brenda and I are both Army brats. I was born in Europe. My family moved to Lawton, OK before moving to Georgia, where I met Brenda in high school. After I graduated, I went to college in Arkansas. I moved to Dallas in 1985 and helped Brenda move to Dallas in 2009. Here is the interesting part. After Brenda and I graduated she went to Europe, then Lawton, and visited her grandparents in Arkansas just miles from where I was. Seems we were destined to be close to each other.
I’m a contract Microsoft Excel programmer for some very large companies in the Dallas area; many everyone would know. I write VBA scripts for dashboards.
Sable: Yes, it seems you're the Yin to each other's Yang! That's pretty cool! Have you always INKed as a tandem, or did you recently combine forces? And I know two heads are better than one, but how do you work through differences of opinion?
Brenda: I wrote singular in my younger years on essays, stories, newsletters and poetry. After Steve and I met again online in 2008, I mentioned I wanted to be published and had written a few pages of a story. I emailed it to him. Together we wrote Best Lover in Town. Fortunately we have a strong connection and 97% of the times agree on where a particular story will begin and end.
Steve: I wrote songs and poems in high school and college. I wanted to get them published but didn’t know how at the time. Working with Brenda has taught me how to get things online. What a blessing Brenda and the internet is. BTW: the other 3% are my silly tangents. I bow to Brenda’s insight on my storylines.
Sable: Anything you absolutely need in order to write?
Brenda: Coffee, Coffee, and more coffee, and Steve beside me on his laptop. However more of the answer is below.
Steve: I would say my laptop. I hate to write on paper, plus my hand writing is not readable. I like the TV on as background noise, and love to have Brenda sitting next to me.
Sable: Tell us about your current release, Temptation Triggers.
Steve: We were asked to submit a short story for an anthology called Temptation Triggers. We wrote and submitted Steal My Love. The publisher liked the storyline so much he asked us to write more stories and he would dedicate the entire book to our work. I wanted to write eleven stories since it was to be published in 2011. Brenda and I wanted to stretch our writing skills so we wrote each story in a different style. When we had completed seven, we were over the word count so the publisher told us to submit what we had. We enjoy discussing with readers which story they find the most interesting.
Brenda: Temptations was very fun to write. Thinking of stories that would be interesting, erotic and intriguing was what we hoped for with this anthology. So far the reviews are great. So we accomplished our goal.
Sable: That's an honor to have the entire anthology dedicated to you! Great job. Let’s talk characters. How do you come up with them and do you have a favorite from Temptation Triggers? If so, which one and why?
Steve: My favorite character changes every time I’m asked this question. So if you read another interview this answer might be different based on how I’m feeling at the time.
I like the voice in Patty Melt. Being able to control a woman I don’t even know just by my voice. Having her do whatever I tell her to do and being in control. We have been told the story is a light BDSM although it wasn’t designed to be. The story line was created when I was taking an outdoor break from work and noticed a large glass stairwell. I told Brenda about all the things people could do in the stairwell with strangers watching them.
Brenda: You know the characters came very easy to us in Temptation. Fortunately, they do in other stories too. I would have to say the characters wrote these stories. We penned our notes, characters and their names. When we wrote, the stories just flowed out of our heads. Pretty cool.
My favorite character is Patty Melt. She is sweet, out-going and open-minded enough to explore. I sure would like to be her at the end of the story!
Umm, Steve is talking experience about over the phone thing – remember we chatted for several months online and over the phone before seeing each other in person again. (weg)
Sable: I understand big things are happening for you both! Your book, Triangle of Secrets, will be released August 2011. Congratulations!! What else can we expect from the minds of Brenda and Steve?
Brenda: We have two other stories to release this year. Rainie’s Lake (pending title) and okay this is the first time I’m giving this title up. Scarlett’s Cowboy. This erotic romance is going to have our readers experiencing many emotions.
Steve: The other night we were in our muse (the spa) and were talking about Triangle of Secrets. We came up with FOUR more storylines to add to the series. Triangle of Secrets is almost complete but there will be TOS II - V. (This is the first time we have publicly announced this in an interview to our fans).
Sable: I love being the first to know! Okay, let's give the readers a Lick from Temptation Triggers, shall we?
