Four Working Girls hit the mark in “The Bletchley Circle”

I was delighted to discover a wonderful new PBS mini-series, The Bletchley Circle, that spotlights women coders and gives us great characters to root for on so many levels. These four working girls used their skills during World War II to help Britain win the war; yet like so many women, afterward they find themselves pushed to the side.

Not so far off from reality. 

Women fought on a different battlefront back in the dark days of World War II in Great Britain. Women cracked code. And saved many lives. 

But after the war, they became “ordinary” again, to quote a character in the story. 

These ladies are anything but ordinary. 

This excellent mini-series about women who write code reminded me of the women, or rather the lack of females, in the world of high tech software. Like Pepper O’Malley in my October 2013 Cosmo Hot Read from Harlequin, Naked Sushi, about a heroine who writes code and becomes involved in corporate espionage. Pepper would have loved to be a part of this posse.

In Episode 2 this Sunday of The Bletchley Circle, the four heroines use their skills and their wits—not to mention their daring—to find a serial killer in 1952 London. 

Four working girls with the brains and smarts—and most of all, the perseverance—to get the job done. 

I can’t wait for Sunday’s episode…

Where’s My Cosmo?

That was the question I asked tonight when I stopped by my favorite upscale grocery store for my Monday night special tuna herb salad. The clerk, a young man in his late twenties, looked at me like I’d asked him if he always used condoms.

He asked another clerk, who checked around the magazine section, but we couldn’t find Cosmo.

Now, I enjoy shopping in this store even if the average working girl can only afford the day-old apple turnovers. The staff is pleasant, the tomatoes red and plump, and the fresh-out-of-the-oven Italian bread is to die for.

But today I had a hankering to see if the new Cosmo had hit the stands yet. I’ve been a Cosmo reader since my first crush, but I’m more excited than ever to see each new issue come out since I found out my novella, NAKED SUSHI, will be a Cosmo red hot read from Harlequin in October 2013.

I’m dying to see the cover for my novella, but in the meantime, I enjoy the rainbow explosion of color, sex advice, and pretty feminine clothes in the sexy mag.

I left the store with my tuna salad and Italian bread. And no Cosmo.

Tomorrow night after work I’m heading to Wal-Mart. I know they carry Cosmo.

And hang the tuna special…

Elaine Gets Lucky in “Breaking the Rules”

I first met Elaine, the heroine in my erotic short story, “Breaking the Rules,” in a little coffee house in McNally’s Corner when I was passing through. She told me about the night she met the Hunter…this darkly, mysterious man who changed her life.

And how it was the luckiest night of her life.

I’ll let Elaine tell you why…

…………………….

Thanks, Jina. Hi, everyone. My name is Elaine and I used to be the girl who worked hard at her job and never got anywhere. Or with my love life. I was frustrated…really frustrated. My paycheck wasn’t getting any bigger and my libido had hit rock bottom.

Sure, I knew I was up for promotion, but I waited for my boss to give it to me. Figuring he’d see my good work, nod, and say, “Hey, Elaine, you deserve a promotion!”

Yeah, right.

Have you ever seen a rock jump up and throw itself into the pond?

I was that rock.

Set in my ways. Waiting for something to happen. Not only at work, but on the dating scene. Hank, my ex-BF, broke up with me via text message: Boring but dependable, he said, like my white cotton panties. No wonder he fell for a girl who went commando.

Then late one night in the coffee house, I got lucky.

I met the Hunter.

She smelled his scent before she saw him. Black leather soaked with a man’s sweat, emitting a muskiness with a hint of citrus. Sweet and sticky.

Elaine froze at her laptop when the hunk wearing the black leather vest whisked by her in the coffeehouse and yanked her power cord loose with his muddy boot. Her screen went darker than an ebony night and her coffee cup shimmied back and forth like a kewpie doll.

The web page disappeared like it was sucked into a black hole.

Damn him. The nerve of the man. So what if he was tall with a strong jaw and broad shoulders? He wasn’t her type. Look at him. Dark and stormy, and filled with a wild streak like the critters roaming untamed through the dense woods in these back hills.

McNally’s Corner.

A way station back in the day for trappers and settlers heading west. Population around eighteen hundred when you counted the hogs and chickens. A small town doing its best to survive the economic downturn. And barely hanging on.

Like Elaine. Living on her meager salary and peanut butter sandwiches, she’d come home to put the pieces back together after a painful breakup.

Which meant no distractions from a guy with eyes so blue he could make a girl wet her pants with a hard stare.

Wait, did I say that?

What follows next is my trip to the never-never land of blissful sex and personal empowerment. The Hunter changed my life.

Was it just luck? It’s hard to know. I’d like to think the Working Girl’s Fairy Godmother sent him to me. Whatever, I had a wild ride that night…learned a lot about myself and that you have to ask for what you want.

