Archive for the 'Friends' Category
Calling All Bloggers and Readers
February 3, 2009 | Friends
An exciting new blog has launched, Confessions of a Romance ebook Addict, that will appeal to all lovers of good books. The site is filled with book reviews, author interviews and covers to make you drool.
The second site is GinaT Luv2Read Used Books n More where you’ll find a vast array of quality reads to choose from and at prices you’ll love. Gina adds new books frequently, so be sure to check her site often.
Now I’m off to give my visa card a good airing.:) See you all later this week. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell
Enter the Unique World of Emma Ray Garrett
January 21, 2009 | Friends
“…and I — I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
-The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost
The last line from award-winning author Emma Ray Garrett’s favorite poem pretty much sums up her life. Her tendency to do her own thing is what her friends and family love best, and least, about her. Chaos is a constant in the Garrett home, which currently houses three intelligent, energetic children, a devoted husband, and a very large, very lazy, white tom-cat.
No matter how busy, Emma Ray writes every day. If she didn’t, she says they’d put her in a white coat with buckles. Which is how Emma Ray has completed 15 Paranormal Erotica novels, achieving stellar reviews and a worldwide fan base. Be sure to check her out at either WEBSITE or BLOG.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I thought I’d make a little introduction for those of you who may not be familiar with me, Emma Ray Garrett, the woman, the mother, the legend…
You know, I like long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, soft music….
AHHHHHH!!!!
Let’s see, I like loud, metal music. And sometimes hard rock, country, techno, house, jazz, blues, oldies – we’re talking before the nineteen sixties, peeps- R&B, and classical.
I’ll read just about anything. I know, I said that. What I didn’t say is that does occasionally include the toilet paper package and the back of the Lysol can. Did you know that Cottonelle is both soft and strong, LOL?
I don’t really like little dogs. I know, I’m horrible. It’s not that they are bad or anything like that, it’s just that if I want something to wind about my legs and get underfoot, I’d rather it hiss and spit and not yip. I love all dogs, but having a small one as the family pet just wouldn’t work out. Especially not when my tom-cat weighs in at a hefty twenty-six pounds and is more than three feet long from nose to the base of his tail. That’s not the tip, but the part where his tail attaches to his body.
So, we have a Greater Swiss Mountain dog mix. She’s cute as a button, fantastic with the kids, and is at least fifteen pounds heavier than the cat. LOL, no worries that I’ll accidentally break one of her legs if I trip over her. I’ll add a pic of her. The kids named her Daisy and it fits. The cat is Shadow, after the character from “Bear in the Big Blue House”, which my oldest girls loved as toddlers.
I love old muscle cars over any of the pregnant rollerskates that are popular nowadays. Despite that, it sure would be nice to have a muscle car with the mentality of a rollerskate – it’d be better for the environment and my pocketbook. Since that’s the case, I drive a car that is made to run on ethanol mix, which works out for both my economy and the air I like breathing. I’d still love a hemi with four on the floor, though…
I’m not a morning person, I don’t fuss in the mirror, I can talk for hours on the phone or spend it almost completely in silence with someone just sharing breathing time, LOL. I have gray hair, I won’t lie, but I do have nice, long, natural fingernails. I’m a bit of a control freak, and I tend to procrastinate when I’m really stressed out… Which of course only increases my stress levels, LMAO!!!
Okay, I can’t think of anything else. Lucky you, huh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRET OPS: IDENTITY
Emma Ray Garrett
Changeling Press
BLURB:
After thirty years on the job, Lucia Malholland’s retiring. She loves the Corp, but even a Selkie’s biological clock gets to ticking. Lucia’s ready to find the man of her dreams. Problem is, there’s a man stalking her whose dreams are about to put Lucia’s in jeopardy.
After building the newest branch of the Corp, Cyber Operations, John and Cole Marshall are ready for a real test of their new unit’s skills. Being called in to track down a stalker turned murderer targeting one of their own sounds right up Cy Ops’ alley.
All the danger isn’t from cyberspace, as Cole finds out when he meets Lucia for the first time. He’s torn between eating her and… eating her. Not good. Add to that John’s insistence they renew their prior intimate relationship – and suddenly finding a homicidal human suitor, bent on ripping Lucia’s pelt and magic from her, doesn’t seem quite so difficult.
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5 Stars! from eCata Romance Sensial Reviews
“Emma Ray Garrett’s Pret Ops Series is one of the best erotic paranormals this reviewer has encountered.” – Annie
Thanks for taking the time to learn a little about me!
Warm Up Winter
January 12, 2009 | Friends
With a new hot novel by E. Jamie, an erotica author living in Toronto, Canada.
Her latest release REDEMPTION is a terrific read that will hook you in. Recently it ranked #3 at Amira Press’s Top Ten Bestsellers! Check out the trailer here.
