Katie Reus's Blog, page 28

A Tale of Two Djinns

A Tale of Two Djinns by Mina Khan is now available! Mina is such a lovely author that I had the pleasure of meeting in person at the Silken Sands conference a couple weeks ago. Sweet woman that she is, she's donating 50% of her sales to UNICEF's new schools for Asia initiative. If you'd like to see why she's chosen this organization, read why here.

So, a sexy paranormal story with sexy Djinns (I want to see more of them in romance!) for $2.99 and all for a good cause? Count me in! I'm giving away a copy of this story on my facebook page to support this. The giveaway is open until noon today (3/29/2012).

What is A Tale of Two Djinns about?

A TALE OF TWO DJINNS is a sexy paranormal Romeo & Juliet story with genies, feminists, kickass action & adult fun.

Akshay, warrior prince of the earth djinns, earns the title of Crown Prince at a high cost when he loses his best friend in a battle against ancient enemies, the water djinns. Heartsick, he escapes to Earth to mourn.

Nothing gets the biological clock ticking (and elders lecturing) like almost dying in battle, so Maya, princess of the water djinns, travels to Earth for some no-strings-attached sex to fulfill her duty and produce an heir. But the beautiful and tough warrior gets more than she bargained for when she meets Shay.

Their not-so-simple one-night stand is interrupted by assassins and the world, as they know it, is changed forever. As Maya and Shay pull together to survive, both are determined to have their happily-ever-after and bring peace to their worlds -- warring families, shadow assassins, and nosy busybodies be damned.

Guest Author Casey Crow

[image error] Please welcome guest author Casey Crow!

Thanks so much, Katie, for having me today and helping me celebrate the release of DANCE WITH A MILLIONAIRE!

Southern belle Campbell Layne is the rising star of the Manhattan Ballet Theatre, providing she lands the upcoming principal role. The stage heats up, however, when Rod Carrington steps in and teaches her more than she ever expected.

Campbell is determined to stay focused on the audition that will push her into stardom, but the dazzling attorney she meets at a gala proves to be a major distraction especially when he ends up being her professor in a college class she's taking in her spare time. Campbell humiliates herself on their first date, but that doesn't stop Rod from whisking her off to Italy and turning her into quite the vixen. Too bad he also had to use his powerful influence to secure the lead for her. Now she'll never know if her talent was real or "bought" by the man she thought was the love of her life.

Here's a MAINSTREAM EXCERPT to tempt you further:

"Thank you for attending the performance and for your generous donation to MBT." His dark eyebrows shot up a notch, highlighting a definite mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Why did they have to be the exact shade of turquoise as the Caribbean Ocean at sunset? Stunning.

"That's well-rehearsed, Miss Layne. Tell me, though, do you turn on the Southern belle charm for all your fans or only the male ones?"

Her mouth fell open, but thank goodness she had the presence of mind to snap it shut. "How dare you? First of all, I'm from Alabama which makes the accent genuine, and secondly, that's…that's the rudest, most ungentlemanly thing to say."

"I never said I was a gentleman and readily admit to be undeserving of your sweet façade. I'd much prefer the real you."

She propped her hands on her hips. "And precisely what, may I ask, do you assume to be the real me, seeing as our acquaintance has a life span of what? Thirty seconds?"

Rod glanced at an expensive-looking gold watch. "Forty-five." He stepped closer.

She did not see that coming and stumbled back only to become trapped between the wall and his body. The hard, cold stone competed against his warm, harder presence. Damn it, the latter won out. She ground her traitorous fingertips into her palms in an effort to prevent them from brushing away the stray curl that fell across his forehead.

The hem of his jacket brushed her hip as he moved in to splay his hand over her waist. The pressure built as he gathered her an inch closer. She caught a faint whiff of his cologne. The clean, fresh scent permeated the air and reminded her of the Southern pines back home, but this was not the time to reminisce.

"In fact, I'd like to get to know every inch of you." Another sharp tug had her chest pressed against his rock solid form.

Her blood boiled in a delicious rhythm. Obviously, the vibrator thing was getting old if this jerk was turning her on. She made a mental note to ask her best friend, Heidi, to set her up on a date. Any man would do—as long as it was not Rod.