At work or in bed.

And so should you…

Breaking the Rules – it’s FREE from April 12-16, 2013.

And check out the fabulous blogs on the “Get Lucky” Blog Hop from April 12-14, 2013

Sex and the Working Girl

Like coffee gunk in the bottom of your cup, you can’t escape it. Sometime in your career a boss or co-worker is going to put the moves on you. Make you feel like you’re an office flower.

His to command.

Do I feel a little 50 Shades of Grey coming on?

You know the signs: he watches you lean over to pick up a document he “accidently” dropped. Especially if you’re wearing high heels and a skirt.

Or he has a “little favor” for you to do for him. Which involves staying late to work on his pet project. Just the two of you. Then he brings out the wine to relax you. Or better yet, he invites you to join his team on an out-of-town business trip and your hotel room just happens to be next to his.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. According to a study conducted by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), 54 percent of the women who responded said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace.

No wonder it’s difficult for women to gain power in the workplace, even though single women are in the majority. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, single women make up 54 percent of female employees in the workforce.

It’s even more difficult if you’re a woman in a field predominated by men. I explore how a woman fares in the world of computer programming in NAKED SUSHI, my Cosmo Red Hot Read from Harlequin (October 2013). Amateur spy PEPPER O’MALLEY gets more than she bargained for when she discovers her sleazy boss is hiding corporate secrets.

She gets fired.

Was it her fault she got caught in the copy room with her pants down with a hunky thief?

The only way Pepper can get her job back is to become a naked sushi model and spy on her ex-boss.

She’s thrown into a world of corporate espionage she never imagined…

But what happens when you work hard at you job everyday and never get anywhere? Experts often say that women’s brains are wired differently than men’s and we don’t ask for what we want. I decided to take that idea and explore it in my erotic short story. In Breaking the Rules, Elaine meets a handsome stranger who promises her a one-night stand she won’t forget:

The sensations were almost more than she could bear, her body swaying back and forth, reeling with the sublime pleasure this man gave her.

“Oh, it feels good, so good,” she moaned.

“Do you want me to keep going, Elaine?” asked the Hunter, slowing down. The burning flame inside her started to ebb…flicker. “I can stop, if you’re uncomfortable.”

She froze. No, he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t! Not when she was experiencing such delicious sensations.

“I—I…” she sputtered. Nothing more came out.

Say it, girl! Tell him you want him to keep going.

But she couldn’t. For all her bravado, Elaine couldn’t ask for what she wanted.

She sighed. It was always the same. With Hank and at work. She burned with desires and ideas, but she couldn’t get them out because it was against the damn rules.

Will Elaine “Get Lucky” and learn how to ask for what she wants?

Both at work…and in bed?

Find out in my erotic short story, Breaking the Rules – it’s FREE from April 12-16, 2013.

So how do you cope in the workplace?

One solution: start our own business. Women-owned businesses have increased 59 percent since 1997 according to an estimate by American Express and reported in the Los Angeles Times.

Then you can do the flirting with the handsome new male assistant you hired.

Mmm…just imagine shirtless Fridays.

Sounds good to me.

“Naked Sushi” will be a Cosmo Red Hot Read from Harlequin in October 2013

“Naked Sushi” cover coming soon. I thought this illo had a “Bond Girl” feel to it.

I have some exciting news and I can’t wait to share it with you!!My novella, NAKED SUSHI, is a Cosmo Red Hot Read from Harlequin.

I’m still pinching myself that my wise-cracking, computer-hacking, sex-starved heroine, Pepper O’Malley, will be a Cosmo Girl.

Here’s a preview:

Amateur spy PEPPER O’MALLEY gets more than she bargained for when she discovers her sleazy boss is hiding corporate secrets.

She gets fired.

Was it her fault she got caught in the copy room with her pants down with a hunky thief?

The only way Pepper can get her job back is to become a naked sushi model and spy on her ex-boss.

She’s thrown into a world of corporate espionage she never imagined…

———

So how did I come up with this sassy heroine?

Pepper is a lot like me. I wrote a column for Microtimes magazine called “Sweet Savage Byte,” where I looked at the world of technology from a female pov. This didn’t always go over well with male programmers…though I did meet a bunch of great guys at the magazine.

Like Pepper, I also worked for a video game company, wrote code, and worked with audio/video. I also worked for Japanese companies and wrote a book called “The Japanese Art of Sex,” which was featured on Playboy TV.

I was thrilled when Harlequin added “Naked Sushi” to this exciting new series.

Sylvia Day is the launch author for the series with “Afterburn” in August 2013.

“Naked Sushi” is scheduled for October 2013.

More to come about my exciting new venture in the upcoming weeks!

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