Check out Kendall McKenna

Hey, everybody! I’m Kendall McKenna and I write m/m erotic romance novels. Last time I was a guest here was back in March, just before my vampire story, Nights In Canaan was released. I’m back now, with a completely different offering.

Let’s talk about book series. We’ve all read them. We all have at least one that we adore. Some of us prefer series to stand-alone stories. I admit, I like when secondary characters grow over time, or when something from an earlier book plays a part in the current story. But I’ve never thought much about them beyond that.

The very first title I had published is Brothers In Arms. It was never supposed to be a series. The very first review of the book was filled with praise, and a request for more stories about my main characters, Jonah and Kellan. The review also requested a story about a supporting character, named Corey. I was surprised by both of these things, but when I thought about it, I realized I could write more stories like this.

In the meantime, I wrote a paranormal story called Strength of the Pack. Halfway through writing this book, I realized one of my supporting characters was very likeable, and could easily be the center of his own story. It was easy to sketch an outline of a story for him, so I decided that I would develop a series and decided to name it The Tameness of the Wolf.

When I reached the point where I realized that I had effectively begun to write two separate series of books, I decided to name the contemporary military series The Recon Diaries. I also decided to give each series its own, distinct identity, beyond the fact that one has werewolves and the other doesn’t.

The paranormal series is much more standard erotic romance. It’s more or less a look at what might happen if werewolves lived in our world, we knew about them, and valued their contributions to our society.

The Recon Diaries is much different. Brothers In Arms is a book that is very different from most others in the genre. It’s plot driven, realistic and technically accurate. I based the plot on a real-world issue. The story is fiction, nothing that happens in the story has ever taken place. But the circumstances that lead up the events in the story are very real.

I decided that would be the hallmark of The Recon Diaries. Each fictional story would be based on something real, each story would deal with an actual issue that negatively impacts someone. Brothers In Arms looked at a possible scenario for how the military contractors obtained all of their lucrative no-bid government contracts. Fire For Effect, Book 2 of The Recon Diaries, deals with possible reasons why so few veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have been awarded high level medals of valor, when acts of a similar nature had been awarded Medals of Honor in previous conflicts. When Book 3, The Final Line is released in July, it takes an unflinching, realistic look at Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, and the need for treatment.

And that is how I’m going to set the entire series apart from any other I end up writing. I recently had a chat with my editor about plans for future stories and which characters will reappear. At least two future books will feature the nearly out of control incident of sexual assault in the U.S. military, and the kidnapping of U.S. citizens in countries abroad. It’s possible I may end up writing about the handler/canine relationship of military working dogs, and the backlog of VA claims for wounded warriors. I’ve got a full dance card for the foreseeable future.

Here’s a blurb and an excerpt from the 2^nd book, Fire For Effect. If you’ve read Brothers In Arms, this is a continuation of Kellan’s and Jonah’s story. If this excerpt interests you, but you haven’t read Brothers In Arms, that’s where you’ll want to start, then move on to Fire For Effect. Get ready! Time is running out! The Final Line comes out July 4^th (appropriate for a book about U.S. Marines!).

Blurb:
Hired to investigate the denial of a Marine the Medal of Honor, Kellan Reynolds and Jonah Carver try to untangle a web of lies, deceit, and heroism.

Two years after the events of Brothers In Arms, Kellan Reynolds and First Sergeant Jonah Carver are struggling with their bi-coastal relationship. Following the events in Iraq, Kellan’s expertise in national security is well established and he is hired to investigate the suspicious repeated denial of a KIA Marine the Medal of Honor.

Kellan brings Jonah onto his staff and into his home, but just as their relationship settles into a routine, their investigation heats up. What begins at the Pentagon, leads to Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, and an ambush that threatens to destroy everything they’ve built.

Excerpt:
They were so wrapped up in the information spread out on the table before them, they hadn’t bothered to change clothes when they’d arrived home. They’d gotten as far as removing their suit coats. Kellan stood now, rolling up his shirtsleeves but Jonah was still perfectly unwrinkled in his olive uniform trousers and khaki tie and shirt.

At some point, it had made sense for the rest of Kellan’s staff to pursue the case of systemic discrimination in the awards process. They would compile what Kellan would need to report to the Senate. That left Jonah and Kellan to figure out why Sergeant Miguel Restrepo was being denied the Medal of Honor, and exactly by whom.

Kellan had been hungry for awhile, but each time he was about to call for a break to fix dinner, Jonah would connect another piece of the puzzle. Kellan ended up typing information into his notes, tagging document files and moving items into different folders on his hard drive.

Jonah stood at the long end of the table looking over the paperwork he had stacked and organized as he’d worked his way through the complicated mess. He balanced all of his weight on one leg, bent the knee of his second leg, and fisted his hands on his narrow hips. Jonah’s handsome brow was marred by a frown of concentration as his intelligent blue eyes darted from photos to written reports. Jonah was tall and lean, built like he was made to wear the uniforms of the Marine Corps, and Kellan found him sexy as hell.

He may not have left the Corps so that he could explore a physical relationship with Jonah, but it had certainly gone in the ‘pros’ column when he’d been weighing his options.

“You’re staring at me,” Jonah said suddenly, startling Kellan out of his reverie, but not looking away from the organized chaos of their dining room table.

“Uh huh,” Kellan replied, not at all ashamed at being called out.

“Staring at me isn’t going to help us figure out why Restrepo is being blocked from receiving the MOH.” Jonah finally looked Kellan in the eye.

“No, but it’s a damn fun thing to do.” Kellan smiled. He decided he was done with work for the night. Dinner first, then crawling into bed with Jonah were the only two things left on his agenda for the night.

Jonah snorted a laugh, one corner of his mouth lifting in the smile that always made Kellan’s stomach twist in ways it embarrassed him to describe. “If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t get back to this tonight.”

“Yeah, well, there’s always tomorrow.” Kellan grinned, openly flirting. He saved and closed all of his secure files, then he got up from his chair and moved into the warm circle of Jonah’s arms.

“You haven’t gotten tired of having me under foot twenty-four-seven, yet?” Jonah asked, running his palms over Kellan’s back. The question seemed casual, even humorous, but Kellan suspected it was a diversionary tactic.

“Not at all,” Kellan replied with conviction. “You don’t regret taking an office job, do you? Not wishing you’d promoted to Master Sergeant and stayed with a combat unit?”

“No,” Jonah replied so quickly, Kellan nearly doubted him. “I hate having to wear the service uniform—fucking ties—but I like using my brain this much. This is important work, too. This matters.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Kellan said quietly against the warm skin of Jonah’s throat, relief washing through him. He inhaled and caught the scent of the cologne Jonah had begun to wear. He hadn’t asked but Kellan assumed Jonah had never worn cologne regularly because he spent so much time getting sweaty, dirty, or just plain wet. Marines were amphibious, after all.

“Are you coming to the same conclusion I am, about all of this?” Jonah’s question confused Kellan momentarily.

It took several moments to realize Jonah was referring to the issue with Restrepo. “Probably, but what conclusion are you reaching?”

“Someone has been lying about what happened inside that house in Fallujah,” Jonah replied. “We might need to conduct our own interviews.”

Kellan had been coming to that conclusion over the last several days, yes. He was still hoping to find a way around it. “If we want to continue pursuing this; if we want the truth, regardless of what that truth is, I believe that is what we’re going to have to do.”

Jonah made a frustrated sound. “Send someone else, this time.” It sounded almost like a plea.

“I’m not sending anyone to do something I’m not willing to do myself.” Did Jonah expect anything else from him?

