Sarah Mäkelä's Blog, page 16
June 8, 2012
Shameless Summer Giveäwäy
[image error]
The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few secrets. One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is filled with the horror of conquering men.
Adara Rukan, princess of the Amazons, ventures away from her village to find something waiting for her. Andrei "Rei" Makarov is a weretiger and a biologist on assignment. Can Rei and Adara find love enough to bridge their two separate worlds?
Read the Excerpt
Reviews:
"Jungle Heat was like a quick escape to a secret world. It was exciting and a little different from the typical shifter story." - Bookie Nookie, The Romance Reviews
Find my books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Changeling Press.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few secrets. One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is filled with the horror of conquering men.
Adara Rukan, princess of the Amazons, ventures away from her village to find something waiting for her. Andrei "Rei" Makarov is a weretiger and a biologist on assignment. Can Rei and Adara find love enough to bridge their two separate worlds?
Read the Excerpt
Reviews:
"Jungle Heat was like a quick escape to a secret world. It was exciting and a little different from the typical shifter story." - Bookie Nookie, The Romance Reviews
Find my books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Changeling Press.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 7, 2012
Blacklist Rogue is now available!
Hey everyone! I'm very excited to announce that Blacklist Rogue, the third book in my Hacked Investigations series, is now available for purchase! This book downright kicked my butt at times, and I'm thrilled with its outcome.
Here's the blurb, excerpt, and buy links. Also, make sure to subscribe to my mailing list by the end of the day since I'll be sending out a newsletter tomorrow. :-)
Thanks for sharing in my exciting release day! I'm also hanging out TRS's Party site today. I'd love to see you there!
Hacked Investigations 3: Blacklist Rogue
by Sarah Mäkelä
Genres: Futuristic, Paranormal, Action Adventure/ Suspense, Cyber-Punk, Erotic Romance
Length: Novella
Buy now: http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1821
Blurb:
When MAX Home Security tries to hire their private investigation firm to prove the corruption the company is on trial for occurred without the knowledge of the upper management, Ian and Hannah are reluctant to help.
Unfortunately, MAX's legal team thinks it looks good for their PR to have Hacked Investigations involved, forcing Ian and Hannah's hand. But Ian's headaches are getting worse, and Hannah and Ian will have to rely on each other even more if they stand a chance of getting out of this mess alive.
Excerpt:
Ian Bradley hit send on an email to one of Hacked Investigations' frequent customers. This time, the business owner had needed him to check on his future partner to make sure there wouldn't be trouble if he signed the partnership agreement. Ian had the potential business partner's email hacked in no time, and within five minutes, he'd completed his task.
Easy.
The client was paranoid, and, even if Ian thought those types of assignments were frivolous, he had a paycheck on its way.
Slender, feminine arms wrapped around his chest as Hannah hugged him from behind. Her lips brushed his earlobe, and her velvety tongue slid along the edge of it. "Now that we've wrapped another case, how about we celebrate?" Her voice was a low purr.
He shivered and placed his hands over hers. "I'll be right there. Let me lock down the computer. Bernard has been surfing some nasty porn sites. I'm not chancing that he'll get another virus on my machine."
Hannah nibbled his neck, and he groaned. She pulled away, trailing her fingertips over his chest and shoulder.
Swiveling in his chair, he watched her saunter toward the bedroom. Once she got to the doorway of the bedroom, she looked back at him, giving him a seductive smile.
Ian grinned and then spun around to face the computer. He changed the password again, tweaking the system's safety features, and shut it down.
From the living room, he heard Bernard, the pint-sized gnome, talking in hushed tones entirely different from his usual loud, obnoxious demeanor.
The urge to see what mischief Bernard was getting into nearly drove him toward the living room, but Hannah's sexy smile won out. He headed toward the bedroom, thinking of the things he'd like to do to her. His hand was hovering over the doorknob when the phone rang.
Sighing, he walked to the office phone, but it fell silent. From the other room, Bernard spoke in an annoyed, yet strangely husky voice. "Uh huh. Well, buster, I don't care who you are. There's someone important on the other line giving me some, uh, juicy details about something," Bernard said. He had a slight manic pitch that always grated on Ian's nerves.
