Evernight's Valentine's Snippets (Giveaway!)

Welcome to the Evernight Valentine's Snippets Blog Hop!

The prize to be given away on my blog is...

A $5 Amazon e-gift card!

To be entered to win this prize, you must read the following book excerpt and answer the question about it at the end (by posting a comment that includes your email address). And like Evernight Publishing on Facebook (link at bottom).That's it! I will draw ONE winner on February 15th.

Ready to get started?

Blurb:

One morning, Jeanette Goodwyn wakes up to find every single person in her small town gone. She believes she is the only human being left on Earth and lives a very lonesome couple of months on her own. She is discovered by Evan Grey, a survivor from another state who embarked on a journey to find another living person.
The two decide to join forces and sustain their lives together. Somewhere in the middle of loneliness and survival, they fall for each other.  But in an empty, uncertain world, Jeanette finds herself afraid to love Evan. Do they love each other because they were meant to be together or because they are the only ones left? And what will happen to their relationship if the world changes once more?
Be Warned: anal sex.

Excerpt: 

          “I love being able to see the stars. But damn, I have to say that I miss electricity.” Evan spoke as they stood hip to hip, staring up at the night sky. The whole world was quiet around them, and the wind breezed gently past, ruffling both their hair and the tall grass.

           After a moment of thought and a small sigh, Jeanette replied, “I think I miss music the most, out of anything. Oh, and dancing.”

           He turned to her with a sweet smile playing on his lips. “You can have both of those still, silly.”

          Jeanette looked up at him and cocked her head. “Oh, really now?”

          “Yep.” He said, taking her into her arms and swaying their bodies gently together in a side to side motion. Under his breath, he began to hum a little tune. He spun her around as though he was a fancy ballroom dancer.

           Laughing as she came back from the turn and settling into his arms, Jeanette said,      “What on Earth are you humming?”

           “Uh… I think it was some Etta James mixed with a little Patsy Cline. Sort of my own little playlist.”

           “All right there, Grandpa,” she teased, letting her head rest on his chest.

           “Hey, I spent a lot of time with my grandma growing up. What do you expect? If my Uncle Henry would have been around more, I could be singing some classic rock. A little Stones, perhaps.”

            Jeanette tossed her head back and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, if only. If only.”

            “Why don’t you just be quiet and dance?” he suggested.

             Jeanette began to reply, but Evan cut her off by pressing his lips against hers hungrily. Pinning her against the railing, he raised her arms above her head and whispered, “Keep them up.”

             Then he nuzzled his way down her neck and to her chest. He pulled the cups of her bra down and exposed her nipples, hardened with both the exposure to the cool night air. Pulling each in turn into his mouth with an audible suck, he murmured,

“You are so tasty.”

            Jeanette lowered herself to her knees and began undoing the fly of his jeans. When they hit the ground, he stepped out of them and she pulled down his boxer briefs. His swollen cock bounced upward once freed from the cloth, and she paused for a moment to admire its thickness. Evan slid his hand into her hair and gently but firmly pulled her forward. Mouth open as wide as it would go, Jeanette took his warm cock past her lips and to her throat. She caressed and licked, moving her fist in loose circles as an extension of her mouth. Evan’s hand continued to stroke his fingers through her hair, and after a few minutes he pulled her to her feet and led her to what they now considered to be their bedroom.

           “Get on the bed,” Evan commanded. “On your hands and knees.”

Jeanette climbed up and arranged herself as he said. The bed sank a little as he moved behind her, and then she felt his coarse hands skim from her thighs up across her ass. Evan let out a little sigh as he pressed himself against her, his cock sliding against her silken panties.

There was a crackling sound that must have been Evan opening a condom, then another pause, and then his hands returned to both sides of her plump ass. His cock slid from her lower back, then down her crack and across her back door. He paused there, letting the tip of his throbbing member rest against the tight, virgin entrance.

         “Tell me what you want me to do,” he demanded in a husky, strained tone.

          Jeanette turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder. Quietly, she replied,

“I want to do whatever you want to do.”

Question (post your reply as a comment, with your email): In her post-apocalyptic world, Jeanette misses music the most. In a similar situation, what do you think that you would miss the most?

Please like Evernight on Facebook: Evernight Publishing

Book Reviews: Authors & Readers

As an author, it's exciting for someone who has read your book to review it. 
The idea of some stranger actually choosing to read something I created is simply mind-blowing, and really, that's the thing I dreamed of since I started writing as a small child.

Occasionally, I monitor Amazon and Goodreads to see if new reviews have been posted on any of my four books (soon to be five! Look for Becoming His Little One to be released by Evernight Publishing later this year). There's always a moment of anticipation as I skim to check this. Then, when something is new, there's a mixture of both euphoria and dread. Euphoria that someone even bothered to write a review, and dread about what they may say.

I believe it's part of any learning process to take negative criticism and use it constructively. I appreciate every review I get, even the ones where the reviewer says they didn't like the story much for X reason.

However, there's nothing more disappointing in this journey than getting a one or two star review, and all it says is "I hated this!" or "Why did I bother to read this?". There's nothing I can glean from that, nothing to be learned, nothing I can work on improving. Maybe they hated the story for legitimate reasons, or maybe the reviewer is just a jealous person. Maybe they were having a bad day and weren't in the mood for the genre. Maybe they read one sentence and from that thought it was garbage. 

If you let it, it can be hurtful to, say, log into Goodreads and see someone has attacked your writing. 

The point of all this is the following:

For authors: Take bad reviews with a grain of salt. Learn what you can from negative reviews. And bask in the joy that is a good review.

For readers/reviewers: Be honest, but be tactful and constructive. If you didn't like the book- fair enough- but say why. If the author has any chance of working on what you thought was wrong (if it's something they can or should do), then simply saying "This book sucks" doesn't help. Be balanced, if there were things you both liked and disliked, then say it!

Have you read one of my books (or wish to)? Review them:

Isabella Olivia Ellis on Goodreads
Isabella Olivia Ellis on Amazon

And be sure to visit my blog the week of February 10th-14th, as I will be participating in Evernight's Valentine's Snippets Blog Hop. There will be a giveaway!