“Yeah, I know,” Jonah replied with resignation. “I’m going with you, you know.”

“You are my military aide.” Kellan pulled back to meet Jonah’s eyes. They were standing in the dining room of a small house in Virginia, casually discussing the fact they were going to have to head directly into a war zone.

Kellan sighed inwardly. Always a Marine.

“Don’t get kidnapped this time,” Jonah said in mock annoyance.

“Why not? It was such a fun experience the first time.”

Jonah rolled his eyes. Kellan laughed.

“I’m getting out of this monkey suit,” Jonah said, heading for the bedroom and stripping off his uniform tie.

“Oh, hey, wait for me!” Kellan chased after Jonah. “I want to help!”

Information on where to buy Fire for Effect can be found here  http://kendallmckenna.com/books/the-recon-diaries/

 

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You can find Kendall McKenna on the internet at:
Website/Blog:
http://www.kendallmckenna.com

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Twitter:
@kendallmckenna

Book Barrage~ Sunspots

Sunspots by Karen S. Bell

Contemporary Paranormal Time-Travel Romance/Romantic Suspense

Categories: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller

Publisher: KSB Press

Release Date: December 12, 2012

Heat Level: Sensual

Word Count: 102,300

Buy Links

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Sunspots-ebook/dp/B00ANBR4TQ/

Amazon (Print): http://www.amazon.com/Sunspots-Karen-S-Bell/dp/148230757X/

Description

“One can never be, and should never be, smug about life,” says Aurora Goldberg. An aspiring New York actress who has never realized her dreams, Aurora keeps herself afloat by doing odd temp jobs where her rich fantasy life helps her get through the day. Aurora sees the world through the lens of characters in literature and film and these fictionalizations are woven into her interpretation of reality.

On one of her temp assignments she meets Jake Stein, a man who could “charm the skin off a snake” and she decides to follow her destiny as his wife in Austin, Texas. But Jake’s sudden death after two short years disintegrates her world and Aurora must reevaluate her life and let go of a love that has become an obsession.

With the help of friends, family, and the ghost of Viola Parker (her home’s original owner), Aurora accepts her fate and the secrets revealed about Jake’s true character. She realizes that in this life she will finally break the cycle of pain caused by her love for this man, Jake Stein, through the centuries.

Teaser Excerpt:

My passion for acting surfaced as a young child when my so-called natural talent flung itself into the world full-blown and raw. Not wanting to attend pre-school one morning, I laid my arm over my head and “pretended” that my head hurt as I had seen my mother do many times before. That deceit uncovered a truth made known by philosophers of the ages, but of which I was certainly unaware. Pretending to feel and to really feel do not appear differently to the external world—if you do it right. Aside from being great fun, the stage was an obvious platform to hone that skill.

As Celeste Abbott, my alter ego, I spent most of my time as either a receptionist or data-entry clerk. It was not by choice, because I dreamed of being sought after by the best directors and to work continuously like Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman or have a great stage career like Patti Lupone.

I had several fits and starts on the roller-coaster ride of acting that kept me hooked and on the payroll of two temp agencies where I had accumulated so many hours that I was eligible for health benefits—a situation that pleased my mother but underlined my failure to get into Actors’ Equity, or make enough money that AFTRA or SAG allowed me into their health plans. My first paying gig was a commercial with five other girls that shot all day on location at the JerseyShore.

“Okay, ladies,” said the director. “Try and pretend it’s not 40 degrees. Look like it’s summer. I know you’re quite cold in those shorts and tee shirts, so let’s get this done quickly. Chase each other. Laugh. Throw the ball. Have fun. Okay, good. You over there, go sit in the parked car.”

“Me?”

“Yes, but can you do anything about those blue lips?”

There it was. I was chosen to sit behind the wheel of a convertible and gaze sexily into the camera for a tight close-up—the money shot. I could taste the possibilities of fat residual checks or even better—being discovered by some producer who thought my look “perfect for the lead” in some mega-funded movie, but instead I caught a chill and high fever that kept me out of temp work for a week. When the commercial aired, I realized that the only close-up not on the cutting room floor was my foot sporting the running shoe I had been wearing.

My optimism, however, could not be thwarted because my real passion was Broadway and it was the dream that kept my juices flowing. My closest encounter with a stage career had been a part I landed in an off-off Broadway play downtown. Off-off Broadway is where any basement or falling down hotel can be a theater and anything can be a play. But more importantly, off-off Broadway meant there was no real money, so budgets were tight.

This gig was in the Meatpacking District in a storefront of what looked like a condemned building. The windows of the store were blacked out so that the streetlights wouldn’t interfere with the stage lighting. The audience sat in folding chairs and the house could hold about 60 souls who weren’t turned off by the lingering odor of the daytime businesses. The stage was a wooden platform that was long and narrow and made moving about a bit risky. I was chosen to play the “unnamed woman,” one of three characters. The other two characters were her “unnamed lover” and “death.” More performance art than a play, it had one act with one scene. As the unnamed woman, I wore a mask and gold body paint (that covered my exposed skin and bright-pink bikini) and sang two songs that had no set melody.

“Hey ho, hey ho. The setting sun sends swords of gold. Hey ho, hey ho. The light. The light. Please light my love.” Or some such nonsense was my opening number. My challenge was to improvise the music every night to a drum that was my sole accompaniment. One night, I believe I crossed into copyright infringement when this melody came very close to sounding like the song for the seven dwarfs in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the other song sounded like, The Sound of Music. I was paid a small amount of money that included cleaning up the stage and backstage afterwards. Unfortunately, the show closed after one week and ended my brush with stardom.

 

Check out the Book Trailer

Schedule:
April 24, 2013
Aspired Writer
Author Raine Delight’s World
Naughty Bits’ Book Reviews
Rambling Reads

April 25, 2013
Brianna’s Bookshelf
Bunny’s Review
Coffee Beans & Love Scenes
Regina May Ross’s
It’s All About the Romance!

About the Author

Walking with Elephants was my first novel, although I am not new to writing. I was a theater critic and celebrity interviewer for a weekly tabloid in Jacksonville, Fl and I earned a Master’s in Mass Communication from OklahomaStateUniversity. For 15 years I worked in Corporate America as a technical editor/editor/writer. I experienced first hand the politics and intrigue that goes with that territory and the balancing act that comes with being a working mother. I salute all those mothers who are the glue that holds their families together while pursuing the nine to five brass ring. And that is what inspired me to write that novel.

With my second novel, Sunspots, I continue to be in awe of the magical and wondrous phenomenon called life. As an observer and obvious participant in feminine values and approach to our human challenges, I bring this perspective to my work. Fascinated by the mysteries of the unseen forces that perhaps play a role in guiding our choices, I search for answers in the mundane as well as in the cosmic forces that surround us.

Connect with Karen S. Bell

Email: karen.bell@yahoo.com

Website: http://karensbell.com/KSB_PRESS/WELCOME.html

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenSueBell

Giveaway Info: 
Prize is a Kindle (Mobi) copy of “Sunspots”. Contest is tour wide and ends Apr 30. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Link to Schedule:
http://www.cblspromotions.com/2013/04/blogbarrage-sunspots-by-karen-s-bell.html
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Suz deMello’s Gypsy Witch

Gypsy Witch by Suz deMello

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department is no place for airy-fairy wimps, and Ben McCullough is the toughest of the tough. He tells himself he’s bedding the luscious Elena Lautari only because she’s a babe, not because she’s a card-carrying member of the Northern California Church of Wicca. Ben thinks she’s a feather away from an arrest for fraud, since she makes a living telling fortunes and making charms for the lovelorn. He can’t see her as a lifelong mate even though she’s more than a match for him in the sack, and losing her is unthinkable.

