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Liz Borino, Author of the Taylor Twins in
released Action June 2012.
When the bright lights and flashing cameras of Hollywood capture your every move, how can you fulfill your deepest desires? For Zack Greene, a formerly out-of-control actor, and Steve Michaels, the director who unearthed the heart of the man beneath the ego, it’s a constant struggle.
In public, Steve and Zack are the picture of professional partners. However, behind closed doors, their partnership is taken to a new level. They engage in a carefully constructed Dom/sub relationship that not only brings them pleasure, but keeps Zack from slipping back into his wild ways.
Their delicate balance is thrown askew when a producer on the show threatens to expose their lifestyle, while taking advantage of Zack in a moment of vulnerability. Will Steve be able to ease the pain and save the love they share? Or will they come apart when they need each other most?
In public, Steve and Zack are the picture of professional partners. However, behind closed doors, their partnership is taken to a new level. They engage in a carefully constructed Dom/sub relationship that not only brings them pleasure, but keeps Zack from slipping back into his wild ways.
Their delicate balance is thrown askew when a producer on the show threatens to expose their lifestyle, while taking advantage of Zack in a moment of vulnerability. Will Steve be able to ease the pain and save the love they share? Or will they come apart when they need each other most?
We're chatting with Liz on the set of Ben's Life, a hit TV show. Steve is in the director chair while Zack, who plays Ben Miller, is in his dressing room. The crew is busy propping the set. Zack is joining Steve now. Wow....
Readers, we now turning our attention away from the hot guys to begin our questions with Liz. And there's a contest! Details below.
Naughty Reader’s: Hi Liz! Tell us a bit about yourself that our readers might not know.
Liz: Well, I’m a small town girl living in a…Journey song, apparently. Seriously, I split my time between writing and editing romance/erotica and analyzing the classics in pursuit of my MA in English. Naughty Reader’s: What made you want to become a writer?
Liz: I love telling stories and the fact that I have people willing to pay for them? It’s just amazing.
Naughty Reader’s: Please share a bit about your new release, Action, without giving away any spoilers.
Liz: Action is above all else a love story. Zack and Steve, an actor and director are in a long-term Dom/sub relationship, which a producer is attempting to disrupt.
Naughty Reader’s: Do you write under a pen name?
Liz: Nope.
Naughty Reader’s: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?
Naughty Reader’s: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?
Liz: Real ones. People have more than one mood, bad hair days, and scars—emotional and physical. I like to see characters with the same.
Naughty Reader’s: Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.
Liz: If it’s a dedicated writing day, I get up before 6 shower and head to Starbucks, where I hope I end up writing instead of playing on FB.
Naughty Reader’s: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?
Liz: Well, my Taylor Twins series places a focus on familial relationships, love defying odds, and addiction. The Mine series showcases how loving a D/s relationship can be.
Naughty Reader’s: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?
Liz: Three or four months for my novellas, six for the novels.
Naughty Reader’s: Do you have to be alone to write?
Naughty Reader’s: Do you have to be alone to write?
Liz: No! I can’t be. I usually write at Starbucks or the library.
Naughty Reader’s: How do you go about naming characters?
Naughty Reader’s: How do you go about naming characters?
Liz: I ask them. No, seriously, I take their personality and try different names out. I started out with Steve’s name as it is, but decided I should change it to make him ‘more Dom-like’…but he isn’t a traditional Dom. I wrote him that way on purpose. So, Steve it is.
Naughty Reader’s: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?
Liz: I have a general idea of what they look like when I begin, but often find pictures later. Or what’s really fun, I see random people and want to scream “hey you look just like…” but I don’t because then I would be seen as crazy.
Naughty Reader’s: How do you pick locations for your stories?
Naughty Reader’s: How do you pick locations for your stories?
Liz: For the Mine series, it’s in LA because the characters are in the entertainment industry. So, I just choose where makes the most sense.
Naughty Reader’s: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?
Liz: Cutaway, Action’s sequel, will be released September 19th and the third in the series will be out in December.
Naughty Reader’s: Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
Liz: Below are my links.
Contest:
One eBook of Action to a reader. Enter through the Rafflecopter below and good luck! Winner will be drawn on Sunday, Sept 2nd.
Excerpt:
“Places, everyone!” Steve Michaels climbed into his director’s chair and waited while the cast and crew of the hit television show, Ben’s Life, got in their places either in front of the camera or behind it. “Quiet on the set.” Silence filled Studio B. “Lights, camera, and rolling in ten, nine, eight, seven, six,” he raised his hand and finished the countdown on his fingers. At the end of the descent to one, Steve pointed at the cameramen and then the actors, “Action,” he whispered.
