Author: Kelly

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Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series

Kiss of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #1)

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell’s deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night—or this man—is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed—a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind—and the unwitting humans existing alongside them—from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed’s formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all.

 

Kiss of Crimson
(Midnight Breed #2)

He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world—a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need—but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm…and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself

Midnight Awakening
(Midnight Breed #3)

With a dagger in her hand and vengeance on her mind, Darkhaven beauty Elise Chase prowls Boston’s streets in search of retribution against the Rogue vampires who took from her everything she cherished. Using an extraordinary psychic gift, she tracks her prey, well aware that the power she possesses is destroying her. She must learn to harness this gift, and for that she can turn to only one man—the deadliest of the Breed warriors, Tegan.

No stranger to loss, Tegan knows Elise’s pain. He knows fury, but when he slays his enemies it is with ice in his veins. He is perfect in his self-control, until Elise seeks his aid in her personal war. An unholy alliance is forged—a bond that will link them by blood and vow—and plunge them into a tempest of danger, desire, and the darkest passions of the heart.

 

Midnight Rising
(Midnight Breed #4)

In a world of shadows and dark, cosuming hungers, desire is the deadliest weapon…

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb, thrusting her into the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. But nothing is as dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to draw her into his world of dark desire and endless night.

Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way—least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. For an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise. Suddenly Dylan is powerless to resist Rio’s touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. And now she must choose: Leave Rio’s midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart.

 

Veil of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #5)

Bound by blood, addicted to danger, they’ll enter the darkest—and most erotic—place of all.

A warrior trained in bullets and blades, Renata cannot be bested by any man—vampire or mortal. But her most powerful weapon is her extraordinary psychic ability—a gift both rare and deadly. Now a stranger threatens her hard-won independence—a golden-haired vampire who lures her into a realm of darkness…and pleasure beyond imagining.

A combat-loving adrenaline junkie, Nikolai dispenses his own justice to enemies of the Breed—and his latest quarry is a ruthless assassin. One woman stands in his way: the seductive, cool-as-ice bodyguard, Renata. But Renata’s powers are put to the test when a loved one, a child, is threatened and she’s forced to turn to Niko for help. As the two join forces, as desire fans the flames of a deeper hunger, Renata’s life is under siege by a man who offers the exquisite pleasure of a blood bond—and a passion that could save or doom them both forever.

 

Ashes of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #6)
A woman driven by blood. A man thirsting for vengeance.
A place where darkness and desire meet…

As night falls, Claire Roth flees, driven from her home by a fiery threat that seems to come from hell itself. Then, from out of the flames and ash, a vampire warrior emerges. He is Andreas Reichen, her onetime lover, now a stranger consumed by vengeance. Caught in the cross fire, Claire cannot escape his savage fury—or the hunger that plunges her into his world of eternal darkness and unending pleasure.

Nothing will stop Andreas from destroying the vampire responsible for slaughtering his Breed brethren . . . even if he must use his former lover as a pawn in his deadly mission. Blood-bonded to his treacherous adversary, Claire can lead Andreas to the enemy he seeks, but it is a journey fraught with danger—and deep, unbidden desires. For Claire is the one woman Andreas should not crave, and the only one he’s ever loved. A dangerous seduction begins—one that blurs the lines between predator and prey, and stokes the flames of a white-hot passion that may consume all in its path.

 

Shades of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #7)

In a frozen wilderness steeped in darkness, the lines between good and evil, lover and enemy, are never black or white but drawn in Shades of Midnight.

Something inhuman is stalking the frigid Alaskan wilds, leaving unspeakable carnage in its wake. For bush pilot Alexandra Maguire, the killings stir memories of a horrific event she witnessed as a child and evoke in her the inexplicable sense of otherness she has long felt within herself but never fully understood . . . until a darkly seductive stranger with secrets of his own enters her world.

Sent from Boston on a mission to investigate the savage attacks and stop the slaughter, vampire warrior Kade has his own reasons for returning to the frigid, forbidding place of his birth. Haunted by a secret shame, Kade soon realizes the stunning truth of the threat he faces–a threat that will jeopardize the fragile bond he has formed with the courageous, determined young woman who arouses his deepest passions and most primal hungers. But in bringing Alex into his world of blood and darkness, Kade must confront both his own personal demons and the even greater evil that could destroy all he holds dear.

 

Taken by Midnight
(Midnight Breed #8)

AT THE CROSSROADS OF DEATH AND DESIRE, A WOMAN TASTES A PLEASURE NO MORTAL IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand—and control—a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock’s care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order’s mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself—until a secret from Brock’s past and Jenna’s own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire.

 

Deeper Than Midnight
(Midnight Breed #9)

DELIVERED FROM THE DARKNESS, A WOMAN FINDS HERSELF PLUNGED INTO A PASSION THAT IS DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT.

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well—the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos’s most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he’s hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he’ll go to end Dragos’s reign of evil—even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne’s tender heart.

 

A Taste of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #9.5)

A shimmering holiday gala lights up an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands, but beautiful widowed Breedmate Danika MacConn feels alone in the crowd. Even among the friends and festivity of the Darkhaven celebration, she can’t forget her lost love, a fallen warrior of the Order. Her brief return to her mate’s homeland has become treacherous after rejecting the advances of a dangerous Edinburgh crime boss with a taste for blood sport.

