Avril's Blog

Love Shadows w/Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

2012-03-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome guest blogger, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy, everyone. Today, Lee Ann talks to us about her latest release LOve Shadows, and shars an excerpt.

I’m a Missouri girl, born and bred in an old neighborhood where time seemed to stand still somewhere before World War II and I’m a reasonably successful transplant to a small town in the Ozarks where life may be sweet but is also a little strange to my “foreigner’s eyes”. My husband, although born where I live, comes from a family straight out of Louisiana. After seventeen years of marriage, the dark water bayous and tall pines of the Pelican state are about as familiar to me as home. In my latest Evernight Publishing release, book four of my Love Covenant series, Love Shadows, my pair of vampires, the Texas born Cara and my two hundred year old Irish vamp, Will Brennan, end up in East Texas just over the Louisiana state line.

Cara hails from the area, from a little town I know and love well called Rusk, Texas. It’s not far from another place I keep on my short list of favorites, a marvelous, mysterious place called Caddo Lake. Caddo is beautiful with an eretheal haunting beauty all its own. Cypress trees grow on the shores and mists float over the deep waters like ghosts from another age. It seemed like the fitting place for the climax of this new volume in Will and Cara’s ongoing story. The series begins with their first meeting in Love Tattoo and continues with Love Scars, Love Knots, and now Love Shadows. Love Echoes will be the next in the series and the final novel will be Love Legacy.

First, I’ll share the blurb for Love Shadows and then an excerpt:

Cara couldn’t be happier now that her sexy vampire husband Will Brennan located his long lost brother Seamus. Her new found brother-in-law even has a theater where she can sing - until a vampire named Henri shows up in the audience. He covets Cara but not for a happy ending. The old vampire, far more powerful than Will or Seamus has a bad reputation among the undead.

Back in Memphis Henri demonstrates he can make them suffer at will. A cat and mouse game begins and takes them back to Missouri, then onto Texas for what they hope will be a happy family holiday.

A last minute grocery store run puts Cara in Henri’s hands and leaves Seamus near dead. When Henri takes Cara deep into the mysterious back waters of Caddo Lake, it’ll take more than just Will Brennan and his brother to save her – if they can.

Love Shadows~EXCERPT

My Uncle Johnny from over at Bossier City is a fisherman. He’d rather fish than eat, sleep, or work. One of his favorite places in the entire world is Caddo Lake and we used to make a couple of fishing trips with him over there each year. He knew that ghostly lake better than he did Bossier City and could travel the inlets and coves without getting lost although a lot of people do. It’s a beautiful place with an otherworld beauty about it. I swear I always thought we might run across a dinosaur or two back in the hidden places. Part of the lake is really Cypress Bayou and cypress trees are everywhere. Grey, ethereal Spanish moss drapes most of the trees and hangs down like a widow woman’s tears. Sometimes mists float over the still dark waters and give me a shiver.

All kinds of critters call Caddo home. Deer live in the soggy bottom land between the waters, gators are king of those bayous, and snakes by the dozens swim the waters. The biggest water moccasins I’ve ever seen were at Caddo and they’re not alone. Rattlesnakes like Caddo along with a lot of other serpents. Birds populate the sloughs and backwater. Owls, pelicans, eagles are just a few. Other small animals exist there too, wild and free.

Unless you know it, it’s not wise to venture into Caddo Lake without a guide but Henri, damn his evil soul, appeared to be familiar enough as we parked near a dock at Uncertain, Texas. He grabbed my arm and shoved me toward a small watercraft that rocked as I stepped into it.

“We’re going out on the water?” I asked, unable to believe it. Caddo by day is mysterious and ancient. Caddo at night is just downright scary and teeming with dangers.

“We are, my curious Cara,” Henri said. “You’re becoming rather annoying, my dear. I think once I enjoy you I shall give you to whatever dark gods may haunt this lake. Then those Brennans shall never find your remains no matter how they try.”

He started the engine on the boat and we moved away from the dock out into the dark reach of Caddo Lake. I stared at the tall cypress trees that rose as eerie sentinels in the night. Owls hooted from the tops of the trees and I heard the night sounds of the bayou echo around me. Somewhere in the distance I heard a gator bellow and I shuddered at the sound. We moved through the waters without a light. Spanish moss waved in the slight breeze like ghosts and I thought of Will, willing him to find me and scared he wouldn’t.

Although he grew up in the Irish countryside it was a long time ago and nothing like this place. Since he’d lived in cities and I had no idea how his nature skills might be although I’d bet my life he’d never been a Boy Scout or anything close. Seamus didn’t strike me as an outdoorsman either and I didn’t know if they could find me no matter how much they wished they could. I remembered Will’s fears they couldn’t defeat Henri and wanted to weep. I loved my Will and our undead life. I didn’t want this to be the end of it and so I sent my thoughts winging out toward Will, hoping that they might reach him.

Henri drove the boat around the cypress stands, along one of the main waterways and then veered deeper into the swamps. After more than an hour he fetched us up at an old fishing shack, one of those built tall on stilts below a huge stand of cypress trees. The remote location made in unlikely that anyone might find us by accident and it would be hard even for a seasoned guide to locate me here. This time of year and on the night before Thanksgiving there wouldn’t be many people out on the lake anyway. The only person I knew who might be able to find his way here would be my Uncle Johnny but I didn’t dare pull out my cell phone. I knew if I did, it would hit the black lake waters within seconds.

“We have arrived, ma Cherie,” Henri said as he tied the boat to the dock. “Come, my lovely lady and we shall enjoy our pleasure together.”

I wanted to knock him into the lake but I remembered his strength and his uncanny powers so I didn’t. Instead, I accepted his hand, docile as a little girl on the first day of kindergarten, and let him help me onto the dock. Together we climbed the rickety steps up to the fishing cabin. From the outside it was a wreck, old tin roof turned magenta with rust, weathered wooden boards gone silver with age and weather but when I stepped into the main room, I blinked.

Available @ Evernight Publishing

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com/

New Cover! Make Me Burn #GBLT

2012-03-01T21:46:00.001-05:00

Whee! Wes and Jayce are here! Well, their cover is ;-) I know many have been waiting patiently for these two, for their story to be written and available. It's now thismuch closer to reality. The MS was completed and contracted, and now I have COVER!! Whee!

Okay, let's get rid of the person who keeps 'Whee-ing' up in here and then I'll get serious.

In Make Me Sweat, Wes and Jayce only have one scene together.

One.

And to me those sexy menz stole the damn story.

Loved it!

If you haven't been introduced to them boys yet, now's the time. Meet Wes and Jayce in Make Me Sweat and prepare to, well...sweat. Heh. I crack myself up.

And now for your drooling pleasure, is the cover for MAKE ME BURN, coming April (Maybe sooner) from Evernight Publishing.

Make Me Burn, bk#2 in the

Bringing The Heat

series *WHEE!!*

It’s been months since Wes Dumont laid eyes on Jayce Santana. Since Jayce kissed him and then left town without a word. Wes tried hard to put the tattered pieces of his heart back together, but another failed relationship makes it clear he’s nowhere near over Jayce. Now Jayce is back, once again tilting Wes’ world on its axis and setting his blood boiling. All the anger and resentment doesn’t hide the hunger, but Wes has been burned before and he’s grown wary of Jayce’s intentions.

Jayce has been running, from Wes and himself, denying the future he sees in the depths of Wes’ eyes. His past still haunts him, but he’s back, ready to fight. Ready to claim Wes the way he should have. Only Wes isn’t making things easy. Both men just may go up in flames before Jayce convinces Wes he’s playing for keeps.

OMG, isn't it yummy!!

Whee!

Sam Crescent's Blackmailed By The Beast

2012-02-27T10:39:00.002-05:00

A 'Must Read' for you loves today is the awesome Blackmailed By The Beast by the talented Sam Crescent.

Unlikely Love, 1

Wayne Brown is ruthless when it comes to business, and with a nickname of "The Beast", no one dares to challenge him. What he wants he gets.

Lily Jones is sweet innocence and despises men like Wayne. But the Jones family is desperate, and he offers them a solution to their problems. Only he wants something in return...Lily. She either marries him or her family answers to the debt collectors. With no choice left, she agrees and begins life as his wife.

Through his seduction and touch, Lily's body betrays her, and as time passes, so does her heart. But how can she fall in love with a man who blackmails to get what he wants?

Be Warned: forced seduction

EXCERPT

“What are you talking about? Who did this to your face?” He came over and reached out to touch her. He didn’t lay a finger on her. Her flinch kept him away.

“I’m not Stephanie. You could have any number of girls.

Stephanie would be more than willing to be anything you want. Why me? I’m not good—” She stopped, unable to bear the years of hurt brought by the people who were supposed to love her the most. Ironic really, the amount of pain family could produce.

“Stephanie isn’t you.”

“She’s pretty and slim.”

“I don’t want to fuck a bag of bones.”

Lily gasped. His words were crude, vulgar, and strangely erotic. “There is no need for that. I get it. You want me to fuck. Fuck the fat Jones girl, is that it? Take one for the team?” She started to shout, and the tears she’d held in so long suddenly overflowed and poured down her cheeks.

“Don’t you dare talk about yourself like that,” he growled.

Wayne took her in his arms and held her against his chest.

Lily pushed him away, lashing out, and hit him.

“I don’t want to marry you. I hate you and everything you stand for. I hate you,” she screamed. She raved and through it all, he let her. When she was finished and exhausted, he held her close. No words were spoken.

“You’ll marry me because I demand it. One month from today, you’ll be at the church where we decide, putting a ring on your finger, and you’ll belong for me for better or worse.”

“And if I don’t?” Lily couldn’t believe the rebellion in her. Why was she attacking the man who was prepared to give her the whole world?

“If you don’t, I’ll make your life and the life of your family a living hell. I’m a beast, Lily. You should have heard about my reputation by now. I take and take and very rarely give. Take this opportunity as the gift it is.”

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/blackmailed-by-the-beast-by-sam-crescent/
Also at Amazon, ARE, and Bookstrand

http://samcrescent.wordpress.com

Taming the Bad Girl and Emma Shortt

2012-02-24T08:00:00.007-05:00

I'm honored to showcase the latest release from the incredible, Emma Shortt. Today, Emma's Taming the Bad Girl, book #3 in her Office Seduction series comes out with Evernight Publishing and Emma shares the blurb and excerpt with us.

She’d been falling in love with him for years, since the moment they first met, and after one night of mind blowing sex Lucy’s mind was made up. She wanted Giles forever...only he didn’t want her back.

Four months later and Lucy’s life is a mess. A string of men, countless parties and a huge screw up at work, leave her with only one place to turn for help. Back to the man who broke her heart. The man she swore to loathe forever.

Will Giles want to help her get back on track? And if he does will he be able to look past her bad girl ways and tame her once and for all?

EXCERPT

Giles leaned forward on his desk, putting him even closer to me. I gulped. “I notice you didn’t ask me for help.”

“Well, no.”

“Why?” he asked.

I gulped again. It was so damn hot in here and why the hell wasn’t my heart slowing? I’d probably end up having a heart attack in Giles’ office. He’d have to feel something then surely? That thought gave me some satisfaction and I spoke before thinking. “We don’t exactly work very well together,” I said. “We never did, even before….”

I halted, panic slithering down my spine. Why the hell had I said that? After the night at the bar it was completely the wrong thing to say. To bring it up again! Shit.

Giles shot up and moved around the desk before I even realized his intentions. I backed up, but there was only so much room available to me. A couple of steps and my shoulder blade met the filing cabinet.

“Before what?” he said, and his voice was deadly.

I shrugged, trying to look composed, but failing epically “Nothing. I just meant…nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“No, Lucy, by all means finish your sentence,” he insisted. “Call it exactly what you think it is.”

The night we fucked. Wasn’t that what I’d said? I swallowed and ran my damp palms down my dress, wanting more than anything to push past him and go home. Yes, home. Not to a bar or a club, but to sink into my couch, pull a comforter around me and watch trash TV—just as I had the last few nights.

“Let it go, Giles,” I said. “Wasn’t that what you were going to do?”

He growled. “I was. Though you don’t seem to be able to.”

How right he was, though he didn’t really know it. I can’t let you go…. The words whispered through my mind and with them came anger. Wonderful, beautiful anger, straight to my rescue, overriding the nerves and the hurt enough that I could give him a snarky smile. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Then why bring it up?”

“A slip of the tongue.”

“So finish the slip,” Giles demanded. “Finish it, Lucy, once and for fucking all.”

I glared and tossed my hair back. Loathing and longing pulsing through me. “Before we nearly made a huge mistake.”

“A mistake?” He stepped even closer. “Is that what you’re calling it? I got the impression we did make it, never mind nearly. I have some very vivid memories of our…mistake.”

“No, Giles,” I said “A mistake would have been doing it more than once. That night was just….” I waved my hands, trying to find the words to sum it up in as nasty a way as I could. “A blip. Something that should never have happened. I realized that the moment you went mental over a stupid phone call.”

“A phone call from another man!”

“Whatever. It’s done now, just like you wanted.”

“Is that right?” I could feel tension radiating off him—which made no sense—but maybe he was as angry as I was. After all, no man liked to be labeled a blip and certainly not one as masculine as Giles.

“Yes it is,” I insisted, eyeing the door. “Thank God I learnt my lesson in time.”

“But you haven’t,” Giles said, practically seething. “You’ve got a whole lot to learn yet, sweetheart.”

* * * *

I pulled her into my arms, ignoring her gasp of outrage, and wound my arms around her slim waist. She fit so perfectly and anger pulsed through me. A mistake, was I? A blip? So finally she’d admitted it! Just like I’d known all along. Damn her, I’d show her a mistake.

My mouth found hers before she could stop me and all at once it was like coming home. She mewed against my lips, but again I took no notice. I consumed her mouth, thrusting my tongue in, demanding her acceptance. She stiffened in my arms, pushing against me, and I was sure she was going to deny me. Push me off. Tell me there was no chance in hell of this ever happening. A mistake…Just a fuck…. But then she melted, I could actually feel it. Her resistance went, her body molded against my own, her tongue found mine and I wanted to shout my satisfaction.

We kissed for what seemed like hours, days, but was maybe only minutes. I didn’t know. Pleasure wrapped around my body, pulsed along my cock, filled my mind. How many nights had I taken myself in hand, pleasured my own shaft, all the while thoughts of her slipping in? And now I had her. Now she was in my arms again. It was almost too much to comprehend and because of that, in that moment it didn’t matter that she didn’t want me like I wanted her, that I was going to be just another fuck, another mistake. I’d take it. It was enough right now. It would have to be.

I backed her up against the filing cabinet and ran her dress up her thighs until it bunched around her waist. She moaned and undulated against me, ramping up my excitement to the point of unbearable. The kiss deepened and I lifted her into my arms. She weighed hardly anything. Her legs wrapped around me and my hands moved underneath her perfect ass, squeezing and molding. I could feel the heat of her pussy against my dick and I almost shot my load right there and then. But I’d waited too long for this. So many months waiting that I knew I’d hold on.

Without really thinking about it I turned and dropped her on the edge of my desk. The movement was enough for our lips to unlock and I paused, wondering if now would be the moment she’d refuse me. But the look on her face caught me by surprise. She was flushed, excitement and something I couldn’t quite identify sparkling in her eyes.

She reached up, undid my tie, and popped the buttons of my shirt, exposing my chest, the muscles I knew she’d loved the last time I’d had her.

“Touch me, Luce,” I whispered. “Let me feel your hands on me.”

She complied. Running along my pecs, across my ab muscles, before leaning in and taking one of my nipples in her mouth. She tugged on it, nipped it and my dick almost burst through my zipper. I reached down and let it out, then nudged her thighs apart.

“My tights,” she whispered. “I need to…”

I ripped them along the length of the crotch. Scarlet panties that were already drenched flashed through the material. I ripped those too.

“Giles!”

Her voice held a world of shock, but there was no fucking way I was giving her even a moment to think about what we were doing. The idea that she might realize what the hell was going on and push me aside with a taunting look and a snarky smile horrified me. I had to have her! I fucking had to. She was driving me crazy and though I knew this was wrong in so many ways I was too far gone to care. Anger and lust drove me. Tomorrow would be the time for regrets, not now. Not when I had exactly what I wanted mere inches from me.

“Open you legs, Luce,” I said. “Nice and wide for me.”

“Are we really going to do this?” she whispered.

“Fuck?” I asked.

“Yes.”

To answer her I took either side of the vertical split at the top of her scarlet dress, the part that allowed far too much cleavage to peek through, and ripped that too.

Delicious, right?!

To further celebrate her latest release, Emma is having a giveaway of both book one and two in the Office Seduction series on her blog. Check it out! www.emmashortt.blogspot.com

Thirsty Thursdays~Sasha Forde and NUVO

2012-02-23T10:29:00.009-05:00

Welcome to Thirsty Thursdays, where I sit down with a glass--or bottle--of something guaranteed to get you tipsy if not out-right drunk, and chat with characters from my works. I keep it short, cause really, it's all about the liquor, and we attempt to not completely fall out.

Today's guest is Sasha Forde, my heroine from A Wicked Ride. I join Sasha at a table inside her club Wik'd, downtown Seattle. It's midday and the place is deserted, save for the bartender. I wanted to wait until later in the day, but Ms. Forde insisted we do this now as it had to be 'drink-thirty' somewhere.

A bit about Sasha: Sasha Forde has hung up her thieving stillettos, but a visit from a mobster sends her back to her old life. In order to save her family--and herself--from jail, she must steal evidence hidden in a lawyer's office. She sets out to do what she considers a simple B and E, but someone else has arrived first. And he holds her life in his tattooed hands. Not for long.

Niko Davaris is all about revenge on the man who tried to kill him. The evidence he stole is the first step in that direction. He's not thrilled to wake up with a gun to his head. The woman on the other end is cocky, smug and too damn hot for her own good. He wants her, she wants the evidence. When she takes it and disappears, he gives chase. Battle lines are blurred as they give in to temptation, but on a ride like this, someone has to come out on top. Who will it be?

We sit and she sizes me up...then we begin.

Av: Thank you for agreeing to sit with me, Sasha. What’s your drink of choice?

S: I’m not a fan of the spirits, you understand? But I do have a soft spot for Nuvo. It’s my favorite color.

Av: Yes. Pink. What’s your fascination with the color, I wonder?

S: [shifty-eyed] You can wonder all you want.

Av: [raises an eyebrow] Come now. Your love of all things pink is blatant and that’s not a dig. I just wonder if you’ve ever thought about it.

S: Here’s the thing…in my line of uh, work, I’ve had to be rough and tough and one of the boys. Pink is my way of expressing I’m still a girl.

Av: Uh-huh. [smirks]

S: What?

Av: You’re such a softy.

S: Whatever, chick.

Av: How’s everything with you and Niko? Any news?

S: [shrugs] You tell me, you’re the one all up in our biz.

Av: Hmm. What about Maysin and Harper?

S: What about them?

Av: I’ve been hearing some things…

S: I suggest you not listen then.

Av: You don’t intimidate me. You know that, right?

S: If you say so. [sips her drink]

Av: What’s your favorite scene in A Wicked Ride?

S: The first time Niko and I met face to face.

Av: Mine too! Why is it your fave?

S: That’s personal.

Av: Fine. Would you like to share a bit of that scene with the readers?

S: No prob.

