Tag: soul mates

Scene from 'The House on Black Lake' trailer.

[amazon_link id="B0167CVNLE" target="_blank" ]Sugar and Spice (The Duty and Destiny Series Book 6)[/amazon_link]

Please Note:  [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake [/amazon_link]has been adapted to screenplay. Visit Home Page to view cinematic trailer.

The themes of obsessive love, BDSM, alpha males, control and submission, the use of wealth and power to allure, exploit and control, are all explored in [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link]. Ramey Sandeley is a man who it has been said that "God gave too much and so he has price to pay".  He has everything that a man or woman could possible want, but he has never known a truly soulful love. When he meets Alexandra their perfect lives are blown apart and they are taken on a journey that compels them to explore the dark side of human behavior and dig deeper into their psyches. He believes the body must be contained (and sometimes beaten) for the soul to to be released. He threatens Alexandra with a whipping when she returns from a liason with a young French Artist Andre Labat and warns her that once the soul has been released from its human bondage there is no turning back.

The [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]House on Black Lake[/amazon_link] mirrors many of the same themes as the [amazon_link id="0345803485" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Fifty Shades of Grey[/amazon_link] trilogy. Yet, the characters are at different points in their lives. Ana and Christian are fortunate to meet when they are both without responsibility and available.  Ramey and Alexander fall in love at first sight.  However, they are both are newlyweds when they first meet, and have children when they reunite (she has divorced and he is still married). Yet, the longing and desire for something deeper, more profound and primal are universal at any age. Their journey is both exciting and torturous, as integrity and faithfulness are at stake as well as the confinements of society.

Other books popular with women who loved "Fifty Shades of Grey follow. The list offers a wide selection that includes recommendations from readers of all ages, and levels of  sophistication and education.

1. [amazon_link id="1936305623" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Gabriel's Inferno[/amazon_link] by Sylvain Reynard

2. [amazon_link id="B008NHMPBE" target="_blank" ]Innocence Tempted (Generational Sins Series)[/amazon_link]

3.[amazon_link id="B004XVM2M6" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]An Ordinary Girl[/amazon_link] by Barbara Elsbord

4. [amazon_link id="0452156610" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Sleeping Beauty Series[/amazon_link] by Anne Rice

5. [amazon_link id="1456527738" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Sempre[/amazon_link] by J.M Darhower

6. [amazon_link id="B007FIIF34" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Insufferable Proximity[/amazon_link] by Z. Stefani

7. [amazon_link id="0425247988" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Wicked Burn[/amazon_link] by Beth Kery

8. [amazon_link id="0425227693" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Sweet Restraint[/amazon_link] by Beth Kery

9.  [amazon_link id="B00FRK2VIM" target="_blank" ]Sweet Surrender (Complete Series)[/amazon_link] by Maya Banks

10.[amazon_link id="B00H31227I" target="_blank" ]Forever Wicked: A Wicked Lovers Novella (1001 Dark Nights)[/amazon_link] by Shaya Black

11. [amazon_link id="B00BC24MBI" target="_blank" ]Naughty Bits Part II: The Training Session[/amazon_link] by Joey W. Hill

12. [amazon_link id="B004R1QOW6" target="_blank" ]An Irresistible Bachelor[/amazon_link] by J. R. Ward

16. [amazon_link id="B00LG69EOU" target="_blank" ]Bound (Forbidden Series - Book 1)[/amazon_link]

18. [amazon_link id="1463437121" target="_blank" ]Surviving Passion (The Shattered World Book 1)[/amazon_link]

21. [amazon_link id="B002ZI4MY0" target="_blank" ]A Tall, Dark Cowboy[/amazon_link] by Mackenzie McKade

22. [amazon_link id="B005F0WRB0" target="_blank" ]Rocky Mountain Heat(Six Pack Ranch Book 1)[/amazon_link] by Sarah McCarty