Reaching for the phone and fearing the worst, Ian hoped whoever had called their business line wasn't already completely insulted by Bernard's behavior. He mentally made a note to keep Bernard caged when at all possible.
"Oh, stop your whining. You can call back later." Impatience picked up in the gnome's voice as did his volume.
Ian barely managed to pick up the office phone as he heard the other phone slam onto the receiver in the living room. "Hello? Anyone there?"
"Ah, Ian, hello. It's been a while." Senator Kendall's voice came through clearly.
"Hello, Senator. How can we help you?" Ian said, remembering the trial by fire the three of them went through with MAX Home Security after their first meeting not long ago.
"Who was that? A new assistant?" The senator sounded both intrigued and insulted. "Never mind. You need to know about what's going on. So far, my team has brought the corruption suspicions up to middle-management level, but we're blocked from going to the executive level." He let out a harsh sigh. "All leads we have point to a separate operative within MAX who has worked outside the executives' knowledge. Or so they say. There are rumors about a side project. Something that would make the current fiasco seem like playground material. I don't have details yet, but there's a lot of money from the yearly budgets we cannot trace. Company meetings and trips without receipts, cargo requests of military grade equipment reported as lost in transit, and much more. There are people who have their signatures on documents they claim to have never seen or signed. Some people who haven't worked for the company in years."
"You're kidding." Ian couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd known his former employer was no good, but this... It was almost more than he could imagine.
The senator chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound. "What's worse is money coming from sources they have marked as trade secrets, meetings around intellectual property and business licenses. MAX doesn't provide licenses to the public, which makes it even more suspicious. When we try to question them about it, we get shut down about speculating on things not relative to the trial."
"So, the executives are playing cloak and dagger games? Pushing the blame down and claiming they had no idea?" he asked.
"Exactly. And with MAX Home Security being such a large company with so much influence and power, other politicians are treading lightly, fearing the collapse of a global trillion-dollar company. 'What's a little corruption to spare ourselves another collapse?' That's the word going around. Anyway, the former president of the company is clearly outraged. With the company having been in his family, his children work there in various positions. The old man strongly believed his children should get no special treatment and needed to work their way up the chain, so to speak. One of them, Johann Li, reached out to my office to ask how he could help save the business from all this."
Ian frowned. This had become more complicated than he ever dreamed. He knew there wasn't a good side to MAX. They'd tried to kill him and Hannah, but what he really wanted to know was why Senator Kendall had called. Why share these details with him?
He had opened his mouth to say as much when he heard a door open. Hannah leaned against the doorframe leading to his bedroom, concern creasing her brows together. He held up a finger, then returned his focus to the senator, who was still talking.
Ian cleared his throat. "Excuse me for a moment, Senator, but what exactly is it you want me to do?"
Senator Kendall sighed. "I'm calling to warn you. You'll be receiving a call soon. You'll know what I meant then."
Buy now: http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1821
Here's the blurb, excerpt, and buy links. Also, make sure to subscribe to my mailing list by the end of the day since I'll be sending out a newsletter tomorrow. :-)
Thanks for sharing in my exciting release day! I'm also hanging out TRS's Party site today. I'd love to see you there!
Hacked Investigations 3: Blacklist Rogueby Sarah Mäkelä
Genres: Futuristic, Paranormal, Action Adventure/ Suspense, Cyber-Punk, Erotic Romance
Length: Novella
Buy now: http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1821
Blurb:
When MAX Home Security tries to hire their private investigation firm to prove the corruption the company is on trial for occurred without the knowledge of the upper management, Ian and Hannah are reluctant to help.
Unfortunately, MAX's legal team thinks it looks good for their PR to have Hacked Investigations involved, forcing Ian and Hannah's hand. But Ian's headaches are getting worse, and Hannah and Ian will have to rely on each other even more if they stand a chance of getting out of this mess alive.
Excerpt:
Ian Bradley hit send on an email to one of Hacked Investigations' frequent customers. This time, the business owner had needed him to check on his future partner to make sure there wouldn't be trouble if he signed the partnership agreement. Ian had the potential business partner's email hacked in no time, and within five minutes, he'd completed his task.
Easy.
The client was paranoid, and, even if Ian thought those types of assignments were frivolous, he had a paycheck on its way.
