Laurel O'Donnell's Blog, page 43
August 30, 2015
August 20, 2015
First Kiss Friday – A Knight to Call My Own by Sherry Ewing
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Sherry Ewing, author of historical romance A Knight to Call My Own. Welcome back Sherry! Here’s the first kiss between Lynet and Ian MacGillivray.
Blurb:
When your heart is broken, is love still worth the risk?
Lynet of clan MacLaren knows how it feels to love and not have that love returned. Her brother-in-law has decided a competition for the right to wed Lynet is just the thing his willful charge needs to force her hand.
Ian MacGillivray has returned to Berwyck in search of a bride. But Lynet is anything but an easy conquest and he will need more than charm to win her hand.
From the English borders to the Highlands of Scotland, the chase is on for who will claim the fair Lynet. The price paid will be high to ensure her safety, and even higher to win her love.
Excerpt:
When would she stop making such stupid decisions as actually looking at the man, not that she had anywhere else to gaze, given his close proximity. The firelight from the torches in the wall sconces brought out the red of his hair. She would have sighed at the sight of it, but would not give him the gratification. His heavy lidded, hazel eyes took on a light of their own and seemed to search into her very soul. She gulped and watched a gleam enter those knowing orbs whilst a discerning grin formed on his mouth. A mouth that was rapidly closing the distance between them!
“Do not dare─”
Her words were cut off as his mouth quickly took possession of her own, for possess her he did, with just the slightest first brush of his lips. She gasped when a turbulent wave of searing heat radiated throughout her entire body. But, such a profound encounter only allowed him to further plunder her senses as his tongue began to frolic with her own. Sweet Jesus, what in the world is he doing to me?
She felt his hands cup her face ’til he tilted her head, allowing him better access to her mouth. An unexpected moan escaped her. ’Twas, apparently, what he had wanted to hear from her. The sound surely only confirmed his own damn suspicions that she had told a lie when speaking of the effect of Rolf’s kiss. She was certain such a revelation pleased him.
His hands began a slow descent as they roamed down her back ’til he cupped her bottom, bringing her up hard against his solid frame. She quaked in response to such intimacy between them. Her shock did not stop his arm from winding around her waist, keeping her firmly in place as he continued to devour her last shreds of reality. The disbelief of feeling his firmly muscled body pressed up against her own sent any sense of prudence to remain indifferent to him fleeing from her mind. How could one keep a hold on any form of rationality when all she could suddenly feel was the unmistakable form of his manhood pressed intimately against her?
She was lost, and she unexpectedly cared not. Nay…all she could recognize in her feeble attempts to remain level headed was the fact that any control of the situation she may have had up to this point had vanished as soon as Ian had kissed her. Her arms made their way up and around his neck to playfully finger his shoulder length hair. She mimicked what he was doing to her mouth, letting him teach her what he liked. She must have done something right, for she heard his own groan of pleasure whilst he tightened his grip upon her.
Was it just her imagination, or did her body seem to mold itself to his own, as if they had been made for one another, even whilst his hands roamed freely over her backside? And yet, she did not complain, or even make the slightest protest. This was how it felt to finally be in his arms. She had dreamed of this moment for so long, she was almost waiting for someone to come and wake her, for surely she must be dreaming. She reached out and clasped the nape of Ian’s neck as she urged him onward in this journey he was taking her on. ’Twas sheer bliss…bliss ’til she felt herself being rudely yanked from his embrace.
Lynet gazed around with passion filled eyes to see who had interrupted them, but there was no one near, except the man who had proved his point that Rolf was not the knight for her. Aye! The deliberate burning glare in those obnoxious hazel eyes told her he knew exactly what he had done to her, and he was glad for it, the bastard.
Ian leaned down from his towering height so they came almost nose to nose. “Lesson number one, Lynet, is never lie to me again. Rolf is a good man, but he will never be able to make you feel the way I can. I will be victorious at the end of the games, and you will be my wife. You…are…mine.”
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Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
August 13, 2015
First Kiss Friday – The Baron’s Quest by Elizabeth Rose
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Elizabeth Rose, author of historical romance The Baron’s Quest. Welcome back Elizabeth! Here’s the first kiss between Nicholas Vaughn and Muriel Draper.
