Guest author Ivy Beteman

Please welcome author Ivy Bateman!! 

 Things that I find scary by Ivy Bateman

Hello everyone!

Thank you very much to Laurie for having me on today. I am here to promote my latest e-book from Breathless Press called The Fifth Story. It is a paranormal erotica/cyber adventure that takes the reader through many different places in time and space. My lead character, Bryn, has to face many scary foes throughout the novel and although these beings are characters she created many of them are ones that she never hoped to meet. If someone had warned her that one day she may come face to face with the sexy and powerful sea witch Melusine or that she may have to...ahem...perform a few acts with the dangerous, but lust inducing vampire Darius, she may have written them to be a little nicer.

Now everyone has fears. I have many things in my life that scare me including spiders, heights and the creepy bug face my husband is so fond of doing. However, these other things that scare me are not fears per se, but are everyday things that sometimes gives me pause. Instead of trying to think of a proper way to describe them, I'll just get on with it.

Things in my life that scare me!                                                            

1.) How much I swear.

When I was younger I was the type of kid who didn't even like to say "damn". Kids in my class thought it was hilarious that I never swore and lunchtime fun often involved getting me to swear. Now however, as an adult, I find that my potty mouth often gets the better of me. When I'm really angry and venting to a friend or with my darling husband, I almost have to shout out a warning to those who may be listening that what comes out of my mouth when I am expressing my views about the man who honked at me while I dared stay at a stop sign until the road was clear, may include a parade of colorful words that could each easily turn a PG moment into R. As a side note, I don't even have to be angry to swear. I just have to be awake.

2.) How much I love the TV show Corner Gas.

I'm a Canadian girl and this Canadian gem became a favorite with me as soon as it came on the air back in 2004. If you have never heard of the show, but you enjoy a character driven comedy without a laugh track, than this show may be up your alley. I have the series on DVD and have watched every season at least 10 times. I never tire of it and almost everything that happens in my life can be enhanced with a quote from the show. Another scary part of this is that my daughter has recently become hooked and is now as obsessed with the show as I am. She happily has found that many of the moments in her life can be related to an episode of Corner Gas.

3.) Sharing my work with the public.

Setting my writing out to mingle with the world, whether it is a short story, a play or a novel, is terrifying. Actually I have found that writing a novel and setting it free, while not the same as raising a child, has parallels. When you write a novel a lot of yourself goes into your work just as in many ways your child, as you raise them, becomes a lot like you. When you are editing your novel and trying to make it perfect it is similar to how sometimes, as a parent,  you micromanage your child. You try to protect them; you try to make sure they're always polite, always eating right and sleeping well. However, no matter how many times you've told your child that this is right and this is wrong, your editor will find mistakes that you swear you didn't know were there and you'll just have to deal with it.

And when the time comes for you to let your novel go, to give it to the world, your novel, in a way, no longer belongs to you; it now becomes a part of society, a part of something bigger. What people think of your work is out of your hands. You can't force people to like it and you can't force people to say nice things about it. You can't even force people to pay attention to it. You just have to let it loose and hope for the best. When your child is old enough to be on their own all of these things apply. Hopefully, as a parent, you have done the best that you can to raise a happy, healthy, independent member of society but, who your child wants to be, in the end, is up to them. It is now time for your child to find his or her place in the world.

Thank-you again to Laurie of Bitten by Paranormal Romance for letting me take up some of her cyber space. I hope that The Fifth Story finds a place on your electronic device today! No pressure, but it would be nice!

Now, here are a blurb, an excerpt and my links just for you. I will be participating in the Bitten By Paranormal Romance  & Gabrielle Bisset 18 and Over Blog Hop that starts tomorrow so be sure to stop on by my blog for a chance to win a copy of The Fifth Story.

Thanks everyone,

Ivy Bateman

Blurb for The Fifth Story By Ivy Bateman

Every day we encounter doors. Some of these doors are open to us and some of them are closed, but when we pass through any door, a different truth or mystery lies beyond the threshold.

The night Bryn is pulled into a world of her own stories by a shadowy being, her reality is changed forever. Souls and danger, hauntingly beautiful witches, sexy and dangerous vampires, a soldier with a dying wish; she knows that each door leads to a story and to outcomes she can't control, but in order to return home, Bryn must complete a set of tasks for the enigmatic and strangely sensual Darkness.

