Thank you for hosting me today. I’m excited to discuss sex
and marriage in the 1930s and my recent release, Rose, Exposed, a multicultural historical erotic romance set in the
1930s.
This post is part of the official Rose, Exposed Blog Tour (3/26 - 4/09).
The grand prize for the tour is vintage-style rose
earrings for pierced ears (U.S. shipping address only).
To be eligible, COMMENT on this post. Comment should
include the historical time period and geographical setting (when and where)
you’d most like to see in a romance.
Sex and Marriage in the 1930s
Today, when a man wants to have sex with a woman, he
usually dates her and might even live with her if he wants it on a regular
basis. People tend to get married later, after living together, or not at all.
In the 1930s, however, the subject of marriage came up a lot faster in
conversation. Try watching a classic movie and then a modern one. Count the
number of times the word marriage is used in each. I bet you’ll see a big
difference. If a man wanted to get a woman into bed, he knew marriage was the
most practical way to get there.
The relationship between marriage and sex has evolved over
time and will surely continue. Historically, marriages of convenience were
common. This common plot device in historical novels features two strangers who
find themselves in close proximity, which kindles a new flame. Also, young
ladies commonly moved from the home of their family of origin directly to that
of their husband. From birth to widowhood, men ran their lives. Finally, social
mores prevented unmarried girls from being seen with men without a suitable
chaperone. Courting had a lot of restrictions and always had marriage as the
tangible goal.
By the 1930s, however, the old social mores were changing.
Dating -- spending time with a man with the goal of fun instead of marriage --
began in the 1920s. Some women even lived independently as single, working
women before marriage.
In my new release Rose,
Exposed, the heroine struggles with morality. Torn between duty and desire,
she wants to enjoy the passion of married people without the marriage because
she doesn’t want to be told what to do for the rest of her life by yet another
man. In the prequel, Plucking the Pearl,
the heroine also struggled with the morality of the times. A reviewer said I
did a nice job striking the right balance. I hope I’ve achieved it in the
sequel as well.
Rose, Exposed
Publisher:
Ellora's Cave Publishing
Release Date:
27 March 2013
eBook ISBN #:
978-14199-45205
(I love creating trailers for all my books!)
Blurb
When Leroy Johnson gets promoted at the new oyster plant
on Pearl Point, all he cares about is working hard. When he meets the
flirtatious artist Rose Wainwright, however, nothing matters except getting her
to the altar and into bed. Healing from a recent loss, he’s not about to let
her go too.
Because Rose’s strict, social-climbing father doesn’t
approve of dark-skinned Leroy, they court in secret anyplace they can find.
Although Leroy’s raw passion can convince her to do almost anything, why can’t
he understand she needs freedom, not marriage?
Her father wants her to be white, but Leroy wants her to
be black. Playing both sides of the fence leaves this young biracial beauty
exposed in more ways than one.
Excerpt (explicit)
Rose, Exposed - Copyright © AFTON LOCKE, 2013 - All Rights
Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
“You’re so…dark,” she exclaimed. Instead of the disdain he
expected, he heard fascination.
Come on, lady. Don’t
tell me you’ve never seen a colored man before.
“Yes, I’m dark,” he agreed as he politely removed her
hand, “which is why it’s not a good idea for us to sit alone together in this
car. Someone might come along and jump to the wrong conclusion.”
A conclusion that could get him beat up or worse with the
Klan close by on Oyster Island.
But before he could stop her, she clasped both sides of
his face and pressed her sweet mouth to his. Aw, hell. A man only had so much self-control, and she’d just
shattered his. Unable to stop himself, he plundered her delicate mouth. Her
lips reminded him of rose petals, and he sucked the sweetness out of them as if
he were a bee. The more he tasted, the more he wanted.
She opened, giving him access to her even sweeter tongue.
His penis strained, hard and now wet, against his undershorts. Hell, even his
balls must be twice their normal size. Taking a big breath, he pulled away from
her.
“We can’t do this. You’re white.”
She looked down at her upturned palms. “Then I really do
look white?”
Leroy frowned. “Aren’t you?”
For the first time, her smile disappeared, making him
shiver in his wet clothes. “The truth is, I don’t know what I am. I suppose
that’s why I took this foolish drive.”
She must be biracial then, he realized, and not forbidden
after all. The thought made him want to dance on the hood of the car. She still
looked white, though. If he didn’t have the time to court a girl his own color,
he sure didn’t have any for a complicated one like this.
“Kiss me again,” she demanded.
Without waiting for him to answer, she locked her hot,
damp mouth on his again and tugged hard on his shoulders. Before he knew it, he
was on top of her on the front seat. He wished her dress weren’t so thin when
two round breasts pushed against his chest and long, slender legs shifted
restlessly under his. Dizzy with the scent of rain and her, he froze.
At that moment, nothing mattered except finding out if her
cunt was as sweet and yielding as her mouth. He didn’t care if the entire Klan
showed up, knocked on the window and caught him thrusting between her legs on
this slippery leather seat. It had been too damn long since he’d had a woman.
He needed to stop this while he still could.
“Do you know what you’re asking for?” Lust had turned his
voice into a husky croak.
She laughed and touched his face again. “I don’t know.
What am I asking for?”
This girl was crazier than he’d first thought. What if
someone less honorable than himself had stopped instead? She could’ve been
raped.
“A whole lot of trouble.” He sat up. “Look, this is not
the time or the place. Now let’s get you home.”
The sooner he could be rid of her—before she derailed him
from his job, family, and everything else that mattered—the better.
WIPs Coming Soon
Rose, Exposed is the sequel to Plucking the Pearl, an interracial
historical erotic romance.
I have two more books planned for the Oyster Harbor series. Next up for romance are Sadie and Henry.
In addition to interracial/multicultural historicals, I also
plan to keep writing erotic contemporaries.
Can an older woman find love with a hot male stripper? My
current WIP, Two Hours to Entice, will answer that question.
Where readers can find me
Don’t miss the book signing on Oct 13th.
I’m also hosting a Fabulous Fusion workshop with Koko
Brown and Eve Vaughn to celebrate interracial erotic romance for EC’s Fusion
line.
6 comments:
Thank you for hosting me today!
Hi, Afton,
Great post. You show the intrigue of our recent history, and the tension of exploring several different kinds of forbidden areas.
Looks great!
Laura
Thanks, Laura!
My pleasure :D
Nice cover
1800s Brazil
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
The Rose, Exposed blog tour is now complete. Thanks to everyone who commented!
See http://www.aftonlocke.com/roseexposedtour.html for links to all my posts.
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