As Danika seeks to expose the vampire and his dark trade, she discovers an unexpected ally in his forbidding, enigmatic henchman, Brannoc, a man who exudes heat, danger, and dark menace–and seems somehow achingly familiar. Bran has his own reasons for wanting to keep Dani out of his employer’s business . . . and his own secrets he means to keep buried. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a woman who tempts the wildest part of his Breed nature–especially when that woman is Danika MacConn, the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees.

 

Darker After Midnight
(Midnight Breed #10)

In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order–a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike–to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.
At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach. But when his eyes meet those of Tavia Fairchild, a beautiful witness who identifies him at the scene of a mission gone terribly wrong, Chase finds himself drawn to the woman–and convinced she is something much more than she seems.
Pulled into a vortex of intrigue and danger she can neither resist nor understand, Tavia is uncertain whom to trust. And while everything sane and logical warns her against getting close to Chase, she cannot deny that the handsome, deeply haunted male stirs something primal and ravenous within her. But even as she surrenders to her cravings, nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth of who–and what–she truly is.
As the Order’s enemy mobilizes for the battle of the ages, Dragos and his Minions unleashing a hell on Earth like nothing ever seen before, Chase and Tavia are thrust into the heart of the violence. With time running out and the streets running red with the blood of innocent lives, both Breed and human, together Chase and Tavia must find a way to defeat Dragos once and for all–or die trying.

Edge of Dawn

Midnight Breed #11
Release date January 22, 2013
Unofficial sneak peek summary from Lara (taken off of Good Reads)

Twenty years after the Order’s vanquish of their chief adversary, conflicts and skirmishes continue for the Breed, violence escalating toward war. Peace seems elusive, but the Order and their allies will not rest until it is won.

For Mira, raised with the Order from the time she was a child and now the formidable captain of her own team of warriors for the Order, the fight is personal. War has cost her a great deal, though nothing more precious than the life of someone she loved dearly. Vowed to avenge his death, Mira blazes into every battle like a Valkyrie, poised to make her enemies pay. Until an unexpected encounter with a rebel leader brings her face-to-face with a startling truth, and a betrayal that will cut through her every defense .  Straight to the core of the wounded woman whose faith has never been tested more, nor her heart more deeply torn.

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Colters’ Promise by Maya Banks is on Sale July 6-8th only!!!

Colters’ Promise by Maya Banks is going to be on sale this weekend ONLY!!!  Only $2.99   So do wait around!!! Go download NOW

Colters’ Promise
Colters’ Legacy #4
Order here:  Kindle | Nook | I-tunes

ALL-NEW IN AN EXTRAORDINARY ROMANCE.

Return to the captivating storytelling of New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks, and her stirring saga of three brothers and one indomitable woman—of wounded hearts, family, and forgiveness…

When it came to overcoming the odds of a tragic past, Lily was determined to move on. The three Colter brothers helped her do it. They taught her new ways to love, new dreams to share, and offered her a new life that she never thought possible. Now is a time for celebration, and what better way than with a long-awaited family reunion, a homecoming that will bring together the entire Colter family and a few surprises no one anticipated.

But first, there’s something from Lily’s past she still needs to reconcile—even when all the while she is holding close to her heart a newfound secret that will change her future, forever enrich the Colter legacy, and make every promise come true.

 

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Spotlight Feature of The Chocolate Theif

The Chocolate Thief

by Laura Florand
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Order Here:  Amazon | B&N | Powells
Breathtakingly beautiful, the City of Light seduces the senses, its cobbled streets thrumming with possibility. For American Cade Corey, it’s a dream come true, if only she can get one infuriating French chocolatier to sign on the dotted line…

Chocolate

Melting, yielding yet firm, exotic, its secrets are intimately known to Sylvain Marquis. But turn them over to a brash American waving a fistful of dollars? Jamais. Not unless there’s something much more delectable on the table…

Stolen Pleasure

Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter?

Excerpt:

American chocolate heiress Cade Corey will do anything to learn the secrets of Sylvain Marquis,  the dark, arrogant chocolatier who has ensorcelled all of Paris.  From attempts at outright purchase (denied, because he considers himself beyond price), to spying, perhaps even to a descent into crime.  Here, Sylvain discovers her attempting to sneak into one of his workshops in disguise and decides that, after all, maybe she deserves a lesson…

 

“This is one of my favorite moments,” Sylvain murmured to her, his voice a brush of sound, too low for anyone but her.  “The chocolate is untouched, virgin.”  Chocolat, he said.  Not that clumsy, cute English word “chok-lat” but a caress, a mystery, sho-co-la.  “I choose it.  It is beautiful as it is, perfect, anyone could eat it forever.  And I bring something else to it, blend it with another flavor that makes people encounter it in a new way, a richer way.”

His voice burred over her skin.  All the fine hairs on her arms raised to that voice and to the words that seemed to talk about more than chocolate.  Made her want to be his chocolate.

“I pour it into another form worthy of it, something as beautiful as its essence, so that just looking at it fills people with desire.”

She realized her lips had parted, her breath grown shallow.  She kept her lashes lowered, her gaze focused on that dark block in his hand.  On his strong square palms, on the long, adept fingers.

“Tenez.”   He lifted a shaving on one finger and brought it to her lips.  “Goûtez,” he said.  “Tell me what you taste.”

