Tory Richards's Blog, page 152

Sneak Peek Sunday

Link to participating authors
What is Sneak Peek Sunday you wonder? It's where a group of us get together and post 6 paragraphs of a book we have out, or a current WIP. This week I'm posting 6 paragraphs of Bishop's Angel , which won't be out until July 15th!

unedited excerpt of my next release

Brooke let out another scream and slammed her hands against a massive chest, shoving him away from her as hard as she could. Her only thought was making it back upstairs to the safety of her room until the police arrived. But the second her palms landed on the man’s rock-hard chest she knew she was in trouble. He stumbled back but she had a feeling it was due more to her catching him by surprise than the force of her push.

She scooted around him but suddenly his hands were on her, and for a moment they struggled against each other. Brooke was hyped up on adrenaline, and a strong sense of survival, and she used her nails and teeth on the naked arms and powerful hands trying to subdue her. It gained her enough freedom to make it to the stairs but halfway up she found her ankle grabbed, she fell, and then she was pinned beneath a heavy weight.

“No!” she cried out, struggling wildly against him. But she was no match for his superior strength and the honed muscles she felt beneath her hands. In no time his hands had wrapped around her wrists, and she was pinned against the stairs.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, his face too close to hers.

“Who the hell are you?” Brook demanded right back, twisting beneath him. It was then she felt cool air in places that she shouldn’t. Reminding her that all she had on was a thin night-shirt and a pair of bikini panties. Going by the super hard pecks against her breasts revealed her shirt had come undone, too. An insane thought crossed her mind questioning why he wasn’t wearing a shirt. She wiggled wildly, unintentionally scraping her nipples across his flesh.

“Stop before you get hurt!” he growled. In an effort to subdue her he pressed his body against hers.

We have another guest author visiting today!

CREAM 
by Zenobia Renquist 
Erotic Vampire IR Romance, MF


BLURB:

She’s entered a world where blood, sex, and cash rules everything around her.

What do a four hundred-year-old vampire and a mid-level necromancer have in common? Money. Jeliyah needs it to pay off the people who trained her and Teaghan enjoys killing to get it. Together they hunt rogue vampires—assuming Teaghan can focus on something other than getting her in bed and Jeliyah doesn’t put a bullet in him first.

The uneasy partnership promises to be lucrative until Teaghan and Jeliyah get on the wrong side of a feud. Jeliyah is forced to use forbidden magic and finds herself bound to a man she should hate—but whom she can’t stop fantasizing about.

Every second they stay alive fuels a growing desire Jeliyah is unwilling to deny. Is it the magic? The danger? The only way to get the answers she craves is to outrun the enemy or kill them. She knows Teaghan’s preference but it’s Jeliyah who must put their mind-blowing sex aside and make the choice that will decide both their fates.


EXCERPT:

First chapter online (link goes live 03 May): http://drb1stchp.com/2013/05/cream-by...
Teaghan kicked the room door shut behind him and then laid her on the nearest bed. “At least this time you’re not glowing. Let’s not make a habit of this.”“I feel the same.”“Then again…” His gaze wandered to her breasts.Images of Teaghan running his hands over her breasts and teasing her nipples entered her mind. She reared up and smacked him at the same time she brought her other arm up to guard her chest.Teaghan didn’t react except to grin at her. “You’re flushed, necromancer. Your heart rate jumped too. My little idea get you all hot and bothered?”She glared at him.“No? How about this one?”A mental picture of Teaghan yanking off her panties so he could run his tongue over her clit invaded her mind. The detail was so vivid Jeliyah felt her pussy twitch in anticipation. Damn the man and this stupid mental connection. It might be one way, but she had access to his thoughts and now he wasn’t trying to hide them. “You can’t do that without an invitation.” “So invite me.”“Shouldn’t you be going to sleep? The sun is up.”“Sun’s got nothing to do with me.” He moved closer, planting his hands on either side of her legs and leaning into her. “Invite me.”Jeliyah scooted back off the bed and away from him. Once on her feet, she said, “Don’t get all cocky just because I took some of your blood, vampire. I told you that was a one-time thing and not to get ideas.”“Yeah, I heard you but,” he hopped the bed and crowded her against the wall, “here’s the thing. You could have gotten the same results by asking me to open a vein. A simple prick to the finger for a few drops of blood would have sufficed. You kissed me, necromancer.”“It was a split-second decision. Back off.” She clutched the necrome at her throat and said, “Shield.”Teaghan laughed as the shield expanded to include him. “Forget something important, did you? Your necromes recognize me now. I’m not a threat.”Shit. She’d forgotten one of the major side effects of Recognize. Her necromes—and any others made from her blood—no longer worked against Teaghan. There was no way to deactivate Recognize either, just like an invitation once given.She shoved at his chest but he kept leaning forward until his lips were close to hers.He said, “Let’s talk about that kiss.”“It was spur of the moment. It meant nothing.”“Care to test that theory?”“You can’t. I haven’t invited you.”“Kissing is the one thing I don’t need an invitation to do.” He pushed his lips against hers as he forced her hands over her head and pressed his body closer.Jeliyah couldn’t turn from the kiss, though she tried. This wasn’t fair. Vampires needed permission to enter a person’s body. Why didn’t that extend to kissing? And why was she giving in to his kiss?

