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Intimate Encounters by Sierra Michaels
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Intimate Encounters by Sierra Michaels

Cali is leading two very different lives. While a graduate student earning high grades in her archeology field and working to finish her master thesis, she also works as a sensual massagist, working with a handful of other young women that are trying to get by in life. Cali struggles with finding normalcy, even though the only men she is meeting is for her services, and her friendships are with women who perform those same services each night. She desperately wants out of the shady business, especially after she is drugged and raped by a client, and a cop poses as a client to bust the illegal acts. But she knows that she can’t hold down a regular job while trying to finish her studies, and the money she makes is too good to refuse.
Intimate Encounters is the debut album from author Sierra Michaels, and is a genuine piece about the struggles many women must deal with. The heroine is wondering if she made the right choice about her chosen field of study, but feels she has come to far to turn her back now. And she knows she can’t keep on leading this double life to make great money if she wants to be able to settle down with a man. Though the novel talks openly about extremely proactive subjects, I never felt I was reading a ‘dirty’ book. Instead, I felt truly touched by Cali and the decisions she needed to make. Encounters is a favorite of mine, mostly due to Michaels being able to take this character who is unsure about her life and is going down the wrong path, and be able to set her straight. It was a long journey for Cali, and I think readers will not only respect the decisions she made along the way, but find the inspiring message lying within.

May 15, 2010
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In My Mailbox Week of March 21
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In My Mailbox Week of March 21

In My Mailbox: Week of March 21st

Title: House Rules
By: Jodi Picoult
Received: From SheKnows.com for Review
Synopsis: They tell me I’m lucky to have a son who’s so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there’s a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn’t know how.
Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject — in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s — not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect — can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it’s a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it’s another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacobcommit murder?
Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way — and fails those who don’t.

Title: Bulletproof Mascara
Author: Bethany Maines
Received: From SheKnows.com
Synopsis: When Nikki Lanier signs up as a cosmetics rep at Carrie Mae, it’s hardly her idea of a dream job. With a degree in linguistics and a hard-core workout regimen, the twenty-six-year-old redhead once had hopes for a real career. But unemployed and desperate to escape life at home with her nagging mother, she’ll try anything – even selling make-up to housewives. But soon, Nikki learns that the powder and lipstick are simply cover-up for The Carrie Mae Foundation: a secret organization of international espionage and high-tech mascara founded for the purpose of “helping women everywhere.”

Whisked off to Thailand with her appointed partner, the legendary Carrie Mae agent Val Robinson, Nikki is soon in over her head. Between investigating the abduction of a human rights advocate, tracking down a murderous arms dealer, keeping up with her wildly dangerous new partner, and occasionally trying to have a dating life (with a hunk who may or may not be CIA), Nikki has to use all the courage and cosmetic technology she’s got to bring down the bad guys and get out alive.

With the support of the colorful Carrie Mae crew, a handsome yet suspicious stranger, and her wickedly unpredictable partner, Nikki will overcome even the most harrowing obstacles – including incessant phone calls from her mother – or die trying.

Title: Intimate Encounters
Author: Sierra Michaels
Received: From Sierra Michaels for Review
Synopsis: Cali is a graduate student paying her way through school giving sensual massages to strange men at an apartment with several other girls, where she leads a double life and internally struggles with the job she has chosen, the friendships she has made, and the lies she must tell.

At the university Cali is a star student trying to finish her master’s thesis on California archaeology. What the other students and professors must not know is that by night she makes money giving massages with a happy ending to strangers. At first, she truly enjoys working at the apartment, since it brings out the sensual side she lacks as a student. She forms a close friendship with two of the girls and a few of her regular customers, but struggles with the fact that she is doing something illegal, dangerous, and looked down upon in American society.

Intimate Encounters (by Sierra Michaels) is a humorous and occasionally serious account of the inner workings of the sensual massage business and the unique and sometimes pathological characters that work at and visit the apartment, as well as Cali’s life and struggles as a graduate student in doubt about her chosen field and her future.

