Beth Kery's Blog, page 27
July 5, 2011
Pictures from RWA!
RWA was terrific, seeming to soak in all the energy and dynamism of surrounding Times Square and Broadway. Thought you might enjoy some pictures….
Joy from Joyfully Reviewed, Author Shannon McKenna, Limecello
Dark picture of Laura Bradford (my agent) with Julianna Stone and Jess Granger in Times Square
Me with Julie James at our workshop, titled: The Contemporary Challenge: How to write 300 pages of romance without demons, death, or world destruction. :)
Yes, we wear some fierce heels at these conferences. (Lauren Dane in the background).
June 19, 2011
Ellora's Cave Backlist Sale at Kindle, $1.19
Hello all!
I've noticed that several of my backlist books, including the entire Subtle Series, Fire Angel, Through Her Eyes and Flirting in Traffic are on sale at Kindle for $1.19. We have everything here from erotic paranormal to sweet sensual.
I've included the links here, in case you'd like to take advantage of a sale. I'm not sure how long the $1.19 price will last.
June 17, 2011
Exorcising Sean's Ghost on sale for 1.99!
I just noticed that my full length erotic, contemporary romance, Exorcising Sean's Ghost, is being offered at Ellora's Cave for 1.99, and at Kindle for 2.39! Gotta love a bargain. :) Here's a bit about Sean's Ghost…
A- review from The Good the Bad and the Unread–At last, good erotica that gives you a story along with it.
4.5 stars from Sensual Reads–A profoundly engaging story.
5 stars from Joyfully Reviewed–Beth Kery is tops in writing erotic and sexy love scenes.
Belle is forced to mourn in secret after her lover, Attorney General Sean Ryan, is murdered in a terrorist plot. When she has an irrational, intense sexual response to the mysterious stranger Jack Caldwell, Belle wonders if it's due to delayed grief for Sean. Sean was the only man she'd ever responded to so completely, after all. When she finds herself submitting wholly to Jack's dominant, demanding manner in bed Belle begins to live on the sharp edge of doubt and certainty…even to the point of questioning her own sanity.
Because Belle can't let go of the crazy, impossible idea that Sean Ryan and Jack Caldwell are one and the same man.
If Belle persists in her obsession about Sean, Jack will have no choice but to cut all ties with her. He wants Belle for his own… and Jack refuses to share her with a ghost.
Belle opened her mouth to question him but her attention was diverted when her usually sedate, calm dog suddenly pranced and leaped forward with a playful bark. Copenhagen loped after her energetically. Belle looked over in surprise at the man beside her and they shared a smile.
"I think your dog is seducing mine," he said quietly. "What's her name?"
"Ellie." She'd thought of defending her pet's honor but instead she just shook her head in amazement. "She really is acting like a flirt, isn't she? I've never seen her behave this way. Has Copenhagen been…neutered?"
When he didn't immediately reply she glanced over at him. His expression looked vaguely guilty. "Uh no. I kept meaning to get around to it but…"
Belle couldn't help but smirk.
"What?" he prompted with a slow grin that made her thighs clench together to still the sudden acute stab of desire between them. All that just from a smile.
She shrugged, hoping to look nonchalant, and kicked the toe of her shoe idly in the grass.
"Professional cliché. I'm a psychologist, so…"
"Oh I get it. You're going to make some annoying remark about me projecting my castration fears onto my dog. Is that it?"
She laughed, pleasantly surprised by the astuteness of his comment. "Well I did say it was a cliché. I hate to be predictable so I won't say another word. Or I'll allow you to interpret me since I have also been remiss in my pet ownership and never had Ellie spayed."
His eyebrows rose in a sardonic expression. "Guess we better keep a close eye on them or nature is going to take its natural course."
For a few seconds his heated gaze held her in a sensual spell. Her mouth fell open in deepening sexual awareness. Her tongue swept anxiously over her lower lip. She had to repress a soft moan when the man's eyelids narrowed and he trailed the movement. His eyes grew hot. She blinked once, disoriented when she realized he'd spoken again.
"What about you?"
"Excuse me?" she asked, dazed. Surely he wasn't asking her if her reproductive organs were intact or not.
"Your name. I'm Jack. Jack Caldwell."
"Oh. I'm Belle March."The early summer morning was cool but Jack Caldwell's hand was warm when he fully encompassed hers in a handshake. It struck her after a moment that he hadn't let go. She forced herself to reclaim her hand. He re-crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels casually.
"Do you and Ellie walk out here often?"
"Yes. It's our regular haunt."
"But not at night."
Belle gave him a puzzled look. His tone had been almost stern. "Sometimes, but usually not this far into the park. I try to stay closer to North Avenue."
