Laurel O'Donnell's Blog, page 77
January 7, 2013
10 Reasons to read Angel’s Assassin!
Drop by Black Lion Virtual Book Tours for the start of my book tour and for 10 reasons why you should read Angel’s Assassin!
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
January 6, 2013
Inspirational Quote Monday! #1 for 2013
It’s Inspirational Quote Monday! Here’s the quote for the week – “Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” – Margaret B. Runbeck
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 31, 2012
It’s Here! New Year’s Blog Hop!
Everyone makes New Year’s resolutions. It’s a new start. A new year. A new beginning.
This year, I’m doing something different. Instead of resolutions, I’m going to set goals. Expectations. For myself.
Here’s a few: the next installment of my Lost Souls series will be out. Another medieval novel.
Those are general goals. Then there will be more time specific goals. What will my goals be for the week? For tomorrow? I’ll probably have to keep a log. I find when I do this, I budget my time too tightly. Too exactly. Planning what to do every hour. Inevitably, I miss something. There will be another goal. Not to be harsh on myself when I miss something. I’m only human.
I fully expect 2013 to be a spectacular year with my writing. I will have new stories for you and hope you will let me know what you expect from me this year!
For this New Year’s Blog Hop, I will be giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card! All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment and don’t forget to leave your email!
Below is an excerpt from Angel’s Assassin, my newest medieval romance. Enjoy!
“I loved this book. Angel’s Assassin is how Historical Romance is supposed to be. There were equal parts romance and plot and O’Donnell weaves them together masterfully.” Overflowing Bookshelves Review
“This is the quintessential historical romance–practically perfect in every way.” My Devotional Thoughts Review
Damien moved up beside Aurora as she stood looking out over the dark waters. He had accompanied her as she retreated from the grisly sight of her slain friend to the comfortable confines of the tower.
She stared out at the ocean. Tendrils of her golden hair whipped about her face like a cape. When lightning speared the sky, it threw a turbulence of light and dark shadows across her face. He saw the vulnerability in her eyes, saw the rippling of unshed tears. And then the streak of lightning disappeared, plunging her features again into blackness. Thunder rumbled above them.
“Why did you kiss me?” she wondered.
The abrupt question seemed out of place, but he knew she was trying to force her mind away from the gruesome scene she had just witnessed.
Lightning flashed in the distance, growing closer every second. The wind picked up around her, snapping her hair behind her. Damien watched the strands fly about her face, the face that sent his dark intentions soaring toward a bright light, toward a radiance that offered a shimmering ray of hope. She had a face that was simply mesmerizing to look at. The delicate, yet strong and regal, line of her jaw. The cheekbones of a Greek goddess. The lips that created the most sensual mouth any man could ever imagine. A mouth that created a voice that would humble any Siren.
“Was it to punish me? Was it to teach me something?” she asked
“To tempt you.”
“Tempt me?” she echoed, confused.
“I wanted you to be like me,” he answered truthfully. She deserved to know the truth in her last moments. “I wanted you to be flawed, weak. I wanted you to be like everyone else.”
She faced him and Damien was shocked to find vulnerability in her large eyes, a deep sadness. “You are my weakness.”
Shock speared through Damien. Me? he silently questioned. Why on earth would I be her weakness? But her words rang true. He remembered the look of concern in her eyes when she realized the arrow had poisoned him. He recalled the way she lifted her lips to his when he tempted her. Could it be? Could she truly mean what she said? Damien lifted his hand to brush one of those golden tendrils from her cheek. It encircled his hand. No. It couldn’t be. It was her grief talking. She needed someone, anyone to distract her from her pain. “You don’t know what you’re saying.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
For a moment, she stiffened, but then she relaxed against his body. The tight expression on her face melted into one of anguish.
Damien’s heart twisted at her pain. He wanted to relieve her agony, to reassure her. He bent his head to her lips.
Angel’s Assassin at Barnes and Noble
Angel’s Assassin at Smashwords
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 30, 2012
Inspirational Quote Monday! #50 of 2012
It’s Inspirational Quote Monday! Here’s the last quote for 2012 – “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.” – Helen Keller
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 29, 2012
New Year’s Blog Hop!