But Elena is the real deal, a modern witch of much power and even more restraint. When her daughter, Gina, steals her mother’s spell book and uses it to shatter the fabric of existence and release an ancient evil, Elena must put reality back in place—even if she loses Ben in the process. Will Ben and Elena’s fragile love be lost with the revelation of her magic?

Maybe, but there are others ready to heal her battered heart. When Ben’s partner attempts to claim Elena, will Ben move aside or move in?

 

If you like what you read, click below to buy the story and check out the rest of Suzie’s sexy books:

https://www.ellorascave.com/author/suz-demello

*****

Author Bio:

Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written over sixteen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Ai Press, and Liquid Silver Books. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com

For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com

Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift

She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun

Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com

Welcome Viola Ryan

Hi and welcome to my blog, Viola Ryan. Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake.  

Thank you, boys.  Is it hot in here or is it just me?

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?  

My debut release is The Mark of Abel. In it Lucifer struggles to determine what’s more important–redemption or his heart. It reimagines the Judeo-Christian stories many of us were raised with to combine the Bible with the paranormal. Lucifer is the first vampire. Lilith is his mistress of hell and the mother of his twins. His best friend is Mary Magdalene.

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

I am head over heels in love with my cover. I had it made into a fleece blanket. Lucifer’s head is bigger than mine. I love wrapping myself up in it.

What influenced you to get published? How long did it take for your first book to get published?

Romance Writers of America was a huge help.I  joined the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal on-line chapter and really  learned my craft. They taught me how to write and all about publishing. I started writing The Mark of Abel during National Novel Writing Month 2007. It went through a lot of revisions before I was happy with it. The first book takes a long time because you are learning how you write as you write it. The sequel is coming much quicker.

Do you have a book that was easiest to write or one that was the hardest?

The Mark of Abel went through so many complete revisions, I consider it five books. It even had five different titles. I started writing it as a pantser/stream of consciousness. Taming it was quite a task. I never wanted to go through that again, so I took every workshop I could on plotting. Now I come up with a loose outline and the revisions won’t take so long.

Could you tell us a couple of favorite books that inspired you to write?

RWA National Conference was held at Disney World one year. I met Tinkerbell. I told her I’m going to tell you something you’ve never heard before. She got all excited. I said, “I’m a writer because of you.” She responded,”You’re right. I’ve never heard that before.” Peter Pan and  Wizard of Oz are big reasons I’m a fantasy writer. Things like the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer  Bradley and American  Gods by Neil Gaiman showed me the type of writer I wanted to be.

Is music a factor for you while you are writing? Do certain songs put you in the right frame of mind to write certain stories?

When I’m in the zone, I turn off iTunes. It’s the only time there isn’t music going. Music, especially more recent stuff, motivates me to write. I think, “If they can do it, so can I. What have I written lately?” That gets my butt back to the computer. For sex scenes, I need Duran Duran.

If you could collaborate with one author who would it be?

Neil Gaiman. My dream is to win the Hugo or Nebula and have him give it to me.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

The heroine in The Mark of Abel comes from a documentary  about the Roman extermination of Dacia, in present day Romania. It is the subject of Trajan’s Column. I thought, “That needs to be in a vampire novel.” Then I thought, “Hey, I’m writing a vampire novel. It should be in mine.” That was the last major version the book went through, adding in the heroine’s past lives so I could write about Dacia.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would they tell?

Ray Bradbury once said something. “I’m never all here.” His mind was always partially in the stories he was telling. My muse would say she’s never all here. She’s always listening to us.

Other than writing, what are some of your passions in life?

I love painting. I made the heroine a painter so she wouldn’t be too much like me. I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. Then I  needed to learn how to paint to write her scenes. I took a class just to learn the process and  lingo. Turns out I’m pretty good at landscape painting. There aren’t too many straight lines in nature. You can see some of my paintings on my website. http://www.violaryan.com

What books are currently on your nightstand?

Most books are in my iPhone. The only paper books I have were free and most of them autographed at RWA conferences. I just finished Angie Fox’s Immortally Embraced about a supernatural MASH unit in a war between the gods. The other types of paper books I have are short story collections. That way I’m not up late because I can’t put something down. Some of my favorites are the Mammoth series, Sympathy for the Devil and the Living Dead.

What can readers expect next from you?

Next up is The Chalice of Creation. Lucifer’s redemption isn’t finished yet. He must find and protect the Chalice of Creation from fallen angels/vampires or face humanity’s destruction.

Thanks for coming. Is there anything else you want to add?  

I got great news from my publisher this month. The Mark of Abel will be coming out in paperback before this fall.

 About The Mark of Abel by Viola Ryan

Is a frustrated artist Lucifer’s ticket back to heaven or will falling in love with her reawaken the compassion that got him expelled?

Lucifer is fed up with humanity. He created hell to deter evil, but man’s inhumanity is only escalating. He just wants to return home to heaven, but ever since that little problem in the Garden of Eden, the Pearly Gates remain firmly shut to him. It doesn’t help that he’s the first vampire, an abomination in God’s sight.

Fortunately, two thousand years ago Lucifer’s estranged brother, Jesus, gave him a prophecy. To fulfill it, all Lucifer has to do is find the right artist, study her artwork and the path back to heaven will be revealed. The artist even bears a symbol so he knows who she is. Too bad she is murdered every time he finds her.

Janie’s a frustrated artist and college art teacher who wants two things—a guy she can show her paintings to and a night without nightmares. Each nightmare plagues her until she paints it. She doesn’t realize these paintings are key to unlocking her destiny, one that could redeem the original fallen angel.

Buy Links:

MuseItUp Publishing:  http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=516&category_id=69&manufacturer_id=250&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mark-of-Abel-ebook/dp/B00B0FSH9A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358130524&sr=8-4&keywords=The+Mark+of+abel

Trailer Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UayqdSPMFMQ&feature=youtu.be 

Excerpt:  At his feet the Sword of Justice glinted in the firelight.

Justice.

Keeping Eve in Eden was definitely an act of justice.

In one smooth motion, Lucifer kicked up the sword, grabbed it, raised it above his head, and plunged it through God’s back into his heart. He twisted the sword, and God slid down into a crumpled heap at Lucifer’s feet.

“Now it is.” Lucifer held the sword above his head. It didn’t ignite. Who cared? Justice had been served. Little did God know the sword he’d created would be his death.

Eve appeared next to Lucifer. He couldn’t contain his joy. Now they would fashion the universe how they wanted.

She touched the sword with one delicate finger. Blue flame consumed the hilt, and he dropped it. Before it hit the ground, it disappeared.

“You are not ready for this.” Eve/God’s thoughts held a tinge of disappointment.

Lucifer appeared outside of heaven. A high wall of the same gleaming material as the palace formed around heaven. Eve appeared behind an open gate. Its gleaming bars stretched up and down into infinity until up became down and down became up. It swung shut.

He raced for it, but was too late. The clang echoed in his soul, and he collapsed to his knees. 

“You are no longer an angel. You don’t belong in heaven. You must find your way home.” God turned away.

“What am I?” Lucifer rose and sent a burst of energy at the gate. It remained shut.

“Am I human?” His soul bled at the question and darkness surrounded him. As a human he had nothing to offer Eve. He couldn’t protect her. He couldn’t create another Eden for her. She would beget Adam’s children in pain. Lucifer cringed.