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 
Zenobia Renquist lives in her imagination. When not traveling through her fantasy worlds, she can be found in Hawaii living with her husband and two cats.

She is an Air Force brat turned Air Force wife, which means she’s accustomed to travel and does it whenever possible (so long as she doesn’t have to fly). Her favorite pastime is torturing her characters on their way to happily-ever-after for the enjoyment of her readers.

On the few occasions her muse flees the scene of the crime, Zenobia likes to read (comics, manga, and romance), go to the movies, play a few levels of whichever puzzle game has hijacked her interest or experiment with a new chain maille weave.


website - http://zenobiarenquist.com
blog - http://blog.dreneebagby.com
FB - https://www.facebook.com/Author.DRBagby.ZRenquist
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/zenobiarenquist

Buy Links: 
Ellora’s Cave - http://www.ellorascave.com/cream.html

Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3UYBJC/Nook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cream-zenobia-renquist/1114503151?ean=9781419944659Kobo - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/CREAM/book-B0GDBxjujEKbzoyNiqjG7g/page1.htmlARe (coming 03 May)

Zenobia will be awarding a $25 Starbucks GC to both a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a randomly drawn host. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/virtual-super-book-blast-cream-by.html

Sinful Sirens Blog Hop

LINK to participating authors! Welcome the the Sinful Sirens blog hop! There's 150 participating authors and everyone is giving away a prize. So there's lots of chances to win something. And you have 5 days to visit every blog, leave a comment and your email addy. And while you're here, if you haven't already signed up for my newsletter the form is located at the right.

My giveaway is a $20.00 gift card, to one person, for Bath and Body Works. Just answer the question: What's my favorite coffee at Dunkin Donuts? hint...answer can be found on my who is tory richards link located under Pages at the right


If anyone is interested in reviewing A Perfect Fit or Surrender to Desire in exchange for a FREE copy please let me know.

Please welcome author Tawny Weber!

MIDNIGHT SPECIALby Tawny Weber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~BLURB:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
After a couple of seconds of his death stare, Marni’s smile drooped, then she bit her lip and looked away.
There. He still had it.
The ability to intimidate sweet women. He’d bet he could make babies cry and puppies whimper, too.
“You look grumpy.”
Hunter scowled.
“Really grumpy,” she decided, closing the lid of her laptop, setting it aside and getting to her feet. She glanced at the clock on the wall, then at her watch as if to verify the time. “I’ll bet you’re hungry. We haven’t had anything but coffee in two hours. Want to get breakfast?”
“Look, I can’t do this roommate thing. It was nice enough of you to offer to share, but it’s just not going to work.”
“So you’re leaving?”
“No, you are.”
Her cupid’s bow mouth dropped open and she stared for so long, he wanted to blow on her face to make her blink.
“It’s my berth. I was in it first. Out of the goodness of my heart, I offered to share it with you. So why would I give it up?”
Hunter considered flashing his FBI badge and going the national security route. But he was seriously tired. Tired and sore and empty. He needed a little downtime. He had a week to build a case that would put away the head of one of the biggest criminal organizations on the east coast. He wasn’t going to do that with people bugging him, asking FBI questions and passing him in the hallway muttering “the truth is out there.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy romances since her first Harlequin Blaze hit the shelves in 2007.  A fan of Johnny Depp, cupcakes and color coordination, she spends a lot of her time shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking and hanging out on Facebook. 

Readers can check out Tawny’s books at her website or join her Red Hot Readers Club for goodies like free reads, complete first chapter excerpts, recipes, insider story info and much more.  And for a limited time, she has a few open spots on her Street Team!

Social Links:Website – http://tawnyweber.comFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/TawnyWeber.RomanceAuthorTwitter –  https://twitter.com/TawnyWeberPinterest - http://pinterest.com/tawnyweber/Midnight Special link:   http://tawnyweber.com/books/midnight-special/ 
Purchase Links:-   All About Romance-   Amazon-   Barnes & Noble-   Books-A-Million-   Harlequin-   Powells-   iTunes

Tawny will be awarding a bookmark goodie package to one commenter at each stop (bookmark, signed cover flat, post it pad, magnet) and a grand prize of a $25 Amazon / BN (or other bookstore of the winner's choice) GC to one randomly drawn commenter during this tour and her other Book Blast on May 9th.

I will draw one winner from all commenters for the bookmark goodie package and send her their name and email address.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/super-book-blast-2-midnight-special-by.html

It's Monday!

I survived three days with the little ones while my daughter and her husband took a cruise. I'm glad that I'm able to give them mommy/daddy time together, but it's amazing how exhausting it is when the kids are acting like kids, running and screaming throughout the house. Then I remind myself I'm almost 60 and things aren't as easy as they were 30 years ago. 