REDEMPTION
E. Jamie
Amira Press
Blurb:
On the run from a murderous uncle, Katie married outlaw Ben Cready the day before he was supposed to hang. They shared one night of explosive passion and for six months, she’d believed herself a widow. Now Ben is back to claim what’s his, and that includes the sweet bride he’s never been able to forget.
Excerpt:
The first time she’d lain in this bed, it had smelled like him. Ben had told her it had been his mother’s house, a small cottage hidden in the mountains. The perfect hideout for Ben Cready and his gang. The perfect place for Katie to disappear.
Katie had lain there, staring up at the wooden beams above and closed her eyes, letting his warm, musky scent transport her back to the night before when he’d moved over her, doing things to her that had made her body greedy, open, wet and wanting things she had no understanding of.
And oh he’d given. He’d given hard and deep, plunging his cock into her again and again, but she could feel the restraint there in his muscles, saw it in his face.
He had held back, for her. It made Katie want it all the more. Want him.
Playing that night over in her mind, Katie had stared up at the ceiling, feeling her most intimate place grow damp. She reached down tentatively under her night gown and jumped at the first touch. She’d let her eyes drift closed and remembered the heavy warmth of his body and his strong, rough fingers stroking her gently, then harder as her passion grew. Katie followed his movements, trying to mimic them with her own fingers. She pushed her fingers into her body. Surely it wasn’t shameful now that she was a married woman.
They weren’t the same as his cock. There wasn’t that deep full thick feeling of being possessed, claimed, taken. He moved slowly, gently with her and Katie realized with a burst of shame that she had bitten into his shoulder once. The memory of his cock hitting a particularly sweet spot made her whimper and gush a little. The broad tanned muscle of his shoulder was there, beckoning her mouth and Katie had only meant to run her lips along the tight skin, but then he’d angled his hips and hit that sweet spot and the sweet burst of sensation had been too much to bear and she’d sunk her teeth into the muscle. He’d groaned above her, pumping a little bit harder.
Reliving that moment, Katie had angled her fingers trying to mimic the movement and while the sensation wasn’t quite the same, Katie had bit into her pillow as she felt the funny climbing sensation begin to tug deep in her belly.
With her other hand, she’d tried to copy how he had stroked that swollen bundle of nerves right above her opening. Here the sensations grew sharper and Katie barely had time to breathe before her body arched upwards, the heels of her feet digging into the mattress and the intense feeling of release seemed to explode through her blood.
“What was that?” she had asked him when it first happened.
“You came, honey,” he hissed through his teeth as he pushed his cock into her.
‘Came’. Such a simple unassuming word to describe the most exquisite feeling Katie had ever experienced.
E. Jamie also has two steamy tales with Amira Press, TO LOVE A KNIGHT and FORBIDDEN that you should put on your To Buy List.
Be sure to check out her fabulous Balsamic Chicken Wing recipe here on my site. Click Fun Stuff, then What’s Cooking. You’ll be glad you did.
I’ll be back later in the week. Until then…Happy Writing!
Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell
Christmas in the Homeland
December 20, 2008 | Cooking, Friends, Holidays
That’s the UK Homeland *lol*. I’m Clare London and I live in London, England, and always have done. I was born on the South coast at Brighton, moved to Surrey when I was 10 and have lived hereabouts ever since.
The familiarity of Christmas is both a delight and a burden, I find.
On the one hand, I love the way all our tree ornaments have a history to them. I love the way the kids expect things to happen at the same time, in the same place as every year since they were born. And I love the glitter and lights that spring up everywhere to celebrate, even if it seems to happen earlier every year.
But on the other hand, we can’t suggest going somewhere warm for Christmas to our children – we can’t suggest going *anywhere* different. I only weaned everyone off Midnight Mass a few years ago, when it stopped being either fun or a religious pleasure. And every year, Hubby suggests we eat something different, as he enjoys cooking new dishes – but you can imagine how that’s greeted!
This year, however, there *will* be changes.
My sister is visiting friends in South Africa. She’s been before, and she gets distraught at the thought of not being here for Christmas Day itself, but we manage quite happily, just celebrating on a much lower key and having a *second* Christmas in the New Year when she gets back.
The kids are older – Son#1 will be carousing his way through the season with his own friends now he’s adult, and Son#2 is attending a drama course, at the end of which they’ll put on a Christmas play for us all.
And Mother-in-law has said she can’t face cooking the mince pies for us all. So I’m doing them! Maybe my Pastry Hands have learned new skills over the years (or maybe I’ll buy some *LOL*).
We start celebrations on Christmas Eve – I’m working up until lunch time.