26 [amazon_link id="B003F76A5E" target="_blank" ]Lost Star[Interstellar Service & Discipline][/amazon_link] by Morgan Hawkes

28. [amazon_link id="B004XVM2M6" target="_blank" ]An Ordinary Girl[/amazon_link] by Barbara Elsborg

30. [amazon_link id="B00XK6SGG6" target="_blank"]Liberating Lacey[/amazon_link] by Ann Calhoun

31. [amazon_link id="1523244836" target="_blank" ]BDSM Positions: The Beginner's Guide to BDSM[/amazon_link]

32. [amazon_link id="B01AHDSD26" target="_blank" ]Bound, Spanked and Loved: Fourteen Kinky Valentine's Day Stories[/amazon_link]

33. [amazon_link id="B002B9MH40" target="_blank" ]The Wicked West[/amazon_link]  by Victoria Dahl

34. [amazon_link id="0425247163" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Principal's Office[/amazon_link] by Jasmine Haynes

35. [amazon_link id="1439197059" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Taker[/amazon_link] by Alma Katsu

36. [amazon_link id="1466401885" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Beautiful Disaster [/amazon_link] by Jaime Mcguire

37. [amazon_link id="1609280806" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Rock Me[/amazon_link] by Cherrie Lynn

38. [amazon_link id="1475034911" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Breaking Sin[/amazon_link] by Teresa Mummert

39. [amazon_link id="1451533969" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Love Unscripted[/amazon_link] by Tina Reber

40. [amazon_link id="147500544X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Honor Student[/amazon_link] by Teresa Mummert

41. [amazon_link id="0965240967" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Story of O[/amazon_link] by Pauline Reage

43. [amazon_link id="0425263916" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Reflected in You[/amazon_link] by Sylvia Day

44. [amazon_link id="1611183766" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Master of Shadowland Series [/amazon_link] by Cherise Sinclair

45. [amazon_link id="0425245659" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Sweet Series [/amazon_link] by Maya Banks

46. [amazon_link id="1936305941" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Poughkeepsie[/amazon_link] by Debra Anastasia

47. [amazon_link id="B006LFVZ8E" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Existance Trilogy [/amazon_link] by Abbi Glines

48. [amazon_link id="0425263908" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Bared to You[/amazon_link] by Sylvia Day

49. [amazon_link id="1463651058" target="_blank" ]Untouchable[/amazon_link] by Lindsay Delagair

50. [amazon_link id="B006XZ2FC2" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]From Rags [/amazon_link] by Suzanne Wright

Author Anastasia Blackwell grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is familiar with the world of Christian Grey.  In a series of interviews set in Jacksonville, Oregon she discusses the controversial novel.

Please Note: "The House on Black Lake" has been adapted to screenplay. To view provocative trailer go to Home Page.

Ramey Sandeley, the Hero of "[amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link]" is physically perfect, which means he has a price to pay. He is internally scarred due to the suicide of his mother, a tricked marriage, and the loss of something so dear his fate is in peril. Perfection gives him the right to anything he desires, yet he is incapable of having his deepest needs met. The man is tortured, conflicted, and lost, yet on the surface he appears to have it all.

There are other suffering heroes in novels of romance that share this curse, and others who face physical disfigurement  Each is charged with the same challenge - to find love with a woman who will overlook flaws and accept without judgment. Alexandra, the heroine of "The House on Black Lake", says of Ramey, "If beauty is nothing without a dark river running through it, then Ramey Sandeley has more than God gave him, he now claims the greatest of God's gifts."

Alexandra is possibly more evolved than other women, as she has experienced life as "a freak". The right side of her face was paralyzed after the birth of her first child. A vow at St. Joseph's shrine, "Truth for Beauty" cured her malady but left her with a price to pay. She must seek out her rightful destiny in return for her unmarked face.

