Category: Guest Blogs

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Guest bloggers Elisabeth Staab & Tes Hilaire are talking Vampires

Loving the Vampire Hero

by Tes Hilaire and Elisabeth Staab

What is our generation’s obsession with the creatures of the night. Is it simply the night and the pulse of life energy? The spilling of life-giving fluid? Or maybe the intrigue goes further than that, balancing on that fine line of forbidden seduction and the murky line of death. Whatever the reason, there is no denying that there is a widespread love of vampires out there. I have it, you have it, and we know Elisabeth has it too. The thing is, all of us have our different reasons for loving them, and no two are exactly alike.  So what is Elisabeth’s? What’s mine? And what is yours? Let us introduce you today to the vampire heroes that we love so much…

Elisabeth: For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by the tortured bad boy.That kiss between Michael and Star in The Lost Boys movie brought me around to the idea that vampires could be sensual and romantic, not just pasty coffin-dwellers who killed for fun and games. How…different. How hawt! Fast-forward to my discovery of over a decade later of the gritty intensity of vampire romance with fangs and alpha males who needed not just love but a physical blood tie to their mates to survive. I was hooked. I also became a documentary addict, taking in tales about the pressures those who have to lead, and what the strain can do to them. Enter Thad, the king in KingofDarkness. I took a vampire leader and handed him crisis after crisis on the heels of a tragedy, and he had pull himself together for the good of his race. Oh yeah, and there’s this prophecy that says he won’t be able to lead properly until he finds just the right mate…

Excerpt from King of Darkness:

…Thad leaned in more, legs apart, elbows on his thighs. “Look,” he said. “I get that this sounds pretty insane, but believe me when I say I’ve got better things to do with my time than make up stuff like this. If I didn’t think there was something to it, I wouldn’t have been combing half the country looking for you.

“I thought it was all a crock of shit too, ya know?” He sat back up and studied her face for a second. Her expression was blank and her mouth was slack again, like she couldn’t quite process what he was saying. But his jaw was tight and his blood pounded in his ears with the urgency of what still remained to be said. So he kept going.

“The Oracle you asked about is long dead. My parents—both of them—are also dead. I am close to a century old, and I have no power whatsoever. When word gets out about that factoid, it’s gonna put a crack in the ice. My experience and training up to this point have been completely theoretical. I’m running out of time to officially announce my ascension, and our race needs to have faith in its leader.

“We are down to tens of thousands, Isabel. Thousands. On a planet of billions of humans. We work damn hard to keep the communities protected from wizard attacks, but if the folks get scared, they might scatter. And if they scatter…” He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly…

 

Tes: My love of vampires can be stripped down to one aspect: volatile passion. Or maybe I should say the control of it. Like Elisabeth, I’m a big sucker for the tortured hero. And the vampires who hold a special place in my heart are the ones who suffer all the violence and passion inherent to their species, the need and obsession with blood and sex…and then they control it. InDeliverMefromDarkness my hero, Roland, is such a hero. Once a Paladin warrior, he fell from grace on the night he was turned, and has been struggling ever since to rise above his volatile nature and reclaim his humanity.

Excerpt from Deliver Me from Darkness…

…Roland tossed back the last of his scotch, then glared at the bottle sitting on the coffee table. Empty. There wasn’t enough liquor to burn away the taste of the blood he’d spilled.

Ninety-four years of bloodlust. Ninety-four years of trying to hold onto his humanity. The first few had been a lesson in abject failure, the bloodlust overriding everything else. Possibly if he’d been turned by a master who cared, one who would help him past the cravings and teach him how to temper his needs…but Christos was not that sort of master. He’d encouraged the mindless violence, egged Roland on, and Roland had been more than pleased to oblige.

Until Logan. Logan had brought him back and helped Roland to sever the master-slave bond that Christos had had over him. It had been eighty-nine years since Roland had killed. Yet he’d almost killed a man tonight. The blond had looked like Angeline. And in his mind it was Angeline, his sister, that Don Juan Tom had been planning to rape. Roland’s rage had been so great he’d kept drinking. Wanting to punish. Wanting to lose himself to his nature. When the bloodlust was over him there was no pain, no emotion. Empty. Void. Thoughtless creature of the night. God, the blood had tasted so good.

The phone rang.

Teeth sinking into flesh.

Another chiming burr.

Warm sweet liquid pooling on his tongue.

Brrrriiinnnggg.

Coopery taste sliding across the back of his mouth and down his throat.

With an inhuman growl, Roland grabbed up the phone, punching the talk button. “What do you want?”

“It’s Karissa. She’s run away.”

Roland’s hand tightened around the tumbler, the cut glass leaving grooves in his palm. “Are you telling me she’s outside? Alone? Before dawn?”

There was an audible swallow on the other end. “They’ve sent Valin after her.”

Roland stood, carefully clicking the off button on the phone and he dropped it in the chair. He raised the tumbler—no scotch left. He started to lower it, then with an enraged roar, he threw the tumbler across the room where it smashed against the mantel.

 

About the Authors

 
Elisabeth Staab still lives with her nose in a book and at least one foot in a fantasy world. Her bestselling paranormal romance novel,KingofDarkness, is available now. Her second book,PrinceofPower, releases in January. Find out more at ElisabethStaab.com

 

Tes Hilaire’s idea of a perfect vacation would include her porch on a sultry summer night, a good glass of rich, red wine, and a book about darkness, passion, torture and love. Her first novel in the Paladin warriors series DeliverMefromDarkness is available now. The next, DeliverMefromTemptation, releases in December. For more, visit TesHilaire.com.

Giveaway!

Tells us about your obsession with the most seductive creatures of the night. Why do you love them? Who is your favorite? And, gulp, would you actually want to meet one in real life?  One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Tes Hilaire’s Deliver Me from Darkness, and another will win Elisabeth Staab’s King of Darkness. Thank you for joining us today!

Want more chances to win some great prizes?
Check out the rest of Tes & Elisabeth’s tour stops.

June 5 – Books n Kisses

June 7 – Grave Tells
June 11 – The Qwillery
June 13 – Pimpin Reads
June 22 – I Smell Sheep
June 23 – Book Monster and Literal Addiction – LIVE CHAT FROM 2-3pm EST
June 28 – Darhk Portal

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Guest Blog & Giveaway with Jamie Rush

Darkness Becomes Her
By Jaime Rush
Book Six of the Offspring Series
Avon Books, June 2012 (ISBN 978-0062018922)

Amazon | B&N

A man beyond redemption. A woman beyond hope. And a battle that will either kill them…or bring them back from the edge.

Lachlan McLeod has a mission: find the beast who put his brother into a coma. He’ll start with Jessie Bellandre, his brother’s girlfriend, who’s harboring a dark, dangerous secret that could get them all killed. But as they plumb the depths of Darkness, and the light he didn’t know existed in the shadows of his heart, not falling in love with her will be as hard as staying alive.

SURPRISE CHARACTERS           

One of the fun things about writing a series is when a character you envision being in the background jumps to the foreground. Or in the case of Cheveyo, jumps into the story unexpectedly. Lachlan McLeod was one of those characters, too.  Poor chap’s been through a lot. But I’ll let him explain that in an excerpt from the book:

“My father was fascinated by slime molds, unclassified blobs of biological material. He especially loved when he found powdre ser where a meteor had landed. One day, he tracked what he thought was a meteor, collected the powdre ser, and brought it back to his lab, where he accidentally ingested a bit of it.

“My dad wasn’t only strange because of his affection for slime. He could astral project—send his soul to other places. The slime mold amplified his powers. Eventually, it fell into the wrong hands and was given to a group of people in a top secret government project. The offspring of those people inherited their parents’ enhanced psychic abilities. We all have psychic powers beyond the norm. The man behind the project, he was the one hunting my father. He hunted the Offspring down, too, but now he’s dead.”

“The reason your father kept you in hiding through your growing up years,” Jessie said. “The thing he thought was a meteor, I’m guessing that has something to do with this parallel dimension you mentioned.”

