Denyse Bridger shares Games of Seduction. Comment to win!!!

Welcome to my Sizzlin’ Hot Heroes of Scotland, Ireland, England & Wales summer blog event. It's my pleasure to welcome back talented author, Denyse Bridger. She’ll be chatting about her recent release, Games of Seduction. This week we have an Italian hero but he sounds so wonderful, he just had to be shared! As always, there’s a contest involved. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win an Ecopy of Games of Seduction and a $6 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press main store.

GAMES OF SEDUCTION

What begins as a game between two people from opposite sides of the world quickly becomes an intense and all-consuming need to discover if the passion inspired by words can fuel a fire that will span an ocean and ignite a love unlike anything either of them have experienced before.... Discover what happens when the Game of Seduction is taken to the final play - and two lovers unite on New Year's Eve for the first time....

SKY: Welcome, thanks for joining me this week!

DENYSE: Thanks so much for having me as your guest, Sky. It’s wonderful to be back to chat with your readers!!

SKY: Tell me, what inspired you to create your hero’s character? Did he simply form as you wrote or had he been in your mind for some time?

DENYSE: Well, as a few people may already know, this particular story has a story behind it, and the hero is based on someone in my real life. This past Christmas I wrote Games of Seduction for a man in Italy, someone very special to me. The story was my gift to him, and was written the day after the Holiday, while we spent the afternoon online together, strange as that sounds, I’m sure! He’s studying for a doctorate, and I was working on a few things, then we began chatting and I told him we’d play a game to keep from getting bored... We took breaks and emailed, and I wrote the story in sections for him that day. The dedication on this one says it all, really: This story is for Emanuele, who really is my fantasy and my sexiest dream…

SKY: How romantic! Give me a little insight into your hero’s personality. Is he cunning, aggressive, arrogant, kind, humorous─share all!

DENYSE: In this case, the hero is a real man. He’s a paramedic, military background. He’s also Italian. The hero possesses many traits that are part of Emanuele, too: he’s passionate, intuitive, sexy, open, honest, and isn’t afraid of what he feels. The hero in this piece is a man who understands the woman he loves better than she understands herself, at least initially, and he makes her reach inside herself to show him who she is and to be at ease with her own needs and what she wants. There is an honest-to-God lesson for all women in the pages of this story, and it’s real because the man who spoke many of the words that I used is in fact real... That makes it genuine in a way fantasy can’t be, at least in my opinion. He possesses wit and humour, but most of all he is strong and confident with his sensuality, and he wants his lady to feel that way, too. He brings out the beauty and passion he knows she possesses. (He’s also incredibly handsome!)

Excerpt from Games of Seduction:

...Twenty minutes later, he slid the card into the lock, half expecting it to not gain him entry. When the click of the lock told him the card was accepted, he took a deep breath and went inside the suite. The air was cool, the lighting was muted, and he heard the door close behind him a second before he leaned back against it to prevent himself from swaying visibly.

She was lying in the bed, long red hair spilling over the pillows in endless streams, clearly naked beneath the sheet that only partly covered her. She sat up, blinking, acutely aware that she was no longer alone in the room. They simply stared–green eyes met brown, for the first time without a webcam being their contact.

“You came, ” she said.

Her accent, so different to his, was charming. He nodded, seemingly not trusting his voice. She smiled, and he knew from that smile that the Game had just ended the way she had hoped it would…

Watching the play of light catch in the gleaming darkness of his hair, she was struck again by the intuitive knowledge that dominated his handsome features. Barely suppressed sensuality and anticipation were so strong in the shadowed intimacy of the suite that she felt she could reach out and touch the things that presently put them on opposite sides of a chasm she wanted desperately to no longer exist. Months of teasing intimacy had all been leading to this night, and she did not want it to end here, but to begin. She wanted to be with him more than she had any man she’d ever known.

“Tell me what you’re feeling right now?”

She trembled, the sound of his rich voice, the beautiful Italian accent layering the words, it effected her like wine, intoxicating and sensual... He was standing with his back to the door, watching, but making no move to come further into the room. He was waiting for her answer. She swallowed hard, and gave him the honesty that marked every conversation they had ever had.

“Afraid.”

“Of me?”

“No,” she whispered, then nodded. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like being vulnerable.”

For the first time, she looked directly at him and let their gazes hold, knowing he could read all the uncertainty she was feeling, just like he always did when she was admitting things she’d never told anyone else.

He drew in a deep draught of air and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “You don’t have to be afraid of anything.”

She actually managed to smile at the statement, though there was little warmth in the expression. She laughed, a low murmur of sound that stirred the air between them.

“I want to share my bed with you, possibly my life,” she conceded. “It’s why we started this game of ours, to know each other, to discover if this was possible. I’ve always been afraid that when we were finally here, at this place, that I would not be what you wanted.” She met his eyes as if she were trying to pierce the shadows that surrounded them, to see what lay hidden behind that outwardly confident stare. When nothing shone forth, she closed her eyes...

SKY: Fantastic excerpt, Denyse! Turning up the temperature─Why are readers going to fall in love with your hero-lust for him?

