Friday, June 29, 2012

Scarlett Knight’s The Emerald Room


Experience the passion that ignites when handsome older men connect with young beautiful women. This steamy collection of four erotic short stories includes the kind of sexy encounters that only a blending of experience and youth can bring. Read how a composed college professor gives over to his lust for one of his faithful students, witness a seasoned theatre director succumbing to the stubborn wiles of a hot young actress in his play, and more.

*****

Excerpt:

The Emerald Room bar was one of the classier joints where Nate got paid to play these days. Every Friday for the past two months, he put on a jacket and bowtie and sat at their shiny baby grand, tickling the keys for his two-hour set. It was a hell of a lot better than some of the trashy spots he was forced to waste his talent in, places whose patrons were so noisy and crude, where his music drowned beneath the sound of shrill laughter and glass breaking.

But not this place.

Aside from the nice paycheck, and aside from the sleek marble-topped bar and tall cherry wood seats, and aside from the polite, well-dressed folks who not only listened to him but tipped as well, there was the goddess.

She always showed up when he was about thirty minutes into his set, usually around the time he was playing soundtrack tunes from movies like The Godfather. In she'd stride, wearing one of her killer dresses. Sometimes it was the little black one, her hair cascading like a golden wave down her bare back. Other times she wore the sparkling red number. Tonight she donned a silver gown with a slit all the way up to the top of her right leg, the lacy band of her stocking peeking out whenever she moved just right on the barstool.

God, did Nate have a thing for stockings.

Her black stilettos only made her heavenly legs even more mouthwatering, the way they caused the calf muscles to flex just right. In between songs he took a sip of his bourbon and loosened his tie. To imagine those legs wrapped around him…it was the fuel for many a fantasy after he went home, too chicken shit to talk to her.

Available from:

And all other good eBook retailers.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Would you stay at the Devil's Mansion?

I'm guest blogging today over at Flirty Author Bitches, and talking about some of the inspiration behind my new release, The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Threesome Wedding Adventure -- The Devil's Mansion in New Orleans -- or more what now stands on the infamous site.

Leave a comment there, with an email address, and I'll choose one winner for a .pdf copy of the erotic paranormal. And, if you haven't already ... don't forget to enter the release contest for a Pewter Rune Necklace.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Eversworn with Hailey Edwards




Eversworn
Daughters of Askara
Hailey Edwards
Samhain Publishing

Blurb

Steal the salt. Bind the grimoire. Escape the male.

Daughters of Askara, Book 3

When an exchange of stolen goods in the Feriana marketplace turns sour, Isabeau stumbles from the encounter bruised and laden with new orders to complete an even larger heist. With her child’s life at stake, there’s no room for error—or allies.

Armed with a lethal book of spells, she strikes a dangerous bargain with Roland Bernhard. Steal a shipment of salt from the Feriana colony, and she’ll have her freedom—and her daughter. It’s all she’s ever wanted. At least it was…until she runs into Dillon Preston.

Dillon is out of commission after a mine explosion, and itching for a distraction. He gets it when the female who saved his leg arrives at the colony with nothing but flimsy excuses and even flimsier attire. She’s after something, but is it him—or the salt?

Trapped in a desperate bid to gain true freedom, Isabeau is willing to sacrifice her life for her daughter’s, but Dillon has other plans. He wants a package deal, and he’s not willing to lose either female, even if it means the future king of Sere’s head will roll.

Warning: This title contains a heroine desperate to save her daughter and a hero determined to make them a family. It also includes wings, horns and other assorted appendages. 

Buy Links

Amazon            B&N



Author Bio

Hailey is a wife turned mother turned writer, who loves her husband, her daughter and alone time with her computer. Whenever southern living strikes her as too ordinary, she can be found squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after or with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen. Wings and/or cupcakes are usually involved…

She loves to hear from readers. Drop her a line here.

You can also swing by her blog or subscribe to her newsletter for all her latest news.