Zack Greene strode into the spotlight, the ill-fitting clothes and thick glasses his character, Ben Miller, wore didn’t diminish his good looks or confidence. Before Zack even opened his mouth to say his lines, Steve was ready to call cut. Ben had none of Zack’s self-assurance, and while the differences made Ben fun for Zack to play, if he slipped too far into his real-life persona, the scenes were ruined.
Zack started the scene by sitting across a table from the woman his character, Ben, spent the better part of three seasons trying to seduce. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You don’t look sorry, which is interesting considering you’ve been asking me out for months.” Amy, the actress playing Melody, Ben’s love interest, squinted at him.
“I am very sorry. Let’s just order. Wine? I hear they have a great—”
“Cut! Zack, what the hell are you doing?” Steve screamed. Everyone gasped and then silenced.
“Did I get my lines wrong?”
“No, you got everything else possible wrong. Why is Ben late? What scene did we just finish shooting?” He took a deep breath to regain his composure. He knew Zack would mess it up as soon as he walked on the set, but this was worse than anticipated.
“He got startled by what he thought was a skunk, but turned out to be a black cat, slipped on mud, which caused his car door to shut with his keys inside. So, he had to wait for AAA to unlock the car. By the time they came and he changed his muddy clothes, the flower shop was closed so he couldn’t pick up her lilies,” he explained, as though it was Steve who forgot.
Steve gave a warning look, which Zack didn’t heed. His tone needed amending and fast, or there would be consequences. For now, he’d have to keep up appearances. “Great memory.” Snickering in the background. “What makes you think he’d come in with his head held high after his grand impressive plans got ruined over mistaken fear?”
A cocky smile appeared on Zack’s face. “He knows she’s going home with him. Why should he worry?” He pointed to the ever-present silver collar, which locked in the back and in the show gave him psychic power.
Finally, Steve found a way to break his mood. He met Zack’s eyes and reached into his pocket, where they both knew he kept the leash, giving the collar significance in private. “That prediction can always change based on actions. Don’t forget when Ben’s guaranteed promotion was foiled by his reaction during the fire drill.” Zack didn’t hear the words, as his eyes stayed on Steve’s hand in his pocket, which was fine. The words were for everyone else. “Can we try it again? From the beginning.” The assurance was gone from Zack’s demeanor, bringing out the depths of his talent. Sometimes, it was difficult to work with his long-time boyfriend, but Steve could control him like no one else. However, Zack had his days and Steve couldn’t let this one slide. After two more takes, both stemming from honest mistakes on peripheral characters’ parts, he called, “Good job, everyone. See you tomorrow, bright and early. Carlos, please try to get some rest. Make-up isn’t going to cover another night of bags under your eyes.”
Carlos Gonzalez, who played Ben’s best friend, Emilio, laughed. “When you can find someone to cover middle of the night feedings for Clarissa while Angie works nightshift, I’ll sleep through the night.”
“Are you done, yet, dude? This is what, number seven?” Zack asked as the rest of the cast and crew dissipated to their trailers to change.
“Not until we get a boy, esse.” He shrugged and grinned in their directions. “See you tomorrow.”
Zack watched him leave and shook his head. “What if they become the Puerto Rican Duggers? They could have fifteen or twenty kids running around and still not get a boy, or worse, they have one and he sucks. Some kids are brats, or die in childhood, or…”
The rambling and distracting conversation betrayed his nervousness. Steve found the longer he kept Zack wondering about his punishment, the more effective it would be. “Kids aren’t the only brats around.” Zack winced and Steve continued, “I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Why don’t you change, and I’ll meet you at home? I have some things to finish up here. Might stop off at the store. Need anything?”
Zack sucked in a breath and looked around to ensure no one was in ear shot. “No, thank you, I’ll wait in position for you to return.” Resignation painted his features as he turned away.
Steve went to his office to look over the schedule for the next few days, and come down a little. Since he was young, Steve required quiet time after being around a lot of other people all day. He relished the quiet. So, why choose a profession in which he had to put himself out there constantly? Because from the moment he could hold a camera, Steve captured the stories in everything, at first through still photos and later video. It ignited the fire of life in his veins, but that didn’t mean it was easy all the time.
He and Zack met during auditions. At first, Steve regarded him as a spoiled brat who got everything from his looks. While they certainly didn’t hurt, underneath the bravado was a man in desperate need of love and guidance. On his best days, Zack was funny, hard-working, and charismatic. However, the worst brought out the need for discipline. At the beginning of their relationship, Zack not only agreed to let Steve take the lead, but asked for it. He wanted limits set and to be punished when they weren’t met. They both hated the terms Dom and sub, but, in reality, played the roles. No one outside their relationship knew, an intentional move on their part. A knock on his open door jolted Steve out of his thoughts.
