Her Fierce Warrior by Paige Tyler…Exclusive Guest Post & Giveaway

9781492625865

Title: Her Fierce Warrior

Author: Paige Tyler

Series: X-Ops, #4

Pubdate: March 1st, 2016

ISBN: 9781492625865

The woman tensed. As anger and fear ricocheted across her face, her eyes changed from red to green to brown in a dizzying display like nothing he’d ever seen.

Every instinct in Angelo’s body screamed at him to lunge for his weapon. Instead he set his feet for impact, blocking her slashing claws. Unbelievably, after a few moments of struggling, she went still, all the fight gone…

Minka isn’t sure she should trust the sexy Special Forces soldier who found her. Subjected to horrors, on the run from scientists set on locking her in a cage, Minka is terrified of the monster she’s becoming…and somehow, Angelo is

the only one who can calm the beast inside her and make her feel safe.

But can she trust the way he makes her feel when she’s not even sure she can trust herself?

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1TXnzGb

Apple: http://apple.co/1QcqsTP

BAM: http://bit.ly/1TXnHph

B&N: http://bit.ly/1oxN3Ou

Chapters: http://bit.ly/1KfVg3I

Kobo: http://bit.ly/20ZIiuZ

 

Where is your favorite place to write and why?

I tweaked this question up a little bit, because in reality, I write everywhere—on the couch, in bed, in the car, while sitting at the local college library waiting for hubby to get out of class, etc. So instead, I wanted to tell you where the real magic happens and where I do all my best brainstorming. Welcome to my booth at PF Chang’s!

IMG_3893

My hubby and I had eaten at PF Chang’s before, but we didn’t realize the magical brainstorming potential of the place until about three or four years ago. We were at the Lori Foster Reader Author Get Together (big shout-out to Lori!) and had just talked to some other authors about getting serious about a new book series. Hubby and I went to PF Chang’s to talk about it, and over Spicy Chicken the ideas just poured out! That brainstorming session became the X-OPS series. Book 4 – HER FIERCE WARRIOR – hits the bookshelves on the 1st of March.

Since then we start every new book with a brainstorming session over Spicy Chicken. With my X-OPS and SWAT Series coming out as often as they do—plus my other series—that’s a lot of It’s gotten to the point that we look for PF Chang’s in every city we travel to. So if you see a couple sitting at a table at PF Chang’s with their heads together discussing how a werewolf or feline shifter might get themselves out of a particular tough situation, it’s probably us!

IMG_3892

An Excerpt:

“So what did you and Landon do this afternoon?” Minka asked, her soft voice dragging him back to the present.

Angelo looked up to see that Minka had already polished off two fajitas. Damn, the girl could eat. “Landon gave me a tour of the DCO complex. I did some target shooting and blew up a few things. He even let me play with the expensive surveillance toys. I swear, it felt more like a recruiting pitch to get me to work there than anything.”

Minka’s eyes flashed green, her full lips curving slightly. Damn, why the hell had he said it like that? Now she probably thought he was going to come work for the DCO. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t, not after just reenlisting for another five years. The army wasn’t the kind of job where you could walk into the boss’s office and say, “I quit.”

Thinking it would be a good idea to steer the conversation back to safer ground, he reached for another fajita and asked Minka a question instead. “What do you think you’ll work on next with Ivy and Tanner? You going to practice with the claws for a while or move on to something else?”

Angelo felt a little crappy about changing the subject, but if Minka noticed, she didn’t seem to mind. And it wasn’t like he had to fake interest in what she was saying. Anything that involved Minka was important to him. Besides, he didn’t know much about shifters or hybrids, so the whole thing was pretty damn fascinating.

“What do you visualize when you see the beast in your mind?” he asked.

“Before today, I thought of it as a giant, blurry monster.

But after learning that the beast is a cat, that’s how I picture it now.” She smiled. “Not a little house cat, of course. They aren’t scary enough. More like a big cat that roams the mountains.”

“Makes sense,” he said.

Minka set the other half of her fourth fajita on her plate and gave him a curious look. “Would you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

His mouth twitched as he prepared another fajita. He wasn’t used to Minka being so reserved. She usually said whatever was on her mind, regardless of whether it was personal or not.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“The first time we met, I had claws, fangs, glowing red eyes, and I tried to kill you. Since then, I’ve spent most of the time telling you about an imaginary creature that lives inside my head and makes me act like a monster. How are you so calm about that? Most people would have run away already.”

Angelo chuckled. Not exactly the personal question he’d expected, but then again Minka rarely did the expected.

“Well, my mom was full-blooded Cherokee, and I grew up around all kinds of Indian folktales and legends.

My dad was in the army, and whenever he was deployed, Mom would take my sisters and me back to the reservation where she grew up in Oklahoma. I’d stay up half the night listening to the old men tell stories about shape-shifters, animal spirits, skin-walkers, and trickster spirits.” He grinned. “I’m not saying I necessarily believed in all that stuff back then, but after meeting Ivy, Tanner, and the other shifters at the DCO, it just didn’t faze me that much.”

Minka looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re a real American Indian? Like in the movies? With horses and everything?”

He laughed again. The expression of wonder on her face was adorable. “First, I’m only half-Indian. My dad is Mexican, so there’s that. And second, Native Americans are almost nothing like you see in the movies. We don’t all live in tepees and ride horses. In fact, I don’t even own a horse.”

Minka was a little disappointed about the no-horse thing, but she was fascinated with what it was like growing up on an Indian reservation and being surrounded by all those legends. She immediately asked him to tell her some Indian stories. It had been a long time since he’d thought about them, but to make her happy, he dug through his head and tried to remember

 

GIVEAWAY:

Comment on this blog post with the title of your favorite shifter book to be entered to win one of two paperback copies of Her Fierce Warrior! (US Mailing addresses only, please)

 

 

About the author:

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. Paige writes books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines they fall in love with.

She lives with her very own military hero (a.k.a. her husband) and their adorable dog on the beautiful Florida coast. Visit www.paigetylertheauthor.com.

 

 

Author Guest Post & Holiday Fun with Penny Watson

 

I’m so excited to have Penny on the blog today. I adore her Klaus Brothers series — it’s everything I want in a holiday romance topped off with her quirky and whimsical style! Penny’s storytelling helps put the Merry into Merry Christmas for me and the Happy into Happy Holidays. I hope you check her out. (Pssst! Both the new Klaus brothers novella AND the box set of the first three are only 99 cents at Amazon right now!)

Thanks!
Stacey

______

 

Hi! I’m Penny Watson, author of The Klaus Brothers, a holiday romance series about the five sexy sons of Santa. This Christmas I released Book #4, Sweet Cinderella.

 

Sweet Cinderella Novella Cover

 

Here’s the low-down on the Klaus Brothers…

 

PENNY WATSON’S KLAUS BROTHERS SERIES CHEAT SHEET

AKA, Who The Heck Are All These People?

