Author: Kelly

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Guest Blog with Jodie Becker & Sidney Bristol

Love of an Era: Musicals

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JODIE: 1950s, what an era. Beehive hair-dos, rockabilly dresses and petticoats, and everyone broke out into song and dance… What? They didn’t really do that? But what about An American in Paris?? Okay, well I WISHED everyone broke out into song and dance. What is it about musicals that carries joy over the next 50+ years. My kids enjoy the shows like Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. They are timeless in their plots and have managed to capture people’s imagination generations later. The most noted in the early era is people like Fred Astaire, but my personal fave was Gene Kelly. I sometimes feel like their looks are also timeless, that we’d never see a guy that pulls off that look again. Which is a shame. I loved Singing in the Rain, with the romance, comedy and singing. Who is your favorite leading man, Sid?

SIDNEY: I have a secret. I love musicals, and I’m almost tone deaf. I also can’t remember a name to save my life, so I concentrate on remembering the names of people around me, which means actors are forever relegated to, “That guy with the face and the eyes.” I can’t tell you Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly’s names, but I know their faces, I know their moves and their voices, which I think they would be okay with. There’s something timeless about the male leads of that era. They’re classic, versatile men who could wear many hats. They could be the smooth talking player bound to get caught up with a sweet southern belle, a lucky man who happens onto the path of the woman he will love, the bad boy who just needs the right woman. Not only that, but they sang and danced and wooed their intended’s heart. There is something that makes me sigh and loose myself in the process of falling in love.

JODIE: I agree. Do you think it might be the techno-color? Everyone is rosy cheeked and dresses are brighter, streets are cleaner and props are man-made. And you know, back then they generally had popular pairings. Fred Astaire was known to always act with Ginger Rogers. In fact, you’ll like this clip, Sid, it’s Fred and Ginger dancing on roller-skates in Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dskTypuEXoM&feature=related
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My fave pairing was Rock Hudson and Doris Day. I loved their chemistry on screen and I must admit I have a box set with Pillow Talk, Don’t Send Me Flowers and Lover Come Back. I adore Lover Come Back. It’s about two competing advertisers who want VIP, a product they know nothing about. When Doris mistakes Rock as the scientist to woo, Rock takes advantage and uses it to seduce ideas out of her. But he ends up liking her and you can see where this is going. Nowhere good. LOL It’s also the romance I adore in musicals.


SIDNEY: The romance plays a huge part in the draw of the genre. There’s something sweet about it, how the culmination of the romance is a touch and a kiss. Those gestures become so much more because of it. I’m also a huge sucker for the music, period. The other day, someone tweeted that they were watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and I broke out singing “Bless Her Beautiful Hide,” without breaking a beat! The music from that time period and all of the productions that went on have stayed with us. Who doesn’t know a few bars of, “Singing in the Rain,” or , “Don’t Rain on my Parade,” or “White Christmas.” There was a magic quality knowing any moment could bring about another song, a huge dance number or something. I think one of my favorite dance numbers is from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, when all of the brothers are dancing and fighting over the girls. Do you have a favorite, Jodie?
JODIE: I love that movie! I think it’s true, there is some type of magic about that era of film. The way romance is played out by simple gestures, music and body language. I actually don’t have a favorite, since each and every one of them have this sense of wonder about them. The colors and the innocence of the time is so mesmerizing. I love the style and the way they also made realities of a time into fantasies. Like The Harvey Girls with Judy Garland, which featured the very famous Harvey Girls of history. Or Doris Day who plays Callamity Jane who sings and dance.

SIDNEY: Musicals somehow made everything glamorous and innocent. I really like Gigi, which is about a teenage girl being raised to become a courtesan to her best friend. Her entire point in life is to go from man to man, whoever can afford to keep her. Now, of course she goes against the rules and falls in love with her man, and he with her. It breaks all the social rules to fall in love with your Mistress, and yet everyone is smiling and singing these happy songs while they’re unhappy. There’s a line at the end after the two have gone through the wringer about wanting a relationship. Gigi says to Gaston, “I’d rather be miserable with you than miserable without you.” Okay, I might have said that to a boyfriend once when we were going through a rough patch…

Readers, have you ever taken direction from a musical? Because there are moments I wish I hadn’t!
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Interview with Linda Kage

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Linda Kaye to the blog today.  We are looking forward to learning a little more about Linda and her books The Right To Remain Mine (release date Feb 2012) & The Best Mistake (release date March 2012)
Linda:  Hi!  Thank you so much for letting stop by and chat with you guys.  If I start talking on too long, just take my mike away.  I’ll get the point!!