She flexed her fingers and pushed against his shoulders. "Let go of me, you arrogant pig." A lion, cougar, leopard—anything powerful—seemed a more apt description though.

Rod chuckled and loosened his hold. A fraction. Enough to insert his finger between them. It followed the line of fabric at her shoulder slowly, very slowly, across her chest. As he glided over her cleavage, he said, "But, my dear, you're mistaken. It's confidence I possess."

"More like cockiness." Even as she said it, Bella couldn't take her gaze off his finger or steer her attention from the intense hunger sweeping through her. She instinctively arched her back, lifting her breasts to silently beg for more.

"Either way, but I always get what I want, and in case you need me to spell it out"—he slid his finger up her throat to tilt her chin, forcing her to look at him—"I. Want. You."

He uttered the words with such conviction, her breath hitched. No, stopped. She literally thought she might pass out. Swoon, like one of those Regency ladies she'd thought of a moment ago, only she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Feigning haughty sophistication was not in her repertoire, but there was a first time for everything. She raised a brow and allowed her gaze to wander his body as he'd done to her. The black tux cut a dashing figure, making her mouth water for a taste of what lay beneath. She imagined herself undoing each of the black buttons on his starched, white shirt. His bowtie was a little askew. She reached to straighten it, brushing against his neck. She heard his breathing deepen, sensed, rather than saw, the quickening of his jaw. She inwardly smiled and wiggled her toes in a victory dance, but those stupid, treacherous fingers battled back, wanting to still the muscle with a gentle caress. She balled her fists in reprimand, uncaring that her short nails dug into her palms.

When she reintroduced her eyes to his, she shot him what she hoped was a contemptuous glare. "Take your hand off me," she said slowly and deliberately. She made a dramatic showing of enclosing her fingers, one at a time, around his wrist and tugged his finger away from her boobs.

Nothing happened. Well, almost nothing. He managed to do that trick when one eyebrow lifts higher than the other.

She sighed loudly and exceedingly unladylike. Then she pulled. Hard.

Finally, he broke contact by approximately six inches when twelve would have been much closer to the acceptable personal space limit. Too late to hide her puckered nipples, she still folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot in perfect tempo with her index finger. "An apology would be appropriate at this time."

"Ah, but then I'd have to, in fact, be sorry."

He said that? Seriously? She just stood there, gaping. It would've been so nice to find the words, any words to speak, but nope. A boa constrictor squeezed her throat.

"What? No response? I assume that negates the possibility of you actually wanting an apology."

Again, robbed of speech. She felt like a fool, but her mind remained as blank as the sky on a cloudy night. So much for feigning haughty sophistication.

"Um…" Jackpot! At last. Okay, it wasn't a three-point goal in the final seconds of the game, but her voice hit a few decibels nevertheless.

Rod's deep chuckle reverberated throughout the alcove as he captured both of her shoulders. He laughed at her. Worse, he was going to kiss her. She knew it. Right here, right now. In front of everyone. A complete stranger. Well, not completely, she knew his name at least. Knowing the first name made it all right, didn't it?

Lord, what am I thinking? She did not go around kissing strangers. Hell, she didn't go around kissing people she knew. What would her mama think? She'd die of shame, that's what.

But heaven knew she wanted to taste those beautiful, full lips. She purely ached to run her fingers through his wavy, chestnut hair and slide her hands inside his coat to see if his abs were as hard as she imagined they would be. She closed her eyes and barely swallowed the lump stuck in her throat before licking her lips, preparing for the inevitable.

*****

This "Sexy, Sassy & Southern" book is a ballet inspired and Italy infused. Campbell loves all forms of dance, but classical ballet is her favorite. What's your favorite? I'm a dancer, and actually, I used to own a dance studio where I taught all forms of dance, but I'd have to say lyrical ballet is my favorite to dance…unless I've got a hot guy who wants to throw down with some Latin salsa. Um…yeah, that's really never happened, but I'll keep hoping.

