Kletch1
I'll email you soon for your shipping details. Congrats and happy reading!
Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts
Winner of The Valentine's Day Giveaway!
Kletch1
I'll email you soon for your shipping details. Congrats and happy reading!
Happy Valentine's Day Romance Lovers!
Check out this post here on the blog and comment with why you love to read romances and you'll be entered into the 1st contest.
Head over to my shiny new Facebook Page and enter to win 2 Free Books of your genre choice by commenting on my V-Day wall post.
Lastly, I'll be doing random Twitter Contests througout the day so follow me there!
Win Free Books In The Cheeky Reads Valentine's Day Giveaway!
The First giveaway is right here on the blog and will run until Feb. 14th. Comment below telling me why you love Romance Books and you'll be entered to win. Please include your email address so I can contact the winner.
I'll pick the top 2 comments to each win a book from my personal selection - the romance genre of your choice! If we managed to get over 50 entries, I'll pick the top 3 comments to win! Over 100 and I'll pick 5 winners and up the winnings to 2 books each.
Contest open to US and Canada Addresses only. Blog winners will be announced Feb. 15th.
FREE Holiday Tale From Kieran Kramer
Here's the link to her blog where the story is posted. It's not very long and short, fun read!
*Image used from Kieran Kramer's website
Want to Win a Romantic New Year's Eve Weekend Getaway?
Here are some details from the Turnberry Isle Resort representative:
The winner of THE MOMENT receives a romantic New Year’s Eve package at the resort, valued at $1400. The package includes a two night stay, two tickets to Turnberry’s black-tie New Year’s Eve masquerade ball (hello little black dress!), and brunch for two at the Cascata Grille.
To enter, contestants would visit Turnberry Isle Resort’s Facebook contest tab (https://www.facebook.com/
The contest will be open until December 23rd.
I did go and check out the facebook contest for myself and also the resort and it really does look like an awesome place to have a romantic weekend for New Years! Living in Florida myself, this sounds exactly like how I'd like to spend New Years. If you can get yourself down to Florida or live here already, then don't wait - go enter on that facebook page!
Welcome Authors Ros Clarke & Faye Robertson & Enter To Win 2 Holiday Romances!
Entangled Publishing is pleased to offer new imprints, Flirts and Ever Afters. All I Want for Christmas (So nice of Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber to do the promo single for this title), by Ros Clarke, and Holly’s First Noel, by Faye Robertson, are paving the way for these two lines. We hope you enjoy our holiday gifts to you with these Christmas novellas. Flirts are priced at just .99 cents and enjoy Ever Afters for only $2.99.
About All I Want for Christmas:
Except, Hugh doesn’t know the office party is the only night of the year his friend lets her hair down. That every hour she’s away from the office is spent caring for her sickly mother. That her mother’s condition, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, is hereditary.
W hen Hugh finds out what she’s been hiding, he’s forced to do some serious soul-searching. It’s not fair to Anna or her mother for him to get involved casually, but casual relationships are all he knows. Can he prove to himself—and to Anna—that she’s all he wants for Christmas?
Meet Faye Robertson:
Faye Robertson lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. She also writes romance under the name Serenity Woods.
Meet the authors behind the Christmas magic…
Meet Ros Clarke:
This year, I have two jobs which means two office Christmas parties. Two Secret Santa presents bought (must remember to wrap them up). Two menus to choose from. Two outfits to select. Two opportunities to embarrass myself in front of my work colleagues.Fortunately, I have never embarrassed myself as much as the heroine of my Christmas novella, Anna Gardner. The office party is the one night in the year when she lets her hair down, with alarmingly predictable consequences. One too many glasses of punch and Anna always ends up at the karaoke machine. Anna has a great repertoire of Christmas classics, including Mariah Carey's hit (reprised this year with Justin Bieber!), "All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Have you seen this fun version featuring the crew of a Royal Navy warship as they come home after eight months of deployment? So much better than the Bieber version!
Last night, Anna Gardner was the life of the office Christmas party—right up until she threw herself at gorgeous advertising executive playboy, Hugh Munro. Again. Last year, Hugh let her pretend their passionate kiss never happened, but this year he’s determined to make Anna admit she wants him as much as he wants her.
About Ros:
Ros Clarke is a writer, a student, a church worker, a crafter, a blogger, a twitterer, a lazy gardener, and an appalling housekeeper. She is interested in almost everything except cricket and football (US and UK) and mostly she likes happy endings in fiction and in real life.You can find Ros at her website and follow her on Twitter!