Av: Would you like another bottle of Nuvo?

S: On you.

Av: Uh, yeah?

S: Then yes.

She put his gun back on the floor next to her feet and sprawled back in the chair. “You got a girlfriend?”

Okay, what?

“What does that have to do with anything?”

She leaned forward, flashing gaze on his face and the gun hand steady. “Don’t for one second think I won’t shoot you between those pretty eyes. Answer the fucking question.”

Obviously, she was nuts. Niko humored her while he thought of a way to get his gun back. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

The gold doorknockers in her ears swung when she shook her head. “Now that’s a shame. That body of yours was meant to be ridden hard. And often.”

She was killing him, with nothing but her voice and her words. Niko swallowed, throat dry. He tore his gaze away from her eyes and shot a quick glance down her body. Bad idea. All the blood in his body pooled in his cock. He shifted slightly to ease the ache.

“I‘ve been watching you sleep.”

Niko blinked to hide his shocked expression. She surprised him at every turn. Three years he hid from Vicente without his former employer knowing he was alive, or so close, yet here he sat. He never figured a doll-like woman would be the one to find him.

“You really should get a sturdier lock for your door. You’re damned lucky it’s you I found and not—ah, what were their names again? Maysin and J.” She stood, strutted over to him. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Niko Davaris.” She leaned over and put her lips to his right ear.

Sparks raced up and down his spine but Niko ignored them. He grabbed her by the throat. Her gun clattered to the floor as he yanked her down until they were face to face. “Now, why would you leave yourself open like this?”

Her eyes were wide, the pupils dilated. “Maybe it’s all a part of my plan. Maybe I wanted your hands on me.”

“You’re a cocky little thing, aren’t you? What’s your name?”

“Now why would I make it so easy for you?” Her lips curved up.

“This isn’t a game.” His fingers squeezed the smooth flesh of her neck. “You’ve no idea the shit you’re fucking with.”

Her body stayed relaxed, her breathing didn’t falter once. “So you’ve got me.” Mint-scented breath caressed his face. “I wonder what you’re going to do next?” She moved slowly until one of her legs draped over his on the bed.

Niko’s pulsing cock sat up straighter at the brush of her leg. He cursed his traitorous body; he should’ve taken his friends’ advice and gotten laid. If he had, he wouldn’t be contemplating what it’d be like to make this woman orgasm.

He glared down at his naked crotch and back at her, but her attention centered on his mouth. “Don’t fuck with things you know nothing about, Pink Lady.”

“Why don’t you bring me up to speed, hmm?” She met his eyes. “I’m all ears, Niko.”

She wasn’t afraid. The fingers around her neck flexed. He’d vowed to never hurt another person when he awoke from the coma, but he needed the drive to lure John Vicente to him. The smoldering woman in his grasp couldn’t have it. Vicente had a debt to repay and Niko wouldn’t allow anyone to fuck up his plans. Three years he’d waited, and within the next few days shit would hit the proverbial fan. The flash drive was the centerpiece.

“Hey,” she murmured. Something sharp and cool pricked his side. “Don’t take our current position as a statement that I don’t like your hands on me, ‘cause I do.”

His gaze traveled down his torso, stopped at the straight razor she held to his side. Christ. Who was she?

Cover Reveal~Till Surrender #LGBT

2012-02-22T08:18:00.003-05:00

I haz cover! Today I unveil the cover from Till Surender, bk#2 in my Paranormal Security Council series with Total E Bound. Till Surrender releases May 7 and is a para/fantasy mash-up.

Also...it's M/M.

So...seconds after it arrives in my inbox, here is

Till Surrender

Gorgeous,right?

Many Thanks to Emmy over at Posh Gosh for this very inspired cover.

BLURB

The Key to his salvation is the one person he’s destined to love...and betray.

Tattooed half-breed, Takayo ‘Saint’ St. John, kills for the PSC with single-minded efficiency. He’s never questioned or failed his assignments…until he stares into the cornflower blue eyes of Ryken Valte, the man whose life he’s infiltrated under false pretences. Harsh words and a cold shoulder isn’t enough to keep the distance between them, but Saint’s mission damns him. His job is to kill the brother of the man he loves and he sees no way out of his predicament.

Ryken melts under the intense attraction between him and Saint, but the man keeps pushing him away, denying their connection. Ryken would give up everything, do anything to have Saint at his side and in his bed, but secrets bigger than them make it impossible. Ryken yearns for Saint’s surrender, but he’ll get more than he bargained for when dark forces neither comprehends return with a vengeance.

Motivation

2012-02-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

It's something that plague all writers at one time or another. How do we keep the words flowing, the plot engaging, the characters endearing? How do we even sit at the computer to get that far with all the other things in our lives fighting for top billing, equal concentration? Many of my writer friends will tell you, that motherfucker is not easy. Not with a day job, kids, spouses and just plain damn LIFE.

Already we have all these things on the cons side, working against us. Nothing personal with the kids and the spouse and the EDJ. They're all responsibilities. Our responsibilities. Ones we signed up for, so even when we bitch and moan, we do that shit. Handle our biz.

The writing community also has it's challenges. For all the readers out there who love our works and encourage us, there are those simply around--it seems--to tear us down. To make us doubt ourselves even more than we already do.

We're a bunch of insecure peeps, deep down, constantly wondering if we're good enough. The people who lurk on the different forums and sites dishing out negative reviews like fucking cough medicine when they haven't the common decency to read the book don't help matters. It's like crabs in a freaking barrel, you understand? Pulling and yanking those who make the attempt, who have the bloody balls to scramble half way to the top.

Muses are fickle beings, they come and go with the flicker of a lash and we writers are assed out. With the absense of our muse we stagnate, can't move forward on our stories. What do we do? How do we cope?

Many people read. I do. It works wonders and helps to get me motivated. Music works even better for me, since that's where most of my story ideas orginate from in the first place. Slow music. The baby makin' type. Thems the shit.

Going over what you're read so far also helps, gets your brain back into where you were before and excited to continue on. Trusted friends and partners can also help you. They'll listen as you bitch and moan, suggest something you'd never even considered. Something that just may work if you do it this way...or that. Either way, it opens up a brand new world of possibilities.

Doubt can cripple someone. I know that first hand. Doubt in your abilities as a writer to bring together a cohesive plot/story. To make your characters likeable, believable, loveable. To make your readers and them pesky reviewers happy. I'm also a reviewer so I can cop to the pesky part. We can't please everybody. No two people will feel the same about what we write. If they do, they'll like/hate it for two entirely different reasons.

It's just the way it T. I. is.

The solution? Hell if I know! But...I say don't stay down in the dumps for too long. Get up. Take a walk. Listen to music, something outside of what you normally listen to. The same with books. Read something you don't normally read. Keep your creative juices flowing. Do arts and crafts. Cook. Clean. Not me. I can't clean for shit, but you get my drift. Remind yourself of the reason you're an author in the first place.

You love this. You can't be anyone else but this person who writes stories. You talk out loud to the voices in your head, sometimes love them more than many in your family. It's who you are. It's what you do.

I think the most important thing one can do, someeone who's having a hard time being and staying motivated, is to reach out. We all go through it, we know the drill. We can help.

I can crack that whip. Trust, I do that shit well.

Who Are the VDay Chosen?

2012-02-15T08:49:00.002-05:00

Many thanks to all who stopped by during the With Love Valentine's Day blog hop. I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day and spent some quality time with the ones you love. I spent mine curled up on the couch with Mr. A, watching the Knicks Lin-vicerate the Raptors...LOL We dined on chocolate, potato chips, and Corona beers.

We did acknowledge the day, because the kid wanted us to. She'd been talking about it non-stop, as her class were making cards and the like in Arts and Crafts. So Mr A and I got her a single red rose, a small box of chocolates, and a pink Barbie Princess diary complete with neon pink pen with a feather tip. She loves all things Barbie, all things pink, so it was a wonderful moment to hear her wow and squeal over her gifts.

Good times.

Now for the two winners of my prize. Go to my website bookshelf and pick your choice of my books and let me know which you prefer. Email me @ avrilashton@ymail.com and I'll send it your way right away...

**DRUMROLL**

Winner 1... is menina.iscrazy @ yahoo.com aka Cristina Dawn Chancellor

Winner 2 is... shadowestr@aol.com

CONGRATS!!

With Love~Valentine's Day Blog Hop

2012-02-10T23:26:00.002-05:00

We're back at it again and you have wayy more chances to win than the last time. Get your butts in gear, people!

A list of the over 250 participating authors can be found HERE

My prize is open to all, international even :) Two lucky yous get your pick of one of my backlist.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to do for you guys, how to entertain you darling folk who took the time to stop by and say 'wassup.' Should I post an excerpt, blurb? I know, let's talk Valentine's Day. A pub mate of mine has a running thing on her blog this month, Month O' Love and she asked me to participate. I did what I seldom do: got personal. Here's the post I wrote for you lovely folks to enjoy.

V-Day Musings

When the lovely Shy first brought up this darling idea, my immediate thought was to share with you loves a sensual moment from one of my books. Sure, there are more scorchers than sensual stuff happening in my dirty little mind, but I figure had to be at least one up in there. I pondered—yes—which book, what scene, and then something happened. I changed my mind.

Why give you the fictional when I’ve got the real thing?
I’m going to get personal people so brace yourself…no, really. Brace. I’m going to give you a very condensed version of how I met and fell in love with my Mr. Those of you who follow me on Twitter, kindly refrain from mentioning all the times I twitted about smothering him in his sleep with the pillow. This is a Valentine’s Day story, damn it. Not Halloween.
Back in the day, when I was but a spring chicken, free as a bird and getting it in all over the place, I found myself alone on a Friday night. Not the norm for me. I had a little red book filled to the brim with names of folks guaranteed to curl toes, rattle bed springs, and have you climbing walls. Yet, I was alone. I took myself out to the pizza joint down the street, dressed like I usually was for maximum effect. I got the expected catcalls but no one caught my interest, until I came out of the pizza place with my small pie and Sprite…yes, I remember it well. There were a group of guys standing outside the place, trying to get at me. I ignored them. Couldn’t see faces, only shadows. One after the other tried and I ignored them, and then a voice said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?” and I stopped.

Why? Why that voice and not all the others? I had no idea who this person was, but I stopped and we walked back to my apartment, talking. Laughing. And when he pulled out his phone to call his kids, to wish them goodnight individually, I didn’t run away. *I had a motto of no ex-wives and no kids*
His voice was the most intoxicating thing. Low and rough, buttery and whiskey smooth, all at the same bloody time. And when he regarded me those eyelids hanging low, I knew his game. He stayed in my mind all through the night and the next day I called up my best friend to gush.

Oh, he was gonna get it.

The next night he came back, took me to the roof of his building where we sat, wrapped up in each other and talked as we watched the clouds move across the sky. I kid you not. He had me at ease, relaxed, and all into him. Not an easy thing.

I liked him, but he had baggage and I kinda liked travelling light.
After we finally did the do, I hid from him for days. I was running scared, because I was feeling things I wasn’t ready for. He called and called and I had my roommate give him excuse after excuse, but my best friend convinced me to give him a chance. I called him.
I moved in with him in a one room rental days later. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

He’s my complete opposite. Where I’m quiet, he’s loud. Where I barely talk, he goes a mile a minute. Where I’m a reader, he’s a thinker. He’s all about clean, I’m not. He’s outgoing, I’m a hermit. I can list them all, but this would go on for days. Suffice it to say, it’s a miracle we’re still together. I’ve put him through a lot and he’s done the same. Remember the baggage I talked about? Still around. It’ll be ten years soon and I guess I’m reminiscing. They’ve been years of discovery and celebration, of life-changing moments, too. Loss and gains. Devastating losses and wonderful gains.

The little things remind me every day of what I have. What I want, what I need, they’re all wrapped up in him. Tickles and pinches, wet kisses and the rest. The oddest things choke me up; like the way we never, ever call each other by name. It’s babe. Always babe. I love it.
Love when he refers to me as his. While I belong to no one and don’t need someone else to guarantee my happiness, I want to be his forever. Be his babe until the end of time. It’s the ease at which he made my walls domino. Crash down. Shatter.
Sexy as hell.

I’m lucky. Just as he’s lucky. I’m a total catch. Totally.
In our house, Valentine’s Day is any day he brings me a muffin from work because he knows I like that. It’s when he brings home two beers and my favorite ice cream. When he scratches my scalp and does homework with our daughter. When he calls me from work to talk about politics or something he saw on TV.
The little things.
We don’t celebrate V-Day on February 14th, not really. It’s every day and it’s all good.

To win

Follow this Blog
Friend me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/writeravrilashton
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Comment here, about anything you want, just be sure to leave your email addy. Winners will be contacted via email and announced here on Feb 15

Lucky People

2012-02-08T07:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in my imprompto one-year being pubbed celebration. The turnout was massive, surprised me really, so thanks :)

The two lucky peeps who'll get their choice of two ebooks each...are...

CatDeem

and

Servantgarde

Both winners have already been contacted. Congrats and thanks for playing.

All smiles...and News

2012-02-05T20:33:00.002-05:00

My year really didn't start off that great, but I have a few things to smile about. Super busy, super crazy, super productive first month of 2012.

I entered a pitch contest on a whim last year, won, and subsequently subbed a full manuscript to an editor over at Ellora's Cave. That manuscript was by far the most challenging, the most emotionally draining for me. Love The Sinner was a project and labor of love, far more than my other projects. It's a M/M gay-for-you type deal that rode me harder than I've ever been ridden and if you know me, you know I'm all about the hard rides ;) I hit send on Love The Sinner on Jan 2 and had to wait a nail biting four weeks for an answer.

I cannot begin to tell you how fucking hard that was for me. I've been spoiled, only having to wait hours or at most a day for an answer on a sub so far. During the wait, I had my share of tragedy and that kinda helped to take my mind of things, but still, the drama of not knowing still nagged at me.

When I felt up to it, I started on a new story, finished it in two weeks and subbed it to Evernight who quickly accepted. Love the staff at EP, they're the bomb. Far From The Usual will be released in April. Psst...Far From the Usual has the dubious honor of being my very first work not seen by critique partners or beta readers. First draft send off and I gotta tell you, I just about pissed myself while waiting for a response from EP. I swear to God, that was not my finest hour.

Of course, I didn't learn my lesson. Immediately after hitting send on Far From The Usual, I went to work finishing up Make Me Burn, yes, Wes and Jayce's story. Those boys have been most patient and it was time to send them out into the world. Typed 'the end' on MMB Friday night, cleaned it up and sent it out on Saturday. That's right, no CP or beta eyes on that bad boy. Again with the pissing myself and gnawing away on my knuckles. I swear, I never learn. I didn't breathe until the acceptance came in on Sunday. Then it's all, 'fuck yeah! I totally rock. No way was I worried, son. No way.'

Don't know that I wanna do that a third time...but where was I?

Yeah.

Three contracts within a week of each other.

Oh, did I not mention the editor from Ellora's Cave responding exactly one month later on Feb 2? She called Love The Sinner 'Powerfully emotional', said it would, 'stay with her for a long time.' And as I scream into my palm, I'm thinking 'fuck, yeah. Was not worried. At. All.'

Leave me to my illusions.

So, lets tally hmm? Far From the Usual contract? Check.

Make me Burn contract? Check.

Love the Sinner contract? Check and bloody check.

Yes, I'm bragging. I think since I'm usually not the type to toot that mofo-ing horn, I should make use of that bastard. I mean, it's just there, hanging over my freaking head. Taunting me.

'Bout time, I say.

I don't think there are many more contracts in the very near future. I have next to complete Wicked is his Touch, which stalled in the first few chapters. Maysin and Harper are being quiet, but I have just the thing to wake their asses up and get them talking.

In the meantime, here's the unedited blurb for Far From the Usual. More blurbs is on my website: http://avrilashton.webs.com

He’s her ex’s brother, yet Arden Windham aches to be in Cam Mercer’s arms. The man is rude and obnoxious, his blue eyes cold and unfeeling, but he makes her body melt. Being with ex-con Cam is nowhere in her plans, not if she wants the affection she’s worked so hard to gain from her overbearing father. Still, Cam’s touch is unlike anything she’s ever felt and Arden finds herself having to choose between her wants and her needs.

Cameron Mercer is his family’s black sheep, a man apart. For six months he watched Arden waste her time with his twin and now she’s free, he’s not waiting another minute. He’s on a campaign to get her off the tight rope she’s been walking. There’s a rebel behind that smooth façade and he’s on a mission to set Arden free. Too bad she insists on putting up a fight.

A Slice of Cake, Anyone?

2012-02-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm back. No, I'm not telling you where I've been. Suffice it to say I gained nuff weight ;-) This post might include some introspection, so be on the look out for that.

It's my ******ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!******

February First. One year since I've been a published author. A smut peddler. A contributer to the demise of morality...sounds sexy, yes? I have to admit the time flew by really fast; I only recalled the date's significance yesterday. Total awesomeness. I think back to where my head was at at the beginning of this writing process. My thinking could not have been more naive. I mean really, how innocent was I?

Thank God I got over my innocence early.

I'm tired as hell. Could be because I stayed up late the other night watching RuPaul's Drag Race, but that's not the point. My characters exhaust me. In a pleasant way, but still. Can't finish one story before another one is pushing to the front, hand in the air, yelling ME! ME! ME! I love that. I love that they keep coming...heheheh...and I can't write them fast enough.

I love that I can look at myself in the mirror and notice the spark in my eyes. That's a feat, trust me, I'm blind as a bat. I love that I can pay bills with my royalties. How fucking awesome is that?

I love the people who surround me; the authors as crazy as me, feeding my freakiness. Indulging my cray-cray.

February First last year, around midnight or so, I was on the phone with my sister, Robin Badillo, squeeing up a storm as A Wicked Ride went live on sale. That was the greatest feeling. My knees were weak, my stomach was in knots, and I was in heaven. Smutty heaven, filled with naked people doing naughty things to each other.

Heaven.

I'm proud of what I've accomplished, thus far. Proud that this dream, my dream, has come true. I made it happen. I went after it. I grabbed that mother by the throat and squeezed.

Violent, I know.

It's been a bumpy ride and I know many of my writer friends can commiserate. The time spent writing takes away from other things, many important things. Family gets neglected, the house stays dirty, dishes clutter the sink, food gets burned...or is that just me, then? Never mind.

Understand this, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Doing anything else. It's a love no one but us can understand, a drive no one but us really gets. One year down, countless more to go. I hope you'll continue on with me.

I've had the best time writing for you and with you. Let's do it again, soon. To mark the occassion, two of yous will win your choice of any two of my backlist. Two (2) books each. See that image up top? It's also located somewhere on my website. Find it and send me the following info via the Contact Me page on my website: What page is the image on? and What two books of mine would you like to read? Putting the info in the comments of this post will automatically disqualify you. Again, send me the info via my Contact Me page on my website.

Open internationally. Winner will be anounced here next Tuesday.

Now that the mumbo jumbo is over, let's PARTYY! Virtual champagne and cake for everyone!

Alyssa Fox: Bound To Protect

2012-01-16T05:05:00.005-05:00

Good morning and welcome! We're back in full swing...at least, I think so. In the author showcase today is the lovely Alyssa Fox, pimping her new release, Bound To Protect, from Evernight Publishing. Take a ogle at that delicious cover and the mouth-watering excerpt, then make sure you get yourself a copy of this one. I know I'll be all over that one.

