Click on the Audible link for a 5-minute sample!

Q: In your newsletter subscriber-only giveaway for the audiobook, you asked about a secondary character's British Indian accent in extended-stay America. What inspired you to include such a character (Sangita) in the book?
A: I live in quite a diverse area in the United States -- the San Francisco Bay Area. Sangita is actually a combination of a few different Indian/South Asian American women I have met in my life. One particular female stood out in my mind, because although she had no accent when speaking American English, her older sister definitely had one. The sisters were less than five years apart. So I really wanted Gita's character to stand out a little.

​Q: In The Inspection, one of the female protagonists could easily have had an accent. Why did you stick with an accent-free Latina for the narration?
Although the Latina protagonist's mother reveres traditional Aztec ways and would have gone that route for Mercedes' best match in terms of possible (male) suitors, Mercedes grew up in America at a very young age. She would not have developed an accent when speaking American English.

Q: I notice that interracial and multicultural couples sprinkle your stories. How did you go about confirming the narrator for the DykeLove Quickies series?
Well, I knew I wanted someone who was prompt, professional and responsive to edits/suggestions for changes. A plus was that I did not have to search for a different narrator to execute different accents, pitches, personas. Ideally, I would have liked two different narrators -- one for each protagonist. However, I have found that the dialogue between those characters gets really tricky to execute when it comes to audio file creation. The more people involved in the audiobook creation process, the longer it seems to take. So I stuck with one narrator so far. Hope that answered the question.

Q: When will the next audiobook be released?
A: Hopefully, by November I'll have THE INQUISITION (DykeLove Quickies Book 6) out in audio and then by the December holidays, DYKELOVE SECONDS (DykeLove Quickies Bundle Volume 2). I've got all these files to listen to, get through, approve for upload. They're all sitting on the back burner, waiting for me to wade through them. So that's my priority for the rest of October -- to get through the audio files. Then November and December will be butt-in-chair writing time to crank out some stories for the characters that are getting crankier every passing day about WTF is taking me so long to return to their stories...

Q: Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate! What is the next story you're working on?
A: Gosh. Right now, the race is between The Miseducation Part One (Purr Billionaire BDSM Trio Book 7) and The Librarian (Occupational Hazard Book 1). The Miseducation started out being focused on Britta Akerman, a lesbian domme who is just beginning her training with a bisexual male Dom in a M/M/M relationship. However, the "trio" part is really focused on the M/M/M relationship. It's a very interesting book for me to write. Well, The Librarian is a short story that is similar to the DykeLove Quickies series and features two lesbians in a kinky relationship. It's a light fun story that right now looks like it may be the next story out. So we'll see...

It's that time of year again, one day among 365ish days a year, one day in which we get to imagine how someday may feel like when we are all living in a more tolerant and accepting world.

24/7.

Ah. May 17. The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia.

Along that same spirit is the first annual Hop for Visibility, Awareness and Equality, the current incarnation of the previous Hop Against Homophobia, Bi and Transphobia.

This year's hop, like its predecessor, is full of Authors, Reviewers, Publishers, and Cover Designers of LGBTQ fiction and is different in that cisgender (M/F) Allies also get to participate.

The best part of all this? All the lovin' you'll get, feel, vibe with as you go through everyone's posts on relevant topics. Plus, did I mention prizes​? ;-)

Last year, I (Jacintha Topaz, aka JT) introduced myself and how I splashed into the bisexual female erotic romance fiction genre in April 2014. I'd barely gotten my feet wet in 2014; had I known that the hop existed, I would have jumped right in that May 2014. However, May 2015 it is. You can check out that intro post for that year's hop over here.

This year, 2016, I feel like doing something a little different. I thought I'd get poetic. So if poetry isn't your thing, you might want to skip the insufferable verses and scroll right down to the mega prizes... (Fair warning, ahem. Um, maybe it'll be hot enough for the 18+ers. Er, if you're not 18 yet, come back when you hit the mark... I swear, this post will still be here for you to enjoy then, if you remember to come back then...)

Like the light mist of sex-sheened skin,
your taste drizzles over me.
Marks me. First hints of spring rain.

Teasingly at first, your musk
coats me, soaks me. So subtle,
yet achingly familiar.

As old as time. Savoring
the pounding flavors of more --
today, tomorrow, ever.

​This desert an oasis
meets. Your waters, an ocean.
Within. Without. With open

​Arms.

P.S. I could go on, but I'm stopping here before this poem gets too X-rated... LOL... And yes, it's a JT (Jacintha Topaz) original. Anyway, go on. Shoo. Scroll to the next section to take a glimpse of the prizes for this year's blog post comments. JT

Win one of the following audiobooks when you post your email address and comment on: How does Acceptance feel/look like to YOU?

Everyone who provides an email address and comments on this post (How does Acceptance feel/look like to YOU?) gets an ebook of my gay werewolf shifter paranormal erotic short story romance, Skid (Black Storm Pack prequel).

Both contests end on May 24th, 11:59 P.M. Hawaiian Tropics time. :-) No purchase necessary to win. Winners will be picked via a random drawing, if applicable (as in the case of the audiobooks), and will be contacted no later than May 31, 2016. Winners will be announced and contacted via email. So please ensure that your email address is correct when you post your comment. Thanks!

