Happy New Year!

Hi, kittens!

Happy New Year! Can you believe one year is down and we're starting a new one? As always, the start of the new year makes people reflective, including me. So when I think of the past year, I think about all the great things that have happened. For one, I've had several releases.

Slave to Love available in ebook and print through Phaze Books.

Is This Love? available in ebook and print through Phaze Books. 

And "Learning the Hard Way" available in ebook through All Romance eBooks.

Under my real name, Crystal B. Bright, I released my first book in more than ten years. The Look of Love is the first book in the Mama's Boys series and is available in ebook and print through Lyrical Press.

 Book 2, Forget Me Not, will be out February 2016 in ebook and print from Lyrical Press. Talk about starting off the year right!

And book 3, Head Over Heels, will be out August 2016 in ebook and print from Lyrical Press. My year is already starting off right.

It feels so good to be productive again. If I want to keep on that path, I have to set goals for myself. I'll need to make a writing schedule and keep to it. So I'm cutting this post short. I'll get with you all next month to talk about Forget Me Not.

Stay sexy,
BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Holy shit balls!

Hey, Kittens!

Whew! That's it. The "Kickin' It with Adrienne Kama and Bridget Midway" event is over. Wow! What a great time. It was a ton of work to pull off, but so worth it. I would love to do that again sometime...but not just yet. Like I said, it was A LOT of work to put the whole shebang together.

So what did I discover with this event? LOTS of things.

1. Readers are awesome! The readers that came out to the event did it with eyes and minds wide open. Here I was expecting them to be quiet and shy. Oh, no. They were asking questions left and right, getting involved, loving all the play.
2. Authors are awesome!  Not only did we receive a ton of great promo and books from authors, but also a ton of authors registered and came to the event as well, authors like Taisha DeMay, A.C. Arthur, Shara Azod, Eve Vaughn and the yet-to-be-published Nikki Hale and Denise Williams Cherry. It's great seeing authors wanting to learn more about a lifestyle to write it accurately. 
3. People in the Lifestyle are awesome! Preparing for this event, I was like a chicken with my head cut off. I was running around making sure the hotel was okay, that the food was order, and I had the bags and everything ready. Three days before the actual event, one of my BDSM demonstrators contacted me to say she couldn't be a part of the event. She was supposed to open the event, so this threw me for a loop. So I asked her and another demonstrator that if they could, find me a suitable replacement. Oh, they did. The amazing East Bound and his girl, toy, joined and did an amazing kinbaku scene, which opened the event. Also there was Master Stephen and his girl kris iris. And there was Sir Knotz, who did a great rope demonstration, Vanilla Facade, who filled in as his assistant, and, of course, my buddy into. Two years ago when he was at the "Wrapped Up" event, he was there with Mistress Dama de Noche as her slave. Since her passing, it was different for me to see him in a more dominating role even though I knew in his life before Dama, he was a Dom. 
4. Adrienne Kama is awesome! So I've known Adrienne for over ten years. She and I were at the same crappy publisher together. The reason I had asked her to do this event with me was because at the time, she was the only author of color that I knew doing interracial BDSM. I contacted her a year ago and asked if she wanted to be a part of this event and release her third book in the Stella Rice series. She happily agreed. She is a wonderful, calming spirit and a great partner in this event. 
5. The demand is high. As soon as I said, "Thank you! Good night!" readers and the people in the Lifestyle came up to me and said, "You need to do this again, and we'll come back." Here I thought I had totally screwed up the day. I wanted to do so much more that I couldn't. But, it's good to see that if I were to do it again -- and trust me, that's a big if -- that there would still be an audience. 

What made me proud was to release the third book in my Love series. Is This Love? is now released in ebook and print through Phaze Books. Considering I never thought I would write a sequel to Love My Way, I'm thrilled that I could come up with a 3rd book that will -- hopefully -- interest readers.

So now that all of that is done, I'm taking a bit of me time for the next couple of months. I'll do some plotting, but overall, I'm taking it easy until the new year. Then watch out. So much more is coming including book 2 in the Mama's Boys series under my real name, Crystal B. Bright. The second book is called Forget Me Not. It'll be out in ebook and print in February 2016 through Lyrical Press. This brother is an NFL quarterback with a green thumb. I can't wait for this one to come out.