Blurb: Temptation Triggers captures the wickedness of sexual fantasy, the mystery of unexplored territory and the fulfillment of open communication. Among these thought-provoking stories, two friends find themselves drawn into a dark erotic world, a woman encounters a mysterious man and a mature couple discovers hush-hush desires about each other. With different styles of writing, Temptation Triggers reveals erotica that is passionate and spellbinding.
Lick: The next day Patty drives to Mac’s. She is meeting Coleen for coffee. Mac sees the girls opening the door and immediately fixes their usual order.
Mac hands Patty her drink. “How’s my girl today? Wait, you look content. Who has put a smile on your face?”
Coleen looks at Mac then at Patty. “Are you keeping a secret from me?”
Patty blushes, wondering if she should tell Coleen about the fantasy man. “No, I…I’m just enjoying life.” Patty stammers.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to your girl talk.” Mac walks to the other end of the counter to wait on another customer. Patty and Coleen take a seat at one of the booths.
“Hey, I saw a great pair of jeans online the other night. Let’s go play dress up at a few stores and afterwards have lunch.” Colene looks expectantly at Patty for an answer.
Patty feels a buzzing in her bra. She reaches in and takes out her cell phone. It’s a text message. “Go to the Legacy Plaza Building. Be there at noon.” She looks at the time. “Sorry to bail on you Coleen, I have an errand to run.”
“You promised to spend the day with me. You would tell me if you met someone right?”
“Of course I would. I really have to go. I’ll call you later.” Patty hugs Coleen goodbye and rushes out the door.
Patty parks in front of the plaza. She puts a few coins in the parking meter. Looking around, she wonders what she is to do now. Her cell phones buzzes.
“Okay, I’m here,” she answers, entering the rotating door.
“Take the elevator on the left to the third floor. You will see two columns on your right. Walk between the columns and down the short staircase. There is a window at the bottom.”
The man watches her enter the elevator. He is pleased she is wearing a skirt.
Patty walks through the columns, down the few stairs and stands on the bottom stoop.
Her cell buzzes. She is already excited from the anticipation of what is to come.
“Sit down and spread your legs.”
Patty obeys.
“Lift your skirt up high and place your hand on your pussy. Caress yourself.”
Patty does what he says. She can feel her wetness through the material.
“Run your finger slowly up and down your slit.”
She groans at her touch.
The man clamps his lips so she doesn’t hear him groan as well.
“Slip off your underwear and lay it on the stair behind you.”
“Are you watching me?”
“What if I am? Does it excite you? Don’t think just react.”
She stretches out her legs and arches her back exposing herself. Her clit is engorged longing for release.
Seeing Patty’s pussy leaves him silent for a moment.
“Are you still there?” Patty asks.
“Yes. Leave the underwear right where they are.”
The line goes dead.
“Damn him!” Standing up, she looks at her underwear and kicks them in to a corner. Hope you like my scent. Patty looks up and sees a camera hanging from the ceiling. Great, I wonder how many people were watching me. She hurries back to her car.
Sable: Oooh! Water please! That lick was spicy!! What was your first published piece and what has changed in your writing from then to now? And, having written for a while, what advice would you give your pre-published selves?
Brenda: Our first novella, Best Lover in Town, was released June 2010. Unfortunately the publisher released BLT as is (did not edit our final draft). We were still novices at writing. Oh, we could tell a story but didn’t know what the editing was all about. Fortunately the rights were reverted to us last month. We re-edited for a much smoother read and self-published with a new cover. What did we learn from this? How to edit our own work in the last two years and with the help of Tonya Kinzer and Deanna Jewel, we are better writers now. My advice to myself – keep building my editing skills. BTW - Steve and I entered our new cover for Best Lover in Town in a book cover contest with Book Nook on Facebook and won 1st place in the Hot covers category!
Steve: We are much better writers and editors than when we published in 2010. My advice is to listen to comments of family, friends and fans. If they tell you your point of view or dialog doesn’t flow, work on the problem and learn from your mistakes. Keep writing and strive to be better with every release.
Sable: Shouts out to Tonya and Deanna! Writers helping writers. Love that! Okay, you’re the first settlers on planet Hedonism. Who or what do you pack to go with you?
