Marni Mann – Guest Post and Giveaway – Seductive Shadows Review

Before signing with my publisher, a friend from high school, who knew I was querying my first novel, asked if she could interview me on her blog. One of the questions she asked was, “What do you like to write about?” My response was, “It would be easier to tell you what I don’t like to write…I haven’t tried erotica. I don’t know if I could be that honest with a mainstream audience.”

That interview was over two years ago. In the years that have followed, I’ve explored different levels of darkness with my writing. Part of that journey has included taking my readers to uncomfortable places and testing their limits. At one time, I feared pushing those limits. I’ve aged since then, I’ve matured, and now I embrace those fears. I’ve challenged myself to constantly create new ways to trump my previous attempts.

Sex, naturally, became my next challenge.

It’s an act that most of us have experienced. It’s layered and some of those tiers can be extremely dim, gritty, even. But before I delved into those depths, I had to identify the angle of intimacy that I wanted to take. How could I channel the darkness and keep the story erotic and not abusive?

Something that most of us can agree on is it’s much more comforting to be with a man you’ve already been with than a complete stranger. Granting access to your skin can be considered a privilege. But when the exchange of money enters the equation, it doesn’t necessarily feel like such a privilege anymore. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. But what that does mean is the darkness isn’t defined by what occurred, it’s who it occurred with and where it took place.

Most women crave a man with experienced fingers, a man who isn’t afraid to explore and please. Defining those men was my challenge and so was creating a woman who could be aroused in that type of environment. So I added masks, costumes, titillating backdrops. I created an adult playground, and I’m just as much of a spectator as my readers are.

Within the shadows of each page, scenes that are described in intimate detail, there are glimpses of things I find attractive, faces that captivate me, atmospheres that drive and stimulate my muse. It’s the most honest piece of work I’ve ever created. Sex was much darker than I had anticipated, but I hope to explore it again.

A New Englander at heart, Marni Mann is now a Floridian inspired by the sandy beaches and hot pink sunsets of Sarasota. She taps mainstream appeal and shakes worldwide taboos, taking her readers on a dark and breathtaking journey. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, she’s scouring for chocolate, traveling, reading, or walking her four-legged children. 
Visit her at www.marnismann.com.

You can learn more about Marni at the following links:
Website:
Pinterest:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Amazon:

Seductive Shadows
Marni Mann
Release Date: July 17, 2013

Links to order Seductive Shadows: Amazon / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Barnes and Noble / KOBO/ Goodreads

Description:
Charlie is a passionate, sensually-inspired art student, desperately seeking an escape from the abusive past that haunts her and a tragic accident that emptied her heart. Scarred and unable to love, her yearning for physical pleasure leads her into a tantalizing, dangerous world of power and seduction. The anonymity of the deal offers security; the money brings financial freedom and the madam is the mother figure she longs for.

But the thrill of the mansion and its arousing dominance quickly fades when she meets renowned-yet-mysterious Cameron Hardy, whose intense baby blue eyes send a nervous flutter through her core. Cameron is sexy, and not in a subtle way. He stimulates Charlie’s art, her intellect and her desires. Just as he begins to break through her emotional boundaries, she discovers a devastating connection between her past and her scandalous work at the mansion, shattering everything she thought to be true.

Provocative, intoxicating and erotic, Seductive Shadows is the unforgettable tale of a young woman’s self-discovery as she learns to forgive, to love and be loved, and to find redemption amidst a remarkable journey that will captivate your mind and stimulate your soul.

This book is for mature audiences. It contains explicit language and sexual content.

Review:

5 out of 5 for this reader folks!

What a disturbingly, creepy, intoxicating, messed up, addictive and intriguing read.  Yes that is suppose to sound like a whopper of an oxymoron.  This entire book felt like an oxymoron .. so wrong it was right!  I have just finished it and I am GOBSMACKED and left thinking .. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YET .. I am feeling SATISFIED and MOVED (be that both positively and negatively).  

So .. Seductive Shadows … uummm … Marni Mann where have you been hiding from me and why haven’t I read any of your books before???  

So …. SEDUCTIVE SHADOWS!  LOL  Best described as a thrilling erotica/new adult although while yes there is erotica, it is not the main component of this book.  Actually the main component is the main character and the building of her story!  We meet our leading lady Charlie right from the get go.  Charlie hasn’t and isn’t living the charmed life.  She is a loner, who has grown up without a dad, taking care of of her abusive alcoholic mother while trying to keep her head above water.  Throughout this book we are taken into Charlie’s past via flashbacks of her happier (and not so happier) life moments that include her best friend Emma (and the wonderful relationship she developed with her) and disastrous living situation with her mother.  Presently, Charlie is mourning loss in many ways and finds escape in two things.  Her ART and SEX.

The timing couldn’t have been better when Charlie is approached by “The Mansion” to make money by entering a world that makes it all too easy to forget her life.  She becomes Cee who is buffed and primped and turned into one fantasy after another for many a client while engaging in wonderful sex that allows her to be free.  She is part of a sensual, seductive world that promises the love and sense of family she so desperately requires.  Only ….  is “The Mansion” what is seems to be???  I don’t think so …..

Charlie also is enrolled in art classes where she meets Cameron (a fellow successful artist) who, with her professor, begins to show Charlie that her life is full of promise and that she can find the same satisfaction in her art as she can with her clients.  She soon is questioning her current choices while embarking on new journeys and personal growth. 

Before you know it, Charlie’s journey is not what it seems and she is thrown so many curve balls, be them positive and negative that I am surprised she is actually sane by the end of this book.  What road(s) does she travel??  Does she make the right decisions with regards to her profession and does she have a chance at true love???  Will she be PERMITTED to live HER life???

Seductive Shadows is a dirty, gritty beautiful book that left me feeling very sensual and seduced at times, while fulfilling the need to love a character involved in a great story.  There are twists and turns I didn’t see coming.  This is a heavier read that made me question where it was going too many times to count.  I LOVED THAT!  

So looking forward to diving into more of Marni Mann’s books!

HAPPY READING! 🙂

Reviewed by Rachel

Copy provided by Publisher

Marni’s publisher, Booktrope has graciously offered one lucky member of The Reading Cafe a $10 gift card to the winner’s choice of either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

1.  You must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the Log-In at the top of the page, or by using one of our social log-ins.

2.  If you are using a social log-in e.g. Twitter, please leave your email address along with your comment.

3.  Giveaway open to US Only

4.  Contests runs from July 19 to July 22, 2013