[amazon_link id="1936594323" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Phantom of the Opera[/amazon_link] is the quintessential story of a scarred hero, both inside and out.  I love [amazon_link id="B0007TKNII" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]the film [/amazon_link]with Gerard Butler. The following are the top romance novels with flawed/scarred heroes. Information is culled from discussions with fans and Amazon Romance forum.

1[amazon_link id="0821764039" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ] Exposure [/amazon_link]by Susan Anderson

2. [amazon_link id="0671702513" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Prize[/amazon_link] by Julie Garwood

3.[amazon_link id="0446611808" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ] Envy[/amazon_link] by Sandra Brown

4. [amazon_link id="0553573225" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Home Fires[/amazon_link] by Luanne Rice

5. [amazon_link id="0440241979" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Simply Love [/amazon_link]by Mary Balogh

6. [amazon_link id="0553293168" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ravished[/amazon_link] by Amanda Quick

7. [amazon_link id="1936594196" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Jane Eyre [/amazon_link]by Charlotte Bronte

8. [amazon_link id="0743297334" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Sun Also Rises [/amazon_link]by Ernest Hemingway

9. [amazon_link id="0061794716" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Feral Warriors [/amazon_link]Series by Patricia Palmer

10. [amazon_link id="067187750X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Fire Rose [/amazon_link]by Mercedes Lackey

11. [amazon_link id="B0040RMFJS" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Running Hot[/amazon_link] by Jayne Ann Krentz

12. [amazon_link id="0758204272" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Lover[/amazon_link] by Robin Shone

13. [amazon_link id="0373770227" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Lord of the Desert[/amazon_link] by Diane Palmer

14. [amazon_link id="051512866X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Winter Garden [/amazon_link]by Adele Ashworth

16. [amazon_link id="0440129818" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ] The Gentle Pirate[/amazon_link] by Stephanie James

17. [amazon_link id="0061684287" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Captive of Sin[/amazon_link] by Anna Campbell

18. [amazon_link id="0615252656" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Music Box Danseur[/amazon_link] by Marlene K. Slade - the story is about two men, but many  women seem to love this book about mismatched lovers

19. [amazon_link id="034553087X" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Midnight Breed [/amazon_link]Series by Lara Adrian

20. [amazon_link id="0312376871" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Dark Hunters[/amazon_link] Series by Sherilyn Kenyon

21. [amazon_link id="1416563458" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Defeat the Darkness[/amazon_link] (Paladin Series) by A. Morgon

22. [amazon_link id="B0044KM0ZU" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Indian Rose [/amazon_link]by Emma Daniels

23. [amazon_link id="0345521226" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Troubleshooter[/amazon_link] Series by Suzanne Brockman

24. [amazon_link id="1604359064" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Beneath the Surface [/amazon_link]by Marie Rochelle

25. [amazon_link id="0451226739" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Comanche Heart[/amazon_link] by Catherine Anderson

26. [amazon_link id="0446406937" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]To Beguile a Beast [/amazon_link]by Elizabeth Hoyt

27. [amazon_link id="0425229025" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Bengal's Heart [/amazon_link]by Lora Leigh

28. [amazon_link id="0061340294" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]When Seducing a Duke [/amazon_link]by Katherine Smyth

29. [amazon_link id="0312938837" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Dream Warrior [/amazon_link]by Sherrilyn Kenyon

30. [amazon_link id="0373775237" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Darkest Kiss [/amazon_link]by Gena Showalter.

31. [amazon_link id="0380756250" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Once a Princess[/amazon_link] by Johanna Lindsey.

 
32. [amazon_link id="0821764039" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Exposure [/amazon_link]by Susan Anderson.

33. [amazon_link id="0425214494" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Warriors of Poseidon[/amazon_link], Alyssa Day

34. [amazon_link id="1568654650" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Texas Destiny [/amazon_link]by Lorraine Heath

35.[amazon_link id="0821754858" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ] Tapestry[/amazon_link] by Karen Ranney

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Ramey Sandeley and Alexandra Brighton Reunite in Scene from Trailer

ATTENTION READERS: New Romantic Fantasy, The Chamber of Curiosities is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER. The e-book will be delivered to your Kindle on Sunday, May 14, 2017. Be the first to read, review, and start discussions on forums. The epic story, set in a carnival in an ancient land, features characters forced to abandon love, but fight to reunite, against all odds.

