~~***Author Spotlight: Shayne McClendon***~~

Today we have Shayne McClendon here with us. She is super sweet and I think you will enjoy everything she has to share with us. We are ready to have fun with her. 

The Barter System info:

  Promotion page on website   

This is where you can get excerpts, the link to Spotify, and other articles and stuff I did while writing this story.  

 Amazon US   

  Amazon UK    

     Print Version     

Blurb:

The book that started it all..."The Barter System" is a must-read. One-click this brand new edition with 50,000 more words of fresh content! 

Research might be work…but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. 

Riya O’Connell goes straight to the source for her dissertation on male sexuality. She sets out on a journey that will take her all over the country…and deep into her own desires. 

*Thirteen thousand applications.
*Eight chosen men.
*One woman’s heart. 
They provide information and ensure she reaches her next destination safely. In return, Riya gives them what they want – and helps them discover what they didn’t realize they need. 

*Meet the subjects. 

*Push your inhibitions. 

*Experience the passion. 

Sean (37) Internet Entrepreneur – Florida 

Victor (31) Fisherman – Georgia 

Joshua (22) College Student – Texas 

Lucas (42) Rancher – Montana 

Ricardo (32) Police Officer – California 

Bobby (27) Musician – Massachusetts 

Micah & Max (34) Financiers – New York 

If you loved the original edition of “The Barter System” – the update is going to absolutely blow you away. Step inside Riya’s world right now. A contemporary erotic novel (with plenty of tearjerker moments) by Always the Good Girl, Shayne McClendon. 

NOTE: This story contains explicit sexual scenes and language (including D/s, ménage, and same-sex) and is intended for mature audiences only. Do not read this novel if explicit sexual content offends you.

Shayne McClendon

Always the Good Girl

Be fierce…you’ve got this.

Official Website

 Amazon

 Facebook Page

Name:  

Shayne McClendon

Where are you from?  

I spent most of my childhood in Texas, most of my adulthood in Florida.  I currently live in Oklahoma.

Writing genre:  

Erotica, Romance, Drama (but mostly erotica with heavy plots)

Tell us about yourself:  

Main thing to remember about me…I’m a squirrel.  The inside of my head is a combination circus, LSD trip, and insane asylum all at the same time.  I’m a nice person, kind of average, and the way I am online is the way I am in real life.  I’d never be able to live a “double” life…I can barely keep up with my single one.  I’m a mom of three grown kids who are known as The Boy (Ethan), Mini-Me (Cassidy), and Peanut (Bethany).  I’ve been married (and divorced) three times and my breakups are always amicable.  I drink too much coffee, am easily distracted by the voices in my head, and I wish I could type faster.  I have a small but wonderful circle of friends scattered across the country.

Latest work in progress? 

Backstage – book three in “The Barter System” world. 

When did you begin writing and why? 

I started reading when I was 2 and I loved that the words could take me out of my own life to somewhere different/better.  I made poems and stories in little notebooks from about 3 – mostly illegible until I was in Kindergarten.  I write because stuff fills up my mind that needs to be released.  I write because it’s literally the only thing I ever wanted to do.  I write because no matter what happens in my “real” life, I can make something beautiful out of words that makes it better.

What inspires you to write?  

Everything.  I like to rewrite horrible situations I see, hear, experience…I change the ending.  I believe every life – no matter how brutal – can have a happily ever after.

Are any of your books based on something personal that has happened in your life?

Every book I write holds at least one true thing.  Some have dozens.  It depends on the story. 

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

Robin Schone, Lora Leigh, and Karen Marie Moning are favorite new/traditional.  I adore many indie authors as people like Hilary Storm, SE Hall, Ashley Suzanne, and Angela Graham but admit I’m unable to focus on reading anymore – my life is still chaos.  I know their readers are die-hard and many of my readers (who truly adore the value of a good book) love them deeply…if they write as well as they live, I imagine you can’t go wrong.

Favorite book?  

Classic would have to be “Jane Eyre.”  I’ve read it more than 100 times in my life.  Present day, I love Robin Schone’s “The Lover” and “Gabriel’s Woman” because she writes about damaged people in Regency England. 

Would you change anything that has happened to you?

No.  It brought me here.

Can you share some of your WIP? 

It’s a big chunk…I’ll paste it at the bottom. J

What’s the hardest part of writing?  

Letting my characters have their way – even when it rips out my heart and leaves me broken.

Do you have any advice for other authors?  

Write when you can, sleep when you can, and don’t make it about money.  This isn’t a “get rich quick” (or at all) plan.  If that’s why you write, you’re going to be disappointed.  Write if you are meant to write.  Do something else if you’re not because there are easier ways to make money.  Main thing: be nice to people.  Talk, smile, and keep drama out of the equation.  We aren’t in high school. 

Do you have any other hobbies?  

Cooking and once upon a time, I read 2-3 books a day.  I used to camp, hike, and all that jazz but now I can’t handle extreme heat/cold and I’m rickety.

Favorite TV show and song?

I don’t watch television actually but I think my favorite song (right now) is “1000 Oceans” by Tori Amos.  I’m also partial to “Feelin’ Good” (I don’t care who sings it…I like them all).