BLURB

When Katie’s past comes back to haunt her, can she trust Chad enough, or will it be too late?

Katie Thomas has been living a secret life for four years to keep safe. All of that is about to come to a crashing halt when the ex who tried to kill her shows up again. She’s scared and not sure what to do, until she moves next door to fellow doctor, Chad Davis. He’s the last person she wants to live next door to, but one sizzling night together has her yearning for more. The only thing that stands in her way is what he wants in and out of the bedroom; it’s a threat to everything she’s ever believed.

Can he help Katie unlock her hidden desires and show her that this is more than a fling for him?

Chad Davis has always had a thing for the sexy doctor. Assigned to protect Katie, he is determined to bring down her ex to help him get on with his life, finally. His reasons are personal, but one sizzling night together in his bed is all it takes for his priorities to shift. He is not giving her up, no matter how much she insists she is not right for him.

EXCERPT

The moans coming from Katie just about did him in. Chad lowered her onto the bed and the grip of her arms around his neck tightened. For a moment, she pulled away from the kiss.

“I’ve got you. I won’t drop you.”

A smile crossed her face and made his heart grip tighter against his chest. He was going to enjoy teaching her to be submissive.

“Take your shirt off,” he said with a gruff voice.

“What?”

“You heard what I said.” She stiffened and pulled her legs against her chest. Chad stifled a curse. He had to get his dominant side in check if he was going to reach her. He couldn’t go all “hard-ass” on her the first time. What she needed right now was reassurance that she was safe enough with him to truly let go.

“You’re not going to take it off?” Uncertainty laced her voice. .

“If I wanted to take it off of you, I would have.” Kneeling on the bed beside her, Chad promised himself to go as slowly as she needed. His gut told him she wanted this even if she wasn’t sure how it worked. It was part of his job to show her what her body wanted, needed and craved deep down inside. “If you didn’t have a fantasy about this, you wouldn’t have books on BDSM. Let me show you what your body secretly craves.”

“I’m not a helpless bimbo that needs to be told what to do to get off,” she spit back.

He hardly kept his laugh inside. She still wanted to fight what he knew her body wanted, but her independent streak was woven so deeply that she didn’t want to let go and feel. Hell, after all she’d been through, he could understand why. That was one thing he admired about her. Katie didn’t take shit from anyone.

“Is that so?” Butterflies slammed against her stomach as his hand continued to roam her body. For a moment she worried about Chad's taking things too far, about not being what he needed in a woman. What if she wasn’t built to do what he wanted? He didn’t give her much time to think on that before slipping off her thong. Now she was completely naked with his hard body pressed against hers.

“Yes. Now, no talking, unless you’re screaming out my name. Until then, call me ‘Sir’.”

“What if I have a question or something is bothering me?”

“Address me as ‘Sir’ and we’ll deal with it. Are you ready?”

Katie nodded. Nothing could happen to her, and if she needed it, she had a safe word. If she had to, she’d hold onto that reassurance with all her might and not hesitate to speak the safe word if things overwhelmed her. That was the whole point of having a safe word.

“I asked you a question.”

Drawing in her bottom lip, she grazed it with her teeth. “Yes, I’m ready.”

“Yes, what, Katie?” He stopped the caress just a whisper away from her breast. She desperately wanted him to touch her again. Arching towards him, she tried to bring her body into contact with his hand, but he moved.

“Yes, Sir. I’m ready.”

“Relax. Every time I touch you, I can feel you jump. No one’s going to hurt you here.”

Taking in a deep breath, she willed herself to relax, or at least try. Before, this was the point where she’d have trouble and start to pull back from her lover.

“Shouldn’t we lie down?”

“If I thought we needed to, then I’d have told you. Get in the middle of the bed and sit back on your heels.” He could almost see the wheels turning in her head, and for a moment, he wondered if she would use the safe word. Taking a breath, she moved to the bed and did as he had told her. Good girl. Chad climbed on the bed behind her. He palmed her ass, sending heat racing down her body. “Anyone ever take you back here?”

Oh God, not there! That shouldn’t turn her on even more. Chad’s body heat seeped into her back as he blanketed her with the hard muscles of his chest. His hand moved between her thighs.

“Don’t make me ask again. I’ll spank your ass next time.”

“Yes, but I don’t like it. It hurts.” She turned her head to glance at him. “No anal. I can’t do that. You can kiss your chance to fuck me away if you think you’re going to hit me.” Never again would she allow a man to hit her. Being that weak again wasn’t an option anymore. Moisture seeped between her thighs at the erotic thought of him smacking her, but no way would she tell him that it turned her on to have him do it. She'd read about it in her books, and it was never abusive. According to the books, it was always done in a safe manner, and brought the woman pleasure. There’d been times that she’d been so turned on after reading that she had to take care of things on her own. And she had no doubts that Chad would see to her pleasure in every way.

BOUND TO PROTECT is NOW available from Evernight Publishing
Alyssa's Website
Facebook
Blog
Twitter

Welcome Lorraine Nelson: Trouble's Brewing

2012-01-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

Please allow me to welcome the talented Lorraine Nelson to my blog. Lorraine is a fellow Evernight Publishing author who's latest Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek is available now for your pleasure. Take a gander at the blurb and excerpt below. You also have the chance to score a copy of any one of Lorraine's books in the Thunder Creek Ranch series. Just leave your email addy in the comments. Winner will be chosen on Monday.

Lucas Manning, Sr. is married to Winnie, Roy Grayson's mother. Trouble ensues from the moment authorities arrest her son for stalking and terrorizing Lucas' daughter-in-law. Winnie feels guilty and withdraws from the Manning family. Suddenly a threatening phone call disturbs their lives even more as Winnie becomes a target. Can Lucas convince her of her worthiness and save their marriage? Or will danger and loyalty to her son drive a further wedge between them?

EXCERPT

The warm water sluiced over their hot bodies in a rushing stream as they stood entwined in the tiny stall. Her kisses tasted like chocolate mint from the candy bars they’d snacked on earlier.

She poured a liberal amount of his shower gel into her palm. “Turn around.”

He did as requested, and she dutifully soaped his back. As her hands moved to soap his chest, she rubbed her breasts against him, and he shivered in response to the sensations rioting through his body. When her hands reached to soap his cock, he gasped, taking in a mouthful of water, which he promptly spewed out.

“Lady, you sure are full of surprises,” he said as he turned to face her, rinsing off under the spray before turning the taps off. He grabbed a towel and dried her body, his ministrations causing exquisite little moans to escape her lips. Quickly drying himself, he tossed the towel aside and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Side-by-side, they walked through to the bedroom where he could make love to her in comfort. He loved this woman. He’d shown her every day in every way he could, but the words themselves didn’t come easy, not since his first wife died and took a piece of his heart with her.

As they lay down, he cuddled close and worshipped her body with his hands and mouth, old memories pushed to the farthest recesses of his mind.

Her breasts spilled from his hands as he massaged their silky softness. “So damned soft. I could play with them all night long.”

She clutched his head urging him forward to taste her rosy buds. “Be my guest.”

He laved a tongue over a nipple, teasing before pulling it into his mouth, his hand pinching the other one. Her soft murmur of delight spurred him on. He let go of her breast, with a light bite, trailing kisses down over her abdomen to reach the honeyed prize nested in reddish curls. Her legs spread for him, the most feminine part of her open and waiting for his attention.

AUTHOR WEBSITE

EVERNIGHT PUB

Also available @ amazon and ARe

Winners!

2011-12-19T09:29:00.001-05:00

Many thanks to all you lovely folk who took the time to stop by. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, glad you found new authors and books. It is what this massive party was about. Thank you too, for the lovely comments and holiday wishes.

Chrissy Munder, you won a copy of Drea Becraft's The Real Saint Nic. Please respond by commenting here with your email addy and I'll see about getting you your prize.

Now for the winners of the HOPS. First the winner of the Secret Cravings Hop who gets a copy of Blindfold Me, plus one other of my backlist: Na (Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com) Please browse my bookshelf and email me @ avrilashton@ymail.com with your other choice.

The Christmas Blog Hop Winners. Remember, I'm picking two of you. First up, winner of their choice of two of my ebooks: RAE M. Visit my bookshelf and choose your two ebooks and please email me with your choices @ avrilashton@ymail.com

$5 GC to Evernight Publishing: Sonia Remo Ait.

Congrats lovely loves, Sonia please email me at the address above and we'll do the damn thang! Everyone else, no worries, another hop is just around the corner. I'm always giving away something around these parts so stick around.

Happy Holidays!!!

Welcome Drea Becraft!

2011-12-15T07:18:00.003-05:00

Say hello! to the awesome Drea Becraft. She's popped in for a little chat and giving us a taste of her latest release, The Real Saint Nic.

What age were you when you stopped believing in Santa and why?

Blog by Drea Becraft

Tis the season…yep the Christmas season.

I have most of my outside family already bought for but my children only a few things so far. I am so looking forward to seeing all the faces of my loved ones as they open their gifts.

Recently I asked a few questions to everyone and anyone that would listen. For this blog the question is: What age were you when you stopped believing in Santa?

I can’t tell you a specific age because I am not quite sure but I think it was around the age of 10 or 11. While I didn’t believe in him anymore I do have two younger sisters so I kept the fact that I did know a secret till the youngest didn’t believe anymore. It worked out the best that way at least I still got a present every year until everyone was on the same page. And as we all know in the kid years its all about the presents lol.

As to the why I am pretty sure someone at my school told me the truth probably one of the kids on the bus who loved to tease me mercifully lol.

Others answered:

I was four years old when my brother dragged me out of bed to see our parents putting present on chairs in the living room. ~Jean Joachim

8, I am pretty sure someone at school let the cat out of the bag ~ Shari David

I was 8 or 9 when I stopped. I think parents told me but we never told lil sister til she (2 yrs younger) asked at about 10-11. ~Dawn

So when did you stop believeing? Tell me below and be entered in to win a copy of my newest Christmas release The Real Saint Nic!

Also I have a Free Read (My Wish For Christmas Is You): http://dreabecraft.com/bookshelf/free-read/

The Real Saint Nic is at

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

ARe

Blurb

Aimee’s life changed one night, not long ago, when she staked a vampire to save another. Still reeling from that life changing night, Aimee decides to go home with Brenda, her best friend, for the holidays. She never expected Brenda’s brother, who comes off more like the Grinch then Santa, to have so many saint like qualities. Years spent alone, with no family or friends, plays heavy on her mind but Nic could possibly be the one who changes it all.

Christmas has always been a sore spot for Nicolai. He’s the real saint Nic, but society has him all wrong. He’s no saint. In truth, he’s a vampire. Over the centuries, Nic has spent the holidays fighting off the ridicule from his younger brother and giving to those less fortune, not seeing his own worth. Until one mortal, brought home by his sister Brenda, changes the holiday and his outlook on life for eternity.

Is it possible that Nic has finally found his Mrs. Clause? When worlds meld, can Aimee find the happy ever after she once asked Santa for so many years ago, or is she doomed to spend forever lonely on Christmas?

Excerpt

With a flick of his hand, the lights next to the bed turned on as did a few lamps across the room. Once my eyes adjusted, I got a better look at the amount of presents. Hundreds, littered the room. The only space not filled was around the bed and a path to two doors in opposite directions. Red, green, and golds splattered the room in a festive show of color.

“You really are Saint Nic.” Astonished I tried desperately to keep my mouth closed.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” Turning away from the presents I turned my gaze to Nic’s in question.

“Because I’m nowhere near a saint.” Brows furrowing Nic stared intently at the computer screen.

“Then how did you get the name?”

“That would be Jaysen’s doing. One day, not to long after I started giving the gifts, we got into an argument. I don’t remember most of what was said, after all, it was quite a while ago, but I do remember the comment was rather snide. To this day neither of us knows how it ended up outside our argument, but it still reminds me of that comment. Besides saints are deemed so because of the greatness they do for mankind all I do is give a few toys to some kids.”

Moved by the noticeable hurt in his eyes, a relentless knot twisted in my stomach. Though I still didn’t know him, the connection between us grew with each passing moment.

Whether it was hormones or the fact that we were supposed to be mates, I didn’t know, but I couldn’t stand to see him sad.

I scooted out of the bed and made my way to him, wrapping paper shuffling under my feet. Then, as if it were the most natural thing to do, I lowered myself into his lap and hugged him close. “To those kids you are the world.”

“That’s why I do it every year. Though not in the grand scale that everyone thinks. I try to help at least a few orphanages and hospitals each year.”

“See, you are a saint. Every year you create the biggest rush of hope and joy to the children across the world. Though you can‘t help them all, the small sacrifices you have made over the centuries have helped to shape our world and helps friends and families learn the true meaning of giving. Without you there would be no hope of a perfect Christmas. If that isn‘t the act of a saint, I don‘t know what is.”

With a grunt in my ear, Nic’s arms tightened around me as he buried his head in the hair between my shoulder blade and ear.

Pulling away slightly, I raised my hands and held of each side of his head. My fingers ran though the silken strands of his hair using that leverage I brought his head up until our eyes met. Leaning down I kissed his full lips with a slight brush of mine.

You are the best mate anyone could ask for. Speaking while our mouths were still fused, Nic sipped from my lips slowly.

Find Drea @ http://dreabecraft.com

**Be sure to leave your email address in your comments. One winner will be chosen and notified via email tomorrow, 12/16. Open internationally**

In Wicked Chains...Weekend Dirty Dozen

2011-12-08T21:14:00.002-05:00

The Dirty Dozen this week (I just love saying 'the dirty') comes from In Wicked Chains, book #3 in The Wicked series. It's all about Kingston and Elina, and if you aren't familiar with my band of merry, explicitly wicked characters you can find them all at Amazon.

The series is four books long, with book four under construction :-) I hope you take a chance, visit with those Wicked kids, and have a blast. You can be sure I keeps it dirty..hah, said dirty again. It's my favorite word, after Tequila, of course.

BLURB

With the twist of a doorknob, his carefully cultivated façade is shaken by the woman he’d forbidden himself to need.

The daughter of a recently slain mobster, Elina Vicente has secrets, too. They weigh her down, stealing her strength and her dreams. She’s developed an unhealthy crush on Kingston though he’s never looked at her as anything but his sister’s quiet friend. When she walks in on him in a compromising embrace, Elina seizes the chance to move Kingston from her dreams and into her arms.

THE DIRTY STUFF

Set up: Kingston and Elina has one night of rough and tumble and she leaves, now he sees her in his club, grinding on another man. He goes for drastic...**hot stuff ahead. A towel, a cup of ice, and something battery operated should be on hand if you're to venture lower** Jus sayin'

A sob hiccupped from her. His spare hand fumbled at the front of his jeans and she opened her mouth, swept her tongue in to tangle with his.

He devoured her mouth, teeth clinking, biting. Elina found herself moaning into his onslaught, tugging at his zipper as she wound a leg around his waist. His naked cock spilled out into her palm and she didn’t allow him any preamble. Lifting her hip, sinking her teeth into his lower lip, she guided him into her waiting wetness.

He pushed in on a grunt, sinking deep, fast, hard. Elina shuddered. Eyelids fluttering, she gave herself over to the pleasure. Thinking was overrated.

With both hands on her hips, Kingston drove into her, pounding, punishing. He never broke the kiss and she swallowed each shuddering grunt, each moan as she clamped down around him, doling out her own form of punishment.

Get DIRTY here

Weekend Dirty Dozen...Make me Burn

2011-12-01T23:44:00.002-05:00

So this Weekend's Dirty twelve comes from an almost completed work in progress, tentatively titled 'Make Me Burn'. Yes...it is Wes and Jayce's story (if you've read Make Me Sweat). For those who haven't, Wes and Jayce are a couple from MMS who practically stole the story with their chemistry in their one and only scene together.

Them boyz is fyah! So here's a taste, but first, some BS...backstory, people. Damn!

*Whispers*...apparently, something happened between these two, but Jayce tucked tail and ran, and Wes moved on. So in this scene, which is like my ALL TIME FAVE SCENE EVA, Jayce shows up out of the blue, trying to stake his claim. Now, I say trying but for all intense and purposes, I think homeboy done claimed that.

Dirty Twelve

“I could fuck you right here, Wes.” Jayce's voice was an aroused growl. “Sink all the way deep in to that tight ass right now, then send you back to your rich boy with my cum leaking out of you.” He kissed his way up Wes’ neck and slid his tongue into his ear while squeezing him and grinding on his ass.

Wes whimpered, his mind empty of everything but the feel of Jayce. He dug his nails into Jayce’s forearms, pushing back and undulating on his bulge.

“Would he forgive you, do you think?” Jayce dragged his teeth along the tendons in Wes’ neck until he got to the point where neck and shoulder met. “Or does he already know that you’re mine?” He sank his teeth in and sucked hard.

Wanton cries fell from Wes’s lips, molten heat flooding his boxers as he came.

“Does he know those cries are mine?” Jayce whispered in his ear.

More Dirty Stuff is HERE

In Wicked Chains...a tease

2011-11-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

In Wicked Chains (The Wicked bk#) is here, available right now from eXtasy Books so I bring you an exclusive tease from Kingston and Elina.

Everyone has secrets. Some people simply bury theirs deeper. Kingston Hughes is one of those. Painful childhood memories plague him, sending him spinning out of control and running from any kind of commitment. He pretends not to feel the pain and loneliness while indulging in sexual encounters with nameless, faceless women.

With the twist of a doorknob, his carefully cultivated façade is shaken by the woman he’d forbidden himself to need.

The daughter of a recently slain mobster, Elina Vicente has secrets, too. They weigh her down, stealing her strength and her dreams. She’s developed an unhealthy crush on Kingston though he’s never looked at her as anything but his sister’s quiet friend. When she walks in on him in a compromising embrace, Elina seizes the chance to move Kingston from her dreams and into her arms.

For only the second time in her life, Elina takes something just for her, but try as she and Kingston might, they can’t prevent their pasts from intruding. Shadows of pain and bitterness rise with a vengeance and the lovers will have to decide whether to break free or remain bound…In Wicked Chains.

EXCERPT...of the adult variety

Kington wanted to gather her up in his arms and hide her away, from him, from the explicit images in his head of Elina spread wide, lips wrapped around his cock, pussy wet and dripping, ass high in the air as he drove in and out. All these things he’d learned to stop wanting from her, all needs he’d kept at bay for so long.

Whatever she saw on his face, Elina smiled. “You’ve thought about this before. Me at your feet. You doing things to me.” Her entire face seemed to glow with the knowledge. She had power, time to take it back.

Kingston grabbed her hair. She arched for him beautifully, exposing her neck. Stifling a groan, he dragged his tongue down the smooth, creamy column. His cock, aroused since his first sight of her, pushed against his zipper. He winced. Elina moaned and he thrust her away.

“Clothes off,” he rasped. “Now.” He didn’t look to see if she followed his command, instead he strode over to the camel-colored couch and sat down. In no time she’d dispensed of the faded jeans and black t-shirt and stood before him in nothing but pink and black ankle socks. When he first saw her he’d thought her too thin, but she’d gained muscle and weight, filling out nicely.

Her café au lait skin was creamy smooth with small, firm tits, brown, nickel-sized nipples, and a flat stomach. Her chest heaved with every breath she took.

His balls ached with the need to explode.

She stood about five-six in her flat feet with toned legs. Her pussy was shaved though a thin landing strip remained.

