Color me Red

I write erotic romantic suspense. Doesn't sound so bad when I say it like that. Now I'm all for promotion -- heck, how else am I going to peddle my books? But I had a most embarrassing experience on the print release day of my Ellora's Cave collection, Long and Hard.

Yeah, I know. With a title like that I'm asking for it. Except I never knew the three novellas in the series would go to print as a collection. What ties the books together is the three brothers who work for the Long Shot Security company, which caters to the security needs of the rich and famous. The brothers' last name is Long. The heroine in each story is difficult -- or hard. Hence, we get Long and Hard. Had I known the publisher was going to eventually turn the series into a collection I might have thought long and hard about another series title!

Now, release day comes along a couple weeks ago. That evening I was sitting in a large meeting room with a group of about 30 people, at least half of them strangers to me. Right before the meeting was about to start, one woman I know, who happens to be a Facebook friend, says congratulations to me.

I rack my brain to think of a reason she'd be saying this to me. But she supplies the answer. "She had a book release today," she says. Several people in the room applaud me.

"What's the title?" one asks from across the room.

Now here's where I turn beet red. I have two choices -- tell the truth or make something up that doesn't sound so, well, smutty. Except the lady who congratulated me knows the title because it was on Facebook.

"Long and Hard" I say as quietly as possible. But not quiet enough because the room erupts in laughter. At least the embarrassment warmed me up in the freezing cold room. And maybe I'll get a sale or two out of it!