DWAM BUY NOW
Visit Casey at http://www.caseycrow.com
Follow on Twitter @caseyecrow and Facebook Casey Crow
DANCE WITH A MILLIONAIRE EXCERPTS
2011 LRC Best Contemporary CAN'T FAKE THIS buy Kindle version on Amazon and all versions at Loose, Id. CAN'T FAKE THIS Excerpt. See the CAN'T FAKE THIS book trailer

Casey Crow is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama with degrees in Business Management and Dance. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Mobile. A resident of the Deep South, Casey works as a pageant coach of twenty years, professional emcee and model, dance choreographer, and certified Miss America preliminary judge. In fact, she is a former Miss University of Alabama and NASCAR spokesmodel. She is addicted to CASTLE & REVENGE and works out constantly to compensate for her addiction to sweets. She enjoys playing pool, tennis & golf but never has the time and is therefore, pitiful at all three. Casey is an award-winning author of "Sexy, Sassy & Southern" erotic and spicy contemporary romances. Her debut CAN'T FAKE THIS was named 2011 Best Contemporary at Love Romances Café, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Finalist, and received a Gold Star from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. Visit her at www.caseycrow.com. Follow her on Twitter – caseyecrow and Facebook – Casey Crow.

Primal Possession has a cover! #moonshifterseries

Yay! Just got the go ahead from my editor that I can show my cover for Primal Possession, the second book in my Moon Shifter series. If you've read the first book, you know that the next one will feature Liam and December!

I've got to say I'm extremely pleased with it. The NAL art department is absolutely amazing. I can't find the artist's name (it's buried in one of my emails) but when I update my website later I'll try to add their name because I want to make sure they get credit for this fabulous work! Okay, enough rambling...here's the cover!

BTW, Primal Possession is available for pre-order from Barnes and Noble for less than $5! Paperback version only and it's only from B&N at this price. Here's the link if you haven't seen this yet!

Silken Sands Adventure

Today I got back from the Silken Sands Writer's conference of 2012! It was in Pensacola Beach, FL so it's hard to go wrong when you're surrounded by sunny skies and the ocean. Though I am happy to be home. Leaving my little one was harder than I expected! There were some great workshops and a lot of writer interaction which is always fun. I was lucky enough to hang out with Wynter Daniels, a long time friend, and to meet Mina Khan, who is just as sweet in person as she is online. And of course I got to hang out with Cynthia Eden, one of my favorite people. We had a little unplanned adventure on Saturday night.

A bunch of us went out to dinner on Saturday to this Boardwalk area and as we were leaving this young girl approached us and asked for a pen to write down a phone number. The place was starting to get rowdy and she and her friend looked way too young to be hanging out there so Cynthia and I asked them if everything was okay. Long story short they were fifteen and had been abandoned by friends and had no way home and had absolutely no business being at that place after dark. I realized later the reason they'd approached us was because we were totally the most 'non-threatening' people there (I'm pretty sure we were the oldest, lol—it was all spring breakers and people out celebrating St. Patrick's Day). So we drove them home (and bought them dinner on the way) and of course told them to never ever get in the car with strangers again! I'm sure since I write romantic suspense I have a more vivid imagination than most or maybe it was my maternal instinct but good Lord, I hate to think what could have happened to them. All I know is that I hope if my kid or future kid(s) are ever in a bad situation I hope a good Samaritan helps them out too.

So the weekend was fun but super tiring and I'm very happy to be back with my hubs and baby! What did everyone else do this weekend?

What are you reading this weekend?

Happy Friday everyone! So glad the weekend is finally here. This weekend I plan to fully start my spring cleaning. Technically I don't think Spring starts here for another week or so but I'm long overdue for some cleaning and purging. I'm like the anti-pack rat. I do not hoard stuff! Which is why I can't watch that show Hoarders. I shudder even thinking about it. (Kaylea Cross, I think you're crazy for loving that show! ;)). Clothes that don't fit or just aren't getting worn are getting donated to Good Will, the filing cabinet is getting organized and purged...I'm kind of excited to use my shredder (please don't judge me!), and my house will be spotless by Sunday! Or at least that's the plan.

I also plan to get a little reading in this weekend. Sheltered by Charlotte Stein is out today from Ellora's Cave and I've already bought and downloaded it to my kindle. I love the entire premise of the story and since I haven't read an erotic romance in a while that I've absolutely loved, I'm really looking forward to settling down with this story and a glass of wine tonight.

