Isabelle Drake

Jaya Vinar teaches other people how to chase their dreams. She’s not taking her own advice. She’s the star of her company’s motivational speaking tour. Sold-out presentations, record book sales, she is on top. But her past lingers nearby like a black cloud. When her boss saddles her with a “personal consultant” to keep her focused, Jaya does her best to scare the man off. Over-the-top, undone-buttons, spank-me-please style. Small problem. The man she propositioned isn’t the consultant. The consultant is three stools down, and he’s not scared off. He’s intrigued, and he’s about to guide her through three private sessions teaching her focus in ways that never appeared in any company handbook. Strawberries. A canoe. A whole lot of whispered instructions. Actually, Conrad Dunn isn’t a consultant. He’s a therapist standing in for his identical twin and he’s sinking fast. Every hour with Jaya makes the lie harder to keep and harder to give up. At night, after the lessons, Jaya pour...

Daniel McKenzie walked away from the glittering underground world when he enlisted. Military service would give him purpose. Discipline. Control. Or so he thought. Back in his canyon farmhouse overlooking the LA coast, he's restless. After his best friend drags him to Tigers, one of the city's exclusive clubs and one of his old haunts, he finds himself back in the life he thought he'd left behind. A connection takes him deeper in and soon he is delivering intimate experiences people can't find anywhere else. Helping couples and singles discover new styles of physical intimacy. A husband who hasn't felt anything since the war. A wife who never confessed her desires. A woman who fled her hometown and the shaming memories there. All encounters contracted, consented to, and finished before the sheets are cold. He's skilled. He's needed. He's burned out. Months of shapeshifting for others leave him empty. When he retreats to the isolated Northern California m...

A character I named Belmont showed up in my book, Servant of the Undead, due to necessity. He's lumpy and easily over-looked but with time he grew on me. He's been to, lived in , and escaped, the place where Hayden, the poor struggling main character, is just now arriving. This section below was one of my favorites to write. It gave me the opportunity to consider how humor can function in horror. The laughs make the terribleness even more terrible.  Excerpt from  Mistress of the Undead Belmont pushed himself off the floor, shuffled to the bathroom, not bothering to flush the toilet after he pissed. Still naked, he made his way to the kitchen, set the kettle on, grabbed his French press. He reached into the cabinet over the sink for the bag of coffee beans but all he found was an empty space. Rolling onto the balls of his feet, he reached further back, felt around the vacant space, smacking the bottom of the cabinet. “Don’t bother looking. I drank it all.” Hayden froze. Waited ...

“You don’t understand yet, do you? Let me explain. You belong to me now. Until I’m done with you, that is.” Hayden ground his teeth, trying to crush the sensation in his jaw, but couldn’t pull his gaze away from Mattie’s glistening, exposed body. Tiny icicles clung to the tangles of her hair and flakes of snow dotted her thighs, bare above the edge of the tights.   “The guy I work for thinks they’re a great tie-in to the zombie stuff—my piece, the comic convention and the opening of Zombie Rites. And all that stuff about zombies—” “Roaming the streets?” she cut in, grinning as she dropped her hand to smack snow off her limp skirt. Once she got the clumps off, she ran her fingers across the hem, inching it up her bare thighs. Hayden glanced at the apartment. Rachelle was not peering out the window, watching for him. He shifted back. Hayden found himself watching the flicker of her stubby black fingernails as she inched up the hem of her skirt. He knew she wasn’t wearing...

Beauty and the Beast, set in the steamy, mysterious Florida, Everglades—that’s how I think of Everglades Wildfire. This book was my first erotic romance, published long before 50 Shades of Grey and even before the boom of ultra-sexy romances available in the mainstream market. Even though this version of the story from Riverdale Ave Books has been expanded and updated, the original gothic tone and passionate, flawed characters remain. Rick is an old-school traditional alpha hero. He’s dark, brooding, passionate but out of touch with his emotions. Amber is just as tough as her man, but in her own way. Her faith is as deep as her love and her determination is strong enough for them both. Bringing this story back to readers gave me an opportunity to reflect on what has, and hasn’t, changed in the world of ultra-sexy romances. Curious? Excerpt below. Eight months without him and now there he was. “I want to stop thinking about you. I want to forget what we had.” He lifted one eyebr...