Author Links




Friday, June 22, 2012

Solstice Fun with Kerry Adrienne


If you're looking for the Hot Summer Nights Blog Hop, it's one post down, or click on that title. Plus, make sure to leave a comment on Kerry's blog because she has a giveaway, too!

I love history, and I love writing about hot men in historical settings. There is something about a primal man—one who hasn’t been “metro’ed.” Of course, I’d still like my primal man to be cleaned and ‘scaped as much as possible, so I do veer from history in that area. I think reading “Clan of the Cave Bear” when I was a teen really impacted me.

When researching Druids for this novella, I found out that we really don’t know a whole lot about them. Not really. Sure, there are lots of people speculating—but most of our Druid sensibilities come from Neo-Druids in the seventeenth and beyond centuries. When you think of Druid, you likely think of these Neo-Druids. The culture is quite romantic.

For Druid, Mine, I took the fun parts from the Neo-Druid movement and ran with them. I love the idea of a central hearth and firepit. I love the back-to-nature aspects and being in tune with the astronomical events around us.

Druid, Mine takes place on Summer Solstice Eve—a night of magic. Set in Ireland, I also took advantage of the ripe faery culture there. All in all, I really enjoyed writing this novella and am proud that it is in the 1Night Stand series at Decadent.

Druid, Mine is the second in a subseries (the series being the 1Night Stand series), All Mine. The first novella is Senator, Mine (April 2012) and the third is Pharaoh, Mine (fall 2012).

I’d like to offer one commenter a free copy of Druid, Mine. I’ll select the winner on Sunday, June 24 and post here (the winner can then contact me to get the book).

Thanks!

Kerry Adrienne

Druid, Mine blurb:

Anya’s wish for a normal date—away from the old man she is caretaker for—comes true in unexpected ways when she finds herself whisked to an ancient Irish stone circle on solstice eve.

Carrick’s decision to follow the path to become an Ovate druid has not come lightly, and he plans to spend the solstice eve in meditation unless fairies or evil spirits disrupt the circle. When a feisty girl walks right up to the fire, more than sparks fly.

They each seek healing and a connection, but the darkness of summer is short, and once the solstice sun breaks through the circle at dawn, the magic of the night will be over. Even Madame Eve can’t stop the day from rising.

Excerpt
Maybe I’m the first person Madame Eve can’t find a match for. And how was it any better than just picking someone up from one of the dozen bars along the street?
Bile filled her throat. Being caretaker for the old man had filled her days but left her empty inside. I’m lonely. I need this 1Night Stand. She stifled a sob. Crying wouldn’t help anything. She had chosen her path knowing full well what the consequences would be. Maybe she hadn’t foreseen how deeply alone she’d feel, but she’d known what she was getting into, work-wise. She used to be a risk taker, impulsive and willing to try new things. Why was she so willing to settle for security now?
The town’s few buildings rose in shadowed relief in the dusky twilight around the city center like tall stones. Guardians, perhaps. Behind them lay the mountains, the wild unknown. She sat straight and leaned into the faint spray from the fountain. The cool mist spread across the back of her arms. Closing her eyes, she lifted her long hair so the moisture could reach the back of her neck.
“Aine?”
Anya dropped her hair.
“Hello?” No one.
“Aine. Let’s go.” The voice floated on drops of water and fell through the air.
“What?” No one was near.
“I’m here.” The voice settled softly like dew on her skin. The air wavered over the fountain and the water slowed.
I only had one beer.
“Come. He awaits.”
For the briefest moment, a golden light eclipsed the edge of Anya’s vision then darkness slid over her.

Available via ...


  

Recently, I reviewed Kerry's debut novel Senator Mine for Night Owl Reviews Magazine. Here's a copy:

Senator Mine Review
1Night Stand
Decadent Publishing

New writer Kerry Adrienne tackles one of my favorite short reads with Senator, Mine, a 1Night Stand release from Decadent Publishing. Adrienne draws readers to New Pompeii, Italy, where Eleanor wants to get over her failed relationship. Rather than getting engaged, she’s hooking up for a night of debauchery.