Nicholas Klaus Senior = Santa Claus. Married to Alena Klaus. CEO of Klaus Enterprises. Fitness buff, runs marathons and works out like a boss. Has a snowy-white goatee and is built like Paul Bunyan.

Alena Klaus = Mrs. Santa. The cute, pixie-like matriarch of the Klaus family. Bohemian style of dress. Awful cook. Also loves to work out, especially triathlons.

Nicholas Klaus (SWEET INSPIRATION) = Oldest son. Highly disciplined master pastry chef at Klaus Küche. Specialty is Christmas cookies. Big beard, wears glasses.

Sven Klaus (SWEET ADVENTURE) = Second oldest son. Chief Toy Designer and Woodworker. Tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing hippie. Resembles a blond lumberjack.

Wolfgang Klaus (SWEET DESTINY, 2016) = Middle son. Director of Charitable Donations at Klaus Enterprises. General do-gooder. Spends a lot of time in pediatric hospitals and third world countries. Tall, dark, and handsome.

Gregor Klaus (SWEET CINDERELLA, 2015) = Second youngest son. Financial guru for Klaus Enterprises. Lives in Manhattan. Likes designer duds and expensive coffee. Goatee and Rolex not optional.

Oskar Klaus (SWEET MAGIK) = Youngest son. Director of Elfin Resources. Green-haired punk. Extreme snowboarder. Reformed Bad Boy.

 

***If you want to see my inspiration for the brothers and their stories,

check out this fun Pinterest board!***

 

candy canes

 

Needless to say, I love Christmas! Here’s my idea of the perfect way to celebrate the holiday…

 

  1. Start a roaring fire in the fireplace. (I usually cheat and use a Duraflame log).
  2. Heat up a mug of spiked hot cider. I mix apple cider with cinnamon sticks and spices, heat gently, strain out the spice mix, and then add a healthy dose of Laird’s Applejack.
  3. Assemble plate of Christmas cookies. Top choices are frosted gingerbread and Mexican wedding cakes. Yum!
  4. Turn on holiday music. My favorite is Celine Dion’s These Are Special Times—don’t judge!
  5. Snuggle up in cozy chair with my dachshund Lucy and a soft blanket.
  6. Watch a festive Christmas film such as Olive the Other Reindeer. It’s a classic!
  7. Read romantic holiday story. I have a huge collection, but some favorites include An Affair Before Christmas (Eloisa James), A Virgin River Christmas (Robyn Carr), and Under the Mistletoe (Mary Balogh).
  8. Have a present-wrapping competition with my husband. He always wins. He’s a perfectionist!
  9. Turn off all the lights except for the tree, and fall asleep waiting for Santa.
  10. Make sure to turn on hidden GoPro to film Santa leaving gifts. (And yes, my kids did this one year without telling me. Oops!)

 

Lucy Snuggle hot apple cider

 

To find out more about the Klaus Brothers, please check out the series page on my website, and sign up for my newsletter for release information and give-aways!

Penny Head Shot

Also, I love to chat on social media. Here are some places I hang out…

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter

Pinterest

Blog

Here’s the book blurb for Sweet Cinderella (A Christmas Novella). It’s only 99 cents right now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo. Merry Christmas!

 

Just one night.

Hannah De Luca Andersen has been battered by the worst year ever, but even that can’t squash her love of the holiday season. She has one night to forget life’s hardships and enjoy the magic of an elegant Christmas gala. If she’s really lucky, maybe a handsome prince will ask her to dance.

Gregor Klaus, Director of Finance for Klaus Enterprises, has completely lost his Christmas spirit. One look at Hannah thaws his icy demeanor and gives him a new sense of purpose. If he can only figure out the key to Hannah’s heart, he might have the best Christmas of his life.

But one night isn’t enough for Gregor Klaus. He won’t be satisfied with anything less than forever.

 

EXCERPT for Sweet Cinderella:

Chapter One

Ice. Cold.

Gregor Alric Klaus, fourth son of Nicholas and Alena Klaus, Director of Finance for Klaus Enterprises, knew what his colleagues whispered behind his back.

Cold, calculating, ruthless.

Unemotional, detached, relentless.

There was a reason he was a formidable opponent in the boardroom, and it wasn’t because he was a nice guy.

Gregor Klaus never lost the game. He played to win, every time.

Because of his financial expertise, Klaus Enterprises had established itself as a powerhouse in the industry. The company that produced handcrafted toys was unparalleled in quality and distribution. The company that brought so many children happiness owed its success to the most coldhearted brother in the Klaus family.

Even as a child, Gregor displayed an uncanny talent with numbers. While his brothers baked gingerbread and carved toys, he pored over the books with their elfin accountant, assessing each season, calculating ways to cut overhead, predicting trends. His father didn’t know quite what to do with him, so he set him up as Director of Finance and moved him to New York.

It was a perfect fit.

Gregor thrived in the urban environment. He loved the architecture, the cutting edge technology, the competition within the industry. He lived in a sparse apartment, adorned with a minimalist décor. He dressed in the height of fashion and enjoyed his gadgets. Even his dates—when he found time to squeeze in a social life—were elegant, tasteful. Cold. His brothers enjoyed an old-fashioned lifestyle in the North Pole, but Gregor had assimilated into the affluent world of Manhattan, a world away from Pfefferkuchen cookies and elfin Magik.

He lived for two things—his job and his family. Family loyalty was everything. He knew how much his parents and brothers depended on him. He was a rock in a sea of chaos. And how could Glasdorf—their town in the North Pole—be anything but chaotic? They lived within a magical ice wall, hidden from the rest of the Sudenwelt, with hundreds of elves. His brother Oskar did his best to control the unruly bunch, but it was a daily challenge. Between unpredictable spells and an unlimited supply of eggnog, the elves in Glasdorf were quite a handful.

All of their lives were currently mired in turmoil. Nicholas and Lucy had just welcomed their first baby into the family. Sven was secretly planning to open a furniture studio—and only Gregor knew the truth. Oskar and Kiana had adopted an elfin Bändiger and were building the North Pole’s first library. And his parents—Santa and Alena—had a full schedule packed with triathlons and philanthropic projects. Tonight was one such event, which his brother Wolfgang had been organizing for months. The New York Children’s Literacy gala promised to be a huge success, thanks to Gregor’s financial support and Wolf’s attention to detail.

Gregor wove through the crowds on Fifth Avenue, dodging shoppers and Salvation Army buckets. Bitter winds tugged at his coat and reddened his cheeks. He stopped and glanced at a window display. A fat Santa smiled at him and waved, its robotic arm twitching with Christmas cheer.

Mocking him.

It stood to reason that the Klaus family had some natural holiday generosity in their DNA. His father was filled with compassion, his mother was sympathetic to children all over the world, his brothers poured their hearts and souls into the toys and sweet treats and acts of philanthropy and caretaking of the elves.

Emotional, kind, and thoughtful—those were traits appropriate for the Klaus family. Those were traits nestled firmly in the genetic code of his parents and siblings. In some ironic twist of fate, those characteristics had skipped right over him. Nothing about Gregor Klaus was warm or cuddly.