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Coming up with a catchy title for a book is never easy, and the title for this one went through several incarnations before we settled on the final choice. I wanted something Christmas related, and liked the idea of echoing a carol. I considered setting the story in a hospital so I could call it Holly and the I.V. Actually my first idea was to echo a line in the book where Holly comments on the amount of snow that will fall overnight, but my editor assured me “Six Inches by Morning” was more of an erotica title. Likewise, I steered clear of anything to do with the North Pole and O Come all ye Faithful, not wanting to give the wrong impression.
But eventually we settled on Holly’s First Noel, and even though a dear friend has asked, “Does that mean she’s going to have a second one when she’s finished with him?” I think the title suits the story very well. It’s a sweet and sexy tale with, I hope, an uplifting emotional message—that the magic of Christmas isn’t to be found by making a traditional dinner and creating a perfect day, but that—without being too mushy—it’s what’s in your heart that counts, and love can turn any day into a celebration. 
About Holly’s First Noel:
Music teacher Holly Jones is in a festive predicament. Her boyfriend just dumped her the week before Christmas, so why is she only depressed he made off with the mince pies? When the charming science teacher next door overhears the dreaded call and suggests she accompany him on his Scottish holiday retreat, she accepts, eager to spend a quiet week rediscovering herself.Noel Coward’s wife died on Christmas Eve three years ago. To bury the memories of that day, he spends the holidays getting drunk and watching action movies—which makes him perfect company for a fellow teacher in need of solitude. Except, instead of wallowing in his grief, Noel finds himself comforted by Holly’s presence, fascinated by her mind, and after one innocent kiss, on fire for her touch. As the snow piles up outside, the temperature inside soars, while together, they discover the human heart’s amazing capacity to heal…and love.
About Faye:Faye Robertson lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. She also writes romance under the name Serenity Woods.
So tell us, what's your favorite Christmas carol and why? Leave a comment and be entered to win an ebook of both of these awesome holiday stories!
Contest is open internationally! The contest ends at 11:59 on 12/18 and a winner will be announced 12/19 so you'll have plenty of time to read these stories while you're still in the holiday spirit!
It's The Loveswept Holiday Hop Giveaway!
Good Luck & Happy Holidays to all!
INCREASE your chances to win by visiting all of the participating 'Loveswept - Holiday Hop' sites!
Winners will be contacted after 1/10/12. US Only.
LIVE CHAT & GIVEAWAY TODAY
Mystery Author Rhys Bowen
ON FACEBOOK
8:30 pm East Coast --- 5:30 pm West Coast
Join Best Selling Author Rhys Bowen on her FaceBook Page where she will be discussing how she approaches writing a Mystery Novel and creating a strong Heroine in a Series. Come and leave your questions on her wall and she will respond live to all questions, or as many as she can.If you can not make the Chat and Giveaway live make sure to drop in afterward and check out the discussion anytime. One lucky commenter between now and Sunday will win a copy of Royal Blood, A Royal Spyness Mystery. Comment on Fan Rhys's FaceBook Page between now and November 15th and be entered to win the newest book in the Royal Spyness Series, Naughty in Nice.
Find out more about Rhys Bowen Online
FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY:
Royal Blood By Rhys Bowen
(A Royal Spyness Mystery #4)
Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre-looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it’s up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple’s vows become “to love and to cherish, till ‘undeath’ do them part...”
Amazon Kindle* Paperback * Audio
About Rhys Bowen
Rhys Bowen is the Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. Awarded the Agatha Best Novel Award and nominated for the Edgar Best Novel Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.
Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series, the Molly Murphy novels, about an Irish immigrant in 1900s New York City and the lighter Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s Britain. Her books made bestseller lists, garnered many awards, nominations, and starred reviews.
WINNERS!
New Release & Giveaway! Cat O'Nine Tails by Patricia Leever
New Book Release: Cat O'Nine Tails
By: Patricia Leever
Historical Romance
Omnific Publishing
When pirate hunter Orrin and his brother Kale are hired by Queen Winifred to hunt down Aeron and her band of miscreants, Orrin never dreamed he’d fall in love with the beautiful she-pirate nor the kind, accepting people of her island hideaway. As Orrin learns of Aeron’s jaded past with the Queen, he allies himself with the pirate captain and her crew. Joining forces on the high seas to bring Winifred’s evil reign to an end, Aeron and Orrin soon discover that the strongest weapon in their combined arsenal is the love they have for each other.