The chocolate was melting already on her parted lips.  She took it, perforce, her lips closing just barely, just briefly on his.  She tasted…she didn’t think she should tell him what she tasted.  It went beyond the chocolate, which was bitter, bitter on her tongue but extraordinarily smooth.

“What do you like in your chocolat, mademoiselle?”  He poured white cream into a small pot as he spoke to her and added inverted sugar.

“Cinnamon,” she said.

“Cannelle?”  He gave her a little smile, as if she had charmed him.

Charmed him how?  Like a quaint child whose hair he wanted to ruffle?

“Vous aimez la tradition,” he said.

Yes, she supposed.  Corey prided itself on being the chocolate of generations of Americans, and it had never once changed its original milk chocolate bar.  So that was tradition.  And the only way she wanted to break that Corey tradition was by sinking into a realm of chocolate that had been expert before her country was born.

“Then we shall make you something with cinnamon.”  He moved away to the shelves where the brown bottles were, grabbing a handful of cinnamon sticks.  On his way back to her, he picked up a brick of butter that had been set out to soften.  “Say it again in English?”

“Cinnamon,” she repeated helplessly.

Heat leaped in his eyes.  “It has a je ne sais quoi to it in English, cinnamon.  More mystery, more exotic, than in French.”

“Tenez.”  He handed her the cinnamon sticks and nodded to the pot of cream.  She dropped them in it, watching white drops splash over the brown of the sticks.  “A feu doux.”  He caught her eyes just for a second.  “One must start à feu doux.”

With a gentle flame.

If this was gentle, she didn’t know whether to crave high heat or be terrified of it.


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The blog has been hijacked (in a good way) by Carrie Lofty & she has a giveaway

The Key Scene

By Carrie Lofty

For everyone romance I’ve written, I begin with a key scene in mind. Often, this scene is not the opening or the finale. In fact I rarely know the finale at all! I’m a dedicated pantser, and what will happen next…generally you’d have more of a clue than me. Let’s just say that I adore the process of seeing a story unfold.

That said, I do have a key scene. We’ll call it the kernel of what a book means to me, where it started in my mind, where—basically—I fell in love with the idea so completely that I felt compelled to spend the next several months writing the darn thing!

For example, in SONG OF SEDUCTION  I started with a picture of Gary Oldman from the movie Immortal Beloved, where he portrayed Beethoven. I adored that image so much that I based a great deal of my romance around how to get the hero and heroine to that moment, and how I could make that feeling of longing and art come to life in an original way. That image drove me to write.

Other times I’m inspired by a song, one that evokes a powerful image in my mine. In my debut, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, I listened to a song call “Fall in the Light” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3HHnjQcJHc] and saw the hero carrying the heroine away from a burning cabin. I told my husband for weeks, “Soon I’ll explode the cabin!” When I finally got there, however, I was in tears. The thing I’d joked about as my signpost was actually a really emotional signpost.

If you’ve noticed, these “key scenes” often come about because of external inspiration. Music, movies, photos—they fuel my imagination. For STARLIGHT, however, inspiration came from a very unexpected source. I was trying to internalize the cadence of the Glaswegian accent, since my heroine, Polly, is from Glasgow. I used one actress in particular, listening to her over and over until I felt that pattern of speech in my head.

(I do this a lot with accents. Don’t worry. I’m not totally nuts.)

In doing so, I started to imagine how she would talk about where she grew up, what she wanted from life, and how she coped with difficult times. The “key scene” for STARLIGHT, even down to influencing our choice of title, came from that kernel. Many reviewers have commented on the “happiness” or “Northern Lights” scene, which makes me especially happy. I’ve never had my “key scene” resonate so well with readers.

Here’s a sample, where Alex has taken Polly to a park where they can watch the Northern Lights:

“How have you managed to survive here? It’s dirty and poor and violent,” he said. “Yet, you keep smiling. How?”

She grew quiet, making Alex wonder if he’d stepped past some invisible boundary. But she was still Polly, and that meant taking him by surprise.

“You want to know the secret?”

“Is there one?”

“Of course. Otherwise I’d have gone mad a long time ago.” She rested their twined hands on her stomach and breathed out. “You make shields. A half dozen or so. You stake them all around, all overlapped to keep out the pain and disappointment. But you leave a tiny crack, right in the front. That’s for letting the happiness in.”

Alex forgot to breathe. He looked to the sky once again. Being able to name each star held nothing to the way he saw the aurora anew. Through her eyes. He had wanted to show her a natural marvel, to give them both something beautiful to sustain them through what promised to become an ugly few weeks.

Instead, she had given him a gift. He saw color like a field of flowers and movement like a dancing angel. Science fell away to reveal only beauty. When he could breathe again, he unconsciously mimicked her soft exhale.

Eventually, enough of these “key scenes” start to gather and I have the makings of a complete story. But each romance begins with one—one image, idea, thought. For STARLIGHT, it was Polly letting the happiness in.

What’s next for me:

Now that RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick STARLIGHT has hit the shelves, I’ll be looking forward to the release of HIS VERY OWN GIRL , a historical romance set in World War II. It’s not women’s fiction. It’s not literary fiction. It’s a genuine romance, complete with sexy times and a happy ending. Look for it September 4th as a Pocket Star digital original novel. I cannot wait to see how readers respond! 