DENYSE: Apart from the facty that he’s the real deal – for real? Seriously, I think what makes this hero so special is the fact that he is being given the undivided attention and love of the heroine, but never once is it all about him... his pleasure lies in giving her the same pleasures she’s giving to him – these are two people who clearly want each other desperately, but they are also giving and passionate in their need to be together for the other person, as well as themselves. There’s also the fact that I think Emanuele reaffirms something very basic in male-female relationships – he is equal parts strong, masculine male, and sensitive lover... he cares as much about his partner as he does himself. I think loving people share on many levels, and he’s taught me that there are still some very special men who do want to love with all they are...

It all began as a conversation, with a man on another continent…

Any man who can seduce a woman’s mind owns her body long before he ever possesses it….

It was a simple enough concept, but is so alien to so many.

He taught me that, in the space of a few hours…. From a man half a world away I learned more about myself in one night than I had from anyone I had ever been with. And I want more. I want to know how far hunger and need can be stretched before possession is all that matters, and surrender is all that remains to me.

He created a game that he says never ends… a bit like life and the learning we do each day. Truth is the name of this game, but it’s more accurately called Seduction. When one party wins, both claim the prize. Under his shrewd eyes, my truths have never looked so bare, and so small they make me crawl inside myself. He doesn’t intend to let me hide behind my walls, though. I wonder if I should be afraid, or entranced? Both, perhaps.

The first question: “what do you like in a man?”

How do I respond to that? I’m looking at what I like in a man, and I choke on the awareness of it… So, I struggle and reply with sublime idiocy that I don’t know the answer. To my great amazement, he doesn’t end the game, but does point out that stupidity doesn’t appear to be a problem, so why am I giving him stupid answers. At this time, any other man would be staring at a blank screen, but not this one, his honesty is enchanting.

What do I like in a man? What do I notice first? They seem like easy questions, I’ve answered them before – but they’re not usually being asked by the physical embodiment of the honest reply. I notice his eyes, and his smile, and his shoulders, and most of all, I notice his presence and the way he carries himself. The strength of his personality and his confidence. This should have been an easy thing to say – it wasn’t.

I felt like I was a love-struck sixteen year old in the throes of her first infatuation. I’d known him about an hour at that point… Can you understand how overwhelmed I was, how ridiculous I felt? He makes me blush like a school-girl, and that hasn’t happened in a very long time.

(So begins a dance as old as time.... and a new kind of love story has begun.... journey with me to the end, and let us see if it will be the stuff of dreams after all....)

SKY: Thanks so much for visiting and sharing!

DENYSE: Again, my thanks for letting me share your space and chat with your readers again! It’s been wonderful!! Will be in and out, so any questions, feel free to ask away and I will answer them! We’ll even give away a copy of this special eBook tomorrow, ok? Comment and you’re in – just make sure Sky knows how to contact you!

SKY: Sounds super! Thanks, Denyse.

Watch a book trailer for Games of Seduction



Publisher/Buy: Moongypsy Press
ISBN: 1452825320
Genre: Erotic romance
Available: May 2010
Cover Art: Dawné Dominique

ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE: Samhain Publishing – 4 stars, Manic Readers: Another Man’s Wife will make you want to scream for more. This short story really packs a punch. The passion between Elizabeth and Chris made me want a tall, cool glass of water. I liked the fast pace of this book. If you like Westerns and a sexy hero, then Another Man’s Wife is worth your time.
Read full review HERE.

THE DEVANE FILES: OUT OF HELL: Liquid Silver Books – 4.5 stars, Manic Readers: The Devane Files: Out Of Hell is a darkly atmospheric, emotionally charged mystery. I was immediately pulled in and swept back to London, 1892. If you enjoy a richly depicted historical mystery with wonderful characterization, I highly recommend The Devane Files: Out of Hell, it possesses it all. Read full review HERE.

RETRIBUTION: SILENT DEATH: Noble Romance Publishing – 5 Lips – Two Lips Reviews: Denyse Bridger brings a passionate spy tale together in Retribution. I found myself immersed in the world of ninjas and spy games. I didn’t want this book to ever end. I loved the hot romance, hot enough to scorch the fingers as you read. The only downside is I wanted this story to go on and on. When you want a short but hotter-than-sin romance you want Retribution. Read full review HERE.

BELLA SIGNORINA: The Wild Rose Press – 4 kisses – Two Lips Reviews: In Bella Signorina, Denyse Bridger tells a sweet short story of two people falling in love, despite silly arguments, and stubborn refusals. This tale reads like a romantic poem. This tender story speaks to the heart of the quest for love and how unexpectedly it can overtake us…and how best to trust in it when it comes. Read full review HERE.

Visit Denyse at her Website, Blog or Sensual Treats Magazine.

Other places you can find Denyse include: Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, FB Fan Page and her Amazon Author Page.

Don't forget to leave a comment by Friday, August 6th, 12 PM, EST for a chance to win an Ecopy of Games of Seduction and a $6 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press.

Thanks for popping in!

~Sky