Excerpt from Heaven Has Curves

Even beauty has flaws.

Luna Moonstone, half Lustonian, half human, is a creature of inherent carnal desires. She’s capable of little emotion, but oh what a heavenly body. She enjoys sex wherever and with whomever she can, including her favorite lover, Crater Bob, owner of a mainstay freighter.

When a DEA case goes horribly awry, Luna switches to Universal Alliances tax division. Soon, she’s forced back to the DEA, investigating the wealthiest and most conniving business mogul in several galaxies—Bodacious Bertha. UA creates a small team, partnering Luna with Crack, a Fourpeck Fire Heathen, and Petunia, a hyperactive Ripstinger. They investigate the deaths caused by Femdrene, a mineral supplement produced by Bendlight Enterprises. The case leads them to a heinous act on Cerulea 2 that goes down in the history of every galaxy, branding lifelong scars on each team member’s psyche.

However, things grow complicated between Luna and Crater Bob. She wants to enjoy her partner, who satisfies her every sexual desire, but has Bob possibly awakened her heart? None of it will matter if the killer Luna is tracking reaches her first.

Two tiny nighttime birds landed at the edge of the patio, the indigo bioluminescence of their beaks and feet casting light far enough that Luna could see the outline of the bricks. The feathery duo brought a picture to her mind, one of a mother and child. How many children would cry for their mothers tonight? She thought of her own mom and homesickness, something she hadn’t experienced for years, hit her so hard she inhaled sharply.

“Luna?”

She started and looked over her shoulder.

“What are you doing out here?” Pet asked.

The shape of Pet, darker than the night, walked toward her until the illumination from the birds revealed her. She sat on the other end of the bench.

“Are you troubled?” Pet questioned.

Luna sighed. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“What has happened here is beyond grisly, but it was out of your control.”

“I realize that, but it still makes me ill. Millions of lives snuffed out—for what? Hundreds of orphaned children left behind. And no motive. Why would someone kill millions?”

“Maybe it was an accident,” Pet offered.

“Accident?”

“Perhaps the lethal substance that was in the Fe-adrene was bacterial, or maybe something accidentally went wrong with the application of the pill coating and it reacted badly with the Fe-adrene.”

            Luna looked directly at Pet. Although she couldn’t see anything other than a vague form, the shine of her eyes was discernable. “Those are actually really good possibilities, but I don’t think the cause was something so simple.”

            “Yeah.” A sigh followed Pet’s voice. “But it helps me cope with the horror of it.”

            “Are we dealing with a mass serial killer?” She rubbed her palms over her face in frustration. “What possible reason could there be for someone to commit genocide?”

            “This affects you deeply, Luna,” Pet said, “but I think it troubles you even more so because Senior Agent Morrin tried to pin the blame on you.”

            She thought about that for a moment then nodded. “You may be right, Pet. You’re very astute. I must say I had my qualms about having you as my assistant, but you’ve turned out to be invaluable.” The sudden quiet on the patio drew Luna’s attention back her companion. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

            “You didn’t,” Pet returned so softly Luna had to strain to hear her. “You surprised me is all.”

            Luna frowned. “Why?”

            “Well, I’ve always admired you, Luna, always idolized you. You’re so beautiful, tall, your body is just…well…perfect. And you’re witty, intelligent, and such a strong person.”

            “But?”

            A soft snort of amusement wafted over to Luna.

            “But you’re emotionally untouchable, so when you say something like you just did about me, it’s more than a mere compliment. At least to me it is.”

            Luna mulled over her words. Pet was correct about one thing. Luna was emotionally untouchable.

“I’m a creature of carnal delights,” Luna told her. “Emotional attachments in a Lustonian—even a half Lustonian—spells disaster for not only me but those who may feel something for me. And in my line of work, I can’t afford to have emotional ties, nor the hot mess that comes with those who have feelings for me.”

Ebook and print versions available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G31HT4J

What Happened to Romance?

Erotic romance.

So what happened to the romance markets?

Romantic fiction is inundated with sex. The world of romance publishing has changed drastically the last couple of decades. Erotica has come out of the underground and is now a popular genre. When I first started out writing for national men’s magazines, I made good money and paid many a bill with my income writing 2500-word short stories.