I’ll also be launching a new co-written pseudonym, Katie Porter, with my long-time friend and critique partner, Lorelie Brown. Our “Vegas Top Guns” series of contemporary erotic romances will debut from Samhain on July 31 with the release of DOUBLE DOWN, which is also a RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick. Two more from the series, INSIDE BET and HOLD ‘EM, will follow in August and September. You can learn more about these and future books at our website (HERE).

Where to find me:

Website |  Twitter | Facebook 

I’d like to give away a copy of STARLIGHT, and I’ll ship anywhere.

Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook

The second exciting, romantic addition to the Christie family series!
Esteemed astronomer Alex Christie, the eldest and most steadfast of the Christie siblings, has never possessed his late father’s ruthless business drive. But to protect his frail infant son from his cruel father-in-law’s bid for custody, the young widower must undertake Sir William Christie’s posthumous million-dollar challenge: to make a Glasgow cotton mill profitable. At sea in an industrial world of sabotage and union agitation, Alex meets Polly Gowan, daughter of a famed union leader, who hopes to seize a mysterious saboteur without involving the police.

Because a sympathetic mill master would aid her cause, Polly becomes Alex’s guide to urban Scotland. From soccer games to pub brawls, Alex sees another side of life, and feels free for the first time to reveal the man–vital and strong–behind his intellectual exterior. Polly is utterly seduced. Their ambitions, however, remains at odds: Alex vows to earn the mill bonus to save his child, while Polly fights for the needs of her people. Is there strength enough in their sparkling passion to bind them together in their quests–and in a lasting love that conquers all?

Just answer the question: Think of your favorite book or movie and tell me what the “key scene” is for you. Why is that scene so important to you?

 
Thanks again to Books ‘n’ Kisses for having me!

To Enter please fill out the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Spotlight feature of Those who wait by Lynn Hones

Those Who Wait:

Amazon | B&N 

Simone O’Henley, recuperating at a remote lakefront cottage from a devastating broken heart, finds anything but rest. The noises and moans she hears coming out of a nearby grove of trees terrify her, but are soon tempered by the company of handsome Jackson Taylor. The locals have never heard of him and are convinced he’s a land developer ready to snatch up their land at the first opportunity. He convinces Simone he is a simple caretaker looking over land for a friend, but her heart speaks the loudest. After he disappears, she travels far and wide to find him and the truth. A truth that turns her entire world upside down and throws everything she has ever believed into the winds of common sense and reason

Website

 

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Spotlight Feature of Married by Monday by Catherine Bybee

 

Married by Monday 
by Catherine Bybee 

Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook 

Carter Billings:

Sandy blond hair and Hollywood good looks, Carter Billings could have any woman he wants. However, when he makes his bid for the Governor’s seat in the state of California, he needs to settle down and become a family man. Eliza, the woman he secretly adores, embodies the perfect amount of spice and passion to suit his marital needs, but she’s not interested in becoming Mrs. Billings. She can’t even stand to be in the same room with him.

Eliza Havens:

It’s much easier to drive Carter away than to give into desire. Matching couples is how she earns a living, but getting married isn’t an option. The secrets she carries are too dangerous to entangle anyone else. When her hidden identity and past threaten her future, she’s left with little choice. Carter is quick to offer solutions to both their problems, but saying yes could mean endangering the man she’s growing to love.

 

Excerpt:

He folded his arms over his chest. “I suppose you could say I’m following Blake’s lead. Marriage solves a few fundamental problems in my career path.”

She stared at him full on now, not trying to look away. “Your problems. Not mine.”

“Problems you helped play a role in.” He saw the spark in her eye before she managed her first syllable of defense.

She sat the tea down and placed a hand on the counter. “That’s low, Carter.”

“And true or you’d be the first to tell me I’m wrong. If I had a choice, I’d be married by Monday to help dispel all the media crap created by yours and Gwen’s night on the Texas town. I thought I could come to you and obtain a little bit of cooperation.”

“A little bit of cooperation. Marriage is a tad more than a little bit of anything.” Her voice rose and her knuckles started to grip the counter.

“Yet you earn your living arranging marriages or partnerships on trite reasons less important than mine.” How dare she follow a moral high ground. Maybe she’d forgotten how well versed he was on her and Samantha’s business.

“You forget that our clients have to approve of the relationships we arrange. They have to like the person—”

He laughed, interrupting her. “Do you really want to pretend we aren’t friends to prove your point?”

Her cheeks grew rosy which he had to admit was a much better than the pasty color she’d been sporting when he walked into the house. He felt the fire burning inside her as she shot daggers with her eyes.

“You’re my best friend’s husband’s friend. If you’re looking for a wife you might peek into your little black book, or whatever it is you use, and draw another name.”

Carter let his arms drop and took two steps closer. The angrier she became, the more his blood churned. His body responded to her outrage, but not in anger. “I don’t want to draw another name.”

 

Author of New York Times Bestseller, Wife by Wednesday presents, Book Two in the Weekday Bride Series

New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Catherine Bybee has been addicted to romance since her teens. After spending a decade of her life working as an RN in urban emergency rooms, Catherine is now dedicated to writing happily-ever-afters for the world to love. Catherine is married and raising two sons in Southern California.

