Selena Blake's Blog, page 61

Snippet Saturday–Oct 8

This week's Snippet Saturday theme is gifts. I don't write a lot of "gift" scenes but I think this one really works because of the characters and their background. Enjoy.

"Let's go for a walk," he murmured.

His deep voice coaxed her from her melancholy. Then his words settled in and her gaze swerved to the window and then down at the cotton shirt and jeans. "Out there? In all that snow? Isn't it a little cold?"

He chuckled. "Go look on the entry table, petit."

Oh, she loved when he called her that. Heart racing, she stepped past him and scurried into the foyer. She found three large bags with a logo on the side she didn't recognize. Excitement washed over her as she reached inside. Burke really was the most thoughtful man on the planet. How in the world was she going to repay him?

"Sweats. Jeans. A few other necessities. A couple of sweaters and a coat," he murmured from behind her.

She whirled toward him, tears in her eyes. "Thank you sounds paltry," she whispered.

"What are friends for?"

Friends. She sniffed. It'd been hard for her to make friends, being the tallest werecoyote around. How pathetic was it that Burke was the first person she honestly considered her friend?

"I didn't mean to make you cry," he said, hands shoved into his pockets. He looked unsure for the first time since she'd known him.

"These are happy tears."

"Ahh." Relief relaxed his jaw. "Go get dressed."

Excerpted from Stranded with a Cajun Werewolf

And be sure to visit the other Saturday Snippet authors:

Anne Rainey
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Alison Kent
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Lacey Savage
Shiloh Walker

FTF: Mine Until Morning by Samantha Hunter

Today's extra special treat is courtesy of Samantha Hunter. This is from her June release Mine Until Morning. Most of us have a soft spot for wounded heroes. If you do, you're going to fall for Jonas Berringer…hard. Trust me. I've read his book.

If you're already sold, here are the links you'll want to click on.

PB:http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Until-Morning-Harlequin-Blaze/dp/0373796242/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Until-Morning-Harlequin-Blaze-ebook/dp/B004XDY11E/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mine-until-morning-samantha-hunter/1102081840?ean=9781459205499&itm=1&usri=mine%2buntil%2bmorning

eHarl: http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/E223535B-3201-4825-8AF5-32E8797CDDCA/10/141/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=13DCEF9F-61BC-413F-BC0A-CA0DE1917D0F

Want a sampling? Read on!

Jonas Berringer flipped the CLOSED sign on the door of the soap shop, Au Naturel. The ten hours that the shop was open, from nine to six, seemed like days when all he could think about was being alone with the owner of the shop, Tessa Rose.

It was a swelteringly hot Philadelphia evening, which was the norm lately, though it was cool in the store front, the soft hum of the air conditioning making it comfortable where he stood. Plain wood shelves lined the walls of the shop, artfully stacked with every color and scent of soap and lotion he could imagine. Small baskets of samples, lip balms and various other trinkets and testers were placed in strategic areas where customers would find them.

It was classy, elegant and yet still somehow warm and inviting, much like Tessa herself. Aromas of what he now recognized as jasmine, sandalwood, orange and vanilla, among others, filtered through his senses.

The backroom wasn't air conditioned, and a blast of heat hit him as he walked into the small foundry, the workroom where Tessa made her products. It was a little bigger than the actual store and twice as pungentHe'd gotten used to it though, and it didn't seem overwhelming anymore.

Several tubs and two stoves took up almost all of one wall, and there were shelves of wood soap molds and various containers, amber vials and tools there as well. On the other side of the room, shelves of curing soaps lined a wall next to a refrigerated unit where more perishable supplies were kept. There was a table for cutting and wrapping next to the desk where Tessa did her accounting.

"Jonas," she said, her pretty blue-grey eyes warming as she looked up before he announced his presence. He knew that she'd been waiting for him, too. They'd been dancing around this, around each other, for  several weeks. Now, it was finally going to happen.