Blurb: Muriel Draper is the daughter of a merchant – a spinster – one who spins wool. In an act of desperation, she goes to the docks to sell her wares, and while trying to escape the baron she hides away on a ship – that ends up being the baron’s. Nicholas Vaughn is Lord of New Romney and a Baron of the Cinque Ports. And the last thing he needs is to find a stowaway aboard his ship who also happens to owe him a debt.
Excerpt: Muriel hated this part of the ship. The horizontal planks over her head had spaces in between that allowed the water that splashed onto the ship to drip down atop her in the hold. It was a dark, dank, place and it smelled horrendously. She was also standing ankle-deep in filthy water. The bottom of her gown was soaked, making it heavy and hard to move. She heard a scattering noise on the crossbeam above her head and then a thump atop the barrel she was holding onto. She glanced up to see a rat almost touching her fingers as its whiskers came closer and it inspected her hand.
She pulled her hand away quickly, and held back the scream threatening to spill forth from her lips. She closed her eyes, not even daring to breathe. Finally, she opened her eyes slowly, only to find the baron’s face close to hers as he leaned forward over the barrel to see her.
“Oh!” The ship listed again, and she fell backwards in surprise. She fell on her bottom, now sitting in the filthy bilge water almost up to her waist. She’d managed to keep her travel bag above the wet floor, but at this point it probably didn’t make a difference.
“You just can’t seem to listen to orders can you?” he spat.
“I . . . I’m not on the docks,” she said and tried to fake a smile.
“Come on you little stowaway, this is no place for a girl.” He reached out and put his hand on her arm and pulled her to her feet. He did it with force, and the ship leaned back the other way at the same time. This caused her body to be offset, and from the added water weight to her skirt, she went barreling right into him. He put his other hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling. There was an awkward silence between them, with only the sound of creaking wood and waves splashing against the hull of the ship.
“I didn’t mean to be a stowaway,” she finally said. “It’s just that . . . you frightened me.” She looked up slowly, waiting for his outburst. But instead, the corners of his eyes crinkled and perused her as if he had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life. There was a slight stream of light coming through the plank floorboards overhead, and it fell across his face in a striped pattern, making him seem as dark and dangerous as he was handsome.
“I . . . scare you? Why? Have I ever done anything to you to make you feel this way?”
He almost sounded as if he cared. She liked that in a noble, as it wasn’t a trait for a man of his status to care about anyone but himself.
“I – suppose not,” she said. “Yet.”
He turned slightly and now the bright light from the open door of the hold shined against his face, letting her get a close-up view of this powerful man. His eyes were green like emeralds. His honey-colored hair was mixed with shades of ochre, falling almost to his shoulders. He had a slight blond stubble on his jaw. He was tall and foreboding, and she was sure he would be asking for her to pay her debt next. Her stomach churned just wondering how she would answer.
“A young girl like you shouldn’t be so bold. Don’t you know you are only asking for trouble by coming to the docks alone? I saw you earlier with that questionable trader. You are lucky I shouted out to stop him or he might have had his way with you.”
She knew better than anyone she had been acting reckless. And he was also right that she could have been ravished by the awful man in the end.
“Now, we have a matter to discuss that has to do with the two month’s rent you owe me,” he continued.
She knew she had to do something to distract him or he’d be taking the land from her next. She’d already lost so much that she couldn’t lose this too. So without thinking what she was doing, she reached up and threw her arms around his neck. Standing on her tip-toes she pressed her mouth against his in a passionate kiss.
Nicholas was taken by surprise when the girl boldly and foolishly reached up and kissed him. His hands automatically went to her waist, the way they always did when he found himself kissing a beautiful woman. She pulled away slightly, and though he knew he should be angry, instead, he found himself wanting to taste her again.
She was petite and thin-boned and had the alabaster smooth skin of a noble. While she had the manners of a peasant and the courage of a knight, with her head thrown back and her eyes closed she looked genteel, passionate, and much like a lady. Her long, golden hair was twisted into a knot and tucked up under a small cap she wore on her head. She had a mantle over her shoulders that didn’t quite reach the ground. And her formerly amber colored dress was now a dingy shade of brown, as he swore it had soaked up half the bilge water in the belly of the ship.