She loves hearing from her readers so feel free to visit her at:

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

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Spotlight Feature of Waterborne by Katherine Irons (& Giveaway)

Waterboune
by Katherine Irons
Release date:  June 26, 2012
Order here Amazon | B&N

A Force Of Nature
Ree O’Connor is more than she seems to be. Despite her delicate appearance and her broken heart, she sees what others don’t. In fact, she is an agent of a clandestine world court, about to bring down a monster when a stranger springs her trap instead. The mistake nearly costs Ree not only her prey, but her life, too–until mysterious Alexandros spirits her to an underwater world she never suspected, even with all her secret knowledge.
As a prince of Atlantis, Alexandros has centuries of experience in love and battle. His magic draws from the power of the ocean itself, and he can be just as beguiling–and just as unfathomable. Could any man heal Ree enough to become more than a sometime lover? And can she trust her heart to a soldier-prince of the deep?

Excerpt:

Nick . . .

The pain tore at her, ripped and chewed with savage ferocity.  Ree opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.  Her skin was on fire . . . her tongue swollen and dry.  If she believed in hell, she could have believed that she’d died and ended up there.  But she didn’t . . . she’d given up believing in anything when she was six years old.

Flash!  The pictures were back, jerking across a tattered gray screen.  A ship’s galley.  Flash! Nick’s head on the pillow next to hers.  Flash! A cavalcade of black limousines and the cloying scent of lilies.

“No!”

Nick’s arms were around her, lifting her, carrying her.  His mouth covered hers in a searing kiss of passion as a wall of water engulfed them.  She wasn’t afraid.  The water felt good on her hot skin; it soothed the raw ache that gnawed at her stomach and sent shards of glass through her head.  She felt the water on her parched lips, tasted the salt, and inhaled the cool moisture deep into her lungs.

The blackness came and went, came and went.  In between, she thought she saw impossible scenes around her . . . walls of ancient cities, fallen columns, and a road of giant blocks of stone that stretched out to the curve of the earth.  Swaying forests of green kelp rose around them.  Red and yellow, blue, and purple fish darted and floated between the leafy fronds of foliage.  Massive creatures slid past amid the haunting songs of ghostly leviathans.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask Nick.  Why was his hair so light and how had his beautiful brown eyes turned to green?  How had he found her on the deck of the Anastasiya and why was she so thirsty?  But, try as she might, no sounds would pass her lips.

She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and feel his mouth on hers, but she found it impossible to break free from her crystalline prison.  And this time, when the dark tide threatened to sweep over her, she didn’t fight it.  Nick was here, and he would take care of her.  If Nick had found her, everything would be all right.

She opened her eyes to see a wall of molten lava erupting from the forest around them.  Heat flashed against her skin, and she clamped her eyes shut against the glare.  But not before she’d seen the impossible, seen the tattooed men with their flashing spears and heard their hideous war cries.

“Don’t be afraid,” Nick said, and this time, it seemed that she heard his voice in her head.  “I won’t let them hurt you.”

Why would they hurt me? she wondered.  They aren’t real.  Any minute the piano will begin to play and the Little Tramp will throw his hat and knock them all down. They will fall like dominoes. Flash.  Flash.  Flash.

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Spotlight feature of Haunted by Dana Michelle Burnett

 

Haunted 

Spiritus Series Book Two

Amazon | B&N 

Alastor came at me then, forcing me back against the wall. He was so solid that I could feel his weight against me. I could feel his frozen breath on my face….He ran his hand up my arm, over my shoulder, and rested at the base of my throat. His blue eyes glittered dangerously.

With the publication of Spiritus, Dana Michelle Burnett created ghostly romance in a small town. Now, in her new novel, she brings us again – even more magically – into the midst of the haunted love story she introduced in Spiritus, of the solitary and beautiful Becca McAllister and Alastor, the darkly captivating ghost whom she loves and killed over a century ago.

Becca has already decided that it’s Alastor that she loves, but now, as their uncommon relationship limits Becca’s future, Alastor must decide if he’s willing to make the ultimate

sacrifice for Becca’s happiness….

 

Excerpt

I clutched his hand as we moved along toward Magnolia Bridge. Still yards away, I could hear the drums as well as feel them vibrating somewhere deep inside the middle of my body. As the bridge came into view, the beat of the drums took over the air and shook the ground beneath my feet.

The crowd kept moving closer and closer to the old wood and metal bridge. As I stepped up on the first creaking wooden plank, I saw eerie drawings of symbols and words in glowing white chalk scratched on its surface.

The air was thick with humidity and noise, too loud to even breathe. It all began to spin, the drums, the wooden planks covered in glowing drawings, and the sickening sweet smell of so many bodies pushed together.

I felt myself staggering, everything going hazy and then coming back to quickly, like a record played at the wrong speed. Before I could recover, I was spinning and the drums became loud booms that shook the ground and far off there was a baby crying.

It wasn’t safe here. I had to get away. They were going to find us. They were going to get

“Jonah,” I pleaded, “I’ve got to get out of here.”

He didn’t hear me. I was clutching at his arm, but he was lost in the sea of bodies. At last, I clasped his hand and jerked him around to face me.

“Now!” I demanded. “I want to go now!”

Jonah was reluctant to leave, but the expression on my face must’ve convinced him because he guided me through the crowd without complaint.

As we stepped off the bridge, a beautiful woman with deep olive skin stepped into our path. She seemed to glow in her long white dress and white head wrap. There was something

pulsating on her shoulders. It took a moment for my eyes to focus enough to see that it was a large snake that slithered about her neck.