It’s another year over! Can you believe it? Well we authors, readers, and bloggers sure can’t. And to celebrate the New Year with bang, we’re going crazy and sending out so many prizes, fun parties, experiences, and other goodies, that it’s a bit scary. Each author has a favorite New Year memory, book, idea, or way to party and we’re going to show you! Can’t wait to see you January 1st – 6th!
And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.
But that’s not all….
We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!
Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $300 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 27, 2012
First Kiss Friday – Unbidden by Jill Hughey
Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Jill Hughey, author of romance Unbidden. Welcome Jill! Here’s the first kiss between David and Rochelle.
This excerpt is from Jill Hughey’s historical romance, Unbidden, which is book one in the Evolution Series, set in Charlegmagne’s empire. David, who has suffered debiliating headaches since being wounded in a battle, has just been assisted by Rochelle, the woman who unwillingly became betrothed to him a few days ago. They are journeying with a group of people toward her home when of his headaches strikes and, recognizing his distress, Rochelle follows David off the road to give him some herbal remedies, providing the first helpful treatment he has received since his injury eighteen months before. They rest in the shade for awhile, at first with David resting and then talking quietly in their first non-contentious conversation. Eventually, it is time to go.
EXCERPT
“Are you sure you are ready to move?” Rochelle asked. “I can feign something. A stomach ailment, my monthly, something so that you do not have to ride until tomorrow.”
“You would do that?” David asked incredulously.
“Of course. I know your pride does not allow you to admit to your affliction – which is rather silly when it stems from having a blade embedded in your skull – but everyone expects a woman to be weak.”
“I was not under the impression you hide behind other’s expectations of you.”
“I do not,” Rochelle replied with an impish smile. “But I will allow you to, if it spares you the suffering”
David began to rise, taking longer than necessary to withdraw his hand from beneath her leg. She involuntarily sucked in a breath at the pressure of his fingers sliding along her thigh. Her heart skipped in her chest. God in heaven, what was happening to her?
He knelt next to her, staring intently at her face. She thought he was gathering his strength to stand. But then he spoke. “I have many plans for us, many ideas of exactly whom will be doing what for whom. But in none of those are you providing protection for me.”
He leaned forward, softly pressing his lips to hers as casually as he’d just touched her. And his kiss felt as natural as breathing, as wonderful as the sun on her face, as exhilarating as riding Denes at a full gallop on a winter morn. His mouth lingered then he withdrew. His calloused hand cradled her cheek and he let his thumb rub across her slightly parted lips.
“I will always tell you the truth, Rochelle. No matter how you dislike it. But this is a truth you should enjoy, based on your reaction to my touch a moment ago. I long for you. I desire you and could easily while away this entire afternoon learning every curve and every need of your body. And that, my lady, is saying plenty since you yourself know my condition when this interlude began. You are apparently a temptation beyond all physical pain.”
“Temptation!” she cried. Oh Lord, here she was, as simple-minded as her housemaid Ruthie lying in the straw of Alda’s stable.
“Aye, temptation.”
“Oh, no, no, no, this is all wrong,” she wailed. “Oh, what have we done?” She swatted his hand from her face then shoved against his chest, finding it maddeningly unyielding.
He pressed her hands to him with one of his own. “We have done nothing. We will do nothing improper until the time comes for you to marry me!”
“I am not going to marry you!” she shouted, her nose inches from his.
“Yes, you are. You are able to help me when no one else has. You ministered to me. You are my succor against this pain. I am not a particularly religious man but even I can see this is providential. You are obviously meant to be my wife!”
“You are confusing my knowledge of healing with some higher message. If I married every man whom I have cured of one malady or another I should be the greatest polygamist in history! There are at least ten for whom I have lanced boils alone!”
“So you lump me in among your tenants with boils?”
“I do not lump you anywhere. I cannot even think rationally about you at all,” she cried, then bit her lip, knowing she had revealed too much, knowing he had seen the truth by the way his eyes softened and his hand slid first to her shoulder then to her neck to cradle her jaw.
