Kimberly Dean's Blog, page 38

Help Save Lakota Babie’s Lives

Deaths among Oglala Lakota babies are the highest in the USA.  The infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of babies under one year old per 1,000 live births.  The IMR on Pine Ridge is 300% higher than the national average – the highest in the US.  Healthy Start, a program that helps prevent these deaths desperately needs a home.  This vital program has been relocated from one poor location to another.  They now have a chance to get a high-quality, sustainable, energy-conscious facility — but they need help!

Learn more at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/268593?c=home and contribute what you can.

New Year, but Looking Back

I’ve been trying to think of something to post that would relate to the new year.  Resolutions really aren’t my thing.  I tried posting some writing resolutions last year, but failed miserably when it came to following through.  Especially on the blogging part.    Besides, last year went really well for me in the writing realm.  I had four releases — BLADE OF MOONLIGHT and LEXIE with Samhain, and a short story in MY SECRET LIFE and PRIVATE DANCER with Mischief.  If I could make a resolution on anything, it would be to continue down the same trail.

So since I have nothing new, I thought I’d post something old.  The following is a deleted scene from LEXIE.  It’s a scene I loved, told from Roxie’s point of view, but it just didn’t fit.  It’s referred to later on in the book, but this is the first time I’ve showed the actual scene to anyone.  It’s Roxie’s reaction when she and Lexie are told why the Underhills only adopted one of them.

Deleted scene from LEXIE

Roxie was living a nightmare – a vivid, Technicolor nightmare.  For all the beauty and money surrounding her, the white paint of the house blinded her and the smell of the food on the table made her gag.  She’d known this wouldn’t be easy, seeing the life that Lexie had led and all the opportunities she’d been given.  She’d known it would hurt seeing her with the Underhills, but she hadn’t expected this.  She hadn’t expected to have her insides put through the grater.

At the table, Lexie’s mother sniffled.  She wadded her napkin in her fist and lifted her teary eyes.  “What was your name again, dear?”

Roxie struggled not to flinch.  They’d forgotten her again already?  She was standing right in front of them.  “Roxanne.”

“I don’t understand why you weren’t taken in.”  The shaken socialite looked to her husband.  “Which couple was that?  Who wanted her?”

Underhill shook his head and looked to the door where Lexie had just walked out.  He stood suddenly as if to follow, but Roxie stepped in front of him like a mother bear.  No way, no how was he getting close to her sister.  He stopped, his shoulders visibly sagging, but then his son stepped between them – the one who’d leapt from his chair when she’d made her grand entrance.

“Stay away from them,” the young buck warned.  “You’ve caused enough trouble already.”

She’d caused trouble?  Roxie’s eyes narrowed as she looked him over.  Handsome, but with a haughty, misplaced sense of authority…  She summed him up with a single look.

“Know what, Blondie?” she crooned softly.

“It’s Landers.  Landers Underhill.  I think it’s time you left.”

She let one eyebrow lift as she stepped closer to him.  She’d show him trouble.  He jerked when she reached out and laid a hand on his chest, and his brow furrowed as he watched her red fingernail trace his lapel.

“We came this close to being related, Landers,” she said.

He shifted uncomfortably, but stayed in front of his parents.  She smiled slowly.  He seemed uncertain as to how he should respond.  With his preppy haircut, shiny loafers, and weak belly, she could eat this one alive.

Her eyes sparked as she leaned in closer.  “But know what I am now?”

A muscle in the middle of his cheek twitched.  “What?”

Before he could react, she planted one on him.  Catching him by the nape of the neck, she kissed him full on the mouth.  Her lips covered his, and she nipped at his belligerent lower lip.

For a moment, he froze.  Then he pushed her away in revulsion.  Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, he gagged.

Wickedly pleased, Roxie leaned close and whispered in his ear.  “Your worst nightmare.”

Spinning on her heel, she marched down the steps into the back yard.  There was no way she was going back into that house of horrors.  Behind her, she heard chairs scraping against wood as they were pushed away from the table.  A sideways glance found the other brother gaping at her in astonishment while kissy-boy was still trying to get her lipstick off his face.