Then the local church has a children’s celebration in the afternoon, where they all run up and down the aisle with tea cloths over their heads, playing ‘shepherd’, and attempt to set fire to their siblings with the lighted Christingle oranges, while we adults valiantly sing Little Donkey (not without the odd tear, I must say). Son#2 will be singing solo with a couple of friends, so for me the hanky will come out yet again.
On Christmas Day we’ll go to Mass in the morning, then over to my mother and stepfather’s for late lunch.
It’ll be roast turkey of course, and maybe roasted ham as well. Son#2 likes the cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon that are placed around it as it cooks: Son#1 is permanently hungry so he’ll just inhale the stuff as fast as we can get it on the plate. Serve up with roast potatoes – maybe mashed as well – beans, carrots and brussel sprouts. Thick gravy with the meat juices (Hubby’s speciality), and with sides of bread sauce and cranberry sauce. Dessert is Christmas pudding, covered in brandy which Son#1 sets alight and we all take cover. Then it’s served up with either custard or cream and/or brandy butter.
Hopefully we’re all finished in time to watch the Queen’s speech on TV at 3pm, then we lie around like beached whales discussing whether or not she looks good in green, moaning how there’s never anything good on TV at Christmas, and mourning the passing of the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show. We’ll end up watching the Sound of Music for the umpteenth time, then when lunch has settled, eat cold turkey sandwiches (my favourite) and eat (hopefully) my mince pies. And – for those who don’t like mincemeat, like ME – I’ll have made some little apple pies too.
I will, of course, be online for most of the time, whether surfing the net or writing *lol*. Visit my four Christmas stories if you get a chance, on Sloane’s blog Dec 4, and on my website as below.
And a very happy, healthy and harmonious Holiday to you all, whatever or however you get through the season.
Clare London, Author
Writing… Man to Man
http://www.darkpearldiva.com
http://www.myspace.com/clarelondon
http://claredivatoo.livejournal.com/
Do you like it spicy?
December 19, 2008 | Cooking, Friends, Holidays
Try some Chili Verde Christmas morning over your eggs with a side of Tortillas. I have a recipe that actually is two in one. And the best thing is, it makes enough to freeze for more meals!
Hi Everyone, I’m Mary Martinez from Utah and wanted to share a family favorite with you.
The first thing I do is take a Kirkland pork sirloin tip roast (other brands will work, too) and cook it in the crock pot all day. When it’s done I cut off a chunk and weigh it until I have 16 oz (1 lb) and put it in the fridge. Then with what is left I either have a pork dinner with potatoes, etc or I make Zatarains Red beans and rice with the rest of the pork pulled/shredded into the beans and rice.
Then the next day I do my Verde.
I pull/shred with my fingers the 16 oz pulled pork into the crock pot.
Then I add the following:
3 – 28 oz. cans Las Palmas Green chili enchilada sauce
1 ¾ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 ¾ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped jalapeños
¾ cup chopped red hot peppers
1 ¾ cup chopped onion
½ tsp chili powder or to taste
I cook on low for about 3 hours
I usually want to thicken it so I scoop out liquid into a bowl and mix it with flour (optional). I use a fork to stir until creamy and not lumpy. Then I add it to the pot of Verde and cook for another hour on low.
I serve with rice and refried beans and tortilla’s and shredded cheese.
Nutrition w/flour
Serving size 1 cup
Calories 124
Total Fat 6 grams
Saturated fat 0 grams
Trans fat 0 grams
Cholesterol 19 mg
Sodium 768 mg
Total carbohydrate 13grams
Dietary fiber 3 grams
Sugars 2 grams
Protein 8 grams
Vit. A 11%
Vit. C 68%
Calcium 1 %
Iron 4 %
(% based on daily requirements)
Nutrition – same recipe without added flour to thicken
1 cup serving
Calories 112
Total Fat 6 grams
Saturated fat 0 grams
Trans fat 0 grams
Cholesterol 19 mg
Sodium 802 mg
Total carbohydrate 10 grams
Dietary fiber 3 grams
Sugars 2 grams
Protein 7 grams
Vit. A 11%
Vit. C 71%
Calcium 1 %
Iron 3 %
(% based on daily requirements)
Relaxing with a good book is ideal while your cock pot does all the work for this perfect breakfast to spice up your morning!
MEET ME IN FANTASYLAND
Aspen Mountain Press
BLURB:
Rissa isn’t as surprised as she should be that her husband left her. She’d had an idea for a few years he wasn’t being faithful. She’d buried her head in the sand for the sake of the twins. He left her four month’s earlier, and now he’s asked her to clear all of his possessions out of their home and do with them what she wants. As she boxes everything for Good Will she comes across her old diaries. In them she finds her entry of the pact she made with Robert, Bobby, Graham to meet in Twenty-five years. That date is in two weeks. Would he be there?
Rob Graham has loved Rissa for as long as he remembered. When they’d been in high school she’d only thought of him as a buddy, the brother she never had. Would she remember their pact? If she did, would she be there?
