Travels With My Lovers

Title: TRAVELS WITH MY LOVERS

Product Details
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Authorhouse (December 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1403317658
ISBN-13: 978-1403317650
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.20 ounces
Average Customer Review: ***** based on 8 reviews

Then I found out that Gérard had saved the best Château for last: Azay-le-Rideau, an exquisite, almost miniaturized gem on an intimate bend in the River Loire, with a cobalt blue roof and perfectly symmetrical turrets to match. The sight of it took my breath away.

We admired it from all outside angles, then entered and followed the crowds through the unadorned but magnificent hallways and up the imposing stone stairways. Unlike some of the other castles, the interior was bathed with light, an effect emphasized by the near-whiteness of its stone walls and staircases.

When we had gotten to the upper limit allowed to the public, I spied a rope blocking off the upper top floor and began to descend the staircase. Gérard, however, stopped me.

"Hang the rope," he said. "Let’s see what’s up there."


"But it’s not allowed," I argued. "That’s obvious - from the rope suspended over the stairway."

"Who’s to know?"

He glanced around quickly to see if anyone was looking. Then, seizing the opportunity, he grabbed me and headed up the stairs.

It soon became evident why the uppermost regions of the castle were off-limits. The floors were in disrepair, as were the walls. This did not bother Gérard. Seeing a closed door, he immediately tried to unfasten it, and after a considerable amount of effort he managed to pry it open. Pulling me inside, he then closed the door behind us.

We had entered an otherworldly atmosphere: a cavernous attic with uncharacteristically high ceilings, where assorted antique items were stored that hadn’t yet found homes. In spite of its lack of decor, the room had a vibration of ancient times and events oozing from every nook and cranny. We looked around, awed, at this quiet, magical place, then Gérard pulled me to him.

"I want to make love to you here," he whispered.

I panicked. "What? Here? What if someone… catches us?"

"No one will." He kissed my neck hotly. "It’s off-limits, after all. Oh, I’m so turned on by you."

My mind raced as I considered the consequences of such an audacious act. What could happen if we were caught? We’d be thrown out of the castle, for sure, but would we be arrested? Would I be thrown out of the country?

Ancient voices seemed to whistle around my ears as I pondered my fate. The atmosphere was so intimate, so steeped in antiquity. It would be like joining a guild of spirits, former lords and ladies who had themselves stolen behind the ancient wooden door and indulged in their private fantasies.

Thus I threw caution to the winds as I let myself be carried away by the passion and desire of my companion, one of the descendants of these voices from the past. We made love quickly and urgently, at once excited and frightened by the threat of being discovered. And for a few brief moments, I had become a denizen of that ancient Château of the Loire.

Violinist turned author ERICA MINER has had a multi-faceted career as an award-winning screenwriter, author, lecturer and poet. A native of Detroit, she studied music at Boston University, where she graduated cum laude, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Center. After experiencing a variety of highs and lows in her quest to forge a career in New York City, Erica won the coveted position of violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Company, a high-pressured milieu but the pinnacle of her field.

When injuries from a car accident spelled the end of her musical career, she drew upon her lifelong love of writing for inspiration and studied screenwriting with authors and script gurus Linda Seger and Ken Rotcop. Erica’s screenplay have won awards in such competitions as WinFemme, Santa Fe and the Writer’s Digest.

Inspired by her journals written during her travel adventures in Europe with and without her children, Erica penned the novel and screenplay of Travels With My Lovers, winner of the fiction prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. The first in her journal-based FourEver Friends novel series chronicling four teenage girls' coming of age in Detroit in the volatile 1960s was published in March, 2009 by Nightengale Press. Currently she is working on the feature screenplay and TV Series Bible for FourEver Friends, as well as the next novel in the series, which takes place at Boston U. Erica has written both the novel and screenplay of her suspense thriller, Murder In The Pit, which takes place at the Met Opera, due to be published on June 15, 2010 by Twilight Times Books.

Erica has also developed a number of writing lectures and seminars on writing, which she has presented at venues across the West Coast and on the High Seas, where she is a 'top-rated' speaker for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Topics range from "The Art of Self Re-Invention" to "Journaling for Writers: Mining the Gold of Your Own Experiences” and "Opera Meets Hollywood." Her writings have appeared in Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Istanbul Our City, and numerous E-zines.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE’S Self-Discovery Chronicled in Debut Book, Travels With My Lovers

ABC’s #1 comedy breakout smash, ‘Desperate Housewives,’ has struck a chord with women across America, garnering no less than two-thirds of the entire US Sunday night TV audience during its debut year.

The main character is a single mother who is looking for love, a theme that resonates deeply throughout the country: how do you avoid becoming just another “Desperate Housewife?” With upwards of 13 million single moms - not to mention countless single “Bridget Jones” sympathizers - residing in the US, author and former Metropolitan Opera violinist Erica Miner offers hope to women who are wishing to escape the doldrums and find personal fulfillment, through her award-winning novel, Travels With My Lovers.

Drawing on her journals written while traveling in Europe both solo and with her children, Miner penned her novel with a dual goal: first, to entertain; and second, to speak to all generations of women, past, present, and future, and encourage them to express their emotional freedom.

Miner has taken her expertise on the road, lecturing to audiences from California to the East Coast to the High Seas on such subjects as “Journaling to Empower Your Life,” “Relationships and the Single Mom” and “The Journey of Self-Reinvention.” She is currently available for media interviews – a former “Desperate Housewife” who survived to tell the tale.

KUDOS

“Travels With My Lovers is a sensual and involving saga, adroitly presented and skillfully narrated.”
James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review

“...From funny to frustrating and everything in between...chronicles a woman’s sexual awakening with humor and wisdom.”
Amy Brozio-Andrews, Absolute.Write.com

“Loved your book! Can’t wait to read more of them.”
Debbie Allen, award-winning author of Confessions of Shameless Dating