Check out the Book Trailer:
Check out the latest review at a Tale of Many Reviews.
There's a fun interview with some of the characters over at Readaholics Anoynomous.
GIVEAWAY at Kelsey's Book Corner & review here.
Finally, I'm doing an ebook giveway of Cat O'Nine Tails too! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment letting us know who your favorite pirate is or if you'd like to have sailed the high seas yourself! Open Internationally. I'll randomly draw a winner on Friday the 14th. Happy Reading!
TGIF Giveaway Winners!
Let's get right to it....
The winners from the Cheeky Reads TGIF Giveaway are:
The Perfect Mistress AudioBook goes to Danielle!
The Billionaire's Unexpected Heir goes to PamS!
Touch of Darkness goes to Linda!
Amazon Ink goes to Barbara E!
I'll be emailing all of you soon to get your mailing details. No one selected Feelin The Vibe in the giveway so anyone who wants that just let me know!
Congrats and Happy Reading! Cheeky Girl Sabrina
The winners from the Cheeky Reads TGIF Giveaway are:
The Perfect Mistress AudioBook goes to Danielle!
The Billionaire's Unexpected Heir goes to PamS!
Touch of Darkness goes to Linda!
Amazon Ink goes to Barbara E!
I'll be emailing all of you soon to get your mailing details. No one selected Feelin The Vibe in the giveway so anyone who wants that just let me know!
Congrats and Happy Reading! Cheeky Girl Sabrina
TGIF! Let's Party With Some Book & AudioBook Giveaways!
I haven't done a giveaway in way to long plus I need to clean out some of my guest room, so I thought I'd start putting some books up for lucky readers to win! Some of these are older titles, but the books are in new condition. Look for more giveaways soon.
What's up for grabs this time around? Take a look below and then leave me a comment with which book you'd love to win. I'll pick winners early next week and post.
What's up for grabs this time around? Take a look below and then leave me a comment with which book you'd love to win. I'll pick winners early next week and post.
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| Feeling The Vibe By Candice Dow |
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| The Billionaire's Unexpected Heir by Kathie Denosky |
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| Amazon Ink by Lori Devoti |
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| Touch of Darkness by CT Adams & Cathy Clamp |
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| AudioBook of The Perfect Mistress by Victoria Alexander (Unopened) |
CONTEST ALERT! Susan Mallery Giving Away A TON of Goodies
Enter the Summer Love Giveaway From Susan Mallery
One of my favorite authors Susan Mallery is giving readers a chance to win a Kindle with wifi plus 3G, a $50 gift card from Amazon.com, plus 25 paperback romances from some of your favorite authors!
Check out her contest page here for all the details and to some of the books you could win! It's a fantastic giveaway that I couldn't help sharing.
Happy Reading & Good Luck!
Cheeky Reads
Check out her contest page here for all the details and to some of the books you could win! It's a fantastic giveaway that I couldn't help sharing.
Happy Reading & Good Luck!
Cheeky Reads
WINNERS! COME CLAIM YOUR BOOKS!
Sorry I'm a day behind posting, but here are the winners of my recent giveaways:
The winner of my ARC copy of Demons Prefer Blondes by Sidney Ayers for a 2nd Chance Reader Review here at Cheeky Reads is:
Comment #2 - JenM!
The winner of an eBook copy of Whirldwind by Robyn DeJarnett is:
Comment #4 - Karen!
Congrats Ladies! I'll send you an email with details on your prizes.
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Reads
Comment #2 - JenM!
The winner of an eBook copy of Whirldwind by Robyn DeJarnett is: Comment #4 - Karen!
Congrats Ladies! I'll send you an email with details on your prizes.
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Reads
Win A Sony Pocket Reader or Other Awesome Goodies From Author Maureen O. Betita!
My kick-ass author friend Maureen O. Betita is hosting a pretty cool contest and giveaway right now so I wanted to share it with you. Here are the details, but make sure to visit Maureen's site or a site she is visiting to leave your comments for entry. Here's the direct link to her site to enter!
From Maureen:
Between the electronic edition of The Kraken’s Mirror and the print edition of The Kraken’s Mirror…my kraken disappeared. Now, he’s a responsible beast and I choose to believe he has a reason and a place he was driven to go… (Yes, there was a reason and it wasn’t on purpose…these things happen.)