He closed the distance between them, oblivious to the slippery coating of lotions and oils slathered on her hands; she'd been working. He didn't care about the mess as he pulled her up against him.

"Jonas!," she exclaimed with a laugh before he covered her mouth with his in a hot kiss that left no guessing as to how hungry he was for her. He walked her back until she was pinned between him and the table behind her. She moaned, pressing tight against him, returning his passion kiss for kiss.

Jonas buried his face in her neck. "You like driving me crazy, don't you?" he accused playfully, nipping her earlobe.

Tessa had always been hands-off. The boss's daughter. A woman way out of his league. But being around her twenty-four seven for the past weeks had pushed his control to the limit, and now all bets were off.

She sighed against his cheek as he nibbled at the soft lines of her throat, and then pulled away.

"I've been trying my hardest. I thought you'd never give in," she said with a sexy smile. "You and that iron control of yours."

"You have too many clothes on," he responded gruffly.

Continuing to smile at him in that minx-like way she had, she wiped her hands on a nearby cloth and slid the smock she always wore from her shoulders.

Underneath, a simple yellow sundress with a halter top tied around her graceful neck. When she reached up to hang the smock on a hook by the worktable, he could see her delectable shape outlined underneath.

He wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her.

"I'll be right back. I need to lock up," she said, sliding him a glance, still playing. Tempting him. Making him wait.

"I already did. We're alone. Come here," he said.

"You're so demanding," she murmured,, returning to his arms.

"Desperate for you is more like it," he whispered against her lips.

"I like the sound of that," she purred. "And I feel the same way."

"I can't get you out of my head," he confessed, his arms sliding around her.

His hands shook with the effort to slow down, reminding himself that Tessa was a woman to be cherished. A woman he cherished.

He gasped when she nipped at his lower lip with her teeth, apparently rejecting his gentle approach.

"Don't hold back, Jonas," she said in clear invitation, linking her arms around his neck.

He swallowed hard, sliding his hands up over her slim arms and shoulders, tugging at the halter tie. Her eyes darkened to jade, her nipples hardening under the thin fabric.

"I'll give you whatever you want," he promised, and he meant it. "Whatever you need."

"Just you," she said, sending his pulse racing.

He pushed the dress down until her pretty breasts were bared to his view. His eyes moved over her as if unable to completely absorb how gorgeous she was. Taking a peach-toned nipple between his fingers, he pinched gently, then soothed and pinched again, watching her head fall back, cherry lips parting, the pulse in her throat pounding.

She tugged both of his hands up to her breasts and covered them with her own, squeezing. She was so openly sexual, it mesmerized him.

"More, Jonas," she said, making his cock jerk in response.

Gentleness was forgotten in the wake of desire that took him over. Her apartment was right upstairs, her bed just seconds away, but that was too far, too long to wait. He'd take her here, like he had been fantasizing about for days.

Tugging the rest of her dress away, he pulled her up against him for a deep, hard kiss that made them both breathless, his hands everywhere. Over her shoulder, he perused the shelf of oils and ingredients, breaking the kiss to reach back and for a bottle of sweet almond oil.

Dropping a light kiss to her neck, he poured the rich-smelling oil in his hands, smoothing the slippery soft substance over her skin. He started with her slim shoulders, strong from the work she did, but still so delicately shaped. Then he worked his hands down over slope of back and hips. She leaned back into him with a sigh when he slid around to her front, where he spent long minutes massaging her breasts until her head dropped forward and a small moan delivered from her throat.

She was like a piece of sensual art, a perfectly sculpted woman come to life under his hands.

"Jonas, this all feel so good, but I need more," she said, pulling away as she turned to face him. She stood before him in nothing but slight, yellow satin panties, her skin gleaming where he'd worked the oil over her.

"You have no ideas how much I want you," she said, looping her thumbs into the scrap of material and sliding it off until there was nothing between them.

"I think I have some idea," he whispered, taking off his own jeans and shirt. She walked into his arms and they were skin-to-skin, finally. The satisfaction of it was mind-boggling.