Hope you enjoy the recipes. Happy Holidays!
See what Mary has going at www.marymartinez.com
Newsletter http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Marys_Books_and_Such/
Mary’s Margarita Reviews http://marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/marylmartinez
Romancing the West
December 18, 2008 | Friends, Holidays
Hi Everyone, I’m Rita Karnopp and I live in Montana!
First, thank you Sloane, for inviting me to share with you at your Christmas/Happy Birthday celebration bash! So now we know why you’re such a happy lady! Born the month of our Lord… how blessed you are! Happy Birthday to you!
It’s great to have this time of year to take time to be grateful for all our blessings, and to reaffirm our passion for our Lord. Life gets busier every year and, if you’re like me, I am buzzing around to and from and it takes Christmas to make me stop for a moment and realize I am so blessed.
This year in particular has been a barn-burner (please excuse the cliché’…I know we’re all tired of them!) giggle. From November of 2007 thru January of 2009 I’ll have released 7 … yes SEVEN… books. Talk about blessed.
Here’s a little information on my work;
SACRED GROUND
Romantic Suspense
Released Nov. ‘07
Eternal Press
Someone wants Brett Turner’s land badly enough to sabotage him, and he knows just who the culprit is: his neighbor, Willow Howling Moon. They don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. When their sons, who are best friends, run away into the mountains just before a blizzard hits, Willow and Brett have no choice but to go after them—together.
In the course of the rescue, they discover an unexpected and unwelcome mutual love. The realization that both their lives are in danger finally convinces him she’s not his enemy.
This heartwarming love story is set in Montana
WIND SONG
Indian Historical
Released Jan. ‘08
Eternal Press
In 1855, the Great Spirit sends Leota, a psychic Blackfoot woman, on a mission to convince Chief Lame Bull not to sign a treaty. If she fails, the white man’s government will steal all that belongs to the Blackfeet Nation.
Lawyer Marsh Pepperhorn comes west to join his family and finds them murdered, except for his mouthy nephew Tanner, who’s bent on revenge. Chasing the killers into the Mountains fo the Bear’s Paw, Montana Territory, their paths cross Leota.
Although Marsh and Leota distrust each on sight, they work together to save an injured Tanner’s life. As they face hardships and challenges, an unlikely romance blossoms between them. When traders abduct Leota, Marsh must track them down and bring the men to justice—or lose the woman he loves.
A sweeping tale of a changing culture, survival, discovery, adventure, and romance—Wind Song has it all.
DARK SPIRIT
Romantic Suspense
Released Mar. ‘08
Eternal Press
In’is’kim is infamous for his knowledge of his Blackfeet people and his lectures are sought internationally. But success is not the problem, keeping a step ahead of a serial killer is. At each speaking location a woman is murdered, leaving a grizzly trail pointing directly at him. With the police zeroing in on him, In’is’kim doesn’t have much time left to unravel the clues left by the murderer.
Skyler receives a Native American medicine card and is convinced her match-making sister is responsible for the sudden appearance of In’is’kim. It doesn’t take long for Skyler to realize there is something more sinister and frightening going on. She not only struggles against her attraction to this incredibly handsome man, but also strives to believe his innocence. Each time she is attacked In’is’kim is no where around. Is it coincidence, or is this enigmatic stranger not everything he appears to be?
RANSOM LOVE
Indian Historical
Released Aug. ‘08
Eternal Press
Montana Territory-1868. Four years captive of the Blackfeet, Jennie Proctor must decide whether to trust the handsome white man who has come to rescue her, or spend the rest of her life a Blackfeet. Cody Larimer has one goal in life, to rescue captive women from Indians. They struggle together to survive and form a mutual respect that soon turns into love, something neither believed possible
REVENGE
Suspense
Released Nov. ‘08
Eternal Press
Is someone trying to kill Abi Madden and her infant daughter? Is that someone her soon to be ex-husband? Who is he mixed up with and how does it involve her? Abi takes her daughter and flees to Canada with Detective Miles Sandler. They are shot at, stalked, and fight for their lives in a raging snow storm. It doesn’t take Abi long to realize her heart isn’t all that’s saved either. Is Miles too good to be true? Before she can think about another man in her life, she must protect her daughter and uncover why someone wants them dead.
KIDNAPPED
Romantic Suspense
Releases Jan. ‘09
Eternal Press
Laura and Aaron Palmer’s marriage is over, yet they adopt six month old Amie. Life takes an ugly turn when they learn their daughter has been an abducted child from Chicago. Searching for the truth, they find themselves caught up in a web of deception, child stealing, and danger. Their marriage teeters on a fine line while they struggle for the truth and fight to stay alive. They find love, and only pray it’s not too late. This story entwines your heart with the bonding love of a child.
