Beth Kery's Blog, page 25

The Winner of Renee Wilde's Contest Is

Katsrus, Sue B!

Sue, write to me at bethkery@aol.com to claim your prize (specify which book) and I'll send on your information to Renee!

Thanks to Renee and all the participants. Up next, Shelley Munro and a giveaway of FANCY FREE!

Renee Wildes and a Giveaway of a Guardians of Light Book!

Please join me in welcoming the first guest author of the Silken Rapture Contest, Renee Wildes! Renee is here to talk about Riever's Heart! She's generously offered winner's choice of any one Guardian of Light book, 1-5, to one commenter on her blog post! And don't forget, if you haven't yet entered for a chance to win a free Kindle Touch 3-G, do so here!

Welcome Renee!

The warrior in her was ready for anything. But she never saw him coming…

Guardians of Light, Book 5

Verdeen is on the brink of becoming an elite warrior ranger until the ultimate humiliation—no war mare chooses her for advanced training. King Loren's consolation prize isn't much better. Journey to the Isle of Ice as bodyguard to a human riever. Daq Aryk. Barbarian. Prince of thieves.

Aryk dreams the impossible: unite six fractious clans into a peaceful nation. Failure means they are all doomed to kill each other off—and the nightmares of his son's death by sword will come true. The new elven ambassador rouses his ire, not because she's female, but because she's inexperienced. Her possibly needless death weighs on his already overburdened soul. Her beauty is a distraction he can't afford.

In a fragrant, moonlit garden, Verdeen dares yield to an irresistible compulsion to kiss the mortal riever. The heat shakes her to the core, and frees a desire that should occur but once in her life. With a mate.

As their quest twists down ever more dangerous paths, though, their bond is the asset that could assure peace…or the liability that could send a dream down in flames.

Product Warnings

This tale illustrates what happens when adventurous dreamer meets seen-it-all cynic. Contains hot, no-holds-barred sex, voyeurism, and some self-loving. Also betrayal and some graphic (but never gratuitous) battle violence.

http://reneewildes1.wordpress.com

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/auth...

THE POWER OF A DREAM

by Renee Wildes

RIEVER'S HEART came out on Tuesday, 9/27/11. The hero Daq Aryk is a man with a dream—a warrior prince who dreams of peace. He loves his children, his people and his land. He's tired of his people being cold & hungry, of warriors dying young and illness taking its toll. They've been professional raiders for generations but Aryk has a vision of their children growing up to other career options.

The problem is old habits die hard. His own people can't see themselves doing anything else. Even Aryk's best friend Valkyn accuses Aryk of turning his back on their fathers. The outside nations are clearly skeptical of a message of peace coming from a riever leader. The only ones to give him a shot are the elves in Poshnari-Unai. King Loren assigns his best warrior Verdeen to accompany Aryk back to Isadorikja as a helper and witness. Part bodyguard, part counselor and part spy.

Aryk has enough on his plate with stubborn clansmen and skeptical neighbors. The last thing he needs is a beautiful cadet with no real battle experience. She's a distraction he can't afford. Even though she makes him burn with desire, he has to focus on the mission. He's got to no time to think of his own needs.

With everything he's got against him it would be so easy to give it up, to just continue things as they are. Unpopular leaders can be replaced. He takes a big risk following his dream but sometimes a dream is all a man has.

Ask Martin Luther King, Jr.

How many things have changed in history because someone stood up and said, "You know what? This is wrong. I think we can do better."

A dream can make change happen.

Everyone has dreams. What they do about them is what defines who and what they are, and can define the future for everyone else. We have to believe in the power of the possibilities of their dreams. Words like "can't" and "never" should never enter your vocabulary. Dreams can inspire change. Dreams can affect change. Don't laugh at the dreamers—embrace them. Join them. Become them.

I've always loved to write—I was writing horse stories when I was six, and I was the only kid in school who got a maximum word count in school. I always dreamed of being a published author and even though the odds were against me (I got a LOT of rejections when I was first starting out) I never gave up on my dream.

RIEVER'S HEART is Book 5 of the Guardians of Light series for Samhain Publishing! Can't have Book 5 without Book 1. What if I'd given up? Quit?