March 21, 2010
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Chick Lit Author Sierra Michaels
Chick Lit Authors

Chick Lit Author Sierra Michaels

Sierra Michaels was born in Cincinnati but moved to Los Angeles as a young adult. Though she attended UCLA for Anthropology and Archaeology, she loved when she was able to write essays and use her creativity. It wasn’t until she was vacationing in the Bahamas with her husband when she finally started writing her first novel. It was living in LA that inspired her story, and Intimate Encounters was created by Michael’s ability to observe all the unique subcultures of Los Angeles.
Sierra Michaels currently lives in Florida with her husband, and also has a second home in Bimini, Bahamas, where most of her writing takes place. Intimate Encounters went on sale March 9th, and you can order your copy below.

March 13, 2010
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Interview with Sierra Michaels
Chick Lit Authors

Interview with Sierra Michaels

Q: What made you want to start writing?
As an undergraduate student at UCLA writing reports and essays was essential. I especially enjoyed and excelled in classes that allowed me to use my creativity when writing. I didn’t have the time until recently to write for myself and this started on a whim in Bimini, Bahamas. My husband would go out fishing and I would read a book on the beach or in our home. One day I picked up my laptop and just started writing and creating characters. As the story developed I dove into the art of writing and concentrated on learning from other writers.
Q: I read that a certain LA subculture gave you the inspiration for your novel, Intimate Encounters. Can you tell us more about that subculture?
A good friend of mine worked in the sensual massage industry and she would tell me funny stories about the business and her clients. I used that premise to create my characters and develop the story along with my own experience as an archaeology student. Intimate Encounters merges the two, creating internal conflict for the main character, Cali.
Q: Are you currently working on a second novel?
Not currently, but I will be this spring and summer. Once I start writing the process happens pretty quickly for me. Sometimes I spend all day writing.
Q: What did you find most difficult about writing?
Editing is my least favorite part of writing. But it’s a necessity.
Q: Why did you move to Los Angeles from Cincinnati? What was the biggest adjustment you had to make?
I wanted to travel and live somewhere warm. My good friend from high school needed a roommate and I longed to get out of the suburbs of Cincinnati and explore the world. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. We lived together in a tiny studio apartment with no kitchen and we shared a bathroom with the entire apartment complex. I hated it, but we were within walking distance to the beach. The biggest adjustment was going from a somewhat small town to such a large and diverse city. It took me awhile to learn the freeway system and neighborhoods of Los Angeles. I once found myself lost in a bad part of East L.A., and that scared me into learning the roads and city layout. After about a year, I loved the city and I made it my home.
Q: You have a Masters degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology. What made you decide on that major?
The diversity of people in Los Angeles fascinated me and I wanted to learn more. I became very passionate about the study of culture, especially ancient societies. As a young student, I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt and I decided then to pursue my dream of becoming an archaeologist. Once I make a decision I give it 100% and follow through.
Q: What is one personal goal that is at the top of your to-do list?
That’s a hard one. I’ve done so much in my life and I would have said write a book, but now I can take that off my to-do list. I’ve never had a child and I think being a mother would be a wonderful experience. But I haven’t decided on that, yet. It’s such a commitment and I go back and forth with the decision.
Q: How do you enjoy spending any free time?
I have my pilot’s license and a plane, so flying is at the top of my list. It’s such feeling of freedom to fly to the islands or another town with my husband and friends for lunch or an overnight stay. I also like reading, watching movies and getting killer massages.
Q: What would your advice be to aspiring writers?
Write for yourself. It’s a rewarding experience and write because you like it. Always strive to learn more about writing and improving your own skills. Don’t let rejections stop you, instead let that become your inspiration to learn more about the publishing business.
Q: I read that you have had the opportunity to travel pretty extensively. What was the favorite place you visited?
Each place is unique and beautiful in its own right. I would say several places hold a special place in my heart. Recently, I went to South Africa and the beauty of Cape Town was unparalleled along with a safari in the northern part of the country. For me Italy is the most romantic place, and it’s where my husband and I spent our honeymoon. Egypt and Russia for its long rich history. Vietnam, Ireland and Peru all combine natural beauty and history.

March 9, 2010
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