Slender, feminine arms wrapped around his chest as Hannah hugged him from behind. Her lips brushed his earlobe, and her velvety tongue slid along the edge of it. "Now that we've wrapped another case, how about we celebrate?" Her voice was a low purr.
He shivered and placed his hands over hers. "I'll be right there. Let me lock down the computer. Bernard has been surfing some nasty porn sites. I'm not chancing that he'll get another virus on my machine."
Hannah nibbled his neck, and he groaned. She pulled away, trailing her fingertips over his chest and shoulder.
Swiveling in his chair, he watched her saunter toward the bedroom. Once she got to the doorway of the bedroom, she looked back at him, giving him a seductive smile.
Ian grinned and then spun around to face the computer. He changed the password again, tweaking the system's safety features, and shut it down.
From the living room, he heard Bernard, the pint-sized gnome, talking in hushed tones entirely different from his usual loud, obnoxious demeanor.
The urge to see what mischief Bernard was getting into nearly drove him toward the living room, but Hannah's sexy smile won out. He headed toward the bedroom, thinking of the things he'd like to do to her. His hand was hovering over the doorknob when the phone rang.
Sighing, he walked to the office phone, but it fell silent. From the other room, Bernard spoke in an annoyed, yet strangely husky voice. "Uh huh. Well, buster, I don't care who you are. There's someone important on the other line giving me some, uh, juicy details about something," Bernard said. He had a slight manic pitch that always grated on Ian's nerves.
Reaching for the phone and fearing the worst, Ian hoped whoever had called their business line wasn't already completely insulted by Bernard's behavior. He mentally made a note to keep Bernard caged when at all possible.
"Oh, stop your whining. You can call back later." Impatience picked up in the gnome's voice as did his volume.
Ian barely managed to pick up the office phone as he heard the other phone slam onto the receiver in the living room. "Hello? Anyone there?"
"Ah, Ian, hello. It's been a while." Senator Kendall's voice came through clearly.
"Hello, Senator. How can we help you?" Ian said, remembering the trial by fire the three of them went through with MAX Home Security after their first meeting not long ago.
"Who was that? A new assistant?" The senator sounded both intrigued and insulted. "Never mind. You need to know about what's going on. So far, my team has brought the corruption suspicions up to middle-management level, but we're blocked from going to the executive level." He let out a harsh sigh. "All leads we have point to a separate operative within MAX who has worked outside the executives' knowledge. Or so they say. There are rumors about a side project. Something that would make the current fiasco seem like playground material. I don't have details yet, but there's a lot of money from the yearly budgets we cannot trace. Company meetings and trips without receipts, cargo requests of military grade equipment reported as lost in transit, and much more. There are people who have their signatures on documents they claim to have never seen or signed. Some people who haven't worked for the company in years."
"You're kidding." Ian couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd known his former employer was no good, but this... It was almost more than he could imagine.
The senator chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound. "What's worse is money coming from sources they have marked as trade secrets, meetings around intellectual property and business licenses. MAX doesn't provide licenses to the public, which makes it even more suspicious. When we try to question them about it, we get shut down about speculating on things not relative to the trial."
"So, the executives are playing cloak and dagger games? Pushing the blame down and claiming they had no idea?" he asked.
"Exactly. And with MAX Home Security being such a large company with so much influence and power, other politicians are treading lightly, fearing the collapse of a global trillion-dollar company. 'What's a little corruption to spare ourselves another collapse?' That's the word going around. Anyway, the former president of the company is clearly outraged. With the company having been in his family, his children work there in various positions. The old man strongly believed his children should get no special treatment and needed to work their way up the chain, so to speak. One of them, Johann Li, reached out to my office to ask how he could help save the business from all this."
Ian frowned. This had become more complicated than he ever dreamed. He knew there wasn't a good side to MAX. They'd tried to kill him and Hannah, but what he really wanted to know was why Senator Kendall had called. Why share these details with him?
He had opened his mouth to say as much when he heard a door open. Hannah leaned against the doorframe leading to his bedroom, concern creasing her brows together. He held up a finger, then returned his focus to the senator, who was still talking.
Ian cleared his throat. "Excuse me for a moment, Senator, but what exactly is it you want me to do?"