“I see that which you want most,” she declared, pulling the snake’s head up to hers so that it’s forked tongue could flicker across her lips.

I stepped around her, cringing away from the serpent.

The woman laughed, showing a wide mouth of bright white teeth, “He can come back, you know.”

The air left my lungs and I stopped short. I couldn’t have heard her right. I dropped Jonah’s hand and turned around slowly.

“What did you say?” I asked.

She stepped over to me, swaying her hips so that her dress swung like a bell.

“I can bring him back,” She whispered as she came within inches of my face. “I know that is the thing that you want most.”

There was a surge of air swirling around me and over my head. The woman’s eyes focused on it with a knowing smile.

“He will be angry,” She said and took a card out of the waistband of her dress. “Come and see me when you can.”

I clutched the card in my hand as Jonah led me away. I looked back and watched the woman disappear in the darkening crowd.

Jonah pulled me along, oblivious to the exchange. Once we were safe in a taxi and heading back to the hotel, Jonah put his arm around me and kissed me on my cheek.

“You’ll feel better after a long soak in the tub and a little rest.” He whispered hot and wet in my ear.

I don’t remember saying anything. I just remember the feeling of the card’s sharp edges in my palm. Nothing else in the world mattered except that card.

Late that night, I slipped from the bed were Jonah still lay sleeping. I dressed and went down to the Carousel Bar. Again, the card that I was turning over and over in my fingers held my attention.

MADAME MARIE DESMARAIS’S SHOP OF VOODOO

Royal Street

New Orleans, LA

Could it really be possible? Could Alastor actually come back?

I glanced around at the other patrons of the bar reflected in the many lights and mirrors throughout the room. Were they aware of such possibilities? If so, how could they just sit there and drink the night away?

I sipped at my hurricane cocktail and enjoyed the tingling burn as it went down my throat. I tapped the edge of the card on the table one, two, three times.

The bartender sat another cocktail in front of me. I was already lightheaded, but I took it anyway.

What was I supposed to do now? Could I bring Alastor back and lose Jonah forever?

Would I ever be happy with Jonah if I knew there was even the smallest chance that Alastor could come back?

It was just too impossible to sort out. It was easier to just keep drinking and pretend like I didn’t already know the answer.

Two more drinks later and I barely recognized Jonah when he took a seat at the bar beside me.

“Why aren’t you upstairs?” He asked, taking the drink from me and pushing it away.

I rubbed my hands over my face, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Is anything wrong?”

I looked down at the card on the bar and then covered it with my hands.

“Not really,” I said. “Just restless, I guess.”

Jonah leaned over and kissed my cheek. He brushed his lips over my ear, “Why don’t you come back upstairs?”

I slid off the barstool, struggling to stand on unsteady feet. Jonah’s arm went around my waist to steady me.

As I reached back to get the stiff white card from the bar, I saw Alastor’s face reflected in the mirrors surrounding the bar. He glared at me with angry blue eyes as I took the card and slid it into my pocket. I silently dared him to try to stop me.

I glanced back at Alastor’s image as I stepped into the elevator with Jonah. He glared at me with hostile eyes until the elevator doors closed and it was just me and my new husband

alone in the elevator.

I leaned back and let out a sigh.

Alastor’s secret voice reverberated in my brain, “Becca, throw the card away, no good will come of it.”

I can’t do that.

“What you’re thinking is impossible,” He argued. “I wish it could be different, but it cannot.”

You don’t know that.

“Yes, I do and you’re not being fair to Jonah.”

I glanced over at Jonah. He leaned against the wall, watching the floor numbers change as we went up. He felt me watching him and turned and gave me one of his brilliant smiles.

“I love you.” He said simply and looked back up at the numbers.

How could he be so trusting? That familiar stab of guilt hit me in the gut.

“I love you too.” I answered.

But I love him more…

Alastor swirled near me, whispering inside my head. “I’m telling you that what you want is impossible.”

I can’t give up while there is even the slightest chance for you.

“Becca, you have to see that this is a lost cause.”

I can’t believe that.

“You have to believe it or else you will drive yourself mad.”

 

About Dana:

Dana Michelle Burnett spent most of her life writing short stories and sharing them with family

and friends. Over the years, her work was published in numerous commercial and literary magazines including Just Labs, Mindprints: A Literary Journal, Foliate Oak, and many more. Her short story John Lennon and the Chicken Holocaust was included in The Best of Foliate Oak in 2006.

In 2010, Burnett’s first novel, Ghost Country, was released. Based on her own Cherokee heritage, the novel marked her return to the literary world after a four year hiatus. She followed that with the release of her romance novel, Two Out of Three in the summer of 2011.

Spiritus is the first novel in her new paranormal romance series by the same name. The second book, Haunted, is now available.

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Spotlight Feature & Giveaway of Fire Kissed by Erin Kellison

Thank you to Kelly for inviting me back to Books-n-Kisses and for her outrageously generous support of my books. I’ve got a new series debuting with Fire Kissed and to celebrate, I’m giving away a copy of Fire Kissed and a $25 gift card to a reader chosen at random who answers this question: Do you believe in the supernatural and why?

