So, y’all know things have been … unfortunate. And kinda crazy. I’m trying to play catch up, so bear with me please. And I hope you’ll find the content interesting! Thanks for your patience, everyone, and please welome author Eden Bradley!
Eden Bradley Interviews hero Christian Thorne
Eden: We all love a hero, don’t we? A man who knows how to take charge at the right moment, and is equally able to show his tender side. Those are qualities I love in a good Dominant, too. A true Dom doesn’t need to be cruel-he just needs to be wicked.*G* And once he’s spanked you until you cry, he’ll kiss your tears away. Now that’s an extraordinary Dom-my dream Dom. Today I’m here talking to one of my most extraordinary fictional Dominants, Christian Thorne from my BDSM novel The Dark Garden. This book was originally released in 2007, but given all the recent Fifty Shades buzz it’s been re-released in digital format and will be available in print once more with a gorgeous, sleek new cover. Find it in Target and other stores the first week in September!
But let’s talk to Christian, shall we?
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Christian: Fictional? Eden…
Eden: *groan* He’s giving me that look. I won’t be able to think straight for an hour.
Christian: Focus, Eden.
Eden: Yes, Sir. (*sigh*). Um…where to start? Why don’t you tell us something about one of the great loves in your life, apart from Rowan, of course- your art.
Christian: My art is almost as important to me as Rowan. Almost. I’ve always been an artist-I was born with the need to paint, and more than anything, to sculpt…to feel my hands working the stone. Until I met Rowan. The woman made me need to draw her, just put the exquisite lines of her body, her face, on paper. Impossible to do her justice, but I had to try.
Eden: I remember that night…Rowan laid out on that antique settee in your studio, naked except for the yards of heavy chain you’d bound her in while you sketched her for hours. It turned out rather well for you, didn’t it?
Christian: It did. And for her. (*winks*)
Eden: Now let’s talk about something else you love: kink. Tell us what it means to you.
Christian: You know it’s something I take very seriously. I play by the Safe, Sane and Consensual credo. I see dominance as a great responsibility. When a woman gives herself over into my hands, her well-being-physical, mental and emotional-is my foremost concern. I will command her and take care of her in equal measures, and that command, every stroke of the flogger or kiss of the whip, is to feed her needs. And in doing so, mine are fed, as well. That’s what a true power exchange should be. It’s the only way I play.
Eden: But you never expected that it would lead to love…
Christian: What can I say? Rowan captivated me from the first minute I laid eyes on her. I knew she’d be a challenge. She didn’t want to submit to me-or anyone. But I saw it in her-that need to let it all go. I knew I could bring that out in her. But love? No, I never thought it would happen to me. Not in a million years. Rowan has a way of making me face myself, whether she means to or not. I needed it. Needed her. Some things are simply…fated.
Eden: *sighing girlishly*
Christian: (arching eyebrow) Is the interview over, Eden? If not, collect yourself.
Eden: What? Sorry…where were we?
Christian: I believe you were sinking into subspace. (*wicked grin*)
Eden: Mmm…yes, I was. Okay, interview….Um…
Christian: (*flicking the side of his boot with his crop*): Do you need a reminder, Eden? The interview?
Eden: Oh, not fair! You brought me down into sub space-the crop thing is not helping.
Christian: I’m waiting, Eden.
Eden: (*yet another sigh*-he does that to me): Okay, okay. Tell me what you look for in a woman.
Christian: She has to be intelligent. If I can’t have a conversation with her then I won’t respect her in the way a woman deserves to be respected by her partner. Someone who knows art is a bonus, but one I appreciate. I like a woman who has some sense of her own personal power. Someone who’s confident, who carries herself with grace. And I’m a sucker for beautiful eyes, a kissable mouth. She can be athletic, or have lush curves-those things aren’t as important as a woman’s eyes, seeing everything she is, everything her life has been, reflected there.
Eden: Careful there-you’re going to make the ladies swoon.
Christian: And that’s a bad thing?
Eden: I rather like it, myself. But I have another question…What’s your idea of a perfect evening?
Christian: I like to start with a walk from my house in the canals to Venice Beach just as the sun is setting, then home again to cook dinner together. I can make a pretty good pasta puttanesca. A glass of wine-no more than one most nights. I like to stay alert for what comes later…(*winks*)
Eden: And what comes later?
Christian: Everyone will have to read The Dark Garden to find out, won’t they? But let’s just close with this: There is something almost sacred in those acts which happen at the extreme end of the sensuality spectrum. Those things that maybe even scare you a little, make you challenge yourself, explore your endurance. And bring you to heights of pleasure you’ve never known before…Come explore that with me. I dare you…
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Surrender has its own rewards…
This scintillating erotic debut tells the deliciously potent tale of one woman’s quest for self discovery-in the intriguing underground world of Los Angeles’s club scene…
Rowan Cassidy likes to be in charge—especially in her personal life. As a Mistress at Club Privé, the most exclusive bondage/S&M club on the West Coast, Rowan can live out her dominant fantasies safely, and with complete control—until Christian Thorne walks in. Self-confidant and sophisticated, he’s a natural dominant if Rowan’s ever seen one. Yet she can’t stop thinking about him and imagining his touch.
Christian has returned home from Europe, hoping to break free from his dissatisfaction and malaise—and discovers the cure in Rowan. He’s dying to get his skilled hands on her and watch her surrender, to unlock the mystery of her that captivates him. Determined to be her Master, he makes Rowan a daring proposition: give herself over to him for thirty days.
