Adriana Kraft

When it's time to heat things up...

Erotic Portraiture

“Lewd, Despicable…” #EroticRomance #PrairieWoman #MFRWhooks #Art #FrenchImpressionism

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Welcome to MFRW Hooks, where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers share snippets from their stories to entice you into wanting more. Be sure to click on the links at the end to travel!

For the rest of March, I’m featuring our erotic ménage polyamory story Through The Lens.

EXCERPT

Set-up: Aaron has taken his portraiture class on a tour of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where they’ve just entered one of the Impressionist galleries.

“Isn’t that the most lewd, despicable painting you’ve ever seen?”

Aaron looked up sharply from his notes. He hadn’t even begun to talk about one of his favorite Impressionist paintings—Caillebotte’s Nude on a Couch.

Ellen was standing with her arms crossed under her breasts, glaring with disdain at the painting.

“What’s your problem, Ms. Jeffers?” Maybe calling her Ms. Jeffers would snap her out of her tirade.

“It’s so huge. The woman is begging for attention, for sex. The painting must be life size. No wonder it’s under glass. Someone might claw it to pieces.”

Aaron gulped, trying to hold himself in check. Who would even think of such a thing? “This is one of Caillebotte’s most famous paintings. We’re quite fortunate to have it here.”

“I’ve never heard of Caillebotte. He must be a third rank Impressionist.”

“Well, you’re wrong, Ms. Jeffers.”

Tina grabbed Ellen’s arm to warn her, but Ellen pulled away.

“Not only was Caillebotte an impressionist of the first rank—it was through his financial support and considerable influence that the group was able to attain recognition and stature in its own time. What is your problem? We looked at other nudes in the last corridor, and you didn’t begin to flip out.”

Looking at least somewhat chastened, Ellen sniffed, seemingly unable or unwilling to let it drop. “The others weren’t in our face. She’s too bold. Good grief, she’s playing with a nipple. She’s trying to seduce us.” Her eyes widened. “She must’ve been a prostitute. Only such women would’ve posed like that during that era of French history.”

In case you’d like to see what triggered Ellen’s reaction, here is a link to the painting:

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1655/nude-on-a-couch-gustave-caillebotte

You can read about how we came to first see the painting – and to write this moment – here: https://wp.me/p9O7pv-3bM

Through the Lens
Tags: Erotic Romance, Ménage, Four-Way, Prairie, Photography, Erotic Portraiture
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Erotic Romance; Ménage

BLURB

Will Ellen Jeffers cling to the sedate past that’s familiar, or will she embrace a different version of her history—one that includes tragedy, scandal, fortitude, and freedom?

It’s 2002, and South Dakota third grade teacher Ellen Jeffers has signed up for a photography summer course and assistantship at an art academy in Minneapolis. Thirty-three, divorced for nearly a decade from her college boyfriend, she’s not seeking major change. She just hopes the course will enhance her teaching skills and her resume.

Aaron Brewster comes from privilege, and he has used that status to flaunt his family’s values and carve out a successful career as a photographer specializing in black and white erotic portraiture. Has he ever loved? His love is for beauty, sensuality, eroticism. His new uptight teaching assistant will never fit that vision. Should he send her packing? For reasons he cannot fathom, he takes her on as a challenge.

Aaron’s frontal assault shocks Ellen, but it also triggers something deep inside she’s never been willing to acknowledge. Is her beloved prairie a safe refuge, or will it become a crucible for transformation? The choice is not merely Ellen’s.

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

https://books2read.com/u/mdjMRy

 

Click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s hooks:

She didn’t want to stand out… #MFRWHooks #EroticRomance #LGBTQ

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Welcome to MFRW Hooks, where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers share snippets from their stories to entice you into wanting more. Be sure to click on the links at the end to travel!

For the rest of March, I’m featuring our erotic ménage story Through The Lens.

About Our Story

Does your family history contain scandal? Ours does, as recently as my mother’s grandfather, who was born a bastard in an era when that status carried far more stigma than now. His mother – a logger’s daughter who served as a camp cook – was shunned and shamed for much of her life. On the other side, my husband’s grandfather was a bigamist. A threshing crew foreman in the early 1900s, he married and had children in Missouri, then married again in Kansas. When my husband’s grandmother learned about the other family, she divorced him; their son, my husband’s father, was ten years old.

We blessed—or perhaps cursed—our Through the Lens heroine with elements of these scandals. Naturally, she’s heard some of the stories. Through the Lens chronicles her struggle with these long-forgotten roots. Will she claim them, or run the other way?