I’m making the most of a sad situation and having a CONTEST! What am I giving away? 1st prize is a Sony Pocket Reader! 2nd prize is A kick-ass kraken parasol and…a 3rd prize is a Betsy Johnson ‘kraken’ ring! When does the contest run? From May 1st to May 31st! So… Where did the Kraken go?
Here are the options: Where did the Kraken go?
1.) He’s in Scotland, wooing Nessie
2) He’s outside the Mines of Moria at Gandalf’s request, fighting off the menace in the waters
3) Sharing rum with the monster in the lake at Hogwarts
4) ? Your idea?
How to enter the contest?
1) Comment on my blog at www.maureenobetita.com and pick an option, or create your own.
2) Friend my author page on Facebook, Maureen O. Betita Author and leave a comment, telling me which option you’ve picked, or where you think the Kraken went.
3) Find me on any blog I guest at during the month of May and tell me your option. (Be sure to leave an e-mail address in the comment section.)
I’ll award the three biggies on the 31st…during the month I’ll give away smaller prizes…free books, pirate perch hats and kraken jewelry. Amuse me with clever ideas and you might win something!
From Maureen:
Between the electronic edition of The Kraken’s Mirror and the print edition of The Kraken’s Mirror…my kraken disappeared. Now, he’s a responsible beast and I choose to believe he has a reason and a place he was driven to go… (Yes, there was a reason and it wasn’t on purpose…these things happen.)
I’m making the most of a sad situation and having a CONTEST! What am I giving away? 1st prize is a Sony Pocket Reader! 2nd prize is A kick-ass kraken parasol and…a 3rd prize is a Betsy Johnson ‘kraken’ ring! When does the contest run? From May 1st to May 31st! So… Where did the Kraken go?
Here are the options: Where did the Kraken go?
1.) He’s in Scotland, wooing Nessie
2) He’s outside the Mines of Moria at Gandalf’s request, fighting off the menace in the waters
3) Sharing rum with the monster in the lake at Hogwarts
4) ? Your idea?
How to enter the contest?
1) Comment on my blog at www.maureenobetita.com and pick an option, or create your own.
2) Friend my author page on Facebook, Maureen O. Betita Author and leave a comment, telling me which option you’ve picked, or where you think the Kraken went.
3) Find me on any blog I guest at during the month of May and tell me your option. (Be sure to leave an e-mail address in the comment section.)
I’ll award the three biggies on the 31st…during the month I’ll give away smaller prizes…free books, pirate perch hats and kraken jewelry. Amuse me with clever ideas and you might win something!
Guest Author Maureen O. Betita On The Hotness That Is SciFi! Comment To Win!
Maureen is a wonderful friend who has done so much for me and I have to say that I totally agree with with her - SciFi HAS always been hot! *Waving my SciFi Geek Flag high!*
SciFi Has Always Been Hot by Maureen O. Betita
Yup, it is my premise that science fiction as always been hot. Yes, it is also a very nerd oriented genre. People think that it’s all Leonard, Sheldon and Howard from The Big Bang Theory. And yes, sometimes it is.
But not always.
Science Fiction is a brainy genre, at its best. It’s technical and full of wonderful ideas and speculation about what could be someday. Arthur C. Clarke wrote about satellites before there were satellites. Asimov came up with the three laws of robotics – an idea that is likely to be part of artificial intelligence as it develops.
Tachyon emissions, anyone? One of my favorite examples of a bit of fiction that is misused. (There is no such thing as tachyon emissions. So, yes, there are idiot examples that somehow end up in the real world.)
There were a few programs on last year about the science of Star Trek. The science of Star Wars…and how much of it was real or how it had pushed scientists to work on innovation based on these bits of science fiction.
So, why not some hot science fiction? Kirk got the babes. Mr. Spock got his fair share. So did McCoy. I’ve taken it a bit further in my two new shorts from Decadent Publishing. Humans on alien worlds, dealing with aliens, dealing with how aliens influence them… Fun stuff.
Jahari’s world is patriarchal, viewing woman as next to worthless. Unless they are beautiful. Her little sister is beautiful and in order to save her sister from a life of exploitation, Jahari turns herself over to the alien race in trade for her sister’s safety. Her adventures begin seven years later, when she is plying her trade on a new world. What is her trade? She is a fully trained and extremely valuable Etwan High Slut, a trade she is suited for, enjoys and takes great pride in.