Reunited romance is popular in fiction, as in real life. Often a highly charged attraction cannot be realized as one or both are in a committed relationship. Or, one spurns, and then returns to woo or be won. Time apart can bring great change in individuals and offer opportunity for grown and maturity. Fate usually has its way, one way or another, so if an attraction is strong enoughh generally there will be a reunion at some point in the future.

In [amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The House on Black Lake[/amazon_link] Alexandra Brighton meets Ramey Sandeley months after they have each married another. When he first takes her eyes she experiences a powerful connection.That night she makes love to her husband and pretends she is making love to Ramey. Nine months to the day she gives birth to a son.

Nearly 12 years later, now in the throes of a vicious divorce battle, she is invited to vacation at the Sandeley’s summer home on Black Lake. Alexandra does not make the journey to seduce Ramey Sandeley, as he is married with 5 children.  Rather, she makes the journey to release herself from him. However, she does not bargain on the fact that he is just as obsessed and tormented by the fateful evening, and their attempts to find resolution draw them into a dangerous web of betrayal and deceit.

Other popular novels featuring second hand love (thanks to Amazon romance form for input) are listed below.  None of the heroines are easily won back.

1. [amazon_link id="0373775059" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Libertine’s Kiss[/amazon_link] by Judith James – the couple were childhood playmates/sweethearts and got separated, she went on to get married and widowed and finds the H again when she goes to petition for her lands, H helps her

2. [amazon_link id="0804119759" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Devil Takes a Bride[/amazon_link] by Gaelen Foley  -H spurns h, then has to woo her back

3. [amazon_link id="1416567038" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Duke of Shadows [/amazon_link]by Meredith Moran - h thinks the H abandoned her, H thinks the h is dead, when they meet the h doesn't want to rekindle because it brings up bad memories, so the H pursues

4. [amazon_link id="0061136093" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Tempt Me Tonight [/amazon_link]by Toni Blake - H and h were high school sweethearts, H cheated on h and they broke up. Years later she returns to town and they rekindle, lots of groveling by H.

5. [amazon_link id="0446566586" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Edge of Sight [/amazon_link](The Guardian Angelinos) by Roxanne St. Clare - H and h hook up and then split up due to H. Three years later h needs help in a situation and H becomes bodyguard.

6. [amazon_link id="0446614823" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Forget Me Not[/amazon_link] (Navy Seals, Book 1) by Marliss Melton - H is solider captured for a year, presumed dead, then returns with amnesia. h has moved on with life.

7. [amazon_link id="0425235459" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage [/amazon_link]by Jennifer Ashley - H and h separated for years, after H treated her badly. H wants to reunite.

8. [amazon_link id="0440243963" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Sins of Lord Easterbrook[/amazon_link] by Madeline Hunter - H and h intrigued by one another, but circumstances prevent them getting together. They meet up again and he pursues.

9. [amazon_link id="0060561661" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Three Nights [/amazon_link]by Debra Mullins - H and h have arrangement for three nights of sex to forgive father’s dept.  h gets pregnant and thinks H abandons her, but actually he is captured away for years. When he gets back and finds out about the child he wants a real relationship.

10. [amazon_link id="0312945795" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Wild Card[/amazon_link] by Lora Leigh - H is a Navy Seal who is forced to assume new identity. h believes he is dead, but when he returns to protect her from trouble, they must pretend to not know each other.