He was the polar opposite of Santa Claus in every way.

He’d promised to meet his family at the affair. He needed this walk first, striding along the icy Manhattan sidewalks. He did this every day. The bracing wind reminded him he was still alive, not a robot but a man. He kept hoping that immersing himself in a sea of humanity would help him to find his own humanity.

He kept hoping.

His family hadn’t noticed that anything was wrong. They were distracted by life’s adventures, and none of them knew what Gregor hid behind his impeccable clothes, well-trimmed goatee, and self-confident expression. That now, in addition to ice cold, he felt numb. He peered into the frosted holiday windows on Fifth Avenue and felt absolutely…nothing.

Yes, it certainly was ironic.

Santa’s son was a cold, hard bastard with nary an ounce of Christmas cheer anywhere to be found.

 

 

 

 

Played by Clare James… Guest Post & Blog Tour

Played Final Cover [304278]

In PLAYED, the newest book in Clare James’s Elite PR series, it’s play or be played as sexy country singer Aaron Major engages in a game of give and take with PR pro Melody Sharp in this steamy, must read fall title releasing October 19th from Entangled Brazen.

Want to get to know Clare better? Check out her Dear Reader letter!

Rafflecopter for Virtual Tour Giveaway:

Clare is offering some exciting prizes during the Played Virtual Blog Tour event. One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a $25 Gift Card for Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice), two winners will win a paperback set of Clare’s Elite PR series (US residents only), and two winners will have their choice of an eBook copy of one of Clare’s titles! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

 

Direct Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YjA1MGVmMjkwYTE2NWQzYWI3ODNiODExNGJiNGU0OjEzOA==/

 

About Played:

Title: Played

Author: Clare James

Publisher: Entangled Brazen

Release Date: October 19, 2015

Series: Elite PR #2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ISBN: 9781633754515

Play. Or be played.

The music should be enough. End of story. But Aaron Major is finding out it’s not, and now his agent has hired a firm of suits to help launch his debut album, turning his life into a goddamn circus. Smile here. Play there. Be nice. Well, screw that. If Aaron wanted to spend his time shaking hands and kissing babies, he would’ve gone into politics.

Helping launch the career of country singer Aaron Major should be a cakewalk for PR pro Melody Sharp. Aaron is charming, sexy, and oh-so-appealing when he’s on stage. Off stage, though, he’s her worst nightmare. A stubborn, ornery, reclusive nightmare without a lick of business-or fashion-sense. The only way he’s going to make it in music is with a serious makeover-and quite possibly a personality transplant.

Soon, they’re engaged in a game of give and take, and though it’s Melody calling the shots, it’s Aaron who holds all control…

Available at: Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes  |  Goodreads

About Clare James:

ClareJames_HeadShot [304279]

Clare James writes contemporary romance and new adult novels with spunky heroines and sexier-than-sin heroes. Her books have made several best-selling lists including the tender love stories in the Impossible Love series; the steamy romantic comedy Dirty Little Lies; and the touching family drama Wednesday. She’s also the author of a new series with Entangled’s Brazen line about the women of Elite PR and their very naughty clients. The first two books in the series are out now!

A former dancer, Clare still loves to get her groove on – mostly to work off her beloved cupcakes and red wine. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and young son, and is always on social media chatting with readers.

Connect with Clare:  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Please add Barclay Publicity’s button at the bottom of your post and/or on the side column of your blog and link it back to http://www.barclaypublicity.com:

 

Host: Courtney

Author Guest Post

Her writing rituals: Certain area? Music being played or quiet? How story ideas are plotted out.

Writing Rituals

By Clare James

I respect anyone who has to get into a certain mindset or has special rituals to begin their writing day. I, however, am not one of them. And for me, and some others, this idea can be paralyzing… or just another way to procrastinate.

If I had my choice, I’d love to write at a cabin on the water, to the sounds of waves crashing in the background. But if I did that, I’d never get anything done. So I try to spend less time thinking or preparing to write, and more time just doing it. It’s a matter of survival now that I have so many deadlines!

But … quiet always seems to work best for me. If I’m struggling, or on the rare occasion when I can make my writing session a treat, I’ll listen to music before I start for inspiration. I like to do this with certain TV shows or movie clips too. YouTube is my friend during these inspirational jags. I’ll watch a few, get my head right, and then get to work. I can’t do it often though, because before I know it, I’ve listened to an entire album or watched an entire show, without putting one word on the page. I’m a typical writer who is easily distracted and will find any reason to put off the work!

It usually takes me a while to get my first thirty pages down, due to all the noise. Once I do, I get to work like a beast. All hours, during all times—as I’m cooking dinner, or watching soccer practice, even taking a bath. That is usually when the best ideas come to me, and when the plot really starts to work itself out—those moments when I’m simply living life. This is also why I always carry a notebook

Played_TourBadge [304280]

Author Guest Post & Giveaway…Sara Humphreys, author of Brave The Heat

BraveTheHeat

Book Information

Title: Brave the Heat

Author: Sara Humphreys

Release Date: September 1, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Summary

The only fire he can’t put out…
Jordan McKenna is back in town, and Fire Chief Gavin Maguire’s feelings when he sees her after all these years are as raw as the day she left. Then he was just a kid wearing his heart on his sleeve. Now he spends every day trying to atone for the tragedy he couldn’t prevent.
Is the torch he carries for her
Jordan’s life has not exactly worked out the way she expected. A divorced mother of two with a failed acting career, Jordan’s biggest concern about coming back to Old Brookfield was seeing her first love. But when a series of suspicious fires breaks out, Jordan and Gavin realize that dealing with the sparks between them may be the least dangerous of their problems.
Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1WRraXj

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1KLNBE5

iBooks: http://apple.co/1KLNMiP

BraveTheHeatReleaseDayGraphic

Guest Post: Men in Uniform by Sara Humphreys

Who loves a man in uniform? ME!!! I also love a band of brothers and that’s why I simply had to write The McGuire Brothers series. These five sexy bros are all men in uniform and they are as devoted to each other as they are to their jobs. When the guys introduced themselves to me (I know that sounds weird but that’s kind of how it feels when the characters come to life in my head) one of the first things they told me about themselves was which uniform they wore.

Gavin, the hero in Brave the Heat is the oldest and the fire chief in their hometown. Ronan, the second born, is a K9 officer in New York City and a die-hard ladies man. His longest relationship, outside of his family, is with his partner, a bloodhound named Bowser. Tristan is the middle son, and admitted bad-boy. A former Navy SEAL, he is now freelancing as a gun for hire and bodyguard. The twins, Finn and Dillon, are the youngest of the bunch. Finn is an armed first responder in Miami and Dillon is an Air Force pilot but is on leave due to PTSD.

What I love most about these heroes—and all men in uniform—is their unwavering commitment, fiercely protective nature, and a clear sense of right and wrong. They are devoted to family and their mission—whatever that may be. All uniforms are sexy, except for maybe the UPS or mailman gear. If you find a hot mailman or UPS guy…please share.