Here’s something you may not know: my book Salvage  is scandalous! It comes from the Ellora's Cave book series people told me not to write. Its a series people told me no one would want to read. But, here's the thing, the collection of linked stories is one of my top 5 books and has been for years. Nearing 100K reads on Radish and its been in the top five of several different top read lists on Wattpad for for about 9 years. Well, it was in that top rank on Wattpad until it was removed for "violating community guidelines." It sells well on Amazon, and I still get letters of appreciation from readers even though the book has been out for a while. Do I think the book is scandalous? No, of course not. Its a work of fiction. I write fiction. I try to write unique stories that I think readers will enjoy.  How did the series come to be? My editor wanted a new series concept from me. At the time, the market was flooded with BDSM books. So, BDSM as a hook was out for me...

Rock and Roll Fantasy, was fun to write because, as the title indicates, its a fantasy. I had a good time creating one girl's daydream as she imagined what could happen if she accidently got on the wrong boat and two rock stars--one she just happened to have a long time crush on--also happened to be on the boat.  Excerpt Karrie and her friends had decided this was going to be a quiet, girls-only weekend. She rested her forearms on the rail and typed in a text to Amy, but before she could hit send, someone bumped her elbow. "No signal out here." Karrie turned, coming face to face with the blond. He was a lot cuter up close. Bright blue eyes and scruffy stubble outlining his jaw. Yummy. "It’s not going to do you much good," he said, pointing to her phone, his long fingers reminding Karrie of one of those fantasies she'd had. Something about a guy. Someone famous. A daydream was from a long time ago and involved a crowded dark hallway, loud rock music thumping,...

Tribe of the Undead Excerpt from Chapter Two: Nidhi set down her bag, forced her hands to stay loose by her sides, then in a lame attempt to look casual, leaned against the door. When the other girl’s intense gaze became too much, she turned her own to the window. The storm had softened to a drizzle, but the clouds were so thick the sky was a haze. “The lady is bound to pop back in here. She must’ve had a reason for texting me.” “I texted you.” Mattie held Hume’s phone in her long, pale fingers. “Don’t look so surprised, baby.” She shimmied, making her huge breasts jiggle beneath the tight white t-shirt, then mimicked a body check. “It was a simple matter of bumping into her in the hall and snatching her phone out of her bag. That woman should get her shit together. She runs part of this very serious newspaper. People depend on her.” She opened her palm, and the phone fell. The device landed near the edge of the desk, teetered, then dropped to the floor with a soft thud. “I must say, y...

  Hit here for the November newsletter excerpt from the book of the month: The Fox   He had been sawing logs for the fire in the afternoon and his entire body had been, at one point, covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. What remained now was the scent of his exertion and the lingering effects of the satisfaction that comes across a man when he has done a hard job well. Darkness came very early. It was still a cold, raw mist. It was getting almost too dark to see. A pile of short sawed logs lay beside the trestle. March came to carry them indoors, or into the shed, as he was busy sawing the last log. He was working in his shirt-sleeves, and did not notice her approach; she came unwillingly, as if shy. When she bent down he saw the firmness of her muscles and the easy way her strong arms moved the logs. She was a fine prey, indeed and they both knew it. He saw her stooping to the bright-ended logs, and he stopped sawing, letting his probing gaze rake across her. A fire l...