Q1) Please tell us a little about yourself
Linda : The youngest of eight kids, I was raised a good little protestant girl in southeast Kansas by poor dairy farmers. I married a cop (though he wasn’t one when I met him) at twenty-one, and we waited nine years to start our family.  Next month, our little girl who is so cute she’s a little too spoiled for her own good will turn two. Aside from writing contemporary YA and adult romance, I work as the acquisitions assistant in an academic library.  Yeah, I’m PAID to buy books all day long.  Cool, huh? Now if only I could buy all the romance stories I’d like to instead of medical and math books, I’d be in heaven!

Q2)  Tell us a typical writing day for you
Linda : No day is typical for me. With a full time job and a toddler and husband, I pretty much squeeze in writing when people are asleep, or not looking.

Q3) Have you always wanted to be an author or what made you become an author?
Linda: I have wanted to be an author since first grade. I read a poem that Mrs. Coltrane praised as if Shakespeare himself had penned it. From that point on, no one could convince me I wasn’t going to be writer. I guess that’s what you get when you have amazing teachers who encourage you and make you think you’re actually good at something!!

Q4) Tell us a little about your book The Best Mistake
Linda: I had a blast writing this humorous romance novella. I hope the fun stuff comes through to its readers. Deri Crandall feels like one big mistake.  An oops since birth, she never does anything right in the eyes of her family.  And here, all she wants from them is love and acceptance. Thinking she’ll finally get just that if she does what they tell her to and infiltrates their competitor’s company to steal all of Cole Harrety’s business secrets, she agrees…even though she plans to steal nothing from no one.  Saying yes to them is probably the biggest mistake she’s ever made, but sometimes a woman’s biggest mistake can turn out to be the best thing to ever happen to her.  She never imagined all the love and acceptance she craves will come from the one man she’s supposed to deceive.

Q5)  Tell us a little about The Right to Remain Mine
Linda: This is a full-length romance story with a dash of suspense; you don’t find out who the bad guy is until the very end. If you like reading about a hero and heroine who argue from the get-go until they argue themselves right into bed with each other, this is the story for you!!  Sheriff deputy, Raith Malloy hates lawyers.  And lawyer Willow DeVane abhors rude, overbearing alpha men.  But when they get together, boy, does the chemistry flow. After she’s physically attacked by a client, Raith needles his way into giving her self-defense training. But that only ends with them in bed together.  When their heated relationship grows rocky, they’re forced to put aside their difference after outside influences like a stalker breaking into Willow’s house bring them back together.  I wanted to bash Willow and Raith’s stubborn heads together more than once while I was writing their story. They aggravate as much as they kiss and make up.

Q6) How did you come up with the idea for these stories?
Linda: My idea for THE BEST MISTAKE came to me at work.  I stock the paper on the shelves in the supply closet.  One day, while I worried about how much it’d hurt if I overstocked the shelves and they collapsed on top of me, I came up for the beginning scene in the story.  The rest developed over time.   I can’t remember how THE RIGHT TO REMAIN MINE came about. I think I liked the idea of pairing up a lawyer with a cop and having them bicker at each other non-stop, in effect making their chemistry intense to the point of scalding hot!!

Q7)  What is your current work in progress?
Linda: I’m always working on about half a dozen or more stories.  Right now, I’m scratching out a YA about a mute girl and a boy whose parents recently divorced. I like to call this one SILENT, but who knows how long that title will stick. Then there’s a sweet adult romance I’m working on about an ex-drug addict who meets his teen daughter.  I’ve currently titled it ADDICTED TO ANSLEY.  I’ve stalled out on a prequel for my first adult romance, The Trouble with Tomboys.  This one is called FARM BOYS HAVE ALL THE FUN, but I’m stuck at a difficult part right now.  Then there is THE NEIGHBOR WARS about a woman whose children from the future come visit her. I’ve stalled out on that one too. There’s more, but I won’t bore you with them.

Q8) Who are some of your favorite authors?
Linda: Oh, goody.  One of my favorite lists to make.  Let’s see. Favorite authors. Catherine Anderson, Cherry Adair, Lara Adrian, Claire Ashgrove, Sandra Brown, Suzanne Brockmann, Marie Rose Dufour, Suzanne Enoch, Julie Garwood, Laura Lee Gurhke, Linda Howard, Elizabeth Hoyt, Larissa Ione, Tara Janzen, Sabrina Jeffries, Gennita Low, Eve Langlais, Lisa Kleypas, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Julie Quinn, Karen Robards, Annie Solomon, Anne Stuart, Gena Showalter, Katherine Sutcliffe, J. R. Ward, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.

Q9) Have to ask because I am nosey.  What is in your to be read pile that you are dying to read next?
Linda: Right now, I simply CANNOT wait until July to read Elizabeth Hoyt’s Thief of Shadows.  I hate it (but honestly really LOVE it) when they supply an excerpt for the next book in the series at the end of the story, because then I want to start on that story…IMMEDIATELY. And I totally want to start on Thief of Shadows, like yesterday! 