“What was that for?” he asked, running his tongue over his lips, savoring the sweet essence of her kiss.
Her eyes opened slowly, and her tongue darted out to lick her upper lip, and the action excited him to know she was relishing the taste of him as well.
“That was for saving me. From that – that awful man.” Her eyelids fluttered, and he realized she was only using this as a distraction, hoping he’d forget about the debt she owed. Well, if she wanted to play with fire, then he needed to teach her that she could get burned.
He pulled her closer, placing his lips against hers again, meaning to teach her not to play games. He figured he’d scare her and she’d pull away, but once again she surprised him by doing the opposite and returning his kiss. This time her tongue shot out and entered his mouth.
A moan lodged at the back of his throat and his loins stirred beneath his braies. What started out as a game was now turning into a lesson he didn’t want to stop.
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
August 6, 2015
First Kiss Friday – A Knight’s Seduction by Catherine Kean
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Catherine Kean, author of historical romance A Knight’s Seduction. Welcome back Catherine! Here’s the first kiss between Lady Claire Sevalliere and Tye.
“Tye—”
His finger pressed to her lips, silencing her. “No more questions. I am finished talking about me.” His hungry gaze settled on her mouth.
He wanted to resume their discussion about kissing.
With a sideways jerk of her head, she dislodged his finger. Still, though, she felt the weight of his skin pressing to hers. “W-what you want, I—”
“What I want, I take. If you learned naught else about me, you must have understood I am that kind of man.”
“You are going to kiss me,” she whispered.
“Aye.”
“Even if I am not willing?”
“Aye.”
“Even if I have already had the perfect kiss?”
”Especially if you believe that.”
His face was barely a breath from hers. She pressed back against the hard stone, expecting the brutal and unrelenting crush of his mouth. Instead, the tip of his nose brushed hers in a gentle, teasing caress. Loose strands of his hair tickled her face, while his breath skimmed over her cheek.
“I could be wrong,” he murmured, sending tingles racing across her skin, “but I thought you might be willing.”
His hands settled at her waist. His hold, light but firm, sent sweet fire racing through her veins. Oh, but she mustn’t let him kiss her. If he knew she wanted his kiss, there was no telling how far the intimacies might go.
Her mind whirled, desperately trying to think of a way to stop him. Tilting her chin up, she asked, “Why would you think—?”
His mouth covered hers. His soft, warm lips brushed against hers with the lightest of touches. Her body answered instantly. The heat within her leaped, soared. She suddenly felt hot, weightless, as if she’d been caught up in a blinding beam of sunlight.
She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes until she heard his husky laugh.
Her eyelids fluttered open. The air in her lungs expelled on a sigh.
He grinned. “Well? Was that as good as your perfect kiss?”
“Nay,” she managed breathlessly. A lie. A necessary falsehood. She had to get away, for the kiss had been wonderful. So astonishingly marvelous, in fact, she wanted another, but she was not going to swoon in this rogue’s arms.
If she made him angry, he’d release her and step away. Wouldn’t he?
“Nay,” Tye repeated. His eyes narrowed.
He didn’t look at all deterred. Indeed, he appeared even more determined to prove her wrong.
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
August 1, 2015
Summer Medieval Madness! Author Hop!
Welcome to the Summer Medieval Madness Author Hop! Make sure you hop around to the other authors sites for your chance to win special prizes! Their links are at the bottom of my post. My featured book for this Author Hop is Angel’s Assassin.
SPECIAL TREAT!!! For those of you who have already read Angel’s Assassin, I have a special treat! At the end of August, I am putting out a novella with more adventures of Aurora and Damien entitled Cherished Protector of Her Heart! If you’d like to receive this novella free, please comment on this post with your email and I’ll make sure you receive a copy! If you haven’t read Angel’s Assassin, please go pick up your copy now!
Here’s Lady Aurora to tell you a little bit about Angel’s Assassin.
Good day, All! It truly is an honor to have you here so that I can tell you my story. It is a story of love and redemption. Of course, I had my doubts at first.