To celebrate the release of my McGuire Brother series, I’m here to count down my some of my fave men in uniform from movies and television:

1. Kevin Costner in “No Way Out”: He rocked those Navy dress whites. How about that limo scene? Yes, please.

2. Will Smith in “Independence Day”: Sexy, funny, and he can fill out a flight suit like nobody’s business.

3. Chris Evans in “Captain America”: Whether it’s the superhero outfit or the army uniform, the boy rocks it.

4. Richard Gere in “An Officer and a Gentleman”: A bad boy in uniform will never ever get old. Even if Gere does.

5. William Shatner in “Star Trek”: Captain Kirk is a hottie and a bad ass. Face it, the dude gets more chicks in the universe than anyone.

6. Jake Gyllenhaal in “End of Watch”: He has a gritty bad boy thing going on….grrr.

Gavin, and all of the McGuire brothers, wear their uniforms proudly and like most men in service, they are as devoted to their families as they are to their duties. I think it’s that quality which stands out above all the rest—devotion. Isn’t that what all of us want? We want to be loved, cherished, and protected and no one does that better than a man in uniform.

***

BraveTheHeatQuoteGraphic

 

Author Biography

SaraHumphreysSara Humphreys is the award winning author of the Amoveo Legend series. The third book in the series, UNTAMED, won two PRISM awards–Dark Paranormal and Best of the Best. The first two novels from her Dead in the City series have been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award. Sara was also a professional actress. Some of her television credits include, A&E Biography, Guiding Light, Another World, As the World Turns and Rescue Me.

She loves writing hot heroes and heroines with moxie but above all, Sara adores a satisfying happily-ever-after. She lives in New York with Mr. H., their four amazing sons, and two adorable pups. When she’s not writing or hanging out with the men in her life, she can be found working out with Shaun T in her living room or chatting with readers on Facebook.

Social Networking Links

Website – http://sarahumphreys.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sarahumphreysauthor

Twitter – https://twitter.com/authorsara

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2909019.Sara_Humphreys

 

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7183

 

 

 

 

Pretty Lawless by Jodi Linton…Author Guest Post & Excerpt

Pretty Lawless900

PRETTY LAWLESS by JODI LINTON

Laney Briggs is searching for a few not-so good men, including her Texas Ranger boyfriend.
Fans of Lorelei James’s Long Time Gone Cat Johnson’s Studs and Spurs series will love the sexy and suspenseful addition to the Deputy Laney Briggs series by Author Jodi Linton.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29120/?

Synopsis:

Laney Briggs was almost certain that her sexy-assed Texas Ranger, Gunner Wilson, was gonna pop the question. Instead, he went and pulled one helluva fast one—he arrested her best friend, Luke Wagner, and skipped out. Now Pistol Rock’s firecracker deputy is ready to go Wild West on Gunner…if she can just keep that raw, sexual chemistry under control.
Gunner was planning to propose, and it all went to hell. Now he’s boots-deep into an investigation with ties to the Dirty Southern Mafia and corrupt cops. Yep, Laney is definitely gonna have his hide. Especially when she finds out just how much he’s been keeping from her…
But Laney has a weakness for Gunner’s delectable cowboy hotness. And for him, she will break every rule in the book—including the ones she’s sworn to uphold.
See where the sparks began to fly with book 1 of the Deputy Laney Briggs series, Pretty Reckless.

 

Get More information at: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Guest Post:

Hey y’all!

I’m Jodi Linton, writer of sexy westerns and bad-boy biker contemporary romances. First off I wanted to tell Jillian thank you for having me on her blog today to talk books, and yeah, cowboys. J

Back in March 2014 I released the first book, Pretty Reckless, in the Deputy Laney Briggs about a sassy, red boot wearing, female deputy and her troublesome Texas Ranger boyfriend Gunner Wilson. And what a pleasure it was to let readers discover Laney and Gunner. I’ve been truly amazed by the love for both these characters. And now a year and five books later, Laney and Gunner have said their last hurrah with the final installment, Pretty Lawless. After tossing in a strip club, sex party, and not one but three sexy cowboy, I do believe Laney rode off into the sunset in her finest Laney style yet.

So without further ado here’s my favorite Laney and Gunner scene.

Talk to you soon,

Jodi Linton

 

Pretty Lawless, Jodi Linton

An hour later, I was sporting a purple bra, a tight black miniskirt, and red high heels, which I’d snagged up on my way back inside as we passed by the stage. Colt, on the other hand, sat in a pair of white boxer briefs, black tube socks, and that damn Stetson hanging low on his head. I leaned into him. “You fucking suck at keeping a poker face.”

Colt shifted in his chair, eyes glued to his cards. “I’m using the reel-them-in tactic.”

“Oh my god,” I mock whispered, then smacked my cards down in front of me. “Read ’em and weep, boys. That there is a full house.”

Heated voices echoed among the small confines of the oblong wooden table, chairs scooted across the floor, jarring the table before chips spilled to the floor as Devon hunched over to spy the cards I’d sprawled out.

“Sorry, cupcake,” he said, the wickedness thickly coating his throaty rasp. “But I do believe you’re one step closer to shucking those lacy panties.” He tossed four aces into view.

Damn poker face.

Slowly, I stood on my own two feet and scrutinized the bastard. With nimble fingers, I pulled at the zipper on my skirt. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m more of the cotton Walmart bargain-bin kind of gal.” The zipper fell open an inch.

The lawman sitting at my side reached out and jerked at my arm, stopping me in mid-striptease. “Okay, this has gone a little too far,” he said, scanning the crowd of drooling onlookers. “Don’t y’all think, gentlemen?”

I nudged his hand away and got to work shimmying the skirt over my hips when the side door to Pokey’s burst open and my worst nightmare blurred into focus. There I was, under a set of very unflattering strobe lights, tits bobbing for air in my tiny lace bra and ass hanging out of my miniskirt, looking like a tarty, sex-starved girl in a B-movie slasher flick.

And then everything bottomed out at the sound of that all too familiar male voice shouting, “Texas Rangers. Everyone show me your hands.”

Fuck a cow. So I did the only plausible thing left to do and dropped on all fours. Crab crawling about the floor, cigarette butts stuck to my kneecaps and cocktail straws jabbed me in the wrists. Not to mention I had a tail. The brim of that panty-dropping cowboy’s hat grazed my bare thighs. My head bumped into the edge of a table, and then something cold tapped my behind.

“I’d suggest you remove that hand from my girlfriend’s ass…or I can just break it off. Your choice, cowboy.”

I tilted my head back, locking in on that black rattlesnake tattoo bursting from the vein of a ripped tan arm indolently draped next to my head. To say I was shell-shocked didn’t even come close. He had a hip braced against the table leg, and he had his bullheaded cowboy face on. Wonderful—the man had impeccable timing.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop hitting up the strip clubs, Gunner Wilson?”