“Stop that,” she protested weakly.
He kissed her forehead tenderly then whispered against it. “Have you ever tried not thinking for half a minute?”
“I have not,” she replied sharply. But she could not stop breathing in the superb scent of him. She had never thought of what a man should smell like, but here it was: earth and soap and horse and temptation, she supposed. “And I will not let you make me start now. I will not!” She drew a shuddering breath of resolution. “Besides, we should go. The others are waiting.”
END OF EXCERPT
Unbidden is also available in a bundle with book two of the Evolution Series.
Any readers who want to visit with Jill Hughey more can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or on her blog.
Thank you for being such a great hostess, Laurel!
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 23, 2012
Inspirational Quote Monday! #49 of 2012
It’s Inspirational Quote Monday! It is also Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas to all of you who have read and enjoyed my Inspirational Quote Mondays. Here’s the quote for the week – “Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world – stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death – and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.” – Henry Van Dyke
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 20, 2012
End of the World Sneak Peek at Deception!
For this special First Kiss Friday, since the world is supposed to end today, here’s a sneak peek at the next installment of Lost Souls! Deception, Coming Soon!
Defeated, Ben sat on a wooden bench with a sigh. A clap of thunder made him lift his head to the sky. Black clouds released a torrential downpour he couldn’t feel. He saw drops as they rained down into his eyes and through him, leaving his vision unaffected.
He would have to go back and tell Sam how useless the search was. Maybe they could set a trap for Cora. No. Sam would never do that. And Christian might want to fight her, stab her with an iron dagger. He didn’t know her, he only knew she was a Changed. Ben slid his dagger out of the back of his pants. He looked down at it in the palm of his hand. He should want to stab her, too. It would keep Cora weak, stop her from making the Jump into a human. But the thought of stabbing his sister made his heart ache.
Maybe they could imprison her, he thought. The image of Scala’s iron cage came to his mind. They had locked him away for centuries in it. They still didn’t know how he got out. The image of his little sister locked away in some iron cage pierced his soul. It was inhuman to do that. Scala was their enemy. Cora wasn’t. Or she didn’t used to be. There had to be another way. Something else they could do. He didn’t want to fight her.
“Ben.”
Ben whirled, standing. She emerged from the trees, a shadow at first, but then taking on a more ethereal human form. Rain splashed through her, leaving her brown hair dry. It was shoulder length, the ends still curled. She had a heart shaped face like Sam, but her eyes… they made Ben’s heart ache all over again. His hand tightened around the dagger’s handle.
Cora looked down at the blade. “Have you come to kill me?”
Shocked to hear such words from his sister, he looked down at the dagger. “You know I can’t do that,” he admitted.
“Then you’ve come to keep me weak?”
“Yes.”
She laughed softly. “I thought that would be Sam’s job.”
He set his jaw. He had to do it. He couldn’t allow her to get enough energy to make the Jump. He looked at her and they locked eyes.
Cora lifted her chin. “Do it,” she whispered.
Ben scowled. Was this some sort of trick? Did she think he couldn’t do it? He took a step toward her.
She bowed her head. “I’m so tired. I just…don’t want to be lonely anymore.” She looked up at him again with completely black eyes. “You’d be doing me a favor.”
Ben hesitated for only a moment. Then, he lifted the blade over his head. She was not Cora, he told himself. She was a Changed. He lifted the dagger higher, clenching his jaw.
Thunder boomed loudly.
She was the enemy of every Soul, a danger to all of them and to the humans. She was not Cora any longer. She was a Changed.
But no matter what he told himself, no matter what kind of monster he tried to envision her being, he only saw Cora standing before him. Her stubborn little chin lifted, daring him to bring the dagger down.
“Do it,” she encouraged.
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
Book Blast Wrapping Up!
Only 2 days left! Drop by MK McClintock Blog and read an excerpt of Angel’s Assassin!
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
December 19, 2012
Next Stop on my Book Blast!
Stop by and read an excerpt from Angel’s Assassin at The Book Connoisseur!
Laurel O'Donnell - Author - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
Laurel O'Donnell's Blog
“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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