Q10) Is there anything else you would to add?
Linda: Thanks so much for letting me talk on and on.  I love talking about books, not just my own. So if anyone wants to get a hold of me and recommend a great story they just read, I always love adding new fav authors to my list.

Books-n-Kisses: Linda, thank you for taking the time to stop by the blog today to chat about yourself and your books.  
Linda: Here are my LINKS if anyone is curious!
WEBSITE – http://www.lindakage.com/
BLOG – http://lindakage.blogspot.com/
FACEBOOK – http://www.facebook.com/linda.kage
TWITTER – http://twitter.com/lindakage
YOUTUBE – http://www.youtube.com/user/LindaKage
GOODREADS – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3213942.Linda_Kage
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Interview with Clarissa Yip


Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Clarissa Yip to the blog today. We are going to be talking about her books One Chance, Silent Night Seduction and Tempting a Prince  
Clarissa: I’m so excited to be here! And it’s Monday! (I hate Mondays. Lol. Shhhhh.)

Q1) Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Clarissa: Well, I write contemporary romance. I live off of cupcakes and coffee. Have a Maltese, who thinks I’m his pet toy, and I’m usually hiding in my cave…

Q2) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Clarissa: No. Truthfully. I never really thought about it. I wrote because I loved it since I was a kid. You’d never find me without a journal or something to read. It wasn’t until I’ve decided to make a life change that I started to take my writing more seriously. Now five years later, I have ten published works, two print books, and a few other projects in the making. Time flies.

Q3) Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?
Clarissa: The list could go forever! Lol. I love J.R. Ward, Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, and there are too many to name. I think the people who have most influenced my writing are my critique partners at Passionate Critters. They’ve taught me so much and have helped me made the writer I am.

Q4) Can you tell us what a typical writing day for you is like. 
Clarissa: Now that is a tough question. Usually I’m editing until my eyes won’t stay open. I can only write when the house is quiet and everyone is asleep normally. My one CP says I must be a vampire. Lol. When I wake up in the mornings, I’m actually hunched over the computer, going through emails and figuring what I need to do for the day. I’m really not a morning person at all…

Let’s talk about your books
 Q5) Can you tell us a little about One Chance?
Clarissa: One Chance is a best friends romance. Jenna has been in love with Cade forever and she doesn’t find the courage to face him until she realizes that she’s going to lose him to another woman. I love seeing two people who are meant to be together finally hook up.

Q6) Can you tell us a little about Silent Night’s Seduction?
Clarissa: Silent Night’s Seduction is about Lily McCormick who is kidnapped and put on a plane to Alaska for a one-night stand with a mystery date. But that date turns out to be her ex-husband. She’s definitely a fiery chick, and seeing her ex once again only brings up the wrong that they’ve endured. I love their passion and seeing them find a second chance at love.

Q7) Can you tell us a little about Tempting a Prince?
Clarissa: Tempting a Prince is one of my favorites. Sarah is determined to get over her childhood crush and best friend’s brother, Evan, who has never noticed her. She’s ready to find Prince Charming. Only her date ends up being Evan…dum dum dum dummmmm…lol. You’ll have to find out what happens there in Vegas…

Q8) What is up next for you?
Clarissa: I’m actually finalizing edits for my new release coming in February, called True Connections. It’s part of Entangled Publishing’s new line, Ever Afters, and my story will be part of their Valentine’s Anthology. I’m very excited!
Here’s a sneak peak:
Blurb:
Scarred from a horrible relationship, proud and stubborn Lia McEvers returns home to open a matchmaking business in her old hometown, except her nemesis is still constantly annoying her…just by breathing. When their grandmothers involve her in a plan to help Max find a date for the Valentine’s party, Lia comes up with a few schemes of her own…that may just land her in a hot mess.
Successful tycoon Max Sheraton loves to take gambles, except when it comes to his grandmothers and Lia McEvil. Forced to sign up as a candidate at True Connections, he makes a pact to work with his enemy to appease their family, but he never saw trouble coming… 
Hidden desires unleash, and they find themselves in their grandmother’s matchmaking plans. When games turn serious, can Lia pay the stakes or run once again before Max can show her what he can offer?
Q9) What is the next book on your To Read Pile that you are dying to jump into?
Clarissa: Actually, I just picked up Catherine Mann’s Cover Me, and a few of Lora Leigh’s books. It’s been so long since I’ve had the time to pleasure read!

Q10) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Clarissa: Please stop by and visit me at http://clarissayip.com. I can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Don’t be shy! Drop me a note! Let me know what you are reading! I’m always looking for new reads.