Eve/God appeared next to him and traced three triangles above his heart, each attached to the other two at the corners of its base to form a fourth triangle in the center. They burned, and he screamed until his voice was raw. He collapsed and gulped fire.

Standing above him, God laid her hand on his shoulders. Pain shot down his back. He reached around, and his hands passed through wings of fire. God ran her hand along his arms. His skin itched, and then burned, as it morphed into swirling red, orange and yellow. With sweat pouring down his face, he allowed God to help him up. 

“Your re-creation occurred in fire. This is now your true form. To maintain

your angelic powers, you must feed on the intense energy of fire.” A ball of fire appeared on God’s outstretched hand. She shoved this into his heart.

A sharp pain stole his breath, but Lucifer refused to collapse again. He grit his teeth, and his entire body shook.

“What am I?” He stared at his arms. 

“To maintain free will, you must drink the blood of humanity every three

generations.”

God vanished.

“What am I?” he shouted toward the center of heaven. 

“A vampire.”

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Welcome Sarah Cass

 

Hi and welcome to my blog, Sarah Cass. Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake. 

*Sarah grins and takes a margarita.*  Why thank you.  I always love a hunky cabana boy welcome, so does the muse.  It makes her feel at home.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?  

Well, my first novel, Changing Tracks just released in February, and it’s the start of a series so I’m working on book 2 (edits) and book 4 (re-writing) as we speak.  Just last week, the anthology HerStory released with a short story of mine called An Uncivil War in it. I’m about to dive into edits on my standalone novella Masked Hearts for its April release.  Outside of my contracted work I have two works in progress going now, both very different genres than my currently contracted works.

 

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

A party in my pants. ~giggle~  No, seriously.  I just do a little dance at home, and my husband and I usually go out to dinner.  Unfortunately as I’ve just started this career I haven’t the funds or time to have a celebratory ritual yet.  I plan on starting that once my series gets moving with book 2’s release.

 

 

What influenced you to get published? How long did it take for your first book to get published? 

I was writing for fun, without any designs on getting published.  A friend suggested that my story was really good and I should try to get published.  I dove in without the faintest idea what I was getting into.  It took me seven years from that first floundering story to get published.  I started when traditional pub and agents were the only way to go, but the publishing world, and my writing, evolved a lot.  I might have gotten published much sooner if I’d stopped clinging to my first novel like a two year old with a candy bar. I really wanted Lisabeth to work – but I was too attached and couldn’t see the flaws.  Once I moved on, I was able to create my Dominion Falls series which was publishable two years ago, but I went the agent route first and then decided I was tired of waiting on long-long-long delayed responses (seriously, one of them had my ms for a year and a half and never responded to my ‘I have an offer’ nudges), and dove into the smaller press world – and I’ve never regretted that for a minute.

 

Do you have a book that was easiest to write or one that was the hardest? 

Hmmm, trick question.  They are all very easy and very difficult.

Honestly, my Dominion Falls series was mostly very easy to write.  I wrote the original trilogy in a span of about two months, and the 2 follow up sequels in one month.  But, Book 2 (Derailed due out in July) is always a very difficult book for me because, being that it’s the middle of the trilogy there is a lot of emotional upheaval and one scene near the end breaks me up every time.

The hardest for me would be Masked Hearts because it was a first for me in many ways. I have a tendency to write series, and very long books.  I wanted to challenge myself. So I planned for it to be under 50k, and I prepared a timeline – which I never do in first drafts. I tried to make it close to publishable in first draft so there was no rewrite. I pretty much accomplished all those goals, and while it was really tough for me, that story went from concept to contract in 3 months time, a record for me.

 

Could you tell us a couple of favorite books that inspired you to write? 

My first true inspiration into not only my (typical) genre but into reading and stories all together was the Little House series. Beyond that my reading preference is so wide and varied, it’s hard to nail down favorites. A Discovery of Witches was one of my most recent favorites as is the Mercy Thompson series; but I’ve read everything from Shakespeare, to Harry Potter to Long Time Coming (by Jennifer James). I definitely have to include Jennifer in there because it was because of her that I found the motivation to keep going when I was thinking of quitting – we found each other randomly on the internet and she pulled me into a critique group and my life has been forever different since.

 

Is music a factor for you while you are writing? Do certain songs put you in the right frame of mind to write certain stories? 

Oh yeah. Music is required. I can’t write and watch TV, or talk or anything, but music is essential. It sets the right frame of mind.  If I’m writing one of my HWR’s I use love songs, if I’m working on my PNR or Steampunk it goes into the hard rock territory. I can’t write without my music. It feels wrong, somehow.

 

If you could collaborate with one author who would it be? 

Hm, that’s a tough call.  I’m already collaborating with a few. I co-write with my good friend, Mary Terrani, and my crit group is working on a project together.  But a dream project? Odd as it sounds, I’d have to say Stephen King. I write some horror but I think working with him I could write some kick ass horror.

 

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had? 

Another tough call. All my inspiration is pretty random. Plus, much of it is really macabre. The inspiration for Masked Hearts came from reading about an Indian massacre. The inspiration for my steamp-punky UF/Fractured fairy tale came from playing a video game.  It helps that I like to mix genres because my inspiration often leads me in weird places.

 

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would they tell? 

What do you mean, IF?  That crazy loon talks behind my back all the dang time.  LOL. She says I’m lazy and undisciplined and moody.  Then again, she could be talking about herself with that – she’s the one that likes to run off to Mexico and get drunk on tequila.

 

Other than writing, what are some of your passions in life? 

My kids & husband, of course. Beyond that? Well, you name it.  I’ve been in theater (singing & dancing, I miss them terribly).  I sew, knit, crochet, and do photography to name a few things.

 

What books are currently on your nightstand?

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – I’ve been rereading the series.  I’m also reading Hunger Embraced by Jennifer James and Silent Tears by Lacie Nation.

 

What can readers expect next from you? 

Well, obviously as mention, they can look forward to Masked Hearts next month and the rest of my series – books 2 & 3 will be out in July and September. I’m also working on that fractured fairytale and hope to have it done before the end of summer and ready for submission. It has good possibility to be a series, but right now I just need to get through Into a Mirror Darkly.

 

Thanks for coming. Is there anything else you want to add?  

In my everyday life I blog over at Redefining Perfect: http://redefiningperfect.com

My author blog is Sarah’s StoryLines: http://authorsarahcass.com

You can also find me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/SarahCass.Author

And on twitter: http://twitter.com/sadiecass

 

Blurb:

There’s nothing simple about forgetting your past.

Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He keeps his women at a distance, unwilling to relive a past he worked hard to forget.

Until the night Jane Doe falls into his saloon bleeding and near death.  She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief someone tried to kill her. In the strange world of amnesia she manages to find solace in Cole’s arms and he finds home in hers.

While they work together to solve the mystery of her appearance, their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – build a barrier between them.

To make matters worse, Jane’s past isn’t willing to let her go. A stranger proves he’ll kill to keep his secrets safe. With those she loves in danger, Jane’s errant memory is all that stands between them and death.  Cole can only do so much to protect her, will it be enough?

Buy Links:

Secret Cravings Website -  http://bit.ly/14XQPTl

Amazon -  http://amzn.to/11DDgcG

Barnes & Noble -  http://bit.ly/XcTs0R

All Romance Ebooks -  http://bit.ly/WJxSiA

Bookstrand -  http://bit.ly/12dl2PB

 

Excerpt:

She slammed the door to her room, only to come face to face with Cole. The shriek escaped before she could stop it.