My hunky, headache-inducing Texas Ranger knelt down beside my behind. He pushed the black cowboy hat up, the devilish glint in his brown eyes brightening as he responded, “I hope they tipped you well, sweetheart.”

 

Pretty Lawless purchase links

Amazon: http://bit.ly/PLJoLinton
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/JoLinPrettyUK
Amazon.CA: http://bit.ly/JoLinPrettyCa
Amazon AU:http://bit.ly/JoLiPrettyAu
iBooks: http://bit.ly/JoLinPrettyIt
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/JoLinPrettyBN
Kobo: http://bit.ly/JoLinPrettyKo

PrettyLawless0914

 

About Jodi Linton

author_Jodi_Linton

 

Jodi Linton is the author of the Deputy Laney Briggs Series and the upcoming The Original Sinners Motorcycle Club with Entangled Publishing. She lives in Texas with her husband and two kids. When she is not writing about sassy females and dirty talking heroes, she enjoys long walks and family time down at the river. Join the Pink Pistol Readers! Jodi Linton’s official Street Team for insider scoops on all her upcoming books.

Connect with Jodi at: Website | Facebook | Twitter |GoodReads | Amazon

 

 

 

End Of Summer Blog Tour….Victoria Dahl Guest Post Stop

29-End-of-Summer-BLOG-TOUR-Shareables-851-x-315-300x150

 

TakingTheHeat_VictoriaDahl-190x300

 

Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (July 28, 2015)

Passion this hot can’t be faked…

All revved up for bright lights and steamy nights, writer Veronica Chandler chased her dreams to New York City. When she hit a dead end, reality sent her back home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Saving her pride and her new gig—writing a relationship advice column!—requires some faking. No one can know the truth about her big-city flop or her nonexistent sex life. But the town’s irresistibly rugged librarian is determined to figure her out…and give her hands-on lessons in every wicked thing she wants to know.

Gabe MacKenzie’s heart might be in Wyoming, but secretly his future’s tied up in his family’s Manhattan legacy. Getting down and dirty with Veronica is supposed to give him a few memorable nights—not complicate his plans. But the thing about heat this scorching is there’s just no going back…and it might be too hot for either of them to take.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

Guest Post:

My Summer Fling Cocktail Recipe

Living in the mountains, I spend quite a few of my summer evenings sitting on my porch watching the sun go down. I used to enjoy a beer or a margarita or a glass of wine, but this year I’ve cut way back on sugar, and none of those things were on the menu. I was restricted to vodka sodas. Plain. Vodka. Sodas. I assume you can imagine my flat stare of disappointment. No matter how many lime or lemon slices I squeezed in, the drink always tasted too harsh to me.

After months of suffering, I decided on a compromise: a splash of orange juice. There’s a lot of sugar in orange juice, but everything in moderation! The result is a refreshing, sparkling, light drink that’s perfect for summertime.

Ingredients:
1 to 2 oz. vodka
1 oz. orange juice or peach nectar
5 oz. plain sparkling water

Directions:
Just toss each ingredient into a cocktail glass full of ice, stir and enjoy!

If it already has a name, I’ve never heard it, so I decided to call it a summer fling in honor of Gabe and Veronica in Taking the Heat.

There’s something refreshing and sparkling about summer romances, too! My last book, Flirting with Disaster, was a winter book, and it was very intense. Most of the scenes took place in a little mountain cabin in the snow. Close quarters. Long nights. Forced proximity.

But in Taking the Heat, there are sunny walks, ice cream cones, sunset hikes. Gabe and Veronica can go on a date and then take their time getting home, shoulders brushing, gazes lingering. There’s a lightness to a story when the sun doesn’t set until 10:00 p.m. Plus we get to see Gabe in worn T-shirts and cargo shorts, sweat glistening on his skin. That’s pretty refreshing, too.

Do you think there’s a different feel to summer and winter romance? Do you prefer one over the other, or do you like to switch back and forth like I do?

 

 

Thanks for this yummy recipe, Ms. Dahl! – Jillian 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

tlc-logo-resized

 
We also ask that all participating bloggers include this copy somewhere on their blog posts:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. Purchase or acceptance of a product offer does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes opens 8/3/2015 at 12:01 AM (EDT) and closes 9/1/2015 at 11:59 PM (EDT). Enter online athttps://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82ae250c9/. Open to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada who have reached the age of majority or older. Void where prohibited by law. Void in Quebec. One (1) prize available to be won consisting of: one (1) print copy of each of Back to You by Lauren Dane, Finding Glory by Sara Arden, Taking the Heat by Vitoria Dahl,Can’t Fight This Feeling by Christie Ridgway, and Second Chance with the Billionaire by Janice Maynard; one (1) e-book copy of Riding Dirty by Jill Sorensen; one (1) Harlequin tote bag; and a Fifty dollar ($50.00 USD) VISA gift card (Total ARV: $92.00 USD). Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Full details and Official Rules available online at https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82ae250c9/. Sponsor: Harlequin Enterprises Limited.

 

 

 

 

The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle….Blog Tour Stop & Guest Post

unnamed-20

Book links:

Amazon  |  B&N

Synopsis:

A moving and evocative exploration of grief and guilt in the wake of one family’s devastating loss.

When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan — with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.

The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier’s brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.

Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail’s search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping — and seeking hope in the impossible.

 

Guest Post:

I’ll admit, when I came up with the idea for The Ones We Trust—a story with a military bent—I was more than a little nervous about writing it. I didn’t grow up in a military family. I’ve never lived in a military town. The number of soldiers I have as friends can be counted on one hand. What did I know about war stories? And more importantly, could I do one any justice?

But the more I pieced together the story in my mind, the more I found it was about so much more than a war. The Ones We Trust is about a family’s struggle to cope and carry on after a loved one’s death. It’s about a woman’s fight for the truth. The real story happens when their lives intersect.

My main character, Abigail, is recovering from a tragedy in her own past, one that made her walk away from a career she loved. Someone died because of a story she wrote, and she still carries a lot of guilt and self-blame. When she first meets Gabe, she feels empathy for what he is going through, but she doesn’t want to get involved. His struggle, his fight for the truth, is something he must do on his own.

Yet the more she gets to know him, the more her feelings grow, and she finds herself becoming involved. Gabe’s family is desperate to know who shot his brother, and by now Abigail cares enough to want to give them closure, despite her father’s involvement in the cover up. Her background in journalism has instilled in her a deep-seated belief his family deserves to know the truth.

These days, the military angle is one that hits home for a lot of Americans. But war doesn’t just take place on a battlefield, and our soldiers aren’t the only heroes. What about the parents who send off their sons and daughters, the spouses and siblings and children left waiting at home? They are just as heroic and courageous, their sacrifices different, maybe, but just as great as the men and women fighting on the front lines. Above all, I tried to be respectful to all of them, not just the soldiers but also the people who love them.

Yes, the story hinges around what, exactly, happened to the soldier on the battlefield, but The Ones We Trust is really about the people left behind. It’s about summoning strength in the face of tragedy, about picking up the pieces and moving on, and about finding hope for the future.