Books-n-Kisses: Clarissa, again thank you so very much for making Books-n-Kisses a stop on your book tour.  I have enjoyed learning more about you and your book.  I look forward to reading and see what you come up with next.
Clarissa: Thank you so much for having me! It’s truly wonderful here! 
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Review of Jaguar’s Rule by TJ Michaels

Jaguar’s Rule
By TJ Michaels
This book also featured in
‘Doing it the Hard Way’ print anthology
(Pocket Books)
Genre: Shape-shifter / Paranormal
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-4658-7303-3
Release Date: Print 2009, Digital 2011
Read the Reviews
Order Paperback: Amazon | Simon & Schuster | Barnes and Noble
Order eBook: Kindle | Nook | All Others
Reya Daines has dedicated her life to the conservation of Jaguars. With the only bed breakfast at the entrance to Cockscomb Jaguar Sanctuary, she can keep an eye on poachers and still indulge her guests in her first love – scuba diving. But something unusual is happening on the reserve and the big cats are restless. Something has invaded their habitat. And that something wants Reya.
Aaron James is a hard nut to crack. A shrewd businessman and always determined to see to his own affairs, he finds he can’t quite take care of things himself after his plane goes down in the jungles of Belize. The woman who rescues him is a loner, just like him. But he finds he doesn’t want her to be a loner, unless she’s alone with him. When he learns she’s in danger by the same menace she’s saved him from twice, what’s a determined man to do with an equally stubborn woman? Tie her to a bed? Now that has potential…
My thoughts:
I won’t give much away in my review, but I loved that the heroine is the shifter. Reya is a strong, determined and stubborn to a fault heroine and I loved her to death.   But everything she is will never prepare her for the man she just saved from a burning plane.
Jaguar’s rule is a very hot, steamy, fast, intensely captivating read. I love the world that TJ created in this book and I am looking forward to what she has in store for us next. 
Want to learn more about TJ? 
Find her here:  http://www.tjmichaels.com/
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ARC Review of If You See Her by Shiloh Walker

If You See Her
Book 2 The Ash Series
By Shiloh Walker
Amazon | B & N | Booksamillion | Indiebound | Book Depository
A FACE IN THE MIRROR
Hope Carson may not look like a survivor, but she has escaped an abusive ex-husband and recovered from a vicious assault. Now she endures the painful memories and suspicious rumors surrounding her involvement in the attack. Her ex is a cop, so the last people she trusts are law enforcement officials—and she certainly doesn’t trust how the local DA makes her feel inside.
Remy Jennings should know better. He has no business falling for a woman who he suspects may have a deeply troubled mind. And even if he did make a move, she’d bolt like a frightened rabbit. But how can he deny a burning desire that threatens to consume him? As Hope’s past catches up with her in the worst way, Remy is determined to break through her defenses, earn her trust, and keep her safe in his arms—before it’s too late.
My Thoughts:
If You See Her is book 2 in Shiloh Walker’s Ash Trilogy.  In book 1 If You Hear Her we are introduced to the town of Ash, Kentucky.  In book 1 we are thrown into a murder mystery.  If You See Her picks up where we left off in book 1, I would highly recommend that you read If You Hear Her, before If You See Her.
This was a great, highly intense, fast moving story, with lots of twists and turns along the way.  You never know who is the good guy or the bad guy.  And just when you think you have it figured out you find you are wrong.
I truly enjoyed this story.  Each story in this Trilogy keeps getting better and better.  I am so looking forward to the third and final book in the Ash Trilogy-If You Know Her.
If you have not started this series and you love romantic suspense stories.  I would highly recommend you read the Ash series. 

Want to learn more about Shiloh and her books? 
Check her out here: http://www.shilohwalker.com/
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My review of Wicked Werewolf Nights by Lisa Renee Jones

Wicked Werewolf Nights
by Lisa Renee Jones
book 1 in The Werewolf Society series
A witch after his secret. A wolf after her pleasure.
Nico Moore is the leader of of The Werewolf Society’s elite Royal Guard. Aylia Richardson is the witch who calls to the beast in Nico, but destiny has also made her the keeper of a gift that threatens the very existence of his race. To destroy this gift will destroy this woman…the only one he has ever dared to call ‘mate’.
Buy:
Smashwords|Barnes and Noble| Kindle| All Romance
Visit the Series Page
READ an EXCERPT
My Thoughts:
I so love the cover of Wicked Werewolf Nights.  I was so looking forward to reading this book after finishing Troy’s book Hot Vampire Touch (book 3 of the Vampire Warden series).  But I felt just a little let down with this story.  Now don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed the story.  I just wish that it would have been a little longer.  I think that there was so much more we needed to know about Nico & Alyia.  I am looking forward to learning more about the Werewolf Society in the next two books.
If you love the Vampire Warden series you will love the Werewolf Society series.
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Guest Review of Fiona by Linda Andrews