“Aye. One of those dimensions is called Surfacia. Sometimes a being from there slips through a crack between the dimensions. What my father saw wasn’t a meteor; it was an aircraft that crashed here. What he found that day wasn’t powdre ser; it was the pilot’s Essence. His life force. That is in us. And maybe you.”

While Lachlan had to grow up on the run, he made the best of his abilities … until he overused them and accidently caused the death of someone he loved. And now he lives a life of seclusion and self-punishment, a man without hope of redemption.

We writers do love to torture our characters; they have to earn their happy ending, after all. So he gets a chance to redeem himself: he sees a vision of his brother Magnus lying dead on the ground, a woman standing over him. When Lachlan discovers that the woman he saw is Magnus’s love interest, Jessie, he’s intent on saving Magnus from his own lust. Alas, he comes on scene seconds too late to prevent the attack. Jessie, however, is not his attacker, who turns out to be the man with supernatural powers who’s hunting her. Jessie uses her own ability, called Darkness, to save Magnus, putting him in a healing coma.

Foiled again, Lachlan vows to kill the man who can turn to Darkness before he can hurt Magnus or Jessie again. For the first time, he has a chance to regain his honor. Kill the bad guy, save the girl … and not fall in love with her. Because, as the two work together, they are drawn together in a way neither has ever felt.

Yes, the one woman who touches his soul and fires his body is forbidden to him, even though she has never even kissed his brother. Lachlan will have to make a tough choice. Will he risk honor to find love?

All of that from a character I thought would be a second-fiddle to Magnus’s story down the road. And his Scottish accent didn’t hurt!

I’m celebrating the release of DARKNESS BECOMES HER with my Kick Butt First Line contest.  Shocking, suspenseful…make us want more!  Cash prizes! Contest runs until July 1, 2012. For aspiring authors, it’s a chance to get your name out there and add a “win” to your bio.  For readers, it’s a chance to play at being a writer.  Even if you’re not inclined to write a line, check out the entries—they’re a lot of fun!  For details, go to www.JaimeRush.com and click on the Contest link.

Author Website | GoodReads | Facebook | Twitter | Harper Collins

GIVEAWAY TIME:

What kind of unexpected things have happened in your life that turned out to be a good thing? Or name a character that surprised you in a book you’ve read. Comment to win a copy of DARKNESS BECOMES HER! Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

 
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Kallypso Masters has taken over the blog!!!! She has Masters & Prizes!!!

Masters at Arms—behind-the-scenes & a GC Giveaway!

This is the traditional Memorial Day for oldies like me, and I wanted to make this announcement about my military romance here, because Kelly was the first blogger to review Masters at Arms (review HERE) when it first was published last August. Plus I just love her bunches! (Mwah, Kelly!)

When I wrote Masters at Arms last summer, I introduced readers to three very different men. In the first three vignettes, each was at a life-altering stage in his life. As the story progressed, some even felt their lives pretty well were over. Then fate brought them all together on a rooftop in Fallujah, Iraq, where they were forever bound as brothers.

I gave each one of my Marines the most honorable characteristics I could imagine—brave, protective, looking out for those who couldn’t fight back—plus a few characteristics they needed to work on. (As my readers know, I do not write perfect characters. And for these first four books in the series, I also don’t write stand-alone novels, so you pretty much need to start here in Masters and take them one at a time, even if you are tempted to skip ahead to Adam’s or Damián’s stories first.) As the managing owner of the Masters at Arms, the Denver BDSM/kink club these three men started after they left service, Adam Montague runs the show and is the rock for this adopted family of lost souls he’s brought together to help him start a new life. (By the way, my Minnesotan Dom pronounces his last name MON-tag, similar to how the French trappers he descends from would, rather than the English version, adding a “gyew” sound at the end.)

Well, I must have made Adam sound incredibly real, because Sandy, a reader and now a friend, wrote to me in February saying she knew I made up the name, but asking if Adam was based on a real person. I told her, “No, I’m sorry. Not at all. He’s totally a figment of my imagination.” I mean, come on! He is everything you’d want in a guy—except that his communication skills need work and he doesn’t think he can love anyone. Aside from that, he’s a hell of a lot more perfect than a lot of the guys we’ve all met out there! And you want this man to have your back, believe me.

Adam also is a very commanding and real presence in my head, dominating my thoughts in a way no other character ever has before. As my avid fans and blog visitors know, he was inspired by Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS. *shiver* See what I mean? Didn’t you just melt a little when I said that? But even Gibbs is nothing like Mark Harmon (who doesn’t strike me as a Dom in interviews I’ve seen.) He’s fictional!

So, imagine my surprise when less than a month after I replied to Sandy, “Adam” e-mailed me saying how much he loved my first three books (and lots of heady stuff about my writing), and that he loved the Corps and wanted to offer his help in getting those aspects of my stories correct. (He was a gentleman and didn’t say he was offering help because there were a couple things that smacked him in the face when he read them in the original.) I was to just call on him any time and if it was public info, he was at my service. Um, wow! Another Master Sergeant Adam at MY service! How lucky can a girl get?

Anyway, we started corresponding and I learned there are so many parallels between this retired master sergeant and “my” Adam that I’d love to spell out for you, but I promised not to identify him. I’m skirting getting myself spanked just telling this much, but I can’t explain why I revised the book without explaining this. (Darn him, but he sees helping me as one of those selfless acts he needs to do without claiming credit or fanfare. See? I told you! He is SOOOO Adam.)

Anyway, early in our ongoing conversation, I asked him if there was anything in Masters at Arms that needed to be corrected and he replied, “Well, now that you ask.” LOL. Luckily, they were minor things to most readers, but I’m sure they jarred other Marines (and Marine moms, like Sandy). So, they began nagging at me. Thank goodness these two readers didn’t put the book down because they’ve become not only readers, but friends.

But knowing there were some issues to correct, I was consumed with the idea of having it revised and re-released. (Have I mentioned before that I’m a perfectionist? Well, my Facebook friends and those who read those long Author’s Notes in the fronts of my books know.) When the online “Adam” offered to go over Section Four (Iraq and its aftermath) and make the needed corrections, I jumped at the opportunity. Then, being “Adam,” he decided to just go through the whole book because he knew he could help. And he did!

If you’ve read the book before, you may not even notice the changes. My fictional Adam was just made to sound even more like a Marine by the online one. Instead of saying words like craphole, dickwad, and pistol, we now have the three S’s: shithole, shithead, and sidearm. Frigging becomes fucking. (Master Adam’s favorite word of all time has always been fuck, but the ONE time I had him say something else, I’m busted and it’s changed to fucking.)

The most significant changes were in the firefight scene. I added that scene to the book late, just before publishing, and didn’t get feedback from my military experts as I should have. (It amazes me at the small number of things I got wrong!) But now the scene is more accurate and detailed. More realistic.

Oh, and over the weekend, I hired Liz Borino to edit Masters for me. She taught me some things that would strengthen the writing throughout the series, so, while I was at it, I also tweaked Nobody’s Angel and Nobody’s Hero.

I am excited to announce that these books were uploaded to my buy sites last night, but it may be a few days (especially at Amazon and B&N) for the price change and new files to take effect. I’ll leave a comment here when that happens, if you want to check back. Starting today at Smashwords and All Romance eBooks, though, you can get Masters at Arms FREE! Forever, not just for three days!

I also want to alert you that the price of Nobody’s Angel will increase to $3.99 soon, because, well, Master Marc is just as awesome as the guys in the $3.99 books. All three books are at least 115,000 words long—a bargain at $3.99! But the $2.99 price will disappear as soon as Amazon makes the change.

And hang on because the fourth and long-awaited happy ending for my two most wounded characters, Damián and Savi, is coming up in June. Nobody’s Perfect will be released by June 19, and I’ll be back here with a hot excerpt on June 22.