11. [amazon_link id="1419953249" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Sweet Gum Tree[/amazon_link] by Catherine Allred – Couple meet as children and friendship turns to love. H suddenly departs after death of father. H has fifteen years of struggles and family heartbreak, then one day H shows up in town.
12. [amazon_link id="0373605285" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Addicted[/amazon_link] by Charlotte Featherstone - historical – Young friends and lover find their relationship ruined by H’s opium addiction, h later tries to help him get over his addiction.

14. [amazon_link id="0553578138" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]A Place to Call Home[/amazon_link] by Deborah Smith – Star crossed lovers meet as children on opposite side of tracks. H is son of abusive father, h is his champion. Twenty years pass until they meet again.

15. [amazon_link id="B0020MMBP8" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Missing[/amazon_link] by Shiloh Ward - psychic, paranormal about troubled young woman with psychic powers and young man who helps her define her gifts by befriending, then leaving her, and returning when he needs help

15. [amazon_link id="0345476255" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]To Die For: a Novel[/amazon_link] by Linda Howard  - H breaks off with her because he thinks she's "high maintenance". He's a cop and when he thinks she's been killed at her place of business, he realizes he loves her. Light hearted.

More to come . . .

Readers have requested I offer  page number and a taste of grovel scene in "The House on Black Lake". The scene is near end of book, on page 226. It shouldn't be read by those who prefer to not know what's coming - go straight to Amazon link.

Excerpt from Chapter 29 - "The Struggle Before Dawn":

           “Will you remain still if I move off you,” I hear Ramey ask me. My eyelids flicker open to view him slide off and move to the edge of the blanket, where he lowers his head to his knees and covers his face with his hands. Woozy and light-headed, I lie still and wait for the dizziness to pass. A strange choking sound issues from him, and I open my eyes to a sight I would never have thought possible, not in a thousand lifetimes.

             Ramey Sandeley is crying.

          “Did you bring me to the lake to kill me?” I ask him in a hoarse whisper.

          “I’m sorry if I frightened or hurt you. Please forgive me; forgive me for everything. I never meant to harm you. I only wanted to stop you from leaving me", he says, and lifts his head to look at me through streams of tears.  “The first time I saw you was the first time I felt myself come alive. Your eyes pierced through mine like fucking razor blades and I saw in you all the wonders of the universe. I felt I’d found my mate, someone I could share all the crazy fantasies, ideas, and dreams. And in the darkness, every night, I wished you close to me, to stave off the monstrous evils that dogged me. It was you, only you . . .” 

          He wipes his tears with the back of his hand, takes a deep breath, and pushes himself up from the ground. His face contorts as he appears to struggle against an insurmountable force.   “Sacrifice means nothing unless you are willing to give up something you can’t live without. I brought you here for a purpose. But things have changed . . .”

[amazon_link id="0982500203" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]THE HOUSE ON BLACK LAKE[/amazon_link] HAS BEEN ADAPTED TO SCREENPLAY. GO TO HOME PAGE TO VIEW PROVOCATIVE CINEMATIC TRAILER.

Pictures feature international model/actor Tosh Yanez and Anastasia Blackwell recreating scene from book during filming of trailer in the Aimee Crocker Room of historic bed and breakfast, Chateau Tivoli. 

Fairy tales and romantic comedies have led us down a path to seek beautiful romance. But, society tells us this may not be at all what we crave. Lady GaGa's new song is breaking records, as is Twilight. True Blood, Spartacus, Mad Men, and the list goes on. They all show bad romance at its very best. All seek something, but none really finds it.  Because it cannot be had without an interference. There is always the dark side ready to swallow us up - man and woman.

"The House on Black Lake" explores this theme through many different angles and individuals.  At book's end it is still not clear where the answer lies, but there is hope of something different and far more exhilarating. There is something about "Bad Romance" that lures us all and can be explosive if we learn how to harness it. The romantic candlelit table places too much expectation of perfection and beauty without the thorn that gives it its special allure.

Bad Romance - a revolution unfolds!

Bad Romance

Alexandra is lured by Andre to his cottage where she learns more about herself than she had bargained for.