MARY E THOMPSON

it's a curvy road to happily ever after

Curvaceous & Captivating

Q&A Sunday: Alphas

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I gotta confess, I love this question from Jeannie…

How did you go about creating your first alpha, Ethan? Are you surprised at the positive response of readers to Ethan? What are your plans for more Alpha characters?

Curvaceous & CaptivatingEthan was a different sort of character for me. Obviously. I’ve toyed with alphas before, but Ethan was the first one I went for this wholeheartedly. I had a vision for Ethan. I knew I wanted him to be powerful and a little edgier. He had a rough childhood and it made him hard. Dangerous.

He knew what he wanted. He wasn’t one to back down from anything. He had to be tough in order to break through Olivia’s unwavering stubbornness. I had a pretty clear vision of Olivia, so creating Ethan was all about creating a man who could handle her. An alpha was really the only option!

I am surprised by the response Ethan got. I was told to remove parts of the story where Ethan went a little more alpha, but kept them in because they felt right to me. I read a lot of alpha books to make sure I knew how they needed to act. Apparently, I read the right ones!

I do enjoy alpha males. They’re powerful and demanding and sexy and will not hesitate to tell you what they want. The Big & Beautiful series is almost finished, but I’m planning a spin-off series. And yep, they’ll be alphas. I’m excited about that series. I haven’t talked about it much, but it’s going to be a wedding series, set in Hawaii, told entirely from the alpha male’s perspective! What do you think?

Thanks so much, Jeannie, for your question! If you have a question, send me an email (mary (at) maryethompson (dot) com) with Q&A in the subject, or post it in the comments below, and I’ll answer your question right here on the blog!

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Curvaceous & Captivating, reviews

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Ethan is heating things up between the sheets… of the book! If you haven’t snatched up Curvaceous & Captivating yet, you’re not gonna want to miss him! Check out what Aliana said…

I finished the book in less than a day but had to stop a few times to fan myself. Ethan is my new favorite book man!

With praise like that, you’ve got to check it out! Curvaceous & Captivating is available everywhere! Grab it now!

Ebook on Gumroad | Amazon | Kobo | iBooks | B&N | Smashwords

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Curvaceous & Captivating, oh so alpha

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Hmm, Teaser Wednesday? Do you think that can be a thing for those of us who are a day behind? Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it!

I’ve never thought I was good at writing alpha males. They intimidate me a bit, and no matter how sexy they are, I’m not sure I could handle one. But Ethan was a lot of fun to write. He was definitely alpha, but he had his sweet side. That side that reminded you that he was a good guy beneath it all. But he had his moments!

Excerpt from Curvaceous & Captivating

Before I made it back to the kitchen, Ethan’s arms were around me. His lips found my neck the same moment his hands found my breasts. I paused, unable to keep moving as he tantalized me. His tongue brushed the edge of my ear then dipped inside. His fingers tweaked my nipples. The full effect made my knees weak. I clutched the island for support, giving Ethan an opportunity to make me even more insane.

“Jesus, Olivia, I need you,” he growled.

One hand slid down my belly, fisting the gauzy fabric at my hip.

“Please, Ethan,” I whispered.

He pushed us forward, moving toward my bedroom. Inside, he slapped the wall, lighting up the room. I slapped the light off and he pulled back.

“Lights on.”

I shook my head.

“Yes,” he growled, turning the lights on again. “I need to see you.”

The intensity in his eyes rose goosebumps over my entire skin. Ethan pulled me away from the light switch, and I let him. He didn’t make a move to close the door, which I was grateful for, and dragged me toward the bed.

Ethan sat on the edge of my bed, his large body making my queen mattress seem tiny. He moved me between his legs and looked up at me. “You’re captivating. Every time I see you, there’s nothing else in the world.”

I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Bill had never complimented me. I never felt beautiful or special in his eyes. More like a duty, something he had to do. Ethan made me feel like I was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

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#FiveOnFriday with Me!

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My guest author for today wasn’t able to provide a post, but it works out for me because I wanted to share something with you!

I’ve teamed up with 55+ fantastic medium to steamy small town contemporary romance authors to give away a huge collection of novels to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner!  You can win my novel, Plump & Pretty, plus books from authors like Marie Force and Carly Phillips! 

Enter the giveaway by clicking here: bit.ly/small-town-rom-2

Good luck, and enjoy!

But it is Five On Friday, so I wanted to share a few things about the Big & Beautiful series that you might not know!

  1. I wrote the first eight books out of order. Plump & Pretty was actually the fourth book I wrote, even though it falls sixth in the series. Shapely & Stunning was eighth. The first book I wrote was Chubby & Charming though.
  2. I had no idea Tara and Olivia knew each other until I wrote the epilogue for Puffy & Precious. On top of that, I didn’t know why they weren’t friends anymore until I wrote about it in Round & Ravishing.
  3. When I first envisioned Abby, she was a skinny woman, and she was not going to end up as one of the friends with a book. By the time I revised Fluffy & Fabulous, I liked Abby enough that I wanted to give her a story of her own.
  4. I didn’t know Olivia’s full story until I started writing Curvaceous & Captivating. I knew she was divorced, but I wasn’t sure why her ex left.
  5. My two favorite couples have been Carrie and Drew, from Husky & Hot, and Olivia and Ethan, from Curvaceous & Captivating. They were the two that extracted the most emotion for me.