Jack frowned at her answer. "You shouldn't come into the park alone. It's dangerous."
Belle choked back laughter. Not only his words, but his sudden hard expression took her completely off guard. The thought struck her that it was the type of thing that a person said to another when they were in a relationship, not when they were complete strangers like she and Jack were. Hadn't Sean used to preach to her about where she took Ellie out at night?
"Why would you say something like that?" Belle asked with amusement tinged with wariness. "This neighborhood isn't dangerous. I've lived here for almost two years now and never seen any crime."
"The worst kind of crime is usually invisible. I wouldn't expect that you would see it," Jack answered impassively.
"Are you a cop or something?" Belle couldn't shake the idea that she knew him. How else could it possibly make sense that a complete stranger would sound so natural admonishing her for her personal habits? Not to mention that her body was responding to him as though it knew him in the most primitive way.
Jack grinned mirthlessly, adding to his piratical air. "Much worse, actually. A lawyer." Belle stilled when he pinned her with icy blue eyes and shrugged negligently. "That is, unless you have a thing for lawyers. They say some women do, despite the complete unnaturalness of it."
A whirlwind of unexpected emotions rose up through her gut and stifled her lungs, preventing her from inhaling.
"What's wrong?" Jack's expression of grim amusement vanished only to be replaced by tense alertness when he saw Belle's stricken expression. His dark brows drew together with concern when Belle suddenly moved away from his side.
"Come on, Ellie," Belle managed in a strangled voice. When the Irish setter ignored her she managed to get out a second request in a louder voice.
"Belle?"
She didn't turn at the sound of his husky voice but busied herself with fastening Ellie's leash on her collar. "Yes?"
"I asked you a question. What's wrong?"
Belle stood up too briskly, making half of her precariously balanced hair came loose from the fastener that secured it. She muttered irritably and reached for the hair clip to release the rest of it. A curly tendril caught. She pulled at it too hard, making tears spring up in her eyes.
"Nothing is wrong. I just need to get going, that's all," she muttered as she yanked at the clip in increasing agitation.
"Calm down."
Belle blinked and stilled. Jack Caldwell had just issued an order, no matter how softly it had been murmured.
He leaned down over her. She held her breath as her entire awareness focused on his fingers gently removing the errant tress from the teeth of the clip. For a split second his piercing eyes left his task and met hers. Knowing full well that she watched him, he glanced down at her heaving breasts.
"Nice t-shirt. Did you go to Yale?"
Belle's breath froze but she managed to shake her head. "Northwestern. A…friend went to Yale." Her nipples pulled tight as he continued to caress them with his eyes. Belle had always been self-conscious about her breasts, feeling like they were too large for the rest of her body. It was rare for her to be in public without a bra on but she hadn't really figured on running into anyone—let alone a man like Jack Caldwell. But he didn't seem to mind her size. If anything, his expressive gaze was downright wanting. He dropped one of his hands from her hair. Belle tensed.
Dear God, he wasn't going to…
He was.
Belle moaned shakily when he ever-so gently pinched a pebbled nipple between a thumb and forefinger. His eyes slowly rose to meet hers. He carefully studied her dazed, aroused expression as he rolled her nipple between his fingers. Belle inhaled raggedly at the exquisite sensation, breathing in the scent of Jack Caldwell.
"What the hell?" Jack muttered half in alarm, half in amazement when Belle stumbled as she abruptly pulled away from him. It took him a second to fully absorb the expression on her face. His hand immediately went out to her shoulder to steady her.
"Christ, you're shaking," he added in disbelief when he felt her tremor through the thin material of her t-shirt. "Belle? I know how that must have seemed to you but you're not afraid of me, are you?"
"Y-you-you smell l-l-like…" She immediately stopped when she realized she was stuttering. Her gaze scoured his face, unconsciously undertaking a desperate search.
His eyes became crescents of cool flame when he narrowed his eyelids to study her.
"What?"
Belle swallowed with effort. "Nothing. I'm s-s…" Her eyes shut in frustrated concentration as she tried to overcome the shameful reoccurrence of a childhood stutter. "Sorry. Come on, Ellie."
She had to tug on Ellie with uncustomary harshness to get her to part from her new friend. Belle never turned around to see if Copenhagen—or Jack, for that matter—followed until she safely entered her condominium lobby. Once there a backward furtive glance told her that she and Ellie had made the return trip through the park utterly alone.