“Jane.”

“Blast, Cole. You scared the daylights out of me.”

“Sorry. Took the shortcut.”

“Please, just go. I can’t think straight. I can’t.” She couldn’t. The way her head kept spinning, conversation wouldn’t be possible.

He didn’t argue, but he didn’t leave either. Once again she found his arms tight around her. In one swift move, he provided a sanctuary against the turmoil. For several minutes he helped her find peace.

Selfishly she soaked in it. Relieved to have just a few minutes to ignore her past that had just shown up on her doorstep. Forget a man who claimed to be her husband. That she was no longer a nameless person.

“I hate saying it.”

“Then don’t.” Jane Doe wasn’t real. This Clara was. Jane didn’t want to give up everything she’d gained. But she couldn’t turn her back on her past. With a sigh, she rested her head against his chest. “Sorry. I’m overwhelmed.”

“I get that. He seems like he means it, though. Did you hear him?”

“I couldn’t hear anything. It’s just too much. I don’t know how to do this.”

“He said he ain’t seen you in seven years. That you left one day and he never saw you again. It was winter. He thought you’d died out there.” Cole’s finger hooked under her chin. “It scares you. Knowing something.”

“Just as much as knowing nothing. I just started to feel like a real person.”

“Feel damn real to me.”

 

 

Welcome Julie Shelton

Hi and welcome to my blog, Julie Shelton. Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake. 

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out? 

Hi, Raine, and thanks for the warm welcome.  As I approached the end of my first novel, Loving Sarah, I realized that the finished manuscript was going to weigh 80 pounds and be 700 pages long.  So, after thinking long and hard, I decided to add even more stuff and turn it into a two-parter.  So I am currently hard at work on the sequel to Loving Sarah, entitled Owning Sarah.

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

Actually, I didn’t do anything except tell all of my Facebook friends and send emails to all my close friends and family.

What influenced you to get published? How long did it take for your first book to get published?

What influenced me to get published?  I felt that I had written a really good book, one that had the potential of providing pleasure and entertainment to a lot of people.  Plus, I figured it would be a good way to earn a little pocket change.  Siren was the first publisher I submitted it to.  Around three weeks after that, they emailed me and asked me to make a few changes (mainly, upping the heroine’s age from seventeen to eighteen at the time of an attempted rape).  I figured this was a pretty good sign, thinking if they weren’t interested in it at all, they wouldn’t have bothered to ask for the changes.  They offered to publish it less than two weeks after I submitted the revised manuscript.

Do you have a book that was easiest to write or one that was the hardest?

Loving Sarah was the hardest to write because, as I mentioned earlier, it was really two books masquerading as one.  It also started out as a straight M/F erotic romance between Sarah and Jesse, but that pesky Adam Sinclair just wouldn’t be denied.

Could you tell us a couple of favorite books that inspired you to write?

Anything by Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, Cherise Sinclair, Sophie Oak, Lisa Marie Rice, Lauren Dane, Joey W. Hill, Leah Brooke, Eden Bradley, Kristen Ashley;  the list goes on and on.  My earliest influences, years and years ago, back in the dark ages, were Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense novels and Phyllis Whitney’s gothic novels.

Is music a factor for you while you are writing? Do certain songs put you in the right frame of mind to write certain stories?

When I put music on, I put it on to listen to it, so I usually find it distracting when I write because I want to sing or hum along with it.   I love anything classical and I love light rock, especially the power ballads.  My all-time favorite is The Search is Over by Survivor.

If you could collaborate with one author who would it be?

Good grief, there’s no way I could pick just one!  Go to the list above, close your eyes and point.  I’ll go with her.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

Years ago I was watching the movie, Becket (with Richard Burton and Peter o’Toole).  In one scene there was a female character dressed in a blue gown.  Well, the minute I saw that gown, an entire Medieval romance novel sprung into my mind.  I couldn’t write it down fast enough!  I still have it—it’s on 3 x 5 index cards in two shoeboxes in my closet, just waiting to be immortalized in print.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would they tell?

That I am a terrible procrastinator, especially when I’m blocked.  Other times I’m so inspired I can’t sleep with all the thoughts swirling in my head and often forget to eat.

Other than writing, what are some of your passions in life?

Reading, listening to music, traveling and my cross-eyed cat, Lou.

What books are currently on your nightstand?
All of Cherise Sinclair’s Shadowlands books—I’m currently re-reading them.

Creed, by Kristen Ashley.  I’m almost reluctant to start it, because once I start one of her books I can’t put it down.  And if I read this one, I’ll have no new ones by her to read.  What a dilemma.

What can readers expect next from you?

Owning Sarah.  Hopefully I can submit it for publication by the end of April or May.  That, incidentally, is when Loving Sarah is scheduled to be released as a paperback.

Thanks for coming. Is there anything else you want to add? (links, news, etc)

Thanks for having me.  Loving Sarah can be purchased at www.sirenpublishing.com.  Be sure to look at my author page and check out all the fantastic reviews.

**********

Loving Sarah by Julie Shelton

Eight years ago Jesse Colter fled his small town, leaving behind eighteen-year-old Sarah Marshall.  Now a retired Navy SEAL, he’s back and he wants only one thing—Sarah Marshall—preferably bound, naked and kneeling before him.

Sarah has never forgotten Jesse.  He’s been the object of all her sexual fantasies since she was fifteen, as well as the star of nightly dreams that have become increasingly erotic over the years.  So when he suddenly reappears in her life, she warily agrees to let him introduce her to his world—the world of BDSM.  When he also introduces her to his best friend, Adam Sinclair, Sarah faces the challenge of submitting to two powerful, Dominant men.

But Sarah has an even bigger problem.  A stalker.  Someone from her past who is determined to destroy any chance she has at happiness.  Can Adam and Jesse love and protect her?  Or will her world explode in betrayal and violence that will destroy them all? 

ADULT EXCERPT

Adam manipulated her slick, swollen pussy lips, sliding them back and forth until one of the frozen red grapes popped from its dewy prison.  It sat, glistening lewdly, nestled between her sopping wet lips like some obscene sex organ.  “Do not come,” he instructed quietly, working his tongue beneath the grape and sliding it all the way up her slit.  He flicked it rapidly across her frazzled clit before pulling the small fruit into his mouth and chewing noisily.

She was gasping like a beached fish, desperately trying to hold off her climax.

“Do not come,” he repeated, squeezing another grape free and looking at it for a long moment before taking it into his mouth.  “God, you taste delicious,” he murmured, sliding his tongue back and forth along the length of her slit, just barely touching that nerve-ridden nubbin of flesh that was the center of both her pleasure and her torment.  “Like sunshine and flowers and sweet, sweet cream.”

She lay there, shuddering and twitching as he tunneled his tongue into the depths of her

cunt, releasing two more grapes and sending her body spiraling up, up, up toward the orgasm that hovered so tantalizingly out of reach.  The orgasm she so desperately craved, yet knew she must not have.  The one she fought with every trembling muscle in her body.

Adam pushed her right up to the edge.  Then stopped.

He straightened, watching her entire body shudder helplessly as yet another orgasm retreated.  He reveled in the power her submission gave him.  Power to control, to direct, to manipulate.  Power to render her helpless against her body’s own dark needs even as he drove her to the ultimate in sexual pleasure.  “You do not have permission to come,” he reminded her as, one by one, he pulled more round red globes into his mouth.  He released her pussy lips and stood up to allow Jesse to take his place.