She turned the corner, walking as quickly as she could with her heels sinking into the dirt.  She didn’t mind.  The grass and earth felt good under her feet.  Untainted, real, solid.  She inhaled the fresh air deeply, trying to clear her head and expand her ribcage.  She’d been taking rapid, short breaths to avoid the pain, but there was no getting by it.  Her eyes were on fire as she walked down the pathway through a manicured garden, but they were wet, too.

She wiped them jerkily.

Difficult to place…  How many times had she been told that as she’d been growing up?  She was too prickly, too aggressive, too outspoken.  Apparently, she’d been that way from as young as the age of two.  What would her life had been like if that couple had adopted her?

What would her life have been like if she and Lexie had never been given up in the first place?

Footsteps sounded on the cobblestones behind her, and she turned defensively.  It was the little blonde, Blaire.

“They deserved it,” Roxie snarled.  They… the rest of the Underhills.  They’d been the ones she’d been striking back at.  She spun towards the front of the house and kept on walking, but her steps were unsteady on her high heels.  It was the cobblestones; they made walking difficult.

“I know,” Blaire said simply.  “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

Roxie glanced up at the first floor windows and saw faces pressed against the glass.  The gossip mongers were already lurking.  That little encounter should keep the staff going for weeks.  As long as they concentrated on the kiss, that was okay with her.

There just better be nothing spread about Lexie.  So help her…

She looked down sharply when she felt Blaire grab her hand.  The teenager squeezed tightly, and Roxie felt something inside her crumble.  She started to shake off the touch, but instead felt her fingers clutching back.  She was so tired of being tough.  Hardcore, spine-of-steel…  She knew what people thought of her, but this was just too much.  “Think I’ll get invited to Thanksgiving dinner?” she quipped.

“No, but the staff might make you a pecan pie.”

Roxie looked at her quickly.

“They don’t like Landers very much.”  Blaire smiled conspiratorially.

Oh, hell.  Roxie wiped a shaky hand over her face.  “I shouldn’t have…  They’re going to take it out on her.”

Blaire’s smile faded.  “No, they won’t.  It will never be spoken of, especially not in front of Mother.”

That sounded about right.  It was clear that communication wasn’t one of this family’s strengths.  Roxie shook her head, happy to see the cars parked out front.  One of them would take her away from here, even if she had to hotwire it.

Her speed increased, but Blaire stayed with her until they walked under the trellis at the front of the garden.  Finally, she let go of her hand and wrapped her arms around her waist.  With a nod, Roxie headed towards escape, towards normalcy, towards the life she was suddenly happier she’d led.

“Roxie?”  The call was soft and tentative.

Roxie’s teeth gritted.  She just wanted to be alone, but the kid had been the one bright spot of the day.  She glanced over her shoulder.  “Yeah?”

“I would have like having you as a big sister, too.”

Tiger Lily available now as e-book

For the first time ever, TIGER LILY, is available as an e-book.  This was the first book I ever had published, so it’s special to me.  I’ve spent the last few weeks editing it and, I’ve got to say, it’s still hot as ever.  I’ve got a sizzling new cover to go with it.  This one’s for the erotica readers out there (although it’s got a healthy amount of romance in there, too.)

When Federal Agent Shanna McKay – aka Lily – is assigned to a new case, her shady past returns to haunt her. She has to bust drug lord Manuel Santos, who caused her sister’s disappearance years ago. The McKay sisters had been wild. Shanna became hooked on sex; her sister hooked on Santos and his drugs. Desperate to even the score, Shanna infiltrates the organization by using her most powerful weapon – her sexuality. She seduces Santos’ men one by one in an attempt to gain access to the main man. It’s a dangerous game and her boss, Joe Mitchell, knows it. He goes undercover in an attempt to save his agent before her own cover is blown. Which will be stronger – Shanna’s lust for Mitchell or her need for vengeance?

Excerpt from Tiger Lily

Download e-book   Amazon  │  Barnes&Noble  │  All Romance E-books  │  Smashwords

 

Private Dancer Release Day!

It’s finally here.  You can download Private Dancer from your favorite e-book vendor now!

Torn between two worlds, Alicia struggles to find a way to walk with her faith, but still dance with sin.