June 9, 2011
New Excerpt (Adult) Addicted to You
The Double Dutch door scene was the first scene that popped into my head when I started musing about what became Addicted to You. That type of door became the perfect prop to symbolize the existential and sexual struggle my hero, Rill, was experiencing at this crucial point in his life. To give or not to give…to live or to die. Katie is life, essentially, and he surrenders to her in this scene, even if he is still struggling…
Excerpt:
He turned on the light in the pantry and just stood in there for a moment, staring at the mostly empty shelves. For a brief second, the image in front of his eyes struck him as surreal. Where the hell was he? What was he doing, standing in a musty pantry that looked as if it'd been built in the American Civil War?
It was as if some old, foreign film clip had been sutured into two sides of the movie that was his life. He stood there, his hand frozen in the motion of reaching for a jar of pasta sauce on the counter. Nausea suddenly rose in his belly; vertigo caused his vision to swim.
For a few seconds, he was terrified.
He abruptly put his hand on his cock, grimacing when he squeezed with his fingers. Perhaps it was a strange thing to do at such a disorienting, existential moment, but he was just a guy. If there was one thing a man knew was real, it was his cock. He grasped onto that thread of lust, that bright flare of the familiar.
He ripped at his button fly impatiently and struggled with his clothing. All the sharp arousal he'd experienced so unexpectedly yesterday at seeing Katie, all the need, roared through him in a potent flash. He slammed shut the pantry door and fisted his cock.
He'd thought of himself as a dead man walking. The sudden surge of sap flowing through his veins, fast and hot, both alarmed and confused him.
His head fell back and he groaned in mixed misery and pleasure as he stroked himself. He didn't even bother to try to shove the illicit images and fantasies out of his brain this time. It was either fall into the dark abyss of meaninglessness or grab onto the one remnant of his humanity that remained intact in him.
He reveled in all that he shouldn't, imagining what it would be like to bend Katie over at the waist and bare her ass, what it would be like to slide a finger into her warm, tight slit, to coat himself in her abundant juices . . . to push his cock into a pussy that'd squeeze every memory from his brain . . . every last drop of come from his boiling balls.
She could make him forget. He knew she could. If he got lost in Katie, the memory of how he'd disappointed Eden as a husband might fade, the sadness of losing her, even though he'd known deep down at that point their marriage was over.
Katie might be able to help ease the grief of knowing what died inside Eden's womb along with her.
The fantasy was so realistic he felt himself cresting after only a couple dozen jerks on his supersensitive cock. He was panting and gritting his teeth, already at the vinegar strokes despite the fact that he'd practically just begun. In some distant part of his brain, he knew the explosion that was about to erupt out of his balls had been building since he'd seen Katie standing there so uncertainly in that hospital waiting room . . .
. . . maybe sooner.
He groaned gutturally as pleasure swelled in him.
"Rill? Is that you?"
His fist paused midstaff on a near-to-bursting cock. He opened his eyes and stared at the closed double Dutch door, breathing heavily.
"Rill?" he heard Katie ask, her voice closer to the pantry door now. He stood unmoving, every muscle in his body strung tight, his cock throbbing in his hand. Her voice had trembled slightly when she spoke his name. She must have heard him groaning.
She had to know what he was doing in there.
"Don't open that door, Katie," he warned.
He stood utterly still, his body straining, his mind hyperfocused, like a man with questionable balance who suddenly found himself poised on the high wire. His ears strained to make out Katie's movements. The silence seemed to roar in his head.
His heart lurched in his chest when he saw the knob move on the lower half of the double Dutch door and the soft click of the latch slipping out of the catch.
"Don't, Katie," he demanded, but that wasn't really what he meant. He wondered how she'd known that when the lower half of the Dutch door swung outward, the top half remaining closed.
He watched, his misery and sharp arousal rising, as Katie went to her knees.
He could see her full, shapely breasts pressed tight against an indigo tunic that she'd belted with a braid of leather. Her untamed mane of hair hung loose, curls and waves abounding. She'd said the color she'd put on it wasn't permanent, and he was glad to see gold shining through the brown, the dye having faded further with her morning shower. He saw the lower half of her face—the delicate chin, the lush lips. She placed her hands on her thighs, the gesture striking him as prim . . . subservient for some stupid reason. Katie was hardly the submissive type.
Every ounce of his attention was focused on her mouth when it moved.
"Come here," she said softly.
His cock lurched in his hand.
He staggered toward her, hating himself but recognizing the sheer impossibility of refusal. Besides, he was at the breaking point of arousal.
He came close, feet just an inch away from her knees. She didn't move away, although she must be able to see him at this point. He placed one forearm against the top of the closed Dutch door, bracing himself. He leaned toward her.
Her lips parted.
He watched, spellbound, as he used his hand to brush the flaring tip of his cock against her lower lip. She remained immobile, allowing him to spread a thin coat of pre-come on her mouth.