Psst! For folks who'd like exclusive content, giveaways, and specials reserved for subscribers only, sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/R9OfH

Here's the long story in short:

Who I am: I am an indie author who writes LGBTQ+ romance with light kinky erotic elements.
​
What's the prob? The series that sells the most ebooks thus far, Purr Billionaire BDSM Trio, is woefully behind schedule in the audiobook production process.

So what?  Many narrators prefer upfront payment (I would, too!) instead of waiting for unforeseeable, unpredictable, possibly dragged-out royalties spread out for X amount of years until they earn their fair sure for their time and expertise. In short, I don't have those funds.

Enter Patreon.

I created a Patreon page in hopes that I can rush the process of high-quality audiobook production to readers eager for the audiobook version. I'm estimating 20 hours of listening pleasure at the production rate of $225 per finished hour. That's a grand total of $225 x 20 = $4,500!

As an indie author, that 4.5K is coming out of my pocket--not some Big 5 publishers' accounts. I created a page at Patreon to invite capital support for audiobook production. Patreon is basically a rolling Kickstarter. You get to set your contribution on auto-pay, set a monthly cap or limit on how much you're willing to pay, and you can cancel at any time.

My target goals:

$100 - allows me to get about a half hour of those 20 hours produced. As a thank you gift to express my extra utmost eternal gratitude, every current patron gets a Free Digital Poster.

$500 - 5 Bens allow me to produce part one of six audiobooks! I'd be expressing a big MUAH thank you by gifting every current patron a Free Audiobook.

$1000 - allows me to hire Two (or More) Narrators - a guy narrator for the main male character and a female narrator for the main female character! I'd be over-the-moon wild over this! Lemme dream. Yeah!

What's in it for me?

For as little as $1 per month, you get rewards for making my dream, my characters' dreams, and my readers/listeners' dreams come true.

Plus some personal touches...

$1 - eternal gratitude and patron-only feeds

$3 - eternal gratitude, patron-only feeds, plus free downloadable content (PDFs, MP3s, etc)! Could be a deleted scene, a sneak preview, a character profile, a snippet audio file of a passage, the sky's the limit. :-)

$5 - Everything above, plus patron-exclusive surprises that inspire me (photos, poems, etc) that I don't want out in the public eye. No, not c*ck or c*nt shots, of course. ;-)

$10 - Everything above, plus interact live with me on a monthly 30-minute webcast/chat. I take questions, talk about writing/Life/BALANCE (whoa!), indie, etc. Um, no -- this is not a place to proposition a happily married mother, thank you very much. Anything else goes! :-) No prob if you can't make it live. You can submit questions prior and also access the recording.

$100 - Everything above, plus a personal thank you email every month (consider this a pen pal thing). No, you don't want me on the phone. I'd be constantly interrupted with wails for diaper changes, etc. No, you don't want handwritten mail, because it'll be displaced by the kiddos before it even gets a stamp and hits the post office. To make up for this, you'll also get to name my characters, contribute a humorous quirk/flaw, etc. and be acknowledged in forthcoming books!

FAQs

Q: If you're going to make these audiobooks sometime in the future anyway, why should I invest right now?
A: You don't have to invest now. That just means it'll take me a heck of a lot longer (years) to earn that 4.5K in royalty to set aside and invest in audiobook production. If you invest now, I'd like to believe that the increased access and personal attention from me will be worth your investment.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to post in the comments section. :-) JT

You can listen to the first 5 minutes here! 

​Readers/Listeners Say:
"I could not tear myself away from the book. It is fresh, unpredictable and interesting."
~ Reader
"The story and characters have an authenticity that makes this an enjoyable audiobook."
​~ Listener

Sample the first five minutes!
​Go to the Audible sample page.

For a chance to win one of three audiobooks of
THE INTERROGATION: A Lesbian New Adult Spanking Romance
sign up for my newsletter to get the inside scoop to be announced on August 14th!
You get 5 extra points for being an existing subscriber before 9 A.M. PST 8/14/2015.

Entries accepted until August 31st. Prizes will be awarded first week of September.
No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited.
(if you missed up to 10 extra points for existing subscribers before the August 14th announcement, 
sign up for my newsletter anyway for future opportunities.)

THE INTERROGATION (DykeLove Quickies Book 2) [Audiobook]
Available at the following online retailers: 
(links to become active when updated)

Audible  |  Amazon  |  iTunes

For a chance to win one of three audiobooks of
THE INTERVIEW: A Lesbian Medical BDSM Erotic Romance
sign up for my newsletter to get the inside scoop to be announced on July 21st!
You get 5 extra points for being an existing subscriber before 9 A.M. PST 7/21/2015.

Entries accepted until July 31st. Prizes will be awarded first week of August.
No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited.
(if you missed up to 10 extra points for existing subscribers before the July 21st announcement, 
sign up for my newsletter anyway for future opportunities.)

As for the new release, here is the mini-blurb for
DykeLove Seconds
A Lesbian BDSM Erotic Romance Short Story Collection 

In THE INVESTIGATION, LeeAnne Song has revenge at her door -- hot cop Erin MacManus. (multicultural)
Mercedes Samford is refused service by psychotherapist Roxanne Evers in THE INSPECTION. (interracial)
In THE INQUISITION, July Greenfield agrees to answer personal questions before a rolling camera manned by filmmaker Thalia Akasidou.

Available at the following online retailers: 
(links to become active when updated)
All Romance eBooks  |  Amazon  |  Apple  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Google Play  |  Kobo  |  Nook UK  |  Smashwords