Fast forward to 2018. Everyone is writing his or her fictional masterpiece and, if not earning e-book contracts, writers are utilizing self-publishing. As this has occurred the last ten to twelve years, I’ve watched a lucrative magazine income dry up and blow away like a popcorn fart. Other writers now complain of very small royalties. Let’s face it, sex is everywhere nowadays. For the most part we’ve all become desensitized to it from TV ads to magazine ads and all over cyberspace, so most people don’t even blink an eye at it, and if it does offend him or her, they look the other way. In my opinion—and I could be wrong—only established names who have been in publishing many years can make a living or semi-living writing for these markets. 

I also used to write for erotic romance publishers. When I saw what was coming for erotic content, I started backing out of the market because A) I have never liked writing erotic content (again, it paid the bills), and B) my material is character and plot driven, so writing sex scenes struck me as unnecessary for a fictional romantic relationship unless it could somehow propel the characters or the plot. And since I’m being honest, I’ll let you in on a little secret.

I don’t even read erotic romance and haven’t for years.

{A collective gasp echoes across cyberspace}

Why, you ask? It’s simple. As an editor for nearly two decades, I’ve seen every form of plot rehashed so many times the genre holds nothing new for me anymore.

Hang on, you say. I’m writing the Luna Moonstone Stories. Aren’t those highly erotic?

Yes. Very.

Oh, I see. You want me to elaborate. All right.

I wanted to take an extremely sexual woman ruled by her genetic makeup and give her virtually no control over her fleshly desires (and no I do not mean she’s a nymphomaniac. Quite the contrary!) I also wanted to create a female character who is the gorgeous bombshell often portrayed in romance books and give her a reason to have that perfect body and incredible face through the exchange of DNA from a mystical race of beings. I wanted to see if my protagonist could discover how to overcome what her DNA dictates. Luna is half Lustonian, a race of people who find potential sex partners among other races throughout the galaxies. As a result, children are spawned, and these children grow into adults who develop intense sexual desires and little, if any, emotions. Luna is half human and half Lustonian, a person who is always at odds with herself, a carnal creature who struggles to have normal friendships let alone anything romantic. In the Luna Moonstone Stories, she solves cases for Universal Alliances, but in doing so she also learns more and more about herself and her heritage. This launches her on a journey of self-discovery that might allow Luna to control her carnal desires, and maybe, if she’s strong and overcomes the odds, she can develop honest, sincere relationships with others whether friend or romantic. If it is truly possible for her to achieve this, then the question is--how?

But that’s not all. I’m a feminist. I write women’s fiction, I believe in women’s rights, and absolutely detest the derogatory bullshit I see to this day  in 2018 regarding women and sex. Things like the oldie but goodie “it’s okay for a man to sleep around, but if a woman has more than one sexual partner, even if it has been over many years, she’s a slut”. To combat this idea, my female characters are—and I can’t stress this enough—strong diverse women to show that we are incredible people with many beautiful facets.

Luna aside, let’s take the villainess in the Luna Moonstone Stories. Her name is Bertha Bendlight AKA Bodacious Bertha. She’s a curvy woman, an entrepreneur who has worked for her wealth (although not always through honest means), and although she hates Luna, she’s learning to respect her.

There is also Petunia “Pet” who is tiny, delicate, and surprisingly vicious, as well as deadly, when the need arises.

As I write book 2, I’ve developed a new villainess to war with Bertha. Her name is Aurora Astrony. She’s Nubian, from the Sumerian and Lower Egypt area, and she tries to lord over Bertha, but Bertha must keep Aurora at bay. If Aurora has her way, Bertha may find herself locked away forever.

And yes, there are strong male characters in these stories, but the focal point is strong women who can kick ass, whether sexually, financially, through intelligence, and yes, even physically.

Curious? I hope so. Find out about Luna in book one Heaven Has Curves at THIS LINK where you can get either the e-book or paperback versions. Keep some ice or a fire extinguisher nearby as you read it, then wait patiently for book 2, Devil in the Flesh, to hit Amazon in late December 2018 early 2019. Now isn’t that cover the prettiest damn cover you’ve ever seen? Not only is Luna battling a new alien race, her body has decided it needs a makeover, but you’ll have to read book 2 to find out why and how this happens (laughs evilly). 