Thank you so much for having me today on Read Love Blog! I hope everyone enjoys The Ones We Trust.

~Thanks so much for stopping by, Kimberly! -Jillian

About the author:

unnamed-21Kimberly Belle grew up in Eastern Tennessee, in a small town nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians. A graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, Kimberly lived for over a decade in the Netherlands and has worked in marketing and fundraising for various nonprofits. Her debut novel, THE LAST BREATH, was published by Harlequin MIRA in September 2014. She divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0778317862

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23638956-the-ones-we-tru

Author’s website: http://www.kimberlybellebooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyBelleBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimberlysbelle

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kimberlysbelle/

Author’s Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7778742.Kimberly_Belle

Follow the rest of the tour: 

Tuesday, July 28th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Wednesday, July 29th: Life is Story

Thursday, July 30th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Monday, August 3rd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Tuesday, August 4th: Mom’s Small Victories

Thursday, August 6th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Friday, August 7th: Romancing the Book – review & interview

Monday, August 10th: Books and Spoons

Monday, August 10th: Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, August 11th: Jorie Loves a Story – author guest post

Wednesday, August 12th: Bibliotica

Friday, August 14th: From the TBR Pile – review and author Q&A

Monday, August 17th: Feminist Reflections

Wednesday, August 19th: Read Love Blog – author guest post

Thursday, August 20th: The World As I See It

tlc-logo-resized

The real life boxing hunk behind The Siren’s Touch by Amber Belldene…guest post and GIVEAWAY

25840826

 

Blurb:

Hitman Dmitri Lisko is determined to avenge his father. Once he takes out the man he believes is responsible for his family’s tragedies, he’s done killing for good. But a mysterious woman may tempt Dmitri to change his plan.

Sonya Truss was murdered in a Ukrainian village in 1968. Now she’s reappeared in San Francisco as a rusalka—the ghost of a wronged woman. And she’s thirsty for the blood of her killer. But she has to make things right before she’s trapped between worlds forever.

Sonya’s enigmatic siren powers stir Dmitri’s long-buried chivalry, and he finds himself compelled to help her. He also can’t resist giving her a taste of the pleasures she never experienced while she was alive. Soon they discover that touch has surprising consequences. Yet when their shared mission comes to cross-purposes, they must choose between deadly sacrifice—or surrendering to the one act that can save them both.

 

The Real Life Boxing Hunk…. by author Amber Belldene 

I’m a sucker for a bad boy on a road to redemption, and so I went all-in imagining the character of Dmitri Lisko from my new release, The Siren’s Touch.

Dmitri is a former heavyweight fighter who suffered a humiliating defeat. Having lost his chance at that career, he winds up doing his uncle’s dirty work as a hitman and enforcer for the family business. Since Dmitri is Ukrainian, the very first thing I did was google Ukrainian heavyweight fighters, and look who popped up:

ec13e3a8a215dac597e857b5659583a1

 

Wladimir Klitschko. Yum. To be honest, I live under a rock, especially when it comes to sports, and so I realize lots of people already know about this hotty. He’s the reigning international heavyweight champion, and he’s engaged to the adorable Hayden Panettierre. And—this is the sort of thing that makes me swoon—he has a PhD in sports psychology, he speaks many languages, he’s hands down SMART, and a big brain really is the sexiest trait on a man. He’s from a hard-working family that values education. His brother is the current mayor of Kiev, the capitol of Ukraine, which is a tough job, given the civil unrest in that country. If you want to get a sense of Wladimir, you can watch this video of boxer Tyson Fury talking trash to him, while Klitshcko, clearly not threatened, just keeps on smiling that panty-melting smile:

 

 

Sure. As a type, a brash, trash-talking thug can have appeal, but between these two, I have a clear favorite. The one with hair, who can clearly out think the other guy by a factor of ten and will, I hope, also beat the shit out of him come October when they face off. (Wow! Who knew I could get so blood thirsty? I just really dislike Fury, after watching that video.)\

0bf9420d1e73dbd421c0859eb3911341

Physically, and in terms of smarts, Wladimir Klitschko was the perfect inspiration for my Dmitri. But my character was not as fortunate as the real-life champion. Raised by a violent, drunk father and with few options in life, Dmitri takes a path he’s not proud of. The poor guy can’t even smell pretty scents, after a blow to the nose damaged his olfactory nerves. To make matters worse, at the opening of the book, he’s been on a month-long drinking binge, riddled by guilt over accidentally killing an innocent woman.

In my imagination, Dmitri is like Wladimir’s doppelgänger—either one might have ended up like the other in different circumstances. And from the moment my heroine Sonya meets her hero, she sees hints of the honor and kindness Dmitri has had to suppress his whole life. She sees a hero.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize someone loves you far more than you think you deserve? If so, you know the way it breaks you open, and humbles you, and makes you willing to do anything for that person.

Sonya makes Dmitri feel like that, and it was a delight to watch him grow into the man he was meant to be as I typed him onto the page.

Giveaway:

Who’s your favorite bad-boy-turned-good in romance? Share a great book to enter the giveaway and win an ebook of The Siren’s Touch. Comment on this blog post!

 

 

Buy The Siren’s Touch at these online retailers:

Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks  |  Kobo

Siren promo graf

About the author:

Amber2014Even as a kid, romance writer Amber Belldene could never pull herself away from a book. She hid her Nancy Drew novels inside the church bulletin to read during sermons – an irony that is not lost on her when she preaches these days. Amber is an Episcopal priest who believes sexuality is vital to spirituality, love is beautifully messy, and stories are the best way to explore human truths. Evidence of these convictions can be found in Amber’s steamy paranormals and quirky, hot contemporaries, which have been published by Omnific, Entangled, and Lyrical/Kensington. She lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco and can be found at www.amberbelldene.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Summer At Chelsea Beach…Author Guest Post Blog Tour Stop

 

unnamed-23

 

 

Synopsis:

Summer 1941

Young Adelia Monteforte flees fascist Italy for America, where she is whisked away to the shore by her well-meaning aunt and uncle. Here, she meets and falls for Charlie Connally, the eldest of the four Irish-Catholic boys next door. But all hopes for a future together are soon throttled by the war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home.

Grief-stricken, Addie flees—first to Washington and then to war-torn London—and finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a chance to redeem lost time, lost family…and lost love. But the past always nips at her heels, demanding to be reckoned with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers that the way home may be a path she never suspected.

 

Social Media: The Author’s Lament

Social media, love it or hate it? Like many of you, I struggle with social media. I love to be connected, worry that it makes me less present in the rest of my life, etc. As an author, the dilemma takes on some unique dimensions. So I share here with you briefly, the good, the bad and the ugly of social media for authors.

The Good.

Like it or not, social media is the reality for most writers, a necessary way to promote our work. It is also gives us the power to bypass any middleman and speak with you directly. Readers spreading the word about books they love make all the difference to an author’s success. It is a free, effective marketing took – or at least it would be if we could figure out what works!

