Stephanie Julian's Blog, page 15

Hot Hockey Hunk David Booth

For the next few weeks leading up the release of HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS, I'm devoting my blog to hot hockey hunks. The hero of the second book in the Forgotten Goddesses series is Brandon Stevenson, a rugged D-man for the fictional Reading Railers hockey team. If you think I have a thing for hockey players, you'd be right. So sit back and enjoy. And come back every day for the next few weeks for more.

To begin with, let's talk pretty boy. Has to be David Booth. Oh my. The smile, the eyes, the hair. And the guy can skate. And score. He's recently been traded to the Canucks but you can't trade that smile.
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Discover the world of Etruscan magic

In advance of the release of HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS (Amazon, B&N), the second book in the Forgotten Goddesses series, on December 6, you can get several books in the Etruscan Magic series at bargain prices.

First up, SPELL BOUND (Amazon, B&N), now on sale for $3.99.

Shea Tedaldi is the only thing standing between her six-year-old brother and the men who killed their parents. Descendants of the ancient Etruscan magical race, Shea and her brother keep powerful secrets that make them the targets of the evil Malandante. They've been looking for a safe haven but the bad guys are gaining on them and Shea needs a hero, a guardian who won't falter in the face of danger. Gabriel Borelli is a warrior born to protect the Etruscan witches living under a curse. He's dedicated to breaking the spell and avenging the murder of his father by the Malandante. He won't let anything--or anyone--get in his way. Not even the one woman who may hold the key to his quest...and his heart

In December, Sourcebooks will offer WHAT A GODDESS WANTS (Amazon, B&N) the first book in the Forgotten Goddesses series, for $3.99.


In his arms, her magic powers are on the rise...
Tessa, Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, is desperately fighting off a malicious god, but her powers are weakening. She needs a hero and fast, because only sexual energy can give her strength. So she seeks out Caligo, whose sexual prowess is legendary...
And she's the only one who can bring him into the light...
Caligo is a fabled Cimmerian warrior determined to stay away from spoiled goddesses who trample hearts after they've had their fun. But there's something irresistibly hot and inviting about Tessa, and he knows he's her only chance to escape the encroaching darkness...

Wanna read the very first adventures published in the Etruscan series? Ellora's Cave has dropped the price on SEDUCED BY MAGIC (Amazon, B&N), SEDUCED IN SHADOW (Amazon, B&N), SEDUCED & ENSNARED (Amazon, B&N), SEDUCED & ENCHANTED (Amazon, B&N), SEDUCED BY CHAOS (Amazon, B&N) and SEDUCED BY DANGER (Amazon, B&N) to prices you don't want to miss.

A sneak peak at HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS

Yes, it's November and my last post was Oct. 3. Bad Steph!

I do have an excuse. I was working on revisions for GODDESS IN THE MIDDLE. Pretty intensively, actually. But now that it's gone back to my editor, I'm starting to gear up for the release of HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS, Book 2 in the Forgotten Goddesses series.

I'm planning blogs, blogs and more blogs beginning Monday Nov. 14. We're gonna be talking Hockey Hunks. Lots of hot, hockey hunks. Make sure you stop back next Monday to join in. I'll also be devoting my Tumblr blog to hot hockey hunks (in addition to my other favorite subjects like books, music, TV and movies) as well, so be sure to check me out there.

Now, how about a little preview of HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS...



     Lucy's gaze followed Brandon's hands as he unbuttoned his shirtand toed off his sneakers.     The man had huge hands, scarred and tough. She couldn't wait to feelthem against her naked skin. Her skin fairly vibrated with her desire and shetook a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She couldn't remember everbeing this nervous with a man before.    She was a Goddess. She didn't do nerves.    But this man, this eteri, made her knees weak and herbreasts ache    She'd never had an eteri in her bed, had never met onewho evoked this heated response from her. Was it hormonal, something to do withthe moon cycle? The full moon would rise in only two days. No, she couldn'tblame her reaction on the moon. She simply wanted him.


HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS is set for release December 1 but will probably be showing up on bookstore shelves very soon. Let me know if you see it. Send me a pix. I love those.

October Reads

Ah, October. Really not loving your cooler temps. I'm more a summer girl. But October is good for one thing...paranormal romance.

The nights are longer and start earlier, which means I'm not (that) embarrassed to be in my pajamas by 6 p.m. and settled on the couch to watch TV or read.

[image error] Read what? Well, tomorrow, I'll be buying Thea Harrison's SERPENT'S KISS. I'm loving this series. DRAGON BOUND and  STORM'S HEART were strong additions to the PNR field and I'm anxious to read Rune's story and intrigued with Carling's character. Harrison's style can be compared to JR Ward's (that's a compliment) but her world-building is unique.