Senator Kendall sighed. "I'm calling to warn you. You'll be receiving a call soon. You'll know what I meant then."
Buy now: http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1821
June 5, 2012
Guest Author Marie Treanor
Excerpt from Blood Guilt by Marie Treanor
(Here, Maximilian is dying from loss of blood after a drunken fight, and Mihaela has made a deal with him: her blood in return for his help…)
He lay perfectly still, watching her every move. Despite his tattered, modern clothes, he looked like some decadent, talented Renaissance youth. Which he probably had been.
Mihaela sank onto the bed beside him, and, willing her hand not to shake, she placed the point of the stake over his heart. Still, he didn’t move. It was possible that he couldn’t.
“I’ve killed many vampires,” she warned him, and wished her voice didn’t sound so husky.
A spark of humor, so faint as to be almost indistinguishable, lightened his pain-wracked eyes. “Then you have another advantage. I’ve never killed a hunter.”
Watching him for any sign of sudden attack, she leaned slowly over him, angling her head to offer him her throat. As his face disappeared from her vision, her tingling skin seemed to grow tighter. Since he had no breath, there was no warning before he touched her throat. She couldn’t suppress her gasp or her jerk of surprise. But still he didn’t move, just waited for her to settle and return to the same position. Again, his cool lips touched her neck. Shards of fear sprayed outward to every nerve-ending she possessed. At least she called it fear, because even that was easier to bear.
Tensing even further, she curled her fingers into a fist, around the air, around the stake, and waited for the pain of his bite.
Concentrate on the stake. It’s all that could save your life. Her neck prickled with sensation. It was his tongue, licking over her vein.
Oh Jesus Christ, help me…
“It will numb the pain,” he said unexpectedly, and the movement of his lips against her skin made her shudder. She managed to nod, and then his lips closed more strongly, like a lover’s kiss. It was hard to keep still, to ignore the damp heat forming between her thighs. His teeth grazed her vein, and bit.
Her mouth opened without permission, but at least her cry was silent. There wasn’t even pain to speak of, just the shock of his teeth sinking into her, and then the faint, strangely sensual pull of his mouth against her skin, scattering novel sensations through her entire body. Her vein seemed to contract; she could feel the blood being drawn out of her and into him. It was weird, cold, intriguing…and achingly pleasurable. His lips moved on her skin, his tongue lapped, his suck deepened and strengthened; and everything inside her, her very womb, seemed to pulse under the insistent tug of his mouth.
A tiny sound gurgled deep in her throat. She clung on to the stake, as if to sanity, while her free hand clutched at the quilt and then at his shirt for support. And then, it seemed, it was over.
The draw of blood stopped; his teeth detached from her throat, and he raised his head to examine her. His face seemed cloudy; his gray eyes had darkened and yet somehow blazed almost silver with a lust that drove straight between her legs.
“Hunter blood is sweet,” he whispered. “You taste…good.”
Without warning, he pushed her down onto the pillow and loomed over her. Panting, she tried to reposition the stake, but he was too close, and he gave her no time.
“More,” he said huskily and returned to her throbbing throat.
Since he half lay across her, heart to heart, there was little she could do. Her stake lay on its side between them, useless until she could draw it free and plunge it into his back. Except, God help her, she didn’t want to.
The slow, delicious pull of his mouth on her throat began again, but stronger this time and more rhythmic. It couldn’t have been more different from the act of violence she’d witnessed earlier when he’d killed a vampire almost instantly with his bite. The strong, slow, beats of his undead heart vibrated through her chest, as if speaking to her own, galloping pulse. Cords of pleasure seemed to have formed between his mouth and her sensitized breasts, squashed beneath the hardness of his chest, and all other pleasure points of her body. Between her legs was throbbing, aching lust. She began to move under his mouth, rubbing her breasts against him, circling her hips in search of the comfort she needed deep inside her.
My God, I’m going to orgasm from his bite. This isn’t possible. Oh God, he’s killing me, and I love it.
She couldn’t just give in to this urge to do nothing, to reach for more. It wasn’t in her nature to surrender, but she had never imagined it would be this hard to resist being slaughtered. Forcing herself, she dragged her hand and stake free from between their bodies. She found his back, and through his T-shirt, counted his vertebrae with her fingertips until she found the position of his heart.