A sob heaved from her lungs as she frantically fought her body’s brutal need to climax.

Jesse spread her labia apart with his thumbs, revealing her entire slit from her clenching ass hole at the bottom to the portal of her vagina and her clit at the very top.  Her flesh was pink and swollen and dripping with the cream of her arousal.  By now the remaining grapes were held firmly in place within her vaginal walls.  Jesse rubbed his nose along her cleft, lapping his tongue at her dripping entrance, making her shudder and squirm.  Placing his palm over her mound, he pressed down.  “Push,” he said and a grape popped out onto his tongue.

He bit into the crisp flesh and was rewarded with a burst of tart sweetness that blended with Sarah’s own unique flavor, making it the most delicious treat he’d ever eaten.  He ate all the remaining grapes, taking his time to dig each one out, finger-fucking her, building her arousal to a fever pitch.  By the time he finished the last one, she was moaning and writhing and burning with the need to come.

 

 

Welcome Helena Harker Today

Hi and welcome to my blog, Helena Harker. Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake. 

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out? 

Ellora’s Cave just released my cougar Quickie, “Art of Desire.” I also have a steampunk novella coming out with them soon. It’s called “Carnal Devices”, but I don’t have an official release date yet. My BDSM story, “The Whip-Maker” was also released recently (from Secret Cravings). So I’ve been busy lately!

 

How would you describe yourself using only five words? 

Impatient, imaginative, irritable, absent-minded, lazy (Those aren’t very good things, are they? But they’re the first words that came to mind! LOL!)

 

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? 

Watch out! Will bite when provoked.

 

Do you have any guilty pleasures? 

Chocolate. Chocolate. More chocolate. ANYTHING that is chocolate.

 

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you.

I used to take pole dancing lessons. It was fun, but really hard! I got tons of bruises from banging myself repeatedly on the pole.

 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

London, England. I lived there for 3 months, and I’d love to go back on a permanent basis.

 

How do you get yourself in the mood to write? 

I don’t need to. I just sit in front of the laptop and the ideas start to flow. Some days the ideas flow better than others, but I look at writing as a job, and I find I get a lot more done that way!

 

Can you share with us your typical writing day.  Is there anything you have to have while writing? 

I write in snatches whenever I have the time. Since I’m a teacher, I might write in the morning at work and then do my class prep in the evening. When the kids are in bed at 7, I jump on the laptop and write for about 3 hours.

 

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

Philip Pullman, PC Cast, Kristen Callihan. I love stories that deal with the paranormal and sweep me away into new worlds.

 

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

Hmmm, let’s see. Kristen Callihan’s Moonglow. I read Firelight and now I have to read Moonglow!

 

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

My erotica identity is top secret, so I don’t do anything special.

 

Do you have a favorite TV show you can’t miss? 

Dexter, The Big Bang Theory and True Blood. I am addicted to all three. Otherwise, I don’t watch much TV at all. When I quit watching TV, my writing output increased a lot!

 

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

Probably from some episodes of MythBusters, when I try to plan out these crazy stunts for my spy stories. They had a segment on how to trick a fingerprint ID lock, and I used that in one of my chapters. Lately, I also found an article online about these metal devices that men put on their penises in Victorian times to stop “nocturnal emissions.” I plan to write an M/M story about that device!

 

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would he/she tell?

Oh my, probably about the amount of research I do about how to murder people without leaving any evidence behind, about all the sex toy research I do, etc., a whole lot of stuff I don’t really want the average person to know about me.

 

“Art of Desire” blurb:

When Jenna runs into a former student she used to have a crush on, she decides to make her lusty fantasies a reality. Justin is studying Fine Arts in university, and when he asks Jenna to pose nude for a sculpture, her inner cougar tells her to go for it. But while Jenna can’t wait to teach him how to pleasure an older woman, Justin turns the tables and decides to teach her the art of patience.

“Art of Desire” excerpt:

His arctic-blue eyes met mine, and shivers of recognition danced through me.

I hadn’t seen him in a year, but it felt like only days. As gorgeous as ever, Justin arched his brows in surprise, giving me a shy smile before pouring red wine into two long-stemmed glasses.

So he worked as a bartender in a hotel restaurant. Maybe I’d ask him for a Sex on the Beach or better yet, a Screaming Orgasm. I grinned. Still eyeing his dirty-blond hair, neatly trimmed beard and square jaw—God, I’d love to trail my fingers along that jaw—I walked to the bar, swept my short ruffled skirt under me and sat down. Long, black hair fell past my shoulders. I tucked a few strands behind my ear, glad I’d taken extra time this morning to apply Bold Bordeaux, my favorite shade of lipstick, and matching eye shadow.

Hey, scrumptious, I wanted to say, but opted for a more acceptable, “Hi, Justin, how have you been?” My teeth snagged on my lower lip, and butterflies came alive in my stomach. Why the hell was I this nervous?

Because he’s half your age, my conscience snapped. And in case you’ve forgotten, he’s your student.

Former student, my inner cougar growled back. He graduated last June, remember?

“Hi, Mrs. Fall—”

“Jenna!” I corrected him. No need for formalities, especially since they reminded me of my age. “I’m not your teacher anymore.”

“Jenna,” he said slowly, savoring every syllable as it rolled off his tongue. He returned the bottle to its shelf and offered me the wine list. “Great to see you. I’m going to the University of Montreal now. I started a massage therapy program last summer, but I quit. Needed something more intellectually stimulating.”

Oh I could stimulate you in all kinds of ways, the cougar inside me purred.

In my media class, he’d always made insightful comments about current events, and he eagerly dissected social issues. University suited him better than massage school. Although massage school had its perks. I pictured myself lying on a table, a towel draped over me from the waist down, Justin’s oiled palms sliding down my back, and then creeping under the towel, reaching all the way to my ass. In long, firm strokes, his hands glided upward, along my spine, past my shoulders, his thumbs working at the muscles, melting the tension at the base of my neck. Another smooth descent, his touch making me wet, his index finger slipping into my crack, still lower, until it dipped into my moist folds. My definition of bliss.

The waitress whisked the wineglasses off the bar. Except for two other women chatting away in cozy armchairs by the window, the place was empty. Good. We had privacy.

“The Whip-Maker” blurb:

Bad-ass Bella is always on the defensive and sick of being burned by guys who run out on her after a month. When she’s given a Psychology assignment on the connection between pleasure and pain, she ends up doing research at Sextravaganza, smack in the middle of the BDSM section. She meets Darius, a sexy whip-maker who’s more than willing to give her a practicum on pain. Yet Darius has an unexpected soft side, and his particular method of inflicting pain produces highly unexpected—and highly pleasurable—results. He knows a bit about psychology himself, and he’s determined to convince Bella to let down her guard and let him into her life.

Welcome M.R. Gott today

  Hi and welcome to my blog, M.R. Gott. Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake.  So tell us a little about yourself.

First, Please tell Zeke to bring me your darkest porter and Jake to follow it up with a stout.  I am a recently published novelist.  My goal in writing is to elicit a reaction from my audience and leave them with an experience that is not soon forgotten.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out? 

My first novel Where the Dead Fear to Tread was recently released from Untreed Publishing.  It is the first in what became a trilogy that I am referring to as the Legacy of the Devourer.  The second two books are completely drafted.  The tentative title for the sequel is Where the Damned Fear Redemption.

How would you describe yourself using only five words? 

I am an evolved fatalist.

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? 