No underwear. How…intriguing. He smiled and shifted to ease his dripping cock. “Come here.”

She bit her lip, reddening the skin. He wanted to kiss it away, but Kington reminded himself of the matter at hand. He had to make it so she didn’t want this, didn’t want him.

Elina walked toward him with sure footsteps. Their gazes held. Trust and need shone brightly in hers, and fuck if he didn’t blink to hide the raw lust running rampant through him. She stood between his parted knees, fists curled, waiting.

He smoothed a shaking hand down her front, sweeping between her breasts and stopping at her pubic mound. She held herself still as tiny sounds drifted from her. Staring up at her, emotion clogged Kingston’s throat. Fear of her negative reaction to him, even more afraid of the positive, raced inside him. After all this time of wanting from a safe distance, he had her in his grasp.

“Get on your knees.”

She dropped as if she’d been waiting all her life for his command.

Christ. His fingers flexed at the urge to hold her close and never let go. Lifting his hand, he dragged his knuckles down her cheek.

Her lashes fluttered and she leaned in to his touch. He didn’t linger. Swinging a leg over her head, he stood up and moved behind her.

She jerked and turned around, but he sank his fingers into her hair and held her head steady.

“Don’t move, look straight ahead.” He unbuckled his belt and pulled it free, watching the way her shoulders stiffened at the sound. “Hands behind your back.”

She complied silently.

“You say you want me, El, but I’ve been noticing things.” He dropped behind her on the floor. Catching both her wrists in his bigger palm, he wrapped the belt around them and buckled, drawing it tight. When she was secure, he leaned in and brushed her hair away from her neck.

She shivered.

“I’ve noticed you don’t like being touched, El.” He rubbed his nose over the shell of her ear.

Elina turned slightly, giving him better access.

“The only man you’re comfortable around is Niko, and he’s taken,” Kingston whispered in her ear.

She shook her head and panted. “Even with a different face, Niko’s familiar to me. He’s safe.”

Kingston’s gut twisted. Fucking jealousy.

“If you stayed around me long enough to notice, you’d see I like your presence just as much,” she said. “Maybe more. But you’re always running away and I’m always left needing you near.” Frustration brought her Spanish accent to the forefront as she rolled her Rs.

“I can’t be what you want,” Kingston’s voice cracked. Couldn’t she see how bad he’d be for her? His father made sure to ruin him for anybody.

“Let me be the judge.” Elina tilted forward, arching her back as she said, “Do whatever you want. I can take it. I can take you.”

Kingston ran his gaze down her curved back, to the hands shackled just over her ass, and her butt cheeks, so pale and taut. His mouth watered. He pictured himself sinking his teeth into the unblemished flesh, drinking in her cries.

Fucking. God.

Pressing a kiss to her nape, he trailed a shaky finger down her spine. Elina undulated like a dancer, mesmerizing, intoxicating. He licked her shoulder, then nipped.

She groaned.

Her aroused musk teased his nose. His hard cock dripped, aching to be buried between those pale thighs. He cupped himself through his jeans, shuddering at the contact.

“Balance on your knees.” King smoothed a hand over the curve of her left butt cheek as she changed positions, knees apart. Pressing himself against her back, he reached in front and palmed one of her tits.

Elina gasped. He squeezed her nipple, pinching and pulling before moving on to the next.

Her hips rolled, ragged moans left her throat, and he fought his own needs and wants to give her this. With one hand occupied with her tits, he trailed a finger of the other down her ass crack.

“King.”

Fuck, I love the way my name sounds on her lips. Soft and breathless. His balls drew up at the sound. Kingston gritted his teeth and counted to ten in his head. By the time he got to ten, her fragrant musk scented the air and his entire body shook from restraint.

He bent and slid his tongue over her spine, laving it. Her knees widened. Removing his hand from her nipples, he gripped her hips to hold her still, but she rocked back on him.

“King, more.”

A plea and God help him, but he wanted more. It wasn’t enough what he’d done, not nearly enough. Pulling apart her ass cheeks, he ordered roughly, “Open.”

Automatically, those legs opened, giving him an eyeful of juices glistening on the inside of her thigh. “Higher.”

She arched, opening herself for him. He plunged two fingers into her.

Elina cried out. Her fiery pussy clamped down on his fingers, juices squishing as he thrust in and out. She rode his fingers, her cries echoing around the room. He bit down on the inside of his cheek, stifling his grunts.

He hooked his fingers. She stiffened, then her hips rocked faster. She ground down and he ground up, the heel of his palm rubbing her ass. The rough material of his jeans rubbed his cock just right as his hips snapped forward in time with his hand. Contraction after contraction gripped his fingers as Elina came, slick moisture raining on his fingers, sliding down his palm.

Arm aching, shuddering as he came in his pants like a teenager, Kingston groaned. I’m fucked.

Buy @ eXtasy Books : http://bit.ly/rtFILY

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/In Wicked Chains

2011-11-10T23:43:00.003-05:00

In Wicked Chains is bk#3 in my The Wicked series with eXtasy Books. I learned last week it will be released on Nov 15, so I decided to use it for your durrty this week. Here's ya blurb...no cover, cause I'm keeping it under wraps until I unveil it in my newsletter.

Dirty Blurb

With the twist of a doorknob, his carefully cultivated façade is shaken by the woman he’d forbidden himself to need.

For only the second time in her life, Elina takes something just for her, but try as she and Kingston might, they can’t prevent their pasts from intruding. Shadows of pain and bitterness rise with a vengeance and the lovers will have to decide whether to break free or remain bound…In Wicked Chains.

***In this scene in the beginning of the story, Elina has made up her mind that she's not waiting for Kingston to make the first move. She takes the initiative, but...

Dirty excerpt

She’d been too late. Someone else was once again in her spot, taking her place.

The woman kneeling at Kingston’s feet devoured him with obvious relish, saliva dripping down her chin. A thick leather belt bound her hands behind her back.

Anger and something else burned Elina’s skin, hardening her nipples and slicking her inner thighs. The bastard had no idea what he did to her, none.

“Shit,” Kingston growled. His hips bucked.

Elina’s gaze flew from the woman on the floor to his face, but his eyes remained closed. She tightened her fingers on the doorknob, unable to tear herself away. Her heart hurt, but her clit pulsed.

Betrayed by her body and Kingston.

More Dirty

Guest Blogger Drea Becraft

2011-11-07T22:48:00.002-05:00

Today my guest is the awesomely adorable Drea Becraft. She's possibly the nicest and most hardworking woman I know and she's talking about recording all those precious little moments in our lives.

Welcome, Drea!

Recording Life

As a kid I can’t tell you how many times I wished my mother wouldn’t shove a camera in my face at every little moment. As a adult I wish now I had all that media and it didn’t get lost over the years. What little memories I have I remember are connected to the few pictures I now hold dear.

I will be the first to confess I take tons and I mean TONS of pictures of my kids as they are growing up. Not so much videos since I don’t own a video camera but the pictures are great for them to have when they grow up and have children of their own. Now I truly know the importance of recording the years as my kids grow faster then I ever thought imaginable.

Whether it be by picture or video I am a true believer in the need to record life. Even through the little things and the big things every moment is precious. I am planning on one day getting a video camera and god help my children when that happens lol.

In the first book of this series (Live For The Todays) we got a big taste of how much Tina loved to record life. In the following book (Forget The Yesterdays) her love of the camera help those she leaves behind cope with a loss. So how about you do you record life? How often?

Blurb: Forget The Yesterdays

Release Date: September 12, 2011

For Buy Links: http://www.dreabecraft.com

Some say the past defines us, others say to forget it and move forward. For Jack McCloud, the past plagues him with what could and should have been. After the death of the only woman he ever truly loved, Jack finds that forgetting the yesterdays is harder then he ever imagined. Impossible, until one woman comes into his life and turns it upside down making him rethink where his future leads, and whether he really wants to survive it on his own.

Samantha Larsh, a single mother, only wants what is best for her and her newborn son. So when offered a job at ARC Management, she is elated at the opportunity to provide the life they both desperately need. One day, one job, and one secret later her life would be forever changed. Can the future handed to her by fate be enough for her to look forward to tomorrow, or is she forever doomed to live in the shadow of yesterdays ghost

Excerpt:

His dream began with the sound of the surf reaching his ears, the sunlight gently shining through his closed eyes.

“Are you just going to lay there?”

Peeking through his lashes, he saw Tina. “I was working on my tan.”

“As if you aren’t already too good looking. The last thing you need is a tan.”

Grabbing her hand, Jack pulled her down on top of him, holding her to his chest. “It’s been a couple of months. I missed you.”

“You know I have places to go and people to see.”

Reaching up, he tucked a piece of her auburn hair behind her ears. “Too busy to haunt

little old me, huh?”

“Never!” Leaning down, she kissed his mouth, running her tongue along the seam of his lips, asking silently for entrance.

Jack pulled her tongue into his mouth and sucked on it lightly, at first, then more forcefully. Running his hands up and down her bikini-clad body, he reveled in the feeling of her skin beneath his hands.

Pulling away slightly, Jack looked up to her face as the sun shown behind her, giving her the appearance of having a halo. Tears shown in her eyes, making him wonder why she was so sad. They were on a beach together, nothing could be better.

Reaching up, he brushed the tear from her cheek. “What’s the matter darlin’?”

“I’m going to miss you so much.”

“What are you talking about? We always have tomorrow.”

“I can’t keep coming to you, Jack. It’s time you move on. I want you to be happy.”

“I won’t be happy without you. I can’t be happy without you.”

“Yes you can and you will. Promise me you will move on.”

Turning his face away from her, he watched as the surf receded into the sea. Feeling her small hand cupping his cheek, he allowed her to bring his face back to hers.

“Please, Jack, for me.” A tear ran down her cheek, hitting him just below his nose and running down his lips.

Licking the tear away, he ran his hands up her arms to the back of her head, pulling her down to meet his hungry lips. Kissing her with every ounce of love in his body, he couldn’t stop, like a man possessed. Never leaving the kiss, he rolled over on top of her, her back in the sand.

Pulling away from her mouth had been about the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he couldn’t resist looking into her hazel eyes. “I can’t promise, because I never want to break a promise to you T. I will try my best… that I can promise you.”

“That’s all a girl can ask for.”

“I will never stop loving you, never.”

“I’m not asking you to. I believe there is enough love in your heart for more than one though.”

“I seriously doubt it. No one is you Tina, you’re the one I need and want.”

“I know but sometimes, the heart knows what it can and cannot handle before the brain catches up. Trust your heart baby, it will never steer you wrong.”

A loud beeping sound seemed to come from the waves, getting louder and louder with each beep.

“Its time for you to go, I love you. Always have, always will.” Kissing him, she disappeared in front of his eyes.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Reaching for the alarm clock, Jack pressed the snooze button and sat up in bed. Blinking to clear his eyes, he could have sworn he saw Tina standing in the corner of his room, waving goodbye.

“I love you, always have, and always will.” Jack smiled at her as once again she disappeared, leaving him to stare at the empty room.

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/ Blindfold Me

2011-11-04T07:38:00.000-04:00

This weeks' WDD is from Blindfold Me, my first completed novel, now available in both print and ebook format. The heroine Lyric meets Grayson, her childhood sweetheart here for the first time in almost thirteen years. Many things were left unresolved and it doesn't help any that some major drama is popping off at the company Grayson just bought. Lyric's company.

Here's the blurb

Thirteen years ago, Lyric Benson's boyfriend accused her of sleeping with his older brother then disappeared. She never stopped caring, never stopped hoping. Now, all these years later, Lyric is stunned to discover the new owner of her company is one Grayson St Clair, who never forgot or forgave her transgression.

Grayson wants nothing to do with someone he thinks hurt him so deeply. He can't let go of the past and he can't trust Lyric. It doesn't help matters that while on her watch, the Masonry company she oversaw was hacked into and the company's top secret client list accessed. Reluctantly, Lyric and Grayson team up to find the culprit, with Grayson denying their blossoming feelings at every turn. But when his brother appears, secrets in tow, Grayson will have to choose: live in the past or move on with Lyric.

The Dirty

“If you had your way, I’d be long gone. Wouldn’t I?”

“Well, yes. Especially since you practically gave our clients away.”

“Bastard,” she spat. “This has nothing to do with Ilsha. You still hate me.” Her chest heaved. “You still hate me after all these years.”

“What do you expect, Lyric?” Thirteen years of pain and anguish clung to every word he spoke. “You slept with my brother!”

Available for Kindle Nook and @ ARe

More authors and their Dirty stuff are here

Blog Tour-Stop (1)

2011-11-01T10:43:00.000-04:00

To kick off my virtual tour to promote Till Abandon, I've been interviewed over at Books-n-Kisses. Stop by and oh, have you snapped up your copy of Till Abandon yet?

Book one in the Paranormal Security Council Series

All the power and killer instinct she possess can’t protect her from the claiming of one determined wolf.

They call her ‘The woman in white,’ whisper ‘Death-Bringer’ with their last breath, but no one knows exactly what she is. Not even Voltaire herself. The deadly magic within her is a living thing, able to crush anyone and everything with a blink. Abandoning the blood-soaked world she’s used to, Voltaire seeks out the one constant in her tired life-the green-eyed wolf in her dreams. She’s ignored the wolf’s call for years, afraid to surrender, but danger haunts her mate. He needs her.
Wolf-shifter Blake Montez is in the middle of a war, battling the usurpers intent on taking over his territory. Unfamiliar magic hums in the air, unnoticed-it seems-by everyone but him. He finds the source already under his nose, in his home. The delicate woman in white knows things no one should know, and the heat simmering between them is unlike anything he’s ever felt. His wolf recognizes her as his mate, though Blake remains unsure he can trust her.
Voltaire sets out to prove herself with time running out. Enemies are on the prowl, some foreseen, others remaining cloaked in shadow. She and Blake team up, fighting side by side, but in the end Voltaire might be the biggest threat to their love.

EXCERPT:
"Will you fucking die already?" Voltaire pressed the right heel of her gold Zanotti’s into the bullet hole in the man’s neck. The idiot keeping her from her date struggled—a futile effort, if she did say so herself. His cobalt-blue eyes stared up at her from his position on the floor, pleading for mercy while his body twitched. Wet sounds gurgled in his throat, then he coughed. Dark red blood flew everywhere, dotting the back of her heel and running like a red stream down the corner of his mouth. Pink tears leaked from his eyes.
"Damn it, now look what you’ve done." She lifted her foot off his throat to inspect the damage to her shoe. "I bought these today, specially for this occasion, and you go and fuck them up."
Men. Can’t train them, or horsewhip them in the middle of the street. What the hell is there left to do? Kill ‘em.
She knelt beside the man, who was getting bluer by the minute, and shook her head. "You know, that colour does great things for your skin tone." She grabbed the sleeve of his white shirt and wiped off her heel. Blood pooled under him, sinking into the plush, grey carpet. She glanced up at the digital clock on his desk. He had some fabulous things in this office—she’d take a tour of the house if she wasn’t so damned strapped for time.
Hah, strapped.
A dull buzzing started on the left side of her skull, annoying as a mosquito.
"Will you stop already with the fucking mind control? You’ve been trying it all night, and has it worked?" She lifted an eyebrow and projected her thoughts to him. Obviously not. You pissed off the Council and they’ve marked you for extinction. She bared her teeth. "Unfortunately for you, they gave you to me as a going away gift."
Tugging the bowie knife from her ankle strap, she slashed his throat with a flick of her wrist.
"That’s for taking up so much of my goddamn time."
She fished the disposable cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans and pulled off her black gloves with her teeth. Hitting the redial button, she straightened and stepped delicately over the body on her way to the door.
"Yes?"
"It’s done."
Voltaire paused at the threshold and took one last look over her shoulder to admire her handiwork. Damn, sometimes she astonished even herself. The married father of four hadn’t batted an eye when she’d sent him a drink at the bar then offered herself to him for the night. She gave him bonus points for not taking her to his marital home. Apparently Mr Moneybags kept an apartment downtown for his nightly hook-ups.
Fucking men. Is nothing sacred anymore? Sure, she’d been paid a couple of mil to kill him, but still.

@ Total E Bound: http://bit.ly/pyBzg9

BTOTBH Winner!

2011-11-01T07:11:00.002-04:00

Massive thank yous go out to all you awesome peeps who stopped by during the Bewitching Trick-orTreat Blog Hop. It's been fun and I've had a blast. Stick around, we'll be doing it all again for Christmas.

I've had such a great turn out, I decided to pick two winners. SURPRISE!! and drum roll...

Winner One (picked by random.org) is wlynnchantale

and

Winner Two (picked by random.org) is Lisa **Wolphcall@ bellsouth.net

Congrats to the winners! Check out my website for a list of my books and descriptions and email me your preference (1 each) at avrilashton (at) ymail (dot) com.

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/Dulce

2011-10-27T10:01:00.008-04:00

This week's Dirty Dozen is from Dulce, my M/M short in the Midnight Seduction Manlove Edition Anthology pubbed by Evernight Publishing.

DULCE Blurb: Wolf shifter Griffin Royale, is back in his hometown of River’s Junction, Colorado, for his mother’s annual Halloween masquerade party. It’s his first time back since he left three years ago, but the instant Griff steps foot in his brother’s club, he senses his mate.

Bartender Dulce O’Brien is a shifter as well, but he instantly rebuffs Griffin’s advances, denying their connection. Denying his sexuality. Now Griffin has to find a way to claim his mate despite the many obstacles standing in their way.

Dirty Dozen

"You think I want to own you, Dulce?” Fuck, my voice shook with the waning attempts at restraint. “I don’t want to own you. I want to claim you. Hold you down and fuck you.”

I felt his swift intake of breath and saw the internal struggle he waged when his eyes clashed with mine. He wanted. Like I wanted.

I pressed closer to him, front to front, hard against oh-so-fucking-hard. He didn’t move toward me, but he didn’t move away either. I pushed further, sliding my hand up his tattooed arm, over his shoulder, and finally up his smooth head. His skin felt like satin fire under my palm.

Available @ Evernight Bookstrand ARe Amazon

Get more of the Dirty Stuff over HERE

Got Vote?

2011-10-24T08:00:00.004-04:00

I did something recently I swore I'd never do. I entered a pitch contest over a Passionate Reads. The prize is to get your first three chapters and a synopsis critiqued by an editor from at Ellora's Cave. Since I've wanted to get my foot in the door over at EC, I jumped at the chance.

First we had to submit a blurb only. Out of almost fifty who entered that first round, ten were chosen. I was one of those along with my M/M story Love The Sinner. You now have the chance to read the first chapter of Love The Sinner, along with the other authors who moved to the second round, and vote on whose you like.

Here's the blurb that made it through to the second round:

NYPD Detective, Gabriel Ashby would love nothing more than to bust Angelo Pagan’s ass and lock him up, so why is he seeing the bastard in his erotic dreams at night? Never having looked twice at another man, Gabriel doesn’t know how to deal with his sudden and intense desire for one of the force’s Most Wanted. Everyone close to Angelo somehow ends up dead, with the smug gang leader standing alone amid the rubble.

Angelo Pagan can’t figure out the cop undressing him with his eyes and pushing him away with his words. Attraction to Gabriel is suicide and Angelo resolves to ignore the fierce chemistry…until a police raid goes wrong. He critically injures Gabriel, changing the trajectory of both their lives. Now, despite anger and resentment on both sides, the two can’t get close enough.