Fast Fire Round Pick One:

Dildo or vibrator?  Vibrator

Inside or Outside?  Inside

Hard or Rough?  Rough

Beard or No Beard?  OMG…both.

Long Hair or Short?  Short usually but long has its uses…

Sour or Sweet?  Sweet

Top or Bottom?  Top (unless I’m sleepy)

Missionary or Doggiestyle?  Ruff!

Tall or Short?  Tall

Ice Cream or Candy?  Dark chocolate and coffee.

Excerpt from “Backstage” by Shayne McClendon

Book Three in “The Barter System Series

September 2012 – Season One (first night of charity previews)

Mikayla Johannson thought she might be sick. 

In little more than an hour, the cast was to perform her sister’s play in front of non-theater staff for the first time.  It allowed a chance to determine any issues, tweak any scenes, and perfect every aspect of the overall performance before their official opening night. 

This was the accumulation of everything her sister had worked so hard to accomplish.  She’d busted her ass for two years to make it happen. 

She had to pull her shit together.  Not later…right fucking now. 

It was when they’d finished with her hair and makeup that Kayla realized she’d forgotten all of her lines.  They were simply…gone.  The words she’d drilled herself on for months evaporated from her mind as if they’d never existed.  She knew them.  It was something she’d made sure of day and night. 

Pacing the deserted back hallways, where it was quieter, she frantically tried to focus.  The harder she tried, the further everything seemed to slip away.  Breathing exercises, meditation…nothing was working and she was rapidly spiraling into unfamiliar panic.

Clutching her stomach, she walked in circles, talking to herself and uncaring if she seemed like a lunatic.  This was her first live performance in New York City.  If she tanked, she wasn’t going to get another chance.  Worse was the fact that her sister wouldn’t either.  There was no way she could let Madeline down when she’d worked so hard – writing and fine-tuning, casting, directing, and choreographing every scene. 

Mikayla was in costume for the female lead in a multi-tiered linen skirt with a corset bodice and ballet slippers.  Being granted the coveted role had caused major issues with the other actors who swore it was nepotism.  Even she had worried that being the playwright’s identical twin sister had something to do with her winning the part. 

When she’d expressed her concerns, Madeline gave her a small shake and assured her that she’d earned the role.  “Bring your best.  Show the rest of the cast what you have to offer.  I’ve seen you perform in countless plays in high school and college.  I wouldn’t trust this role to anyone else.”

No matter how hard she’d worked on other plays, Mikayla gave even more to her sister’s dream.  She was determined to make sure Linn never regretted believing in her sister’s ability to make her words shine. 

Since they’d found the theater, she’d tightened her personal daily routine.  Every morning, she ran.  She watched her diet, didn’t party, got plenty of rest, rehearsed with the cast, then went home and ran her lines alone. 

Madeline developed a trick for junior high drama that the two of them still used.  They read lines together, Linn reading everyone else aloud, while Kayla only mouthed her own lines to set the pace.  In the end, she had the perfect line-running partner.  Typically, she ran through them once alone every evening after rehearsals and did it twice on weekend days.

From her first play in second grade, Mikayla had never forgotten her lines.  Her brain had shut down at the worst possible moment, removing her access to the file she desperately needed.

In the utter darkness of backstage, where it was quiet, she struggled to hold back tears.  The stagehands were closer to the front now, putting final touches in place.  She set her palms flat against the wall and did a few standing push-ups in an attempt to increase blood flow to her brain. 

To herself, she said in a whisper, “If you fuck this up, you will never, ever forgive yourself.  Think.  Calm down and think.  You can do this!  God, please let me do this.  Where are the lines?  I know them.  Please…please don’t let me fail Madeline.”  

A painful sob broke free as huge hands rested gently on her shoulders and she jumped sharply. 

“I won’t hurt you.  I need you to listen to me.  I’ve been in this business for a long time.  You’re locked up.  All you have to do is relax and breathe.  Everything is going to be fine.” 

The deep voice shouldn’t have been familiar but it was.  There wasn’t an ounce of fear inside her at the stranger’s touch and Mikayla trusted her instincts.  Calloused, massive hands moved over her shoulders, kneading carefully at her neck and upper back. 

She folded her arms against the wall and rested her forehead against them.  There was a little less than an hour before curtain.  Nothing she was trying on her own was working. 

At this point, she was willing to try anything. 

“Harder, please.  I’m not delicate.”  The man’s hands paused before working into her muscles with more force and she groaned.  “Thank you.”

“You’re shaking.”

“I’m going to embarrass my sister.  I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”  Her breath hitched and she swallowed hot tears.  The lump in her throat was agony.  “I knew my lines this morning but…now they’re just gone and I don’t know why.  I’m going to fail.”

“Focus on your breathing.  You will not fail.”

“You sound so sure.”

“I am sure,” he said firmly.

“What’s your name?”  She knew who was behind her and it made her heart race.

“Isaiah.”  He gave no additional information but she didn’t need it.  His hands never slowed their movements on her shoulders as he gradually eased tightness she hadn’t realized she had.

“Do you want to know mine?” she asked him quietly.

“I know who you are, Mikayla.”  His voice had a gravelly quality to it and hearing him say her name was a vindication of months of unnatural stress.

© Shayne McClendon