Now for a scene from the third edition of Masters at Arms, this one involving Damián, the young Marine who feels life is over for him after Iraq, and my “fictional, but real” Master Adam. One of the things my readers and I like most about Adam is that he is a straight shooter. Okay, so is the online “Adam”—I know because I’ve been on the receiving end of some of his straight talk a couple times.

In this scene, several months after the firefight in Iraq, Navy Corpsman Marc “Doc” D’Alessio and Master Sergeant Adam Montague are on a mission to rescue a depressed and near-suicidal Damián Orlando. Can’t you just picture “Master Gibbs,” as Adam in this scene?

Oh, to add a little humor from my online Marine, when I asked him what would have happened if Damián and Marc had seen Adam at that fetish club in LA (which is against the Marine morals code—but I needed a way for Adam to know they might be open to the idea of joining him in his kink club business), he wrote:

“In the club in LA, you handled that exactly right. Adam would have avoided them. If they had seen him, they would have first spit out the beer (or the redhead) and run. Of course they would have wondered why he was there; but they would have never asked in hopes that he didn’t mention it to them.”

God, I love Marines!

(Authorized excerpt from Masters at Arms, © 2011, 2012 by Kallypso Masters)

Adam nodded, and then entered the room to find the blinds closed and the room in near darkness. No wonder the kid was depressed. He marched to the window and opened the blinds full force.

“What the fuck? I’ve told you to keep them closed!”

Adam turned and came around the bedside curtain to see Orlando lying there, the white sheets bunched around his waist. Shirtless. His dog tags hung against his brown chest, buried in a diamond-shaped tuft of black hair.

“You talking to me, grunt?” Adam tried not to smile as the kid practically came to attention while lying flat on his back. God, he missed having that kind of power over people. Couldn’t wait to get his club started. At least, he’d have submissive women responding to him like that again. Even better.

“Master Sergeant Montague!

“What’s this I hear about you refusing to follow orders?”

Regaining his composure, the kid slumped back against the pillows. “The orders make no sense.”

“Come again?”

“There’s no point fixing me up.”

“Since when does a grunt decide which orders to follow and which to ignore?”

Orlando turned away. A new maneuver was in order. He remembered the night he’d seen them at the fetish club in L.A., getting a screaming redhead off on the St. Andrew’s cross, right before they’d deployed. Of course, when Adam had seen Doc and Orlando, he’d high-tailed it out as fast as he could. That would have been a real morale buster if the two could have held it over his head. Not that they had any business being there either.

“So, have you ever restrained a woman on a St. Andrew’s cross?”

Orlando looked back at him. If the man could blush, he would have. “Say again?”

“I asked if you were into kinky sex—tying women up, spanking them, that sort of thing.”

Orlando seemed unsure how to answer. “I tried it once—well, maybe a few times.”

Well, hell. Adam had seen them the one time, but didn’t know there’d been others. He’d just figured Doc had dragged him up there. This might be just the therapy the kid needed.

How the hell many Doms did he have in his unit, anyway? D’Alessio for sure. And he’d heard rumors Grant was a Domme, although he’d never been able to speak with her about it; sexual harassment regs and all. Serving with a female Marine was like dancing on eggshells and trying not to break one.

Right now, Orlando was the one needing a little dominating.

“Well, I can tell you one thing, grunt. I’d rather be with a sexy redhead right now making her round ass all nice and pink than to be looking at your ugly face.” He watched as the kid’s face did flame a bit at the mention of a redhead. Adam tried not to smile at the look of surprise on the young man’s face.

Orlando got over the shock of Adam’s words pretty quickly, though, and the defenses came up yet again. Stubborn wasn’t the word for this one.

“Guess I didn’t tie mine good enough. She got away.”

Fuck. What kind of woman would dump a man while he was recovering from something like this? If you asked him, good riddance to her. Adam would find the kid as many women as he needed to get over her. But obviously, she’d sunk her claws in him pretty deeply. He wouldn’t get over her very easily.

Joni would never have ditched him, no matter what had gotten blown off. That’s what she’d told him—and he believed her.

“Come back to Denver with me. You can help me out with a little business I plan to start.”

Orlando took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Adam could tell he was choosing his words carefully, afraid to disrespect his former master sergeant. “I don’t need your charity, Top. When I leave here tomorrow, I’m just going to hole up in a motel in Solana Beach and get a good drunk-on.”

Memories of his own two-week bender in Minneapolis after Joni died came back to Adam full force. He didn’t want to count the number of times he’d come close to pulling the trigger with his sidearm, rather than go on without her. Would Orlando have access to a weapon? If not already, he’d have little trouble getting one.

No way was he letting this kid leave here alone.

“It’s a BDSM and fetish club.”

* * *

Damián wondered if he’d heard the man right? “Pardon, Top?”

“You heard me. I’m starting a kink club—bondage, domination, discipline, sadomasochism, fetish—any kind of kink you want to get on. Doc’s joining me, but we can always use another good Dom.”

Damn. His dick went into a full salute just thinking about it. First hard-on since before the grenade blast. “I’m no Dom. I’m not interested.”

“Like hell you aren’t interested.” Montague grinned, and then directed his attention to the tenting of the sheets.

Damián adjusted the sheets to hide his hard-on, and then slid his leg out to reveal his bare, grotesque stump. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m missing a foot.”

“Well, last time I checked, most of the ladies at BDSM clubs are more interested in a firm hand and a stiff cock. You still seem to have both of those in your inventory. Sure, there may be some chicks with a foot fetish, but you still have a good one, don’t you?”

Damián was speechless.

Thanks for having me back again, Kelly! For those who don’t know, she believed in me even before I published my first book—and she gave it a great review (Here) back on August 11 just a couple days after it was released. She now heads up my Street Team and is just an amazing friend of authors everyone—and this one in particular.

Now for a giveaway! Monday is my 29th wedding anniversary with my imperfect, but oh-so-loveable hero, so  I’m going to give away a $29 gift card to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, or Smashwords (winner’s choice).  Just leave your comment below telling me about the hero in YOUR life (and if he hasn’t come along yet, tell us about one from your favorite book you’d like to meet), and I’ll draw a winner on Monday, June 4. The lucky winner also will receive some cool Rescue Me series and Kallypso Masters swag, including the “Eyes on Me” hand fan (with Master Adam’s naked chest that will make you need an extra fan so you can look at one and fan with the other), a purple pen, the 2011 Romance Trading Cards (for the first three books in the series), and a smoking-hot bookmark.

BE SURE TO LEAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS and watch for an e-mail from Leagh Christensen, my awesome assistant, who will contact you for your mailing address and particulars so we can send you your goodies and find out where you want to spend your gift card. CONTEST OPEN INTERNATIONALLY, unless there are restrictions for such gift cards in your nation, in which case, we’ll have to find a creative way to reward you.

My RESCUE ME series is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, and Smashwords. For buy links to all of my books, go to http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com/p/books-by-kallypso-masters.html. And check out my awesome Web site at http://kallypsomasters.com, where you can find out about the upcoming books in the series, go to links to reviews, interviews, character scenes, and such, find out which causes I support, and more!