About the book: A video camera, a too-short-to-ignore skirt and a come-get-me attitude—Jake Reed doesn’t stand a chance against Sabrina Weller. Sabrina Weller has just moved to Washington DC and is ready to make the most of city life. When her cousin, Eva Marie, holds a welcome event, Sabrina meets Jake Reed. He’s awkward and abrupt but something about him makes her hot. The next time she sees him, he’s pretending to be Jay Allen, entry level new hire at Steelsmart, the same company she’s recently started working for. Jake Reed, the socially inept new president of Steelsmart Corporation, has two problems on his hands. One, his newly acquired company has morale problems. Two, he wants to bed one of his employees. When his vice president arranges for the entire company to go on a retreat on a secluded island, Jake can’t avoid crossing paths with the sweet-talking, fast-living temp who continually teases and tempts him. He’s in over his head and she isn’t about to give up until she gets w...

  Bring on the holidays...and a cozy, upbeat romance read.  💋💕 Hit here to read my November newsletter. The meet cute from Not Home for the Holidays an upbeat, cozy, holiday romance: The elevator is straight ahead, flanked by a row of gray and white marble columns. Garlands and potted poinsettias are everywhere. The greens are wrapped around the columns, the pots are beside the elevator doors and placed in exact locations along the walls. Classical music drifts through the air. The soles of my boots hit the tile floor with a smart smack and the echo of my walk follows me as I move closer to the elevator then stop. I push the up button. As I wait, I recognize the song. It’s Deck the Halls, but its barely recognizable in the very formal classical version. Lights above blink and seconds later, the doors separate, revealing a man, standing squarely in the center of the car. He’s wearing a navy-blue suit, white and blue striped shirt, and coordinating blue tie. That may sound bas...

Zombies, fishnets, and a Halloween cocktail Hit here for the October Newsletter  Excerpt from Servant of the Undead, erotic horror Mattie pressed her cold, damp body against Hayden, shoved him to the wall. Behind her, he saw their reflection in the mirror above the sink. Ice and snow clung to her tangled hair, dripping onto the solid curves of her back and shoulders. Between the strips of cloth binding her breasts, he spotted a wide column of black ink staring at the base of her spine and ending about halfway up her back.  “Well done, researcher.” She grabbed his cock and curved her fingers around his hardening shaft. “You impress me.” There were no human words for what he was feeling. He grunted in response, but his body betrayed him, and he found himself leaning toward her, seeking her strength and giving in to the power she had over him. Hayden shook his head, even though his dick was growing still larger in her palm. “No,” he said. “I’ve had enough.” “You’ve had e...

Not Home for the Holidays is the reverse-Hallmark Christmas movie where the country girl finds her city HEA. The week before Christmas, quirky, country girl Emma Lopez is in New York City, aiming to win a social media contest for small-business owners. Minutes before her high-stakes interview, an impulsive, sizzling kiss under the mistletoe with a handsome businessman turns into an even bigger surprise. She goes all-in enjoying the holiday excitement of the city and shaking up a certain dapper businessman. Thanks to a snowstorm, her phone, and a couple more kisses, she counts herself a winner. Then, her high-spirited attitude leads to an unexpected opportunity of a lifetime, one she’s certain she can’t accept. Excerpt: The elevator is straight ahead, flanked by a row of gray and white marble columns. Garlands and potted poinsettias are everywhere. The greens are wrapped around the columns, the pots are beside the elevator doors and placed in exact locations along t...

Blurb: Anxious for adventure and the chance to prove she’s not the spoiled socialite her friends and family believe her to be, Victoria Marana buys The Circle Cat ranch, rolls up her sleeves, and begins the repairs that will turn the ramshackle place into the best dude ranch in Arizona. One thing she didn’t plan on was a dark, down-on-his-luck cowboy smashing into her barn. But when he does, she turns the problem into an opportunity. Armed with limited experience, but a lot of determination, Victoria sets out to get what she wants from the wandering cowboy. The last thing Lang Thompson wants is to get tangled up with a woman. Especially one who’s used to getting what she wants when she wants it. He knows what rich girls like her expect and he isn’t interested in playing games. But he’s no match for Victoria’s hardworking determination and sexy brand of innocence. Excerpt: Lang Thompson eased his foot off the worthless brake pedal and waited for the red Arizona dust to...