[image error] I'll also be adding THE GOBLIN KING to my TBR list. Shona Husk is a fellow Sourcebooks author who's also breaking out of the ebook market. Love the cover and the blurb is intriguing.

Cursed by a Druid millennia ago, Roan lives a bleak existence in the Shadowlands, desperately trying to retain his soul and not succumb to the goblin horde. When a beautiful human summons him to grant a wish, he sees a glimmer of hope. But will she ever agree to be his queen?

I've also got JR Ward's ENVY in the list, Jim Butcher's CHANGES and I'm finishing up JD Robb's TREACHERY IN DEATH.

Roarke from Robb's In Death series is the ultimate romance hero and Butcher's Harry Dresden is the man I want at my back when zombies or evil werewolves come knocking at my door. Sure, Harry may destroy your home as he's saving your life but he does it with a good heart.

I'm also going to be giving this book a go: OCEANBORNE by Katherine Irons. Never read her but the blurb is intriguing and I love the cover.

[image error] Elena Carter has loved the sea all her life. As an underwater archaeologist, she works with it every day, cajoling it into giving up the treasures and mysteries of its past. But when she pulls a handsome stranger from the water in the midst of a storm, she realizes there is much she still has to learn. Taking shelter from the tempest, they experience sensual awakenings, pleasures different from any they have felt before. But the stranger, her intoxicating Prince Orion, disappears, leaving nothing but an ancient artifact.

Reluctantly returning to her landbound life, Elena finds more pieces to a puzzle that baffles her even as it hints at greater discoveries yet to be made. She longs to feel Orion's arms around her just one more time, and to ask him about the secrets hidden in the deep, secrets inextricably bound up with Orion and their unquenchable passion. But who—or what—is he? And once she has known the touch of the sea, can Elena return to the world she left behind?

What's on your reading list for this month? Anything new I should I know about?

SPELL BOUND...Darkly Enchanted #1

Magic lives among us,
if you know where to look...

SPELL BOUND is the first book in the Darkly Enchanted series.

I actually wrote this book before I started the Magical Seduction series. I had this idea about curses and witches and magical protectors but I knew I didn't want to do Celtic witches. I wanted something that came from my heritage, which is Italian on my dad's side.

When I started researching Italian witchcraft, I had no idea of the rich history I'd find, in particular the work of Raven Grimassi. I devoured ITALIAN WITCHCRAFT and HEREDITARY WITCHCRAFT, which in turn led me to ETRUSCAN ROMAN REMAINS by Charles Godfrey Leland and finally led to my obsession with the Etruscans and books written by Etruscan scholars like Larissa Bonfante and Sybille Haynes.

Make no mistake, SPELL BOUND is first and foremost a romance. There's sexual tension building to steamy sex and a happily-ever-after. There's magic and bad guys and a curse and a young boy named Leo who, along with Cat, is one of my all-time favorite characters.

Shea is a strong heroine who's committed to keeping her brother Leo safe, even if that means asking the forbidding Gabriel for help. Gabriel is a magical protector with revenge on his mind. But Shea and Leo worm their way into his heart until he has to make the decision to give up his quest or give up the woman who steals his heart and condemn the boy to a fate worse than death.

Interested? You can find SPELL BOUND at Amazon and B&N, soon be available through Smashwords and in print.

How about an excerpt? A little about Gabriel, a little about Shea.