When Alicia gets caught in the conflict between her father’s church and the Satin Club owners Bas and Remy, she is the only person willing to act as a mediator. Alicia is intrigued by the high class gentleman’s club and its two sexy proprietors. She tries to stay impartial, but the sensuality of erotic dancing pulls at her, begging her to indulge.

Bas and Remy are more than happy to satisfy her curiosities and secret desires. Both offer dark temptations she can’t resist and the provocative dancing and passion awaken something long repressed. For the first time, the preacher’s daughter feels like her own person – yet at her core, she’s still a good girl. As the tension between the warring parties reaches fever pitch, she struggles to find what is right for her.

Private Dancer excerpt

Download ebook   Kindle   Nook

Private Dancer will soon be here

Coming December 20!  To pique your interest, I’ve posted a spicier excerpt from Private Dancer.  This excerpt will be up for a short time only!

Like Black Lace? Try Mischief

I was crushed several years back when Black Lace Books closed their doors.  Working with them had been a fantastic experience for me.  In fact, it was Black Lace that gave me my start by publishing Tiger Lily.  They were a top notch publisher — “erotica written for women by women” was their motto.  They published some hard-hitting stuff and allowed their writers to push the limits, all while maintaining the highest quality of writing.  A good portion of visitors to my site still seem to be searching for the old books.

Well, Black Lace Books may be no more, but I highly recommend you check out Mischief Books.  This is a new publisher of erotica and erotic romance, also based out of the U.K.  I was invited to write for them by none other than my former Black Lace editor, Adam Nevill.  So the band is back together!  My first full-length novel, Private Dancer, releases with them in one week on December 20.  This is the naughty stuff, folks.  This is erotica, although me being me, I might have had to include some romance in there.  It’s definitely pushing the boundaries for the politically correct, which made me very happy.  So if you’re looking for something fun in your stocking, try downloading this to your e-reader.

So look for Private Dancer on the 20th.

And SURPRISE, I plan to release Tiger Lily for the first time as an e-book later this month.  More details on that to come.

Happy Holidays!

Kimberly Dean app

 

I now have an app available for Android phones.  Look for the free Kimberly Dean app in your app store.  It’s all the same information you find here on my website, but it’s mobile.  Learn about new releases, read excerpts, and download e-books all with the push of a button.

Winter Wonderland 2012

I’ll be participating in Night Owl Reviews Winter Wonderland 2012 scavenger hunt.  You can win books, prizes and more!  I’ll be giving away a diamond open heart necklace.  The hunt starts December 1!

Protect Pe’Sla Lakota Sioux Sacred Site

My story, Ghost Flute, is set in the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota.  This novella is special to me, because it broke me out of a severe writing slump.  For the first time in a long time, the characters were clear and their story was vivid in my mind.  The Sioux culture and way of life are key to this story, so when I learned of the Sioux Nation’s effort to buy back land that is sacred to them, I had to share.

The Sioux Nation has until November 30th to raise money to purchase land they call Pe Sla, a sacred site in the center of the Black Hills.  Located near Mount Rushmore, this land is in jeopardy of being developed if it goes to another buyer.  The sellers have agreed to sell to the Sioux tribes if they can reach the asking price of $9 million.  “The Tribes of the Great Sioux Nation, representing the poorest counties in the United States with 80% unemployment, have pooled their strained resources to buy back stolen, sacred land. They are on the verge of accomplishing something truly monumental but need our help. The Tribes have put together approximately $7,500,000 so far but need close to $1,500,000 more to secure Pe’Sla.”

They have quite a way to go to meet their goal.  For more information, go to http://www.indiegogo.com/pesla.  Please help if you believe that preserving history and a way of life is important.

 

Private Dancer excerpt

I’ve posted an excerpt to my upcoming release, Private Dancer.  This one is a return to my writing roots.  It’s erotica, similar to the hot stories I used to write for Black Lace.  In fact, the book is edited by my former Black Lace editor, Adam Nevill.  Adam is the Editorial Director for Mischief, a new line for erotica and erotic romance books, based in the UK.  If you loved Black Lace books, you’ll definitely want to check them out.