As a senator in ancient Rome, Darius can have his choice of any servant girl in his bed. When Eleanor purchases a ring with a special connection, she’s in for the night of a lifetime.

Senator, Mine features some delicious time travel, and Adrienne’s writing adds a richness to the intriguing tale: “The scent of age hung in the shop. Dust and dirt—once a king’s ransom—and tithes to long-forgotten gods circulated in the cool air.” I definitely look forward to more from this author. 


Available via Decadent Publishing & Amazon.

Visit Kerry Online:

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Heatin’ Up the Summer with a Hop

A chill wind blows, and the “June Gloom” kicks in full force. Living in Southern California near the ocean in the summer doesn’t always mean hot weather.

Usually, by the afternoon – around 3 p.m. – things start heating up. I’m a warm weather gal, and love that feeling of sitting by the window, collecting the warmth, or sliding into a closed car and getting all toasty (not the burning the buns on the hot seats, though!)

Along with summer time comes hot reads! And, you’re going to experience some sizzling one on this Blog Hop! I’ll be giving away a $10 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance to one commenter on my blog, plus, every comment is entered the grand prizes, the “Digital Erotica Gift Basket with over 40 books” or the “$100 Gift Card to EdenFantasys, fun sex toy shop.”


“Digital Erotica Gift Basket with over 40 books”
“$100 Gift Card to EdenFantasys, fun sex toy shop”
Check out my latest erotic paranormal novel (came out on Tuesday!), and tell me your favorite part of summer!

The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Threesome Wedding Adventure

Planning a wedding can be stressful and crazy-making.  Planning three weddings at the same time? That’s insanity. While The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf embark on a nuptial excursion, Silver & Nick hold down the home fortress in New Orleans.

And as if everyone doesn’t have enough to deal with, the Voodoo King comes calling with a magic elixir that diminishes sexual inhibitions and an eerie quiet spreads across the French Quarter. Life as they know it may never be the same.

The threesome is forced to put off honeymoon bliss in order to banish the demons of their past, and embrace the uncertainty of the future.

Available via Ravenous Romance, and via online retailers later this week.


Thanks for stopping by,


Louisa Bacio




The Sci-Fi-Paranormal-Apocalyptic-Vampire-Urban-Fantasy Romance


Susannah Sandlin drops in for a lesson in genre blending and blurring. Anyone getting dizzy in here?

“Genre” is a topic dear to agents and editors and publishers and booksellers. How should the book be marketed? Where will it get shelved in a bookstore? Is it urban fantasy or paranormal romance? Where does it get categorized on book websites? Which book reviewers should it be sent to?

They need a clear definition, an easy fit.

For authors, sometimes—maybe a lot of the time—the stories we want to write aren’t an easy fit. Sometimes they straddle two categories, or more.

When I first wrote Redemption, my new release, it sat firmly on the fence between paranormal romance and urban fantasy.



It is the first in a series that had an ongoing situation that couldn’t be resolved within the pages of a single book. A global pandemic has led to the development of a vaccine that caused a slight change in human blood chemistry—which has made the blood of a vaccinated human deadly to vampires. Suddenly, vampires are starving, fighting over unvaccinated humans, fanning into rural areas in search of feeders, threatening a civil war.

Sounds like urban fantasy, right? Maybe with a science-fiction twist? Maybe a little apocalyptic (at least for the vampires)?

Well, except that each book is told from the viewpoint of a vampire who finds his or her perfect mate in the midst of chaos and rebellion. In Redemption, Aidan Murphy has avoided relationships because of something that happened to his human wife and child in Ireland back in 1601. He’s deeply scarred by it, and isn’t expecting a human doctor—who he’s forced to kidnap so his people will have medical treatment—to change his life.