His groan felt like it was ripped out of the depths of him.
Her tongue came out, pink and quick, wetting the head of his cock. An uncontrollable shiver of excitement rippled up his spine. Her lips enclosed the rim in a tight clamp while she licked eagerly, giving him the impression she wanted to press his taste deep into her, like she was doing a rubbing etching with her tongue to find patterns on his dick. Her carefulness, her obvious hunger—the sheer strength of her tongue—drove him nuts.
She sucked, and there was no other direction for him to go but forward in that volatile moment. The arm that braced him on the top of the double Dutch door bent at the elbow. He thrilled to the sensation of sliding against her wet tongue, of being surrounded by her sultry heat.
He'd been so primed before that it was almost too much for him to bear. He nearly shamed himself further and came on her tongue then and there. Only his greed for her, the desire to relish in the moment, helped him to hold back.
She pushed forward with her head. Several inches of his cock filled her mouth, but he knew the top part of the door stopped her from ducking forward too far. He stepped toward her, so that his feet bracketed her knees, and leaned into her, watching from above as his dick slid between pink lips. She moaned softly, and he clenched his eyes closed as the vibrations from her vocal cords buzzed into his flesh.
Friction—the need for it overwhelmed him. He pumped and grunted at the sublimity of it. Delicious jolts of pleasure shot up his spine. His ass tightened again and again as he thrust, but she kept up with him stroke for stroke, bobbing her head with as much range of motion that she could without hitting the barrier of the door with her forehead. Wet, sucking sounds intermingled with his grunts of pure pleasure.
He transformed into an animal in those precious seconds, a creature that lived only to vanquish its hunger and survive another day.
The top of his head fell against the closed portion of the door. He wanted to keep his eyes shut, to keep up some semblance of a barrier between himself and Katie. The truth was, he was about to explode, and he hated that reality almost as much as the fact that he couldn't control his need to surrender. The moment was too fraught with tension and sharp pleasure, too laden with emotions he wished he could strangle into silence.
But how could he quiet this need?
Romance Reviews Today–As much a story about recovering from grief and self-discovery as it is about the unquenchable desire between Katie and Rill, ADDICTED TO YOU has a well-rounded plot, plenty of steamy sex scenes, and a complicated romance between fascinating characters.
5 Bookies, Book Lovers Inc.–Addicted To You is a story I thoroughly enjoyed, it provided laugh out loud moments along with scenes that provoked significant emotion.
B+Smexy Books–Really packs an emotional punch along with some very erotic scenes.
"A fabulous, sizzling hot friends-to-lovers story. You'll be addicted from page one!"
Julie James, National Best Selling author of A Lot Like Love!
June 7, 2011
Addicted to You Releases Today!
Hurray! I've been waiting for release day for this one for such a long time, and it's finally here!
I'm over at RR&H Novel Thoughts today blogging about Romance Addiction (very lightly and in jest). I have a giveaway there, as well, if you'd like to check it out here. 
June 6, 2011
The Winner of the Kindle is
#61, Luigia!!!!
Wow…that was quite a fun party squeezed into a small period of time. Thank you to all the terrific authors who participated. You guys rocked the house. And to everyone who stopped by, thanks for helping me celebrate the release of Addicted to You tomorrow! I hope you'll see it well stocked at your local store.
Happy Reading, everyone!
~Beth/Bethany
The winners of the widget postings are
Winners are abounding at the Addicted to You Contest!
Part of the big Addicted to You Contest was to thank people for posting the contest widget at their sites. Three $10 Amazon gift cards were given (or will be given away ) during the contest, but here's a quick recap of the first two winners:
The winner of the 1st $10 Amazon Gift Card is Becky W!
The winner of the 2nd $10 Amazon gift card is JoAnna B!
And announcing the last winner today, Blanche! Congrats, Blanche!
Up next….I'm off to use the random number generator for the Kindle winner! As a courtesy, I will contact this winner, but if they do not reply to receive their Kindle or $189 Amazon gift card in three days, I will choose another winner.
Good luck everyone!
The winner of the Karen Erickson and Shiloh Walker contests
Karen's winner is Darcy (#30)
Darcy, write to Karen at karen.e.erickson@gmail.com to claim your prize. Congrats!
Shiloh's winner is Elaine G (#36)
Elaine, write to me at bethkery@aol.com to claim this prize. Congrats!
June 3, 2011
Shiloh Walker, Her Newest Hunter, and a Giveaway!
Please join me in welcoming national bestselling author, Shiloh Walker!
BK: From where did the creative spark for Hunter's Fall come?