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Guest Blog & giveaway with Carrie Lofty

A How-To on Hot Kisses
By Carrie Lofty
To me, the most important thing about writing a kiss that’ll curl toes is to get deep down into a character’s point of view. The last thing you want is to make the reader feel as if she’s looking at a lovely painting. Be the paint! Be the harshness and need and sweat! Think of it more as an experiment in how much sensation you can describe in one sitting, rather than who touched what where. Sensation is the key to seducing the reader with a kiss.
Let’s take the example of William and Catrin from my $.99 novella from Pocket, “A Little More Scandal.” They’ve just had an argument, and argument kisses are a lot different from other, sweeter, more measured or intentional kisses. These can be the most powerful and demanding physical scenes to write, outside of describing a fully intimate encounter, because they can also reveal tumultuous thoughts that a more logical, measured mind might not dare think.
Here’s William:
Their mouths did not meld; they dueled. She fought back as much as she acquiesced, with her tongue a weapon at turns defending and assaulting. He pushed deeper into her wet warmth, where her maddening ideas—she was so bloody quick of mind—found voice. Those lips. God, he could kiss them for the rest of time. She felt that good, that right.
Ooops. He had thoughts about her specialness! Let’s do continue, shall we?
“You silly, stupid girl,” he rasped against her throat. Her hands slipped up his forearms, his biceps, to the sharp tension between his shoulders and his neck. A brief squeeze. He nearly groaned. Then her clever fingers untied his cravat and slid down his nape, as if searching for even more of him—more forbidden places. “You have no idea what it is to be married to me.”
If you like, add in a dash of humor to keep the reader smiling as she’s melting into a puddle of romance goo.
“Surely it involves more of this,” Catrin said.
But of course, a hero bested by such a quick wit may feel the need to retaliate—in the best, tastiest sense.
William growled into her mouth. He kissed her with the abandon he rarely felt, always constrained by his ambitions and concern about how he should appear and behave to achieve them. Catrin upended those expectations. He dragged a huge breath into his chest. The burn of holding it in while he plunged his tongue between her lips was a quiet torture and a means of staying sane. He wanted to take her, to rip her clothes, tug her hair, make her scream.
Bloody hell. How dare she be so contrary to what he had planned?
Another ooops. All those pesky plans suddenly in disarray—probably like her hair and their clothes will be once they finally come up for air.
So remember. Lots of sensation. Thoughts that move the romantic plot along. A sprinkle of humor. And a hero and heroine who aren’t above demanding what they really crave. More, more, more…
“A Little More Scandal”
http://www.carrielofty.com/LittleScandal.html

Flawless
The Christies #1
A passion this seductive is more precious than diamonds…Sir William Christie, ruthless tycoon and notorious ladies’ man, is dead. Now his four grown children have gathered for the reading of his will. What lies in store for stepsiblings Vivienne, Alexander, and twins Gareth and Gwyneth? Stunning challenges that will test their fortitude across a royal empire…and lead them to the marvelously passionate adventures of their lives.

Lady Vivienne Bancroft fled England for New York, hoping to shed the confines of her arranged marriage to unrepentant rogue Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft—though she never forgot the fiery desire he unleashed with his slightest touch. And when the gambling man arrives on her doorstep for a little sensual revenge for her desertion, he is met with Vivienne’s dilemma: She must earn her father’s inheritance by profitably running a diamond business worth millions in colonial South Africa. 

Swept together in an exotic undertaking filled with heated passion and hungry temptation, will Vivienne and Miles discover that the marriage vows they once made are the greatest snare—or the most treasured reward?


A Little More Scandal
The Christies #1.5
May 29, 2012
Digital Novella
  
Welsh minister’s daughter Catrin Jones is the talk of Britain. Many women served as nurses in the Crimean War, skirting the edge of propriety to tend lonely soldiers’ wounds, but only Catrin survived a shipwreck on her return voyage. Suddenly, like a circus curiosity, everyone wants a glimpse of the scandalous Miss Jones. Scarred, opinionated, and adjusting to a rush of fame so very different from far-away battlefields, she’s not the sort of woman Scottish robber baron William Christie aspires to marry. 
Following a decade of brilliant business maneuvers, William is on the verge of securing a key railroad contract. But his aristocratic wife’s death during childbirth meant the loss of considerable influence. Few in Society have forgiven his up-from-the-gutters youth. With respectability, wealth, and his two-year-old son finally his to claim, William must decide whether an extraordinary nurse is worth embracing just a little more scandal….

Starlight
The Christies #2
June 26th 2012
Passion sparkles forever . . . in the shining eyes of a true love.An 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, remain 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?

GIVEAWAY TIME

I’d love to give away a print copy of FLAWLESS, the first of the Christies series from Pocket. (“A Little More Scandal” is a tie-in novella.) I’ll ship anywhere.  
To enter for a chance to win Carrie’s book Flawless please fill out the Rafflecopter from below.  

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Guest Blogger: Sophie Barnes

Introducing Lady Alexandra and Lord Trenton:

After writing How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back, I was struck with a sudden urge for adventure. I wanted a plot with an action heroine who could hold her own in a sword-fight, and immediately began piecing together a character that’s not only strong and willful, but also quite vulnerable beneath her tough exterior.
Following her mother’s death, her father fell apart for a number of years, shirking the responsibility of turning his daughter into a fashionable young lady of the ton. Instead, Alexandra was allowed to run rampant on the family estate together with her brothers Ryan and William. Her hoydenish character flourished, and during this time, she honed her skills as a soldier, becoming an excellent shot, swords woman and equestrian. She is stubborn to a fault – a trait that lands her in trouble on more than one occasion, but she is also incredibly loyal. When it comes to family, there is nothing that she will not do in order to keep them safe. She fears only one thing, and that is love, for having seen the way in which it tore her family apart, she has come to believe that nothing good can come of it. Consequently, she has decided never to marry.
Enter Lord Trenton =)
His name is Michael Ashford (son of the Duke and Dutches of Willowbrook), and he’s not only an earl, but also a secret agent employed by The Foreign Office. He’s honorable, believes that before all else comes duty, and is also far more level headed than Alexandra, who tends to act a bit more on impulse. He’s incredibly handsome of course (see picture below =)) and can charm the most resistant of women into his bed! After all, rumor has it that he has no fewer than nine mistresses – one for each day of the week, with a couple to spare for variety’s sake. Like Alexandra, he has no intention of marrying either, for he’s quite content with his life as it is. However, the more time he spends in the company of the trouble-making blonde, the more he starts to wonder what a life with her by his side might be like – unpredictable and full of adventure, no doubt – and decides to make her his wife, only to discover that getting her to agree, is a whole other matter entirely.
I always find it difficult to put an actual person’s face to the characters I’ve created, for I see them a certain way inside my head, and nobody can ever quite fit that image perfectly. However, if a movie were to be made and I was allowed to decide who should play the part of Alexandra and Michael, based on appearance alone, then I’d probably choose Gabriella Wilde and Henry Cavill.
Image of Gabriella Wilde
Image of Henry Cavill
I’d like to thank Books-n-Kisses for hosting me today. I’ll be popping in throughout the day to chat with you and to answer any questions that you might have. So feel free to leave a comment or two – let me know what sort of characters youenjoy reading about.
If you’d like to follow the rest of my tour, I’ll be back again tomorrow at www.romrevtoday.com to take you on a tour of some of the locations mentioned in my novel =)
To find out more about me, Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure, or my upcoming releases, please visit my website at: www.sophiebarnes.com
You can also follow me on twitter at: @BarnesSophie
or on Facebookat: www.facebook.com/AuthorSophieBarnes
To see the book trailer, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2PbyzMfmiA
I have one e-copy of Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure up for grabs.
To enter to win please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  Good Luck.

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Guest Bloggers: Leslie Megahey & Shirley Ferdinand

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Leslie & Shirley to the blog today to talk about their new book Wicked Allure.   So enough of me talking lets see what the ladies have to say….
About the authors: 
Leslie C. Megahey and Shirley H. Ferdinand have been writing together since 1991. Under their Christine Holden pen name, five books were released by Berkley/Jove
between 1998 and 2001. Their last book, Dearest Beloved, had a foreign edition in Dutch. They’ve appeared in New Orleans Magazine, the Times Picayune, RT Book
Reviews, the Fort Bend Herald, Fort Bend Lifestyles, and the Natchez Sun. They were also included in Kathryn Falk’s 1998 How To Write A Romance For The New
Markets and Get it Published and May McGoldrick’s Marriage of Minds: Collaborative Fiction Writing in 2000. They’ve made appearances on television stations in New
Orleans, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Beaumont and Toronto. Leslie has also made an appearance on the Rachel Ray Show and is founder of Inside Rose Rich Magazine.
They currently have literary representation with D4EO Literary Agency. This is the team’s first erotic romance.