His back, his whole body moved, undulating with the passage of her fingers, as if he welcomed her attentions as caresses. Delicately, she placed the pointed end of the stake…
BLOOD GUILT
(Blood Hunters, Book 1)
By Marie Treanor
eBook coming 5th June 2012
The first of a new vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.
Natural enemies, deadly attraction…
Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.
The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.
Author Bio:
Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.
Marie Treanor has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.
Website: www.MarieTreanor.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360
Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter
Blog: Marie Treanor's Romantic Theme Party: http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/
(Here, Maximilian is dying from loss of blood after a drunken fight, and Mihaela has made a deal with him: her blood in return for his help…)
He lay perfectly still, watching her every move. Despite his tattered, modern clothes, he looked like some decadent, talented Renaissance youth. Which he probably had been.
Mihaela sank onto the bed beside him, and, willing her hand not to shake, she placed the point of the stake over his heart. Still, he didn’t move. It was possible that he couldn’t.
“I’ve killed many vampires,” she warned him, and wished her voice didn’t sound so husky.
A spark of humor, so faint as to be almost indistinguishable, lightened his pain-wracked eyes. “Then you have another advantage. I’ve never killed a hunter.”
Watching him for any sign of sudden attack, she leaned slowly over him, angling her head to offer him her throat. As his face disappeared from her vision, her tingling skin seemed to grow tighter. Since he had no breath, there was no warning before he touched her throat. She couldn’t suppress her gasp or her jerk of surprise. But still he didn’t move, just waited for her to settle and return to the same position. Again, his cool lips touched her neck. Shards of fear sprayed outward to every nerve-ending she possessed. At least she called it fear, because even that was easier to bear.
Tensing even further, she curled her fingers into a fist, around the air, around the stake, and waited for the pain of his bite.
Concentrate on the stake. It’s all that could save your life. Her neck prickled with sensation. It was his tongue, licking over her vein.
Oh Jesus Christ, help me…
“It will numb the pain,” he said unexpectedly, and the movement of his lips against her skin made her shudder. She managed to nod, and then his lips closed more strongly, like a lover’s kiss. It was hard to keep still, to ignore the damp heat forming between her thighs. His teeth grazed her vein, and bit.
Her mouth opened without permission, but at least her cry was silent. There wasn’t even pain to speak of, just the shock of his teeth sinking into her, and then the faint, strangely sensual pull of his mouth against her skin, scattering novel sensations through her entire body. Her vein seemed to contract; she could feel the blood being drawn out of her and into him. It was weird, cold, intriguing…and achingly pleasurable. His lips moved on her skin, his tongue lapped, his suck deepened and strengthened; and everything inside her, her very womb, seemed to pulse under the insistent tug of his mouth.
A tiny sound gurgled deep in her throat. She clung on to the stake, as if to sanity, while her free hand clutched at the quilt and then at his shirt for support. And then, it seemed, it was over.
The draw of blood stopped; his teeth detached from her throat, and he raised his head to examine her. His face seemed cloudy; his gray eyes had darkened and yet somehow blazed almost silver with a lust that drove straight between her legs.
“Hunter blood is sweet,” he whispered. “You taste…good.”
Without warning, he pushed her down onto the pillow and loomed over her. Panting, she tried to reposition the stake, but he was too close, and he gave her no time.
“More,” he said huskily and returned to her throbbing throat.
Since he half lay across her, heart to heart, there was little she could do. Her stake lay on its side between them, useless until she could draw it free and plunge it into his back. Except, God help her, she didn’t want to.
The slow, delicious pull of his mouth on her throat began again, but stronger this time and more rhythmic. It couldn’t have been more different from the act of violence she’d witnessed earlier when he’d killed a vampire almost instantly with his bite. The strong, slow, beats of his undead heart vibrated through her chest, as if speaking to her own, galloping pulse. Cords of pleasure seemed to have formed between his mouth and her sensitized breasts, squashed beneath the hardness of his chest, and all other pleasure points of her body. Between her legs was throbbing, aching lust. She began to move under his mouth, rubbing her breasts against him, circling her hips in search of the comfort she needed deep inside her.