Excerpt:Another dead end.Gabriel Borelli slammed thefront door behind him and threw his coat at the nearest chair. It missed andfell to the floor with a heavy thud.Fuck it. He'd check theweapons later.Right now, he needed adrink. That bottle of Mezzaluna vodka in the cabinet didn't stand a chance. Notafter the month he'd had.Four fucking-endless weekschasing a rumor that turned into a dead end. The versipellis Harry had put him in touch with had been positive she'dseen a man who fit Dario Paganelli's description in a restaurant in the OuterBanks. It'd been his first lead in more than a year, but it'd been a damn bust.And now it was time to facethe music for his absence.Bottle in hand, he took ahealthy swallow before he picked up the black handset from the 1940s-era phoneand dialed the eight-number code to get Phil."May I help you?"As always, that high-pitchedfemale voice made him think of the old Lily Tomlin phone-operator skit on"Laugh In." His dad had loved that show."It's Brown. Messages?"Phil's purely feminine sighmade his temples throb.Damn, this is gonna suck."There are several, as youwould know if you'd checked in every week, as you're supposed to. Not once amonth, Gabriel."Gods be damned. He was a grigorio, a lean, mean, Etruscan bad-asswhose enhanced senses made it damn-near impossible for anyone to get the dropon him. His affinity for all metals but iron gave him the power to slap bulletsout of the air with a simple spell. And his unusual strength made him hard tokill and nearly impossible to beat in a fight.And Phil was not his motherso why the hell did he, a twenty-eight-year-old man, feel like he had toapologize?No way. He wasn't gonna doit. He didn't need to—"Look, I'm sorry." Shit,you're an idiot. "I've been out of touch—""And where exactly have youbeen?"Not in this lifetime, babe. "Personal business. What messages?"Phil huffed and, for a fewseconds, he was sure he was going to have to apologize again and that mightjust make him chug the rest of the bottle."Crimson Moon called threetimes."Yeah, he'd figured his momwould call at least once while he was gone, even though she had his cellnumber."Lupe's Low End calledtwice."Goddamn Quinn. His bestfriend needed to get over his distrust of cell phones, too."And one attempt was made toprocure your services."Fuck. For Phil to forward anoutside call to him meant someone had asked for him by name. That usually onlyhappened when another grigorio wantedhis help."Who was it?""Unknown."Huh? "What the hell doesthat mean?""That means," Phil huffed, "shedidn't leave her name.""And this female asked forme by name?""Yes, she asked for Mr.Brown. When I told her you were unavailable, she hung up."Well, shit. The existence ofthe grigori and the cursed streghe they protected was a carefullymaintained secret, even among the Etruscans. The story of how the women hadbeen cursed by Fabrizio Paganelli to unending life had become myth. How theirsons were born grigori, the greatwarrior protectors thought to be extinct, a legend.For someone to ask for himby his call name…"Christ, Phil. Did you findout where she was calling from? Did you—""Do you think I don't knowmy job, Gabriel Borelli?"Fuck. Second rule of being agrigorio—Don't piss off Phil."Of course you know yourjob. I'm sor—""Don't bother," she snapped."I don't appreciate your language or your insinuations, Gabriel. You areexpected at ritual in four nights. I suggest you get some sleep before you getyour ass over there. And the next time this phone rings, I expect you to answerit."Gabriel took another slugfrom the bottle as Phil hung up on him. Loudly. And not before shoving a tinyspell through the line to make his head ache. Damn, that woman was vindictive.Still, he should havechecked in. It was part of the deal. Grigoriwere to be available at all times, any time. His father, the former Mr. Brown,never would've missed a check-in.No, Davis Borelli had beenone of the best grigori ever.Before he'd been murdered byDario Paganelli.No, Dario hadn't pulled thetrigger. But the bastard was responsible for his dad's death. Just as Dario'sfather Fabrizio had been responsible for the curse that had arrested the livesof the streghe.Maybe Fabrizio would havebeen more careful if he'd known the curse would screw his son, too. The deitiescould be spiteful when they granted your wishes. Fabrizio had cursed thethirteen streghe but that curse had trappedhis son Dario in eternal life, as well.And now Dario hunted the streghe with a bloody vengeance. Thebastard had a lot to answer for. And Gabriel would make sure he answered inblood.Another few slugs and thebottle surrendered its last drop.Gabriel's gaze slid to thecabinet. No more Mezzaluna. He had a bottle of Grey Goose, but on top of the Messaluna,it might be lethal.He sat there for a fewseconds, wondering just how drunk he needed to be to take his mind off the factthat he wasn't any closer to finding Dario and murdering him.Pretty damn drunk.He definitely needed achange of scenery.***

Coming Soon...Spell Bound

Magic lives among us,
If you know where to look...  

She'srunning from fate…
SheaTedaldi is the only thing standing between her six-year-old brother and the menwho killed their parents. Descendents of the ancient Etruscan magical race, Sheaand her brother keep powerful secrets that make them the targets of the evil Malandante. They've been looking for a safehaven but the bad guys are gaining on them and Shea needs a hero, a guardianwho won't falter in the face of danger…
He'slooking for the key to break the spell…

Gabriel Borelli is a warrior born to protect theEtruscan witches living under a curse. He's dedicated to breaking the spell andavenging the murder of his father by the Malandante.He won't let anything—or anyone—get in his way. Not even the one woman who mayhold the key to his quest…and his heart. 