Tags: Erotic Romance, Ménage, Four-Way, Prairie, Photography, Erotic Portraiture
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Erotic Romance; Ménage

BLURB

Will Ellen Jeffers cling to the sedate past that’s familiar, or will she embrace a different version of her history—one that includes tragedy, scandal, fortitude, and freedom?

It’s 2002, and South Dakota third grade teacher Ellen Jeffers has signed up for a photography summer course and assistantship at an art academy in Minneapolis. Thirty-three, divorced for nearly a decade from her college boyfriend, she’s not seeking major change. She just hopes the course will enhance her teaching skills and her resume.

Aaron Brewster comes from privilege, and he has used that status to flaunt his family’s values and carve out a successful career as a photographer specializing in black and white erotic portraiture. Has he ever loved? His love is for beauty, sensuality, eroticism. His new uptight teaching assistant will never fit that vision. Should he send her packing? For reasons he cannot fathom, he takes her on as a challenge.

Aaron’s frontal assault shocks Ellen, but it also triggers something deep inside she’s never been willing to acknowledge. Is her beloved prairie a safe refuge, or will it become a crucible for transformation? The choice is not merely Ellen’s.

EXCERPT

Ellen’s first morning assisting Aaron with his summer class…

“Now then, if Ellen would step forward.”

Ellen snapped to attention at the sound of her name. Now what?

Aaron motioned her to a stool. “Let me demonstrate a little what I mean by perspective and how it changes what the observer is seeing and feeling. That understanding will become sharper for you when you’re looking through your cameras, but this will do for now.”

Ellen sat on the stool facing the class with her hands folded at her waist. She’d deliberately chosen to wear a blouse and skirt that came nearly to the knees because she didn’t want to stand out in the class. She tried not to grimace. So much for that.

“You’ve all been introduced to Ellen, and I’m sure you’ve chatted with her at break, so we’ve established some mutual comfort. Being comfortable with your model is extremely important when you’re doing portraiture. While you remain in overall charge of the setting and the photo, you must be tuned into your model—to what she is thinking and feeling. Many won’t tell you or can’t tell you.

“Now then, let’s take Ellen as she is.” He smirked. “Tell me what you see. What’s her mood? Who is she? Who might she want to be, and so on? Spit it out. One word or two. No more than three. Quickly now.”

“Pensive,” the college teacher said.

“Good. More. Don’t take time to reflect. You don’t have a lot of time to react in a sitting.”

“School teacher.”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah, I see that.”

“Shy.”

“Genuine.”

“Determined.”

“Capable.”

“Great! Now I’m going to pose Ellen as I want her. Swivel on your butt so you’re at a right angle to most of the group. Good. Now look back over your shoulder at them. That’s right. Hold that. Now what do you see?”

“Goodness. Mystery,” one of the stay-at-home moms said.

“Fun.”

“Temptress.”

“Almost sexy,” one of the guys said.

Holding her pose like she knew she was expected to, Ellen wanted to hop off the stool and bop that guy over the head. She tried not to wince. Had the simple change in direction made that much difference? Given the look on the faces of the students, it must have. Aaron had proven an important point. Never accept the obvious front-on position as the best or only perspective.

If she looked that different, maybe she should walk around the city with her chin resting on her shoulder.

“Go ahead and pout.” Aaron chuckled.

Without thinking, she did.

“As I thought. Even more sexy.”

She knew she must be blushing now. It was one thing to have one of the students describe her as sort of sexy—but she was supposed to be working with Aaron, not reacting to him.

By the time Aaron finished having her pose one way and then another, the students were all chattering, seemingly quite happy with their choice of instructor and class. Actually, Ellen was rather pleased, too, even if she hadn’t chosen him in the first place. Clearly, she could learn a lot from him.

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

https://books2read.com/u/mdjMRy

 

Click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s hooks:

Scandal and Shame: Through the Lens #EroticRomance #Menage #MFRWsteam

by

Welcome to the MFRW Steam Hop – where authors of erotic romance share their spicy excerpts to entertain and entice. Don’t forget to click on the links at the bottom to travel to the other marvelous participating authors!

About Our Story

Does your family history contain scandal? Ours does, as recently as my mother’s grandfather, who was born a bastard in an era when that status carried far more stigma than now. His mother – a logger’s daughter who served as a camp cook – was shunned and shamed for much of her life. On the other side, my husband’s grandfather was a bigamist. A threshing crew foreman in the early 1900s, he married and had children in Missouri, then married again in Kansas. My husband’s grandmother divorced him when she learned of the other family; their son, my husband’s father, was ten years old.