My God, I’m going to orgasm from his bite. This isn’t possible. Oh God, he’s killing me, and I love it.
She couldn’t just give in to this urge to do nothing, to reach for more. It wasn’t in her nature to surrender, but she had never imagined it would be this hard to resist being slaughtered. Forcing herself, she dragged her hand and stake free from between their bodies. She found his back, and through his T-shirt, counted his vertebrae with her fingertips until she found the position of his heart.
His back, his whole body moved, undulating with the passage of her fingers, as if he welcomed her attentions as caresses. Delicately, she placed the pointed end of the stake…
BLOOD GUILT
(Blood Hunters, Book 1)
By Marie Treanor
eBook coming 5th June 2012
The first of a new vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.
Natural enemies, deadly attraction…
Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.
The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.
Author Bio:
Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.
Marie Treanor has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.
Website: www.MarieTreanor.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360
Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter
Blog: Marie Treanor's Romantic Theme Party: http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/
May 20, 2012
Cover Reveal + Giveäway: DENIED by Kinley Baker
I can't wait for this new book from Kinley Baker. She's my critique partner and friend, and wow, look at that cover! Yum!DENIED
SHADOWED LOVE, BOOK TWO
By Kinley Baker
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.
Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.
When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other.
Add DENIED as To-Read on GoodReads!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13646204-denied
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 3, 2012
News Bytes
Hey everyone! After a couple days off from blogging, I'm popping in with some news.
First off, I'm on Kindlegraph.com. All of my book except Captive Moonlight (which should be up on Amazon in the not far off future) are available to be kindlegraphed. To visit my page and request some, click here.
Recently, I was interviewed at Long and Short Reviews. It was a lot of fun. You can see what I had to say by clicking on the link. :-)
Captive Moonlight is now at Barnes & Noble! I hope Nook lovers will enjoy my addition to the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series! Also, I've had a couple new additions on Amazon. Jungle Fire and Stolen are now available with them. I'd love to hear from you guys and know what you think!
I also now have a fabulous new banner that I just had to share! Isn't it gorgeous? My webmistress Rae Monet created it.
Also, I'm blogging at Castles & Guns today about Deadlines today, as well as hanging out at Love Romances Cafe with the other Changeling Press authors.
That's all I can think of now. Hope to see you there!
First off, I'm on Kindlegraph.com. All of my book except Captive Moonlight (which should be up on Amazon in the not far off future) are available to be kindlegraphed. To visit my page and request some, click here.
Recently, I was interviewed at Long and Short Reviews. It was a lot of fun. You can see what I had to say by clicking on the link. :-)
Captive Moonlight is now at Barnes & Noble! I hope Nook lovers will enjoy my addition to the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series! Also, I've had a couple new additions on Amazon. Jungle Fire and Stolen are now available with them. I'd love to hear from you guys and know what you think!
I also now have a fabulous new banner that I just had to share! Isn't it gorgeous? My webmistress Rae Monet created it.
Also, I'm blogging at Castles & Guns today about Deadlines today, as well as hanging out at Love Romances Cafe with the other Changeling Press authors.
That's all I can think of now. Hope to see you there!
April 30, 2012
Z is for Žaltys
Wow! It's the last day of the A to Z Challenge. Can you believe April has flown by so quickly? Thank you all for stopping by for my posts. I wish I'd been able to check out more A to Z bloggers this year, but I've been in a deadline crunch with my publisher. See you all next year!
Name: Žaltys (means "grass snake")
Type: household spirit
Origin: Lithuanian mythology
Description: The žaltys is a non-venomous snake, sacred to the sun goddess Saulė. It represents fertility and is a guardian of the home. Some people kept it in special places of their home, believing it could bring good harvest and wealth. If someone killed the žaltys, it brought about great misfortune, but if people found one and gave it milk, they could befriend it and take it in their home.
What "Z" creatures have you heard of?
Name: Žaltys (means "grass snake")
Type: household spirit
Origin: Lithuanian mythology
Description: The žaltys is a non-venomous snake, sacred to the sun goddess Saulė. It represents fertility and is a guardian of the home. Some people kept it in special places of their home, believing it could bring good harvest and wealth. If someone killed the žaltys, it brought about great misfortune, but if people found one and gave it milk, they could befriend it and take it in their home.