Fiona by Linda Andrews
Amazon  
 Searching for her missing aunt and uncle, self-reliant American heiress Fiona Grey needs the reclusive Marquess of Kingslee to introduce her to the upper echelon of London society. But Kingslee knows her type—rich, spoilt and on the prowl for a husband. Despite the lure of intrigue surrounding Fiona and her missing family members, he wants nothing to do with her…until a murderer begins to take interest.
Guest Blogger Natasha’s Thoughts:
 This was a very entertaining and fun read. This story started out in mystery with unusual characters (ghosts named Milton) and was a little hard to follow at first. Once I got my bearings however I was able to really enjoy the story. Fiona is a very strong and witty heroine that I loved reading about. Her banter with Hugh and her late fiance Milton are great parts of the story. The mystery in the story in addition to the comical moments keeps you interested the whole time!
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Guest Review of Be My Everything by Ella Jade

Be My Everything by Ella Jade
Genre(s): Erotic Contemporary Romance/BDSM
Digital ISBN: 9781937325060

Lucas and Katherine enter into the perfect arrangement to fulfill their sexual needs, but what happens when their hearts get in the way?
Shy, awkward receptionist Katherine Sierra wants to explore her sexually submissive side. Although new to the BDSM world, she’s eager to learn. When she attends a play party and submits an application to one of the most experienced Doms in the room, she has no idea what she’s gotten herself into.
Successful businessman and hardcore Dominant Lucas Cain knows his way around a playroom and doesn’t normally take on brand new subs. He’s apprehensive about training someone so innocent, but the more time he spends with Katherine the more intrigued he becomes. She may be everything he’s been searching for.
But when Lucas requests that Colin, his friend and mentor, join them in the playroom for an evening of fun, it just might change everything.
Has Lucas broken his own rule and fallen in love with his sub?
Content Warning: strong language, graphic sex, BDSM themes
Read An Excerpt
Guest Reviewer Kellie:
Want to get your toes wet in the BDSM world?  Not ready for the onslaught of wipes and chains but still want the passion a little kink can bring into your life?  Read Be My Everything by Ella Jade.  This charming short story gives you a brief and shallow glimpse but with all the intensity into that world.  A Dom who has played for years in this alternate lifestyle finds his match in the innocence of a newbie.  Luke and Katherine will pull you in and you’ll find yourself rooting for the weaker of the two, of course it’s not who you think. 
Do enjoy this feel good love story with a twist.
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Rescue Me Series by Kallypso Masters

Masters at Arms
Rescue Me #1
by Kallypso Masters
AMAZON | B& N | SMASHWORDS 
Masters at Arms begins the journey of three men, each on a quest for honor, acceptance, and to ease his unspoken pain. Their paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. As they try to come to terms with the aftermath–forging an unbreakable bond–will they ever truly become masters of their own fates? Or would fate become masters of them?
Nobody’s Angel 

Rescue Me #2
By Kallypso Masters

AMAZON | B& N | SMASHWORDS
Marc d’Alessio might own a BDSM club with his fellow military veterans, Adam and Damian, but he keeps all women at a distance. However, when Marc rescues beautiful Angelina Giardano from a disastrous first BDSM experience at the club, an uncharacteristic attraction leaves him torn between his safe, but lonely world, and a possible future with his angel.Angelina leaves BDSM behind, only to have her dreams plagued by the Italian angel who rescued her at the club. When she meets Marc at a bar in her hometown, she can’t shake the feeling she knows him, but has no idea why he reminds her of her angel.

When Marc’s search-and-rescue partner, widower Luke Denton, confides he believes Angelina is the angel his wife promised to send him, Marc is convinced she is meant for Luke. A painful incident from his past keeps Marc from letting any woman drive a wedge between him and a friend.

While Luke can provide Angelina with love and stability, Marc knows his friend can’t satisfy her submissive needs. Marc offers one night to show her that BDSM is not about pain, but a power exchange with mutual trust and consent. But he knows he can’t commit emotionally to anything more.

When the abusive Dom from Angelina’s past threatens, Marc’s protective instincts kick in; he must keep her safe. Again at the Masters at Arms Club, she turns the tables on him and turns his safe, controlled world upside down.

Nobody’s Hero 
Rescue Me #3

by Kallypso Masters

AMAZON | B& N | SMASHWORDS

Retired Marine Master Sergeant Adam Montague has battled through four war zones, but now finds himself running from Karla Paxton, who has declared war on his heart. With a twenty-five year age difference, he feels he should be her guardian and protector, not her lover. But Karla’s knack for turning up in his bed at inopportune times is killing his resolve to do the right thing. Karla isn’t a little girl anymore—something his body reminds him of every chance it gets.

