Vivian Arend's Blog, page 72

Cowboy Fever Day 1

Since I've got a cowboy release in a couple days, I thought it was only fitting to have some fun and round up a few more. These are cowboy books that have caught my eye or that released in the last little while.

And because I can't SHOW them to you without being nice to you at the same time, Comment away on them and I'll draw a name on Wednesday from the comments to get a $10 gift certificate. Any comment you want. You read any of these? There's a few You might never have seen before. Click on covers to get to information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]There's one more that I wanted to special feature. I met Sarah online and I want to say a special congrats to her for this upcoming release.

Series: Harlequin Desire

Publication Date: November 29, 2011

Attorney Rosebud Donnelly has a case to win. And she never lets anyone see her sweat. But her first meeting with Dan Armstrong doesn't go according to script. No one warned her that the COO of the company she's fighting would be so…manly.

From his storm-colored eyes to his well-worn boots, Dan is an honest-to-goodness cowboy. But is he honest? Her yearning for the Texas tycoon goes against reason, against family loyalty, against everything she thought she believed in. And yet, in Dan's strong arms, Rosebud feels she might be ready to risk everything for one more kiss….

Snippet Saturday- Sexy Cowboys

Oh, yes, there is a theme happening here. Today, and for the next three days I've got sexy cowboy action on the blog. Starting with a snippet from this coming Tuesday's release, Rocky Mountain Heat. Come back tomorrow and Monday for some other hot and rowdy cowboy books to lasso up, and then Tuesday for the big event.

But today? A teaser:

[image error]Blake rose and made his way downstairs. His feet seemed to stop of their own accord five paces too soon. He stared at the door of the den, closed tight. Behind those doors Jaxi would be curled up, her blonde hair draped over the pillow, body nestled in the thick comforter covering the sofa bed. She probably wore one of those baby-doll nighties, her long legs exposed, her smooth shoulders bare under thin straps of some kind of soft, shiny material. Sleeping in the room next to her the first night had been difficult, and after only a week, his desire for her had grown even stronger.

Blake bit back a growl and headed to his room. His ma needed the help but this week had been sheer hell on his body. Even now he was harder than a railway spike, the thought of Jaxi close by teasing his senses. He swore the scent of her filtered through the walls.

He stripped off his jeans and shirt, then padded toward the bathroom door. Fingers on the latch, he stilled. Oh hell, he'd nearly forgotten he couldn't go in. As the oldest son he'd taken advantage of picking the only downstairs bedroom with an attached bathroom. But it had a connecting door to the den as well, and Jaxi had all her things in there. He stood, his hand glued to the doorknob. He wanted to enter, even hoped by some chance she'd have left the other door open, and he could torment himself with a glimpse of paradise.

Blake dragged a breath of air into his lungs in an attempt to cool his burning body. This wasn't right. She was a guest in their home, and yet here he was, acting like a hound dog. He should be ashamed of himself.

He grabbed his travel kit from under the bed and marched down the hall toward the large shower room in the annex. He, Matt and Daniel had promised to use the larger bathroom and let Jaxi have the privacy of the other for herself.

The sound of running water met his ears and Blake stepped into the dimly lit room, wondering why his brothers had turned on only half the lights. Splashing noises echoed. Leaving his kit on the sink counter, he rounded the corner to the showers.

And froze.

The three showerheads in the open room were separated by nothing but space. Steam filtered the dim lighting into a moonshine glow.

All he saw was wet, naked skin. Jaxi's skin. Every inch of her bare to his gaze as water poured from the middle shower, streaming in waves over her body. She faced away from him, head thrown back as she shifted to allow the water to slip over her face and down her chest. Blake, his body hot and needy, watched in a daze as the shampoo rinsed from her hair and undulated down her back, tiny bubbles racing over the curve of her waist. His gaze followed the bubbles along the gentle swell of her hips and the full curves of her ass. Her skin was pale pink from the heat of the water, faint tan lines showing on her thighs and arms.

His mouth went completely dry. Retreat. It had to happen—he had to turn and leave before she spotted him. Yet, no matter how loud his brain screamed at him, his feet remained glued in place as she slid the soap over her body. As she lifted her hands to brush her hair back from where it clung to her shoulders in white ribbons.