Never give up. Ever. No matter what other people say, you have to believe in yourself. Don't ever listen to the naysayers. I hope Aryk's and Verdeen's story can inspire you to keep your own dreams alive.

Leave Renee a comment to qualify for winner's choice of any one of her Guardian of Light books!

Silken Rapture Contest, Kindle Touch 3-G Giveaway!

HOW TO ENTER THE SILKEN RAPTURE CONTEST

1. The contest runs 11/4/11 to 11/23/11. The Kindle Touch 3-G Winner (Grand Prize) will announced November 23. For details on the Kindle Touch 3-G, click here.

2. To enter just leave a comment here at this blog entry.

3. To have your name entered TWICE, copy the code for the Silken Rapture Contest widgit in my blog sidebar (small) or copy the above image (large) and post it to your blog, Facebook, Myspace, Website, whereever you want to share it. In your comment, say "I posted the widget (the address where you posted).

4. Authors are also free to enter.

Note: You will receive ONE entry with just a comment and no posting of the widget. You will receive TWO entries of your name if you comment and also post the widget.

Special Note: International Entrants: This contest is open to international entrants, however, because of the high costs of shipping, I will instead send the equivalent amount of the Kindle Touch 3-G, $149.00, via an Amazon e-gift certificate format to the international winner.

3. A winner will be randomly chosen from a pool of entrants on November 23. The winner must claim their prize, so it is important to come back and check the announcement!

The contest also includes:

DAILY PRIZES AND INTERACTION WITH TALENTED AUTHORS!

You will always find the DAILY prize just below this Huge Silken Rapture Contest post.

I've got some wonderful authors who will be coming by my blog, talking about their latest or upcoming releases and giving away free books to commenters EVERY MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, November 7-22, so be sure to visit daily. Scheduled authors will tell us about their books and give away a copy to one commenter per day.

Guest Author List:

11/7 Renee Wildes

11/8 Shelley Munro

11/9 Leah Bramel

11/10 Kate St. James

11/11 Kelly Jamieson

11/14 Natasha Moore

11/15 Viv Arend

11/16 Vanessa Jaye

11/17 Missy Jane

11/18 Jodi Redford

11/21 Lilli Feisty

11/22 Beth Kery

11/23 Winner of the Kindle Touch 3-G announced

It's very important that you return the next day to see if you won. If you haven't contacted me within forty-eight hours of your name being announced, a new winner will be drawn.

Now, let's have some fun!!

It feels great to write THE END

Yes, I actually do write THE END and the conclusion of a book. It's a cliche, maybe, but just the process of doing it is like putting the star on the top of a decorated and lit Christmas tree.

I have Christmas on the brain, as I just came from a Kavanaugh family Christmas, having finished the fourth book in the Home to Harbor Town series from Harlequin Special Edition. It's Deidre's book. I found it to be a story about the grace of forgiveness, the value of counting your blessings…and of course, passionate, heart-thumping romance.

I've been so busy–and will probably continue to be well in to the New Year. I am happy to announce that Everett's book–the second novel in the One Night of Passion series by Bethany Kane, is coming out in 2012. (Remember Katie's gorgeous, quirky super-celeb brother Everett Hughes?) I'm also thrilled to announce that I'll be doing two E-specials for Berkley next year, both of them novellas, and both of them set in the One Night of Passion world of the odd-ball, lovable town of Vulture's Canyon where Katie and Rill Pierce have set up house. Katie and Rill found their happily-ever-after following a night of impulsive, wild lust. It seems that several other couples are bound to find their own forever romance on a similar route.

I hope you guys are gearing up like I am for the big upcoming Silken Rapture contest! It'll be fun, with so many daily talented authors, giveaways, and not to mention a grand prize of a free Kindle! It starts November 8, so be sure to stop by my blog!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Beth

Inverted Pyramids, Contests and Booksignings!

Hello!

I find myself actually having a few hours of free time here–woo hoo!–so I wanted to talk about a couple of cool things.