He ran his hands reverently over her thighs, the rounded globes of her ass, the curve of her hips. His erection jutted against her, eager and needy.

"I want you, Tessa," he said, his breath catching as kissed her.

"Then take me," she invited with a sultry gaze.

He reached for an open jar of honey she had forgotten to put away and dripped golden dollops on her breasts then licked it off. As he finished, she was shuddering and straining toward him, her nails digging into his arms.

His hand slid under her knee to pull her leg up around his hip, his cock brushing against the silky, wet flesh he wanted to bury himself in.

"Jonas, please," she begged. "Now."

"Not yet. . .let's make it last," he said. As much as he wanted her, something bothered him. There was something about the light in the room that didn't seem right. He looked around, making sure they were alone.

A lingering sense of dread held him off for a few more seconds.

What was wrong?

Nothing.

Tessa moved against him, oblivious to any problem.

But it was his job to protect her. That was why he was there in the first place, her hired bodyguard. There had been some threats against the Senator Rose and his family, and Jonas had been more than willing to keep an eye on Tessa. In fact, he'd found it difficult to take his eyes off of her.

He glanced around the foundry once more. Nothing was out of place. He was imagining things, and turned his attention back to the woman in his arms.

Words evaporated for long, steamy moments as Jonas gripped her hips, lifting her up completely against him so that he could plunder her mouth as her he thrust forward, planting himself deep inside her welcoming body. She was hot, tight, and they fit perfectly, as he knew they would.

She pulled back, watching him with smoky eyes as he thrust into her. He could tell when she bit her lip, her eyelids fluttering shut, long lashes brushing her cheeks, that she was close.

He found a steady rhythm and tried to focus on every nuance of her as he held her. Small sounds came from her throat that he found that sexier than hell, her mouth forming a perfect O as she trembled and started to careen over the edge.

He bent to suckle a breast, flicking his tongue against her hardened nipple. That small touch pushed her over. A soft scream fell from her lips, her body tensing and pulsing around him as she came.

Jonas wanted to join her, but he needed more, thrusting faster, harder, focusing on the heat of her body, how soft her skin was under his hands. Her inner muscles fisted around him tightening and releasing again as she writhed in his arms, and he moved faster.

The satisfaction he'd craved was so close it was almost torture, but he couldn't quite get there. His body burned as he drove himself into her, precariously hanging on the edge of the orgasm of his life.

Tessa leaned back in his arms, watching him curiously, her expression serene, happy and satisfied, but somehow distant.

"My father is not going to be very happy about this," she said, sliding her hands up over her ripe breasts, smiling at him. The room around her became hazy and unreal in a way that made him squint.

Then she became transparent, too, the tight heat of her body fading.

"No, wait, please," he cried out, reaching for her.

The golden light around her was fading. The acute emptiness, the ache of satisfaction denied made him gasp in agony, chilled now, shivering.

He was alone. Only darkness remained.

Jonas shuddered with cold as his eyes opened, unseeing, but awake nonetheless. He was sweating and the AC was blasting directly on him. As he rolled to the side, he swore as his foot tangled in a sheet and nearly sent him sprawling on the floor.

He was still hard from the dream, and even the cold blast from the AC didn't seem to diminish the ache between his legs. His body jerked as he remembered Tessa's imaginary touch. The emptiness that always followed the dream was an ache in his chest.

Providing his own release wasn't an attractive option. It wasn't an orgasm he craved; it was Tessa.

He had to get her out of his mind, or he was going to go crazy. He supposed it was his punishment, a special little kind of hell, for letting himself get distracted from his job. He'd been assigned to protect her, not have sex with her.

He should have turned around and walked out the first time he entered the shop. When he saw her, it was like being set on fire. Jonas had had plenty of women in his life, but none that made him want at first sight. Not like Tessa.

Senator Rose was responsible for sending Berringer Security several contracts, particularly after Jonas's younger brother had successfully prevented a kidnapping attempt on the Senator a few years earlier.

James Rose had even become a friend of sorts.. When he'd asked them to guard his daughter after receiving threats concerning a bill he was authoring, they couldn't refuse. The Senator had trusted Jonas to keep his daughter safe, and he'd done a shitty job of it. Not one of Jonas's better moments.

Jonas did the usual background checks, and he knew about Tessa's reputation going in. The senator's "wild child," Tessa was a free-spirit, non-conformist. She was also heart-stoppingly beautiful and completely off-limits.Father and daughter had a tumultuous relationship, to say the least. From what Jonas had seen at a distance, Tessa looked like one more spoiled rich girl who liked to rub her father's nose in her exploits. He'd known plenty of that particular type over the years.

Tessa had made several questionable choices in relationships, among other things, that seemed more about thwarting her father's control than anything else.

However, Jonas discovered that the view up close was somewhat different. For one thing, Tessa wasn't a girl anymore, but a mature woman who ran a successful business. As he got to know her, he couldn't help but see her in a different light, though he knew her relationship with her father was still troubled.

Getting in between the senator and his daughter was dangerous. Jonas had to pick one side or the other, and he chose the side that paid the bills. Besides, he knew a little too well how that kind of slip could come back and bite you in the ass.

Guarding Tessa had been a little more intense than his usual assignments. They'd had been around each other twenty-four/seven for several weeks, almost constantly together. He didn't let her out of his sight, day or night, as per the Senator's orders. It made it harder to control the heat that had flared between them.

Tessa wasn't big on control, and she tempted his from every angle she could. One night, when they they'd returned from a party, he'd given in, right in the parking lot behind the store.

He'd watched her all evening, dancing with friends in a dress that had been molded to her, what there was of it, anyway. A few of the friends she'd danced with had been male, and it made Jonas want to claim her as his in a very basic way.

Ridiculous, but true.

Watching her share even an innocent dance with another man had driven him over the edge, and by the time they'd returned home, he couldn't hold back any longer.

He was so distracted that he hadn't noticed someone watching them from a dark corner of the lot.

The guy had approached from behind while he had her in his arms. A hard slam to the head had knocked him out. Tessa had fought back and, admirably, had taken out the intruder with a bat she kept in the back seat of her car.

Jonas had awakened at the hospital later, completely blind.

The Senator's aide, Howie, was the first voice he heard after the doctors told him about his condition; apparently Rose wasn't available.

From what Howie said, it was clear Tessa had told them that Jonas had screwed up big time.  He was off the job. Worse, she'd made it sound as if he had been pursuing her, and that he had seduced her that evening instead of keeping his eye on the target.

She'd clearly used him to piss her father off for sending a bodyguard in the first place. He'd known she wasn't crazy about the idea – the Senator had warned him — and she hung him out to dry. He should have seen it coming. That he'd fallen for her added insult to injury.

Jonas had never liked Howie Stanton, but Howie was a Washington insider and had been with the Senator for years. Jonas had noticed on more than one occasion, when the Senator had come to Tessa's shop, how Howie's eyes followed Tessa. His expensive suit and high-profile position didn't make him any less of a lowlife.

But Howie had made the Senator's wishes clear to Jonas: stay away from Tessa, or there would be consequences. Jonas could hear in his tone that the aide relished delivering the news.

Jonas did as the Senator requested.

He hadn't seen or talked to Tessa for a month since the attack, and he didn't plan to. He'd played the fool once, and it wasn't worth the risk to Berringer Security's reputation. The senator could do them a lot of damage if he wanted to.

Feeling for the edge of his bed stand, from which he knew it was about seven steps to the window, Jonas found the AC unit. After a brief struggle with the curtain and the controls, he managed to turn it down to low.

After getting a cup of cold water from the kitchen, he found his way back to the bed. Traffic was busy down on the street, people going about their normal lives. The apartments on his floor were quiet, everyone gone to work.

He picked up the basic clock that they had bought and removed the glass cover from so that he could feel the hand positions.

One o'clock in the afternoon. He'd always been an early riser, but now he slept whenever sleep came and woke at odd hours.

His brothers, Garrett, Ely and Chance were running the business without him until his sight came back. Doctors said his sight would return, but it hadn't.

What if it didn't? What if they were wrong? The chill that ran over him had nothing to do with the AC.

The hard hit to the back of his head had left him with a concussion and severe bruising to his optic nerve, causing temporary but complete blindness. The duration of "temporary" was unknown. Doctors had no idea when his vision would return. He'd seen two specialists, all offering the same fuzzy explanations of the mysteries of the brain.

Be patient, they said.

He shook his head, running a hand through hair that he'd let grow too long. It bugged him, especially in the heat, but he didn't feel like hearing the questions and sympathetic comments from his barber or anyone else. So he'd holed up here, mostly, waiting for life to return to normal.

Jonas reached to the left, groping to find his cell phone, and he held it in his hand. Thankfully, his was an older model with a hard keyboard that he could still use, though he sometimes hit the wrong button.

He still had the number for Tessa's shop on speed dial, number two, second only to the office, and he ran his thumb over the button, as if tempting himself. He should erase it, but couldn't quite do it.

Cursing, he put the phone down and found his way to the shower. As much as he wanted Tessa, he'd get over it eventually. His blindness made things worse, blowing his attraction to her all out of proportion. He was frustrated and bored. When he had his sight back, he'd be able to move on, get his own life back.

Maybe the hit in the head had kept him from making an even bigger mistake. At least the attack had happened before they were both naked, out in the open for anyone to see.

No sooner than he had turned on the water did he hear a knock on the front door – soft, but he could still hear it. He'd always had sharp senses, even before he was blind. You didn't survive in his line of work without them.

Still, there was a noticeable uptick in his perception that would have been kind of cool if it weren't at the expense of his vision.

"Keep your pants on, I'm getting there," he said as the knock sounded again, harder this time. He wrapped a towel around his waist and shut the water off. It had to be one of his brothers, come by to pull him out of bed, no doubt. He had another doctor's appointment that afternoon. It galled him not being able to go anywhere on his own, and thathe required help for everything.

It had to be Garrett, who had been fussing around him like a mother hen since the attack. Jonas made his way to the door, opening it and turning to walk back into the room.

"I know, I slept late, but the appointment isn't for another hour. Give me a chance to clean up, then we can go," he said.

"Jonas?"

He stopped in his tracks, frozen. He wasn't dreaming now. He didn't think so, at least.

"Tessa?" he said, his voice choked, and not sounding like his at all. He turned toward her voice, knowing this was real as the familiar scents of honey and almond filled the room. His heart slammed in his chest.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Ready now? Here are those links again.

PB:http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Until-Morning-Harlequin-Blaze/dp/0373796242/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Until-Morning-Harlequin-Blaze-ebook/dp/B004XDY11E/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mine-until-morning-samantha-hunter/1102081840?ean=9781459205499&itm=1&usri=mine%2buntil%2bmorning

eHarl: http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/E223535B-3201-4825-8AF5-32E8797CDDCA/10/141/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=13DCEF9F-61BC-413F-BC0A-CA0DE1917D0F

Writing isn't who you are, it's what you do

I once was a writer who let weeks go by between writing sessions. I'd let life get in the way along with the many miscellaneous tasks involved with "being a writer."

But as I said on twitter recently: The key to being a successful writer: actually writing. Not just saying you're writing.

I see this far too much in my writing friends these days. They'll come up with any excuse under the sun as to why their fanny isn't in the chair, their fingers aren't on the keyboard and they aren't writing. The sad truth is while so many people want to be a "writer" they never get around to the part about "being a writer." IE, the writing.

I know all this sounds harsh. And yeah, I have plenty of days where I don't get any writing done at all. And it's on those days that I think I should hand in my writer card.

Here are three things that have helped me write more, rather than just say "I'm going to get around to it":

1. Write first thing in the morning before doing anything else (aside from bathroom breaks, clothes, and coffee.)

2. Set a timer. Race against the clock.

3. Challenge your writing friends to a writing dual. See who can write the most in 10 minutes.

There you have it. Three quick and easy tips to get more writing done each day. Now the important question is, are you going to make the time to write? Or slack off like you did yesterday?

Tags: writing

Selena Books in Print? Coming Soon

I get this question a lot and it's a fairly common search term. So this Sunday, our Someone Searched for It is: are Selena Blake books in print?

Or some variation there of.

Answer: No, Selena Blake books are not (as of September '11) available in print. If you have a print copy you either printed it out (which is fine) or got snookered by a pirate (arg!).

In the works: A print anthology of the Stormy Weather books. Yay!

Note: If you're interested in a print version of my books, leave me a comment (or shoot me an email.) This will help me gauge the interest. And you know, nice messages make me work faster.

Snippet Saturday – Oct 1

It's that time again. Snippet Saturday time. Ready for a little excerpt from one of my books? I thought so. Enjoy!

The lights flickered once, twice, and then they were cast into darkness. With no light, her other senses immediately took over. The rain beat against the house furiously. It seemed alive, like it was trying to claw its way in. A nervous tremor coursed through her veins.

A heavy hand settled on her knee, and she jumped, a girly squeal erupting from her throat.

"Shh… you're okay. Let your eyes adjust." By the tone she could tell it was Jules who was comforting her.

Slowly the candle light from the living room brightened their corner of the kitchen.

"Looks like we're done for a while," he said, his voice low… seductive.

She turned to look at him, able to make out his features, the hungry look in his eyes. Glancing over at André, she saw him watching her closely. The intimate inspection unnerved her. Made her want to shift in her seat.

But the hand on her knee squeezed gently, reassuring her. When she looked into Jules' eyes, she hardly noticed the rumble of thunder or the howling wind.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered.

"Are you asking permission?" she asked and held her breath.

"No," he said roughly, and before she could blink, his lips were crushing hers. She shifted toward him, closing her eyes. He cupped her cheek in his hand, and she wanted to rub herself against it. To soak up his warmth, his strength.

He probed at her lips with his tongue, and she opened for him. As his tongue swept inside she heard someone groan. She wasn't sure who.

He tasted rich… of wine and gumbo. Their tongues danced back and forth, and she clung to his shoulders. Her breasts were heavy and aching for his touch. She felt hungry, empty.

Slowly he severed the kiss, and a tiny sound of protest escaped her lips.

"Damn, you know how to kiss. So soft and tempting. Giving and demanding all at once," he said, sounding out of breath. "I could kiss you for hours."

That could be arranged, she thought blissfully.

It was as if the whole day, since she'd first caught sight of them in the woods, had been leading up to this moment. Priming her, readying her for his kiss. His touch.

A warm hand curled around her shoulder, and she turned to look up at André. That predatory look was back, and it called to something inside of her. Quickly she glanced back at Jules.

He cocked his head to the side. "You didn't think he was going to let me keep you all to myself, did you?"

Excerpted from Bitten in the Bayou

And be sure to visit the other Saturday Snippet authors:

Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Selena Robins
Eliza Gayle
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Mandy M Roth
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Alison Kent
Beth-Ann Mason
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Lauren Dane
Lacey Savage
TJ Michaels
Shiloh Walker

FTF: Cipher by Moira Rogers

Calling Paranormal fans. I'm sure you've heard of Moira Rogers. Right?

You're in for a treat because today I've got a wee excerpt from Cipher.

Cipher is the fourth book in Rogers' Southern Arcana series.

Fourteen months ago, Kat Gabriel learned a brutal truth. Under the wrong circumstances, her empathic ability is no gift. It's a deadly weapon. Now her soul bears the inescapable weight of those deaths—and it aches for the loss of the easy relationship she once shared with Andrew Callaghan. Unleashing her power saved his life, but she couldn't save his humanity.

Since the attack that turned him into a werewolf, Andrew's sole focus has been to make himself stronger. Pushing her away hurt like hell, but Kat doesn't need a friend. She needs a protector strong enough to shield her from the supernatural world that forced her to kill. Strong enough to resist their volatile connection.

As Kat's quest to understand the violent legacy of her past leads her into the darkest underbelly of the psychic world, Andrew is at her side. Yet every step forward rips open old emotional wounds and shakes their control. Where they're headed, distractions of any kind can be fatal—especially when the greatest threat they pose is to each other.

Oh, and a word of warning:

The book contains a dangerous shapeshifter who could kill you with his bare hands, an empathic hacker who could kill you with her mind, a psychic cult determined to kill everyone, a lot of violence, a little bit of hope, and a happily-ever-after seven years in the making.

Get your copy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Samhain Publishing, Sony eBook Store, Books on Board, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks

Enjoy!

Kat stormed the Southeast council's newly acquired headquarters armed with a laptop, a printout of the offending email, and all of her arguments carefully marshaled. Then she went in search of Miguel's brother.

When she knocked, an unintelligible shout from inside beckoned her. She found Julio stirring a big pot of something on the industrial range, and he waved her over as she walked into the kitchen. "I guess those wards Mari put up work. Unless…" He eyed her as he wiped his hands on a towel. "You're not here to kill me, are you?"

She flinched, and hated herself for it. Julio was joking. He wasn't afraid of her–sometimes she thought the damn man wasn't afraid of anyone–and even knowing it in her bones, with the confidence only empathy could bring…she flinched. If she closed her eyes, she might see the office, echoes of the nightmare that still woke her in a cold sweat. Walls painted in blood, wolves howling in challenge–

"You hungry? I got a head start on lunch."

Kat dragged in an unsteady breath and used Julio's confidence to ground herself. He wasn't afraid of her, and the easy strength that surrounded him was better than a warm blanket for a jumpy empath. "No, I was force-fed waffles before I left the apartment."

He laughed. "I know my brother was there, but I'm guessing he wasn't the one who made breakfast."

Of course he knew. Kat had rolled from her bed into the shower, but one shower wouldn't be enough to erase Miguel's scent from her skin, not when he'd spent the night hogging more than half of the bed. Kat felt her cheeks heat and compensated by dropping her laptop bag onto the wide island in the kitchen. "He kept me and Sera company last night and didn't want to drive home."

One dark eyebrow shot up. "Tell the truth–he didn't want to go home, full stop."

Kat eased her laptop out of its case and shrugged. "You know Miguel. He's not all that interested in the shapeshifter new world order."

"That's putting it mildly. Joke's on him, though, because I was here all night." Julio slid onto a stool and propped his elbows on the countertop. "What's up?"

She'd thought of all of the arguments to convince him to help, but the one thing she hadn't considered was where to begin. "You know my parents died a while ago, right? My parents and my aunt and uncle, all at the same time."

"Andrew told me about it, yeah. He said that's how Derek ended up taking care of you."

Andrew's name shouldn't make her heart twist, not after this long. "Derek came down to New Orleans when his parents died, because I was already living here. With his parents, I mean. My mother…" There was no good way to put it, though her father had always tried. Your mother's not feeling so great right now, munchkin. "My mom was a little nuts."

Get your copy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Samhain Publishing, Sony eBook Store, Books on Board, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks

Tags: Moira+Rogers, Featured+this+Friday

Recommended Reads from Selena Fans

Last week I asked my readers for book recommendations. Here's what they came up with:

Spellbound by Claudy Conn
Jayne Anne Krentz "All Night Long"
Anything by Payton Lee
Flash and Bones – Kathy Reichs
Smokin' Seventeen – Janet Evanovich
Sleight of Paw – #2 in the Magical Cats Mystery – Sofie Kelly
Late Eclipses – Seanan McGuire
One Salt Sea – Seanan McGuire
Betrayal – A Haunting Emma Novel – Lee Nichols
Crossroads – An Anna Strong Vampire Novel – Jeanne C. Stein
Bound for the Forest (I believe the author is Kay Berrisford)

I hope I didn't miss anything. If you have a book recommendation or just want to tell me what you're reading, leave a comment below.

 

Tags: book+recommendations

News Flash: Authors Aren't Idiots or Are We?

Here's another blast from the past (blog posts I wrote a while back but never posted until now. ) This one is from February of 2011. Enjoy.

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I was over at MJ Rose's blog and I came across this Memo to Publishers: 8 Things Not to Say to Authors.

It's disheartening to work so hard writing the book, then promoting the book and have a publisher play favorites or not even keep up their end of the bargain. To me, the reason to go with a publisher is because they've built a company (and a following) around distribution. They'd spent years and plenty of $ promoting and building a following. They provide editing and covers and everything that makes a book a book. They solicit reviews on authors' behalf. Take care of distribution. Handle the paperwork.

So it really bugs me when publishers take a huge cut, then drop the ball and expect the author to pick it up and run with it. (Promotion, etc.)

For the traditionally published authors in the audience, I'm not telling you anything new. But for the newbies in the crowd, temper your expectations. It's harder to get strong backing from publishers these days. Budgets are stretched, personnel is overworked and underpaid. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, is feeling the pressure.

We'd be idiots to think that by going with a publisher our chances for success are greater than by ourselves. News flash: publishers expect you to write a fabulous book, build a platform, promote the hell out of it and yourself, and do it all with a smile on your face. I'm not saying that any of that is unreasonable. That's a different post. I'm just saying, go into this biz with your eyes wide open.

photo cred: Rampant.Gaffer

SSFI: Where to find Selena Blake Books

Hello and welcome to a new addition of Someone Searched for It Sunday.

This week's search term is brought to you by the letter W.

Where to find Selena Blake Books

Where can you find Selena Blake books? Whereever digital books are sold including:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
Changeling Press
ARe
Fictionwise
eBook Eros

The links above take you to my author page on each of the sites. To purchase: pick the book you want, add it to your cart, follow the site's instructions for purchasing and downloading. Enjoy!

SB (that stands for Selena Blake, btw) books are not currently available in print (as of Sept 2011). But as always, stay signed up for the SB newsletter to get updates regarding upcoming releases.

photo cred: Elizabeth

Ready to Jump on the Indie Publishing Train? STOP!

Here's a blast from the past (blog posts I wrote a while back but never posted until now. ) This one is from February of 2011. Enjoy.

* * *

In the comments of this blog post Zoe Winters says: it's stupid to just rush and rush to meet an opportunity if your stuff isn't ready for prime time. Because putting out crap or throwing together a sloppy business plan built on sand is not sane business.

That's so true. All the sneering about self-publishing is still alive and well and it'll only get worse if those who are choosing to go the Kindle route aren't publishing quality material. It takes a lot of time and effort to write a great book, triple that and that's what it takes to publish the book yourself.

As an Indie, you alone are responsible for editing, cover art, blurbs, did I mention editing? Let me put it another way. I'm currently in the process of rereleasing a book that was at a publisher for 2 years. It went through rounds of critiquing, revision and then 3 rounds of editing with my editor. I've decided that since I no longer have a word count constraint on the book that there is more to tell, more the characters want to tell. My readers have expressed an interest in knowing more about the world I've created. They want a deeper look into the characters. The cover for this book has been complete for two months. But I'm still revising the book to get it just right. Two months. On a book that was good enough to be published in the first place. It's been to critique partners and will go back to an independent editor before it goes live.

Maybe Zoe and I are crazy for working so hard on our indie releases. But I know I cringe when I hear a writer talking about jumping on board the money train and releasing the first thing that comes out of their fingertips.

photo cred: Simon Pielow