If you haven't read Charlotte Stein before, I highly recommend her. She has a very unique voice and her characters are always so likeable. And if you're interested in Sheltered, here's the buy link and a quick blurb:

Evie has lived her entire life under her abusive father's thumb. He controls everything. Where she goes to college, who she sees, what she does. But when she meets Van—a punk who shows her how different life could be—she realizes how much she's been missing.

Van offers her excitement, protection, love…and most of all, sex—even if he's at first reluctant to give her all the things she's been craving. She wants to explore this new world of arousal and desire, but Van is only too aware of how fragile she is, how innocent…

And how much is at stake, when their love is forbidden.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Guest Author Wynter Daniels

Today I'm hosting guest author Wynter Daniels at Darker Temptations blog! She's chatting about her newest Ellora's Cave release and giving away 3 copies of her new book, Dear Annie. Hope to see you there!

Poisoned Rationality & 'The Call' Story

It's here, the final day of my Alpha Instinct blog tour! So, I figured it would be appropriate to tell how I sold Alpha Instinct. If you're interested in learning about my 'call' story, today I'm at Poisoned Rationality with the story.

This past month has been a whirlwind of blog stops and I'd like to thank all the new followers of my blog and newsletter for joining! Because of deadlines March will be very quiet around here but I'll be back in April!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

No One to Trust - Out Now for $2.99

No One to Trust, a completely new romantic suspense from me, is officially out today! This very same month almost exactly a year ago I decided to dip my toes into the self publishing waters with the novella Killer Secrets. So far the response from readers has been amazing, so thank you! It's not something I want to do full time or be my only publishing venue (I love my traditional and digital publishing houses!) but there's a certain amount of freedom in being able to price things exactly how I want and to have complete control over final cover art. And it's very nice for my readers to have more releases in between my other ones.

So, what is No One to Trust about?

Computer security specialist Elizabeth Martinez has never been able to turn her back on her brother Benny. When his risky lifestyle finally lands him in harm's way, Elizabeth finds herself dragged into the dangerous underworld with him and into the cross hairs of one of Miami's death-dealing drug lords. Only after her ex-boyfriend saves her does she realize she might have no choice but to depend on the one man she's tried so desperately to forget.

Former Marine Porter Caldwell never should have let Elizabeth walk away from him all those months ago. She means more to him than anything and now that she's in danger and turned to him for help, he won't make that mistake again. When a local gang targets her and she's nearly killed in a drive by shooting, Porter vows to do whatever it takes to keep her alive. Even if it means turning his back on all that he's sworn to uphold.

Currently it's available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $2.99. It will eventually be available from Smashwords, iBookstore, the Sony store, etc. They just take a little longer to upload than Amazon and B&N. If you'd like to read an excerpt, one can be found at my website here.

If you decide to try it out, I hope you enjoy it!

Alpha Instinct is $3.99 at Barnes & Noble

Happy Hump Day! Just wanted to let everyone know that Alpha Instinct is available at Barnes & Noble for $3.99 in paperback format. I have no control over pricing and I don't know if this is a long term thing or temporary (I'm guessing temporary), but I do know it's marked down right now and wanted to share!

Only a couple more days to the weekend! Hope everyone is having a good week.

Last Week of Blog Tour #alphainstinct

It's officially the last week of my Alpha Instinct blog tour! It's been a fun and exciting month but I'm glad it's coming to an end because I've got an April 1 deadline and will now be immersed in finishing that story for my Harlequin editor over the next few weeks. So if I'm a little scarce online the next month you know why.

For a list of my final blog tour stops, today I'll be at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews, tomorrow I'll be at Book Chick City, Thursday I'll be at Books N Kisses and finally on Friday, I'll be ending my tour at Poisoned Rationality. If you haven't had a chance to win a copy of Alpha Instinct, I'll be giving away a book at each stop. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the blog stops!

And I hope everyone is having a good week so far! It's finally cleared up today which is a nice change from the torrential rain of the past few days. Fingers crossed it stays that way because sunny weather = park and beach time :)