 

Order here: Amazon | B&N | Powell’s 

Fae Fire

It is Kaye Brand’s power to wield. But outcast from her kind, she’s been selling herself to the highest bidder – money for her survival in exchange for a magic glimpse into the flames of the future.

 Angel Ice

One of the angelic Order, Jack Bastian has no use for a female like Kaye, as provocative and unexpected as her blazing beauty. Yet he has no choice but to hire her to uncover the secrets of his sworn enemy and her former fiancé, Ferrol Grey.

 Magekind

War is inevitable between the defenders of the Order and the mage Houses who threaten to engulf the world in Shadow. For Jack, mage-born Kaye is off limits, no matter how hot the impossible attraction between them. But in the coming darkness, beset by danger and desire, everything is about to change…

Excerpt:

Never trust a pretty face, her father had once warned her. A pretty face masks a killer.

This angel wasn’t pretty; he was perfect, which was something altogether different, Kaye was now learning. He had none of the soul of that other angel, none of the warmth. This angel, Jack Bastian, had fair eyes, blue probably, or hazel, though she couldn’t be sure that far away. His hair was darkest brown, cut brutally short to tame a tight curl. Square face. An almost Roman nose with a full mouth to match. Though attractive, he was no model. No poet. And yet each expression and angle of his face was impossibly beautiful. Therefore, treacherous.

Angel. Memory had her throat closing. Her eyes ached as angel light filled them. She hadn’t seen another, until now.

Not her fault. The other angel had said so himself. Not her fault. She’d been just a kid.

What could this one possibly want with her?

Bastian, who’d been leaning in her doorway, straightened. He was broad of shoulder, tall, and well-muscled. Something dangerous in his bearing. Every bit the assassin. “We would need you to reenter magekind to gather information on how they are using the wraiths.”

The flames in Kaye’s hands diminished to a weak yellow and orange glow, as if the oxygen in the room had suddenly thinned. If she had any idea why the mage families used wraiths, she wouldn’t have those scars.

“I thought you might be curious yourself,” Bastian continued. He tilted his head and she could feel the stroke of his gaze on her scars. The stroke was echoed by a flutter deep within her belly.

Fear, arousal—both sometimes felt the same.

 

For excerpts and more information, please come find me at:

Erin’s website: www.ErinKellison.com.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ErinKellisonAuthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EKellison

  To enter Erin’s giveaway.  Please answer Erin’s question and fill out the Rafflecopter from below.

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Interview & Giveaway with Kelly Jamieson

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Kelly Jamieson to the blog for the first time.
We are chatting about her new book Sweet Deal.

Can you please share with us a little about yourself

I write romance books. 🙂

I’ve written over twenty romance novels and novellas. My writing has been described by reviewers as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”, hence the tag line “Romance with sweet heat”. I’m also an avid romance reader, and I like to read cookbooks (and sometimes cook!) gardening books (and I sometimes garden!) and I also like to read magazines and shop for shoes.  I’m  mom of two adult children and happily married to my hero and best friend for 28 years.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Yes! Always, even as a kid, I spent hours writing stories.

Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

My favorite authors are mostly contemporary romance or women’s fiction authors, although I do like some historical as well. There are really too many to name. Marian Keyes is a big favorite. I also love Erin McCarthy, Jill Shalvis, Emma Holly, Shannon McKenna, Sandra Brown, Toni Blake, Emily GIffen, Lorelei James…I could go on and on.

How did you get into writing in this specific genre?  Have you ever thought about writing in a different genre?

I love to write about love. I guess I am romantic—I’m a sucker for any kind of love story, so even if I wrote any other genre (I have dabbled in women’s fiction and some romantic suspense) there would still be a love story.

What are some of your writing rituals?

I don’t really have any rituals. With a full time job and a busy family, I squeak out writing time whenever I can. Sometimes I have to kick the family out of “my office” because I’m trying to write a hot sex scene, and I do find that difficult to do with other people around.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

My latest book is Sweet Deal, a sexy contemporary romance. Readers who know me for my ménage or BDSM books will find this a little different, but it’s not unlike my book Friends With Benefits, which is quite popular – one man, one woman, a few problems and a lot of sexual tension.

Jake is a guy with a one date rule, who doesn’t do relationships after his last girlfriend dumped him and married his best friend, who Jake was also planning to go into business with. So his love life and his career are pretty dead and he needs a kick in the pants. On the other hand, Shelby’s career is just picking up again after a disaster at her last job, except for one pesky problem – her boss is a little too interested in her…

For something different, I created a Pinterest Board for Sweet Deal – check it out for some images from the story…

How did you come with the idea for this story?

I got the idea for this story from an advice column…wait! I think I’ve said that before! Apparently I get a lot of ideas from advice columns! A woman wrote in because she was concerned about the relationship developing between her and her boss and the fact that others were starting to talk about them…she didn’t want to have an inappropriate relationship with her boss, but she didn’t want to lose her job either. Well the advice columnist didn’t tell that woman to come up with a fake boyfriend, but that’s what Shelby does in Sweet Deal. Of course, that only creates more problems…

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

My “WIP” is the third book in a series that I haven’t yet submitted to my editor, so I do hope this eventually gets published! It’s set in a fictional coastal California town that is home to a big surf event, and the hero of the WIP is a pro surfer. He makes an appearance in the first book, but right now I’m working on his story.  I also have a Pinterest board for this book for a sneak peek at the story…

What would you be if you were not an author?