Okay, time to relax. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Stay sexy,
BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Contributing to the delinquency of book sales

Hi, kittens!

Just four days until the "Kickin' It with Adrienne Kama and Bridget Midway" event in Williamsburg. I have the printed books in hand. The swag bags are nearly packed. Adrienne is ready. My demonstrators are ready. I know readers are ready. I see the posts on Facebook. I've even checked out the hotel layout so I'll know how to have the room set up. I cannot wait to have the registrants see the demonstrators in action. I also can't wait until they have my book, Is This Love?, in their hot, little hands.

While my mind is on the event, I've been thinking about something else, something more crucial. Book sales. At a recent event, Yvette Hines had asked me if I noticed a difference in my royalty payments lately. I hadn't really. When I scanned my royalties spreadsheet, I did notice a trend, a downward trend.

As an author, I could chalk the dip in sales to a myriad of things. I didn't promote enough. I'm not writing what readers are interested in now. I'm not publishing enough. Notice how I keep the focus on me and not the readers or my publishers or even global warming. It's because there's no one to blame but me and my actions. I can't really complain about a problem that I, myself, have contributed to in the past.

Readers have been enjoying the wave of low-cost box sets that have been so prevalent within the last few years. They're able to get nine, ten, twelve, and I think I even saw one with fifteen stories, sometimes even full-length novels, for only $0.99! Why should readers pay full price for a novel when they can get several for a tenth of the cost? Even I participated in a box set a year ago.

For authors, it's a way to get to that best-seller status. For readers, it's a great way to learn about authors they may have never heard of or read before, and a way to get cheap fiction. It's the Wal-Mart of romance. No, better yet. It's the Costco or Sam's Club of romance. Big box superstore versus a specialty store.

Authors can't compete with the bargain, but we've become so shortsighted about the immediate result that we haven't considered the big picture. Or maybe we have, but we thought we would get a different outcome. Maybe authors, like myself, thought that if we got involved in a box set and new readers discovered us on top of making a best-seller list, that those new readers would buy our backlist titles. The only thing we managed to do is make readers even more ravenous for similarly packaged works.

So what am I to do? Keep doing box sets? No. For one, it's not as lucrative as one may think. Yes, there's a great chance to garner enough sales to make it to a best-seller list like New York Times or USA Today. Ultimately, you end up feeling like you've sold yourself short. Secondly, it can stifle creativity. It did for me. I discovered very quickly that I'm the kid who plays in the sandbox alone. That's okay. Self-awareness is a great thing.

Recently I saw a video on Facebook of Lady Gaga talking about how she almost quit the music business because she was forced to do things within it that she didn't like. I love Lady Gaga and I think she's a very talented woman, but I posted all the things she'd done wrong up to that point in her career that she said she hated. As I typed the words and reread them, I realized I was talking to myself.

In order for me to be a happy, productive writer, I have to love what I write. I want to give readers great fiction. Not rushed fiction. Not stereotypical fiction. Definitely not predictable fiction. I'm going to stand by my idea that if I continue to write strong romances with great plots and engaging characters that the readers will come.

So, in order to support that claim, I need to cut this post and get to writing.

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

I'm so excited!

Hi, Kittens,

I'm a month away from Adrienne Kama and my "Kickin' It" event, happening the weekend of November 6th and 7th in Williamsburg, Virginia. I cannot wait! If I could publish a million smiley faces in this post to show that, I would. So why am I so excited? Hmmm, let me count the ways.

First of all, I get to hang out with readers and authors for a couple of days. Not bad for the girl who never sat at the cool-kids' table. Next, I get to hang out with my BDSM lifestyle buddy, into. Since his mistress passed away, I haven't had an opportunity to see him. Seeing him again would be wonderful. Thirdly (is that a word?), I'll get to finally meet Adrienne Kama face-to-face. We've known each other for years online. But this event will allow me to put a face to the name.

What really makes me nervous is the release of the third book in the Love series, Is This Love?

Here's the blurb: Rocco Silva has zero interest in getting in front of the camera again. After being eliminated, not once, but twice when he competed on "Slave to Love," a reality TV show where a submissive looks for a Dominant, he's become the laughing stock in his BDSM and professional communities. He pours his full concentration on his work as the owner of a garbage company until a sexy woman walks into his life.