Their forbidden affair is threatened from the onset by lies and betrayal. They live on different sides of the law, unable to find a way of breaching the huge gap between them. With the authorities looking to make an example out of Angelo, Gabriel has to decide if it’s really worth it to hate the sin but love the sinner.

And here's your chance to read the first chapter. Scroll down to the list of author names and their titles and click on mine. If you like what you read so far, and want me to move on to the final stage, please vote. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)

Passionate Reads

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/ Till Abandon

2011-10-21T08:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my inaugural Weekend Dirty Dozen post. Every Weekend my fellow DD authors and I will post twelve sentences from a WIP or pubbed work complete with blurbs, buy links, and even giveaways. Click HERE for the list of all participating authors.

TILL ABANDON (bk#1 in the PSC series)

available @ Total E Bound

BLURB~ They call her ‘The woman in white,’ whisper ‘Death-Bringer’ with their last breath, but no one knows exactly what she is. Not even Voltaire herself. The deadly magic within her is a living thing, able to crush anyone and everything with a blink. Abandoning the blood-soaked world she’s used to, Voltaire seeks out the one constant in her tired life—the green-eyed wolf in her dreams. She’s ignored the wolf’s call for years, afraid to surrender, but danger haunts her mate. He needs her.

Wolf-shifter Blake Montez is in the middle of a war, battling the usurpers intent on taking over his territory. Unfamiliar magic hums in the air, unnoticed—it seems—by everyone but him. He finds the source already under his nose, in his home. The delicate woman in white knows things no one should know, and the heat simmering between them is unlike anything he’s ever felt. His wolf recognizes her as his mate, though Blake remains unsure he can trust her.

Voltaire sets out to prove herself with time running out, enemies are on the prowl, some foreseen, others remain cloaked in shadow. She and Blake team up, fighting side by side, but in the end Voltaire might be the biggest threat to their love.

Twelve Sentences

“Twirling around, she met his hungry gaze. “I get your distrust of me, but why can’t you put faith in what the wolf is telling you?”

His delicious lips thinned. “The wolf isn’t in charge, I am. And right now, I want you far away from here.”

“Aww.” She pouted. “If I were any of those other fake-ass bitches you seem to like fucking with, my feelings would be crushed right now.” Sliding a hand up his chest, she leaned in and licked his neck. The wolf went nuts. “But I know better, ‘cause I can see the mini-movie in your head,” Voltaire whispered. “The one where your head is between my thighs and I’m screaming your name.”

It's Release Day for Till Abandon!!

2011-10-17T07:31:00.000-04:00

It's release day for Till Abandon! Wohoo!! Okay, yeah, I should be an old pro at this right? Every one knows Release Day is filled with angst and a whole bunch of nail biting. I'm not really biting my nails, just knocking back coffee like shots and praying like mad that the few fans I have actually like this new direction I've taken on my writing journey.

I've always said I write what I read, so stepping into the paranormal race isn't far off the mark for me. I wrote Till Abandon last NaNoWriMO. Back then it was titled Voltaire and finished at--I think--56k words. When time came to edit the story, it all felt wrong somehow, so I chucked the entire mess and started from scratch. Suprisingly, it didn't hurt quite as much as I thought it would.

It just wasn't working as a full length.

Today, Voltaire is a novella, retitled Till Abandon. Works for me.

As it's book #1 in the Paranormal Security Council (PSC) series, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Hope the people who take the time to sample Till Abandon will be happy as well.

All the power and killer instinct she possess can’t protect her from the claiming of one determined wolf.

They call her ‘The woman in white,’ whisper ‘Death-Bringer’ with their last breath, but no one knows exactly what she is. Not even Voltaire herself. The deadly magic within her is a living thing, able to crush anyone and everything with a blink. Abandoning the blood-soaked world she’s used to, Voltaire seeks out the one constant in her tired life-the green-eyed wolf in her dreams. She’s ignored the wolf’s call for years, afraid to surrender, but danger haunts her mate. He needs her.

Wolf-shifter Blake Montez is in the middle of a war, battling the usurpers intent on taking over his territory. Unfamiliar magic hums in the air, unnoticed-it seems-by everyone but him. He finds the source already under his nose, in his home. The delicate woman in white knows things no one should know, and the heat simmering between them is unlike anything he’s ever felt. His wolf recognizes her as his mate, though Blake remains unsure he can trust her.

Voltaire sets out to prove herself with time running out. Enemies are on the prowl, some foreseen, others remaining cloaked in shadow. She and Blake team up, fighting side by side, but in the end Voltaire might be the biggest threat to their love.

*Warning: contains scenes of the heroine's sexual dominance over someone other than the hero.

"Will you fucking die already?" Voltaire pressed the right heel of her gold Zanotti’s into the bullet hole in the man’s neck. The idiot keeping her from her date struggled—a futile effort, if she did say so herself. His cobalt-blue eyes stared up at her from his position on the floor, pleading for mercy while his body twitched. Wet sounds gurgled in his throat, then he coughed. Dark red blood flew everywhere, dotting the back of her heel and running like a red stream down the corner of his mouth. Pink tears leaked from his eyes.

"Damn it, now look what you’ve done." She lifted her foot off his throat to inspect the damage to her shoe. "I bought these today, specially for this occasion, and you go and fuck them up."

Men. Can’t train them, or horsewhip them in the middle of the street. What the hell is there left to do? Kill ‘em.

She knelt beside the man, who was getting bluer by the minute, and shook her head. "You know, that colour does great things for your skin tone." She grabbed the sleeve of his white shirt and wiped off her heel. Blood pooled under him, sinking into the plush, grey carpet. She glanced up at the digital clock on his desk. He had some fabulous things in this office—she’d take a tour of the house if she wasn’t so damned strapped for time.

Hah, strapped.

A dull buzzing started on the left side of her skull, annoying as a mosquito.

"Will you stop already with the fucking mind control? You’ve been trying it all night, and has it worked?" She lifted an eyebrow and projected her thoughts to him. Obviously not. You pissed off the Council and they’ve marked you for extinction. She bared her teeth. "Unfortunately for you, they gave you to me as a going away gift."

Tugging the bowie knife from her ankle strap, she slashed his throat with a flick of her wrist.

"That’s for taking up so much of my goddamn time."

She fished the disposable cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans and pulled off her black gloves with her teeth. Hitting the redial button, she straightened and stepped delicately over the body on her way to the door.

"Yes?"

"It’s done."

Voltaire paused at the threshold and took one last look over her shoulder to admire her handiwork. Damn, sometimes she astonished even herself. The married father of four hadn’t batted an eye when she’d sent him a drink at the bar then offered herself to him for the night. She gave him bonus points for not taking her to his marital home. Apparently Mr Moneybags kept an apartment downtown for his nightly hook-ups.

Fucking men. Is nothing sacred anymore? Sure, she’d been paid a couple of mil to kill him, but still.

Available now from Total E Bound

A Taste of Zakia And The Cowboy with Author Lorraine Nelson

2011-10-07T20:50:00.002-04:00

Welcome my guest today, Lorraine Nelson, as she gives us a taste of her latest release from Evernight, Zakia and The Cowboy. Enjoy and got your copy now!

With a stalker following her every move, Zakia has no choice but to flee the city. Her options limited, she runs to the only place she's ever felt safe...the Thunder Creek Ranch and her ex-husband, Lucas.

Will he protect Zakia from the stalker? And if he does will either of them be able to ignore the feelings that have simmered for so long, ready to explode... before danger either draws them together or pulls them apart.

EXCERPT

“Sorry, Darlin’. Always a cowboy,” he apologized.

He sat on the edge of the bed and struggled to remove his cowboy boots, then disposed of pants, briefs and socks. When he looked up and saw the still smooth, silky skin of her upper torso and full breasts partially covered by her beautiful, long, blonde hair, he had to ask himself how he got to be so lucky. Déjà vu was very much in existence as he admired the woman standing before him. Zakia was still every bit the exquisite, sexy woman she’d been on their wedding night, only now she was trying hard not to giggle.

“What’s so funny,” he asked with a grin as he reached for her.

“Just a little touch of déjà vu going on.”

“I was thinking the same thing. You’re just as beautiful now as you were on our wedding night,” he stated as he pulled her back into his arms.

“Well, I was thinking it funny that you said those exact same words on our wedding night.”

“What words?” he asked, curious and trying to think.

“Sorry, Darlin’. Always a cowboy.”

“Ooohh, those words. It’s true. A cowboy doesn’t go too far without his boots.”

“Did you mean it, Luke?”

“Mean what?”

“That you still think I’m beautiful.”

“Do I need to install mirrors on every wall in the house?” he teased. “Yes, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and sexily built. Now, shut up and kiss me.”

“Oh, I so like a man who knows what he wants,” she cooed.

When she reached for him, pulling him down for a kiss filled with all the passion he remembered, his heart soared. Gone was the polite restraint they’d held to since her arrival. He kissed her back, longing for more, aching for the promise her lips delivered.

His hands moved to her breasts, rubbing and tweaking the nipples to turgid peaks, then massaging the silken softness until she moaned against his mouth in pleasure. Breaking the kiss, he took one rosy nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping lightly before transferring his attention to the other one.

He worked his way down her body, one kiss at a time, having to keep a tight rein on his control as she breathed his name over and over again. Her body writhed beneath him as he reached her sopping pussy, her unique scent driving him wild as always. He parted her lips and kissed her, rubbing tiny circles on her clit with his thumb. His other hand reached beneath her to fondle her ass as he began sucking her, his tongue laving and prodding her wetness until he could take no more. Rising up, he coaxed her legs apart with his knees and positioned himself. As he looked into her desire-glazed eyes, he moved, pushing into her with one hard thrust.

Then he stilled. It had been as tight as their first time. “Did I hurt you?”

“Uh, uh.” She shook her head as her body began to move, encouraging him to pull out and push into her warmth again.

She grabbed his hips, pulling him closer, deeper, and they fell into a rhythm that told of their familiarity with each other. It was as if he’d gone back in time, back to the days of love and laughter, caring and sharing their lives, completing each other. He thrust in and out, faster, harder, seeking the rapture he’d only found with the woman lying beneath him.

Thought took a long, slow ride after that as they concentrated on catching up on years of lost loving, and he was pleased to note, she still had that deep, husky, pleading note in her voice when she screamed his name.

Now available @ Evernight Publishing

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Calling all Winners!!

2011-10-03T14:21:00.003-04:00

Evernight Publishing has posted the list of winners, including the commenters from each author's blog to win $5 EP GC. Check out the list HERE.

The lucky winner from my blog is LYNN CHANTELE!! *Lynn wins the $5 EP GC.

The Lucky winner of a copy of Make Me Sweat is WENDY (books4me)

* * * *

Winner of my release party over at Goddess Fish *who wins their choice of my backlist* as picked by Random.org is...EVA

Wendy and Eva, you lucky kids will be receiving an email from me shortly. Lynn Chantale, you should be hearing from Evernight directly. CONGRATS!! to all the winners and thank you to all who've dropped by to visit my poor neglected blog, showing her some love...hope you stick around. Giveaways are always happening round about these parts, we're generous like that ;)

~Av

Partying at Goddess Fish Today!

2011-10-02T09:00:00.005-04:00

Come join me today over at Goddess Fish Promotions blog. I'll be showcasing Till Abandon with excerpts and the like. A lucky will win their choice of my backlist.

Guest Author: Amy Valenti

2011-09-26T20:23:00.004-04:00

Welcome author Amy Valenti, as we showcase her latest work: Dominance and Deception from Total-e-Bound.

Thanks for having me here, Avril! Today I’m going to be sharing a little snippet from my debut novel, Dominance and Deception. It’s full of corrupt criminals, sizzling sexual tension, intense D/s scenes and heartbreaking angst – not necessarily in that order! Have a little read for yourself…

To catch a killer, you have to think a little kinky...

Submission is a dangerous game... Faye Tate is a police forensic scientist, a switch, and secretly in love with a police detective.

Detective Zach Pierce has made many enemies, but his attraction to Faye is too strong to be denied. Can Pierce protect his submissive from those who seek to use her against him, or will her devotion to her Dom cost Faye her life?

Reader Advisory: This book alludes to scenes of F/F intimacy. It also has scenes of ménage à trois.

Excerpt:

“Try to get free.”

Obediently, Faye writhed on the bed, tugging at the handcuffs that restrained her wrists and the silk scarves I’d used to tie her ankles to the bedposts.

“Can’t, Sir,” she said, half smiling, half apprehensive, as if she was unsure whether the response would lead to reward or punishment. Hell, with Faye, the punishment usually was the reward.

I didn’t keep her in suspense. “Good.”

When I brought the riding crop up into her line of sight, her eyes widened and she bit her lip, a shiver of anticipation thrilling through her body. I paused for a second, giving her time to back out if she needed to, making no attempt to hide the way my eyes swept over every part of her.

“Are you ready?”

She swallowed hard, her eyes on the crop. Shaking a tendril of damp hair from her cheek before answering, she nodded, her words just barely whispered.

“Yes, Sir.”

The way she submitted, unquestioning, to my authority made me want to throw aside the crop right then. I needed to be inside her, needed to hear her beg for release, needed to lose control completely. But not yet. The scene had yet to be played out.

Faye looked from the crop to my face, and from the slight upward quirk of her eyebrow I could tell she’d caught on to my train of thought.

“Or we could just…” she said softly, shifting seductively against the mattress.

Snapped back into my role, I stared her out until she stilled and broke eye contact.

A flicker of amusement remained in her voice as she conceded, “I’m sorry, Sir. I was outta line.”

“You’re damn right,” I said, and without warning cracked the crop down onto her breast, just below the nipple.

She yelled with combined pleasure and pain, attempting to suppress the grin on her face.

I paused to let the blow register, knowing she was hardly even trying to be properly submissive. Most of the time, she let it wash over her, sinking so far into the state that it took time for her to come back from it. Tonight she was in a playful mood of a completely different kind—cheerfully insolent and willing to take all the punishment I could meter out. I already knew she’d let me whip her until she was sore all over, then defy me for just a little longer, setting her tolerance for pain against my willingness to give it.

I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.

Faye looked down at the red mark rising on her flesh, then up at me. “That the best you can do, Sir?”

I raised the crop, never letting my pissed-off façade slip. “I haven’t even started—”

Faye’s phone rang, the unexpected sound disorientating us both. She groaned, scowling at the offending object as if it was sentient.

“Damn it! Not now!” She tugged expectantly at her handcuffs. “Okay, let me out of these.”

I stood there, impassive, and she rolled her eyes.

“Zach, seriously. Someone’s probably dead and we’ll have to go to work.”

Bio

Amy Valenti is a tarnished tease, and her mind has lived in the gutter since the day she realised what sex was. She hails from England, which she doesn’t find quite as exotic and sexy as the average US citizen seems to, but if people want to compliment her on her accent, that’s all fine with her! Her muses are many, fickle and very demanding.

She has a degree in creative writing and currently works as a proofreader/copy editor. In her free time, she reads, writes and plays videogames. On the rare occasions she doesn’t have a laptop on her knee, she loves to curl up with friends and pets – and chocolate – for TV show and movie marathons.

Links

Dominance and Deception is out now from Total-E-Bound Publishing

You can find Amy at her blog, or on Twitter or Facebook:

http://amyvalenti.wordpress.com/

http://www.twitter.com/AmyValenti

http://www.facebook.com/AmyValentiErotica

Evernight's Big Birthday Bash

2011-09-25T00:00:00.007-04:00

One of my awesome Publishers, Evernight Publishing, is celebrating it's first birthday. We're having a party from Sept 25-Oct 2nd and of course, You're Invited!

I'm giving away a pdf copy of MAKE ME SWEAT but...Evernight will choose any one of you who comment here to win a $5 Evernight GC. In addition, Evernight will choose three separate commenters from ANY of the participating author blogs below to win one of three grand prizes: a new Kindle eReader, $50.00 CASH-U.S. dollars-(gifted via PayPal) and a $40.00 Evernight Gift Certificate.

All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter/become a member of my website and comment on this post. Be sure to leave your name and email addy in your comment. The more author blogs you comment on, the better your chances. Winners will be announced October 3rd on Evernight's blog and website.

Guest Author: ~Kellie Kamryn~

2011-09-21T07:27:00.001-04:00

Have you met KJK? No? You know her as Kellie Kamryn, but she's KJK to me. An awesome, warm, and talented lady who's stopping by to give you a taste of her new release, Monkeys, Sex and other Birthday Surprises. Title got your interest? Keep reading while I pocket this money she paid me to say all the positive stuff ;0)

Available @ Secret Cravings Publishing

BLURB: Missy Harder is reluctant to ruin a good thing and meet with her on-line lover, Sam Kentley, in person. Sam is dying to see if the connection they have is real. Humiliated in front of Sam by her brother's pet capuchin at her surprise birthday party, she wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when Sam refuses to leave her to her misery, they both learn that humor will get you through anything, and sometimes great sex and love sneak up on you when you least expect it.

EXCERPT: Sam began to sputter a reply, but Missy interrupted. “Mom. Get. Out.”

“Fine. Going,” she said, turning away. But then she pivoted back to them for a parting shot.

“Way to go, honey.”

Missy covered her face with her hands. Sam tried to remove them but she held firm. “Feel

free to leave any time. My family is crazy. My life is insane.”

“Well, it’s anything but boring.”

“No shit.”

“You’re mom’s a firecracker. Maybe we should have a threesome.”

Missy removed her hands from her face and gaped at him.

“I’m kidding,” Sam said, holding his hands up out in front of him. “That was a joke. I like

kinky, but a mother-daughter combo is not one of my fantasies.”

She swatted his arm and dug out a fresh T-shirt from a drawer. It hugged her generous

bosom, and Sam’s eyes drew there like Winnie-the-Pooh to a honey pot.

“You have a great rack.”

The sincerity in his voice made her smile, despite the crude way in which he delivered the

compliment. “I’m glad you approve.” She huffed out a breath. “We should get back to the party.”

Sam took hold of her hand and led her out of the room. At the doorway, he tugged on her

hand so she spun to face him. He yanked her against him, and she melted into his body on

contact. “One more to tide us over.”

The man never let her speak. His mouth captured hers, but this time his tongue invaded,

mating with hers. Her hands crept up to his neck and sank into the curls at his nape. Deep, hot,

wet—everything a passionate kiss should be. Thrust, parry. Dodge, tease. Slip, slide.

Missy sucked on his tongue, hinting at what she could do to his dick. He groaned, his hands

digging into her back. He didn’t release her when they broke apart.

Their chests heaved. Desire crackled between them. The words of her sister echoed in her

head, “Real sex is better than phone sex…” Yeah, it is. Or, would be.

Missy put some distance between them, keeping her hands in his hair. The ache between her

thighs shrieked at her to follow through with things. Like, right now. What was more important

—sex or birthday cake?

She knew if she didn’t return to the living room, her mother would announce that she was

“indisposed.”

Missy looked him straight in the eyes and gave his erection a slight nudge with her pelvis.

“Okay. We’ll do it your way later. No talking. Just fucking.” And before she could take back

what she said, she hurried back to the waiting guests.