I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Aurora, Lady of Acquitaine. I try to be a fair ruler and judge with patience. Damien keeps me in check these days. I used to wear myself out taking care of everyone. I remember days where I would sit in the judgment chair from morn til eve, or at least until I heard all the petitions and complaints. Now, Damien makes me stick to a schedule. When the time to hear petitions is over, he stalks into the hall, so brooding and commanding that my poor people cower. I can only smile at him. And when I do, his scowl disappears and he is transformed into the Damien I love. My people don’t know his true nature. They don’t know what a wonderful man he is. I suppose it is his black eyes that scare many of them. Or maybe that perpetual frown. One can hardly blame him. His past was brutal and hard. His father sold he and his brother, Gawyn, into slavery when they were young. He spent many years on that slave ship and even darker years under Warin Roke’s tutorage to become an assassin. The marks left on Damien’s back from the lashings he received are horrible. Damien won’t talk about it.
Despite all of this, Damien has turned out to be a wonderful ruler. The knights respect his skill. And he is skilled. Extremely so. In hand to hand combat, with a sword…and most notably in bed.
Where does our story start? When Damien saved me from an assassin right in the center of Acquitaine’s square. Even then, there was a connection between us. He calmed my fear. I saw safety in his black eyes. I wanted to be with him, wrapped in his strong arms. I knew he was a hero, even though he didn’t. It took a little convincing, but I think I won on that account.
Damien and I have come through a lot. I can only say that he is the Angel’s Assassin.
I have a wonderful summer dessert recipe for you! It’s a White Chip Fruit Tart. You will love it!
RECIPE!
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups (12 oz pkg) Premier white chips
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
Assorted fruit
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 300 Degrees
2. Beat butter and powdered sugar in small bowl until smooth; blend in flour. Press mixture onto bottom and up side of 12 inch round pizza pan. Flute edge, if desired.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned; cool completely.
4. Place white chips and whipping cream in medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Beat in cream cheese. Spread on cooled crust. Prepare FRUIT TOPPING (Below). Arrange fruit over chip mixture; carefully pour or brush topping over fruit. Cover; refrigerate assembled tart until just before serving.
FRUIT TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Stir together sugar and cornstarch in small saucepan; stir in juices. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool.
I do so hope you will like this tart. Thank you for joining us for Summer Medieval Madness. Don’t forget to visit the other authors! And please, pick up your FREE copy of The Bride and The Brute.
1) Elizabeth Rose 2) Laurel O’Donnell
3) Kathryn Le Veque 4) Tanya Anne Crosby
5) April Holthaus 6) Emma Prince
7) Suzan Tisdale 8) Keira Montclair
9) Eliza Knight 10) Ruth Kaufman
11) Lana Williams
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
July 23, 2015
First Kiss Friday – At His Command by Ruth Kaufman
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Ruth Kaufman, author of historical romance At His Command. This is one of the wonderful novels included in the Castles, Knights and Chivalry boxed set available for preorder for only 99 cents. Welcome Ruth! Here’s the first kiss between Sir Nicholas Gray and Lady Amice Winfield.
“What things?” Nicholas repeated. He stepped closer, grabbing Amice’s pole so she couldn’t accidentally whack him in the head in her fury.
What angered her so? Bits of hair curled on her reddened cheeks, begging him to push them away. Her green eyes sparked with gold as she glared at him. Even Amice’s fury enticed him.
Exactly why Nicholas had welcomed Maud’s arrival. He could talk to Maud without wanting to hold her hand or hold her, without stirrings of desire. Without being sad when their time together ended. Yet he’d missed Amice. His friend. His…what?
One of his hands closed over hers. The simple contact elicited a rush of longing, almost making him relinquish his grip. Why did he react to her so strongly?
“Going riding with Maud, as though you had nothing better….”
Without thinking, he stopped her reproach with his mouth. He’d wanted to do that for so long. The sweet taste of her heightened his excitement.
This, at last, was what he’d waited for, swirling vibrations of yearning, as he kissed her in the bailey.
In the bailey! Instantly, his passion cooled. They were in plain view. Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying attention.
“How dare you kiss me?” she hissed. “If you try that again, this will stop you.” She brandished her pole as she hurried back to her vat.
Nicholas concealed a grin as he watched Amice poke viciously at the wet wool. His impulse to smile vanished. Henry and Margaret trusted him to safeguard Amice until they agreed on a groom. Compromising her in any way was unforgivable. Yet Amice had but to enter a room and all activities but being with her lost their luster. Being inches away from her lovely face, her slender body, made him lose control. Unforgivable.