Blake's cock tented his boxers as Jaxi rotated under the showerhead, turning the front of her body to his sight. Her nipples were soft. Tender, juicy pink berries crowning full, taut curves. The perfect size to fill his hands and still allow him to take her into his mouth. Water slid in rivulets over her belly and through the pale blonde curls visible at the junction of the long legs he'd fantasized about so many times. Jaxi's eyes were closed, and she swayed as she washed, her hands slipping over her body in a way that made Blake heat to near boiling just from watching her. She hummed, quiet and low, her hips moving to the faint tune.

Guilt shot through him. He had no right to watch her, no right to invade her privacy and treat her like anything but the beautiful, caring person he knew her to be. She wasn't his to admire.

God help him, he wanted her to be.

~~** Samhain | Amazon|Barnes & Noble | Kobo **~~

 

Head on out to more heat…

Lauren Dane

Anne Rainey

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Selena Blake

Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend

Delilah Devlin

HelenKay Dimon

Shelli Stevens

Lacey Savage

Selena Robins

Cool new books- KITHRA by Dani Worth

Something heated and sci-fi-y. Just what my geeky heart loves. Throw in a HEA, and what could be better? New to Samhain author Dani Worth is heating up the pages with the first book of the Kithra Regenesis series.

A frustrated spaceship captain, her trusty second-in- command, and a handsome alien prove that three is definitely not a crowd.

The Kithran Regenesis, Book 1

Spaceship captain Lux Moyans is currently piloting missions for The Company. When her second-in-command, Kol Frega, informs her they've been ordered to Kithra, she's furious. A year on an uninhabitable planet? She'll only be flying supply missions! But her ship—Kol's design—is the only one that can withstand the planet's gases…and Lux is one of the few pilots with the skill to navigate the debris fields resulting from the explosions that killed most of the planet's Gwinarian race.

Kol is the engineer who learned to manipulate the indestructible metal on Kithra, and he and a surviving Gwinarian will be her only company on planet. When they pick up Egan Lothbrun, Lux knows there will be trouble. She's already attracted to Kol and she doesn't need another man to arouse her either mentally or physically. Lux doesn't want or need the complications that emotions bring. Yet, when she learns Kol and Egan share a painful past, she realizes getting Kithra livable won't be her only challenge.

Keeping her heart intact might be harder.

Product Warnings

A cranky pilot, a sexy second-in-command and an irresistible alien join…forces in more ways than one. And yes, there are close encounters of the sexy kind. OMG, the excerpt at Samhain is lovely. Tension. hmmmmmm.
Excerpt here.
~~** Samhain  (I'll pop Amazon when it goes live) **~~

I've got a $10 gift certificate for the bookstore of your choice this week. Leave a comment and let me know if you like romance in a variety of genres. I'll admit I'm JUST starting to learn to enjoy the historic. Never really went for them before, but they are getting more interesting to me now.

Winners- and way too busy

It's been a blur of a weekend. My son had his grad ceremony on Friday, which meant we drove 7 hours to attend the ceremony. Then, since we were already in Alberta, we drove back to our old stomping grounds to visit friends for a day. Then we drove the 10 hours back to our new home.

*collapses*

So a quick post today so I can get back into the writing of my latest story. Last week I mentioned two awesome books-and the winners are:

 

 

HEART OF STEEL by Meljean Brook

~~** Amazon **~~

WINNER: Brenda Hyde (you gotta love random.org, darling. You are a ~lucky~ lady lately!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEART OF DARKNESS by Lauren Dane

~~** Amazon **~~

WINNER: Colleen (comment 12) who loves the face

 

 

 

 

 

Send me your mailing addresses, ladies, and congrats! I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I did.

Hope to see everyone tomorrow!

Snippet Saturday- Setting (cowboys!)

Ten days from now the first of the Six Pack Ranch books releases, and what a better time than today to introduce you to the setting for the books. The Coleman ranch. In this case, Jaxi and Blake in what's a typical place to find them…

[image error]Blake pulled in next to the barn, his truck coated in dust. The west fields were bone dry, and he'd been driving all morning on bumpy back lanes. He stopped to take a swig of cold coffee from his thermos, distracted by a blonde head bobbing to the right of him as Jaxi walked the path to the chicken coop, her hands full of boards and tools.