*A word from KJK: My inspiration: Sex like life is an adventure. It's not always perfect, and we tend to have a few mishaps along the way. My characters embrace this with humor and I want other people in life to do the same.

http://www.kelliekamryn.com/
http://www.kelliekamryn.blogspot.com/

Guest Blogger~* Karenna Colcroft

2011-09-14T07:32:00.000-04:00

Today author Karenna Colcroft is stopping by and she's talking about the sometimes daunting task of moving on after a devastating loss. Take a minute to read this poignant post.

*Building a New Life*

After tragedy, no matter how large or small the scale, there’s a period of mourning. Maybe a time of stagnation, where the person or people affected just exist, overwhelmed by what has happened. And then there’s a time of rebuilding.

Reaching the rebuilding point isn’t easy. A friend of mine lost part of her home and many belongings to fire in the winter of 2010. For months, she, her two children, and her mother lived in a hotel room while my friend wrangled with insurance agents and the house was made livable again. They still haven’t managed to replace everything that was lost.

Sometimes the prospect of rebuilding or starting over is just too overwhelming, so people just continue to maintain their lives and do the best they can with what’s left. After losing a loved one, it can be particularly difficult to move on. That person’s loss doesn’t go away, and a person can’t be put back together the way a house can. You can’t replace a human being.

In my novella Help Around the House, two years have passed since tragedy struck Jodie and her two young children. Her husband Royce died unexpectedly of a heart attack, even though he was only in his mid-thirties. Jodie still mourns her husband two years later, and she has stagnated, making her life only about working and caring for her kids. Fortunately, she’s had her next-door neighbor Todd to lean on. With no family of his own, and having been friends with Jodie and Royce for nearly eight years, Todd has taken on Jodie and her children as his family, and Jodie counts on him for everything from home repairs to occasional babysitting.

Now Jodie has reached the point of wanting to rebuild her life, and she wants Todd to be part of it. The problem is that she isn’t sure she’s ready to move on with another man. Making a life with Todd won’t be easy, but they’re both willing to try.

Help Around the House is available from Pink Petal Books http://pinkpetalbooks.com/Help-Around-The-House-by-Karenna-Colcroft.html

The death of a loved one is difficult to overcome. So is the loss of a home, or of half a town. Because of recent earthquakes, flooding, and fires many people in the United States have lost homes, belongings, and even loved ones. Please consider donating to a charity that provides assistance for people dealing with the aftermath of these disasters.

Karenna Colcroft

Turning passion into forever

http://www.karennacolcroft.com/

Alexandra O'Hurley is Here!

2011-09-05T21:51:00.004-04:00

Since I've been treating my blog as the red-headed step-child, my pub mate, the awesome Alexandra O'Hurley, has agreed to show some compassion and visit for a while. Welcome Aunty Alex as she gives us her thoughts on mythology plus insight and an excerpt from her Berserker Mate's Trilogy.

Mythology is one of my favorite spots to dwell, the creativity and sensuality of our ancestors is so incredibly inspiring. At least to me it is.

The paranormal escape is one of my favorite reads. With so many vampires and werewolves already out there on the scene, I didn’t want to go that route. But several of my friends claimed they wouldn’t speak to me ever again if I didn’t write something in that vein. It took until I stumbled across an old myth to find the way I could present a shifter story in my own way.

Berserkers are of Old Norse legend. Men who turned into wolves and/or bears and fought with a vicious ferocity unlike anything man had ever seen. Considering these Viking warriors of old were hard as nails, to find something they feared was something incredible. I knew I had to write their story.

These Immortal men are strong and virile, and have literally held me hostage. They whisper to me in my sleep and beg to have their wicked way with my keyboard.

Night of the Dragon

A Berserker Mate's Story, 1

Ryden and Rayne are Berserkers, immortal warriors wrought of Odin’s lightning. They are cursed to walk the Earth for one thousand years without finding love. And then they smell her...

Karli is a manager for an amusement park, and during her daily tour, she runs across the most incredible men she has ever laid eyes on. The erotic visions swirling in her head push her to the edge, and she cannot ignore the two virile men.

But can anything develop between the Berserkers and their mate with a hunter sworn to keep them apart on their trail?

The first part of a three part novella series, Night of the Dragon begins the tale of six Berserker Immortals, born over one thousand years ago in Ancient Norway. Three sets of twins created of Odin’s lightning to aid the Norse kings of old, they now fight against the evil Swartska who kill off Berserkers to feed Freyja’s hall.

Night of the Dragon is Rayne and Ryden’s tale. Going Berserk is a short within the Midnight Seduction anthology that foreshadows Jakob’s tale, whose story, along with his twin Joran will be told in the second installment. Finally, Eryck and Erulf will be the third and final, magical ending to the series.

Excerpt:

If Karli gave in to their kind of play, she was afraid she would walk away broken.

But no matter what she told her head, her body could not reject the heated combination of the two. Both virile, desirable men who seemed to stalk her equally, and innately she knew if she succumbed to one, she would also the other. What was crazier than the fact she knew it, was the fact her oversexed mind was running images of being sandwiched between both of their naked bodies. Of having them both possess her at once.

Karli was an independent, driven woman, who worked so much she rarely had time to date, let alone swoon over some random men she crossed in the park. She hadn’t had a date in, well, forever. Her career was her main concern. Once she got that in place, everything else could happen for her, marriage, babies, the little white house, with its matching little white picket fence. She was as boring and white bread as they came. And she wasn’t the type to go around fantasizing about screwing two men at the same time.

Hell, this was past fantasizing. It seemed it could become her reality if she wanted it and was willing to succumb to them and the images running through her head.

Regardless, the two fired something inside her, something she had never felt before. Her heart beat a staccato within her body, and she felt pulsing in places she wished she didn’t. Especially when she needed to focus on work and the safety of those inside the park. All around her the sounds of Scream Town began filtering back into her ears and she slowed her breathing down. She needed to get a hold of herself.

Straightening and taking one last long deep breath, she exited the dark passageway, and stood on the fringes of the sea of bodies milling around. This week was always the busiest, as Halloween was a few days away. Karli scanned the crowd, trying to ensure the men were not there. Relieved that she could again focus on her job, she walked the area, but kept looking over her shoulder.

Entering the Zoo compound, Karli passed the wolf enclosure and a glow of silver. Not able to ignore it, she moved towards the fence and realized the glow came from Giza, the female gray wolf that was one of their most popular animal attractions. Moving up to the fence, Karli watched the beautiful animal working with her trainers on the last animal show of the day.

A course of heat ran through her again. I need to see a doctor; I am much too young for hot flashes. Perhaps a psychiatrist too, to figure out my compulsion to fuck random strangers.

“Shame those beautiful beasts are caged here. They should roam free.”

Looking to her left, all she saw was an enormous bicep. Her eyes drifted up, and her gaze was met with a silver one. A shiver of yearning ran down her spine.

Karli moved her mouth a second or two before her voice caught up with her. “All…all of the animals here…are rescues. They were either hurt, or taken from people keeping them as pets. We give them…all the care…they need to heal...and then a safe home….if returning them to the wild…is impossible.”

Nice job, Stuttering Sue. I’m sure he thinks you are a moron now.

“Where they are put on parade throughout the day for stupid, fat humans to ogle instead of roaming the forests hunting like their natures demand.”

Stupid, fat…humans? “If we had not intervened, they would have…died.”

“And living in a cage is better than death? I wouldn’t want to live that way, would you? Just look at her eyes.”

Karli didn’t want to admit that she had often stopped here through her park tours and thought that the animals reflected sadness in their eyes. “We give them…the best care we can.”

“The best care would have been releasing them to the wild.”

“Giza was too badly hurt to go back. Plus, it’s too late for that now, regardless.” Unable to stop the words, the ones no one in the park was supposed to utter aloud. “They have been here so long that they would die if we released them.”

“You know this, yet you keep them anyway.”

“I’m not the one in charge of the animals.” Karli backed up a step as he drew nearer. A large hand moved to her face, one finger extended. His touch was feather light, as he stroked it along her cheek.

“No. No, you just work here. Another one of their caged beasts. Perhaps I need to set you free?”

“And how do you suppose you can do that?” A wave of desire spread through her, starting at the barely there touch upon her cheek. The finger moved under her chin, lifting her face to his.

“Like this.” Dropping down, he pressed soft lips to hers in a kiss that was a whisper of what it could be. A name whispered through her mind as his kiss ended…Ryden.

“Ryden?”

His brows furrowed as he stood back to his full height. “How do you know my name?”

”I…don’t…know.”

The corner of his lips hinted at a smile as his eyes bored a hole deep within her. The man inhaled, deeply, lowering his head until it was level with her own. She felt his hot breath on her neck, and she arched her back slightly, her traitorous body demanding more of his touch.

Which never came.

Opening the eyes she hadn’t even realized she had closed, she looked up into his hooded gaze, the one that screamed an arousal that equaled her own. Tapping his finger on her nametag, the tugging blossomed into a full smile. “Well, Karli of Scream Town, I will be seeing you soon. Very soon.”

Get at Evernight Publishing

http://www.alexandraohurley.com/
http://www.alexohurley.blogspot.com/

Excerpt~ Enchanted by London Saint James

2011-08-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

And we're back with London Saint James, who was nice enough to tease us with an excerpt from her new release with Evernight Publishing, Enchanted. Make sure you show some love...Go forth. Read. Buy.

Can love withstand the test of time?

Winter never truly understood love, nor did she have time for men until she met Austin Wells Carlyle. He was the man who would rock her world to its foundations. He would test her notions, give her something to believe in, and change her misguided thoughts regarding happily ever after. Strangely, she was going to allow him be the one thing she never believed in—her soul mate.

EXCERPT~~ He took me into his arms. We danced to the sounds of the waves breaking on the shore, underneath the stars. The breeze made whooshing sounds through the reeds and tall spiky grass up on shore. In the distance, the intermittent light flashed from the lighthouse which was perched upon a bluff. It was the perfect backdrop, too beautiful, too tranquil. This was the kind of place made up of dreams; no one should be nervous in this setting. To be here in this picture perfect place with a drop dead gorgeous man, the man I loved after all, was everything a girl could want. I needed to get a grip and stop being so totally silly, so jittery.

It was about time to internally scold myself when Austin’s hand brushed up against the small of my back. I delighted in the feel of his hand as he made small movements against my bare skin beneath my shirt. He leaned in and caressed the base of my neck with his lips.

Against the hollow of my throat, I experienced his words. “Winter, I love you.”

“I love you,” I said, breathless.

With each dance, Austin seemed to pull me closer into his body. With each dance, I wanted him more and more. The anxiety and nervousness I had experienced earlier was now gone as if it had never even existed. The slow simmering of desire had turned into a full-blown boiling beneath my skin. I wondered if he was feeling the same. I thought he was.

Austin kissed my lips softly. My body began to tremble. He looked at me with those all too tempting eyes. “Winter.” He whispered in my ear with his silk ridden voice. “Would you like to go back to the cottage with me?”

I whispered, “Yes.”

He pulled back. He was gazing deeply into my eyes. His fingertip ran over the lines of my lips. He sighed contently then took my hand. We walked without words back up the beach, finally reaching the cottage. The others were gone from the terrace, off getting into their own sort of trouble I guessed. Austin paused. We dropped our shoes at the back door. He gazed at me with the softest expression then kissed my lips softly before entering into the cottage.

We went up the stairs slowly, down the hall then stood in front of the door to our room. The pause seemed like a lifetime. I studied the wood-grains in the door, wondering if we were ever going to go inside. Then Austin glanced over at me with a heat which could only be described as mind-blowing. He opened the door, scooped me up into his arms and carried me inside, closing the door behind him with his foot.

My eyes flitted around the room. It was filled with dozens of white, pink, and red roses. The light of the room was only candlelight. Music played softly like a lullaby in the background.

He has been busy. This is good. This is very good.

“Don’t be mad,” he said as he put me down.

Has he lost his mind?

“Why would I be mad?”

“Well, I was hoping.” He paused. “I want us to be closer. I want to make love to you so bad it hurts. But if you are not ready than please do not feel like this.” He gestured toward the room and the four-poster bed. “Do not feel like I am pressuring you. I love you. You are more important to me than anything so I can wait.”

I never said a word. Every insecurity I ever had was vacant from me. I was going to allow my body to do all the talking tonight. I moved with assurance toward him. He watched me. I wrapped my arms around Austin’s neck. I stood on my tiptoes in order to press my lips to the hollow beneath his ear. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and wanted to dissolve.

He smells so good.

“Winter,” he whispered softly.

“Shh.” I opened my eyes to see him. “You told me once you would not look until I wanted you to, do you remember that?”

“Yes.”

“Well….” I dropped my hands from his neck. “I want you to look.”

His returning smile took my breath. I had to look away from his eyes, which was almost impossible. I glanced at my hands. They should have been shaking, but they were not. My hands found Austin’s shirt. I unbuttoned each button slowly foregoing the urge to hurry. With a tremulous breath, I ran my hand down his skin, exposing the perfect alabaster of his muscular chest. His shirt was off and on the floor. He’s so beautiful, I thought.

My lips found his chest and liked the feeling of his flesh beneath them. My fingers outlined the angles and planes of his strong rippled stomach, moving slowly around his tight waist. I watched his skin, his reaction to my touch. The muscles beneath my touch seemed to jump, flex, relax. I could not believe this beautiful man was here with me. If I could, I would look at him; worship Austin’s perfection for the rest of my life. My eyes were filled with more beauty in this moment than ever before.

I allowed my hands to find and trace the outline of his wide shoulders, follow the contour of his muscular back. My body moved around him while my eyes, hungry, followed my fingers which were lost to the canvas of his flawless skin. Touching him was like finding a secret. I pressed my lips to his shoulder blade. He groaned. I burned. My teeth grazed the surface of his skin. My tongue followed the line of him while my hands ran freely over the surface of his biceps, his forearms.

I had to wonder in awe. A part of my mind told me such beauty should be a dream, because no one could be this fabulous. But touching him grounded me in reality. I had never seen anything so magnificent, so beautiful. It was in this moment I knew. I knew in the whole of my life I would never want anyone but Austin Carlyle. I would indeed love him, forever.

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/

London's Link

Wecome, London Saint James!

2011-08-17T09:00:00.003-04:00

Today I have the honor of welcoming author London Saint James to my spot. London is a fellow Evernight Pub author, cool peeps, and she's celebrating a new release--Enchanted--today!! Awesome stuff. London will be here for two days, so there's enough time to get to know her. Today, I bring you the woman herself as she sits down to answer some questions. Go forth. Read. Buy.

Welcome, London. Tease us with the blurb from your latest release.

Can love withstand the test of time?

Winter never truly understood love, nor did she have time for men until she met Austin Wells Carlyle. He was the man who would rock her world to its foundations. He would test her notions, give her something to believe in, and change her misguided thoughts regarding happily ever after. Strangely, she was going to allow him be the one thing she never believed in—her soul mate.

What was it about these characters and their story that appealed to you?

Enchanted is book 1 in a 4 book series, The Heart Of Winter, so the characters story evolves, changes over time…however, without giving too much away about the other books to be released, the appeal would be true love, soul mates, and is it truly possible to be “connected” to someone. Wrapped in with that would be the appeal of opposites. Winter is introverted and Austin is outgoing. Winter is working class and Austin is wealthy. And I guess exploring Winter’s insecurities, and let’s face it, who doesn’t have insecurities. I wanted to push the boundaries of that wall we sometimes build around our heart. I wanted to discover what it is like, when all you have to go on is bad experiences, to trust, love, really open your heart to someone. Her experience with her parents marriage was, men leave. Can she truly believe Austin won’t leave?

How would you describe your writing?

Hmm…I look at writing as not only telling a story, but inviting the reader to take a journey. Every writer has their own voice or style, but I really want the reader to see what the characters see, feel what the characters feel. Just as in life there needs to be some twists and turns in that journey, along with sexual heat, romance, love, passion, and on and on. So perhaps I could describe my writing as passionate and vivid.

Is there any subject matter you won’t tackle in your writing?

For me, in the case of subject matter, bestiality, incestuous or intense sexual abuse for the sake of titillation is out. While as a writer you may have to explore the uglier side of life within your writing (and I have explored the uglier side) I also believe there is a huge difference in writing to empower or expose an issue, as well as adding a hard issue to explain a characters pain, hurt and things which they must overcome, rather than exploiting those issues for sexual titillation. I would hope we (writers) would all be conscientious of how and why it is being written.

How long have you been writing?

I have scribbled stories my whole life, had some poems published, but only in the last two years I have become what you call “serious” about writing.

What’s the weirdest thing you had to research for a story?

I suppose it would hinge on the fact of what people consider weird, LOL, but probably pressure points in the body which enhance sexual arousal. Oh, and specific uses for ropes and knot work in BDSM.

FUN Qs

How do you relax when you’re not writing?

I love to listen to music, watch a good movie, read a great book, and/or hang out with people I love.

What’s your ideal date night like?

I would go with movie at home, buttery popcorn, snuggling on the couch and maybe a little kissing (or a lot of kissing) with buttery lips.

What’s the one food that must be in your fridge?

*Giggles* Um…I never have time to go shopping so you don’t want to look in my fridge. But hmm…I have cheese.

What music are you listening to today?

Some R&B, some RAP, some love songs…

Describe where you are right now.

Inside my house, in the living room, sitting on my couch, with a puffy navy blue pillow tucked under my left arm and my lap top perched on my lap.

If you could up and move today without warning, where would you go?

Paris, France.

*Come back tomorrow for a taste of Enchanted ;)

Author BIO: London wrote her first short story in the second grade. Her teacher informed her parents London had a big imagination, but having a big imagination wasn’t necessarily a good thing as far as he was concerned. Without watering that seed of imagination, London placed her vivid characters, her childhood stories, along with her imagination on the shelf, where they would wither for a while.

At the urging of her eighth grade English teacher, London pulled her imagination off that shelf and wrote her second short story. To no surprise, it was a love story which was inspired by a song. With encouragement, London began to write once again. She fell head over heels in love with writing, the power of words, and the journey we all take when we read a great story. Then as life does it moves on, so yet again London placed her imagination on the shelf to wither for a while. She needed to do the “sensible thing.”

In doing the sensible thing London earned a degree in Psychology. While in college she traversed into writing once more, was encouraged by a couple of professors to peruse that endeavor and wrote. In doing so, she lit that spark of imagination which she thought was long dead.

London writes erotic romance, from sweet to downright naughty. She is an author for Evernight Publishing and a member of the Romance Writers of America as well as a member of Passionate Ink.

Buy ENCHANTED

London's Link

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-07-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

Staying with A Wicked Ride...Sasha panics when she starts feeling for Niko, and Niko--well, he's not helping the situation.

Her gaze roamed the room. She needed to find clothes and leave before she dropkicked the idiot standing in front of her. How dare he call the mind-blowing, three-minute humping they did a mistake? Did he think she made this a habit, allowing every hot guy who made her cream with only a look to slide up in her? That he was the first only made her want to shoot him more.
Fucker.

More Six

WIP WEDNESDAY!

2011-07-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

It's WIP WEDNESDAY--yep, literally just made that up--and I figured I'd post a little something of what I'm working on. I've been quiet, but you must understand, quiet is my thing. Some people do alcohol, drugs, whatever. I do quiet.

My kinda drug.