Confessions of a Perfectionist
I’m guilty.  So guilty as a matter of fact that I spend a sleepless night or two before I finally bring myself to do.  I think that I should just leave well enough alone.
But I can’t.  The memories are driving me to senselessness.  Those memories leave me no choice.
My fingers shake.  I sit at my computer and find the file.  I look at the object of my despair.
The book.  Guilt resurfaces.  I couldn’t do this if I was a traditionally published writer.  I wrestle with my conscience.  The nasty little word resurfaces in my mind. 
Wlong. You can’t let that go.  The word is along and the mistake is giving me hives.
You’ve reread the book after mistakes were mentioned.  Why?  Why do such a thing?  I know I won’t be able to let that go.  I give in and make that correction and several others I’ve found.  Then, I log into Create Space, and upload a new file.
It still doesn’t look right. I don’t submit the file immediately.  Instead, I surf through the pages again, stare at the cover.  I promise myself I’m not going to do this again. Finally, I’m satisfied and upload the file and send it in for approval.  Afterwards, I go to my Kindle account and do the same thing.
I receive the new copy with the new cover—and I make the mistake of reading it again.
I nearly keel over when I read the sentence that, in paraphrase, states that Madigan pulled his length into his month. 
OMG.  This is never ending.  That pulse-pounding roaring in my head starts again and the knowledge that I won’t rest until that, too, is changed. 
I promise myself this is the absolute last time that I will read Wicked Allure, so this will be the absolute last time I make changes.
Then, I remember, we’re writing sequels.  When I start typing my part, I’ll have to reread Wicked Allure to get back into the characters.
Does anyone hear me groaning?
Multicultural Erotic Romance with Adults Only Content, explicit language and some drug use.
What Does A Man Say to the Woman He Betrayed But Never Stopped Loving?
Three years ago, Zachary Steele refused to entertain thoughts of permanency with any woman.  A hedonist at heart, he didn’t want to corrupt the much younger, Madigan DeLeon, by
continuing his affair with her. With the hidden scars of his past, he didn’t believe in happilyever-after.  By the time he realized how much Madigan meant to him, he’d driven her away.  Then, one night, after being clean for a number of years, Zach briefly falls off the bandwagon. He believes his lovemaking to Madi is a drug-induced hallucination. The resulting consequences tell another story.
What Does A Woman Do When the Only Man She’s Ever Loved Hurt Her So Deeply She Feared She’d Never Recover?
Three years after her affair with Zach so abruptly ended, celebutante, Madigan DeLeon, is thrust back into Zach’s life by her mother’s machinations. Brought home under the false pretenses of repairing her damaged relationship with her mother, Madi instead finds herself running a private sex club called Wicked Allure. Forced to confront her anger at his betrayal and grief at the loss of what might’ve been, Madi faces the realization that she’s never stopped loving Zach.
Can Two Broken Hearts Set Aside Anger and Betrayal to Find True Love Once and For All?  
Searching the deepest recesses of their hearts, in a place where pride and pain has no room, Madi and Zach must decide if their bond is strong enough to take a second chance at love. Or if resuming their sexual relationship is an irresistible wicked allure and the ghosts of their former relationship will finally, and forever, sever all ties between them.

TRADE PAPERBACK AT CREATE SPACE: $11.99 (ISBN 13: 978-1475010800) EBOOK AT SMASHWORDS: $3.99

Want a chance to win an e-copy of Wicked Allure?  
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Guest Blogger: Joley Sue Burkhart

The First Kiss

The first kiss is supposed to be magical, something to treasure the rest of your life.  Right?  I wish I had better memories of my firstkiss.  In junior high, I was invited to go roller skating with anolder boy for his birthday.  We weren’t dating — I wasn’t allowed to date until I was in high school.  I thought it was just a friendly outing.  I wasn’t expecting kissing.  I certainly wasn’t expecting… Onion breath.  Ugh!  To this day, I still shudder at the memory.
Maybe that’s why I like to read and write romance.  In fiction–especially romance!–we can make those first kisses significant.  Maybe that first kiss isn’t necessarily magical with angels singing and fireworks, but it’s definitely earth shattering in some way. There are so many ways to make that kiss memorable.  So many ways to go.  Is the kiss a prelude for more?  Are they going to get hot and heavy now?  Or is that kiss something they try to back away from and pretend it never happened?  Both ways can be fun.
 As long as it’s memorable.  Thankfully not because of onion breath!  🙂
Here’s an excerpt from my recent release, Yours to Take, showcasing
Vicki and Jesse’s first kiss.


~ * ~
Swaying, she fought to keep her head and remain calm, untouched. “You don’t know me, Jesse. Not really.”
“Yes, I do.” He whispered in her ear. “I know your heart. No one else has even considered helping me in five years. That’s proof of what kind of woman you are, and I want to belong to you. I’m yours to take,
Vicki, if you want me.”  So close, so tempting, if she turned her head just a little, she could touch him. She could kiss him. She knew he wouldn’t make the move himself. No, he wanted—needed—her to take him, as he’d said. 
His hair tickled her cheek and she couldn’t resist him any longer. She turned and pushed her mouth to his. Groaning deep in his throat, he opened his mouth and melted into her. He surrendered completely, giving everything to her, no hesitation, wide open and eager. Taller and bigger, he still managed to drape himself on her, making himself vulnerable. Even though she knew he could have put her in the wall like Elias had done him last night, she was the one slamming Jesse backward.
 His back hit the wall and he made a low, whimpering sound that wasn’t pain, but a plea, as if he were saying, Drink me down, possess me, use me, take me hard. And God help her, that’s exactly what she did.
He spread his arms out against the wall to resist the temptation of touching her and silently begged with every muscle in his body for her to take every inch of him. Gripping his hair in both hands, she inhaled his mouth. She gnawed on his bottom lip, pressing the sore spot from his introduction to her cop last night until he groaned and arched into her, pleading for more. Finally, her tongue sank into his mouth as deeply as he wanted to be buried in her. So ravenous, she took his mouth, her fingers twisting his hair until he couldn’t help but moan out his enjoyment. She tore her mouth from his on a soft cry of regret.
He realized, then, that she was ashamed of that desperation, as he’d felt this morning when his stomach had betrayed him so loudly. With her eyes squeezed shut, she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“Why? I’m begging you to kiss me again, every day, all day, just like that, please.” He tucked his cheek against hers. He had to squeeze his hands into fists to resist the urge to clutch her, desperate to keep her from withdrawing. “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had. I’ve never had a woman do me like this, like I need.”  She didn’t pull away, not yet, as though she couldn’t bear to let him see the lust and shame on her face. “You’d rather have a man?” 
“Hell, no. I’m not gay; I’m not even bi. But a lot of men like my looks. I did what I needed to survive.” He was proud that his voice didn’t quiver. Hopefully she had no idea how much he’d hated selling himself. The degradation, the shame of servicing a man, often against his will, to keep from getting the shit beat of him or worse. He didn’t want that part of his life to touch her, not if he could help it. “I like my partner to be in control, but I want a woman to take me. I want you.”
 She groaned against his ear, turned on, he hoped, but she shuddered, a slight withdrawal that had him leaning into her, trying to entice her with his body to stay. Desperately, he whispered his fantasies into her ear. “I like sex rough, hard, sweaty, up against a wall, frantic, wherever you’ll take me. I love you in control, taking what you want, demanding I give it up, everything, for you.”
~ * ~
About Joely: 

Joely always has her nose buried in abook, especially one with mythology, fairy tales, and romance. Find her on her website, Twitter, and Facebook.. Be sure to check out her freereads! Stop by Joely’s blog for details about the $100 online book gift certifcate I’m giving away!

All fire and gunpowder need is a stray spark…

The Connaghers, Book 3

The day one of her old clients gunned down a cop, former defense attorney Vicki Connagher lost everything—her passion for justice, and her lover, Detective Elias Reyes. The dead cop’s partner.