He’d conquer his desire with the same determination he’d used to fight those who trespassed on English soil. His weapon against invaders was his sword. Against the lure of Amice, he’d have to rely on self-discipline and denial.
* * *
“The wool is too dark now. I’ll have to start over,” Amice called as Nicholas walked away.
Her flushed cheeks stood testament to interrupted desire, but Amice hoped he thought her heightened color was due to the heat.
With his warm lips moving upon hers, longing for more had filled Amice so that she’d barely been able to stand. She’d wanted to melt into him, let him whisk her to her room. Surprise at her strong reaction, at being kissed in public, led her to snap at him rather than indulge further.
Better he believed she had no interest in him. Leading him to think otherwise could only result in disaster.
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
July 21, 2015
Find of the Week! Boxed set for 99 cents!
Award winning and best selling authors! Denise Domning, Catherine Kean, Eliza Knight, and Laurel O’Donnell
Only 99 cents!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
July 16, 2015
First Kiss Friday – Lady of the Mist by Elizabeth Rose
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Elizabeth Rose, author of historical romance Lady of the Mist. This is one of the wonderful novels included in the Castles, Knights and Chivalry boxed set available for preorder for only 99 cents. Welcome Elizabeth! Here’s the first kiss between Garrett and Echo.
“What the hell is so damned funny?” Echo ground out.
Garrett laughed again as if something she’d said had amused him. Then he walked around the fire and came to sit by her side. He leaned back against the rock, and before she knew it, his arm was around her shoulder. She looked down at his hand and then back up to his eyes.
“You, sweetheart,” he answered. “You make me laugh.”
“Quit calling me sweetheart. Save it for some of yer pompous ladies of the court. It does naught fer me.”
Actually, she rather liked the endearment. It was nothing that she’d ever heard in her life from anyone. It made her feel special. But still, it made her uncomfortable at the same time. That was an endearment for refined ladies – not for a pirate’s daughter raised by whores and smelly sea dogs. Nay, she didn’t deserve that name at all.
“I agree you are far from a lady,” he told her, “and that is what I like about you.”
“What?” She wasn’t sure if he was being sincere, or making a jest.
“No lady could have saved my life, helped me escape, and out drank and tricked a ship full of men the way you did. I have never seen a woman climb the rigging, wield a sword, or fight. I have the wounds to prove your accuracy too,” he said with a smile.
“So . . . yer sayin’ ye like that in a woman?” she asked, trying to understand what he meant.
“I’m saying . . . I like that in you.” He brought his face close to hers, so close she could feel his breath on her lips. “You amuse me and amaze me every minute of the day,” he told her. “And that excites me like no woman has ever done before.”
Before she could respond, he’d placed his lips gently over hers. He tasted like the sea . . . and better still, sunshine and fresh air. There was a manly essence to him that excited her as well. He was handsome and courteous, and stood for morals and truth. He was the embodiment of everything that she’d been raised not to be. He protected the channel while she raided it. He was a knight with chivalric actions, and a baron who carried out orders for his king and country. She was a thief in the night that picked a fight for nothing better to do when she was bored.
His lips caressed hers again, and his other arm encircled her as he pulled her closer. This time she realized she was tasting power and authority. Nobility and . . . passion!
She pulled away so fast she almost hit her head on the rock behind her.
“What’s the matter my Lady of the Mist, do I scare you?”
Scare her he did, but she would never let him know it. He scared her because once she tasted his lips upon hers and felt the warmth of his embrace, she knew it was what she’d been searching for her entire life.
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
July 14, 2015
Find of the Week! Only 99 cents!
Best Selling authors!
Medieval Boxed Set!
Four full length novels!
Only 99 cents!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
July 12, 2015
Thank You!
I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my readers! Writing can sometimes be a very lonely profession. Self doubt and uncertainty plague us as writers. Without your support, I wouldn’t be able to continue to write the tales that I have shared with you. I hope that my stories have brought you as much enjoyment as your kindness has brought me. To each and every one of you, my sincere thanks!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
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“What do you want from me?”
Perhaps it was ridiculous, Ryen thought. Men never seemed to have a problem with taking what, ...more
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