WHISPERING SUN
Indian Historical
released May ‘08
Unical Press
Sarah Bryson’s silent world is destroyed when her so-called fiancé has her kidnapped to prevent his unmasking as a gun-runner. After surviving a massacre, she is rescued by Two Shadows, a Blackfeet warrior with a secret life. But in order to reach the safety of his village, they must confront wild animals, ruthless mountain men, treacherous mountain storms and Crow Indians bent on revenge.
Sarah seeks her true identity as a woman, while Two Shadows’ struggles with loyalties divided between his love for a white woman and his devotion to his tribe, as they as facing the destruction of their traditional way of life.
Treachery, betrayal, and lies are greater enemies to Sarah and Two Shadows than either the Indians who resent her or the whites who seek to destroy him. Only when they face the truth about who they really are will their love have a chance.
If you ask me if I’d ever do that again….I wouldn’t hesitate to answer, “Not on your life!” I no soon finished the work and advertising on one book – and it was time to get working on the next! No, I didn’t write all 7 books this year…hope that makes you feel better. I had them written, but did do re-writes before sending them to my editor. Then I did the usual corrections and errata’s.
I’m presently working on an Indian futuristic novel, WHITE BERRY ON THE RED WILLOW.
As predicted in the Ghost Dance Vision, life has come full circle in 2029. The Blackfeet now control Yellowstone National Park, where the buffalo have multiplied, as have the people themselves. Before her mother dies of Quake Fever, which is killing thousands outside the Indian lands each day, pure white, Doctor Alcina Hancock struggles to find a cure. Thrust into the world of the Indians, she not only discovers what she needs to save her people, but also herself. Ekuskini, son of the Blackfeet chief, revels in the demise of the non-Indian. Then he meets Alcina and finds himself searching the old ones for the answers. Together Alcina and Ekuskini realize they must learn from the past and use it to make things better for the future of all people.
I’m very excited about this story, since it’s one of my personal favorites. Of course, all my books are personal favorites ~ choosing among them would be like picking a favorite child.
I hope you check me out, join my myspace and visit me any time at ritaritr.com or feel free to email me (comments about my books are always welcome) at ritakarnopp@bresnan.net
May your New Year be filled with success and many happy memories!
Rita Karnopp
‘Romancing the West”
www.ritaritr.com
Covey Award – Best book cover for Dark Spirit
“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others . . . .
cannot keep it from themselves.”
Hot Sex with Melissa
December 14, 2008 | Friends
Hi Everyone, my name is Melissa Bradley and I am here to par TEE on the final day of celebrations with my good friend Sloane. Happy Birthday, girl!! Thanks for letting me spend this wonderful December Sunday with you.
For those of you who are not familiar with me, let me tell you all a little bit about myself. I am from the south side of Chicago and a rabid Bears fan. I come from a storytelling family and grew up listening to tales spun by my dad, grandpa and Uncle Moose (his real name was Donald, but no one ever called him that), of giants, goblins and other assorted creatures. My family also loves, loves, loves books of any kind and Library Night was a big part of my childhood. We would walk up to the local branch of the Chicago Public Library and wander around, practically closing the place, picking out as many books as we could carry and then head home to start reading til bedtime.
I realized my dream of being a published author this year with my story, MICHAEL’S KEEPER. It was selected as a winner in the Amber Heat Wave contest over at Amber Quill Press. Since then I have published two more stories, DREAM ON and LOVE HAIGHT, with more on the way for next year.
In honor of Sloane’s birthday and mine (it’s tomorrow), I am going to give away a present, a free pdf download of one of my stories, your choice. I want you to go HERE, read the LOVE HAIGHT excerpt and email me at melbwrites@gmail.com with the answer to the following question…What flavor sundae does Joe compare Lily to? Please put BIRTHDAY CONTEST in the subject line. I will take entries until 10:00PM Central Time tonight and then post the winner here on the blog.
Now to help you get started on thinking about which story you would pick if you won, here’s a little bit about each of my three books.
LOVE HAIGHT
Amber Quill Press
It is 1967 and the Summer of Love has just begun to light up San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. Lily Roberts, a Vietnam nurse, has come here to lose herself in the psychedelic scene and forget the horrors of war. For Joe Sullivan, a rocker on the rise, the vibrant atmosphere is the perfect place to launch his band to the heights of success.
Ever since Lily’s return from Southeast Asia, she’s been disconnected, angry and plagued by nightmares. She attempts to forget everything through parties, drugs and alcohol. Her heated encounter with Joe scares her. He reawakens things deep inside she thought were long dead, but she’s afraid to reach out, to trust in these feelings.