Even though she’s following her dream to start her own fashion line, it’s tough with heartache as her only companion. Until she brings Jesse, a wandering street artist, in from a freak Texas snowstorm. His submissive flirting brings out dominant tendencies she never knew she possessed, yet she hesitates to let him take her as far and as hard as she wants to go.

Some homeless junkie in Vicki’s house? Not on Elias’s watch. Pride kept him away, but as long as Jesse is staying in Vicki’s downstairs shop, he’s staying with Vicki. On the couch, but it’s a start.

As the days go by, the three work out an uneasy alliance. But Vicki’s joy at having Elias back in her life is tempered with a growing desire to have it all. Elias in her bed, and Jesse under her command. The only question remaining is if her tough alpha cop is willing to embrace all that she is… 

Product Warnings
Explicit sex, BDSM, a tough alpha cop, a reluctant Domme, and a smoldering submissive street artist willing to do anything to belong to her.

Giveaway time:  
Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter for a chance to win an e-copy of Yours To Take

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Guest blogger: Morgan Hannah MacDonald

Bio: Morgan Hannah MacDonald writes Romantic Thrillers that are NOT for the faint of heart. She has always been interested in writing and serial killers, but it wasn’t until she found she had dated one herself that a true writer was born. She belongs to Romance Writers of America, the San Diego Chapter, as well as the Kiss of Death Chapter. She resides in San Diego, California where she is busy working on her next novel.  She can be found at www.morganhannahmacdonald.com. Or you may contact her at morganwrites@yahoo.com
Website / Facebook


I’ve been asked where the inspiration for SANDMAN came from. Well, truth is stranger than fiction.   It was November 3, 1998.  I had gone away for the weekend to the mountains with a couple of friends from work.  There had been rumors of snow, so we put the TV on immediately to track the storm.  The minute the news came on, there was a story of a trucker who had walked into the police station, slapped a plastic bag on the counter and stated; I think you’re looking for me.  The bag contained the severed breast of a woman.
As the weekend wore on, more information became available.  They stated that the man had frequented a Karaoke bar in San Clemente. That perked up my ears.  Five years prior, I had dated a guy who ran that Karaoke bar.  I might have met this guy! Chilling.
After I got home, there was a message from my best friend.  She asked if I had seen the story on the news and wasn’t that the guy I’d dated? I laughed.  I’d never dated a Wayne.  I would have remembered, that was my grandfather’s name.  Then she told me his full name was Wayne Adam Ford, it hit me.  I did date a guy named Adam, but he didn’t look anything like the guy on the news.
The Adam I knew was sexy, tall, fit and had a neatly trimmed beard that brought out his gorgeous deep green eyes.  It had been the winter of 1993 and he wore flannel shirts with straight legged 501 jeans.  I love that lumberjack look! *giggle*  The guy on the news was heavier and balding.  Of course, I hadn’t seen him in five years and people do change.  But I still wasn’t convinced.  My friend said that Inside Edition was doing a story on him that night.  
So at seven o’clock I sat on my couch and waited.  They started the segment with the exact same clip the news had showed all weekend.  It was a slow motion shot of him entering a court room in an orange jumpsuit.  But this time, when he turned to face the camera, I recognized those eyes.  I burst into tears.  It was him, it was the man I’d dated!  My body trembled, then turned numb as I listened to the frightening tale.  He was discharged from the marines for psychological reasons in the early eighties.  In 1985 he was arrested for the rape and beating of a prostitute, the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.  That’s when it occurred to me, he was already on the brink of insanity when I’d known him!
In 1994 he’d met a young girl at that same karaoke bar.  They’d married and had a child.  After the birth, he started to unravel.  He’d become possessive, jealous and asked her to do strange things in the bedroom.  She divorced him and took the child to live with her mother. He was refused visitation rights.
That was the catalyst that started his murderous rampage.  He started picking up prostitutes and hitch hikers at truck stops along his route.  He raped and tortured the girls before he killed them, then sliced off a breast as a souvenir. 
The camera panned to a trailer surrounded by woods alongside a river. The picture would have been beautiful and serene if not for all the cops parading in and out carrying evidence. They announced his freezer was full of body parts. It seems that one of his victims had her legs, arms and head amputated by an ax. Her torso was found bobbing in the water by a fisherman. They were still searching the Madd River for her head. 
In a moment of hysteria, I remembered how overly dramatic the guy had been.  If not for the fact that they’d found all that evidence linking him to those grisly crimes, I would have thought he’d confessed just to get attention. Maybe he did.  The authorities didn’t know they had a serial killer. He wasn’t even a blip on their radar. So the only way he could get his fifteen minutes of fame was to turn himself in.  But the joke’s on him, fifteen minutes is all he got.  After all, have you ever heard of Wayne Adam Ford?  It is said that there are approximately 50 serial killers active in the United Statesat any given time.  So if in his sick twisted mind he thought he would be another Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy, he was sorely mistaken.   
The final twist to this already disturbing story is that I met Wayne Adam Ford on my birthday November 3, 1993and he turned himself in on November 3 1998.  After this revelation, I didn’t trust my instincts regarding men.  I didn’t go on another date for over ten years. I’m still single to this day. I guess you could say that this has really messed with my mind!
Now I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true.  I never had a clue.  The guy I dated was charming, handsome and had lots of friends.  We dated only a short time.  I questioned his relationship with his ex-girlfriend who was cooking him meals and leaving them in his freezer.  He broke up with me because he said I had a suspicious mind.  Funny, but I ran into him some months later and we went out to grab a bite to eat.  That’s when he confessed he had to stop seeing her because he was still in love with her.
Now, when you read SANDMAN, you will find bits and pieces of these things in the story.  I borrowed some facts from his case and mixed them up between the suspects so no one would be able to guess the killer’s true identity. 


Beware the SANDMAN he’ll put you to sleep. . .forever.
A serial killer on the loose, a woman being stalked, and a homicide detective who must find the connection before it’s too late.
He collects women. He imprisons them, plays with them, tortures them. Until they bore him.  Then he removes a souvenir. They call him the Sandman.
Meagan McInnis is being plagued with late night calls, yet when she answers, no one is there. Then one night she makes a grisly discovery in her own backyard.
The caller is silent no more.
Homicide Detective, J.J. Thomas, realizes Meagan is the key to finding the Sandman. Now not only must he protect her, but he must find the connection between Meagan and the killer before she becomes his next victim.

Excerpt:
Sean climbed out of the water with his surfboard under his arm. He dragged his hand down his face to brush the salt water away from his eyes. His breathing was labored; he’d gotten in a good workout today. He walked up the beach a good distance before he detected a strange odor. As he neared his destination, the stench invading his nostrils became more pungent.
I hope there wasn’t another damn sewage spill. 
Soon he heard a strange buzzing sound. He stopped, brows furrowed, and concentrated on zeroing in on the exact location of the noise. Failing at this, he shrugged, and then continued up the strand. But with each step his uncertainty grew. The irritating cacophony had increased in volume.
Within seconds Sean found himself about fifty feet from where he’d left his gear. Before him lay a blanket of black that appeared to be moving. “What the hell?” He hesitated, waiting for the synapses in his brain to start firing, before taking another step.  
When he found no logical explanation, he gently rested his board on the sand and made his way closer until he stood directly in front of the sight. His hand cupped his nose. The stench reminded him of hard-boiled eggs gone bad. Very, very bad.
Okay, strike the moving blanket crack. It was more like a black cloud hovering over his belongings. Flies. He had an inkling that it was not the seaweed they found interesting.  Something dead had washed up on shore and he was less than eager to find out what it was. A seagull? A fish? A seal? Whatever it was, it would not be pretty no matter how long it had been dead.
Slowly, he reached down to pick up his sweater with one hand, while the other reached for the strap on his backpack. The flies swarmed up for a brief moment, just long enough to reveal their prey, before settling back down into a dark writhing carpet.  
An unintelligible sound escaped Sean’s lips. He gasped for air while instinctively taking a step back. He’d seen some hairy things in his life, but nothing even close to this. Icy fingers of fear raced up his spine; his heartbeat hammered in his chest. 
Sean couldn’t look away even if he had wanted to. Some strange fascination took hold of his brain and wouldn’t let go. Systematically, his mind dissected the grisly scene before him.
Sticking out of the rolling mound of seaweed was a woman’s arm. It was stiff as a mannequin’s, extending skyward as if reaching to him for help. The mottled blue hand wore long red fingernails, two of which had been broken down to the quick. Seaweed was wrapped around her arm like a feather boa. 
Sean’s gaze then locked onto another object protruding from the sandy grave: a leg that seemed to be severed mid-thigh, but closer inspection revealed that it was really half-buried. It too appeared tangled in the bubbly brown vegetation. 
The foot, like the hand, wore a shock of bright red polish on its perfectly manicured toes, clashing with the bluish pallor of the flesh. His eyes grew wide at the sight of flies and sand crabs greedily devouring the soft tissue. He choked back bile.
The spell was broken.
Sean stepped backward so fast he tripped over his own feet and landed on his butt. He scrambled up and raced toward the shore. He couldn’t get away fast enough. He reached the water’s edge before collapsing to his hands and knees.  His insides lurched so hard that he thought he would spew his stomach lining. Dry heaves continued long after his stomach had emptied. He collapsed on the sand, exhausted. A wave washed over him, but he hardly noticed.
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Continue reading “Guest blogger: Morgan Hannah MacDonald”