With four stories to enter, four items to retrieve, Bryn takes part in plot points so out of character that she almost loses herself in the tales she's written. More than once she questions her sanity and curses herself for creating such perilous realities, but she always remains focused on her goal; the creation of the fifth story.

Excerpt from The Fifth Story By Ivy Bateman

She walked quickly around the counter and headed to where the sign indicated where the washrooms were, but she couldn't find the women's room. Then she almost slapped herself with ridiculousness. Who cared if she went into the men's room? She marched over the door and pushed on it. Immediately she fell back. The door was stuck. She pushed on it harder, but could only open it about a foot. Something, or someone, was lying in front of the door. Bryn squeezed her head through the narrow space and looked down at the floor. Coran was lying passed out on the cold tile.

Bryn thought maybe something strange had happened in her story, and Coran was already dead. How lucky would that be? However, she realized that the story hadn't changed that drastically when Coran groaned, revealing that he was very much alive. He rolled over, away from the door.

With his weight suddenly off the door, and Bryn's weight still being pushed against it, the door went flying open. Bryn stumbled and fell into the washroom. None too gracefully, she hit the floor with a satisfying smack, and knocked her head against the tile floor with a hard clunk.

"Ow," she said, as she rolled on her back and pressed her hands against a rapidly rising goose egg on the right side of her head. "Ah" she yelped as the door closed on her foot.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice with a gentle Scottish brogue.

Bryn turned her head and opened her eyes. Coran, who looked like he'd been through a rough time, was leaning over her. His blond hair was a mess and it fell into his gray eyes. He had soot on his face and he smelled, not unpleasantly, of smoke. He gave her a little smile. "My dear, are you all right?" he asked her again.

She smiled in return. She was touched by his concern. The ash on his face and the apparent absence of anyone else in the castle told her she had come into the story not long after the first time she'd entered with Darkness. Coran had every right to ignore her and he really had no time to get involved with a stranger and yet, he didn't seem to be in any rush at all. Instead, he helped Bryn sit up.

As soon as his hands touched her skin, Bryn gasped and felt her heart beat quicken. Coran looked embarrassed and quickly, on unsteady legs, he stood up and got a paper towel. He wet it with warm water and kneeled down a couple feet away from Bryn. He handed her the paper towel. "Your face, it's quite dirty." 

"Oh, thanks." Bryn said, trying to avoid looking at him too much. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why had she written Coran to have this effect on women? "It looks like I'm not the only one that's recently been in a bit of a scrap," he said with a chuckle. Bryn couldn't help beaming at him with amazement. He was just as kind as she'd written him to be. However, if she was correct, this man should be putting all chivalry aside and be searching the castle for Melusine. He should be calling upon the ancient gods to help him in battle with the sea witch, but instead, here he was, watching Bryn wash her face and being concerned about her well-being.

"Is your head very sore? Can you stand?" he asked as he gently touched the bump on her head, but quickly pulled hand back when Bryn sucked in her breath at the feel of his hand on her hair

"Yes, I mean—no, it's fine, and yes, I can stand," she stammered as she pushed herself off the floor. She again tried to avoid eye contact with him, but it wasn't helping. Coran was having a profound effect on her senses—something which she should have remembered could happen, but had completely forgotten about. In her story, Coran had a powerful effect on women and it was something he could do nothing about. Whether it was his aura or his pheromones, no one could tell, but women, upon meeting Coran, not only couldn't control themselves around him but didn't want to. Their thoughts would travel immediately down a sexual path as soon as they stood close to him and they would offer themselves to his every whim. Even the most reserved women would find their bodies pulsing immediately with desire for the tall blond stranger. Only those who knew how to, could control their passions for Coran. Katie, his assistant, was usually one of them, but sometimes, her guard would slip and she would be overcome with sexual longing for her handsome boss.

Bryn was finding her own guard was slipping rapidly and started thinking about very naughty things and wishing that she had time to explore her hidden bad girl side. Was this happening because she'd written him this way or was it because he looked so much like Tyler?

Ivy's Blog: Ivy B Misbehavin'

http://ivybmisbehavin.blogspot.ca/

Follow Ivy on Twitter

https://twitter.com/IvyBateman

Become an Ivy Fan on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ivy-Bateman/110679869080563

The Fifth Story By Ivy Bateman Book Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwqFqh5nL64

The Fifth Story is available at Breathless Press

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=340&zenid=kvbb4b1in687pj5crrr1k3s510