Gia Curtiss is tired of her work as a staff photographer in a discount store. After earning her filmmaking degree, she wants to put her education to use by doing a documentary. After a friend tells her of an opportunity to work as a production assistant for Ananda Morton, the producer of "Slave to Love," Gia decides to see the woman about a different proposition. She pitches the idea of doing a documentary on the twice-rejected contestant from her show. Ananda doesn't think the man will do it and challenges Gia to get him to agree. If he does, Ananda will hire her as a director.

Gia thinks she has it made until she runs into opposition with Rocco. He has no interest in making a fool of himself again unless Gia agrees to go on camera with him, allowing him to play with her. When Gia gets caught up with playing with Rocco, it's hard for her to discern what's real and what's just for show. Can she figure out her feelings before filming ends? Will he allow himself to be vulnerable for this special woman?

The book will available to the public on November 10th, but attendees of the "Kickin' It" event will get it early. I'm crossing fingers, toes, and eyes that readers will love the book.

Okay, I need to get back to planning this event.

Stay sexy,
BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com 

There's no escape. I'm a SLAVE TO LOVE.

Hi, Kittens!

So this is it. If you weren't at A.C. Arthur's Beach Bask in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, you weren't on the ground floor to get my highly anticipated (hopefully) sequel to Love My Way called Slave to Love. It's published by Phaze Books and will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, August 4th. I cannot wait for this release!

This is ten years in the making. I had never planned to write a sequel, mainly because I didn't think I could top Love My Way, and, logistically, I didn't see how a submissive would be able to pick her Dominant. With some age, wisdom, and a bit more in-person BDSM research, I figured out how the scenario could work. I just hope that readers dig the story. I know I had fun writing it.

I did something in this book I had never done before. A couple of readers contacted me before I started writing this book and asked me if I would include them as characters in any of my books. Because it was the readers that prompted me to write a sequel, I thought this would be the perfect book to include them and some other readers. I just hope they still like the story and me after the read what I did to them in the book. Definitely a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

After this release, the next book will be Is This Love?, also published by Phaze Books. That book will be out in time for my event in November, "Kickin' It with Adrienne Kama and Bridget Midway." I'd like to say that I'll never include readers as characters again because it was so difficult to be "mean" to them in the story, but I have this third book and I have already started it.

To make sure this book gets released on time, I need to go and get to work.

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

"My name is Dita. I'll be your mistress tonight."

Hi Kittens,

One of the great things about being an author is being able to share our craft with interested readers. A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Interracial Romance Authors Expo put together by author Kassanna. It was held in Orlando, Florida. The event was amazing! Since I write interracial romances, it was great to connect with readers who absolutely love the genre. Readers can feel comfortable asking us authors anything about our work and our process. I can't wait until we do this again next year. Kassanna has already set up new dates for May 2016.

Thanks to authors like Yvette Hines and Kassanna, I decided to put on an event this November with erotic romance author Adrienne Kama. It'll be called "Kickin' It with Adrienne Kama and Bridget Midway." Click here for more information or to register for the event.

I'm very excited about this event because we'll be releasing new work to readers and because we'll have people from the Lifestyle doing demonstrations throughout the day. One Dom named Sir Knotz will demonstrate rope play. I actually can't wait to see that. I've written about rope play and Shibari, the Japanese art of rope play, in several of my books. It'll be great to see it up close. I've been teasing my readers with pictures of rope play. This one caught a lot of attention.

Although I would love to show up to my event in this, there's no way I could ever rock an all-rope dress. Interesting thought.

As I had mentioned in my blog post a couple of months ago, I'll be releasing Is This Love? during the event. This will be the third and final book in the Love trilogy. I can't wait for that to happen. Before it can, though, I need to get to work and finish that book.

Until next month, I'll chat with you all later!

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Oooh, no she didn't!

Hi kittens,

So lots of things happening for me right now. Too, too busy. But that's a very good thing. I'm writing a lot right now, which is a far cry to where I was a year and a half ago. Not sure what was going on with me. I'll just say my muse and I weren't speaking. I still loved writing. I just needed the bug back. No one could get me back on that horse but me. But I have that stallion between my legs and I'm riding him for all he's worth. You take that however you want.

So with the writing comes some great news. For one, I'll be releasing new work (Yeah!). The first book will be a sequel to Love My Way. It's called Slave to Love. Hey, what I can I say? You can take the girl out of the 80's but you can't take the 80's out of the girl.