Krys and Aidan’s story is central to Redemption. Uh…sounds like paranormal romance, right?

You see the issue. So…do your favorite books fit neatly into a category? If you’re writing, how close to “genre” do you stick, or do you let the story go where it needs to go?

Blurb:

Following a worldwide pandemic whose vaccine left human blood deadly to vampires, the vampire community is on the verge of starvation and panic. Some have fanned into rural areas, where the vaccine was less prevalent, and are taking unsuspecting humans as blood slaves. Others are simply starving, which for a vampire is worse than death—a raging hunger in a creature too weak to feed.
Immune to these struggles—at first—is Penton, a tiny community in rural Chambers County, Alabama, an abandoned cotton mill town that has been repopulated by charismatic vampire Aidan Murphy, his scathe of 50 vampires, and their willingly bonded humans. Aidan has recruited his people carefully, believing in a peaceful community where the humans are respected and the vampires retain a bit of their humanity.


But an unresolved family feud and the paranoia of the Vampire Tribunal descend on Penton in the form of Aidan’s brother, Owen Murphy. Owen has been issued a death warrant that can only be commuted if he destroys Penton—and Aidan, against whom he’s held a grudge since both were turned vampire in 17th-century Ireland.  Owen begins a systematic attack on the town, first killing its doctor, then attacking one of Aidan’s own human familiars.


To protect his people, Aidan is forced to go against his principles and kidnap an unvaccinated human doctor—and finds himself falling in love for the first time since the death of his wife in Ireland centuries ago. 

Dr. Krystal Harris, forced into a world she never knew existed, must face up to her own abusive past to learn if the feelings she’s developing for her kidnapper are real—or just a warped, supernatural kind of Stockholm Syndrome in which she’s allowing herself to become a victim yet again.

EXCERPT:

Krystal Harris pulled to the shoulder of the two-lane road—highway was too grand a word—and punched the button to turn on the old green Corolla’s dome light. She counted to five before thwacking it with the heel of her palm, and a dim light blinked as if considering her demand. It stayed on—this time.

The car was a dinosaur, but it was a paid-for dinosaur.

She dug a folded Alabama road map from beneath her briefcase on the passenger seat, smoothing the creases to make sure she hadn’t driven past Penton, which she suspected was no more than a wide spot on a narrow road. She didn’t want to get lost out here in the boonies.

Yep, County Road 70. The highway to Penton just looked like the express lane to nowhere.

A gust of wind rocked the car, sending icy air around the loose door seals. Maybe the chill of this night was an omen that she should take this job if they offered it, just so she could buy a more respectable form of transportation. Still, doubts nagged at her. What kind of clinic conducted a job interview at nine p.m.? She should never have agreed to it, but the Penton Clinic administrator had waved big bucks in front of her huge college and med school debts, and she’d trotted after them like a donkey after a carrot.

“You had the goody-two-shoes idea of practicing rural medicine, plus you’re already here,” she chided herself, clicking off the overhead and pulling back onto the road. “And you’ve gotta admit, this is rural.”

Another omen, and not a good one: she was talking to herself. Out loud.

A couple of miles later, her headlights illuminated a battered wooden sign covered in peeling paint: Welcome to Penton, Alabama. Founded 1890. Population 3,275.

Twenty years ago, maybe. Krys had done her Penton homework, and that was the boomtown population, when the mammoth East Alabama Mill still churned out threads and batting. It had wheezed its final belch a decade ago, and the town had suffered a slow death by attrition even before the pandemic. The most recent listing Krys found online estimated a population of three hundred. She was surprised they could afford to hire a doctor, much less pay a more-than-competitive wage.

But this was what she wanted, right? A place to practice medicine and be her own boss, to find a community where she could belong? After growing up in Birmingham—the wrong side of Birmingham—she hated the grime and crowds and noise of the city.