First off, I got a note from my editor saying something like, 'You're a visionary" with the following link about a earthscraper being planned for Mexico City. The reason she jokingly called me a visionary was that the plans for the inverted skyscraper–a 65 story building going straight down into the ground–had a lot of strange similarities to my hero's sanctuary and empire in Silken Rapture. The proposed earthscraper is also an inverted pyramid, just like Saint's paranormal domain. Both are around 60 stories, as well. The plans for the inverted pyramid were just recently approved, so I hadn't seen anything about them until my editor wrote. It was weird, the real-life parallel with the setting in Silken Rapture. Just a fun little fact. Of course, I don't think any sexy vampire-like dudes plan to inhabit the real-life earthscraper, but the ladies and gentlemen in Mexico City can always hope. :)

Speaking of Silken Rapture, just a reminder to get ready for a release party and contest for my new book, starting Nov 8 and going to Nov 22, when Silken Rapture releases at Samhain Publishing. I'll have daily guest blogs and giveaways from Samhain's talented authors. All will culminate with a giveaway of a Kindle Touch 3G on November 23. Guest authors include Renee Wildes, Shelley Munro, Leah Bramel, Kate St. James, Kelly Jamieson, Natasha Moore, Viv Arend, Vanessa Jaye, Missy Jane, Jodi Redford, and Lilli Feisty! It should be fun, so keep an eye out for the start of the Silken Rapture contest starting November 8.

Lastly, I'm doing a booksigning in the St. Louis area! Here are some of the details.

Naughty & Nice Booksigning (Adults Only, Please)

Beth Kery/Bethany Kane, Kimberly Killion, & Annmarie McKenna

Rose's Bookhouse

8935 Veterans Memorial Parkway

?O'Fallon, MO 63366-3093?

(636) 272-5857

Saturday, December 3rd 5-7pm?Booksigning

More info on the event

I'd love to meet you if you can stop by.

First Excerpt: Silken Rapture, Princes of the Underground 2

Hi all! Hope your fall is going well. I am busy, busy, busy, but I wanted to give you a peek at the first excerpt for Silken Rapture, which will release November 22 from Samhain! And for those interested, I'm giving away 5 print books of the first book in the series, Velvet Cataclysm at Goodreads. The link is at the end of the excerpt.

Also, just a heads up–I will be having a fun two week contest with some of the fabulous authors from Samhain this November, so stay tuned for spicy excerpts and daily giveaways!

Silken Rapture

Princes of the Underground 2

Length: novel

Genre: erotic paranormal–vampire, shapeshifter

He is her captor…
She is his soul…

When Blaise Sevliss, Lord Delraven, rescues a young woman from the clutches of his vampiritic clone the sheer amount of soul energy blazing from her unconscious body stuns him…and awakens a primal, parasitic hunger he has fought for centuries to quell.

Determined to keep her safe from the ravenous Scourge horde, Blaise must hide her in his underground stronghold. Where the powerful urge to consume her gnaws at the last shreds of his control.

With a touch, Isabel Lanscourt can divine the darkest of secrets. Her ability is little help, though, when she awakens in a lush world where sensuality rules. Her shining spirit is a beacon to all the powerful immortals in Sanctuary, but only one can touch her. The enigmatic Lord Delraven, whose brusque coldness is belied by the heated need in his eyes.

In a dangerous zone between temptation and memory, desire ignites an explosion of luminescent beauty. And Isabel's healing touch begins to fill his emptiness with an impossible gift: a soul. But Blaise holds a dangerous secret, one that could extinguish Isabel's inner light. And cast his lonely world into eternal darkness.

Warning: Step into a sensual world of vampires who love to feed and love to…er…feast, where sexual variety is the spice of their lives. No sweetness and light here, this is one vampire who can put the "B" into "bad guy" without batting an eye.

Read an Excerpt

A tension swelled in her sex. It hurt where his teeth pierced her neck, but his lips moved around the puncture wounds, the movement striking her as decadently erotic. She felt the heat of his mouth penetrate her. Somehow, the sharp pain he wrought mingled with nerve and flesh until it transformed into a potent, sharp need for release.

She struggled weakly against him, not because she wanted this bizarre, electrical experience to stop—no, she would have begged him to continue—but distantly, she was mortified that she was about to climax explosively beneath a stranger…

…her captor.