Available Tuesday, September 27

Welcome EC author Anya Richards

Take one reclusive inventor. Throw him together with adisgraced heiress who can't figure out exactly what it is she's inherited. Adda few almost too-realistic automatons, a maid hardly anyone can understand anda couple of machines made for pleasure. What you have is the recipe for BEYOND PRUDENCE,a Steampunk romp of a novel.
This book was a blast to write. In the past most of mynovels were fairly dark, but Prudence, William and their pals just keptlightening the atmosphere, making me giggle and have more fun than should belegal when writing a book. Yeah, they have issues, but don't we all? Justbecause things are crazy, they seemed to be saying, there's no reason not tohave a rollicking good time while we get them sorted out.
Mind you, the hero and heroine seemed quite shocked by whatthey were doing to each other, and who can blame them? In their worldrespectability is worth its weight in gold, and what they're up not only throwspropriety out the window but kicks its arse down the street for good measure.And, at the end of the day, sometimes the things others value turn out to benot the most important after all. Sometimes you simply have to tell the worldto go shag itself.
Preferably while the hero and heroine do a bit of shaggingtoo, apparently.
Beyond Prudence is available now from Ellora's Cave. Youcan read an excerpt here andwatch the trailer here.
Thanks to Stephfor having me here today, and I hope you'll all be tempted to read Beyond Prudence.
Take careAnya Richards JourneysThrough Seduction
Blurb:
The mysterious device in PrudenceHastings' basement could be the answer to her prayers, if she could just figureout what it is. Needing William Foreman's help, she's prepared to do whateverit takes to gain it. Even putting aside her dislike of machines andvolunteering to test the risqué apparatus he's developing for the Acolytes ofConcupiscence.
Will's expecting a lightskirt for atest subject and is horrified when he realizes the tempting woman he justdebauched is very much a lady. But despite his best intentions, something keepsdrawing him back to her, and it isn't just the thought of discovering the innerworkings of her uncle's last invention. Unlocking their passion is turning out tobe a far more pleasurable, if dangerous, job.Beset by desire, automatons,secrets, an unintelligible maid and the danger of utter ruin should theirassociation become known, Will and Prudence haven't a chance in hell ofremaining unscathed.Fire up the boiler, open thesluices and take cover. Something's about to explode…

Cover Reveal: Goddess in the Middle

Every author has a love-hate relationship with covers. As the writer, you can give a description of the characters you see in your head but you can't totally convey that image to the cover artist so you're never quite sure what those creative minds will come up with.

I've been lucky. I've never gotten a cover I truly hated. And some are so beautiful, they take your breath away.

The covers for my Forgotten Goddesses series from Sourcebooks have all been beautiful and when the third arrived a few weeks ago, I couldn't click it open fast enough.

I was so NOT disappointed. It's gorgeous. I love it. And I hope you all will too. And yes, it's a menage. Remy and Rom are lucani, Etruscan wolf shifters, who fall for the beautiful Amity, Etruscan Goddess of Health. It will take both of them to protect her from the threat sent by the God of the Underworld.

To get the full effect, I think you need to see the entire series as a set. Beautiful,  yes?

Rest in peace, Kate, my friend

I lost a friend today. A friend who was dear to me even though we never got the chance to meet in person.

Kate and I "met" online several years ago when we both signed with the same agent. For years, she and I exchanged emails about the industry, our lives, books, writing...everything. Sometimes, we'd skip a few months but we always knew the other was still out there, still at our computer and ready to respond.

Kate and I were at the same point in our careers when we first met through RWA. We'd signed with our first agent and things seemed to be looking up for us. Unfortunately, nothing ever materialized for either of us with that agent...except our friendship.

We exchanged long emails about everything. Writing, family, books. We talked about our frustrations with the publishing industry. We talked plotting and bounced ideas off of one another and Kate always had a balanced, thoughtful response. I knew any comment she made would be insightful.


Kate's been sick for as long as I've known her though I didn't know until at least a year into our friendship because she never complained. Everything she ever said about the cancer that took her life was so matter-of-fact. No tantrums, no breakdowns. There were times I could tell how frustrated she was at having to deal with the physical and mental issues that went with being sick. But she never whined. Not once.

Kate and I hadn't emailed for several months when I got a message from one of her best friends. Sheryl said Kate wasn't doing well and she'd wanted me to know how much she'd appreciated our friendship. I immediately emailed Kate to let her know I was thinking about her and was thrilled to get a response. She'd bounced back and was still fighting and happy to hear from me. Unfortunately, that rebound didn't last long.

I knew Kate was sick and I knew it was bad. I just always thought she's beat it and we'd meet at an RWA conference one day, like we'd planned a few years ago. Her health got in the way that time too. She'd been too sick to make the trip to New Jersey. Which absolutely sucked because I know she'd been so looking forward to that trip. And I'd been so excited to meet her.


My sincere condolences to Kate's husband and her father, her family and friends. You were lucky to have her.

Uproar

So, you probably all know I have a thing for hot rock gods. Friday, I got to see some of my absolute favorites in action at the Uproar in Camden. Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold on the same stage. Be still my heart.

That's Matt Tuck on the left, Jason James and Michael Thomas


And  Matt again.

Then there's Zacky Vengeance and Synester Gates from Avenged Sevenfold



Found a great new group too. Hell or Highwater, loved their live set. Singer is the drummer for Atreyu. Great album. Solid rock n roll. Love it.