For Joe, his band is on the brink of stardom and the last thing he needs is a relationship, yet Lily has gotten under his skin and into his heart. He can’t let her go, but she’s on a self-destructive path he may not be able to save her from…
For the steamy excerpt and the contest answer go HERE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DREAM ON
Amber Quill Press
Nina is having a disastrous fortieth birthday. She overslept, was late for work and managed to get herself pulled over by the hottest young cop she’d ever laid eyes on. The last thing she expects is to cross paths with Officer Alex Torres again.
That evening at an Aerosmith concert, the sparks fly, plunging Nina and Alex into a blazing night of passion neither can forget or give up. To Nina’s surprise, the two forge a relationship that will change everything. But age isn’t the only hurdle they face. Friends, family and career threaten to tear them apart.
For a sizzling excerpt click HERE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MICHAEL’S KEEPER
Amber Quill Press
Ryanne Night-Walker is a paranormal investigator dealing with everything from ghosts and curses to poltergeists and hexes. She’s also the Crossroads Gatekeeper, charged with protecting humanity from all demonic activity. The last thing she expects when the handsome stranger walks into her office is a firestorm of sex and magic that changes her reality forever. Michael St. John, alpha werewolf, is desperate to save his pack from destruction at the hands of a demon and the Crossroads Gatekeeper is his only hope. He never anticipated she would also be his mate.
Their relationship can never be. As Gatekeeper, Ryanne is forbidden to love. Nothing must come before the good of humanity in the eyes of the Celestial Council. They must defy the power of Heaven itself to save Michael’s wolves and remain together.
A red hot excerpt can be found HERE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you all for reading and celebrating Sloane’s birthday with me. Remember for the contest click on the link in LOVE HAIGHT and read the excerpt. Then email me at melbwrites@gmail.com with the words BIRTHDAY CONTEST in the subject and tell me what flavor sundae Joe compares Lily to for your chance to win a free pdf download of your choice of one of my stories.
I love hearing from people so feel free to visit me at http://myspace.com/melbwrites
Have a wonderful and peace-filled holiday season. Take care, Everyone. And thank you, Sloane, for allowing me to participate and help you celebrate. I’d love to do this again sometime.
Melissa Bradley
http://myspace.com/melbwrites
LOVE HAIGHT
DREAM ON
MICHAEL’S KEEPER
WHERE DANGER AND PASSION COLLIDE
December 13, 2008 | Friends
Hello from snowy and icy Maine! Thanks, Sloane, for inviting me to blog today. I’m Pam Champagne and I write a bit of everything, although my favorite genre is suspense. I live in the woods of Maine at the end of a ½ mile discontinued town road, so we don’t have neighbors except for the four legged wild ones.
DEAD HEAT
Wild Rose Press
Amazon
Blurb:
Jenna Green struggles to make a name for herself on the racetrack after her father’s untimely death. Rye Cameron’s offer of a job to train his horses comes out of the blue. Aware of his reputation with women, she accepts the job despite her doubts. Soon she discovers the real reason Rye hired her and finds herself fighting for her life.
I drew on my experiences on the racetrack to write this story. I just received notification that DEAD HEAT placed third in the 2008 Barclay Gold RWA Contest.
BED OF LIES
2008 Eppie Romantic Suspense Winner
Samhain Publishing
Blurb:
Can separated soul mates learn to trust each other again before a ruthless killer ends their second chance?
Drug Enforcement Agent Ace Bear returns to Spruce Harbor, Maine to investigate a deadly cocaine ring. He’s prepared to deal with the town’s bigotry against his Cree heritage, but when he comes face-to-face with the woman he loved twelve years ago, passion flares. He realizes the ties between them cannot be broken.
Brenna McKenzie is furious the man who deserted her the day their infant daughter died has dared to show his face. When she discovers why Ace is in town, however, fear for her brother, who she suspects is a drug addict, forces her to swallow her animosity. Ace’s return ignites a chain of events and soon Brenna’s own life is in jeopardy.
As Brenna and Ace struggle to understand the treachery that once ripped them apart, they fight to stay one step ahead of the danger that threatens to put an end to their reunion—and their lives.
A trailer for BED OF LIES is on MySpace.
CHRISTMAS REUNION
A free short read from Samhain Publishing.
COMING SOON
ALASKAN HEAT, Samhain Publishing will be released in March, 2009. I do not have a cover yet.
Blurb:
FBI agent Sophie Branson has been lusting after Agent Joe Hawkins since the night he drank too much tequila, made love to her and then passed out leaving her sexually unsatisfied. Now that he’s been framed by rogue agents, it’s her job to keep him and bring him home. She picks him up on the Alaskan Highway and together they make the long drive to Eagle, Alaska where Hawk thinks his friends will help clear his name.
During the trip on the trip, Sophie and Hawk get more than they’d bargained for, including fighting with the bad guys and the best sex either of them has ever had.
DANCE FOR ME, Siren Publishing in April, 2009.