What "Z" creatures have you heard of?
April 28, 2012
Y is for Yeth Hound
Name: Yeth hound (also called yell hound)
Type: black dog
Origin: Devon, England
Description: The yeth hound is a black headless dog, which they say is the spirit of an unbaptised child. It runs around in the woods at night crying and wailing.
Interesting Facts: The yeth hound is possibly one of the inspirations for the dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The headless dog is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts, which is a series of pamphlets on folklore published between 8146 and 1859.
What "Y" creatures do you know of?
Type: black dog
Origin: Devon, England
Description: The yeth hound is a black headless dog, which they say is the spirit of an unbaptised child. It runs around in the woods at night crying and wailing.
Interesting Facts: The yeth hound is possibly one of the inspirations for the dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The headless dog is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts, which is a series of pamphlets on folklore published between 8146 and 1859.
What "Y" creatures do you know of?
April 27, 2012
X is for Xing Tian
Name: Xing Tian (means "punished one" or "he who was punished by heaven"
Type: giant
Origin: Chinese mythology
Description: Basically, he's a headless giant punished by heaven. *grins* Here's a roughly translated excerpt from Shanhaijing I came across on Wikipedia:
Type: giant
Origin: Chinese mythology
Description: Basically, he's a headless giant punished by heaven. *grins* Here's a roughly translated excerpt from Shanhaijing I came across on Wikipedia:
Xingtian fought against [Huang] Di. Di cut off his head, and the head was buried in the Changyang Mountains. But Xingtian, with his breasts as eyes, and his navel as mouth, continued to fight with his axe and shield.Anyone know of any other "X" creatures? I'm very curious! lol
April 25, 2012
W is for Wolpertinger
Name: Wolpertinger (also wolperdinger, poontinger, woiperdinger)
Type: chimera
Origin: Bavarian folklore
Description: Wolpertingers live in the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. It's body is a mish-mash of various parts. In general they have wings, antlers, tails, and fangs, all on a small animal like a rabbit or squirrel.
Interesting Fact: They can actually be bought as souvenirs at inns and tourist shops in Germany. Yeesh! Click here for a picture. These creatures would be considered almost like a cousin to the American Jackalope or a Swedish Skvader.
Do you know any of "W" creatures?
Type: chimera
Origin: Bavarian folklore
Description: Wolpertingers live in the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. It's body is a mish-mash of various parts. In general they have wings, antlers, tails, and fangs, all on a small animal like a rabbit or squirrel.
Interesting Fact: They can actually be bought as souvenirs at inns and tourist shops in Germany. Yeesh! Click here for a picture. These creatures would be considered almost like a cousin to the American Jackalope or a Swedish Skvader.
Do you know any of "W" creatures?
V is for Vilkacis
Sorry for the delay in getting this up. I'm in a deadline crunch! Better late than never, right?
Name: Vilkacis (means "Wolf-eye." Also known as Vilkatas and Vilkatis.)
Type: shapeshifter
Origin: Latvian mythology / Baltic mythology
Description: I'll let Wikipedia sum up today's creature:
"Vilkacis was a type of monster, similar to a werewolf, that was originally a person. In Latvian and Lithuanian mythology, the vilkacis was a good natured creature, who wanted to participate in the folk songs mentioned animal digging of Daugava river. But he failed in every task and upset Dievs. He is described as a clumsy creature, who can be easily fooled by a child or farmer. Occasionally, a vilkacis brought treasure or was otherwise beneficial."
What "V" creatures do you know of?
Name: Vilkacis (means "Wolf-eye." Also known as Vilkatas and Vilkatis.)
Type: shapeshifter
Origin: Latvian mythology / Baltic mythology
Description: I'll let Wikipedia sum up today's creature:
"Vilkacis was a type of monster, similar to a werewolf, that was originally a person. In Latvian and Lithuanian mythology, the vilkacis was a good natured creature, who wanted to participate in the folk songs mentioned animal digging of Daugava river. But he failed in every task and upset Dievs. He is described as a clumsy creature, who can be easily fooled by a child or farmer. Occasionally, a vilkacis brought treasure or was otherwise beneficial."
What "V" creatures do you know of?