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Guest Blogger: Danielle Blanchard

How to Create a Cool Vampire series!
I hope no one gets this post twisted and thinks it is only for writers or would-be writers. I am an avid reader and I love to read as much as I love to create characters of my own.
Like most readers who have an electronic readind device (Kindle, iPad, Nook, Sony, et cetera), I find myself going to a website (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords—take your pick) and I usually decide whether or not to buy a book based upon the cover (is it professionally done or at least attractive), the blurb (I cut some slack on this one as some people just don’t know how to write effective blurbs), reviews (I am quite morbid as I go to the lowest rated reviews first) but more often than not, what will make the decision for me will be reading a sample of said work.
Okay, so what the hell does this have to do with creating a kick ass vampire series? Quite a bit to be honest. The paranormal market is saturated but there are more tales about werewolves and vampires than any other kind of supernatural creature (I’d hazard to guess zombies come in a close third but they are mostly relegated to horror and not paranormal or urban fantasy).
That is a lot of material to peruse and to be honest, who has the time?
Of course there are short cuts to finding a new and interesting book or author. Amazon has created popularity pages and a top one hundred for ever genre and sub-genre. That means for vampire lovers, they can simply peruse the top 100 in vampire novels/novellas to see if there is anything they like and buy.
That must be great if you are on the top 100 but since I haven’t gotten there—yet—checking the top 100 to see what is popular can definitely give you a good idea in what direction you want to go but first we should lay down some ground rules:
·         The lethal vampire hunter genre is oversaturated and unless your name is Laurell K. Hamilton or Jeaniene Frost then I would stay away from this sub-section.
·         Bad ass, hot vamp guys to base a story upon…great idea but that market is cornered severely by J.R. Ward and Lara Adrian so just…stop, don’t do it!
·         Somewhat innocent mortal females who are dragged into the vampire world…nope, no, nein and non! Please, please don’t embarrass yourself. One word: dignity. Remember Stephenie Meyer, Charlaine Harris and Kresley Cole (gotta love how she combines super bad ass supernatural villains and somewhat spit-fire innocent females…classic)!
There is a reason while all the authors above along with a whole host of others are a mainstay in the paranormal/urban fantasy genre, especially when young paranormal romance junkies are looking for their fix. Don’t bother poaching on territory that is perfection, especially if you don’t have a publishing contract and your name isn’t one with any real weight behind it.
Believe it or not, my series, The Vamp Saga, slowly came to me. I wanted to create a whole new breed of vampire where they didn’t have to hide in the shadows and they ran everything. Mortals aren’t exactly vamp food in my books as they don’t have to be…they have their blood beverages but nothing beats a tasty old human…unless you are a Day Walker and then mortal blood doesn’t do anything for you.
One of the best compliments I have ever received came from a blog reviewer who asked me how much research I did for my novels. The answer is tons and although she noticed, it doesn’t bother me the least bit when someone doesn’t notice either.
So, to recap, The Vamp Saga doesn’t encompass any of the above as the main character, Manon, is a half-vampire who doesn’t know it. She falls for the ultra suave Mikkel, and sparks fly. But—and there is a huge BUT—is he the love of her life and were they ever meant to be?
The story had to be a series because the plot was too intricate and too complicated to shove all in one novel but for those who want to read about their story, there is Death Wish; for those who want to read what happened before that night and how all the chess pieces were put into place, there is a novella I wrote after Death Wish, Death Lair. And lastly, for those who just want to see what happens when one must reap what they sow, there is Better off Dead.
Although it is book two in the series, Better off Dead won’t be the latest in The Vamp Saga for long. Book Three, Queen of the Undead, is finished and will be released at the end of June or early part of July this year. I can tell you BODdoes not end on a cliffhanger (my editor abhors them and won’t let me so I stopped trying… *sigh*) but that isn’t the purpose. So much is going in, I just thought I would treat the readers out there who have discovered my different vampire series and actually like it.
Do I crave J.R. Ward and Charlaine Harris status? Of course I do…but I won’t ride their coattails to do it. They created some damn good characters and I hope one day someone is writing a blog post and mentions me in a list like this as well.
The Vamp Saga novels can be found and purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.

About The Author
Danielle Blanchard Benson is a world traveler and author of several different series.

Ms. Blanchard Benson is the author of Beginnings: Book I (The Plague), Death Wish: Book I, Better off Dead: Book II and Death Lair: A Novella (all from The Vamp Saga), The Catalyst: Book One (The Pop Stars) and The Beautiful People series.
She is currently working on Queen of the Undead: Book III (The Vamp Saga) Hart Attack: Book I (The Hart Family Saga), Apocalypse 2012: Book II (The Plague), Love Voodoo: Book I (DeGeneration) and The Making of a Star: Book Two (The Pop Stars).
Ms. Blanchard Benson has lived abroad in Stockholm (Sweden), Manchester (England), Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Blog:http://thebeautifulpeopleawritersjourney.blogspot.com/
Follow Danielle Blanchard Benson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dblanchbenz007
Like Danielle Blanchard Benson on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/Author.Danielle.Blanchard.Benson

Email Me: mzdanibee007@gmail.com

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Guest blogger: HelenKay Dimon

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to let HelenKay Dimon take over the blog today to tell us her favorite book she has written… Or try to tell us.  🙂 

Which one of your books do you like the best?

I always freeze when I get this question.  It’s a great question.  Perfectly legitimate and it’s usually asked with the best intentions.  Sometimes a reader who has never tried one of my books is trying to figure out where they should start – single titles, Intrigues or shorter stories. Since I’m grateful whenever anyone anywhere shows an interest in my books, I try to stumble through an answer.  The problem isn’t the question.  It’s figuring out how you answer that when all the books come out of you. It kind of seems wrong to pick just one.

I know we’re not supposed to have favorites.  The proper public relations answer is probably something like, “all of them!” or “whichever one just came out!”  Those are legitimate but this month I have a PR no-no answer.  It goes like this:  my May release, .  And I really mean it.

This is my 9th Intrigue and something like my 26th book over all. I love writing (and not being a trial lawyer anymore). The Intrigues are different from my other books because they’re such a mix of suspense and romance.  When it comes to Intrigues, I do have to admit I have a soft spot for this one. I really do love it. I was trying to figure out why and came up with this:

1.     Courtney, the heroine, has a tragic backstory that might emotionally cripple most people, but she’s strong and determined.

2.     Jonas, the hero, has had some bad luck but, despite his grumpiness and tendency to control everything, he respects the heroine for who she is.