Here's the blurb.

It’s been five years, and Christian Jace Morton still hears about his older brother, Eagan,and his controversial and groundbreaking TV show Love My Way. He’s also tired of everyone’s fascination with BDSM, so much so that he stops his involvement in the Lifestyle and opts to go by his middle name to keep his association away from a character with the same name in a popular book series. Considering he hasn’t truly forgiven Eagan for abandoning the family when their father died, Jace decides to put his full concentration on his construction business. His life would be fine if his sister-in-law, Eagan’s wife Ananda, didn’t ask him to use his house for another reality TV show.

Taren Kerrigan has been enamored with the BDSM lifestyle since she heard about the Love My Way TV show. Since she was only nineteen at the time the show was taped, her friend, Love My Way contestant Dorothy/Meadow, talks her out of trying out for the show. When Taren hears that Ananda “Begonia” Morton has been trying to contact Dorothy to have her own show for her to find a Dom...or Domme, Taren offers to go in Dorothy’s place. She wants the BDSM fairy tale.

Even though Jace wants nothing to do with the show, his interest is piqued once he sees Taren. When he discovers her love of the show and all things Eagan Morton, he doesn’t want to reveal his identity of being Eagan’s brother. He competes if only to refute the notion of finding the perfect BDSM relationship on a reality TV show.

Can Jace learn to let go of the past and trust his instincts? Will Taren see past the fanfare of the Lifestyle to discover its true meaning? Will they do it in time to discover each other?

Hot, right? This book will debut at A.C. Arthur's 2015 Beach Bash. Attendees there will get it first before it's released to the rest of the population. Kind of makes you want to go to the event, doesn't it? Click here for information about the event.

So you can't have just 2 books, especially if you want to call it a series. Has to be at least 3 books. So the third book in the series will be called Is this Love? Do your best Tawny Kitaen hair flip. I've always wanted to write a book where the hero is a sadist. This will be that book.

Here's the blurb.

Rocco Silva has zero interest in getting in front of the camera again. After being eliminated when he competed on “Slave to Love,” a reality TV show where a submissive looks for a Dominant, he pours his full concentration on his work as the owner of a garbage company until a sexy woman walks into his life.

Gia Curtiss is tired of her work as a staff photographer in a discount store. After earning her filmmaking degree, she wants to put her education to use by doing a documentary. After a friend tells her of an opportunity to work as a production assistant for Ananda Morton, the producer of “Slave to Love”, Gia decides to see the woman about a different proposition. She pitches the idea of doing a documentary on the eliminated Dominant from her show. Ananda doesn’t think the man will do it and challenges Gia to get him to agree. If he does, Ananda will hire her as a director.

Gia thinks she has it made until she runs into opposition with Rocco. He has no interest in making a fool of himself again unless Gia agrees to go on camera with him, allowing him to play with her.

When Gia gets caught up with playing with Rocco, it’s hard for her to discern what’s real and what’s just for show. Can she figure out her feelings before filming ends? Will he allow himself to be vulnerable for this special woman?

This book will be released at a BDSM event author Adrienne Kama and I will be holding on Saturday, November 7th in Williamsburg, Virginia. Nothing says kinky like Colonial Williamsburg. For more information on that event, click here. Registration is going on right now. Don't delay. We can only fit 40 attendees.

If you thought that that was all I have going on, you haven't heard the half of it. But I have to get going. I'm writing my fingers to the bone. I'll tell you more in May.

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

If it's good enough for Harper Lee...

Hey kittens,

First of all, Happy New Year! Since this is the first post on the Hot M.A.M.A.s blog, I wanted to share my well wishes for a wonderful and prosperous New Year! Now, let's get down to some business!

So who's Harper Lee and what does that person have to do with me? For those who don't know, Harper Lee is the author who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird. A wonderful book and awesome movie. When that's your first published work and you knock it out of the park with it, where else can you go? I'm sure that's what Harper Lee must have thought. Or maybe she just wanted her privacy. If that's the case, she's ruined it for herself. She announced that she plans on writing a sequel to her book. Amazing, right? Yeah, it's a sequel 55 years later!

I know I'm a slow writer. But 55 years? And here I was feeling bad for planning to release the sequel to Love My Way, my contemporary BDSM Interracial erotic romance through Phaze Books, years after it was released.