Blurb:
Detective Lara Stevens has her hands full. Not only does she have to investigate a series of bizarre serial murders without her trusted partner, she has to deal with Reino Larkin, a man twelve years her junior. With several exotic dancers murdered, Lara goes undercover as a stripper at the club where the victims worked, and Reino is more than happy to cheer her on. But can she keep her cool professional kick ass attitude when all she wants to do is get naked with Reino? Seeing the way he watches her on stage, his eyes full of desire, gets her juices flowing. Then there is the murderer, watching…waiting.
When Reino discovers his murdered friend had been an exotic dancer, he becomes a regular at the Beaver Lodge where she danced. When Lara struts onto the stage, wearing a cowboy hat and not much else, the heat rises and with it his protective instincts.
Direct links along with full list of available books can be found on my website.
Thanks, again, Sloane, for thinking of me. I hope everyone has a peace-filled holiday season and a healthy new year.
Pam Champagne
http://www.pamchampagne.net/index.php
Melanie Atkins has Guys with Guns
December 12, 2008 | Friends
I’m excited to report that I have book coming out soon from The Wild Rose Press. Skeleton Bayou is a full length romantic suspense set in the Deep South. I don’t have a release date or any cover art yet, but I’m pretty sure it will come out in 2009.
Here’s a blurb:
Savannah Love is emotionally and physically battered, but is determined to survive after escaping the hellish imprisonment imposed on her by her psychotic cop-husband. After seven months in hiding, she resurfaces at Mossy Oak, her ramshackle family home on a Louisiana bayou, and attempts to restart her life. The empty house provides shelter, but isn’t the fortress she needs when her cruel ex comes calling.
Mack O’Malley, former cop turned handyman conflicted over a bad shoot on the job, comes to Savannah’s rescue when the psychopath draws them into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Fearful of Mack at first, she soon discovers that beneath his steely exterior lies a resolute defender with a heart hungry for love. Will their alliance save them, or will they fall victim to the Legend of Skeleton Bayou?
Excerpt:
“I’m not going to jump you,” he said, challenging her with his inscrutable gaze, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She didn’t know that for a fact, not really. But right now she trusted him more than she did herself.
Desire swirled inside her like lava churning in a volcano. It had been a long time since she’d felt a man’s gentle touch, since she’d been kissed and treated like a lady. She was afraid she might let him hold her, and then who knew what might happen?
Careful to keep her distance, she folded her arms. “I’m not used to being with a kind man.”
“I’m not used to talking to a woman I can trust.”
“Well, then.” She let a tiny smile ghost over her lips. “We’re both damaged goods.”
“I prefer to call us weathered.”
She laughed, and was amazed by how good it felt. She hadn’t done it in a very long time.
He cupped her jaw. She flinched.
“Relax.” He smiled and stroked his thumb down her cheek. “I want you to get used to my touch.”
“Not now.” Her stomach knotted. She had no business enjoying the feel of his hands on her. She pulled back. “We have to keep our focus on Vince.”
“I’m ready for him.” Mack dropped his hand.
“I hope so,” she said, determination welling within her. She had to keep her thoughts off Mack. “I want him out of my life for good. Whatever it takes.”
Melanie Atkins
Chilling suspense…dreamy romance
http://www.melanieatkins.com/
Beth Anderson Comes Out
December 11, 2008 | Friends
Hi, Everybody!
First, let me congratulate our Hostess with The Mostest, Sloane Taylor, on her nine thousandth birthday. She conceals it well, doesn’t she? Happy Birthday, my friend, and a whole new year of even more success, which I know is coming to you!
Okay, I’ll start by telling you I’m Beth Anderson, not that this means a whole helluva lot to you, probably, unless you’re one of my kids, all of whom call me “Oh, it’s just Mom.” I decided that instead of boring y’all with a bunch of links and me blathering on about my books, I’d bore y’all by letting one of my lead characters in each book tell you something about each of their books. Just a little, I promise, unless they get carried away, and I know a couple of them, at least, probably will try.
My first sub-contracted blog guest today is Joe Barbarello, the hero in my first Amber Quill book, NIGHT SOUNDS. Okay, Joe, take it away!
Hey, Folks, this is Joe, and I want you to know Beth Anderson dragged me through one of the most traumatic experiences of my whole life, which I still think about from time to time while I’m sitting alone, playing on the white baby grand piano you see on my cover. I also want you to know that while this is a murder mystery, it’s still erotic in quite a few places, because the main theme of the book is my overwhelming sexual obsession with a woman named Zoey.