Lost in thought as she approached the outskirts of town, she thought she saw an animal in the road—a deer or a bear, maybe—God only knew what wildlife lived out here. But it was a man. He wore a long coat that flapped in the wind and was backlit by a lone streetlight in front of an abandoned convenience store. She’d have blown past him if he hadn’t moved into the middle of the road when the glare of her headlights hit him like a spotlight.

He stood with his hands in his pockets, feet planted apart, watching calmly as she floored the brakes. The Corolla’s old tires squealed, stinking up the air with the smell of hot rubber and stressed brakes.
Good Lord. Was he nuts?

She got the car stopped and took a deep breath, hands frozen to the wheel, her muscles jittery from the aftershock. The man walked around and tapped on her driver’s side window, motioning for her to lower it.

Krys’s foot hovered over the accelerator, indecisive. Should she drive on and get the hell out of here?
No, by God, she should not. She’d at least lower the window enough to tell the jerk how close he’d come to ending his life as a hood ornament on a green Toyota Dinosaur.

He held up his empty hands in a gesture of peace. Right. Like he was going to hold up a sign that said Beware of Murderous Backwoods Whack Job.

She snaked her right hand to her purse in the passenger seat, wrapped cold fingers around the handle of a small pistol, and slipped it into the pocket of her suede jacket—after she was sure the man had seen it. The .38 Smith & Wesson snub-nose was her security blanket, and she knew how to use it.

His only reaction to the gun was a raised eyebrow. “I have a man injured here.” His voice was deep and melodic, and he had a trace of an accent, as if he’d grown up not speaking English but had been around a few too many Southerners. “You the doctor coming to Penton for the interview?”

She lowered her window an inch and stared as he knelt next to the driver’s side door, putting his face at eye level. And damned if it wasn’t one of the most beautiful faces she’d seen since…maybe ever.
He’d pulled his dark hair into a short ponytail except for one wavy strand that had pulled loose and blew against his cheek. The streetlight cast enough illumination for her to see the dark lashes fringing blue eyes that reminded her not so much of summer skies or robin’s eggs but of the richness of an arctic sea flowing over darker depths. They appeared to lighten as he studied her with an intensity that almost robbed her lungs of air. He had a strong jaw, full lips, and a slight cleft in his chin.

If he was a serial killer, he was at least a pretty one.

He cleared his throat. “Are you Dr. Harris?”

Krys caught her breath. Good Lord, what was wrong with her? She’d been practically drooling through a half-open window as though he were Adonis personified. He could be Charles Manson’s separated-at-birth, unidentical twin.

Except he knew her name.

AUTHOR BIO:

Susannah Sandlin (www.susannahsandlin.com) is the author of paranormal romance set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night! A journalist by day, Susannah grew up in Alabama reading the gothic novels of Susan Howatch, and always fancied herself living in Cornwall (although she’s never actually been there). Details, details. She also is a fan of Stephen King. The combination of Howatch and King probably explains a lot. Currently a resident of Auburn, Alabama, Susannah has also lived in Illinois, Texas, California, and Louisiana. Her novel Redemption won the paranormal romance category in the 2011 Chicago North RWA Fire and Ice contest, and is the first of three in a series that debuts this year.

Book buy links

Amazon

** Note: The Kindle version of Redemption is only $3.99 at Amazon right now.



Release Day! The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Threesome Wedding Adventure


Throw the rice! It's finally here! Just like any wedding, a lot of creative energy (and love) went into writing A Threesome Wedding Adventure, book 3 of The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf series.

Available exclusively via Ravenous Romance now! and other eRetailers later this week.


The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Threesome Wedding Adventure

Planning a wedding can be stressful and crazy-making.  Planning three weddings at the same time? That’s insanity. While The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf embark on a nuptial excursion, Silver & Nick hold down the home fortress in New Orleans.

And as if everyone doesn’t have enough to deal with, the Voodoo King comes calling with a magic elixir that diminishes sexual inhibitions and an eerie quiet spreads across the French Quarter. Life as they know it may never be the same.