That the act shouldn't feel like the height of intimacy, but did, confused and panicked her.

The movements he made while he fed—the subtle suckling actions of his jaw and the convulsions of his throat as he swallowed her blood—came to a halt when he felt her weak struggle. His hold on her shoulders became more firm.

She cried out shakily when he withdrew his teeth from her flesh. "Shhhh," he quieted. "Do not fight me."

She came at the sensation of his teeth sliding back into her flesh. Orgasm ripped through her, pain edging vast waves of pleasure. It was as if those crashing surges of sharp climax whisked away the familiar landmarks of her known world.

The next conscious thought she had was of movement and stability at once. She cracked open her eyes and saw she was in a torch-lit, domed corridor. Through a hazed consciousness, she saw angels and gods cavorting above her, some leered down at her mockingly, others reached to touch her, to comfort.

But they may retract their healing, beneficent fingertips. She required no comfort. She felt numb. No, that wasn't right. She didn't feel numb, but alive. She buzzed with life; she was drunk on it.

She rolled her head on a hard object and looked up. This angel was real—a dark, fierce one. The cavorting angels overhead were faded caricatures compared to him. His gaze remained fixed ahead, like a cold, straight blade lodged in stone. She realized the hardness behind her head was his biceps, and that he carried her down a long corridor.

"Hey," she said.

Her lips felt heavy and odd, as if the already sensitive flesh had sprouted billions of new nerve-endings. Perhaps her voice resounded only in her mind, because his gaze didn't waver.

"Hey."

Still, he didn't acknowledge her. "I know you can hear me. I know you're aware of me," she finished softly. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. She didn't know what had made her say it, but it suddenly struck her that she'd spoken the truth. Despite his averted gaze, he might as well have been carrying a ticking bomb, he was so focused on her.

He carried her into a room. He kicked the heavy door shut and shifted his hand beneath her. The furtive snick of the lock sliding home made her shiver with excitement.

A sideways glance informed her they were in the bedroom where she'd breakfasted with Margaret Turrow—had that just been today? It felt as if it might have been weeks ago, months…

He laid her on the bed. "What are you—

She broke off when he began to unbutton her blouse. A bedside lamp wasthe only source of light in the room. It cast his face in shadow and gold. Her heart swelled in her breast. Her eyes dampened.

He removed the blouse and tossed it aside. He slid his open hands along her sides and she shivered in concentrated pleasure. Her skin seemed to take on a life of its own, thrilling at his touch.

The sadness she saw on his rigid features and gleaming eyes, the torment, the wild, desperate longing, confused her…angered her. He removed the lacey confection of a bra Margaret had brought her in the velvet reticule along with dozens of items of expensive lingerie. She trembled uncontrollably at the sensation of palms caressing the tender skin at the sides of her bare breasts.

"Don't do me any favors," she said with difficulty through a throat that had tightened with emotion.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his cold tone bizarrely at odds with the smoldering heat in his eyes when he plumped her small breasts in his hands. She cried out in sharp arousal when he casually pinched both nipples at once. Desire sluiced through her, making her struggle to recall what she had meant to say.

"You look like you don't want to do this. Don't, then. I'm not going to beg you."

"Beg?" he glanced up from where he'd been watching himself finesse her breasts with adroit fingertips. He looked confused. "You're saying you want me to stop?"

"Not exactly. No…I'm not staying that," she whispered.

"Good. Because I've tasted you, there's no going back. I will have you now." He stood abruptly and began to lift her skirt. Beneath it, she wore the ivory panties that matched the bra and a pair of thigh-high stockings. She didn't typically dress in skirts and hose, but she had no choice but to wear the clothing Margaret had brought her, unless she wanted to walk around Sanctuary in her rumpled evening dress. It had disturbed her a little to admit it, considering she was being kept prisoner at Sanctuary, but donning the pretty, delicate lingerie had pleased her for some reason, stroked her feminine pride.

She whimpered in uncontrollable pleasure when he ran his hands along her hips and pulled down her panties. His touch electrified her. She lay there on the bed, a whirlwind of feeling, angry and bewildered by what was happening to her, but primarily drunk with desire.

He spread her legs and pinned her with his stare. His nostrils flared.