Another thing I love about social media is the connectedness. Being a writer is a lonely business. We sit in a room by ourselves for months or sometimes years on end hoping at the end someone will want to read what we have written. Social media is a bridge to the outside world.

Social media has also given me what I call “a sisterhood of writers.” I used to merely lurk on social media. Then I wrote a story for an anthology and became part of several groups of writers on line and I learned that writers largely support one another. There are writers who champion one another’s work and writers who will answer questions candidly and in confidence. Sometimes you just need another author to say “yeah, I get it.” I learned that the more I have on social media, the greater the rewards. There are exceptions of course but most writers take a “rising tide lifts all boats” approach and support other writers. And though I call it a sisterhood, it isn’t just women – there are several mensch authors out there whom I am so proud to know.

The Bad.

Here I am mostly referring to the time suck. Of course I would rather Tweet with you about last night’s episode of Homeland than work on that really hard scene in my novel. But if I don’t get off Facebook and start writing, there will be no novel to chat about. I try really hard not to be online during my peak productivity periods but I feel like I am missing out on some really great party.

The Ugly.

I’m going to be completely honest here and say the hardest part of social media for writers is The Ego Factor. If you have enough writer friends online, you will invariably spend too much time comparing your success to theirs – and coming up short. Everyone else is on a bestseller list this week. Everyone else has a movie deal, etc., etc. Whereupon one must step way from the computer and repeat mantras such as, “This is not a zero sum game.” “Run your own race.” Or some affirmation just like Chris Farley’s Saturday Night Life character Stuart Smalley, “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And gosh darn it, people like me.”

So where do I come out? I would say that the single greatest benefit of social media has been the ability for readers and writers to connect and develop real relationships. And I’m not just talking about an email once of year where I say, “Hi, buy my new book.” My readers and I have sustained and meaningful dialogue. Just this year in Miami, I met a reader who I have known online for seven years. I also have reader friends I met when my first book came out who are still in close touch. The ability to hear what readers think and share ideas is so enriching to my work. I can’t imagine writing without it.

And that, my friends, makes all of the rest of it worthwhile. See you online!

 

–Pam Jenoff

Book links:

Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Summer-Chelsea-Beach/dp/0778317544

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23492255-the-last-summer-at-chelsea-beach?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr

 

 

About the author:

unnamed-22Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The position provided a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senior levels of government, including helping the families of the Pan Am Flight 103 victims secure their memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, observing recovery efforts at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing and attending ceremonies to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of World War II at sites such as Bastogne and Corregidor.

Following her work at the Pentagon, Jenoff moved to the State Department. In 1996 she was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Krakow, Poland. It was during this period that Pam developed her expertise in Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. Working on matters such as preservation of Auschwitz and the restitution of Jewish property in Poland, Jenoff developed close relations with the surviving Jewish community.

Having left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school at the University of Pennsylvania, Jenoff is now employed as an attorney in Philadelphia.

Pam is the author of The Kommandant’s Girl, which was an international bestseller and nominated for a Quill award, as well as The Diplomat’s Wife and Almost Home.

Author’s website:  http://www.pamjenoff.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/PamJenoffauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PamJenoff

Follow the rest of the tour: 

Monday, July 27th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, July 28th: Raven Haired Girl – review and guest post
Tuesday, July 28th: The Lit Bitch
Wednesday, July 29th: Bewitched Bookworms – excerpt #1
Thursday, July 30th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – excerpt #2
Friday, July 31st: Lavish Bookshelf
Saturday, August 1st: Romantic Historical Reviews – excerpt #3
Monday, August 3rd: Just One More Chapter
Monday, August 3rd: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Tuesday, August 4th: The Romance Dish
Wednesday, August 5th: Bibliotica
Thursday, August 6th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Monday, August 10th: Read Love Blog – author guest post
Tuesday, August 11th: West Metro Mommy Reads
Wednesday, August 12th: Let Them Read Books – Q&A or guest post
Friday, August 14th: Written Love Reviews
Monday, August 17th: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, August 17th: Luxury Reading – guest post
Tuesday, August 18th: A Novel Review
Wednesday, August 19th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Thursday, August 20th: A Literary Vacation
Friday, August 21st: Kritter’s Ramblings – Review and Q&A
Monday, August 24th: One Curvy Blogger
Tuesday, August 25th: The Reading Date
Wednesday, August 26th: Time 2 Read
Thursday, August 27th: Life is Story
Friday, August 28th: Bookshelf Fantasies

Cold Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff….Blog Tour Stop & Guest Post

COLD_MOON_1MB

Huntress Moon

by

Alexandra Sokoloff

 

Synopsis:

Special Agent Matthew Roarke thought he knew what evil was.

He was wrong.

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of “accidents” and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers:

a female serial.

His hunt for her will take him across three states, and force him to question everything he believes about evil and justice.

* Thriller Award Nominee, Best eBook Original

 

Guest Post:

What Puts the Thrill in Thriller?

I’m sure every one of us here, thriller authors and readers alike, has ended up on or attended that particular panel by now, also variously called Thrill Me!, You Kill Me, How to Write Suspense, How to Write a Million Dollar Thriller… (and if you’ve got that last one figured out, would you let me know?).

On my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors blog (www.ScreenwritingTricks.com) I talk a lot about specific techniques for creating suspense. But the bottom line to me is always – different things thrill different people. In people, in bed, in life, and in books. So the core issue, and something I never get tired of talking about with thriller writers and readers, is – what does it for YOU?

Because there are all kinds of literary thrills. Many thrillers are based on action and adrenaline: the experience the author wants to create and that the reader wants to experience is that roller-coaster feeling. I myself am not big on that kind of thrill. I love a good adrenaline rush in a book (in fact I pretty much require them, repeatedly). But pure action scenes mostly bore me senseless, and big guns and machines and explosions and car chases make my eyes glaze over. Nuclear threat? Not my cup of tea. Spies? I’ll pass. Assassins? Uh-uh. Terrorists?… Can I go now?

Even though I write a serial killer series, I’m not even really that fond of serial killers (God, I hate it when things like that come out of my mouth. Or hands. Occupational hazard…) unless we’re talking archetypally mythic serial killers like the ones in Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, and in Mo Hayder’s darker than dark thrillers. (And maybe my Huntress series is more aptly called an anti-serial killer series.)

What I’m looking for in a book is the sensual – okay, sexual – thrill of going into the unknown. How it feels to know that there’s something there in the dark with you that’s not necessarily rational, and not necessarily human. It’s a slower, more erotic, and I’d also say more feminine kind of thrill – that you find in The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining. So although I can learn some techniques from spy thrillers or giant actioners, studying that kind of book or movie for what I want to do is probably not going to get me where I want to go.

There’s also the classic mystery thrill of having to figure a puzzle out. Now that’s a thrill I can get behind. There’s a great pleasure in using your mind to unlock a particularly well-crafted puzzle. I love to add that element to my stories, so that even though the characters are dealing with the unknown, there is still a logical way to figure the mystery out.