Brenda: Steve, of course. My box of toys and a can of sliced pineapples
Steve: “A can of pineapples”??? Give me a grove!!! (read BLT to understand this.) Brenda and I go every where together, even if it’s to another room in the house. I would also take my laptop to take notes of our adventures for another book.
Sable: You know, I'm going to look at pineapples completely different from here on out. LOL! What’s a typical writing day for you like? Do you always write together to bounce ideas off of each other, or do you sometimes INK at different times?
Brenda: We are night owls – in bed at 4 a.m., up after noon. I check emails, Facebook (bad, bad – distracting thing! LOL), check my calendar to see if I need to email questions for an author interview on our blog. Update our blogs – post promos for fellow authors or any exciting news about us. Write an article for deadline. Write on one of our stories – let’s see, I write somewhere during the day (checking calendar). We self-publish now so we make our own release deadlines.
Steve: Yes, we prefer to write at night, when the temperature is cooler (100+ days in Dallas for the 45 days straight). We link our laptops together with Teamviewer so we don’t have to share the same computer. I can sit back and watch my screen as Brenda types on her keyboard. When I need to add a scene or idea I take control and Brenda watches on her screen. This set up prevents us from constantly moving one computer back and forth and, keeps the creative juices flowing.
Sable: Teamviewer? Sounds like an awesome bit of software for a writing tandem! I learn something new every day! When you’re not writing or brainstorming in the "muse", what do you do for fun?
Brenda: When we take a break, we’ll watch movies. We meet a friend at Hooters once a month. Yes, this is more for Steve than me – Eye Candy! LOL Plus I love to write reviews and I’ve been critiquing work for fellow authors. I love to edit now!
Steve: Yes, I like the Eye Candy (but I can get that at home with Brenda). I like Hooters because we have sold more books there than at book signings. It’s a great tax write off. We take a couple of books in with us, the Hooter girls walk by and stop to take a look. When they buy we sign the books for them. We keep several in the car in case we need more. We also like to attend concerts and collect autographs for our den. I have given several business cards to the performers and sold copies of Best Lover in Town to a few of them.
Sable: And everyone thinks Hooters is only good for buffalo wings. ;) Where can readers purchase your books?
Steve: Buy the books now from these great retailers:
- Smashwords
- All Romance Ebooks
- Best Lover in Town on Kindle
- Temptation Triggers on Kindle
And you can purchase a SIGNED paperback copy of Temptation Triggers by sending an e-mail to bestloverintown [at] gmail [dot] com.
Sable: And if readers want to connect?
Brenda: Here's all of our contact info. Come by and join us!
Sable: You heard her, people! Go link up :) Last question, and I ask all my interviewees this. Brenda: Boxers, briefs, or commando on him? Steve: Panties, thongs, or birthday suit on her?
Brenda: Commando on him – we enjoy our naked time! When the youngest, which is still at home, is at work or at her night classes – our clothes just seem to fall off automatically. LOL
Steve: I introduced Brenda to commando. She didn’t think she would like it but tried it anyway. Not that I would try, but I don’t think Brenda would go back to panties now. LOL
Sable: Commando wins again! I'm convinced the world would be a much better place if we all just stayed naked. LOL! Thanks again for coming by to chat, Brenda and Steve. You're welcome back to the Parlor any time! Readers, contact Brenda and Steve by the links below. Let the comments begin!
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BIO: Steve Tindle and Brenda Woody were high school friends in Georgia who reconnected, on a social network, after 30 years of leading separate lives. During their re-acquaintance, they found their past and interests were similar; they had written poems, songs, and both had the desire to be published. Their combined experiences and fantasies inspired their first erotic novel “Best Lover in Town”, published June 2010. Brenda moved to Dallas in 2009 to be closer to Steve, start a new chapter of her life and work on future books. Their second book “Temptation Triggers”, an anthology of erotic short stories, was released June 2011 for Kindle and will be available in print soon. “Black & White Affair”, submitted in a holiday contest 2010, has been expanded and is available as a short read. Works in progress are “Triangle of Secrets” and 2 more books to be released in 2011. Their stories are penned with the perspective of both male and female point of view regarding sexual desires and pleasures.