So...what am I working on? It's hard to say; one minute I'm writing on the f/f story I'v neglected for forever, the next I'm revising The Wicked bk#3, the next it's plotting for The Wicked #4. I don't plot, really, but I like to have a get-to-know-you session with the characters beforehand, see if they let anything juice slip. Those waiting for Maysin's story should be happy to know juicy tidbits are being dropped left and right. That one's gonna be a doozie.

Still, I haven't begun writing it yet. Just taking notes.

I'm working on Till Surrender, bk#2 in my PSC series with Total-e-Bound. It's M/M. It's Paranormal. It's soo good it's a wonder the shit isn't fattening...Okay, fine. I'll stop tooting my own horn. *grumbles: don't see why I can't, it's my freaking horn*

Here's the working blurb: Half-breed. It’s who and what he is. Takayo ‘Saint’ St. John doesn’t pretend to be anything else. He hides from no one, fears nothing…until he stares into the cornflower blue eyes of his mate. The man who’s life he’s infiltrated under false pretenses. Harsh words and a cold shoulder isn’t enough to keep the distance between them, but Saint’s mission overshadows everything. His job is to kill the brother of the man he loves and he can’t escape that.

Ryken Valte melts under the intense attraction between him and Saint, but the man keeps pushing him away, denying their connection. Ryken would give up everything, do anything to have Saint at his side, but secrets bigger than them makes it impossible. Ryken wishes for one chance, just one, but he’ll get more than he bargained for when dark forces neither comprehends return with a vengeance.

It's a revelation and utterly new challenge to write someone as dark as Saint turns out to be. The characters of Saint and Ryken clash intensely, dark against light. Push to pull. I love being privy to their story and I gotta say, from the first page, I've been bawling like a baby.

Some of my fave lines from Saint: He really wanted to sleep. And get laid. Though not necessarily in that order. It’s been a long-ass minute since he had a good dick suck and a balls lick. Fuck, but he was due.

And my faves from Ryken: Perfect, the feel of Saint pressed to him, the smell of his sweat, the intoxicating taste of Saint’s kiss. So perfect, Ryken had been on the verge of coming, until Saint broke away, throwing the need between them in Ryken’s face like a Gatorade bath after a Super Bowl win.

Fave scene so far: (got a lot of those)

Lips curved, Saint slid his gaze down the tight length of Ryken’s body. Past the red t-shirt and tan leather jacket, to the dark jeans riding low on his hip. He licked his lips at the thick bulge growing bigger at the moment. “Scares you, doesn’t it?” Bringing his attention back to Ryken’s face, he saw that confused arousal was back.

Deep splashes of red colored Ryken’s cheeks. “What scares me?”

Saint closed the distance between them with a grin, his cock swaying within the loose confines of his sweats each step. “The pull you feel between us scares you. The fact that I get your cock hard scares you.”

Ryken’s jaw dropped, his eyes bulged.

Saint kept going. “The fact that you see my face when you’re with David scares you.”

Ryken jerked as if struck. Guess that one hit home.

Saint leaned forward, sniffing the side of Ryken’s neck. The other man’s heat scorched him, making his eyes slide shut. Ryken stiffened. Wave after delicious wave of arousal crashed over Saint, but he couldn’t act on it. He needed to drive Ryken away. “I can smell him on you, Ryken. David.” He spat the name out. “Did he fuck you? Give you what you needed?”

Whimpers left Ryken’s throat. His hands moved up, grabbed Saint’s forearms, the blunt nails sinking into his skin. Saint snatched Ryken’s hands away and pushed him backwards, slamming him into the door. A muted gasp escaped Ryken’s parted lips. Their gazes met, clashed, those gorgeous blues begging.

God. God.

Ryken licked his lips and Saint was on him in a fucking heartbeat, tongue sliding inside wet heat, fingers tangling in silky blond locks...

Anotther Six Sentence Sunday

2011-07-24T07:50:00.001-04:00

Once again we're sampling A Wicked Ride and this week, Sasha, our hard-edged heroine has an eye opener...after Niko, the hero, has his way with her ;)

He took her mouth in an addictive kiss and she didn’t want to move. Not from this spot, with this man still buried deep in her pussy, holding her so tight. She wanted this and she wanted it with Niko.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Wrapped in the sensual embrace of a man who just blew her back out while still fully dressed, Sasha did something she’d never done before.

She panicked.

More Six are Here

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-07-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Six sentences from A Wicked Ride. My hero is asked a question by the heroine holding him at gun point.

Niko humored her while he thought of a way to get his gun back. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

The gold doorknockers in her ears swung when she shook her head. “Now that’s a shame. That body of yours was meant to be ridden hard. And often.”

Get more SIX here

Blog Hop Winner!!

2011-07-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all who came out for the Evernight Authors Blog Hop. It's been fun, and we appreciate the follows. I'd love to give each of you a prize just for showing up, but I can't. Stick around though, there will be more hops coming :)

The winner of a PDF of my Interracial erotic romance Make Me Sweat, as chosen by RANDOM.org is Siobhan Muir/Meg Palevich!! Please email me @ avril.ashton@yahoo.com and I'll send over your prize.

Happy reading :)

~Till Abandon Cover Unveiled~

2011-07-08T11:54:00.002-04:00

Introducing my first foray into the Paranormal with the PSC series...

They’re the elusive agents of the Paranormal Security Council. Trained killers, they're nowhere near human and dangerous to all, even the ones they love. Now the Council is crumbling from the inside out. Is it every man for himself? And who will be left standing when the dust settles?

All the power and killer instinct she possess can’t protect her from the claiming of one determined wolf.

They call her The woman in white, whisper Death-Bringer with their last breath, but no one knows exactly what she is. Not even Voltaire herself. The deadly magic within her is a living thing, able to crush anyone and everything with a blink. Abandoning the blood-soaked world she’s used to, Voltaire seeks out the one constant in her tired life—the green-eyed wolf in her dreams. She’s ignored the wolf’s call for years, afraid to surrender, but danger haunts her mate. He needs her.

Wolf-shifter Blake Montez is in the middle of a war, battling the usurpers intent on taking over his territory. Unfamiliar magic hums in the air, unnoticed—it seems—by everyone but him. He finds the source already under his nose, in his home. The delicate woman in white knows things no one should know, and the heat simmering between them is unlike anything he’s ever felt. His wolf recognizes her as his mate, though Blake remains unsure he can trust her.

Voltaire sets out to prove herself with time running out. Enemies are on the prowl, some foreseen, others remain cloaked in shadow. She and Blake team up, fighting side by side, but in the end Voltaire might be the biggest threat to their love.

COMING OCTOBER 17 from Total-e-Bound.

Check out my Booty Box Store over at TEB to get Till Abandon merchandise!

Evernight Sizzle~ A Blog Hop!!

2011-07-04T23:06:00.002-04:00

Join the EVERNIGHT Authors as we welcome Summer with our own special brand of HOT!!

We've got goodies--of the hot variety, of course. Seventeen authors all joining together to give you, the readers, a lil bit of Summer Lovin'. What do you have to do? Ah, well that's the easy part. Comment. Leave your email addy. Follow, but only if you want to. You'll be entered to win books--yes, multiple. Don't we just love multiples?

The More the Merrier is my motto. You know, other than Make it Hot ;)

Each author's blog you visit and comment on, you're entered to win a book, or in some cases more than one.

Easy, no?

Takes no time at all and you get steamy, sexy reads from some amazingly talented writers. *bats lashes*

This hop runs from July 5-to July 8. Winners announced July 9. Enough time to get around to all of us. We're not picky, we'll wait our turn.

My I/R erotic romance, Make Me Sweat, is up for grabs so make sure you stop by, and when you're finished, hop right on over to the next author...and the next. You won't be disappointed.

MAKE ME SWEAT RELEASE DAY!

2011-06-10T11:27:00.000-04:00

My first release with Evernight Publishing is out today! Make Me Sweat came to me like all my stories do…an opening line and a flash scene. That works as the catalyst to get me writing and my own mind working in tandem with the characters as they open to me. This story was quite easy to write, but the secrets all surprised me. I saw nothing coming in that one, usually I have an inkling. Not so much. I began writing with a certain expectation and after the characters had their say, I was assed out. Happens more often than you might think.

So, the song most on repeat during the writing of Make Me Sweat was Usher’s Love In This Club. Fit perfectly for the first two chapters, then I transitioned into some Notorious and threw in a something from The Civil Wars and OneRepublic. I diversify with my sounds LOL. And now here’s the blurb for Make Me Sweat.

Charged with planting a listening device in the office of a dangerous nightclub owner, Ever Marcille accepts an invite from her target to indulge in some naughty play. She didn’t count on their mutual, insatiable need, or the many ways his closely guarded secrets are intertwined with hers.

Undercover federal agent Simon Dakin has one thing on his mind, catching the arms dealer known as Ghost. That’s until he spies the mysterious woman at his bar. Time after time she comes in, teasing his senses. Starring in his fantasies. He promises himself one night with her in his arms, but a single taste isn’t possible. He’s hooked.

Even as their secrets intrude, Dak and Ever succumb to their desires. But time is running out. Secrets past and present must be revealed. Can their new-found feelings survive the many blows, or is this over before it even begins?

Love the names, no? I don’t name them, mind you. When they introduce themselves to me, they tell me their names. Sounds cooky? You ain’t heard the half.

My favorite line from Make Me Sweat: “He made me feel soft and safe, which is nuts considering he was fucking me six ways to motherfucking Sunday.”

I laughed as hell when I realized what I wrote. You know, there’s always a trace of me in all my characters and I gotta tell you, that’s me right there. It’s so something I’d say.

Not my absolute fave paragraph, but quite close: Damn it, she blinked again. Ever parted her lips to tell him no, but he kissed her. Fucking man and his kisses. He tasted of her pussy and whiskey. A heady mixture she could get drunk on. She opened wider under his insistent probe and got swept away by that damn tongue of his. Still lodged deep inside her, his cock twitched and she tightened around him.

Get a delicious excerpt from Evernight. And Ever and Dak are already hanging out over at AMAZON and allromanceebooks Be sure to say hi now ;)

More Six Sentence Sunday

2011-05-29T08:50:00.010-04:00

And more from Blindfold Me....

He leaned down and placed her gently on the carpeted steps. Lyric stared up into his eyes and unhooked her legs from around his waist. Her hands slid from his neck. She lay back like an offering, legs and arms open, waiting for him.

She’d waited so long.

The flames in his silver eyes held her captive, consuming her.

Amazon SCP Barnes and Noble

Six Sentence Website

Free Read Available Now!

2011-05-26T08:15:00.001-04:00

The next chapter of TOUCH, my free serial read is now available to be downloaded over at Secret Cravings Publishing.

Six months after a brutal attack, Dahlia Pierce still jumps at her own shadow,

but the green-eyed stranger holding her at gun-point has her yearning to feel
him. His touch, his kiss. He robs her bank and leaves, only to reappear in her
bedroom later.

Cruz Doriaye has always been more interested in business than pleasure. The
bank job should be no different, but the need radiating off Dahlia gets to him.
Calls to his own hungers. He answers, but his line of work stands between
them. As does her secrets.

Here's a tease...

“What will you do?”

“I don’t know, Ricki. This is…unexpected.”

His best friend chuckled. “You’ve got a jones for her, huh?”

Cruz opened his mouth to deliver a scathing denial, but Ricki continued. “I’ve seen the pictures of her, remember? She’s not my type, but I’m still creaming in my Vickies.”

http://secretcravingspublishing.com/FreeReads.html

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-05-22T08:50:00.004-04:00

This week it's on to my third novel, Blindfold Me. My heroine, Lyric Benson, is going through some workplaces changes--namely the corrupt owner's resignation, and the return of her childhood love as her new boss.

A harsh sound escaped her, a cross between a laugh and a sob. She pushed her half-eaten breakfast away and kicked off her shoes. Black patent peep toes, five and a half inches of gorgeous, expensive torture.

She rose on achy feet and walked to the windows—the reason she loved her office so much. Four huge windows made up the back wall from ceiling to waist, and brightened her office with breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty. The cloudless blue sky and choppy waves on the river served as her center, helping to bring her back to the matter at hand.

Available at Secret Cravings Publishing and Amazon

Six Sentence Website

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-05-15T08:50:00.001-04:00

And now for some sentences from book two in my Wicked series, One Wicked Night.

Seated alone in the crowded bar, Myka Prentiss blinked moisture from her eyes. She pushed the still-raw wound of betrayal to the back of her mind. For now, she wanted to watch the dark stranger. He caught her attention the instant he came through the doors of Club NV. His movements were that of a dancer, all stealth and precision, carrying him with a rhythm that didn’t come from the loud music blasting in time to her frantic heartbeat.

Mr. Dark tried to blend in, but his darkness intrigued her.

Get more One Wicked Night @ ExtasyBooks and Amazon.

Find more great Six Sunday authors at http:///www.sixsunday.blogspot.com/

Six Sentence Sunday!

2011-05-08T08:50:00.002-04:00

So, last week I gave you my first piece of Six Sunday with Sasha and Niko from A Wicked Ride. This week we’ll stay with those two crazy kids. After Niko spirits Sasha off to a secluded cabin, they do the nasty and she tries pushing him away afterwards, telling him she doesn’t want what’s happening between them. Here’s his response. My Niko? He goes hard ;0)

“Let me tell you want I want,” he said. “I want you naked in my bed. I want to hear you scream my name over and over. I want that ass of yours in the air as I fuck you. I want to feel your tight pussy squeezing me into orgasm, again and again. I hunger for you, Sasha, the same way I know you hunger for me.”

There’s something about A Wicked Ride that still gives me chills when I read it. It’s my sexiest book, I think. Plus I giggle like a fool every time, ‘cause Sasha? That chick’s crazy! Find them at Amazon, Are and Bookstrand :)

Find even more delicious sentences over here!

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-05-01T08:50:00.002-04:00

From A Wicked Ride, as the h/h, Sasha and Niko, meet for the first time. They say first impressions aren’t everything. Hmm…

The overhead light flicked on and he blinked at the brightness then took in his uninvited guest sprawled in the black leather armchair at the foot of the bed. She looked at him through lowered eye-lids, head tilted back. The left side of her head was shaved close to the scalp, but the right side appeared untouched. Bangs, kissed with light pink, obscured her right eye. Dark waves brushed a shoulder the shade of creamy sepia. A nickel plated Glock pointed at his head.

Find Sasha and Niko at Amazon, Bookstrand, and ARe

Get more Six Sentences from great authors at the website

Author Interview**LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy

2011-04-29T10:00:00.001-04:00

Author LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy is back with us today, answering some burning questions.

For readers getting to know you, how would you describe yourself?

I’m different which most people read as “weird” and always have been. My tastes are very eclectic in everything. I’m a rebel at heart and very independent. I love language and words, hence my lifelong affair with reading and writing.

When did you know you wanted to write? When did you start writing seriously?

I wanted to write even as a child because making up stories was one talent that all the other kids in my huge extended family didn’t have.

I got serious about writing when my twin daughters (now 15) were babies because I realized that if I didn’t then someday I would be a bitter old woman wondering why I never did do what I always planned – write fiction. So when I was up to my eyeballs in diapers, formula, and all that baby stuff times two, I sat down and started a novel. It seems a little crazy now but I’m glad that I did.

How would you describe your writing?

I once had another writer describe my work as “blue jeans prose” and I like that. I’m not a literary legend in the making but I think I put words together in a way that a lot of readers find pleasing.

What are you working on now/have coming out?

The sequel to LOVE TATTOO comes out in June and I’m finishing up another volume with Will and Cara, LOVE KNOTS. I’m currently doing edits for a September release, Love Never Fails, from Rebel Ink Press and in my nonexistent spare time, starting on a new WIP, tentatively titled The Forest Dancer, based on an Albanian legend.

Which appears first when contemplating a new project: A character, the plot, the title?

It can be any of the above; my muse isn’t picky. A lot of my fiction starts as a scene that evolves into a storyline. Titles often come last although recently I’ve come up with several that sound so good, I write them down and plan to build the story around them.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered about writing, good or bad?

If you’re going to do this seriously and do it right, it takes many more hours of hard work than most people ever imagine.

Name some of your favorite writers from any genre.

Dean Koontz, Laurel K. Hamilton, Deborah Smith, Ramsay Campbell.

What’s playing on your iPOD/in your car?

My music tastes are eclectic; the lineup I’ve got right now includes the Eagles( Hell Freezes Over), Mary O’Hara, CCR, Johnny Horton, and Tommy Makem.

What are you reading now? (not your work )

I’m reading “The Midnight Eye Files – The Amulet” by William Meikle and I’m also reading my way through Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series.

Care to divulge some of your guilty pleasures? 

I like to unwind with a drink; my favorite beverages being John Jameson’s Irish whiskey or Sobeleski vodka.

Finish this sentence: When I’m not writing, I’m________

I am probably talking!

Where can readers find you on the net?

On Facebook as Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy, @leeannwriter on Twitter, on my blog “A Page In The Life” at http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com/

At my website: http://leeannwriter.weebly.com/

My Space

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Tattoo-ebook/dp/B004SIQYO6

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Love-Tattoo-by-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy.html

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Love-Tattoo/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/2940011255069/?itm=3&USRI=love+tattoo

Welcome Author LeeAnn Sontheimer-Murphy!

2011-04-28T10:00:00.001-04:00

Today author LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy is blogging about the inspiration for her latest release, and giving us a preiview of things to come. Please welcome LeeAnn!

Although most of my prior manuscripts included some paranormal elements, I didn’t set out to write a paranormal romance until I wrote Wolfe’s Lady which debuted from Evernight Publishing last December. After it came out, I thought about what I might follow up with and I wanted to do something paranormal. I thought about shifters, ghosts, and all the various creatures of the night and I thought I wanted to find something unique. Instead, one cold night driving down the highway, an old two-lane road I realized that something like ninety percent of the other traffic happened to be all big rigs driven by long distance truck drivers. That made me think “Wow, what a great occupation trucking could be for a vampire”. At the time, it was just an off the wall stray thought, nothing more.

But that idea stuck and began to simmer somewhere in my subconscious, cooking from just a vague notion into a full-blown Idea I could serve to readers. So I started adding elements. I love Memphis. I think it’s a trippy, totally awesome place with everything from Beale Street and the blues to Neely’s barbecue and Dyer’s Hamburgers and even Elvis. Memphis became the setting because I thought about all the night life possibilities for a vamp. I like Irishmen, especially dark haired, handsome, sweet ones so my hero became an Irishman by birth, Will Brennan. He needed a heroine and so the next thing I knew, a little ol’ Texas gal named Cara Riley, a singer, started yapping in my head so I decided she could tell this story.

I tend to be a pantser more than a plotter, especially at the beginning of any new work so once I had them meet, on a hot early summer morning before daylight, the story began to build. For me, if the story takes on a life of its own, needing care, feeding, and guidance but follows its own will, it’s going well and this story did that.

I long thought that the term “love tattoo” was a much sweeter way to describe a hickey so that became a focus of their relationship and also the title of the work.

When I finished it, I sent it off to Evernight with fingers crossed and hopes high. When they accepted, I did my usual dance of joy and when the edits came in, I got back to work. My editor, Caitlin Ray, loved Cara’s voice and the story so even though I thought it was done with that one tale, she didn’t. She suggested the possibility of a sequel or series and after I pondered that, I thought, well, maybe.

The sequel, Love Scars, has also been accepted by Evernight and should be out sometime around June. I also have a third volume, Love Knots, in progress. I’ve had a number of readers express interest in the ongoing story of Will and Cara so now they have more to look forward to reading.