We blessed—or perhaps cursed—our Through the Lens heroine with elements of these scandals. Naturally, she’s heard some of the stories. Through the Lens chronicles her struggle with these long-forgotten roots. Will she claim them, or run the other way?

Blurb

Prairie roots can be deceptive. Will Ellen Jeffers cling to the sedate past that’s familiar, or will she embrace a different version of her history—one that includes tragedy, scandal, fortitude, and freedom?

It’s 2002, and South Dakota third grade teacher Ellen Jeffers has signed up for a photography summer course and assistantship at an art academy in Minneapolis. Thirty-three, divorced for nearly a decade from her college boyfriend, she’s not seeking major change. She just hopes the course will enhance her teaching skills and her resume.

Aaron Brewster comes from privilege, and he has used that status to flaunt his family’s values and carve out a successful career as a photographer specializing in black and white erotic portraiture. Has he ever loved? His love is for beauty, sensuality, eroticism. His new uptight teaching assistant will never fit that vision. Should he send her packing? For reasons he cannot fathom, he takes her on as a challenge.

Aaron’s frontal assault shocks Ellen, but it also triggers something deep inside she’s never been willing to acknowledge. Is her beloved prairie a safe refuge, or will it become a crucible for transformation? The choice is not merely Ellen’s.

Buy Links

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Through-Lens-Adriana-Kraft-ebook/dp/B08BZXMNNW/

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-lens-adriana-kraft/1137261501?ean=2940164557683

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/through-the-lens-5   

Extasy https://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2955-3-through-the-lens/

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54475455-through-the-lens

Reviews and Endorsements for Adriana Kraft Books

Wow, what an incredible book! Not only is The Merry Widow a gripping, romantic suspense but the heat level is hotter than Death Valley… The ending took me by surprise and I was a little sad to see it end. I grew attached to the characters and wanted to stay in their world a little bit longer. The Merry Widow will be on my keeper shelf and one I will be re-reading again and again. Highly recommend!   N. N. Light

Their romance is hot in all the right places…If you love romance with more than two people, you’re going to love this book! Seducing Cat is a must read! The TBR Pile

Filled with warmth, blazing hot sex, well-developed characters and an interesting plot…not for the faint of heart.  If you are looking for an interesting story filled with scorching hot erotica, author Adriana Kraft’s novel Vegas Gambler is the book for you. Romance Junkies

Ms. Kraft has a gift for pleasing the reader with vivid imagery and erotic language. Fasten your seat belts – Cherry Tune-Up is one hot ride that you don’t want to miss. Romance Junkies

Definitely recommended The Reunion sizzled as two incredibly sexy women and one gorgeous guy form a super hot triad, eventually. These three are by far and away the best smoldering trio I have read about. Oh, bring on more of this, but read this one first!  Rainbow Reviews

Excerpt

Tina never spoke a word. She half perched on the stool and raised her arms above her head with a fan in each hand, then held that pose and pouted at the class.

“Remember to look through your cameras,” Aaron said. “This isn’t a strip show.”

Ellen gasped and ducked behind her camera. By the time she had Tina in focus, Tina had placed the fans in one hand by her side, and her other hand was tucked in under her robe, probably covering a breast. Ellen swallowed as she heard cameras clicking around her. Tina smiled at her as she snapped a picture.

Ellen tried to breathe as Tina worked through a series of poses showing leg, lifting her long black hair above her head, sliding a hand suggestively under the robe and up a thigh.

Tina’s eyes sparkled. She stuck her tongue out at the group before turning to face away from them. Slowly the robe slid down to her waist. Tina held that pose as cameras clicked, and then the robe fell to the floor.

Ellen inhaled sharply as Tina bent over the stool, showing off a tight rump and sculpted thighs and legs. Before she could focus, Tina had moved a fan to shield her butt from view. There was a groan from the class.

“Sometimes subtle is more erotic,” Aaron pointed out. “And sometimes not.”

Tina turned around to face the group with the fan hiding her loins. Her long hair hid one breast. The other stood free and open to view. Its nipple stood at attention. Tina teased it with a strand of hair.

Ellen focused her lens on the nipple until it nearly filled her viewfinder.

“Goodness,” she muttered under her breath. It was as if the nipple winked at her. It was still tightening. Did that fleshy nodule know it had her entire attention? She clicked off several shots. Her own nipples were straining.

“You doing okay?”

She didn’t trust herself to take her attention off the camera to look at Aaron.