I write horror tales with the intent to make you squirm, and elicit fear as a response.  Marc Nocerino, of She Never Slept called my novel, Where the Dead Fear to Tread “frantic, horrific, brutal, and without doubt the darkest thing I have read in years. Maybe in my life. Noir doesn’t even come close to describing it, not even in the most literal translation of noir as Black. This book is darker than black, it is the color of the void at the center of a singularity. Where The Dead Fear To Tread makes the Satanic Bible read like a light Sunday romance in comparison.”

Overall the reviews I have read share this sentiment to various degrees.  I work to develop situations that test my characters both physically and emotionally.

All authors have their favorite rejection stories.  One I would share is that a horror publisher had a short story of mine kicking around their office, for quite some time.  I kept getting cryptic emails about this editor sending the story to that editor, as though I understood their office politics.  The final email I received was that the story was just too much.  The final editor told me they were physically shaking as they read it.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? 

All pleasures are guilty.  The most decadent for myself would probably be ice cream cake while watching obscene cartoons such as Venture Bros, and American Dad.

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you. 

Despite the graphic violence in my work, I abhor the all too common violence in the world around us.  As a bit of a news junkie (better than smack) I am constantly appalled not only by acts of physical aggression but the usage of words used only to harm and defame.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

This may be a copout but I would say it’s not where you are, but who you are surrounded by.  Though if there is too much snow I may just abandon you.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write? 

I need to have enough physical energy to focus, but not so much that I can’t sit still.  Ideally I like to write after exercising.  My senses feel sharp and I am still running off my endorphin high.

Can you share with us your typical writing day.  Is there anything you have to have while writing? 

Coffee, and music.  I cannot abide silence.  My mind cannot be turned off, so I need music in the background.  Coffee doesn’t give me the buzz it gives others, it actually helps me focus.

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

So many, and it is an eclectic list.  I have learned to appreciate various authors, not for who I wish they were but who they are.  Clive Barker and Raymond Chandler would come to the top for me as well as Ian McEwan and Phillip Roth.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously,Dude,Don’t Touch It by David Wong.  John Dies at the End blew me away, so the sequel has my attention.

 

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

I ordered a coffee mug with my cover art on it.

Do you have a favorite TV show you can’t miss? 

I have been watching the Simpsons for two decades and will probably have a difficult time adjusting whenever it is cancelled.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why-no it doesn’t have to be from your books?

Judy from Edward Lee’s The Golem.  She is attracted to nerds, plays video games passionately and likes to walk around the house naked.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

I draw constantly from the world I see around me.  Sometimes it is the look of a person, or a sentence fragment I hear from them.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would he/she tell?

He/she would probably expose the dark cynical nature of my work stems from an inability to truly comprehend the dark, vile despicable way humankind treats itself.

____________________________________________________________________________

Teaser of Where Dead Fear to Tread by M.R. Gott

Untreed Publishing

Horror,  Mystery, Contemporary

Buy at  http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_205&products_id=205

A police officer and a serial killer search separately for a missing child while running a malevolent labyrinth populated by creatures they never knew existed.

Former prosecutor William Chandler, disgusted with his past inaction, spills the blood of those who victimize children to correct the ills he sees in the world. A self-admitted serial killer and uncomfortable with his actions, Chandler attends the funerals of those whose lives he has taken in an effort to retain a true understanding of the nature of violence.

The carnage left in his wake is investigated by Detective Kate Broadband, who becomes progressively more comfortable with the corpses left by Chandler. Envying the power she sees in him, she pursues Chandler as each search for Maria Verde, a missing eight-year-old girl.

As Chandler and Broadband draw closer to discovering what happened to Maria they are forced to confront The Devourer, an unnatural being trafficking in stolen children.

Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a tale of hard-boiled macabre, bridging numerous genres to reveal a story of horror, crime and revenge.

Excerpt:

William Chandler knows the outcome of the situation is fixed. He sits in a restaurant dubbed “The Mighty Hammer” in a building inhabited by some of the worst this city has bred. The restaurant is closed but five men remain and William sits down at a table to negotiate with them. He’s never met any of them yet he recognizes them, he knows what they are. Their names are not important, he knows their past and that means he knows their futures. The unknown yet familiar men have frisked William and taken his large duffel bag full of children’s clothes at the door, but they have not examined it. They all wear expensive clothes in an effort to appear more important than they are and each man slouches, jacket hanging open, displaying a shoulder holster and the eight pound piece of metal that gives him a sense of security. The visible weapons give William a sense of security as well, because he believes a man with a hidden weapon is more dangerous than a man using one as a decoration.

They want William to see their guns, to be intimidated by them. In the darkened dining area the weapons catch and reflect what little light there is and are illuminated in the shadows. William does not in any way match his companions at the table. He is wearing a simple white shirt tucked into black pants and the top button of his shirt is open, allowing his powerful neck room to breathe. William’s elbows rest on the table and his fingers are interlocked, fidgeting with his wedding band. His fingertips caress the metal band as he decides, step by step, each action he will take to achieve the outcome he is committed to.

The men around him have their hair greased and slicked back. William has shaved both his face and skull that morning, as always. None of the five men mention the scar that begins under William’s left eye and works its way around his ear, down the back of his neck and beneath his shirt collar.

Staring at the glass of whiskey before him, William ignores the noise his hosts make. The five men are explaining why he should pay such a high price per “unit.” Men such as these, devoid of a true education, tend to create their own language in order to make what they do seem more important. William hears only fragments of their conversation.

“…collecting locally…”

“…96 month old female…”

“…recently acquired shipment.”

“…may be young but knows enough to moan while you’re inside ’em.”

Two of the men sit on either side of William, sandwiching him in a further attempt to make him feel vulnerable, while the three on the opposite side of the table continue their sales pitch. Their words are worthless. William has already made all the decisions he is going to make tonight. He will not be persuaded or deterred by the likes of such men. The man to William’s left puts his still lit cigar in the ashtray, unaware that he will be the catalyst of what is coming. William closes his eyes, breathing in deeply, filling his lungs before he opens his eyes. He slowly releases his breath, fully aware of his body.

Reaching for a bottle of whiskey at the table’s center, William deliberately spills the contents and curses for effect. The men beside him both scoot back, raising their hands to avoid the spill. The contents of the bottle flow across the table. William apologizes as he reaches with his napkin to control the mess, and knocks the ashtray over. The napkin is lit from the burning embers of the stoked cigar. William drops the burning napkin into the whiskey and a flame erupts from the center of the table.

All five men instantly move back, shielding their eyes from the sudden flames. William reaches into the exposed jacket of the surprised man on his left and grabs his pistol with his right hand. As he drags the barrel across that man’s neck he fires. The force knocks the man out of his chair and the bullet removes a quarter of his neck from his body. Blood pours onto the flaming table as the corpse falls backward and onto the floor.

William swings the revolver toward the man on his right while watching the men across the table. Without taking his eyes off them William fires into the temple of the man beside him, shattering his skull and erasing his existence. The smell of burnt blood fills the air as the flames leap higher and cast flickering shadows across the chaos.

The second man’s remains drop and so does William as the three men across from him draw their weapons. Their guns erupt, bullets flying across the table through the growing flames, aimed towards where William no longer sits. Crouching beneath the table now, William systematically fires three rounds, catching each man in the stomach. Bile and digestive acids spill into their bodies and their guts split and burn from within. The three men clutch their stomachs in agony.