Zoey, when the book starts, is gorgeous beyond belief, and very rich, which I am not, being a struggling jazz pianist in Chicago trying to make it big with my group. She is also, as the book starts, the prime (and only) suspect in the knife murder of her newly departed lover up in her Gold Coast penthouse just five days before this July night. Having been busy with my band rehersals and lousy at keeping up with the news anyhow, I had missed that little detail, doesn’t that figure. Anyhow, I walked off the stage and introduced myself to Zoey, wined and dined her, then went home with her where we…well, what didn’t we do, but we spent three days and nights doing it. When we came up for air, I found myself, compliments of two hard-nosed but entertaining (if you’re not me) Chicago detectives, who had already decided I was Zoey’s co-suspect. They weren’t one bit interested in my side of the story, that I hadn’t met Zoey or even known about her at the time of the murder. That’s how it began. Then–
Yo, Joe, that’s enough for this time. I hope they all want to know what happened to you and they’ll go take a look. My next co-guest is Marty, also a Chicago detective. (Do I have a hot thing for detectives? Well, read on, because I fell madly in love with this guy myself.) Marty of MURDER ONLINE, over to you, and keep it short and sweet, okay? I can’t hold up Sloane’s readers too long, they all have things to do this close to Christmas.
Okay, people, hi, I’m Marty. Unlike Joe, who was only 28, I’m 53 when this book begins and I meet the mother of a young female murder victim in my Chicago precinct as she’s coming to collect her late daughter’s belongings. As you all probably know, it’s not good form to go falling in love with any relative of any victim, but in my defense I didn’t even know it was happening, for a while anyhow. It was just one of those ‘everybody knew but me’ things.
I wasn’t looking for romance. Far from it, I was looking to retire in three years and go fishing off the coast of Florida and out of the cold chicago winters that kept my knees wanting to lock. Then Claire walked into my office and for the first time, I was completely unable to stay detached, as a good detective must. But there she was, and I was gone. I think it was the blue sweater that got me, or maybe it was the shoes she was wearing, which reminded me of my mother. Whatever it was, I found myself wanting to run downstate at every opportunity to talk to the vic’s mother. Claire really gave me a run for my money because she was hellbent and determined to solve her daughter’s murder HER way, disregarding the fact I was determined to solve the murder MY way, which of course was by the book. So–
Stop, Marty, don’t tell them any more! I know you love to talk, but I have to move on to SECOND GENERATION. This time I’ll let my heroine, Leigh, tell you a little about her story. Leigh, it’s your stage, make the most of it. Not that you won’t.
Hello, folks. Beth’s just sniping at me because I knew when I was only eight or nine that I wanted to be the first female President of the United States, and so did she, but she never went after it. This book isn’t only about how I got as far as I did, it’s the story of a woman–me–who has to contend with one tragedy after another on my way to the White House. It’s about the three men who meant most to me at different times of my life. It’s about discovering sex at a very young age, and the repercussions that followed and dogged me all the way through my story.
If only my father hadn’t stolen all those emeralds… If only I hadn’t given in to that overwhelming urge so early and paid for it so soon… If only I hadn’t forced the university to let me try for a law degree when women just didn’t do such things… If only–
Thank you, Leigh! Folks, this one was the book of my heart and it took me a long time to get it right. It’s also won five awards and many, many people have loved it. Maybe not as much as I do, because it takes you through the womens’ movement from the fifties up through the eighties, and it has a torrid, sweeping love story that runs almost all the way through it. What will she choose, and will she win?
This link is for both Murder Online and Night Sounds, one of Amber Quill’s famous Amber Pax collections, which are all e-books. You can find this inexpensive little gem right here:
http://www.amberquill.com/SalePax_Anderson_SuspensePax.html
For separate buy links, I’m gonna try to make this very easy for all of us. To see any of these three books, NIGHT SOUNDS, MURDER ONLINE, and SECOND GENERATION, including excerpts, reviews, and clickable buy links for both print or ebooks, not to mention my photo and general ramblings, here’s the link to my Amber Quill bio/books page, where you can find, at the bottom of the page, clickable thumbnails to all three books.
http://www.amberquill.com/bio_Anderson.html
Or you can go straight to Amazon.com and find most of the same information there. Just type in Beth Anderson and pick out the Amazon link you want to follow, Easy, ain’t it. (I can hear Sloane Taylor’s exasperated sigh now.)
While I’m at it, my website contains loads of writing information on my “Lectures” page. http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com/lectures
(Yanno, now that I’m looking at all this, it would probably have been easier to put a link beneath each book description. Just think of this as me helping you burn more calories over the holidays. Moving your fingers DOES burn calories, doesn’t it? Statistics, anyone?)
Hey, Happy Holidays, everyone, and Happy Birthday again, Sloane. Loved being here with all of you. Stay safe, stay warm (for Sloane’s readers, stay HOT, and you will, guaranteed!) Most of all, stay happy.
Love, Beth Anderson
http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com
(I’ll let you figure out for yourselves why my alter ego is called Hotclue.)