Slave to Love is the long-awaited sequel. After I had released Love My Way, readers sent me messages asking me to do a sequel. I toyed around with the idea for years. I even started and finished a story several times. Readers wanted me to explore the story of one of the contestants, which sounds great. The bad part about that idea is that none of the contestants were "speaking" to me. I didn't feel the need to explore their story. What I really wanted to do was to delve into Eagan Morton's brother's story. I mentioned his brother, Christian (yes, I understand that his name matches the name of a hero from that other book), and talked about the tense relationship between Eagan and Christian, who now goes by his middle name, Jace.

As far as the heroine, I wanted her to be someone unafraid of the BDSM scene. She's a newbie but not a novice, if that makes sense. The story will center on another reality TV show. This time, a submissive is searching for her Dom...or Domme. You all know me. I like to push boundaries.

Here's the cover. Awesome, right?

So when will the sequel be released? If you're going to A.C. Arthur's Beach Bash in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in July, you can buy the book then. If not, the book will be out the week after the event, so the first week in August. And if you're registered for the event, you can sit with any author during breakfast. If you want to pick my brain about the book, pick me to sit with.

Okay, I need to get writing! Time is ticking!

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

The Little Story That Could

Hi my sexy babies!

As I prepare for my very first interracial romance cruise on Princess Cruises while I promote my latest re-re-release, Last Call, I was thinking about that book. And, no, I didn't mistype back there. Last Call is my little story that could. It was originally released in a three-author anthology called Reignited along with authors Yvette Hines and Aliyah Burke through Whispers Publishing. When that publisher folded, I knew I wanted to expand the story from the 20,000+ novella to a full-length novel. So when I was asked to join the Scandalous Heroes box set, I found the perfect venue to expand the story and put it back out there.

The box set was only set to be on sale for only 2 months. So before it came down in September, I decided to expand it once again for when it was set to be released again, this time through Phaze Books. I had always had it in my mind that I was going to add at least 5 chapters, which seems crazy to do when I had already added over 30,000 words to the story when it was in the box set. As I was expanding it, little by little, I found that I was making my challenging goal of 5 extra chapters! Now it's on sale in ebook and print at Phaze Books, and it's available in Nook form at BN.com. Soon it'll be available at Amazon and Books-A-Million!

More exciting news that that: have you all heard about the newest Hot M.A.M.A. to join the set? Keep a look out for the announcement coming soon.

I hate to chat and run, but I have to get going.

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Better Late Than...

Okay, so I'm a bit behind on my blog posts. It's been a wild and crazy year for me so far, and it's only April(well, it's April when this blog posts).

When I thought about what to talk about, I thought about my writing career. My first release came out April 2005. It was a futuristic erotic romance with white characters, believe it or not. "Adam and E-V-E" started it all. Hard to believe that the story started off as a 850-word, innocent short story. It's also hard to believe that as an author known for writing interracial BDSM erotic romance started off writing futuristic and regular (if you can call them regular) contemporary erotic romances.

When I started writing, all I knew was that I wanted to write. It didn't matter what type of story. Well, that's not entirely true. I knew I wanted to write romances. I LOVE romances. Even when I was a kid, I loved watching those old romantic movies, even the black-and-white ones. I loved seeing a couple battle each other, eventually get together, fall in love, break apart, then get back together again. It just gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside to watch the progression.

That's what I loved about my latest release, Woman in Chains. This is a contemporary, interracial, BDSM erotic romance about a former Dom who saves abused slaves and submissives. He saves one who is owned by the Dom who took his former submissive. As you can see, they clearly have some obstacles to overcome. Once they get together, mmm, is it magic.

That's what I look for in a read. I want the couple to have a huge obstacle to overcome and then find each other in the end. It's what life is all about, right?

So if I could give advice to yet-to-be-published authors that is to enjoy writing. Once you're published, you may get the feeling you're working at writing your next book. Never see it as work. Always remember how fun it is to write and create a story. If you remember that, then you'll have a long, happy career.

Speaking of long, happy careers, I have to go. Enjoy your next read!

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Is that how you do it?

So in case you haven't check out either Yvette Hines or my Facebook pages recently, you may have seen that we just hosted an in-person author event to announce the launch of our latest contemporary interracial BDSM erotic romance releases, Red Hots by Yvette Hines and my Licorice Whips.