Karla Paxton fell in love with Adam when she was a sixteen-year-old runaway and he rescued her. Now, nine years later, she’s determined to make Adam see her as a woman. But their age difference is only part of the problem. Adam has been a guardian and protector for lost and vulnerable souls most of his life, but a secret he has run from for more than three decades has kept him emotionally unable to admit he can love anyone. Will she be able to lower his guard long enough to break down the defenses around his heart and help him put to rest the ghosts from his past? In her all-out war to get Adam to surrender his heart, can the strong-willed Goth singer offer herself as his submissive—and at what cost to herself?

CONTENT INFO: This couple’s story begins in Masters at Arms and continues in Nobody’s Angel. This is not a stand-alone novel. This book contains very erotic scenes that include BDSM (bondage-discipline-domination-submission-sadism-masochism-master-slave)—but these ALWAYS will be safe, sane, and consensual (SSC) acts told in a more realistic approach to the BDSM genre. Includes rough sex, Shibari (rope bondage and suspension), anal play, cunnilingus, fellatio, flogging, sex toys, and intensely erotic “vanilla” sexual acts.

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Interview with Carrie Ann Ryan


Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Carrie Ann Ryan to the blog today. We are going to be talking about her book An Alpha’s Path.  

Carrie Ann Ryan is a paranormal and contemporary romance author. Her first book, An Alpha’s Path, is the first book in her Redwood Pack series. She’s also an avid reader and lover of romance and fiction novels. She love meeting new authors and new worlds. Any recommendations you have are appreciated. Carrie Ann lives in New England with her husband and two kittens.
Carrie Ann loves hearing from readers. You can find her at:
Twitter: @CarrieAnnRyan

Carrie Ann: Thank you so much for having me here today!

Q1) Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Carrie Ann: There isn’t much to tell. I’m a twenty-something chemistry instructor by day and a romance writer by night. I live in New England with my husband and write because I love to read romance so much.

Q2) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Carrie Ann: Not really. I’ve always loved to read and have written in one form of another all my life, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to write. And oh, how happy I am that I did.

Q3) Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?
Carrie Ann: I have so many, but Rebecca Royce, Yasmine Galenorn, and Lauren Dane are the three that come to mind. They write tight and beautifully. Love them.

Q4) Can you tell us what a typical writing day for you is like. 
Carrie Ann:  I usually work all day at the other job, come home make dinner and hang with the hubby. Then I sit at my laptop on our couch and write or edit for a couple hours. Days off, I usually read instead of work, then write. It works for me. J
Q5) Can you tell us a little about An Alpha’s Path?
Carrie Ann: An Alpha’s Path is about finding your soul mate and then realizing there are paranormal strings attached. What would you do? 
Here’s the blurb:
Melanie is a twenty-five year old chemist who has spent all of her adult life slaving at school. With her PhD in hand, she’s to start her dream job, but before she does, her friend persuades her to relax and try to live again. A blind date set up through her friends seems like the perfect solution. Melanie can take one night away from the lab and let her inner vixen out on a fixed blind date – a chance to get crazy with a perfect stranger. The gorgeous hunk she’s to meet exceeds her wildest dreams – but he is more than what he appears and Melanie’s analytical mind goes into overdrive.
          Kade, a slightly older werewolf (at over one hundred years), needs a night way from the Pack. Too many responsibilities and one near miss with a potential mate made Kade hide in his work, the only peace he can find. His brother convinces him to meet the sexy woman for a one night of fun. What could it hurt? But when he finds this woman could be his mate, can he convince her to leave her orderly, sane world and be with him and his wolf-half, for life?
Q6) What is up next for you?
Carrie Ann: So much! J An Alpha’s Path is the novella that kicks off the Redwood Pack series – in which the rest are full length novels. Book 2 in the series, A Taste for a Mate, comes out in February and is Jasper’s book. I’m also working on Book 2 in the series, Trinity Bound.

Q7) What is the next book on your To Read Pile that you are dying to jump into?
Carrie Ann: My TBR pile is so large – so I will just talk about the ones actually out – and next on my list is NightShine by Lynn Viell. J

Q8) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Carrie Ann: Not much – other than thanks for having me!