Intrigued, he slipped from the truck and followed her, his eyes mesmerized by the sight of faded jeans cupping her trim ass as it swayed from side to side. She dropped her armload outside the wire surrounding the coop structure and snuck into the yard with an experienced air, shooing the chickens before her into the enclosure. Once she rounded them up, she closed the door firmly and spun to fetch her tools.

A flush crept over her skin as she spotted him standing beside the fence watching her. Then she grinned, and he reacted involuntarily to how her smile lit up his heart.

His whole body ached.

"What you doing?" He had to get a handle on himself. This is what he'd been trying to avoid, being alone with her. The setting was far from intimate and should be safe, but the edge of uncertainty was there.

Any situation with Jaxi was potential trouble as far as he was concerned.

She pointed to a section of the fencing that had worked loose, a hole dug partway under the wire. "Someone's trying to make a break for it, either in or out, and I don't want to wander the ranch looking for eggs." She propped open the gate and reached for the boards at his feet.

"You don't need to do that. One of us will fix it. Ma never told us there was a problem or we'd have done it already."

She leaned on the gate, her bright eyes sparkling at him. "I know you can fix the hole, but so can I. The sunshine is nice, and getting into the yard for some fresh air feels good." She waved the hammer at him briefly. "You go ahead and get your work done. I've got this under control."

Blake shifted back on his heels, a grin sneaking onto his face as he watched her haul the boards beside her and kneel to tackle the stiff chicken wire. She did know what she was doing—pulling the staples while holding the wire in place, twisting the hammer with enough leverage the wire popped into line rather than rolling away from her. The sun shone off her skin, a dusky tan showing on the muscles of her arms as she worked.

Jaxi glanced over her shoulder as she leaned back on the hammer, loosening an exceptionally tough staple. "You done with work for the day or what, Blake Coleman? Or have you never seen a fence fixed before so you want to learn some tips from me?"

She winked.

Minx. "Well, I haven't seen you fix a fence in a long time, Slick. Maybe you do it differently nowadays."

The hammer jerked and slipped from her grasp, her body falling back to land hard on her ass in the middle of the hen-scratched dirt. Blake stepped forward quickly to help her, and she chuckled, brushing the dirt from her jeans as she smiled sheepishly. "Maybe I do."

~~**  Samhain | Amazon|Barnes & Noble | Kobo **~~

Travel to more locations with these authors:

Lauren Dane

Anne Rainey

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Selena Blake

Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend

Delilah Devlin

HelenKay Dimon

New cover! Wolf Line

I haz a cover pretty! This is for the next in the Granite Lake series–coming June 12, 2012. I KNOW, so far away. Lucky I've got plenty to keep you busy until then. This is Jared's story and his sweetheart's name is Keri, and if you look close you can see a few more hints about the story on the cover.

Cool new books-

Before I started writing I wasn't aware that Tuesday was release day in the publishing industry. Now I have a double reason to long for Tuesday to roll around. My books, yes, but also ones that I've been waiting for, like today with TWO books featuring 'Heart' in them. Very different books, but very similar in one way. Both written by spectacular authors.

The second in Meljean Brook's amazing steampunk genre Iron Seas series is now available: HEART of Steel. And Lauren Dane begins a new (NEW!) paranormal series in HEART of Darkness.

And I have signed print books to give away! ** happy dances** I saw Meljean this past weekend while I was in Seattle at the Emerald City conference, and I forced her to sign a copy for me. And Lauren also has a copy that has been touched by her talented fingers. If you're like me and collecting both ebooks and print (Bad us! Go us!) you can buy an ebook today to gobble up and still enter to win. Not that I'm a book pusher or anything. **acts innocent**

As the mercenary captain of the Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him another opportunity to take control.

Treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair — he wants her coldhearted captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. To reclaim it, Archimedes is determined to seduce the stubborn woman who once tossed him to a ravenous pack of zombies, but she's no easy conquest.