The second novella is The Sister’s Story/ Sari’s Search. Little sister has grown up and wants to know about her past, where she came from, who the girl is she barely remembers. Her search takes her to Jahari’s world but before then, she faces frightening adventures, along with passionate episodes with the two young men helping her.I was raised with the gods of science fiction holding a place of honor. Of course I grew up and found myself wanting to include it in my writing.
You can find me at www.maureenobetita.com
www.romancewritersrevenge.com
http://believinginsecondchances.typepad.com/2nd-chances/
Buy Link for all of Maureen's Books Here
What about you, do you think SciFi is hot? What's your favorite SciFi book or movie and why? Comment below for a chance to win the ebook of The Ship's Mistress!
Win a Kindle 3 WiFi Edition From Moira Rogers!
Moira Rogers is holding an awesome contest for readers to win a brand new Kindle WiFi Edition to celebrate the release of Wilder's Mate, the first story in their new Bloodhounds series. Check out the story details here and just comment to enter to win the Kindle! (See complete details below)
Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.
Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication–keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.
At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn.
As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save.
Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.
Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication–keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.
At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn.
As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save.
Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.
Want to win a brand new Wi-Fi Kindle 3? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and you can have your chance! For more chances to win, visit the main contest page. Every participating blog you visit gives you another chance to win!
This post is part of Moira Rogers’ Wild Web Adventure Promo. For full rules and disclaimers, or to hold your own kindle contest, visit the contest post. Winners will be chosen during the first week of April.http://www.moirarogers.com/blog/archives/3473
Welcome Author Laurie London & Enter to Win Bonded By Blood!
First, here's the blurb for Bonded by Blood build your appetite:
Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, two vampire coalitions battle for supremacy—Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.
Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she’s cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.
For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her…
The Sweetblood world follows a team of Seattle-based vampire warriors, Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity against Darkbloods, a rogue vampire faction that kills humans and sells their blood on the vampire black market. The rarest blood type, called Sweet, commands the highest street price and is highly addictive to vampires.
Bonded By Blood is the story of Dominic Serrano, head of the Seattle field team, and Mackenzie Foster-Shaw, a sweetblood human who works as a movie location scout, which takes her into some pretty unusual places.
The seed for the story started when my sister and I saw Fright Night eight times in a row as teenagers. I had a mad crush on Chris Sarandon’s vampire character—he was dark, mysterious and seductive—but I always wished he hadn’t turned into such a monster.
Dom is bad too...but in all the right ways.
Characters really make a story for me. What 3 words best describe your hero? What about your heroine?
I’m the same way with characters. If I love them (their faults and baggage too), everything they do is interesting to me. Three words? Okay, this is hard.
Dom: mysterious, burdened, driven
Mackenzie: pragmatic, spunky, devoted
What was your favorite part of writing this book and creating this world?
It’s difficult to single out just one part because I enjoyed the whole process. I set out to write the kind of story I enjoy reading with characters and conflicts that were compelling to me.
You have the second book in the series coming out this summer and more books planned after that. What can we look forward to in the next book?
Embraced By Blood comes out in July and is the story of Lily and Alfonso. Lily works with Dom as a highly skilled tracker with the Agency. Alfonso is Dom’s estranged brother who worked undercover for years in the Darkblood Alliance. He’s haunted and tormented by some awful things he did in his past. Talk about baggage. His growth through the story is pretty intense—I can’t wait for readers to meet him.
Also, I’m so thrilled that books 3 and 4 will be coming out next year and an e-novella, Hidden By Blood, will be coming out in June—just a few months from now.
Have you read any great books lately?
I loved The Bodyguard, an anthology with short stories by Cherry Adair, Gena Showalter and Lorie O’Clare.
A recent novel that blew me away was The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The prose was achingly beautiful, and the story and characters were fascinating.
Thanks so much for having me on today!!!
Thanks Laurie!
Check out Laurie's Website here to read an excerpt of Bonded by Blood.
Enter to win an autographed copy of Bonded by Blood by telling us what 3 words would describe your ideal hero or heroine! The contest will run until noon on Friday, March 4th and is open to US and CAN residents only. The winner will be announced Friday afternoon.
Welcome Guest Author Allison Pang & Win A Brush of Darkness!
I can't recommend this book enough if you are looking for a new Urban Fantasy world to get lost in. Now, check out Allison's post and comment with an answer to Allison's question below or a ask Allison a question to enter to win a copy of A Brush of Darkness!
