Guest Post & Giveaway: Authors Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol

Today we have two special guests. Authors Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol, are here to share with us what inspired them to write about a former porn-star and a veterinarian. That’s right, the hero in Dirty Beautiful used to be a porn-star and the hero in Flirting with Rescue is a veterinarian. So there’s a bit for every taste!

What inspired us to write about…

Disillusioned by love, Erica has tasted the bitter pill of betrayal and wonders if she’s enough for one man. When a hot guy moves in next door, Erica decides to settle for good old-fashioned lust. What starts out as a simple seduction quickly evolves, and Erica is fast finding out Dylan is dangerous not only to her libido, but her heart as well.  

Recently retired from the adult-film industry, Dylan hopes for a fresh start in Templeton where his porn persona, Drake Van Wulf, is unknown. His new neighbor is unlike the women he’s accustomed to, but she stirs his blood nonetheless. His rule not to get involved is quickly tested by Erica and her lush curves. Unable to withstand her allure, Dylan finds himself wanting more from Erica than just her body. He wants her heart also. 

With the secret of his past hanging in the shadows, Dylan’s about to find out if love truly conquers all.

What inspired me to write a hero that was once a porn actor? It's so left field isn't it? Knowing that most romance readers are women, how could I make this appeal to a broader range of readers? The word "porn" is often associated with kinky stuff and men with large *ahem*. It has attached with it the stigma of seediness that wouldn’t appeal to people, let alone a hero in a romance novel. I knew I was taking a risk, that even in the blurb it was going to turn off readers. But it was something I wanted to do.  The idea of the story actually came from a need in the back of my head to create a different type of hero. I love anti-heroes. I love villains who redeem themselves and wanted to feature something like that. There wasn’t an actual story in mind, but I knew I wanted something different from the CEO, the cop, the fireman or the all-around good guy. Then one day, I saw a pornography clip and saw the misery in this guy’s eyes as he said he enjoyed everything he did and looked forward to working with the woman he performed with and knew I’d found my muse. Dylan was born. A man who was unhappy with his career and wanted a change.

The next question in this was how can a guy who had a career like that find happiness? What motivated him to do this and who was he at the core of his being? I didn’t want to delve too much into the acting side early on in the series, but give a snap shot of what he did. In Dirty Beautiful, I wanted to focus on the hero’s journey to find the peace he yearned for and the love I felt he deserved. I did my research in the industry via honest documentaries and knew didn’t want to make porn actors cliché. I wanted to respect their choices but also create a three-dimensional cast, each with their own set of issues. I also had to find a perfect spot that would create a sense of family for Dylan and thought of southern hospitality. I thankfully have a friend who is a southerner and she didn’t pick up on anything so I hope it was an accurate portrayal of that type of community. Casting a heroine, I had chosen a complete opposite. A woman who was a giver and didn’t have the vast experience he did. To place her with a man who’d become so disillusioned, I felt it worked for both of them. Living in a world where women as innocent as Erica didn’t exist for him was a fresh change for Dylan and I felt that made them the perfect match. What about you, Sid, what fired your imagination to write about drug smuggling, pet rescue and a hot pairing with Cody and Scott?

Dirty Beautiful by Jodie Becker

Elora’s Cave. November 18, 2011

Sparks—and clothes—fly when hot veterinarian Cody-Lynn Parker shows up at Scott Carillo’s animal shelter. Scott’s had a bad run with women, but he can’t keep his hands off Cody’s luscious curves.  

Cody’s trying to be professional, but she can barely concentrate on work thanks to her craving for the tall, dark and sexy Cuban. She kisses caution goodbye and Scott hello when his shirt comes off.  

Between naked star-gazing and naughty massages, their steamy fling turns into an affair of the heart. But when thieves target Cody, she finds herself flirting with danger, and Scott wants to rescue her whether she thinks she needs it or not.

When I sat down to write Flirting with Rescue I followed the rule, "Write What You Know." I grew up doing rodeo, I lived in El Paso, Texas for years and have seen what the drug trade does to people and how far they're willing to go. A few months before I wrote this book, one of our pets was actually killed by a fighting dog someone brought onto our property. That, coupled with my experience with a rescue horse, lit a fire to talk about these issues in fiction.

On one hand, I know that cowboy stories are popular now, but the rodeo and ranch culture is so different nowadays than what people expect it to be. I wanted to talk about it through the voice of experience. It's not an easy lifestyle, which is why my heroine, Cody-Lynn, got out of it and went to school. Traveling the rodeo circuit helped her grow up and mature, and gave her life experiences.

I wrote Scott after a depressing conversation with a Hispanic friend of mine who was upset with the lack of ethnic diversity in romances. Sadly, most of the characters are white. Having a hero from a different background and culture adds a different layer to it. The world comes in all shades, and they're attractive and beautiful. Not all of our readers are Caucasian ladies. There are beautiful women of color who want to fall in love with a hero that's not white bread.

With the clash of these two cultures, I was able to play with how at the heart, we're all the same. We all have compassion, there's something in the world that riles us up and gets us to band together for a cause. Despite our differences, we can do something good, we can all be heroes. Flirting with Rescue explores a more proactive approach, but heroes come in all shapes and sizes, you just have to look for your opportunity to rescue someone, and maybe they'll be of the two legged, hunky variety if you're really lucky.

Flirting with Rescue by Sidney Bristol

Ellora's Cave. January 18, 2012.

To find out more about Jodie and Sidney you can visit their websites: www.jodiebecker.com and www.sidneybristol.com.

The next stop on their tour is Asian Cocoa’s Secret Garden, on Jan 21st, be sure to stop by!

GIVEAWAY!

Jodie and Sidney have kindly offered this pendant as a price to one lucky commenter (bottle not included, bummer!). All you have to do is leave a comment telling us who is your favorite porn star (I’m kidding!). Seriously, just leave a comment telling us if there’s any weird or unique profession you would love to see portrayed in a romance novel, maybe a sexy gravedigger or a hunky librarian. Contest open internationally. Remember to leave an email so I can contact the winner.

Rules:

• Winner gets a lovely pendant.
• Contest open internationally.
• Comment must include email.
• Contest ends on Tuesday, Jan 24th at 5pm EST.
• Winner will be chosen using random.org, announced here, and contacted through email and will have 72hrs to respond.