When da Vinci's sketch attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco — and straight into their enemy's hands. But as they fight to save themselves and a city on the brink of rebellion, the greatest peril Yasmeen faces is from the man who seeks to melt her icy heart…

~~** Amazon **~~

From national bestselling author Lauren Dane comes a white-hot new series of a dangerous family legacy, and sensual paranormal passions played to the death on the knife-edge of darkness…

Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country, is asked to investigate the owner of a notorious club reportedly siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. It's a direct violation of the Clan Code of Conduct, but one look at Dominic Bright and Meriel's willing to make a deal. One taste of the sexually feral outlaw witch, and she's eager to go further: he's her bond mate, a legal conduit into the world of Clan witches and their magic.

Playing by the rules isn't Dominic's style, but bonding with Meriel–night after explosive night–is. However, Meriel has unwittingly invited someone else into her world: Dominic's mother, a dangerous and poisonously influential magic addict whose lust for death and power corrupts all she touches. Now her shadow is closing in on Meriel, her Clan, and the man Meriel loves, and it's casting them all into the inescapable heart of darkness.

~~** Amazon **~~

To enter to win, since these are both HEART books, or  Like smilies, or LOL or whatever. Or do you ever mix up or wonder what some of the shorthand means? I swear I can't see the letters BFF and get it right. My brain automatically says 'Best Fucking Friend'…which isn't exactly right.

I'll pick two winners from all the comments next Monday. Oh, you should mention in your comments if you have a preference for either book, or wouldn't mind winning either.

Winners and WIP

Last day of the month, and holy moly, where did not just this month go, but the flipping year? 2011 is almost GONE! No, I won't tell you how many days there are until Christmas–I'm not THAT cruel!

Winners from last week's Sweet and Spicy giveway-

Pam B

Georgie Lee

Julie

Brenda Hyde

Use the contact button to tell me which ebook you'd like, please, and your format. If you didn't win, I hope you go get your favorite treat from these ladies.

Best Man, Worst Man by Stacy Gail: ~~** Samhain | Amazon **~~

One Wicked Night by Kelly Jamieson: ~~** Samhain | Amazon **~~

Starting tomorrow I'm heading into the final days before the first of my cowboy books releases, and the Cowboy Roundups are going to begin here and elsewhere in the web world. Stop by tomorrow for a HEART feature day!

Today's WIP? Still WOLF LINE. OH! I'll have cover art to post this week as well for that story!

Teeny snippet:

It was his turn to be kissed into silence. Keri all but crawled up him, and her tongue was down his throat, and if he didn't exercise more control than he wanted to, he was going to be buried in her body and not let either of them come up for air all night long.

Saturday Snippet- Ooowwwwoooo!

Scary time.

Heheh. NOPE!

Come on, this is ME. I don't do scary. So the snippet today was chosen to allow your heart rate to lower from all those other scary scenes. From a little known book that you might like if you enjoy fairytales and fables: The Wind and the Sun. Oh, NSFW! The setting is a pair of lounge chairs next to each other and Zephyr just stripped to, well, nothing.

[image error]

The Wind & The Sun

Ready for a modern rematch? Time to fan the sensual fires to discover who's stronger now.

Sunshine Bright is proud to uphold the family name and help maintain their status over the Wind family. The fact that tall, dark and yummy Zephyr makes her break out in heat flashes with his mere presence is no reason she can't win the new challenge between the families for the title of the strongest.

Zephyr Wind knew it would take some planning to be able to get what he wants – and what he wants is Sunshine. All the time and in every way. The lanky blonde ties him up in knots faster than you can say gale force winds. There's also the little problem of spontaneous combustion to worry about.

Aesop will never be the same again.

~~**~~

"You know, maybe you're right. I mean, your grandfather did win the contest as it was established."

Sunshine froze in mid-fan. "Did you…admit Pop-pop won? Fair and square?"

Zephyr rolled to his back. Sunshine gulped and turned away to grab her drink. Anything to stop from looking at that flagpole rising bold as brass into the sky declaring, "Zephyrland—rides available."