If you haven’t checked out the series yet, Chubby & Charming is free everywhere! And don’t forget to enter the contest to win one of two copies of Plump & Pretty, plus over 55 books from other steamy, small town contemporary authors.

I’m still celebrating release week today. Stop by and say hi to me and Ann Everett!

Have a great Friday!

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Curvaceous & Captivating, release day

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A year ago, Olivia didn’t exist. She was someone who was never even a little bit in my mind. It’s hard to imagine that time because she’s so real to me now.

I love Olivia. She’s a single mom with a lot of struggles I think all parents can understand. She has to put her kids first, but she’s spent so long neglecting herself that she can’t resist Ethan when he wants to take care of her. Of course, she’s a mom, and she’s more than happy to take care of him, too…

Excerpt from Curvaceous & Captivating

“I made food. Want me to bring you a plate?”

I shook my head. “I’ll get it in a little bit.”

He stood anyway. When he came back, he had a plate with rice, chicken, and a mix of vegetables. “You need your energy.” He set a glass of water next to me and kissed the side of my head.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I tried to tell myself it was just because I was tired, but that wasn’t the whole story. I was touched. No one ever took care of me. Just did something and let me enjoy it without an ulterior motive. It was humbling, and amazing.

I ate silently while Ethan watched tv. When I was done, he took my plate back to the kitchen, then came back in and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Time to relax. Come on.”

He led me to my bedroom, and I protested. “I’m sorry, but I’m not really in the mood right now. I know that’s a cop-out, but it’s also very true.”

Ethan shook his head. “I’m not trying to get you into bed. Not that I would pass up the chance, but no. I ran you a bath.”

“What?”

“I figured you could use it after the afternoon you’ve had. I’ll listen for the kids and go see them if they get up. If you’re okay with it.”

I nodded and leaned in to him. “I don’t know how I got so lucky, but you’re amazing. Thank you.”

“Being a good mom is hard work. I’ve seen that every time I’ve seen you with them. They’re great kids, but that’s because you’re a great mom.”

Tears welled up again. “Thank you.”

He kissed me softly. “You’re welcome. Now go soak. Take your time. I’ll be here when you get out.”

I nodded and watched as he walked away, giving me privacy I didn’t expect. I stripped my clothes off then sunk into the deep bathtub, the hot water reaching my throat.

It was heavenly.

Read It Today!

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Print on CreateSpace | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million

Curvaceous & Captivating, one more week

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Curvaceous & Captivating will be out in just one week! But, if you’re feeling anxious, you can get it on Friday! Yes, you. Starting with Curvaceous & Captivating, I will be releasing all ebooks through Gumroad four days in advance. That means you can buy and download any of my ebooks the Friday before they’re released on all other platforms! Of course, the prices will be the same on all platforms and the ebook will be the same as well. The download is compatible with Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, etc. so you don’t need a new app to read the books. I just want to make sure you have options!

But, I know you’re really here for a sneak peek. You’ve met Ethan. You know Olivia. How about their first kiss? Wanna peek?

Excerpt from Curvaceous & Captivating

“Close the door, Olivia.”

Huh? “Why?”

“Because I don’t want your neighbors to see what I’m going to do next.”

Oh. Yeah.

He didn’t wait for me to move, just yanked me away from the door and kicked it closed. In another instant, My back was pressed to the cool wood and Ethan was pressed to my front.

“If you don’t want this, Olivia, stop me now. Because I’m not sure I’ll be able to once I have a taste of you.”

“I’m not sleeping with you tonight,” I stammered, knowing I needed to put it out there ahead of time. Every time he was close, my body begged for it. For him. But when I moved away, my head cleared and I knew it was too soon. I wasn’t that kind of person. I hadn’t ever been. And with two kids and one non-existent father, I wasn’t taking any more chances.

Ethan’s lips tilted up at the edges. “Good to know, but I wasn’t going to ask.”

He didn’t give me a chance to ask what he meant by that before he sealed his lips to mine. Dear Lord, just a brush and I was gone. The stubble on his upper lip grated at my skin, and my mind immediately pushed him between my legs, wishing I could feel him there.

His tongue grazed my lips and was gone before I could open for him. He kissed his way from one side of my mouth to the other, his tongue darting out and teasing me as he tortured me with kisses that were so much sweeter than the man giving them.

When I clutched his head and held him still so I could kiss him, he chuckled against my lips. I pulled back and shot him a glare, then turned to leave. I was not about to be made fun of during a kiss.

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