Books-n-Kisses: Carrie Ann, again thank you so very much for making Books-n-Kisses a stop on your book tour.  I have enjoyed learning more about you and your book.  I look forward to reading and see what you come up with next.
Carrie Ann: Thank you so much for taking your time with me. This is my first released work and something that I’m proud of. I know it’s not perfect – but it’s perfect for me. I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to write some more!
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Maggie Wells has taken over the blog and she is getting dirty

Yay! I’m back at Books-n-Kisses again! I love it here. Hi! How are you? Is 2012 treating you the way a lover should so far?
I’ve been a busy little (ahem) bee for the past few weeks. I’m working on a new series of erotic romance novellas for 2013, and I’m terribly excited about them. They all take place in a fictional little town called St. Blaise, Missouri, and let me tell you, there are some hot nights on the horizon for those folks!
I’ve also been dabbling in the Dirty Bits again. Bad Maggie! I can’t help it. I love writing these quickies for Sapphire Nights Books. All it takes is a little spark, and I’m off and running.
My first Dirty Bits story, Spectators, was inspired by the décor in family-style a restaurant, of all places. There were windows cut into the walls, so one could see the people dining in the next room. Seriously, it was food voyeurism at its best. I may have taken it a bit further, that’s all…
An article on personal ads in an airline magazine provided the flint for my latest Dirty Bit, MissedConnection. Of course, I put my own naughty little spin on the subject. Here’s a little teaser:

Order HERE
Saturday morning sorority girl—Cuppa Joe—Halsted St.
At least that’s what you look like to me. I see you every Saturday, ordering your non-dairy, decaf, why-bother version of coffee. You with the Goldilocks hair, big blue eyes, and toothpaste smile. You match your little gym outfits to your yoga mat and clutch your Blackberry like a lifeline.
I shouldn’t be attracted to you, but I am.
You want me too. I’ve caught you, you know. You stare at me with the same hungry gaze you use on the chocolate croissants in the case.
Do you have a craving for ink, Goldilocks? Are you itching to take a stroll on the dark side? Will you dare to take a bite, or will you deny yourself pleasure like you do pastry?
Don’t walk away again. Let me have you. Let me have just enough so I can stop thinking about you and you can stop staring at me. Take a taste of me. I dare you. Meet me at Cuppa Joe, Friday the 15th at 9PM.
Don’t settle for just right, Goldilocks—just this once, choose too hard and too hot.
In a few months, I’ll have another Bits story called Happy Endings coming to an on-line retailer near you. Shh, don’t tell my massage therapist about that one. My imagination may have run a bit wild one Saturday…
Nice or naughty, spicy or sweet—I love inspiration in any form. Tell me what stokes your fire. Anything sparked your interest lately? 
Meet Maggie here: 
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 


Maggie is giving away a digital copy of Missing Connection. 
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Spotlight Feature & Giveaway of The Fever & The Fury by Stephanie Draven

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome back the wonderful Stephanie Draven to the blog. We have let Stephanie take over the blog today to tell us about her new book. Take it away Stephanie. 

A multi-published award-nominated author of paranormal romance. Stephanie’s critically acclaimed  Mythica series asks: What if the monsters of ancient mythology still walked the earth…and what if you found out that you were one of them? Currently a denizen of Baltimore, Stephanie lives with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.

Website / Facebook / Twitter



Revenge is a dish best served hot!
Phaedra, a fury, is bound to make Lieutenant Luke Lazaros atone for his supposed crime, but her usual method of inflicting pain doesn’t work very well on a phoenix with the power to be reborn every time he dies. However, each rebirth leaves him with an overwhelming need for sex. Phaedra’s new plan: to drive Luke mad with desire.
But Phaedra has never touched anyone—even herself—except to cause pain. She’s an innocent when it comes to pleasure…but Luke isn’t. His touch is a revelation, arousing a passion in Phaedra that is as delicious as it is terrifying. For no matter how much she wants Luke, giving herself to a man risks awakening her goddess’s wrath.