"I said he won the contest as it was established. Personally, I think my grandmother was in the first stages of cyclone fever when she agreed to the terms. I mean, come on…"

Oh, not a good choice of words.

"…getting a guy to remove his cloak to prove who is stronger? Maybe Gramma was a few sheets to the wind, I heard she drank on occasion. Anyway…" Zephyr sat abruptly, swinging his legs between their chairs. His…attributes…were hidden by the bend of his body and Sunshine felt the loss.

"I'll admit your ancestor won. Still, I think it's time for another challenge to see who is stronger now." His voice was quiet and cool. It smoothed over her skin like a caress.

It made her shiver.

"What, you want to arm wrestle? That's really fair." Sunshine sat as well. Just because it was time to sit. Not because the view was better or anything.

Zephyr chuckled, a low sexy rumble that hit her hard and deep. "Oh no, not a physical challenge. At least, not physical that way."

His thigh rubbed against hers, creating icy fingers zapping up her skin towards her womb. Sunshine closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate. She didn't want any accidental bush fires on the African plains again. She took a close look at him for the first time in a long time. Zephyr's straight brown locks hung to his shoulders instead of his usual military crew cut. A couple of errant strands fell in front of his eyes and she reached without thinking to brush them back. Her fingers tingled as she touched him and she bit back a moan.

"What are you suggesting?" she asked. She swallowed hard as his gaze traced over her body, dark brown eyes with flecks of gold around the iris. "What kind of rules?"

"Strength can be defined as being the most powerful. If someone is powerful, they can rule or dictate and people have to obey. I think the most powerful things are not those forced upon you, but what you want to do again and again. Your grandfather said 'Kindness affects more than severity.' He was right in his challenge. For our challenge, however, I want it said 'Desire affects more than force.'"

He laid a soft hand on her thigh and slid his palm over her skin like a cool breeze on a summer day. In an instant, every nerve in her body went on high alert. Small circles traced by his fingertips slipped along her inner thigh then sadly back towards her knee.

"I challenge you to a contest of strength, Sunshine. Bright family against Wind family. You can use any trick in your repertoire and I can access all the emotions of the wind. At the end of the challenge, we will see what kind of desire rises to the top.

"The person who created that desire will be named the victor."

Sunshine leaned closer, angling her body to be sure he saw down her cleavage. She had to get back in the game. She'd lost ground big time in the past couple of minutes.

"We throw rays and gusts at each other?  Let's be clear on the attack method."

Zephyr ignored her chest and reached for her hand instead. He brought it to his mouth and gave her palm a soft kiss before answering in his dark chocolate voice. "You know what I'm talking about, Sunshine. Fooling around, making out, getting down and dirty. Foreplay for hours. Then sex. I have nothing scheduled for a few days my assistants can't take care of. I suggest we find a nice location and prepare for the challenge."

Sunshine hesitated. Not that she was afraid or anything, but it was close to harvest season in the prairies and she'd hate to be distracted and cause—

Zephyr lowered her hand to his lap and wrapped her fingers around his erect cock. His very hard, hot and thick cock.

Sunshine gulped.

Zephyr leaned close, his mouth a whisper away from hers. "So, we are agreed. Let the competition begin."

~~**~~

Amazon | All Romance Ebooks |Total E-Bound | Barnes & Noble

 

Oops–did I say your heart rate would lower? Heheh. Maybe not! Now go visit some people with REAL scary snippets. And we'll see you next week as I celebrate the Cowboys coming with lots of Cowboy goodness!

Anne Rainey, Eliza Gayle, Mari Carr, McKenna Jeffries, Mandy M Roth, Myla Jackson, Taige Crenshaw, Selena Blake, Alison Kent, Beth-Ann Mason, HelenKay Dimon, Shelli Stevens, Lauren Dane , Lacey Savage, TJ Michaels, Shiloh Walker

More trading cards

Second peek. Here are the cards for WOLF FLIGHT. No, I haven't put up information yet on how to get a set. Soon, my darlings, soon!

The backside of the cards has a snippet of a quote, a little about the book and then information about the characters place in the Granite Lake pack. I hope to have cards made up for the cowboys and the Takhini wolves as well.