The career I wanted when I was in university was to be a translator. I think that would have been a good fit for me. My degree is a double major in English and French. Then I took one year towards a translation degree but didn’t finish. When you translate, you translate into your first language, English for me, which means you have to be a good writer to be able to have the text flow and not sound “translated”. That career didn’t work out for a few reasons – oh well!

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

I always have a huge To Read Pile (okay it’s not really a “pile” since I read ebooks, but it’s a big list!) with books by my fellow Nine Naughty Novelists who always have something great coming out, and upcoming releases by some of my fav authors mentioned above. I’m anxiously awaiting a new Marian Keyes book but I don’t think that will be for a while.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you so much for having me here today! I don’t love talking about myself, but I do love talking about my books and my characters, who become so real to me! Here’s where you can find me around on the web:

Kelly Jamieson – Bio

I’m a married mother of two who lives a very ordinary life outside of my imagination. When I’m not writing I’m usually reading. I also like to cook and that means I like to read cookbooks and cooking magazines. In the summer I enjoy spending time gardening and in the winter I like to read gardening magazines and seed catalogues. I love lying on the beach or on my deck with a glass of wine and a good book. I also love to travel. As you can see, pretty much all my activities involve reading somehow! Although I don’t have as much time for it any more, I also love to shop, especially for clothes and shoes. Some think I’m obsessed with shoes but that is not true (although my husband would point out that there is no room left in our closet).

I love to hear from readers, so Tweet me on Twitter, leave me a comment on Goodreads or Amazon or my blog , or email me at info (at) kellyjamieson.com

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Nine Naughty Novelists | Pinterest

Sweet Deal – available June 12, 2012

 Samhain Publishing |  Amazon |   Barnes & Noble 

 Blurb:

The relationship is pretend. The chemistry…isn’t.
After her last job ended with a broken heart and a humiliating exit from the company, Shelby Leighton’s project management career is back on track with a new job and a high-profile project. The problem: her new boss is a little too friendly, and the staff is talking. Can you say, “déjà vu?” The solution: casually mention a fictional new boyfriend.

Jake Magill doesn’t do relationships. It’s casual or nothing, but the hot blonde he’s been eyeing at the coffee shop sure is something. Especially when she confesses her problem, and he finds himself offering to act as her date.

Sounds simple. Stroll around the party with Shelby’s sexy curves clinging to his arm? He’s all over it. Until he meets her boss—the man who once stole and married the one woman Jake thought he loved.

Now Jake’s the one with a reason to pretend. If only to save his own pride…and Shelby from the predatory gaze of the man who could ruin her, and any chance of finding out if their fake connection is the real thing.

Product Warnings

Contains one desperate lady in need, and a pretend boyfriend who shows impressive dedication to nailing all—and then some—elements of his role. Oh my!

 

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!
To enter for a chance to win an E-copy of Sweet Deal. Please fill out the Rafflecopter from below.
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Seduced by Blood Pre-Order Contest

As most of you know Laurie London’s 4th book in her Sweetblood  series will be released later this month (7-24).  Seduced by Blood is Tristan Santiago’s story.  The fearless, stubborn, rules with a iron fist and doesn’t need anyone leader of the Northwest Guardian Divison.  I loved this book.  I loved reading about Santiago’s demons and how he learns to love and be loved.

So because I loved Santiago’s story so much I want to see who loves the Sweetblood Series as much as me.

So here is what I am going to do.

I have a set of the first three books in the Sweetblood series, Bonded by Blood, Embraced by Blood, & Tempted by Blood, all 3 signed by the wonderful Laurie London that I am going to giveaway.  Also I have a custom made bookthong by the wonderful Mandy from Shiny Stupid Designs.    So one lucky person will get all three books, the bookthong and there might be a little something extra too *wink, wink*.

So how do you enter?

Pretty simple:

1st: Pre-order Seduced by Blood (you can pre-order from any of your favorite book retailers) Between now and July 23rd.

2nd:  Send me an email that shows you ordered.  Please send email to books.n.kisses(at)gmail(dot)com . Please put “Seduced by Blood” in the title area.

3rd:   Gain an extra point for sharing on Facebook, twitter or your own blog.  Please make sure to let me know where you shared in your email (please include links)

4th: Now you wait.

Contest will run until July 23rd.  Winner will be drawn & announced on July 25th.

 Seduced by Blood

7/24/2012

Amazon | B&N | Powells | Books a Million

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two vampire coalitions: Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors… Hot-blooded and hard-edged, Tristan Santiago has an uncanny ability to see beneath the surface-a power that serves him well as the Guardians’ region commander. But when a deadly plot against his fellow vampires is uncovered, he must turn to the one woman he can’t read: the beautiful yet mysterious Roxanne Reynolds, whose sensual presence soothes his tormented memories. Roxy had put love before duty once before, with devastating results. But to root out a dangerous traitor in their midst, she must put her faith in Santiago, the one man skilled enough to break through her defenses. Posing as lovers, Santiago and Roxy work side by side-and discover a powerful craving that threatens to consume them both

 

Giveaway Details:  Giveaway is Sponsored by Books-n-Kisses Blog.  Giveaway is open to everyone.  No shipping restrictions.  Winner will be chosen with the help of Random.org.  Winner will have 72 hours after email notification to contact me with required information to claim prize.