It’s so simple, isn’t it?  Sure, it’s a plot I had been thinking about for a long time and wanted to write. Sure, writing the suspense parts makes all giggly and happy because I love things that explode. But I think this one is special to me because of the characters.  They surprised me as I wrote. Jonas turned out to be mushy under all that toughness.  Courtney proved to be stronger than I ever thought she would be.  Basically, they’re perfect for each other.



SHE WANTED TO TRUST HIM WITH HER SAFETY-BUT NOT WITH HER HEART…
No woman could deny the appeal of the sexy deputy sheriff Jonas Porter. But to Courtney Allen, Jonas has one major flaw-his badge. Years ago, Courtney’s father was wrongfully convicted of a crime and she vowed to never trust a cop again. But when Jonas becomes the only man to believe in her father’s innocence, Courtney begins seeing the brooding lawman in a whole new way.
Jonas knows in his gut that the real killer is still out there and determined to finish what he started long ago. To protect Courtney and bring the criminal to justice will require all the skills he can muster. And that means focusing on the job. Not the woman who makes him forget his troublesome past and arouses in him a passion that is anything but professional.

Want to learn more about HelenKay?  Find her here: 

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Guest Blogger: Margaret Ethridge

Margaret Ethridge is taking over the blog today to talk about Love and Chickens????

Margaret Ethridge lives in Arkansas with a sweet-talking Southern gentleman who claims to be her lawfully-wedded husband. She is the (not-so-wicked-but-she-has-her-moments) step-mother to their two children, the adoring mistress of three spoiled dogs, the food purveyor to eleven hungry goldfish, and the comic foil for one rather impertinent house rabbit who thinks he rules the roost.
When she isn’t tapping away at her keyboard, Margaret engages in an epic battle against her never-ending laundry hampers, cajoles the flowers in her yard, sings into her hairbrush, and holds entire conversations speaking in movie quotes.

“Te amo”
“Je t’aime”
“Ich liebe dich”
“I brought you a Route 44 Diet Coke from the Sonic.”
There are hundreds of ways to say “I love you”, but if you’re not paying attention they might get lost in translation. Learning to speak each other’s language is one of the most intriguing aspects of falling in love, and the things we don’t say speak even louder than ardent declarations. It took a long time to become fluent in my husband’s language of love.
You see, like the characters in my latest novel, Spring Chickens, he’s a southern man and I’m a Yankee girl. Technically, we both speak English, but they are radically different dialects. When the air turns cool and damp, I may say, “It’s going to rain”, but my sweet talking southern man would tell you, “It’s fixin’ to come a storm.” When we go shopping, he pushes a ‘buggy’, but I use a ‘cart’ to carry my groceries.
Like any dedicated couple, we say the words every day, but they don’t always come out in the form of “I love you.” Most days they go something like this:
“I mailed your package.”
“Thank you. I thought I’d make that pasta thing you liked for dinner tonight. That sound good?”
“Great. I’m gonna pull the washer out. Your pink socks fell off the pile, and I think I saw you Steak ‘n Shake shirt back there.”
 “I’ve been looking for that shirt!”
“I figured there was a reason you were rooting through my drawers.”
“You love it when I root around in your drawers.”
“I do.”
“I do. too.”
In Spring Chickens, Bram Hatchett declares his intentions by giving Lynne Prescott a pair of baby chicks. Lynne reciprocates by making him pot roast. I can’t think of a better way of saying, “I’m falling for you.”
What about you? How do you and your loved one say I love you?
Spring Chickens
You don’t have to be a spring chicken to fall in love.
The residents of Heartsfield, Arkansas think Lynne Prescott has it all. The wealthy suburban divorcee captures everyone’s attention when she blows into town to dispose of the family farm. But her nosy new neighbors don’t know she ran away from home.
Bram Hatchett’s interest in buying the land adjoining his farm is yesterday’s news, but the handsome widower’s inability to contain his attraction to the land’s beautiful owner quickly becomes fodder for the local gossip mill.
A rickety old porch and a disturbing decrease in the poultry population bring them together—but with wagging tongues and grown children against them, Lynne’s inclination toward flight comes smack against Bram’s aversion to fight. Can they whittle away the secrets of the past in order to scratch out a future together?
Excerpt:
The photograph of her aunt with his uncle served as an easy out.
 Lynne laughed and shook her head. “I found something I wanted to show you.” She offered it to him with a sheepish smile.
Bram took the snapshot, shooting her a wary glance before lowering his eyes. The glimmer of a smile twitched his lips then blossomed. “This is them,” he said in a soft, reverent tone.
“I know. Look at how happy they were.” He squinted and stretched his arm, leaning back until he could focus. “Wanna borrow my glasses?” she asked, waving the drugstore readers in his direction. His glare might have leveled a lesser woman, but she figured she’d already shown him her worst. She flashed her biggest grin. “Need longer arms? Want me to hold it over here?”
He snatched the glasses from her hand and slipped them onto the end of his nose. “Hell to get old,” he grumbled, moving the photo closer until he found the right spot.
She leaned against the doorframe. “Tell me about it.”
Bram whipped the glasses from his face and handed them back to her with the photograph. “I usually don’t need them. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Chirping keep you awake?” she asked with a wry smile.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t keep my chickens in the kitchen.”
“Smart man.”
Buy link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=4835
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Ethridge/e/B004CSGWZI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Want to learn more about Margaret?  Check here out here: 
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Guest Blogger: Emily Cale

Books-n-Kisses is please to let Emily Cale take over the blog today as part of her Getting Ahead blog tour. She is talking about the appeal of cowboys.  



Appeal of a Cowboy

What is it about cowboys that attract our attention? I grew up seeing and talking to cowboys (and girls!) on a daily basis and never gave it a second thought. It wasn’t until I was older that I started to realize how sexy they are. It’s not just me either. A quick look around Amazon shows an abundance of Westerns, both in the romance genre and in other genres. It’s stood the test of time for many decades.

So what is it that makes cowboys so alluring? For me, it’s several things. First, I love the thought of a man working out on the land all day. He not only has to use his muscles (and they are wonderful), but his mind as well.
Second, they usually come across as serious family men. They work the same land that their father and grandfather did. The whole family gets on taking care of the property, from the smallest child up to the oldest adult. Even with all that work, they still find time for a little fun (If you’re one of my characters, you find time for A LOT of fun).
Finally, something about the way they say “ma’am” and “pardon” makes my heart skip a beat. I’m not sure if it’s the accent or the sincerity, but I can’t help but swoon over it. Yes, I did just say swoon.
What about you? Do you love cowboys? How come?


Getting Ahead Blurb:
Colton is exactly the kind of distraction Amber doesn’t want, but he might be exactly what she needs to get back on track.
Recovering from a bad fall during competition, Amber McDonald decides to spend her last week of training before her next rodeo at a Colorado ranch, away from any and all distractions. It’d be the perfect arrangement—if only her fear wasn’t stopping her from getting back on her horse.
Then Colt Riley steps in. He’s sexy and seems to have incredible insight into her situation, but he’s everything she’s been trying to stay away from.
Colt knows exactly what Amber is going through…because he’s been there before. Forced to give up his riding career after an accident, he sets his mind to helping her get back on track. All that’s easier said than done, especially when she discovers his hidden past. Will his efforts be enough to help her get ahead?

Buy Links:
Publisher: http://www.breathlesspress.com/getting-ahead
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B25V7M/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwbreathless-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007B25V7M
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/getting-ahead-emily-cale/1109505995?ean=2940033070534
All Romance ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-gettingahead-728018-340.html

Author Bio:
Emily Cale spent the majority of her childhood as a visitor to the worlds of her favorite authors. With encouragement from her English teachers, she put pen to paper and began imagining her own stories. Preferring the fascinating lives of her characters, she majored in creative writing. When not lost in a manuscript or a good book, she enjoys crocheting, rock climbing, and playing board games. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband and a very spoiled cat.
You can find Emily online on her blog (http://www.emilycale.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/emilycale.