Rowan finds Christian’s offer terrifying—and impossible to resist. But abandoning herself to Christian’s power might be more than she can handle…Or it might be the realization of her true nature and the dark garden within her. There will be only one way to find out. And once the game has begun, there’s no turning back.
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EXCERPT: WARNING-Hot stuff ahead!
He led her to the bed once more, and this time he undressed her with his own hands, carefully, tenderly. He helped her step out of her shoes, then her wool slacks, slipped her crème-colored cashmere sweater over her head, left her in her ivory silk camisole and matching thong.
“We’re going to take things slowly.” He spoke softly, soothingly. “One step at a time. I just want you to get used to my touch first. To being under my hands. You know you can always stop the scene if anything gets to be too much for you. But I want you to try to stretch your boundaries a little.”
“Just being here is a stretch for me.”
“I know that. That’s why I haven’t thrown you over my knee and given you a good, hard spanking.”
His wicked grin was infectious and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Ah, that’s better. Come now, sit here on the end of the bed.”
He pressed down a bit on her shoulder, guiding her. The bed was soft beneath her, as though it had a layer of down ticking on it under the rich brown and gold bedspread. The room was warm enough, but she shivered anyway. It was impossible to hold still.
He moved to the head of the bed and she couldn’t see what he was doing, only heard the slide of a drawer. She felt the mattress sink a little beneath his weight as he sat down behind her. When he touched a fingertip to her bare shoulder she jumped.
“It’s all right, Rowan. It’s just me.” He slid that fingertip down her arm, raising a trail of goose bumps. Down her arm to her wrist, over the back of her hand, then back up. His fingers continued their stroking exploration, over her neck, the line of her jaw. She could feel the heat from his hand on her skin. Incredible, how much heat came off that one finger. What would his whole body feel like pressed against hers?
Before she could banish that thought, her sex gave a squeeze, went liquid. She couldn’t fight it with him still touching her. He continued to stroke her skin, moving down to her collarbone, and her nipples peaked hard as he swept across the swell of one breast, then the other. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the sensation.
His hand slid over the outer edge of her bra, down over the curve of her breast and she wanted to arch into that hand, to make him cup her breast, but she didn’t move. She was trembling inside with desire.
His hand made its way over her ribcage, the lines of her abdomen, lower, until he brushed the very top of her panties. Her sex ached. She was sure he could sense the pacing of her breath, the heated flush of her skin. But right now she couldn’t find it within herself to care. She only knew she didn’t want him to stop touching her.
He took his hand away, leaving her skin cold. Then his mouth was next to her ear, whispering, “I’m going to blindfold you now.”
Panic hit her full force. “No!”
“Yes.” It was a tone few would argue with.
“I…I can’t do that.”
“You don’t have to, Rowan. That’s the beauty of this arrangement. I’ll do everything.”
He tucked her hair behind her ears while she sat, shaking and silent. She didn’t know how to fight him.
The blindfold came down over her eyes, shutting the world out. She raised her hands to her face but he quickly pulled them away.
“Still, Rowan.”
How many times had she given that very command to the bottoms she’d played with?
“You know how this is done. I want you to focus. To be aware of only the sensations in your body, your own breathing. Shut out the rest of the world. It’s just the two of us now. Let the rest fall away.”
His voice was soothing, hypnotic, yet her pulse was racing. She understood the purpose of the blindfold: to allow her to draw inward, to concentrate only on what was happening to her in this moment. But she couldn’t shut her mind off. She couldn’t stop telling herself why this whole scenario was all wrong, even as her body responded to his nearness, his hands on her. Even though her sex was soaking wet, her nipples hard and needing to be touched.
Pure agony.
He was touching her again. He lifted her hair from her neck, stroked the skin there, making her shiver.
“You’re very responsive, Rowan. I like that. You’re like a deer; hyper-aware, hyper-sensitive.”
He let her hair fall back into place and continued stroking her skin. His fingertips moved over her face; her cheekbones, her lips, where he lingered just long enough that she knew if she darted her tongue out she could taste him.
Where had that idea come from?
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CONTEST!! Tonight I’m giving away a copy of my BDSM novella Sanctuary! Just comment here and tell me what qualities you find most heroic-and especially about your dream Dom. I’ll check back in at the end of the night to announce the winner in the comments section here.
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If you’d like to read The Dark Garden for yourself you can find it now in digital formats for your Kindle or Nook. If you like a print book you can hold in your hands, it’s available now-but look for its relaunch with the new cover and bonus content in the back-in stores September 6th! You can also watch for the UK release of The Dark Garden from Black Lace Books September 13th!
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Best-selling and award-winning author Eden Bradley aka Eve Berlin has published a number of novels and novellas, both print and e-books, with Bantam/Delta, Berkley Heat, Harlequin Spice & HQN, Black Lace Books and Samhain Publishing. Her books have been translated into German, French, Romanian, Portuguese and Japanese. Eden appears regularly on Playboy Radio and conducts workshops on writing craft and writing about sex.
When not writing, you can find her wandering museums, buying shoes, and reading everything she can get her hands on. Eden lives in So. California.
Visit her websites: EdenBradley.com EveBerlin.com or her awesome group blog Smutketeers.com
And just in case you missed it, I’m copying the giveaway info here:
CONTEST!! Tonight I’m giving away a copy of my BDSM novella Sanctuary! Just comment here and tell me what qualities you find most heroic-and especially about your dream Dom. I’ll check back in at the end of the night to announce the winner in the comments section here.
I know Eden did the asking, but I want to know what your thoughts are too! 😀