She craved his touch like an addict, and he gave her what she needed, stroking her naked thighs and ribs and breasts until she trembled uncontrollably. Her limbs felt heavy and useless. She was paralyzed by desire as she lay there, unable to pull her eyes off his transfixed expression as he learned her body with his hands.

In the end, she did beg. Again and again.

"Please," she moaned, her head thrashing on the pillow, unable to take the torture a moment longer. He paused, her breasts in his hands. He'd been molding them to his palms and lifting up before releasing them abruptly, appearing fascinated by their tendency to pertly spring back into place. His wicked fingertips had turned the nipples into hard, pointed crests. She gritted her teeth when he touched them, they were so sensitive. She begged him to touch them again when he focused his attention elsewhere.

She sighed shakily when he released her, hating the absence of his touch. Her pussy was molten now, liquid and hot, a volatile explosion brewing in its depths. He stood. She watched, her breath caught in her lungs, as he rapidly undressed. The flex and ripple of muscle over bone held her spellbound when he removed his shirt. Every nerve, every cell in her body strained toward him when he liberated the long, thick pillar of his cock from his jeans. He still wore the strange leather harness instead of underwear. Her mouth opened in surprise when he turned as he kicked off his pants and she saw the sheath that rode down his right hip and upper thigh. A supple strap wrapped around his leg, holding it in place. She wanted to ask him about the weapon, but her tongue had grown as heavy as her limbs.

Her heart seemed to have swelled to two times its normal size. It throbbed against her sternum as if it were running out of room. His male beauty was breathtaking, but intimidating, as well. Lord Delraven's body wasn't one to be petted and coddled by a woman's touch. It was the tool of a warrior, hard and grown accustomed to labor and pain.

He paused next to the bed. She ripped her eyes off the potently erotic vision of his cock and heavy balls surrounded by leather and met his gaze.

"Take off your gloves," he said.

A sliver of panic pierced her. She shook her head on the pillow. He didn't know the protection the gloves afforded her and her consciousness felt too thick with arousal and need to explain such a complicated thing.

His face hardened at her refusal. He knelt on the bed and peeled back the velvet from a forearm and hand. She grimaced when her hand fell to the bed, foreign images and sensations impinging upon her. She could only partially interpret them, they were so strange and alien—the sweetness of the mulberry leaf, the friction in the gland before it secreted the sticky residue, soft, quick hands touching and spinning and stretching—

He gripped the upper part of her forearm and lifted her hand. The invading images abruptly ceased. Sweat beaded on her brow. She glanced up at him.

"Silk," she whispered, referring to the luxurious fabric covering the bed. "It came from a living thing. I can feel its origins."

He surprised her by nodding once, as if he perfectly understood her. He quickly removed her other glove, carefully holding her hands in the air and touching only her forearms. She murmured in surprise when he drew her hands above her head and efficiently tied her wrists together with the long, stretchy glove. He carefully laid her hands on the pillow, palms and fingertips facing upwards. She stared up at him, her skirt rucked up around her waist, her thighs spread, the cool air in the room kissing her hot, moist sex, her wrists restrained above her head.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

She saw his throat convulse. For a strained few seconds, she thought he wasn't going to reply.

"I wanted to see your hands naked while I was inside you."

Pre-order Silken Rapture

Enter for a free copy of Velvet Cataclysm, Princes of the Underground 1 in print at Goodreads.

The winner of Rulebreaker is

Veronica Scott!!

Veronica, just write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your preferred book format–ebook or PDF–and I'll forward the information on to Cathy!

Cathy, thanks so much for guesting at my site, and best of luck to you for lots of sales and author happiness. :)

Chat Today at the Total Exposure group!

Hello all! We at the Total Exposure reading group will be celebrating today at 3:30 p.m. EST! If you are not yet a member of TotalEx and would like to join, there is a link on the homepage of my site as well as on the contact page. We'd love to have you at the party to celebrate two TE members–Mary and Lea–new venture as reviewers at the USA Today blog, Happily Ever After! Come join the fun!

Rulebreaker and a Giveaway!