I don't know if I can pinpoint that exactly. This is one of the stories that was a long time coming and it slowly just evolved in my mind. I had the characters, the hero, the heroine…and the story just slowly came from them.
BK: What's up next for you?
I've got one of my GRIMM stories due out in September and then after that, my romantic suspense trilogy. And I'm completely terrified about that…
Walker's mind-blowing series continues as a woman on the run remains tantalizingly out of reach for a Hunter desperate to save her–and himself. ("Romance Junkies")
Hunter's Fall
UNKNOWN PAST
Something strange is happening to Nessa. Ever since she survived a near-death experience she's not exactly who she used to be—and enjoying every minute of it. Then she's called upon to go to battle against darkness. If only she could remember why.
UNEXPECTED LOVER
Dominic is having his own problems with memory, sanity, and hallucinations. Sent to Excelsior, the covert Hunter training facility, he senses a female presence that seems so hauntingly familiar. That's because he and Nessa share a forgotten past.
UNSEEN EVIL
As Nessa and Dominic regain their memories, their strange mission against evil becomes clearer. And all the more dangerous because whether they should trust each other is the still the greatest unknown of all.
Excerpt
"You're too pretty."
"Am I?" he asked, a grin tugging at his lips. It was a mouth made for kissing.
"Yes."
She was dreaming. Nessa knew she was dreaming. If she had any sense, she would lie back and just enjoy it.
Well, I already did that. And she had—three, no, four times over.
There was no way any red-blooded, straight woman could lie in bed with this man, dream or no dream, and not enjoy it. Not enjoy him.
His eyes were dark, rich as melted chocolate, framed by thick, curly eyelashes. His skin gleamed a soft, mellow gold. In the sun, she imagined that smooth, sleek skin would deepen to a darker gold. His hair was black, blacker than onyx, and thick. It had just the slightest curl to it and when she ran her hands through it, the jet strands twined her fingers.
She knew that from experience–she'd spent half the night with her hands buried in his hair.
They hadn't spent much time standing up, but she guessed he was about 5'10. He had a long, lean build and she sensed strength inside him. Massive strength, but when he touched her, he did it with gentleness. Reverence.
As well a dream lover should, she supposed.
He reached up and traced the line of her mouth with his fingertip. She shivered under that light touch and felt heat flicker through her. Catching his finger in her mouth, she bit lightly.
Hunger blazed in his eyes.
She felt a response and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. "Well, if I had to dream you, I must say, it turned out rather well," she mused.
He laughed against her mouth and asked, "How do you know I'm not the one who dreamed you up?"
"Oh, believe me, I'm the one who is dreaming. There is no man out there pining for me."
No man waiting. No man longing. No matter what was promised.
I will come back…I will find you again…
"You're so sad," he whispered. "Why are you so sad?"
Nessa forced a smile. "Of course I'm not… well, I won't be for long. That's why you're here, isn't it?"
*
"I will find you. No matter where you go. No matter how far."
With a snort, Nessa looked away from the TV and focused on Mei-Lin's hair. The teenager grinned up at her. "It's romantic, Nessa. You can't snort like that when Daniel Day Lewis is on the screen saying a line like that." With a sigh, the girl rested a hand on her heart and gazed the TV with rapt eyes.
The Last of the Mohicans was the girl's favorite movie. They watched it usually watched it once a month.
Unless Nessa could see a way out. Today was Mei-Lin's seventeenth birthday, though, and she'd wanted to watch the silly film before she went out with some friends.
Weaving the girl's silky hair into a tight braid, Nessa glanced at the screen. Spectacular scenery. Strong, sexy men with big guns, innocent-looking girls with simpering eyes. Romantic bits like, I will find you.
It struck a knife in her heart.
Although it had been five hundred years, she could still hear Elias' voice.
I will come back…I will find you again…
Only God Himself could keep me from you, love.
And God Himself had spent the last five centuries doing just that. Nessa couldn't watch this damn film without reliving her memories. A time when she torn away from her husband.
Not by pissed-off Natives, but by death.
By God.
God had taken her lover from her, and God had kept her from joining him.
She was alone, and empty. So empty inside. Not even her dream lover could ease that ache. At least not for long.
Read the prologue of Hunter's Fall
Order at Amazon
Order at Barnes and Noble
Leave Shiloh a comment, and qualify to win a $15 Amazon gift card! And if you haven't yet entered the Addicted to You Contest for a Kindle 3G (or $189), now's the time to do it. Drawing next Monday!
The winner of the Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin contest is
Gabrielle J.
Congrats! Gabrielle, contact Eden at eden_bradley@yahoo.com to collect your prize!