Love Tattoo is available on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, at Evernight’s site and at many other online retailers. Reviews are coming in and I’m happy overall with them although I try not to put too much stock in them. Doing so can be dangerous for a writer and can become an obsession if you allow it to be.

For those who haven’t met my truck driving, dressed in black, Shakespeare quoting vampire Will Brennan or sassy, would-be singer Cara Riley, here’s a snippet from Cara, the heroine who tells the story in her first person unique Texas fashion:

We be-bopped along Beale Street from one club to another

until almost dawn and we did dance. Sometimes we just listened to

the sweet sound of blues played in some smoke-filled club and in a

few places; we gazed at each other, shutting out the world. We talked,

too, to each other about many things and we touched. Every time that

our fingers met, our hands collided, or my leg intersected his beneath

the table, I sizzled. My skin felt as fragile, as easy to damage as a

butterfly wing, thin and sheer. Each brush of his flesh against mine

made me shiver, quiver with an incandescent ecstasy beyond anything

I knew before. Will made me sensual in a new way and I felt almost

reborn, sexy this time.

And now to be fair, we’ll hear just a bit from Will who chimes in third person every once in awhile,

He could not recall the last time that he shared a bed with

anyone or anything but Cara caused him to do the things he vowed

never to do again. He could have made it home if he rushed but he

accepted her invitation to stay. He hoped he would not regret

staying, but he did not think that he would.

Cara flooded his senses and he wanted her. More than desire

consumed him and although he would rather not admit it, even to

himself, he needed her. Even that first night, in a hurry for something

quick, something temporary, she drew him as if he was a moth and

she the flame.

Even her name, so close to the Irish endearment that he used,

pleased him.

Intrigued? Interested in more? Love Tattoo is available in the usual places online and for those who still haven’t had enough, who anticipate more with eager interest, here’s the blurb from the upcoming Love Scars, scheduled for release in June from Evernight Publishing:

Love Scars blurb:

After marrying her sexy undead husband Will Brennan, Cara Riley Brennan thought her happy ending would last forever but she soon learned that the course of true love doesn’t ever run quite that smooth. Just when she thought they were settling into eternal bliss, Sallie Hawkins, the woman who made Will into a vampire in the past, intrudes into their lives. She’s wicked, she’s jealous, and she won’t stop till either Will or Cara is dead.

Her psychic presence tortures them both in body and soul but when Sallie shows up outside their home in the flesh things go from bad to worse. Cara and Will realize that confrontation is inevitable.

When the three meet for battle, they all may not survive and in the end, who lives and who dies is up to Cara who will do anything to keep her chance at a permanent happily ever after ending intact.

Author links:

http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com/
http://leeannwriter.weebly.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Tattoo-ebook/dp/B004SIQYO6
http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Love-Tattoo-by-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy.html
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Love-Tattoo/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/2940011255069/?itm=3&USRI=love+tattoo

Author Interview~* Julia Rachel Barrett

2011-04-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

Please welcome author Julia Rachel Barrett to the hot seat!

For readers getting to know you, how would you describe yourself?

Eclectic. I can’t think of another word. Maybe energetic. I have a tough time sitting still. My interests vary from gardening, horses, reading, writing, painting, music, cooking and baking. I’m an obsessive hiker and photographer. I love to travel, enjoy meeting new people, but at the same time, I’m quite shy. I guess, like most people, I’m this complex and sometimes conflicting mix of characteristics.

When did you know you wanted to write? When did you start writing seriously?

I actually began writing seriously in high school. Poetry. I majored in creative writing in college and had a couple short stories and poems published before graduation. I’ve always loved reading and listening to what our family called bubbemitzes – grandmother’s tales. I guess I knew when I was a kid that the one thing I really really really wanted to be was an author. But…I needed to make a living so I became a Registered Nurse. I took up writing seriously again in 2007.

How would you describe your writing?

My style is pretty clean. I don’t like a lot of frivolity in my life so you won’t find much in my writing. I learned in college to say what I had to say using as few words as possible. That’s what I tend to do. But a lot of my stories are metaphorical and allegorical. I usually bury a message in my books, or at least a philosophical question. Captured, my science fiction romance, is a bit of a morality play. If you read it, you’ll see what I mean.

What are you working on now/have coming out?

I’m currently working on a paranormal romance involving a tortured ghost/demon and the reluctant psychic who can interact with him. Once I’ve completed that book to my satisfaction I’ve got a romance-suspense about half finished. It’s about a medical student who believes her twin brother has been murdered. She’s forced to flee for her life, carrying her brother’s secrets with her.

Which appears first when contemplating a new project: A character, the plot, the title?

I know it sounds odd, but all three appear in my head at the same time.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered about writing, good or bad?

How much fun it is to write a sex scene! I am squeamish, and I won’t use certain words, but I do enjoy writing erotic romance.

Name some of your favorite writers from any genre.

George R. R. Martin and Tad Williams are incredible science fiction/fantasy writers. I love Guy Gavriel Kay and his historical fantasies, along with Sharon Kay Penman. Anne McCaffrey is a fun author. I love Ursula Le Guin and Margaret Atwood. Diana Gabaldon hooked me with Outlander. Linda Howard is my favorite writer of romance-suspense. I love so many authors I wish I could list them all.

What’s playing on your iPOD/in your car?

I tend to listen to artists like The Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Barry White, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson. I also like Amy Winehouse, no matter how weird she gets. She has an amazing voice.

What are you reading now?(not your work )

I have a huge TBR pile, but right now I’m reading three books – To Reign In Hell, by Steven Brust, The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Reed, and The Hidden Reality, Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene. I read a lot of nonfiction when I write.

Care to divulge some of your guilty pleasures? 

I love getting a foot massage and a pedicure!

Finish this sentence: When I’m not writing, I’m...usually doing something outdoors or cooking a big meal.

Where can readers find you on the net?

My website is http://juliarachelbarrett.net/

But I also participate in two shared blogs: http://www.sevennightwriters.blogspot.com/
And: http://sevensexyscribes.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for generously donating your time and your space!

Dawne Prochilo is Guest Blogging Today!

2011-04-14T10:00:00.006-04:00

Today the awesome, and loveable, Dawne Prochilo is guesting. Tomorrow she'll be in the hot seat to answer some questions. Let me step aside and allow her to do her thing :)

When you look at this picture, what do you see?

If I didn't know this person I would say she is a sweet person with a personable smile. She seems shy to some extent. Maybe a mom...maybe a wife...someone's daughter...maybe works in an office.

In reality, yes, she is a mom, a wife, a daughter and...an erotic romance writer.

But just because I write this genre doesn't mean I always live it.

I know the old clique "we are what we eat" holds true...but are we who we write?

Is every character based on yourself or someone you know? Do have sex day in and day out like the characters in your books? Are you a curvaceous woman with ample breasts? Do you dress provocatively all the time? Is sex always on your mind? (OK- I'll give you this one).

Most of my characters are based on myself- well, at least my physical attributes and some added fantasy ideas of how I would like to appear. Sexier. More voluptuous. More adventurous. Very independent.

How much of yourself should you put into a character? Or should you even put the likeness of yourself in print?

When it comes to physical attributes I am completely comfortable with it...but when it comes to behind the doors- not so much. I do NOT want to expose my personal sex life to the world...or at least my fans. That is no one's business but my own.

Do I have sex on a whim? Possibly. Do I want sex 24/7? Ummm, sometimes. Do I fantasize about sex? Well, yes, who doesn't.

In my erotic novellas I write about wanton women and their sex lives...THEIR sex lives, not mine. Maybe I live vicariously through these women...maybe not.

Do you think readers of your work think that just because you're an erotic or romance author that you live like your characters?

*Follow Dawne on her facebook fan page- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dawne-Prochilo-Erotic-Romance-Author-Sex-Advice-Writer/111351808934539

Her blog- http://dawneprochilo.blogspot.com/

WINNER!!

2011-04-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

WINNER of a pdf copy of Rie McGaha's One Good Man, as decided by Random.org, is...

Tracey D

booklover0226 at gmail dot com

Tracey, I'll be emiling you soon with your prize. Congrats!!

Author Interview/Giveaway *~Rie McGaha

2011-04-08T10:00:00.002-04:00

Author Rie McGaha is back with us today. Let's get to know the lady better.

For readers getting to know you, how would you describe yourself?

I'm someone who met life head on, have been through the worst and the best life has to offer, and I lived to tell about it.

When did you know you wanted to write? When did you start writing seriously?

I've always known I wanted to write but I didn't know about being an author til much later. I wrote my first romance in the 8th grade, then wrote stories for my kids, but I didn't really consider publication until my kids had all grown and moved out. My first release, Deadly Dreams, from Noble Romance Publishing was published in 2008.

How would you describe your writing?

Ha! Eclectic. Unconventional.

What are you working on now/have coming out?

One Good Man came out on March 11, 2011 from eXcessica Publishing. This is a contemporary, bbw, romance set in Biloxi, MS. And coming in May from Silver Publishing is the first installment of My Soul To Keep trilogy, Calen. Calen is a historical, time traveling, fantasy, romance set in ancient Scotland and has castles and witches and a villain possessed by a demon. Your typical bedtime story for big girls!

Which appears first when contemplating a new project: A character, the plot, the title?

I think the characters do. Maybe. I don't know, it's kind of like, well, yeah. The characters appear first and give me an idea of who they are and what they want, and then the plot forms around them.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered about writing, good or bad?

I guess it was the fact that I would have to be solely responsible for promoting and selling my work. I had this idea that publishers had PR persons on staff who did all of that. It was quite a shock and something I was totaling unprepared for and didn't have a clue how to do it. I had a rough first year learning how to interview, write blogs, get out there and chat, write press releases, etc.

If I could do anything differently, I would have began promo before that first book even came out. I know now that author promo and author relationships with readers is integral to being successful.

Name some of your favorite writers from any genre.

James Patterson is my favorite overall because I am a huge fan of the Alex Cross series. He really hurt my feelings when he married off Alex's partner John, who I am madly in love with and think he should have his own series.

What’s playing on your iPOD/in your car?

Don't own an iPOD. I'm an old girl, and I love what is now called "classic" rock. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Buffett, Pink Floyd, all those great bands, but I like some of the newer artists too. Train, James Blunt, etc. Bruce Hornsby is another favorite. I saw him in Kansas City at the Uptown Theater and he is a phenomenal artist and showman.

What are you reading now?(not your work :)

If I only had time to read as much as I would like. I recently read Waiting On The Moon by Tracy Rowan and it is right up there in the top ten of the best books I've ever read.

Care to divulge some of your guilty pleasures? ;)

I have no guilty pleasures, I'm perfectly comfortable with them! I like dipping a Hershey bar in my coffee and sucking on it. I like eating Cheerios late at night while watching TV. I like tipping my head back and eating whipped cream from the can. And I put Buttershots in my hot cider.

Finish this sentence: When I’m not writing, I’m...editing

Where can readers find you on the net?

Rie McGaha Links:

Website: http://www.riemcgaha.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rie_McGaha
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/NovelsByRieMcGaha
Biker Or Not: http://www.bikerornot.com/natenrie
Manic Readers: http://www.manicreaders.com/RieMcGaha/
The Pagan & The Pen Book Reviews:
http://thepaganandthepenbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Man Of The Month: http://spotlightauthor.blogspot.com/

Blogs:

http://anauthorstale.blogspot.com/
http://sizzlingreleases.blogspot.com/
http://riemcgaha.wordpress.com/
http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/
http://lovefurbabies.chipin.com/rescued-animals

Don't forget to comment on today's interview as well as Rie's guest post yesterday to be entered to win a copy of One Good Man. Winner announced Monday!!

Guest Blogger/Giveaway: *~Rie McGaha

2011-04-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

This week we have author Rie McGaha hanging with us. Today she'll blog, tomorrow we get to know her better with an interview.

Cheesy Is Not A Genre by Rie McGaha

I recently read a blog post by a rather new author and I understood exactly how he felt about euphemisms when writing for publication and promotion. I actually post a lot of articles geared toward new authors because I remember all too well when I was brand new. I didn't know how to do an interview, write a blog, or promote my work or myself. Promotion is the thing I hate most, and the thing that must be done by all writers if we ever hope to sell a book.

I also remember the numerous books I've read over the years with all those cheesy euphemisms for body parts and the sex act - "his manhood," "her wetness," "his rigid pole," "her flower blossom." And the list goes on and on. When I was twelve these terms I read in pilfered magazines and books were a fire to my burgeoning libido. But let's face it, we're not twelve anymore, so let's put on our grown up lingerie and act like the adult men and women we are.

Have you ever been in bed with someone, and said, "I'm going to wrap my fingers around your love pole?" Have you ever been in the company of your friends and said, "Yep, I tongued that love blossom until she screamed?" If you have, I'm sure your friends are still laughing. Let's face it people, the way we talk is the way things should be when reading, or more importantly, writing a sex scene, whether it's romantic sex between a husband and wife, or a hot, wild ménage. If you can't bring yourself to use everyday terminology, then write sweet romance where the sex is alluded to but goes on behind bedroom doors.

BIO: Rie McGaha is a multi-published author who writes romance in numerous sub-genres that include fantasy, paranormal, and suspense. She is the mother of 12, Nana of 33 (and counting), and lives in the beautiful Kiamichi Mountains of SE Oklahoma where she rescues abused, abandoned and neglected animals For The Dawg House.

Her latest novel ONE GOOD MAN was released 3/11/2011 from eXcessica Publishing.

Allison Hamstead thought it was love. Finally, after all the years alone, someone loved her in spite of the fact she was fat! Not that her size had ever kept her from being successful, but it had kept her far from personal relationships. She’d heard all of the fat jokes ever told, all of the things people in her office said behind her back, and she didn’t miss not having a boyfriend, or dates every weekend. Did she? But now she was in love and she couldn’t wait to introduce him to her best friend, Sarah. And what a mistake that had turned out to be! It wasn’t long before the love of her life and her best friend were living together and Allison was humiliated.

Starting over is never easy, but Allison is determined to do just that and moves far from Chicago to the warm waters of Biloxi, Mississippi where she accepts a position at one of the floating casinos. For the first time in her life Allison feels like she’s truly at home. She loves her job, she loves her boss, who is like a father to her, and she loves being a part of all the excitement going on around her. Except for one little thing…

Her boss’s eldest son, Stephen is probably the most handsome, gorgeous, and sexy man she’s ever laid eyes on…and he knows it! And for some reason he acts interested in her. Then her mother comes to visit and winds up dating her boss. Her accounts start showing large amounts of money missing. And her ex shows up unannounced and says he wants her back. Can anything else possibly go wrong?

Absolutely!

EXCERPT~ As she lay back on her towel, a shadow fell across her. She opened one eye to see Stephen standing over her grinning. “You’re blocking my sun," she said and shut her eye.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Yes, I do mind.”

“Thanks.”

Turning her head toward him, she again opened one eye and frowned as she discovered he had removed his shirt and spread his towel beside her.

“There’s a lot of beach here you know, you could pick another spot.”

“Yeah, but I like this one.”

“You’re just trying to make me mad.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because you act like a twelve year old, and teasing girls is what twelve year olds do.”

“Yeah, but my toys are much bigger and go a lot faster," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and went back to sunning herself in silence. Stephen didn’t speak for a long time either, which she thought was a blessing and probably too good to last long. She was right.

“Have dinner with me.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s fraternizing and your father doesn’t allow it.”

“Not true. We’re just two colleagues having dinner together. The fraternizing rule only applies between management and underlings. He’s afraid an employee would feel their position would be threatened if they refused a date with management.”

“Or perhaps he just didn’t want you dating the entire staff.”

He laughed. “That’s a possibility.”

“You’re shameless.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“I’m not having dinner with you.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Look, Stephen, you don’t have to do this." She sat up and looked at him squarely.

“Do what?" He asked, almost managing to look innocent.

“All of this…"she waved one arm, “this flirting you seem to be doing with me. I’m not exactly your type.”

“What do you mean my type? That’s pretty judgmental and shallow of you." He grinned at her again.

“And if anyone would know about shallow, it would be you, now wouldn’t it?" She said rather tersely. “Just stop it.”

“Allison…"Stephen watched as she picked up her things and began making her way toward the casino. He blew out a breath and shook his head

psst...comment on this post and on Rie's interview tomorrow and you can win a copy of One Good Man!! Remember to leave your email addy in your post

Rie McGaha's Links:

Website: http://www.riemcgaha.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rie_McGaha
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/NovelsByRieMcGaha
Biker Or Not: http://www.bikerornot.com/natenrie
Manic Readers: http://www.manicreaders.com/RieMcGaha/

The Pagan & The Pen Book Reviews: http://thepaganandthepenbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Man Of The Month: http://spotlightauthor.blogspot.com/

Blogs:

http://anauthorstale.blogspot.com/
http://sizzlingreleases.blogspot.com/
http://riemcgaha.wordpress.com/
http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/
http://forthedawghouse.webs.com/
http://lovefurbabies.chipin.com/rescued-animals

Avril's Blog

Love Shadows w/Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

New Cover! Make Me Burn #GBLT

Sam Crescent's Blackmailed By The Beast

Taming the Bad Girl and Emma Shortt

Thirsty Thursdays~Sasha Forde and NUVO

Cover Reveal~Till Surrender #LGBT

Motivation

Who Are the VDay Chosen?

With Love~Valentine's Day Blog Hop

Lucky People

All smiles...and News

A Slice of Cake, Anyone?

Alyssa Fox: Bound To Protect

Welcome Lorraine Nelson: Trouble's Brewing

Winners!

Welcome Drea Becraft!

In Wicked Chains...Weekend Dirty Dozen

Weekend Dirty Dozen...Make me Burn

In Wicked Chains...a tease

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/In Wicked Chains

Guest Blogger **Drea Becraft**

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/ Blindfold Me

Blog Tour-Stop (1)

BTOTBH Winner!

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/Dulce

Got Vote?

Weekend Dirty Dozen w/ Till Abandon

It's Release Day for Till Abandon!!

A Taste of Zakia And The Cowboy with Author Lorraine Nelson

Calling all Winners!!

Partying at Goddess Fish Today!

Guest Author: Amy Valenti

Evernight's Big Birthday Bash

Guest Author: ~*Kellie Kamryn*~

Guest Blogger~* Karenna Colcroft

Alexandra O'Hurley is Here!

Excerpt~ Enchanted by London Saint James

Wecome, London Saint James!

Six Sentence Sunday

WIP WEDNESDAY!

Anotther Six Sentence Sunday

Six Sentence Sunday

Blog Hop Winner!!

~*Till Abandon Cover Unveiled~*

Evernight Sizzle~ A Blog Hop!!

MAKE ME SWEAT RELEASE DAY!

More Six Sentence Sunday

Free Read Available Now!

Six Sentence Sunday

Six Sentence Sunday

Six Sentence Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday

Author Interview**LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy

Welcome Author LeeAnn Sontheimer-Murphy!

Author Interview~* Julia Rachel Barrett

Dawne Prochilo is Guest Blogging Today!

WINNER!!

Author Interview/Giveaway *~Rie McGaha

Guest Blogger/Giveaway: *~Rie McGaha

Guest Blogger Drea Becraft

Guest Author: ~Kellie Kamryn~

~Till Abandon Cover Unveiled~