I have to share a funny incident between me and my 6 year old granddaughter. We decided to have a Twilight day. She'd already seen the movies but I decided we would skip Breaking Dawn I because she wasn't allowed to watch the bed breaking scene anyways, and I didn't want her watching the whole baby issue thing. Those of you who've watched the series know what I'm talking about.

I can't remember which movie it's in, either New Moon or Eclipse, but it's the scene where Jacob, Bella and a school friend go to the movies. All of a sudden Alivia shouts out with excitement, "Oh yeah, this is where he (meaning Jacob) gets hot!"

So I say excitedly, "Yeah! This is where he gets all buffed up, with ripped abs and nice..." I glance at her and she's looking at me with confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

I think for a moment. And then it dawns on me that she's talking about the scene at the movies where he gets hot, you know, as in fever? 

I actually felt myself blushing!

HOW TO START A FIGHT

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer. Always something more important to me. Finally she
thought of a clever way to make her point.

When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the
grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

Sneak Peak Sunday

Link to participating authors!
Sneak Peak Sunday is where a group of authors gets together and post 6 paragraphs of one of their published books or a WIP.  This week I've decided to post 6 paragraphs of the second book I had published, The Senator's Daughter.


 Chapter 3 
     The elevator door opened and Brent stepped into the hallway just in time to see Sophie disappearing behind the stairwell door. Shooting Tom a look of disgust, he took off after her. If you want something done right, do it yourself. All Tom had to do was escort her to the apartment across the hallway and hold her there until he arrived. It was his fault for not taking into account that Tom’s adventures were strictly limited to office work and not kidnapping. 

Brent knew he had to stop Sophie before she reached the garage, and security. Senator Adams had spent nearly a week just convincing him to help and now the whole plan was about to go up in smoke. There was no way he was about to face his old friend this early in the game with news of failure. He hit the door running, the force sending it against the wall as he sprinted after her taking the stairs two at a time. Her speed and determination surprised him; she was already a floor away. Funny, she hadn’t struck him as a survivalist but more like a woman who’d be helpless against someone kidnapping her. He’d taken her softness and pampered upbringing for granted and should have remembered that looks could be deceiving. 

Just as she reached the third floor, he heard her gasp; watching as she stumbled before releasing a cry he suspected was from sheer frustration more than pain. Gaining on her, he reached out, his fingertips just grazing the delicate bones of her shoulder. A scream of pure fright echoed through the hollow stairwell, almost breaking his eardrums. She might as well have pulled the fire alarm. He swore. If the security guards didn’t hear that and come running, it would be a miracle. 

His hand closed firmly over her shoulder and he pushed her into a dark corner, entrapping her there with his body. Sensing she was about to let out another scream, he quickly slapped his hand over her mouth, effectively cutting it off. 

“I’m not going to hurt you…damn it!” he swore when she bit down on his hand. “Unless you do that again!” he threatened, grating the words out as he shook his hand. 

Brent knew it was too dark for Sophie to see him, but she had to know he wasn’t the same man who’d entered her apartment. He and Tom were nowhere near the same height, or build. His hand returned to her mouth as he pinned her against the wall. He realized his mistake immediately. Everything about her assailed his senses, blinding him to what his objectives were. The last thing he expected was his body’s betrayal by responding to her nearness. The first thing he had to do was distance himself. 

Thank God it's Friday!

I know a lot of you live for Fridays. My daughter and son-in-law are on a cruise until Sunday so I'm watching the little ones until then. So far they've survived grandma, and I've survived them. Today is movie day but right now they're playing in Alivia's room. They play together pretty good for the most part, in spite of their age difference, and gender difference.
Tomorrow my niece comes up to spend some time. That will be a nice break. Weeze is just a little bitty thing so Alivia often forgets she's a grown woman, and thinks she has a playmate. So I told my niece to make sure she brings her play clothes. 
Too quiet...better go check to see what they're up to!

New Review Just in for Hot Spot!

Woohoo! Hot Spot just received 4-stars at The Romance Reviews ! Here's some of what Angie had to say...Tory Richards excels in getting into the hearts and minds of both her hero and heroine and presents both the male and female POV equally well. With gentle humor, she briefly delves into familial disapproval and acceptance, while injecting this spicy read with numerous passionate encounters and a positive message that life and love can be just as promising for the forty-plus crowd as it is for a young couple in the first throes of love.

My daughter gave me my Mother's Day gift early because th...

My daughter gave me my Mother's Day gift early because they leave for a weekend cruise in the morning. I love candles, but with cats I can't burn them. She bought me a pretty ceramic owl with a little bowl on top of his head. A light bulb goes inside his belly,and it plugs in. Then you put this square piece of candle wax in the bowl and it melts from the light bulb. It really works and in no time the scent of lavender filled the room. I love it! Now she wants one:)