The threesome is forced to put off honeymoon bliss in order to banish the demons of their past, and embrace the uncertainty of the future.

____

For release day, leave a comment today, with an email address, and I'll enter you into a contest to win the first electronic .pdf copy of the new release! Winner will be chosen at midnight, PST. 

I'll also be doing various guest blogs over the next month, with a few grand prizes. The first is this gorgeous pewter necklace with a Rune symbol that means "self-confidence," (among other interpretations). When you read A Threesome Wedding Adventure, you'll see the tie-in, and why I'll be Reading Runes at Authors After Dark in New Orleans.



Oh, and did I mention I'm going to Disneyland today?! Oh, yes, a family mini-vacation was planned -- so what a celebration. 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, June 17, 2012

B Day at Beth Wylde’s




To help celebrate Pride Month, Monday June 18 is B Day at Beth Wylde’s Loop – a special day for putting the B back in GLBT and chatting with readers about bisexual stories. All the exciting authors listed below will be there for conversation, excerpts and even the occasional giveaway:

Louisa Bacio Louisa Bacio published her first erotic thriller SEX UNIVERSITY: Physical Education in June 2010, and since then has published four more, including The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome and its sequel Chains of Silver. Her story “Two’s Company” can be found in I Kissed a Girl: A Virgin Lesbian Anthology. Bacio takes on the tale of Lilith in “Lilith: In Her Garden” in the Seducing the Myth anthology.

Elizabeth Black Elizabeth Black lives in Massachusetts next to the ocean with her husband, son, and four cats. Her articles and erotic books and short stories have been published by Romance Divine, Circlet Press, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, Xcite Books, Ravenous Romance, eXcessica Publishers, Scarlet Magazine, Sexis Magazine, Alternet, the Ms. Magazine Blog, Good Vibrations Magazine, and nuts4chic.

Delilah Devlin Delilah Devlin is a prolific and award-winning author of erotica and erotic romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. Whether creating dark, erotically-charged paranormal worlds or richly descriptive historical stories that ring with authenticity, Delilah Devlin “pens in uncharted territory that will leave the readers breathless and hungering for more…” (Paranormal Reviews) Ms. Devlin has published over 100 erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths.

Ann Herendeen Ann writes from the "third perspective," the woman who prefers a bisexual husband and an m/ m/ f menage. With Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander, Ann put a new twist on a traditional form, creating the ultimate love story she always wanted to read: a Regency romance with a bisexual hero. In Pride/ Prejudice, she tells the hidden bisexual story within Jane Austen's classic novel.

Adriana Kraft is the pen name for a married couple writing erotic romance together. Published at Extasy Books, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, Love You Divine, Logical Lust and Torquere, their novels and short stories garner top reviews and are available in e-book and print. Genres include straight m/f, lesbian, bisexual, ménage and polyamory, with both contemporary and paranormal settings.

Giselle Renarde Eroticist Giselle Renarde is a queer Canadian, avid volunteer, contributor to more than 50 short story anthologies, and author of dozens of electronic and print books, including Anonymous, Ondine, and My Mistress' Thighs. Ms Renarde lives across from a park with two bilingual cats who sleep on her head.

See you Monday!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Cover Reveal: A Threesome Wedding Adventure

Coming Tuesday, June 19!



The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Threesome Wedding Adventure

Planning a wedding can be stressful and crazy-making.  Planning three weddings at the same time? That’s insanity. While The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf embark on a nuptial excursion, Silver & Nick hold down the home fortress in New Orleans.

And as if everyone doesn’t have enough to deal with, the Voodoo King comes calling with a magic elixir that diminishes sexual inhibitions and an eerie quiet spreads across the French Quarter. Life as they know it may never be the same.

The threesome is forced to put off honeymoon bliss in order to banish the demons of their past, and embrace the uncertainty of the future.

Available via Ravenous Romance on Tuesday, June 19.