The revolver William holds contains only a single round and he needs more ammunition. Reaching toward the second corpse, he finds and removes an automatic pistol. With a pistol in each hand, William stays crouched under the table as the three wounded men fight their pain and attempt to locate their assailant. The trio curses each other, themselves and William, especially William, the stranger that has so unexpectedly turned them into victims. They speak in a butchered language of broken dreams, as their time draws to an end.

Their hollow threats calm them while betraying their location. William rises deliberately with a gun in each hand, one aimed at the man on the left, the other on the man on the right. Both weapons fire simultaneously, catching their respective targets in the face and silencing their curses.

William drops the revolver and aims the automatic at the remaining man, then extinguishes him as swiftly as he did the four others. The evening’s last shot echoes. Surrounded by the bloodshed he has created, William feels neither accomplishment nor guilt. To him this is simply the inevitable conclusion to a violent life. William stares for a moment into the growing flame, his heart slowing against his heaving chest.

He crouches, frisking the corpse he took the automatic pistol from. William removes a spare clip from the holster he finds on the body, ejects the used magazine and replaces it with eight new rounds. With the chambered round he has nine bullets. His hand, holding the warm weapon, drops to his side as he surveys the burning restaurant.

 

My muse is a demanding slave driver

So I am sitting at the laundromat tonight, watching reruns of Numb3rs TV show and just vegging when my muse taps me on the shoulder going…here you need to write this book…I mean NOW!

Did I ever say my muse is one demanding bugger? *grumbles*

So I am sitting here and finally to shut the poor thing up *oh my aching head), I wrote down over 1000 words tonight on this untitled story. It is a paranormal M/M and it is centered on magic, fated or destined mates and seven years….here is the book synopsis (may change once I really get into it) and I am still working on a title and tagline for it but I am really charged on this one. I love it when a story just grabs you by the throat and yells “WRITE ME!”

Untitled work in progress story (working title-Magic & Mayhem)

Mac Fitzgerald waited the past seven years for his fated mate to come to him. He felt that tingle when he was sure his mate would come claim him and his magic would awaken finally. But on that fateful day seven years ago, he hasn’t felt that tingle of magic, hasn’t had the erotic dreams of his mysterious mate and has just about given up hope of ever being claimed by him.

Until now, seven years later…now his skin is tingling again, his magic is waking up and his dreams are as erotic as ever. Mac is determined to not let his hope soar until he is claimed-heart, body and soul-by his mate. But will he be forgiving when he finally finds out who his mate is and why he didn’t claim him years before?

I hope you like the premise and I hope to have more news on this one after I get these two deadlines out of the way!

 

 

Welcome Amber Skyze today

Hi and welcome to my blog, Amber Skyze.  Please make yourself at home and grab a drink from my hunky cabana boys, Zeke and Jake.  Thanks so much for having me here today, Raine.

So tell us a little about yourself. First of all I’m a mother, wife and writer. I’m forced to work a dreaded day job.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?  My newest release is a M/M. Grant the main hero is a detective and he’s on the hunt for a serial killer. He’s also battling the repercussions of coming out at work.

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? Warning – will love you endlessly unless you cross me and then you better sleep with one eye open.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? Yes, Butterfingers and licorice

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you. I’m a survivor of domestic abuse.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? California.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write? If I waited for the mood to strike me I’d never write. LOL

Can you share with us your typical writing day.  Is there anything you have to have while writing? I get up before the family and I try to get an hour of writing in. I try again when the baby goes down her for first nap.

Who are some of your favorite authors? I’m a huge Maya Banks fan, I enjoy all of Jayne Rylon’s books and my new writing partner Katalina Leon. I feel blessed to be writing with such an extraordinary writer.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for? Oh man, my Kindle is full of books.

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? I used to buy myself a new CD or the hubby would take me out to dinner. Now I’m just boring and don’t really do anything.

Do you have a favorite TV show you can’t miss? I’m currently addicted to Chicago Fire.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why-no it doesn’t have to be from your books? I’d date Nathan Donovan from Splashing Good Time my first EC book. I wrote the book about a guy I once knew.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had? Hmmm, nothing yet.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would he/she tell? She’s a procrastinator!!!!

Thanks for coming. Is there anything else you want to add? 

Thanks so much for allowing me to be here today!

**********

 

Out to Protect by Amber Skyze

Loose Id

Suspense M/M

http://www.loose-id.com/out-to-protect.html

Blurb:

Someone is killing prostitutes and Grant Wesson has been assigned to find out who the killer is. Problem is he just came out to his best friend and partner. Ralph didn’t take it so well, so Grant’s been reassigned to the new kid on the block, Parker Townsend.

Parker is young, sexy and very much in the closet. Grant fights the growing attraction he’s feeling for his new partner, until Parker changes things up. He wants to break the rules and have sex with his new partner.

Against his better judgment, Grant agrees. It’s the hottest sex either of them has ever had, but it’s a distraction. The killer has Grant in his sights. Parker promises to protect him, but it’s his heart that needs protecting.

Excerpt:

“I’ve got to be a fucking fool.” He dragged his fingers through his hair, knowing the gelled look was ruined.

“Fool for what?”

Grant spun around, surprised to see Ralph behind him. He hadn’t heard him enter the room. How long had he been standing there? Had he said anything that would reveal what he was about to confess? The air grew heavy; the walls seemed to draw closer. Grant felt a panic attack coming on.

He walked over to the table and took a seat.

“You don’t look so good, partner. Are you sick?”

Was he sick? Possibly.

“Is it hot in here?”

Ralph shrugged. “The air seems to be working.”

Grant struggled to breathe. He slowly took a deep breath.

“Do you need me to call medical? You don’t look so hot. You’re white as a ghost.”

Somehow Grant felt that was an understatement. He felt physically ill. Nausea rolled in his stomach, threatening to charge up and out his mouth.

“I’ll be okay in a minute.” He needed water. “Just give me a sec.”

“Sure.” Ralph took a seat and tapped his hands on the table.

Grant shook his head. Ralph was always a restless person. He tapped his hands on his legs or on the dashboard if he wasn’t driving. It surprised Grant that Ralph wasn’t a beat officer. Walking the streets would give him the opportunity to get the excess energy out.

After a few deep breaths, his nerves started to subside. He had to get this off his chest and tell Ralph the truth. In the end he prayed it would be all right. They were not only partners; they were friends.

Grant slapped the table louder than he expected.

Ralph jumped.

“Shit, if you wanted my attention, you could’ve cleared your throat or something,” Ralph said.

“Sorry.”

“Now you have my full attention. What’s this meeting all about?”

The time had arrived. Grant had dreaded this moment for the last ten years but knew he couldn’t keep the information from his partner another day.

Here goes nothing.

“I’m gay,” Grant said.

“Ha-ha. What, am I being punked or something?” Ralph looked around the room as if he expected a camera crew to pop out of the corners.

He looked at Ralph, the guy who had protected him many times over the last ten years. The image of Ralph standing over him while he bled from a gunshot wound came to the forefront. Ralph had given him words of encouragement while holding the bleeding wound on Grant’s leg. Ralph had kept Grant calm through the pain, and damn it had been painful. That was the first time he’d been shot. Grant had had a few superficial wounds over the years. Par for the course when one was a police officer. Ralph, on the other hand, had always been the lucky one. He’d never experienced what it felt like to be shot.

Ralph stared at Grant. “What the fuck? Where are the cameras?”

“You’re not being punked. I’m being serious, Ralph.”

“What are you fucking talking about? Are you saying you’ve just discovered you’re gay? ’Cause if that’s what you’re trying to tell me, you’re fucking wrong. I’ve known you all these years, and you ain’t queer.”