Hi all! Please welcome author Cathy Pegau to my blog. Cathy and I are both represented by the Bradford Literary Agency. She has an upcoming book, Rulebreaker, and she's here to tell us about it!



Leave Cathy a meaningful comment, and qualify to win a free e-book of Rulebreaker.

Rulebreaker

Like most writers, I live a double life. There is my sporadic day job as a substitute at the school, typical mom and wife duties, PTA and Girl Scout meetings, and any number of other people I need to be during the course of the day. And somewhere in there, I am a writer, creator of stories set in other worlds, populated by people who are often less than law abiding. But few of the real people I associate with on a daily basis know WHAT I write, exactly.

I balance these aspects of my personality, keeping in mind who, in my conservative little town, I talk to about my writing. Discuss my latest f/f love scene around the teacher's lounge? No. Talk about how to write a scene with a violent drug dealer at a Girl Scout meeting, No again. I switch hats, slipping into one persona or another for the duration. Sometimes it feels like I'm playing a game of "Who are we now?"

In Rulebreaker, thief Liv Braxton plays the ultimate game of pretend. She must fool her new boss into believing she's a competent assistant while trying to steal files from the woman. But what happens when the feelings Liv's pretending to have become all too real?

From Rulebreaker:

"And you are?" asked a smooth alto on my left.

My head snapped up from the screen to face R. J. Talbot. One slender, dark eyebrow was cocked in query over her steel-green gaze. Her wide mouth pressed into a hard line, she stood with her arms crossed under her breasts. A perfectly tailored winter-white dress buttoned almost to the throat fit her trim form.

Chestnut tendrils had loosened from her upswept hairstyle, softening the angles of her cheekbones, but that was the only thing soft about her. Talbot was more attractive than the pictures and vids on the data stick had shown. Attractive in an intense, "I'm used to getting what I want and no one will stop me" sort of way. Up close and in person, she made my stomach flip and my palms sweat.

"Olivia Baines." I rose and wiped my palms on my skirt. The VP was only a few centis taller than me, putting us almost eye-to-eye. "Your new assistant."

I stuck my right hand out and waited while she looked me over. Despite knowing R. J. Talbot liked women, there was nothing sexual in her scrutiny. It was a purely clinical assessment, and I tried not to squirm while I wondered what she thought of me. Once again, I felt like a used air car.

Finally she brought her eyes back up to mine and grasped my hand. Hers was cool and strong with blunt, beautifully manicured, unpainted fingernails. "You're the third one in as many weeks," she said as she released me. "I hope HR got it right this time."

Good thing I'd worn a jacket, because there was a distinct chill in the air.

Determined to do my best—at both jobs expected of me—I nodded once. "You won't be disappointed, Miss Talbot."

"Mm-hmm." Her tone more than implied her doubt as she gave me another quick appraisal. "Get acquainted with what's on the SI and in the desk. I'll be back in an hour."

She was leaving me alone? On my first day, my first minutes on the job? What kind of boss did that to an untried assistant?

Talbot walked to the door, her hips swaying with authority. She wore heels a bit higher than mine, which actually made us about the same height. But somehow, R. J. Talbot seemed taller. Much taller.

She left the office without a backward glance.

I sank down onto my chair. Willem expected me to charm and seduce her? I'd be lucky if I made it through the day without her tossing me out like week-old take-away.

The trill of the comm cut through my wavering confidence.

Unless I did want to get fired before I'd barely started, I'd better get to work. Taking a deep breath, I tapped the flashing icon on the screen. "Miss Talbot's office. This is Olivia. How can I help you?"

Wanna read more? Buy Rulebreaker at

Carina Press http://tinyurl.com/452do63

Amazon http://tiunyurl.com/3s8hnl5

B&N http://tinyurl.com/3mocjps

Visit Cathy on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/CathyPegau at her website http://www.CathyPegau.com or on her blog http://CathyPegau.blogspot.com

Tessa Adams winner!

Thanks so much to Tessa for stopping by and telling us about her awesome looking new dragon book. The winner of Book 2 in the series is: Jess S. Jess, you can write me at bethkery@aol.com with your address, and I'll pass the information onto Tessa, who will send your book.

It's a lovely day today. I hope everyone has a great week.

Beth