Sienna Stapleton's Blog

Okay, so I know things are tough right now. This stupid virus has all of our worlds turned upside down. With job loss, little to no money, kids out of school and bored, our way of life has been completely upended. It’s quite possible that the last thing you’re thinking about is romance, especially if you have children or elderly parents living with you.

After all, with a house full of people and nowhere to go, how exactly are you supposed to have that date night you and your significant other might have enjoyed ‘pre-virus’?

Here’s the thing…keeping up routines and some sort of resemblance of your previous life is more important now than ever. That means doing your best to hold onto that special time with your spouse, which means you may need to work to make your dates happen.

So maybe you can’t go to dinner and a movie right now and you obviously can’t send the kiddos to their Grandparents for a weekend getaway or even hire a sitter for a few hours away. That doesn’t mean you have to give up on those special times. You just have to start thinking out of the box.

New Parents, with very small children, if you’re not working due to quarantine, take those afternoon nap times to curl up on the couch with your special someone and watch a movie, play a game or read a sexy romance together. Maybe just some quiet time of coffee or tea and some adult conversation is all you need. If you have a balcony or porch/patio, don’t be afraid to take the baby monitor with you and step outside for some fresh air.

If you have elementary age children, make sure you keep those bed time routines going. Those precious few hours after they go to sleep can provide just the time you need for some one-on-one time with your significant other. Order in something special (and sweet) to eat, hide it away until the kiddos are off to sleep, then feed each other that amazing dessert, using whatever creative techniques your imagination can muster. Maybe dig out that sexy romance and take turns reading it to each other. Or maybe…maybe just have a quite evening with a drink and adult conversation.

For parents with teenagers, you may need to think outside the box a little. After all, we all know that most teenagers are night owls, which doesn’t bode well for any parental romance or quite time. So, how about an early morning date instead? While your moody teens are sleeping, take a quite stroll around the neighborhood at dawn…just you, your spouse and maybe a nice cup off coffee.

Not interested in walking?

How about that coffee on your back porch, or forget the coffee and go for the classic breakfast in bed. Oh…and make sure you lock the bedroom door, just in case breakfast leads to more fun activities.

Even if your quiet time ends up being only 30 minutes of conversation or quiet time, make sure you take it and keep that bond strong. You two are in this fight together and the stronger your connection, the better chance you have of winning this battle together.

Time magazine posted a great article on how art of dating has been impacted by the Coronavirus and how some experts believe the playing field has been forever changed by this pandemic

https://time.com/5819187/dating-coronavirus/

As a writer of fan fiction I found this video both amusing and completely accurate. It speaks volumes about the wide variety of fanfic readers and how passionate, invested and critical those readers can be.

Hi, I’m Sienna and I’ve been away a long time. 

Before life got in the way I used to write romance, erotic romance and erotica. I’ve written under the following pen names Michelle Cary (sweet romance and romantic suspense), Ginny Michaels (ertoica) and my Sienna name for erotic romance. 

With the exception of some of my Ginny titles (who are still with a publisher), my work hasn’t been available from reliable and safe sources for several years, as it became too much to keep up on 3 pen names, while taking care of small children and working full time. 

I’m still working full time, but my children are older now and I have no intention of juggling 3 pen names again. 

I plan to bring all my old work to my Patreon site first, posting chapter by chapter, cover reveals, updates and teasers. My thought is that for Patron’s who don’t know me, this will be new work for them. In addition, I will be writing new titles in all of my old genres and all under my Sienna name. 

Not a fan of erotica?  Only like romance?  No problem. Each of my titles will be clearly marked, so you don’t end up reading something you won’t like.

I hope you’ll join me on Patreon and become a supporter of my work.

Sienna

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!

So last weekend we had to attend a graduation party for one of my son’s friends. Being July, it was hot and sunny, which meant jeans were out of the question. I searched through my closet, determined I had nothing nice to wear. My wonderful husband suggested I take a little of the little bit of royalty money I’d recently received and go buy myself something nice to wear. Now I’m a fairly large woman. Depending on the manufacturer and cut of the clothing I wear anywhere between a size 18 to a size 22. Part of my weight is genetic and caused by hormonal imbalance and PCOS. The rest of my weight is due to pure laziness on my part. Yes, I admit it, because I write, I tend to be a couch potato and haven’t actively tried to lose weight. I know I’ll never be thin but yes, I could be thinner than I am. Yet I digress.

So with my 12 year old daughter in tow (for moral support and fashion advice) I headed out. I hate clothes shopping. I hate trying anything on because nothing ever fits right and I get depressed. Anyway, my first stop was Burlington Coat Factory. Now this is one of my favorite stores because the clothing is reasonably priced and the selection is varied and I can usually find some nice plus size clothing there.

For the first time in years I actually purchased two dresses I found that my daughter raved looked fabulous on me. I also purchased two great blouses. However, when I went to look for some shorts or capris I came up empty. They didn’t have anything in my size.

Next I went to Ross and was disgusted to learn they didn’t carry anything about an XL or size 16. We ran out of time and I ended up wearing one of the dresses. I looked good and felt fabulous. Still, I couldn’t quite shake the frustration learning one store didn’t carry any bottoms in my size and the other didn’t carry anything at all.

I know a lot of you are probably saying why not just order on line? After all, you can find all kinds of plus size clothes on line.

I can, but I won’t know if I like them until I try them on. Now some places will be non-returnable and others I’ll have to pay for shipping. Which means I’m paying more money than I should.

I’m tired of having to settle for what I can find instead of being able to be fashionable and trendy like ‘thin’ people. So, I’ve decided. I’m going to make it my mission to located stores that carry plus size clothing. They must meet a certain criteria to make my list. They must not only carry plus size clothing, but have a decent selection and be reasonably priced. I will report back here and post my findings on a new reference page.

Long overdue and finally available!

Logan was convinced that whatever had taken place between Sophie and her last boyfriend had convoluted her thinking. It simply wasn’t like her to cry over every little thing, the fact that she was doing so now meant her confidence was standing on quicksand and sinking fast.

“I’ll do it.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized he said them and almost immediately, he wanted to grab at the air and take them back. It wasn’t that he was against taking Sophie to bed, just the opposite actually, but there would be ramifications for his actions and they were bound to be ugly.

“Oh my God,” Kara said from behind them.

Logan stole a quick glance over his shoulder only find Kara wide eyed, her hand covering her mouth. When he turned back, the stunned look on Sophie’s face made him more than a little uncomfortable. There was definitely shock filtering through her features, but there was something more. It was that something more which made him uneasy.

“You want to sleep with me?” she finally asked.

How in the hell was he supposed to answer that? Yes, he wanted more than anything to be buried deep between her luscious thighs, watching her face as he pushed her toward climax, but if he did, there was a good chance he’d ruin his friendship with Mitch. “Yes,” he finally managed to say, fearful anything more could further complicate an already delicate situation.

“Why now?”

This was it, sink or swim. Logan knew he was committing himself to a situation that could very well blow up in his face. Still, even the idea of some strange man touching Sophie, his Sophie, was too much.

He brushed a knuckle along her cheek, skimming ever so lightly over her creamy flesh. Her azure eyes held both questions and hope as she stared up at him. He let his gaze drift to her plump bottom lip, then back up to meet her stare. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he’d long ago fallen. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t ever keep a girlfriend. Whatever the reason, looking down into her eyes, he knew he couldn’t deny it any longer. “I can’t stand the idea of some stranger touching you like that. I want to be the one you think of when you look back on the experience.”

Her brow furrowed. “What about Mitch?”

That was the question of the hour. What about Mitch? Would he understand why Logan was doing this? “He doesn’t have to know, but if he somehow does manage to find out, I’ll deal with him.”

She grabbed as his forearm. “I don’t want you to ruin your friendship, Logan.”

“And I don’t want some strange man touching your body, so we’re even. Now what do you say?”

AVAILABLE NOW AT AMAZON!

YES THE CAPTION IS A BIT DRAMATIC, BUT IT GOT YOUR ATTENTION…

So it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m feeling a bit introspective today.  Honestly, I find myself obsessed with this whole readers pirating books issue.  My opinion and emotions seem to be running the gambit between apathy and anger.  I keep trying to tell myself that those who pirate wouldn’t BUY my books anyway (or any other author’s for that matter) but it’s not working.  For the most part pirates are a breed of their own who have no consideration for the impact that their actions have on others, nor would they care if they did.

Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that these same people (and I use that term loosely) would have the nerve to lie directly to authors in order to get what they want.  I’d call it readers behaving badly, but then according to some on Goodreads only authors behave badly (especially if they complain) and readers (for the most part) can do whatever they want.

Most authors who publish (including me) have Evil Day Jobs and write in their spare time (taking precious time away from family and friends, missing out on events and obligations to meet deadlines).  Writing is hard work.  It’s not just throwing words on paper.  It’s creating an engaging story that makes sense and is entertaining.  That takes time and effort.  There’s editing and proofreading and then proofreading some more. Plus marketing, which all are a huge time sink.  Most of us don’t have assistants to do our marketing and all the business paperwork that publishing brings.  We have to do it ourselves.

Writing/Marketing/paperwork = Time = Money

When we don’t make enough to live off of (if writing is our only income) or to be called a 2nd job for those of us who have EDJ, then it becomes stressful too.

It’s disheartening to see something we’ve worked so hard on be stolen out from under us and given away for free.  I would ask those pirating these titles to put yourselves in our place.  Would you want someone stealing something you worked hard on and hoped to make some money on and give it away for free?  If you’re being honest, you’d be saying no, but then thieves aren’t honest, so the point it probably moot anyway.

Based on the fact that I’ve recently found some of my own titles on these FB sites (along with all the ones I knew existed on torrent sites all over the internet), I have come to a major decision.

Unfortunately, it’s not going to make those loyal and honest fans all that happy, but there isn’t much I can do about that except say I’m sorry, but I have to do what is best for me and my family.  So moving forward, I will be looking at my alternatives for finding a real 2nd job to help pay the bills.

I’m not happy about not spending every free moment writing, but I’m also not happy dealing with the stress either. I’ve watched my sales trend downward over the last few months and I simply can’t keep up with the full-time authors, the pirates, plagiarizers and thieves, AND the promotional juggernaut that comes with trying to make writing a career.  I’m tired of fighting that losing battle.  I’m tired of being unhappy and broke.

Now that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up writing all together.  I can’t.  It’s as much a part of me as my children.  However, it will no longer be 2nd in line behind my EDJ.  I will not be rushing to push out titles every month, stressing myself out and missing my children grow up just so people can steal my work.  I will write when I have time and when the notion strikes me.  I will edit and publishing when it works for me.  I’m sorry that it has to be this way, but both mine and my family’s happiness, health and financial stability comes before everything else.  For my loyal fans, please be assured that Sienna isn’t going anywhere. She just won’t be around quite as much as you may like.  I only hope you all will understand and not hold my decision against me.  I simply have to do what’s best for me.

Oh and one last note…

If you really are in a position where you want to read a particular book and can’t afford it, before you click that download button and take money away from the author, try contacting the author directly (especially if it’s a smaller mid-list author or indie author).  Many a time an author will give you a free copy in exchange for an honest review or they’re looking for beta readers to give feedback so they can fine tune a book before release.   No money is spent and you’re actually helping your favorite author instead of hurting them.  Ask to be part of a street team and help promote your author in exchange for copies of free books or if you don’t have time for that, join their mailing list and be the first to know when new contests, giveaways and flash sales (including freebies) happen.  Just know that there ARE legal and acceptable ways for you to get that free book.

So I’m told that many are passing up my Love in a small town series because they think it’s a western. They’re not. The Love in a Small Town series is a contemporary romance about a small fictional town in Ohio and the people who live there.

While I really loved the covers I created, I can see where some would think they were westerns. So, with the hopes of removing any confusion and maybe boosting sales I’ve changed the covers. I love these covers too. Hopefully ya’ll will too…

 Have you read Reckless Curves and wondered about Brent’s sister’s story?  Well here you go.  I just hit the publish button at Amazon, so this story should be live before the end of the day.

Northern Lights is a companion story to my Reckless Curves Series.  While there are some BBW elements to the story, it isn’t a BBW story.  It is also missing the BDSM elements that have flavored my other titles.  I’ve tried to stay true to Michelle Cary’s original manuscript, only tweaking some things here and there to make sure everything ties together nicely.

Even though it’s not a BBW story, I love it anyway.  It’s sweet, romantic and takes us on a journey through a time in Brooke Hague’s life when she not must be stronger than she’s ever been, but also she must learn to rely on others to get her through this trying time.  I do hope you’ll check out this great story!

Excerpt

…Her lips tilted up at the corners and her cheeks flushed a dusty rose color. He wondered if her skin looked so pink and lovely after making love. Whoa, buddy, back the boat up! Thoughts like that had no room in his head during this trip.

Taking a step back, he worked to shake loose his last mental wanderings as she climbed into the suit and began pulling it up and over her body, punching her arms through each sleeve. “It seems a little loose.”

Trying to keep his mind on the task, Nathan studied the suit. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Don’t bother zipping it. Just take it off and try the other one on.”

She wiggled out of one garment and into the other, and struggled to get her arms in the sleeves. “Is it supposed to be this tight?”

“Yes. The better the fit, the less chance the suit will let icy water in.”

She wrangled her second arm into the sleeve, then groped around for the zipper.

“Here, let me do that.” Nathan reached for the zipper. It was supposed to be a benign gesture meant to help her, but when his hand brushed against her abdomen, sparks raced through his fingers and up his arm. She sucked in a quick breath, and his gaze flicked up to meet hers. Her eyes radiated her surprise and something more. That something more drew him in and pulled at his very soul.

As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t. The attraction was too great, too powerful for him to ignore. Before he even realized he’d done it, his other hand spanned her waist, holding her in place. For a few heartbeats, their surroundings faded away, and he had a sudden overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss her…