But conversely, and this is one of my own more peculiar quirks – I also love the feeling of being slowly taken over by complete madness.

One of my very early discoveries as a voracious young reader was Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s terrifying short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, one of the greatest feminist horror stories ever written, in which a new young mother is confined to her bedroom by her physician husband and is not allowed to write because it would stress her. Instead she goes horribly and inexorably out of her mind.

Now, why the vicarious experience of going mad should be such a particular pleasure to me, I can’t tell you – clearly something to do with spending my formative years in Berkeley. Or, you know, all those Grateful Dead concerts. Or those San Francisco clubs where we…

Well, all right, never mind that.

But I have come to terms with the fact that madness is an experience I crave, and I’ve made a careful study of how authors I love (Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice, the Brontes) create that effect. All of that study of the experience of madness and real-life mental illness has come in really handy for writing from the point of view of my killer in Huntress Moon. Because for whatever reason – and there are lots of factors, there – the Huntress does not experience life in the way that most of us do. But by the end of the first book, readers swear that they’re coming around to her way of thinking!

The Huntress Moon series is crime thrillers, with just a touch of what MAY be paranormal. But I also write more overtly supernatural thrillers, in my Haunted series. And another thing I know about myself, vis a vis the supernatural, is that I need to believe that it could really happen that way. So I’m a real sucker for the slow, atmospheric, psychological build, and I research obsessively to see what people who claim to have experienced the supernatural actually experienced, and I look for the patterns in the stories: what are the common elements? What has the ring of truth?

This was especially important to me while I was writing my fact-based thriller The Unseen, because it’s a poltergeist story, and unlike with ghosts, there isn’t that much consensus about what a poltergeist really is. It’s a maddeningly elusive phenomenon.

But I love poltergeists! Just the word is thrilling to me. So I created a poltergeist which might be any or all of the things that researchers have postulated that poltergeists are: a psycho-sexual projection, a haunting, some extra-dimensional being, or very human fraud. Creating a story that explored all of those possibilities meant I got to structure in that mystery kind of thrill that I love – only the question was not only “Whodunit?” but also “Whatdunit?”

And that’s always the best for me – that mix of mystery, madness, and the unknown.

So, all you thrilling people – what kinds of thrills do it for you? What are your early influences that will give us an idea of just what twisted kicks you’re looking for in a book?

Alexandra Sokoloff

 

Cold Moon Blog Tour Poster

It is strongly recommended that you start this series with Book 1:

Huntress Moon

Huntress_Moon_TM_CVR-FT

    – Amazon US   http://amzn.to/1z3pSh5

    – Amazon UK  http://amzn.to/1wEwxZo

    – Amazon AU  http://www.amazon.com.au/Huntress-Moon-FBI-Thrillers-Book-ebook/dp/B00NKTTDH4

BloodMoon_TM_CVR

Here are the links to all three books as well:

UK  Huntress Moon  http://amzn.to/1wEwxZo

UK Blood Moon  http://amzn.to/1CPG4Uw

UK Cold Moon  http://amzn.to/1xBtA2U

US Huntress Moon  http://amzn.to/1z3pSh5

US Blood Moon  http://amzn.to/1EqoKax

US Cold Moon   http://amzn.to/1ymNA6b

“This interstate manhunt has plenty of thrills… Sokoloff keeps the drama taut and the pages flying.”

      — Kirkus Reviews

 

“Who you know: Agatha Christie, Gillian Flynn, Mary Higgins Clark. Who you should be reading: Alexandra Sokoloff.”

     Huffington Post Books

About the Author

Sokoloff_midshot_1MBAlexandra Sokoloff is the Thriller Award -winning, Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of

eleven supernatural, crime and paranormal thrillers. As a screenwriter she has sold original scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios, and teaches the internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops. She lives in Los Angeles and in Scotland.

Book details:

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Genre: Mystery, thriller, suspense

ISBN: 1477822046

ASIN: B00NKTTDH4

Available in ebook, paperback and audio: Amazon US, Amazon UK and worldwide; Barnes & Noble

 

Contact details:

AXSokoloff@aol.com

http://alexandrasokoloff.com

https://twitter.com/AlexSokoloff

http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.sokoloff

http://goodreads.com/alexandrasokoloff

www.screenwritingtricks.com

 

Going Alternative: Mina Vaughn, author of How To Punish Your Playboy, stops by for a Guest Post

HOW TO PUNISH YOUR PLAYBOY

Going Alternative

By Mina Vaughn

 

Anyone who has read my Domme-Nation series knows I’m no stranger to mixing things up. My heroines are Dominant, my heroes are swoony but not pushovers, and I tackle some unique topics like role play and…college basketball?

But in How to Punish Your Playboy, I take the alternative to a different level. Not only is my heroine a Domme, but she’s inked up and curvy. I wrote a modern-day pin up Domme and I could not be happier with her. Friends, meet Veronika Kane.

Veronika’s tired of her old life’s routine, so she sells her ex’s fancy car and plans on heading to Vegas for a pin up contest, but what she doesn’t expect to be bringing with her is an arrogant restaurateur who tempts her constantly.

I wanted Veronika to be different from my other heroines. I wanted her to be more human, but in some ways, more daring than my other protagonists. She’s got body issues like everyone else, but she also has a unique look and confidence I wanted to embrace a curvaceous and tatted up hottie.

Aston is a great match and also foil for Veronika because he’s from a conservative household of restaurateurs and he’s totally spoiled. They both have a lot to learn from each other. Aston teaches Veronika it’s ok to indulge, and Veronika loosens Aston up and sets him free from his family and his old life.

I hope everyone is excited for a whole lot of sexytimes and some delicious foodie goodness!

 

~ Thanks so much for stopping by, Mina!  xo Jillian 

 

About How To Punish Your Playboy:

In this saucy and funny domination romance, pin-up model Veronika Kane meets sexy, arrogant Aston Delano and decides to teach this playboy a lesson he’ll never forget.

When Veronika Kane hears that she’s up for Miss Pin Up Las Vegas, she auctions off her classic hot-rod and decides to head out west. But when the man who bought her car, hot restaurateur Aston Delano, asks her to “show him the ropes,” his not-so-innocent question takes them down a surprising, sexy road. And as they travel cross-country as Domme/sub, their chemistry sizzles—as do the luscious meals Aston creates.

Torn between the rediscovered pleasure of food and worry about staying in competition shape, Mistress Veronika unexpectedly finds herself as much a pupil as a teacher. Throw in long-distance trouble from her ex and from Aston’s family, and it’s a potential recipe for disaster. A road trip can be hard on any relationship—will this drive them apart, or will they buckle in for the long haul?

Book Links:

Amazon  |  iBooks  |  B&N  |  BAM  |  Kobo  |  Google Play

About the author:

Kink with a wink! Author of DommeNation series with Simon & Schuster. How to Discipline Your Vampire and How to Reprimand Your Rock Star available now! How to Punish Your Playboy drops Spring 2015.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook