Sue Swift's Blog: Welcome Back, Suzie!, page 9
February 16, 2014
Let’s still celebrate V-Day!
…With Patricia Green’s Journey’s Valentine
What’s it about, you ask?
Journey’s Valentine by Patricia Green
Deuce Journey and his wife Pilar are faced with some tough decisions. Pilar has been offered a new, demanding job with lots of travel, and yet she wants to start a family with Deuce. She’s torn and irritable for weeks over the difficult decision.
Deuce is patient with the wife he loves with all his heart, but even his patience is worn thin when she has an out-and-out tantrum during a family crisis.
It looks like Valentine’s Day is going to be a miserable experience. Can a little Valentine’s candy heart be the answer to their prayers?
And here’s an excerpt:
Pilar was tired, so Deuce wasn’t going to press her to make love, though he wanted to claim his territory. Especially in the face of this new development. He truly didn’t like the idea of her traveling all over and being away from him for so much of the time. He’d miss her in a big way. Pilar had become such a focal point in his life. She was his mate in every way he’d ever imagined a woman could be.
Snuggling up next to him, she put a hand on his bare chest, sliding it down his abdomen after a moment. The tips of her fingers teased his cock through his pajama bottoms and she practically purred against his shoulder. He put his hand over hers. “I thought you were tired, sugar.”
“Not that tired.”
He pulled her hand down to his rapidly hardening dick and gave it a squeeze. Pilar didn’t need any further encouragement. She kneaded his flesh for a moment, then pushed her hand down into his pajama bottoms and grasped him firmly. She rose up on her side and began to kiss his chest, pausing to suck on one of his hard nipples for a moment.
“Mmm.”
“You like that, spank-man?”
“You know I do, sugar.”
“Then I’ll do it again.”
“I reckon that would suit me fine.”
“I love it when you talk Texan to me.”
“Well, ma’am, it is purely my pleasure,” he said, putting on his deepest drawl.
Her lips traveled down his torso and Deuce drank up the attention like fine wine.
Like what you read? Here’s where you can score your very own copy!
Blushing Books (all formats): http://www.blushingbooks.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2700
Amazon: http://goo.gl/wHJ8q6
Patricia Green, in her own words:
I began writing for publication at age seven, when a poem I wrote was printed in a children’s magazine. A long time went by before I got interested in further publications. I guess I was resting on my laurels. Now, I’m the author of more than twenty novels and novellas.
Although I’m an American, I live in Canada with my husband and a whole lot of houseplants.
Things to note: my books are all romances, in that they are about people falling in love and living happily ever after. They also have quite a bit of erotic/adult content, so be ready for the spicy stuff.
Enjoy!
Here’s where you can find her:
Email: pig@patriciagreenbooks.com
Website/Blog: http://www.patriciagreenbooks.com
Spanking romance pages: http://patriciagreenbooks.com/books-featuring-spanking/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Patricia.Green.Romance
Twitter: @PatriciaIGreen
Google+: http://plus.google.com/+PatriciaGreen
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Patricia-Green/e/B002RCB0IK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541511.Patricia_Green
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
–Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com
February 8, 2014
Cover Reveal for a Very Vampiric Snog
http://blissekiss.co.uk/valentines-blisse-kiss/
So what’s special about this Valentine’s Day snog?
It’s combined with a contest running from the 9th to the 15th Feb, with a chance to win a sensational prize and discover some amazing erotica.
The prize on offer is a LELO Ora: The World’s Most Sophisticated Oral Sex Simulator You can experience pure oral pleasures on demand with the first ever sensual massager to offer long, seductive swirls and fast flicks alongside intense vibrations on and around the clitoris. Promising wave after wave of pleasure, ORA provides the most varied and satisfying sensual experiences you will return to again and again. Learn more about ORA
So enjoy the fun…leave a comment to be entered for the prize. I’ll also give away a free ebook!
Celebrating Valentine’s Day 2014 with
a very special snog!
And a cover reveal for Blood is Thicker…
a contemporary vampire tale.
What’s it about, you ask?
Genre: Paranormal action-adventure.
A century-old vampire, Rama is used to shadows and loneliness.
She uses the name Hestia White and lives in a coastal town working as a private investigator. If some bad guys disappear on her shift, no one cares…until John van Helsing shows up. Bearing the name of the vamps’ greatest foe, he interferes in her case and in her life.
Friend, lover or enemy?
And now…the snog.
The set-up is that Rama is determined to rescue a kidnapped baby…whose father is Detective Van Helsing.
A baby’s scream tore the night, rending my unnaturally sensitive ears. I chased the SUV, which accelerated, speeding up to about sixty m.p.h., I figured. I ran faster, matching and exceeding its pace.
I was about a car length behind it when I heard hard-soled shoes pounding the asphalt behind me in a rapid tattoo. To my shock and surprise, John van Helsing drew alongside me, legs pumping, a thin sheen of moisture coating his forehead. Otherwise, he ran without strain.
I shot him a startled glance, but didn’t have time to ask him what the hell was going on or even to tell him to get out of my way. Instead, I gathered myself and jumped to the SUV’s top, seizing the luggage rack’s right rail. Clinging to it, I crawled forward.
Blood is Thicker…
Aromas emanated from the SUV’s interior. I could smell the scumbag’s distinctive, foul miasma, Danny’s baby-sweet fragrance, and another reek, one I couldn’t identify. It reminded me of rotting kelp, but I had scented enough to figure out what was happening inside the SUV. Beneath me, the scumbag held Danny while his seaweed-stinky confederate drove.
With a thump and a tumble, John-boy landed atop the SUV and scooted forward using the left rail of the luggage rack.
I sputtered, “Wha-what are you?”
He managed a tight grin. “How about … an anxious father?”
“Yeah, right,” I said sarcastically. “When werewolves fly.”
“I’m like you.”
Before I had time to register what he’d said, he gave me his pussy-warming smile, then leaned forward and kissed me. He thrust his tongue into my mouth, and when it scraped past my sharp canines, I tasted his blood.
Yes. I sucked greedily. Sweet. Rich. John was a vampire, and he’d fed recently on young, healthy prey. I let myself drown in that lushness for a moment. It suffused my every cell with rapture, energizing me even though I went weak from pleasure. Then I returned the favor, pushing my tongue into his mouth and searching for his canines, deliberately pressing into their edges to give him a part of myself, my blood. The tiny cuts would heal quickly, while the mingling, the sharing would last forever.
An otherworldly tingle started in my lips and tongue, spreading over my flesh like magic rainbows dancing over my skin. All-encompassing pleasure wrapped me in ecstasy. His kiss transported me into another world, a private, magical universe of bliss. For a brief moment, nothing and no one else existed. Desire flamed into violent life, capturing me with unbreakable bonds. My clit quivered, and my pussy clenched with need. I reached for John, grasping his jacket’s lapels, uncaring when I gripped so tight that my greedy, needy fingers tore the gray gabardine.
I cannot begin to describe the communion that’s created when two immortals connect. Kissing is like an orgasm not only of the body, but of the mind and soul as well. (Yes, we have souls, unnatural though they may be).
I tugged him closer, frantic to feel his chest against mine, desperate for his cock to enter me. It had been so long… Besides, up close and personal, John’s sheer masculinity overwhelmed me. I’d forgotten how seductive lust could be. I could become addicted to his kiss, the hard planes of his body beneath my questing fingertips, his raw animal blood-scent.
I wanted to kiss John forever, and make love with him throughout eternity, but I was wary of becoming ensnared. We immortals are a suspicious lot. We don’t love very often. We fear our fellows, and with good reason.
John could kill me. The tiny sips we’d shared were tasty, but my heart’s blood would make him immensely powerful.
On top of that, I had another, more urgent concern.
I pulled away from John. “Danny,” I said.
“Danny.” He gazed at me, eyes heavy-lidded, and I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him, and that was a lot. But in an instant, he became all business. The SUV still sped into the night, carrying his son to an unthinkable fate.
If you like what you read, stay in touch! This exciting story is forthcoming from Ellora’s Cave.
Your blog hostess:
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at
and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hot-Authors-Cafe/1378227469100902
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
January 25, 2014
A right royal Sunday Snog from Queen’s Quest, futuristic erotica
*****
http://victoriablisse.co.uk/sunday-snog
Hark! The Queen req uires a mate!
And not just any mate. Queen Audryn’s chosen mate will rule the Shadowlands with her.
So this is a pretty important decision, hmm? But still–he’d better be a good kisser.
And he’d better know how to wield his scepter!
So the question of the day is: Is Prince Storne a good kisser? Is he fit to rule the Shadowlands by Audryn’s side?
You be the judge!
The set-up is that the Queen and her retinue, including her suitors,
have traveled to the far reaches of their terraformed planet on a Royal Progress.
Storne slipped into my hammock as I tossed and turned. He had found some water in which to wash, for when he lifted my tunic, his body felt cool and pleasant against my heated, sultry skin.
I sighed into his neck. “I fear I will not survive this foray into Light.”
“Ah. Does this mean…” He slid smooth fingers beneath my trousers to find my pussy and played with the humid flesh.
I purred with pleasure. “No decision yet, at least not officially.”
“Which means no decision.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Perhaps I can persuade you.” Taking my wrists, he pinned them above my head and pushed them into the hammock’s rope mesh, trapping me.
I tensed. Although I believed I could trust Storne, I couldn’t stop the nervous flutters in my belly. I occasionally allowed myself to be dominated by my guards as a change from the norm and because their loyalty was absolute. All would give his life for me…and none had ever dared to bind me.
Futuristic erotic romance
by Suz deMello
And Storne wanted the throne, wanted his blood and bone to rule even after our deaths, or so I surmised. He did not hesitate to kill in order to win. What stopped him from taking me against my will?
My worries must have showed, for Storne asked, “What’s wrong, Audryn?” He slid his fingers out of my pussy and laid his hand on my belly. His gray eyes were steady, his gaze fixed on my face.
I breathed deeply. “I want you, but—”
“I won’t take advantage of the situation.”
I sighed. “I hope you are not insulted.”
His brows rose. “Your decision is momentous and final. I can afford to wait.” Smug, his voice oozed confidence.
“You are sure you are the best candidate.”
“Yes.” He chuckled, a deep, sexy growl, and bit my lobe. His fingers again busied themselves inside my pussy.
I tested my bonds, curling my fingers around the hammock’s cords. They held my wrists fast. “I, uh, er…”
He rolled off the hammock, which rocked back and forth, then spread my legs and shoved my bare feet into the mesh. He returned to the hammock, lying on top of me. The hammock swayed, and he nuzzled my neck.
I tried to let my trussed body relax beneath Storne’s, but my heart hammered against my ribs. He caressed my left breast, and I sucked in a frantic breath. He shifted, the hammock swung and I felt his rod push against my mons, shooting jabs of need through me.
“A fine idea, this,” he said. He stuck a foot out of the hammock and kicked the ground. The hammock swayed anew and we rocked together. “I hardly have to do anything.”
Damn him. How could he remain so calm?
He eased down my body and tugged off my trousers so he could kiss my pussy.
I lifted my hips and his tongue pushed against my clit. “Umm, tasty,” he murmured. “Your flavor is richer here, with the heat.”
I decided I did not care if Storne was calm or even if he was not the right man to occupy the throne.
I tried to open my thighs more so he could kiss me more deeply, but my feet were thoroughly entangled in the rope mesh to the ankles, and my wrists were likewise entwined. I was well and truly trapped and this bondage was a new experience.
Did I like this or not? I tested my bonds again while Storne’s tongue stroked my pussy. Was it my fancy or did my entrapment heighten the pleasure? I could not touch him, caress him, but could only receive, only enjoy.
I could focus entirely on my passion without worrying about his.
I relaxed as I realized my helplessness in the face of his sensual onslaught.
He parted my labia with his thumbs and sucked my clitoris. Tremors seized me. I cried out in sheer delight, my body twisting as arousal tore through me. He slid up my body, rubbing against me. I could feel the curls on his chest abrade my thighs, my mound, my belly and my breasts before he again lay atop me, his weight pressing me into the ropes, his cock pressing against my clit. I squirmed against him, whimpering.
“Do you like this?” He nipped my earlobe.
I hissed in a breath. “By the three moons, yes, I do.”
“I could do whatever I want to you. Now.” He bit my neck, and another charge of desire ripped through me.
I bucked against him. His cock rested against my slot. He was almost inside me. I gasped in another breath. “But-but you won’t.”
“No, not until you ask for it.”
“I want to come.”
He kissed me, his tongue forcing its way inside, a deliberate assault on my mouth. He thrust in and out, fucking me with his tongue, a blatant signal of what he planned to do to my cunt very soon.
Like what you read? Buy it here:
http://tinyurl.com/AudrynsQuest
http://www.ellorascave.com/queen-s-quest.html
Author Sue Swift/Suz deMello
Your blog hostess
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group pages at
http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hot-Authors-Cafe/1378227469100902
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
–Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com
January 23, 2014
Nancy Corrigan’s Beautiful Mistake
The brilliant and talented Nancy Corrigan has a new release for your delight and delectation. Here it is–Beautiful Mistake, Book 2, Royal Pride
Beautiful Mistake by Nancy Corrigan
Lena will do anything to protect the shifter child her family takes in, even turn herself into bait. Although she knows better than to fall for a shifter, Devin, the man who captures her, is unlike any she’s ever tangled with. Their desire is unquenchable and the draw to him is undeniable, but their relationship is riddled with mistakes and loving him has the potential to destroy her.
After shouldering his twin’s torture, Devin hovers on the verge of insanity. His life 
revolves around his family and recovering kidnapped shifter children. He never thought he’d have a mate or kids of his own until a rescue mission turns deadly. The beautiful female caught in the crosshairs stirs his mating instincts and tames his wild nature. Only her confusion over their intense attraction stops him from finishing their bond, but Devin’s persistent. He’ll convince his stubborn female that he’s the man she’s been waiting for—one passionate encounter at a time.
A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Where can you find it, you ask?
http://www.ellorascave.com/beautiful-mistake.html
Enjoy!
Your blog hostess:
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group pages at
http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hot-Authors-Cafe/1378227469100902
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
January 21, 2014
Military Magic and A Marine’s Proposal–new sexy stuff!
Let’s welcome Lisa Carlisle, who has a new offering from Red Sage–A Marine’s Proposal.
What’s it about, you ask?
When Slade Masters, her closest friend in the Marine Corps, proposes to her, Caitlyn O’Neill lets her thrill overshadow the catch. It’s a marriage in name only.
A Marine’s Proposal by Lisa Carlisle
Slade thinks a temporary marriage is the perfect solution to their problematic living situations in the barracks. Despite her reservations about the deceit involved, Caitlyn is thrilled to live off-base and experience the culture of the island of Okinawa, Japan, as a local—especially with Slade.
Swept up in the excitement of apartment hunting and planning a wedding, she silences the anxiety within and goes along with Slade’s plans. They struggle to fight their growing attraction while acting on their script. On their wedding night, their bodies heat up with the thrill of being so close. Desire intensifies during a heated moment on the dance floor.
How can they play off the charade of their marriage now that they have complicated their arrangement? Have they ruined their plan or will they find a way to continue? Or has their passionate night together uncovered hidden desires impossible to ignore?
New adult / military romance
http://www.lisacarlislebooks.com/books/
Buy Now:
Red Sage Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
All Romance Ebooks
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group pages at http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hot-Authors-Cafe/1378227469100902
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
–Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com
January 4, 2014
The Queen’s Quest…for love
The Queen’s Quest
Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave! Pub date: January 28.
What’s it about, you ask?
Janus is a planet which lacks both tilt and spin, and its Shadowlands are the pewter band of dusk dividing the violently hot Lightside of the planet from its Darkside, imprisoned by eternal night. Because of the peculiar conformation of the planet, birthrates are low and indiscriminate mating encouraged.
Audryn, Queen of Shadow has reached that time in her life when she must choose a King to rule with her or fail to bear an heir, casting not only her realm but all of Janus into chaos.
Despite her duty, she is reluctant to share power, even a bit distrustful. Janus’ nobles vie for Audryn’s hand. Although she enjoys trysting with all her suitors, none seize her heart.
Then Storne, the warrior Prince of Darkness, arrives to claim her as his bride.
Will his masterful ways allure or repel the willful Queen?
And now…the snog:
“Queen Audryn.” Without being bidden, Storne approached. He reached for me, then stopped. “May I?”
* * * * *
“Y-yes.” I did not know what he intended, but…
His smile transformed his angular face. He wrapped a big hand behind my neck. His grasp was firm, warm, the skin of his palm a little rough, from swordplay or riding, I imagined. I tried to breathe through a tight, nervous throat.
He kissed me full on the lips, rather than a chaste buss on my cheek, which would have been proper. Though he did not intrude his tongue, the contact was warm, vital and vigorous, hinting at the pleasure we could share.
As he withdrew, his gaze met mine, the gray eyes demanding, gentle and amused. How he packed so many emotions into one glance was a mystery to me. I told myself I was imagining more in his look than actually was there.
I had become infatuated by the Prince of Darkness swiftly—far too swiftly. That was bad. I could not make decisions affecting the history and welfare of my realm based on a passing fancy.
Hope you love it! But you won’t know unless you read it–buy it here:
http://www.ellorascave.com/queen-s-quest.html
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written over sixteen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy,
Best-selling erotica novelist Suz deMello
historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group pages at
http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hot-Authors-Cafe/1378227469100902
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
*****
Many thanks to Victoria Blisse for this continuing promo opportunity!
*****
for other Sunday snog news:
http://victoriablisse.co.uk/sunday-snog
http://blissekiss.co.uk/smutmas-snogmas/
December 30, 2013
Dance Me to the End of Time–bittersweet holiday fiction by Catherine Cavendish
I have published this bittersweet shortie by Catherine Cavendish twice now, each at the holiday season. I again present this lovely gem for your reading pleasure, and encourage you to read more by this talented author.
Dance Me To The End Of Time
by
Catherine Cavendish
I’ve always loved Christmas. The tree, tinsel and a roaring fire… Candles flickering and the sound of carollers striving to hit the top register in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
This year’s no different. Of course, there’s no roaring fire anymore. That’s been replaced with one of those living flame gas affairs. Quite nice, but you never could beat the real thing.
“Penny for them.” My husband, Charles, interrupts my reverie.
Cat Cavendish
“Oh, nothing. I was just musing and remembering Christmases past.” I smile at him.
He adjusts his tie and smoothes his glossy black hair, all gestures I have seen him perform countless times. “Do you think it will snow this year?” he asks, studying his reflection in the mirror.
I turn to look out of the window. “It’s too dark to tell, but it looks damp out there. It must have been raining earlier.”
“I didn’t notice,” Charles says, “but then I suppose I wouldn’t, would I?” He smiles at me and takes my hand, brushing it against his lips. Then I catch him examining my dress.
“Something wrong?” I ask and instinctively look down at my white, floor-length gown. I see some creases in the silk which I attempt to smooth away.
“That’s better. It was just a little wrinkled.”
“Hardly surprising,” I say. “It only gets an outing once a year.”
We laugh, and Charles strokes away a long, dark brown lock of hair which has escaped my elaborate coiffure and has wandered across my cheek.
“Shall we dance, Emily?” he asks.
“Certainly, Charles, it will be my pleasure.”
We waltz to a phantom orchestra. In my head I can hear the strains of the Blue Danube, and I am transported back to another time and place. I can see a young girl and her young man, their eyes locked in an embrace as they swirl around a ballroom in Vienna while a conductor, violin in hand, steers the orchestra through his latest composition.
“I miss the scent of roasting chestnuts,” I tell Charles.
His mouth widens in a grin. “But can’t you smell them, Emily? Concentrate really hard.”
I close my eyes and let him lead me round and round as the music grows louder, and now I can smell them. Chestnuts, little fried potatoes and the warming aroma of cinnamon from the Glühwein. I can hear the bells of St Stephen’s Cathedral and feel the chill of the night air on my cheek. Little flecks of snow are falling onto my face, and my feet crunch on the icy ground.
Charles is waltzing me faster and faster. And now I can hear the voices. The orchestra has faded and a choir is singing in German: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht…”
“Oh Charles–”
“No, Emily, don’t open your eyes.”
I obey. “Don’t let it stop, Charles, please don’t let it stop,” I cry, “Not this time. Not this year.”
“Dance with me, Emily. Dance with me.”
The choir has faded, and the orchestra builds to a crescendo. I know if I open my eyes, I will see the wild black hair of the conductor, falling over his eyes as his violin bow slashes through the air.
But I mustn’t open my eyes. Charles told me not to.
“Oh Emily, Emily,” Charles says, “Let us never lose this moment. Never.”
“Never, Charles.”
And then I open my eyes.
“No, Emily, no!” Charles’ agonized face is before me. But the moment has passed.
The orchestra is silent. There are no roasting chestnuts, no carol singers, no hot spiced wine.
Vienna has gone.
“Oh Emily, you did it again. Just like last year. Just like every year.”
I am crestfallen. He takes my face in his hands. He kisses my lips, and I close my eyes again, trying to recapture the dream. But it’s too late.
“Never mind, my love, there’s always next year.”
“As long as we’re still here,” I say, my old fears returning.
“I expect we will be. They seem to like us well enough.”
From the hallway, I hear the unmistakable sound of a key in the lock. It’s time.
“Come, my love. We must return.” Charles once again takes my hand and together we gaze at the empty picture above the mantelpiece.
“Until next year and the magic returns,” he whispers.
“Until next year. Happy Christmas, Charles.”
“Happy Christmas, Emily.”
The door opens and a young couple wanders in, each holding a glass of red wine. They are both dressed smartly, she in a navy suit, he in dark grey. She has short blond hair, and his is dark. They look very modern to me.
The woman’s gaze is drawn to the painting. “I’ve always loved that picture.” She sighs, raising her glass to her lips and taking a sip.
“That’s why I bought it for you,” the man says and nuzzles her neck.
“Dance Me to the End of Time,” she murmurs. “Such an evocative title. And it really looks as if that’s what they’re doing, doesn’t it? You feel they could just step out of that frame and glide around the room.”
Her husband laughs. “You and your imagination.”
The woman moves toward the fireplace and is peering closer. “There it is again. The damnedest thing!”
“What?” he asks.
“I noticed it last year, but only on Christmas Eve, and it’s happened again this year. Look at her eyes.”
The man does as he is bid.
“Can you see it? There at the corner of her eye. A tear. It looks as if it’s just about to spill down her cheek, but I bet you it won’t be there in the morning.”
The man laughs. “You’re imagining it. Too much wine at dinner.”
“Say what you like. I know what I saw.” She steps back.
She’s right, of course. It’s the tear I cannot cry every Christmas when the magic ends.
And we are frozen here in time and space.
* * * * *
Catherine Cavendish writes Paranormal Fiction. Her Paranormal/Horror novella, ‘Cold Revenge’ is out now, published by Etopia Press and is available from:
You can find out more about Catherine on her website: www.CatherineCavendish.com
Or by following her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CatherineCavendish
Goodreads www.goodreads.com as Catherine Cavendish
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/cat_cavendish
Your blog hostess:
Sue Swift/Suz deMello
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written over sixteen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Ai Press, and Liquid Silver Books. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift
She tweets her book picks @ReadThis4fun
December 19, 2013
Get that “Christmas Spirit!”–new book by Philippa Lodge
And just in time for Christmas!
Numbers make perfect sense to Annabelle. Ghosts? Not so much.
Christmas Spirit by Philippa Lodge
She’s new to her tenure-track position as a math professor at the small college where her ancestor taught over a century ago. Since she moved into her ancestral home, intense ghostly dreams are plaguing her. When her handsome history professor neighbor, Chris, returns from sabbatical, the ghost invites all her memories and throws a Christmas party in the living room.
With her agoraphobic great-great-grandmother rocking in an antique chair, Annabelle needs Chris to help convince a pushy would-be suitor and her department chair that she’s not crazy or lying. If Annabelle and Chris can track down her other descendants, they might be able to ease the ghost’s pain in time to ring in the New Year together.
Buy it here: http://www.musapublishing.com
Author bio:
Philippa Lodge has been an avid reader since she asked her mother to point out where it said “Ma” in Little House in the Big Woods. She read everything she could get her hands on, with an emphasis on mysteries, until grad school in French Studies, with an emphasis on seventeenth century. After that, she lost her reading mojo. Only through the twin discoveries of
Author Philippa Lodge
Harry Potter and romance has she gotten her groove back.
So it seems natural that she has turned to writing paranormal romances, sometimes with suspense. And toss in some French historicals, set in the time of Louis XIV and we pretty much cover everything. If they were set in the Big Woods, she’d have come full circle.
She lives in the suburbs of Sacramento, CA with her husband, three children, and a head full of ghosts, werewolves, and courtesans. She edits the bi-monthly newsletter for her local chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
Your blog hostess:
Suz deMello is the best-selling, award-winning author of Lord Devere’s Ward, Write This, Not That! and Ellora’s Cave’s sexy Highland Vampire series. Find her books here:
https://www.amazon.com/author/sueswift https://www.amazon.com/author/suzdemello
December 14, 2013
Her first kiss; her first love…
http://victoriablisse.co.uk/sunday-snog
http://blissekiss.co.uk/blissemas-kissmas/
IT’S A SPECIAL SUNDAY SNOG!
All Sunday snogs are special. Why?
Because kissing is special. The simple touch of lip to lip can start a romance, ignite a storm of emotion, fan the flames of love.
But for this Sunday, I have for you a special holiday snog from First and Last, a short story from Ellora’s Cave.
Lunarian law requires 24-year-old Shayna Goldstein to marry before she’s 25. She’s dated everyone in New Brooklyn, but Gideon Landers, the first man who kissed her, haunts her memories, preventing her from loving anyone else.
Desperate, she consults a matchmaker, who sends a reluctant Shayna to Farside Colony to meet her mate.
The commander of Farside Colony, Gideon Landers has never forgotten Shayna. That he’s been matched with her is a dream come true, but will Shayna be willing to live in the remote colony?
And now, the snog!
New Brooklyn, Luna
Chanukah, 2114
Shayna boarded the ziptrain to Farside with both dread and excitement warring in her soul. The desolate moonscape outside the train reflected the chill fear in her heart. She loathed uncertainty, and until she met her mate, her future was clouded. But she wanted to marry, and not only because she desired to stay on the moon. The truth was, she was just plain horny. Though she was technically a virgin, she had married friends, had dated plenty, and fooled around enough to realize she wanted to make love. She needed it. She dreamed of it every night, but wouldn’t give herself to just anyone. She was picky.
Lulled by the train’s smooth movements, her mind wandered to the first time she’d been kissed-really kissed-by a male.
When she’d turned thirteen and started at yeshiva, the secondary school she attended after graduating from cheder, she hadn’t a clue about what was going on. The air was constantly charged with a tension she now understood was born of sexual repression. Flirting and gossip about boys had dominated conversation.
And the prime topic had been Gideon Landers, even though boy had been the wrong word for him.
Gideon. Tall and dark, broad-shouldered and handsome, with a deep voice at age eighteen, he’d already matured. The girls whispered about the bulge in his Slicksuit, his burgeoning beard–everyone wondered if he was still a virgin.
Shayna had tried to ignore the gossip. She’d claimed that he was arrogant, although her day didn’t seem complete without seeing Gideon’s smile, bright against his tanned skin, at least once. So she’d bantered with him, telling him jokes and anecdotes, just so she could see his smile. Years later she’d realized that she’d had a schoolgirl crush on him.
White Hot Holidays–First and Last
He’d graduated and joined the Officer’s Corps, but had returned to yeshiva to talk with students about joining the corps. She’d been sixteen, and for the first time she’d seen him as a man, and a very sexy one at that.
He’d asked her out to coffee. They’d stayed late, closing the place down. When it was deserted, he’d pinned her in a chair with his much larger body and kissed her.
She remembered the strange sensation of someone else’s tongue caressing her lips. Her mouth had opened in surprise, and he’d pushed his insistent tongue all the way in. Because he’d been straddling her and holding her close, she’d felt his heart pound through their Slicksuits. As his pulse speeded up, it seemed to echo her racing heart.
Everything in her body, every cell, every vein, seemed to ignite with a fire she’d never before experienced. Electricity zipped along her nerve endings. She’d become hot, her armpits had dampened, and sweat had slid along her skin. Though she knew her Slicksuit would convert the perspiration to usable water, she was still embarrassed. Was she supposed to react this way? She’d kissed boys before, and this had never happened. Would he see how she was sweating, and be repulsed?
He stroked her neck, and the gentleness of his touch disarmed her completely. She’d grabbed onto his shoulders with shaking hands to anchor herself in the tumult of emotion and pushed her tongue back against his. He’d taken that as some sort of signal, and began to move his tongue inside her mouth in a mesmerizing dance. She didn’t know the tune, but improvisation seemed to be okay with Gideon. Their tongues played together endlessly, it seemed, and she could have kissed him forever. She reveled in his flavor, his unique scent-was it sandalwood? She didn’t know, but she liked it.
Desire flamed through Shayna’s body, bringing her back to the present. She tugged at her Slicksuit’s collar, opening it. The ziptrain’s recirculated air cooled her but still she squirmed in the seat, driving her wet pussy against the cushions. She was glad that the train’s car was empty except for her; she could come, and no one would know. It would be easy. Just the memory of Gideon Landers’ kiss turned her on.
He’d wanted to go further, and had. He clasped her breast, and she thought she’d go right out of her mind when one of his fingers flicked across her nipple. Even through her Slicksuit, it was the best thing she’d ever felt.
He’d eased his mouth away from hers to flutter kisses down her neck’oh heavens, was he going to kiss her breast? That would be too much for her. Would the Slicksuit dry out before she went home? How could she explain a big wet spot to her mother?
She’d pulled away, and he’d bitten her neck. With a yelp, she’d convulsed, driving a knee up and into him.
“Shit, Shayna!” Gideon howled.
“You bit my neck!” She’d been outraged.
“It’s called a hickey, little girl.” He massaged his crotch.
Stung, she snapped, “Don’t call me a little girl, and don’t do that in front of me.”
He shot her a resentful look from beneath dark brows. “I’d like to do a lot more.”
“You’ll never get the chance.”
After that awkward interlude, he’d left to continue his career in the Officer’s Corps. She assumed he’d be stationed very far away.
But now, looking back, she realized that she’d compared every subsequent kiss to that one. No man had come close to lighting her up the way Gideon had, damn him. She resented the hold that one kiss had on her imagination. She couldn’t help dreaming of Gideon Landers, fantasizing about him, and that wasn’t good.
Now she had a shidduch, an arranged marriage. But what if she didn’t like the way this one kissed? How could she give herself to someone who couldn’t even kiss? What if he couldn’t match the brief moment she’d shared with Gideon? Away from New Brooklyn, her friends and family, she’d be alone with only a loveless marriage and old memories to sustain her.
What if her only satisfaction would come from a fantasy lover?
The efficient ziptrain stopped at Shayna’s destination all too soon. She’d wanted more time to contemplate her future. Her map showed that Farside consisted of several globular, metal domes connected by sealed Plexiplus tubes, with the ziptrain station at the hub. At least, Shayna hoped that everything was properly sealed. She adjusted the cuffs of her Slicksuit, pulling out the retractable gloves to cover her hands. Shoving her braid down her back, she lifted her transparent cowl to encase her face and head before stepping out of the ziptrain onto the platform. The suit would recycle all her bodily wastes and convert them into usable gases and liquids; the wearer could survive in the chill vacuum of the moon for several days, if necessary.
Then she noticed she was the only person on the platform suited from head to toes. Feeling like a rube, she pushed the gloves back as a dark man standing on the platform laughed in her face.
Shayna stiffened as she met a pair of amused gray eyes belonging to Gideon Landers.
Like what you read? Good! First and Last is available in both ebook http://www.ellorascave.com/first-and-last.html and print at http://tinyurl.com/oyt6h7x
YOUR BLOG HOSTESS
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written over sixteen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group at
http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
December 1, 2013
Blissemas is here! Swag and prizes galore!–and another l’il tidbit…
To join in simply leave a comment on this post and the others at http://blissemas.co.uk and you could be in to win your choice of eReader or $100 gift voucher to spend on eBooks!
The prize will be drawn on the 21st December. Merry Blissemas!
Highland Winter Hols, 18th Century Style
When I created the Kilburn Vampires (Ellora’s Cave Highland Vampires series) I thought about what vampires would actually be if they truly existed. My vamps wouldn’t do silly, unrealistic stuff like turn into bats or be unseen in mirrors. Nor would they be undead, but would possess long lives, a taste for blood, and unnatural strength that would allow them to perform stunts that would make them seem magical. They can scale walls, jump so far they seem to fly, and are extraordinary warriors, having been descended from the Berserker Vikings.
Along with their prowess as warriors they inherited from the Vikings many pagan traditions. Clan Kilburn celebrates the Yule and
Hogmanay, which are thought to be Nordic. In any event, they are distinctly Celtic and are celebrated to this day, as the
Edinburgh on Hogmanay
illustration to the right shows.
Here’s a snippet from Desire in Tartan, which shows a little about how Clan Kilburn celebrates the winter holidays:
Life had not treated Hamish Gwynn well, or, rather, he had not treated his life well. Since his ill-fated attempt to destroy Clan Kilburn, Laird Kieran had demanded tribute, as was his right, and Hamish, as an honorable laird, paid. Vast swaths of Gwynn forest were felled so Gwynn clansmen could rebuild Kilburn crofts while the homes of Hamish’s people went unrepaired. He also forked over a tenth of that autumn’s crop and did the same for the next five years, fattening Kilburn’s larder.
Worse, his French wife, Jacqueline, complained incessantly of the shame he’d brought onto the clan. She’d always been a restless, dissatisfied soul, and inside her mind, she seemed to have created a rivalry with Lady Lydia of Clan Kilburn.
So when an unexpected blizzard trapped Hamish and a few of his men hunting near Kilburn lands but far from his home, he resented that his best choice was to seek refuge at Kilburn Castle. He was by no means certain of his welcome.
Highland hospitality required that any person asking for shelter and food be given what he needed, but the Kilburns werena like most Highlanders. Their traditions werena Scots but pagan, as Hamish had learned many years before while watching the rival clan’s Meán Fóghar harvest celebration. Though they now called themselves Kilburn rather than Kilborn, and had likewise changed their clan motto, Hamish had no doubt that they persisted in their savage ways.
But he had no choice. He and three of his men struggled through heavy, wet snow toward Kilburn Castle, wondering what kind of reception they’d receive.
When they arrived, night had long fallen but, oddly, the great gate was open and the drawbridge down. Light and laughter issued from the gatehouse and the bailey within the massive double walls that had protected generations of Kilburns.
‘Twas the Yule, Hamish realized. These pagans didnae celebrate Christ’s birth as would be proper, with quiet prayer and contemplation, but instead noted the shortest day of the year with a cèilidh, song and drink.
“Well, at least they’ll be in a good temper,” he said to Fergus MacReiver.
Fergus grunted. “I doona want to go there. They’re heathens and baobhan-sith.”
“They may be heathen, but vampires?” Hamish laughed, a sharp, bitter bark. “You’ll nae find me believing in that foolishness again.” Listening to his priest’s maunderings about unholy blood-drinking creatures had led him to launch that daft raid against Clan Kilburn twelve years before. He wouldna make the same mistake twice. “Do ye wish to die oot here, in the snow and sleet? We havenae choice. Follow me and keep yer venom to yerself.”
Hamish, with his escort struggling behind, threaded his way between quiet crofts toward the drawbridge, then over. At the gatehouse, they were hailed by a clearly drunken guard. After leaving their weapons, the Gwynn party was allowed to pass through.
The courtyard had been cleared of snow. Crackling bonfires flared toward the sky surrounded by rings of dancing Kilburns. Pipers played off-key, and Hamish suspected they’d imbibed. Light spilled into the bailey from the open doors of two big towers, and Hamish averted his glance from the third keep. The Dark Tower ‘twas called, and ‘twas indeed dark, black with blood and brimful of the damned souls that had perished there twelve years before… Hamish’s own men, he remembered with unease.
But now everywhere else was revelry, fire, light and joy. The tempting aroma of roasting meat came from one set of doors, and though Hamish wasna familiar with the castle’s layout, he guessed that the Kilburn Great Hall was inside. He reckoned that he had the best chance of finding Kieran Kilburn there.
#1 ARE bestseller featuring Kieran Kilburn
A massive hand clamped down onto his shoulder. “Laird Hamish! A cantie Yule to ye!” Kieran Kilburn laughed, drank from a bottle held in one enormous paw then extended the bottle to Hamish. “And what brings ye here on such a raw winter night?”
Hamish took the bottle thinking, What the hell, Jacqueline’s not here, and drank. He wiped his wrist across his mouth and belched.
Kilburn laughed some more, looped an arm around Hamish’s shoulder and fair dragged him toward the open doors in the direction of the enticing smells. “Come see the wife! We’ve a new bairn to show ye.”
His men straggling behind, Hamish didn’t resist, for he was being taken to where he wanted to go—toward warmth and food.
Inside the Great Hall, more Bedlam. Hamish, who’d never been within the seat of Clan Kilburn, was astonished. He’d always supposed that the martial clan did naught but train, hunt and fight. But ‘twas clear that the well-managed clan lived well and thought nothing of clearing out the winter larder when other, less fortunate clans (like Clan Gwynn) scrimped and saved over the long chilly months, paring mold off cheese, baking pies from withered apples and measuring every drop and dram of whisky.
Jealousy set a giant hand in Hamish’s bowels and squeezed. He instantly forced back the unworthy feeling and quoted the tenth commandment to himself. Taking a deep breath, he was assailed by a variety of scents: whisky from Laird Kilburn, roasted boar, unwashed bodies, tallow candles, evergreen boughs and woodsmoke from the huge Yule log that crackled and blazed in the massive hearth.
The entire clan seemed to be crammed into the castle. Bairns chortled and older children sang while their elders applauded. He even glimpsed Dugald Kilburn, who Hamish had thought a somber and serious warrior, dancing on a table with a slender woman clasped in his arms. He capered with light feet over and between the blades of two crossed swords, an accomplishment to be sure, especially holding the girl, who flung back her head and laughed, a silvery peal of sheer joy.
Hamish took off his plaidie and his boots, set them near the fireplace to dry, relaxed and joined in the revelry.
****
Fergus MacReiver did not. After warming himself by one of the courtyard’s bonfires and partaking of the Kilburn food and drink, he tucked himself into a shadowy corner of the bailey to listen to the gossip and conversation. What he heard of Clan Kilburn’s plans interested him mightily, but he wasnae certain that his new laird would use the information. More likely that Laird Hamish, a coward unto his soul, would brush off Fergus’ scheme for revenge.
****
Dugald jumped off the table and whirled. In his arms, Alice shrieked and laughed. Hairpins flew and her long mane whipped out behind her as he continued to dance her out the room, out the tower and into the next. Snow had started to fall, and as they entered the Laird’s Tower, icy flakes began to melt on her face, cool and tingling.
He kissed her with chilly lips and set her on her feet. Hand in hand, they raced up the stairs into their room. He slammed the door behind them and tumbled her onto the bed in a flurry of quilted petticoats…
***
What’s the book about, you ask?
Dugald and Alice Kilburn
Dugald Kilburn is sure that he’ll never find love. And why should he?
‘Tis rare for vampires and their mates to reproduce successfully and Dugald kens that. He’s certain his lust caused his first wife’s death in childbed.
Innocent Alice Derwent presents Dugald with a dilemma. She’s different than any woman he’s known, different and altogether alluring. And while the lady is innocent, her feelings are anything but.
Will he bed and wed the lady, risking her life? Or remain celibate, sparing her?
But when threatened with death, Alice decides she doesn’t want to die without knowing Dugald’s love. Can he resist her charms?
Like what you read? Buy it here:
http://www.ellorascave.com/desire-in-tartan.html
Your blog hostess:
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
Suz deMello is the Amazon and ARE bestselling author of Write This, Not That! which reached #2 on Amazon’s list of bestselling writers’ references. Her Highland Vampires series is likewise acclaimed. The author of seveenteen books plus a number of short stories and articles on writing, she makes her home in Northern California.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group at
http://www.facebook.com/HotWriters
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun
–Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com
And here’s another l’il tidbit for ya–check this out for more swag and prizes!
This particular event is hosted by the Goodreads groups Erotic Enchants and the BDSM group. Go to
http://bookienookiereviews.blogspot.com/p/loading.html
for swag galore!
SCAVENGER HUNT!
Welcome Back, Suzie!
In any event--today I'm bloggi ...more
- Sue Swift's profile
- 16 followers