Welcome Allison!
Keystones
Mystic groves, haunted houses, magic wells – even in the real world there are places of sacredness that cause people to pause and wonder. (Or give them that lovely prickle down their spine.) For whatever reason , these locations pick up a reputation for having some sort of power or otherworldly presence. In A Brush of Darkness, this concept becomes the basis of something called a KeyStone.
As part of the overall world building, many of these beings (Fae, angels, etc.) like to come and go between their worlds and ours. However, I wanted to limit this a bit, so for the sake of keeping these beings under control, I set it up so that they can only cross over at the four hours – midnight, noon, twilight and dawn – unless they have a TouchStone…or access to a KeyStone.
TouchStones are mortals who enter a Contract with one of these beings, and part of that bargain allows the OtherFolk to travel whenever/wherever they want. If the OtherFolk doesn’t have one, they are usually limited to hanging out at one of these mystical places known as KeyStones. The Hallows, for example, is an OtherFolk bar that’s actually built on top of a more ancient place, but the power still holds true and the OtherFolk take advantage of that.
In some cases, humans can be living KeyStones – with the rare power of being able to TouchStone any OtherFolk person they come in contact with…without the need for a written Contract. I’d been thinking on the idea that so many talented people tend to die so young (i.e. Mozart, for example). In much of Faery lore, the Fae are drawn to that sort of thing – musicians, poets, writers, etc. I began to wonder what might happen if a particularly talented person captured the Fae’s attention and attempted to Contract to too many OtherFolk at once? Undoubtedly the effort would eventually drain them and thereby quite possibly cause their death.
In the book, the Fae actually police these Contracts through the position of a Protectorate, who oversees the written Contracts so that this doesn’t happen (since they don’t actually want that sort of attention drawn to themselves.) On the other hand, a living KeyStone would be a very precious commodity among the OtherFolk, since it would allow them to potentially abuse the system. With no written Contracts needed, a human KeyStone could find him or herself passed around between OtherFolk with very little say in the matter.
In A Brush of Darkness, Abby Sinclair eventually discovers that she is a KeyStone, although being already TouchStoned to the Faery Protectorate lends a certain amount of protection, since very few OtherFolk would want to cross the Protectorate in such a way. Of course, her situation does lend itself to a few humorous moments, particularly when Abby finds out she’s accidentally TouchStoned to a small unicorn who likes to nest in her underwear drawer.
I’d love to hear if anyone has ever run into a KeyStone of their own – a place that felt “haunted” or magical or seemed to have a presence that wasn’t particularly tangible. :)
RELEASE DAY - THE KRAKEN'S MIRROR - CONGRATS MAUREEN & ENTER TO WIN!
Huge congrats to Maureen O. Betita, a very dear friend of mine who is celebrating the release of her debut book The Kraken's Mirror! I was honored to serve as a beta-reader and think readers will really enjoy the world that Maureen has built. Here's a snippet about the book:
Captain Alan Silvestri is a man haunted by a strange curse. Good luck is his to command, but it comes at the cost of any place to call home or people to reckon as family. Resigned to die and shunned by all, he is forced to sail every three days, until he begins to dream of a special woman.
Treated by our youth-oriented society as invisible and sexless, Emily Pawes is ready to move on with life. She attends a pirate festival, hoping to recapture the make-believe magic she knew as a young woman. Lucky to win an interesting bit of booty at a brick-a-brac stand, she finds herself transported by the Kraken’s mirror through a magical portal to a land of Hollywood piratitude, where swashbuckling heroes own iPods. With little choice, Emily embraces the madness. Playing pirate has to be safer than falling into the arms of handsome Captain Silvestri, right?
When they meet, sparks fly, passion flares. He needs her to be free, but more than that, he needs her to be whole. Setting sail and uncertain of who actually controls the wheel, they seek ways to defeat his curse of good luck and discover the Kraken’s mirror has plans for them. Will Emily stay in this pirate haven to fight alongside him or will he lose her because of his curse?
Cheeky Reads had a giveaway for Maureen's book back when she was first contracted and I'l be contacting the winner later today for details on how to get her copy of the book.
But for the rest of you, head over to The Romance Writer's Revenge and comment to enter to win one of three copies Maureen is giving away today. Join in the fun and tell Maureen Cheeky Girl Sabrina says congrats!
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