Excerpt:
She’d already killed him twice this week.
Monday, the harpy bitch grabbed the wheel just as he was making a tight turn on a cliff-side highway. The car jumped the barrier and exploded in a fiery crash of glass and twisted metal at the bottom of Moraca Canyon.
On Wednesday morning, he’d chanced taking a shower and she dropped a hair dryer in with him, sending a deadly shock through his wet body.
It wasn’t even the weekend and she was already trying to kill him a third time.
Luke had awakened to the sinuous slide of her body atop his and, for one groggy moment, he’d enjoyed the carnal sensation of a woman in bed with him.
Then her knee came crushing down on his windpipe.
Now Luke thrashed upon the mattress, grabbing at her supple thighs, trying to throw her off.  The curve of her breast brushed his arm, her moist lips parted and she clutched at his face as if she were going to draw him into an intimate embrace…just before fingernails like talons cut his flesh to bloody ribbons.
Or at least that’s what it felt like.
With the lightest touch, she could put an ordinary mortal man in complete agony. But he wasn’t an ordinary mortal man and she should have known better than to touch him.
“Atone,” the fury demanded, her voice driving needles of agony into his spine. “Atone!”
Luke was desperate enough to consider it. Anything to get rid of her. Anything to make the pain stop. Anything that might relieve him of the memories that haunted him. The blood in the sand and all the lies…
Take the money, Luke. There’ll be more where that came from.
His traitorous lips parted in surrender, ready to tell the fury whatever she wanted to hear, but then he felt his square jaw clench tight in stubborn refusal.
No. Screw atonement and regret. Luke would rather die again.
Her lithe legs wrapped around his waist like a vise. They were locked together as tightly as lovers and in blind suffering he banged the back of his skull on the headboard. It started like a fever, a sexual rush of heat that seared its way through his veins, pulsing through his hammering heart, racing to his groin.
Damn it. He liked this villa, but he’d burn the place down to get free of her if he had to. Sparks leaped from his fingertips to the bedsheets and the scent of scorched linen rose to his nostrils. The fire would obey him—it was the one goddamned thing in his life he still had any control over—so Luke made the fire rise higher, engulfing them both in a flash of flames and searing pain.
His bones went white-hot, molten beneath his skin, and he screamed. He was turning to ash. He was burning her too, burning her alive. He could have held onto her. He could have forced her to share his torment to the bitter end, but he flung her away. And her tumbling body was the last thing he saw before he died….
Phaedra was accustomed to inflicting pain, not suffering it. But now every cell in her body screamed in protest as her burned skin rose up in blisters. She was immortal. She could never die. That didn’t mean she couldn’t feel pain, and making this man miserable had somehow become her own personal torment.
She lay dazed in agony on the floor, smoke filling her lungs while Lieutenant Luke Lazaros burned alive before her very eyes. Gods of Olympus, he was stubborn. He should have broken by now, but he was only getting more unmanageable. None of the men she’d been sent to torture had ever been so obstinate. Then again, she’d never been unleashed upon a phoenix before.
In the light of the crackling blaze, Phaedra’s blistered body healed, new pink flesh knitting over the old with miraculous speed, and it occurred to her that the fire alarm wasn’t shrieking. A quick glance up at the scorched ceiling told her that he’d disabled it. That he’d planned for this exact circumstance. He was handy that way. Good with modern gadgets. And a born strategist. He’d started anticipating her. Adapting…
All at once, the conflagration on the bed extinguished itself and a burst of air dusted her with Luke’s charred human remains. A bit of stagecraft on his part.
Of course, she’d seen him do this before—rise from the ashes as a new man, his dark curly hair cut in sharp military style, his name and blood type displayed upon frayed patches on his desert fatigues. A backpack full of cash in his right hand.
This was how he looked the moment he was war-forged. The instant he stopped being an ordinary mortal man and became a monster. But as many times as she watched him die, she couldn’t enjoy it. Watching him now, she took no satisfaction in his shudder of revulsion at the feel of a new body that wasn’t his own. Nor did it encourage her to see the half hostile, half haunted look in his eyes as he tried to remember himself. Shaking his head as if to fasten upon his old memories, he caught her look of dismay and gave a dark smile-that-was-not-a-smile.
“What’s the matter?” Luke asked. “Didn’t expect me to be so hot in bed?”
Given that she was clutching the burned and blackened remains of her clothing against her body, Phaedra didn’t appreciate the sexual innuendo. It didn’t surprise her though. Every time the lieutenant was reborn, he battled overwhelming hunger. He’d be ravenous now, for food, drink…sex.
Still, he grabbed one of his white dress shirts from a drawer and tossed it to her. “Here. You can wear this.”
The gallant gesture was starkly out of place considering their situation. Phaedra eyed her nemesis as she fastened the buttons, disconcerted by his scent on the shirt and how it mingled with the perfume of her newly healed skin. “Does this mean you’re ready to be redeemed, Luke Lazaros?”
“Just means I was brought up right,” Luke said through his teeth. “And that an officer falls back on his training in a crisis. Or maybe I’ve just always fantasized about a leggy woman wearing nothing but my shirt. Until I get rid of you, I might as well improve the scenery.”
“How many times must we go through this?” Phaedra asked, ignoring the predatory glare in his eyes. She rose to her feet. She was tall, but he was taller. She was hard-bodied and imposing; even before they felt the torture of her touch, most men had the sense to cower. But not this man. “There is no getting rid of me, Lieutenant. Once a fury is unleashed upon a criminal, she’s unbreakably bound to him until he atones or is driven to insanity.”
“I’m not a criminal,” Luke snapped. “And I will find a way to be rid of you.”
I hope you do find a way, Phaedra thought. Because she was every bit as stuck with him as he was with her.
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