Wow! It's all I can say. For one, what a massive undertaking to arrange to get a conference room, discounted hotel rooms, speakers if you're not the only one doing the presentation, and prizes. On top of all that, Yvette Hines and I had to write, edit, and get published our full-length novels. It was a lot to do in a few months. I know what you all are thinking. "Bridget, didn't you do the same thing for the Hot M.A.M.A. event?" There were a lot of differences between the two events. For one, Kianna Alexander did most of the legwork for the Fly Hat luncheon. She found the hotel and set up the conference room. She also ordered the bags and bookmarks. She was the go-to woman. Plus for this event, we didn't have to have a full-length novel written and published.

It was a lot of moving parts that we had to make sure all worked together. After some scary moments (I didn't think I would have my print books in time for the event), we got it all to work. Both of us had our print books. The hotel did a great job setting up the room for us. The lunch was nice. And a friend of mine made these cute stiletto cupcakes for the event.

While Yvette and I were writing our books, I had arranged to get people in the BDSM lifestyle to be at the event and talk about how they got into the Lifestyle and why it works for them. They also did some actual playing during the event that I think was eye-opening for a lot of our guests.

We ran contests throughout the day. Both Yvette and I did presentations. Yvette did a phenomenal job on writing while incorporating the five senses. You can tell she did a lot of research on the subject. Who knew that honey was the number one aphrodisiac? I think we all thought it would be oysters or chocolate.

I presented a more controversial subject: writing interracial BDSM erotic romance. Writing BDSM is controversial enough. Throw race into the mix, and it gets a little dicey. I just had to present it in two ways: reality and the romantic. The romantic aspect is to have writers focus on the sensations and the love. The reality of writing about race within BDSM is that there are controversial acts dealing with race within the Lifestyle. For example, have you heard of race play? In BDSM, that's when race is used within a scene. Author K.D. King shared an online blog article about people who recreate the whole slave auctions, complete with a rebel flag hanging behind the stage, an African-American man standing naked for the "buyers" to view, and him being flanked by shirtless, booted white men in cowboy hats. In one picture, the "slave" is bending over and getting his genitals examined by one of the "owners." But that's not the only race play. Jewish people in the Lifestyle will go through a concentration camp scene with someone who looks or acts like Hitler.

I know. Sounds horrific. There's no way I could write something like that and make it romantic. I don't think anyone can. What I had to remind people at our event that all of this was done consensually. Yes, the African-American man at the slave auction wanted to be there. This was his fantasy. The BDSM community has a great credo that they follow: safe, sane, and consensual. A person isn't forced to do any act. And there are safe words, words used to signal how a participant is feeling, that can slow down or stop the action completely.

If anything, I do like that in BDSM: freewill. All parties involved have to be very strong in order to be in it. Yes, that includes the slaves and submissives. You can't be unsure and do the Lifestyle. You'll frustrate yourself and the Dom or Domme playing with you.

So now with that event behind us, I can now exhale. The Hot M.A.M.A.s and I are gearing up for another Fly Hat luncheon. Stay tuned for more information. Just like last year, we hope you all have fun!

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Now what?

So you all know what I've been going through these last few months. I've been writing and editing and agonizing over my upcoming contemporary interracial BDSM erotic romance novel Licorice Whips, which is due to come out in ebook and print through Phaze Books on Tuesday, November 12th. So as soon as I exhaled, I had to hold my breath again. My writing career doesn't end with one book. I need to have a whole collection. I need to keep writing.

I don't know about any other authors out there, once you're done with a book, the characters linger a little. I find myself writing my next book and catching myself almost using the other characters' names from the previous book I was working on. In my head, they're telling me to come back and play. They're not done with me. My business side says, "Stick a fork in it and move on to the next dish." But all of your books are your babies. It's not so easy to let go. You just have to.

The best advice I have given to other up-and-coming authors is to keep writing. Once you finish your very first manuscript, don't take so much time celebrating. Get back to work and keep writing. You want to build up your backlist so that when you are published, your editor or agent will ask, "What else do you have?" Not only will it make you come off as prolific, but keeping your name out there will garner you lots of readers.

So now mama has to break the ties and keep it moving. I'm working on another contemporary interracial BDSM erotic romance right now, although another story is calling for me, too. Kids. What can you do with them?