While I have you here, I hope you'll consider signing up for my newsletter. Also, you can find me on Twitter with the handle @FLBicknell and here www.facebook.com/AnaLeeKennedyFLBicknell. Have questions about my work? About me as an author? Post them in the comments and I will get back to you. Happy Halloween and upcoming Thanksgiving to all who celebrate those holidays! 

Listen to the 1st Chapter of The Sorcerer King & the Fire Queen
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Devil in the Flesh - Cover Reveal and Blurb

The game plan is for Luna Moonstone's 2nd story to come out in early December. Here is the link to book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G31HT4J and here is the cover reveal as well as the rough blurb.

The mission was simple: go to Earth, find out who is behind flesh trafficking, notify Universal Alliances, then wait for backup to move in and make the necessary arrests. However, a month into the investigation Luna Moonstone has very little to build her case on let alone any information to lead her to her lover, Crater Bob. Frustrating her further is Crack, her UA partner, whose possessiveness is suffocating her. To relieve some frustration and appease her carnal nature, Luna takes on Powers Matthias, a new sexy playmate, but she discovers she’s in a crazy situation that makes the dangerous trafficking case seem dull.

As she searches for Crater Bob and delves deeper into the UA case, Luna discovers more half Lustonians, or fifty-fifties as they’re known throughout the galaxies, like herself are on Earth. To complicate life, she wakes up one morning to find she’s different—physically changed—so how will Crater Bob ever recognize her now? Dubbed a devil in the flesh, Luna finds solace in that she’s not the only one with insatiable sexual desires. As she gleans information about her mystical heritage, she also finds tiny clues pointing toward a new race infiltrating Earth’s galaxy, a race that has everyone running scared. When Luna’s half-Lustonian friends start vanishing, Crack, and her assistant, Pet, help Luna track them down finally piecing all the evidence together, which leads straight back to the new aliens. Once the entire case blows wide open, Luna realizes she and the other fifty-fifties were the quarry the entire time.

Working on the 2nd Luna Moonstone Story

There are many erotic books inundating the e-publishers and self-publishing venues. However, Luna Moonstone is on a journey of self discovery to find out why she's a carnal creature with "no emotions". It's more than the fact she's half Lustonian and half Human. She must discover if she's truly able to develop friendships and if she's even capable of real love. Find out more at the link in either the ebook or print version from FaiBana Books. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G31HT4J

I'm currently writing the 2nd Luna Moonstone story. Luna finds herself in yet another dangerous situation that involves the rare Fifty-Fifty people aka half Lustonians. Will they all face their demise and be wiped from the galaxy forever?

Audio of The Sorcerer King & The Fire Queen Chapter One

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Series about Author Faith Bicknell/Ana Lee Kennedy

New Idea, New Manuscript, & Even More Ideas

I posted a few days ago on my Facebook about how I was looking for info on prostitution that wasn't glamorized because I'm doing research for a new novel. After some lengthy searching on Amazon, I did find two books. One by a woman who lived the life for 7 years & another that deals with a few women who share their experiences in prostitution. Lemme tell ya, the one by Rachel Moran called Paid For is already an eye-opener, and I've been voraciously reading it since it arrived because it's heart-wrenching, fascinating, enlightening, & shocking all in one. Also, the author's writing style is beautiful. As I read this book, I'm composing notes for my new novel. I've already changed so many previous ideas about my main character for fact-based ones. Although I'm already writing on this manuscript, I'm taking it slowly. This one is going to be very special, something for women to give them hope & strength. This non-fiction book is just...wow.

So what is the new novel about and what is it called? So far, the title hasn't come to me. Usually it's a phrase out of the prose that hits home, summing up the novel. However, I'm working on the first chapter, so that "ah-ha!" moment hasn't arrived for the title yet. As for what it's about...let's just say my heroine steps up in a way no other person, to my knowledge, has ever done. This isn't romance. It's women's fiction with a little spookiness. Not a lot, just a little. 😉