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

The Kid Stays in the Picture

Hello my sexy babies!

Before I get into the post, I have to update you all on what's happened since last month when I posted. I FINALLY finished the first shitty draft of my full-length contemporary interracial BDSM novel Licorice Whips, which will be out through Phaze Books in November 2013. I had to separate myself from it for a little bit before I go back in to do my first round of self-editing. Then I'll send it off to my Phaze Books editor, Kathryn Lively. Let's hope she digs it and it won't require a lot of edits...unless she asks for more sex. I can do that.

So as I was thinking about today's post, I thought about my post from last month and how I mentioned what songs inspire me when I write. I don't know about any other author, but as I write, I can see the movie rolling in my head. I cast all of the characters. So who would be my dream cast? Well, you know I picture Bradley Cooper as my Sweet Hawkes, the hero, and Paula Patton as Nikla Dearwood. I haven't asked my fellow author, Yvette Hines, about her hero in her book, Red Hots, who is the brother of my hero. I picture Masaun Hawkes looking like Jon Hamm. He's hot, has that glint in his eye like he could snap at any moment and be Dom sexy (yeah, I said that), but he still looks like a businessman. I know. Too much "Mad Men." For her heroine, Kindle Langston, I see Kerry Washington. Yvette probably has other actors in mind for her folks. That's just what I envision.

So that's my question for authors. Do you picture actors, actresses, models, athletes, etc. when you write your stories? I know a lot of authors who have pegboards with pictures, houses and other inspirations. I guess the modern version of that would be Pinterest.

My question to readers is while you're reading a story, do you automatically cast it in your head? When I read Gwyneth Bolton's Sweet Sensation, I pictured the leads looking like LL Cool J (mmm, those abs) and Jada Pinkett-Smith. It surprised me when I attended a reader event that Gwyneth hosted that she admitted that she pictured Will Smith as the hero. Totally different than who I thought. That's the beauty of the mind. You can create your own vision.

I have to get going on revising my manuscript. Here's something to chew on. If you would like to cast characters for your favorite books, there's a great website for that called StoryCasting.com. If you would like to see my fantasy cast for several of my books and stories, check out my page here. You can also make suggestions for your own characters for the same books. Who knows. You might inspire us authors for a future story.

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

I WANT CANDY!

Hey y'all,

In my last post, I alluded to a surprise from me and author Yvette Hines. Hopefully you saw our news on our Facebook pages or in our Yahoo groups. If you didn't, well, I'm thrilled to share the news here. On Saturday, November 9th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Yvette Hines and I will be putting on our very first BDSM/fiction event we're calling "Wrapped Up: A Corseted Event with Bridget Midway and Yvette Hines." The event will be at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 4449 Peek Trail in Chesapeake, Virginia. In the event, we'll have games, prizes, books, lunch, and because the event will focus on our candy-themed contemporary BDSM interracial erotic romances, we'll have candy, candy, and candy! If you need a hotel room, go to the Hampton Inn and Suites website at http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/groups/personalized/O/ORFCKHX-600-20131108/index.jhtml Rooms are $84 per night.

My novel is called Licorice Whips and will be published through Phaze Books, and Yvette's story will be called Red Hots. When you register for the event, in your registration bag, you will receive both books! As a matter of fact, the books will not even be released to the public until after the event. The books will be available in ebook format and in print.

Besides the books, we'll also have a very special guest. Domme and author of The ABC's of BDSM through Phaze Books, Dama de Noche. She will be demonstrating some BDSM play and showing off some toys commonly used in the Lifestyle. For those of you who have always wondered about what really goes on in a standard BDSM relationship, plus learn from the woman who taught me everything I know about BDSM, should definitely come to this event. She will work on both a male and female submissives.

Oh, and besides the books and the live BDSM tutorial, we'll be having a contest to see who shows up wearing the best corset (hence the subtitle "A Corseted Event with Bridget Midway and Yvette Hines.") Show off your best corset and win a tremendous gift basket.

To join in on the festivities, go to either my website at www.BridgetMidway.com or Yvette Hines' site at http://YvetteHines.com and register for the event. The event is only $45. For $45 you'll get 2 new books, a BDSM demo, prizes and more! Don't wait to register. Time is running out.

As much as I like to stay and chat, I have a novel to finish and more stories to write. Hope to see many of you at the event!

Stay sexy,

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com