Gem Sivad's Blog, page 18

Weekend Writing Warriors

Hi, everyone. It’s 68 °F here so…

Happy 
Almost-Spring 
Weekend!

A year ago, on February 22, 2013, I published River’s Edge, and unbeknownst to me at the time, began my Unlikely Gentlemen series.

Recently, I’ve been posting from Outrageous Pride, Book 2, and Cerise Amour, Book 2.5 (Available April 10, 2014). But, it seemed appropriate to celebrate the series birthday with a snippet from Book 1 , the romance that launched Unlikely Gentlemen– with a naked cowboy and an artist hiding in a willow  tree.

By midmorning, the earlier breeze had stilled and the relentless sun poured from a cloudless sky, raising the day’s temperature to scorching hot. Inside her willow retreat, perspiration trickled from River’s forehead to her nose and dropped in a splat on her sketchpad.

The abrupt cessation of noise below pulled her gaze back to the cowboy. He’d stopped hammering and, as she watched, pulled his shirt over his head and wiped his face with it before dropping it on the ground.

Prodded by earthy desire rather than artistic intent, she studied him. She had, of course, seen partially clothed male torsos before—but not often and never in the last five years.

Even from the distance of the willow tree, his masculine beauty made her insides quiver at the same time her pragmatic nature winced.

Has he no sense? Though she enjoyed the sight of his exposed skin, as the sun crept higher in the sky, his  muscled back became flaming red and her indecorous ogling gave way to concern.

Blurb:

River Prescott has everything she’s ever wanted—except perhaps a man. The unconventional ranch owning artist is very certain she doesn’t want a husband. But sometimes she can’t help wishing for a lover; especially after her new neighbor trespasses and she gets a full frontal view of his assets.

Edge Grayson moves onto the rundown spread he’s inherited, expecting to stay aloof from nearby town business. But between local artist, River Prescott’s determination to seduce him, and protecting her from a killer on the prowl, the ex-gunslinger is finding respectability a lot more dangerous (and interesting) than his former life of sin.

Available @ Amazon: http://amzn.to/X41UMr

A Crowned Heart Review 

What does an illegitimate, ex-hired gun have to offer a lady?…volcanic sexual tension… InD’Tale Magazine

Find more Weekend Writing Warrior authors  here.

Have a great weekend and…

THINK SPRING!!

Weekend Writing Warriors

Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend, everyone! Next week I’m switching  stories so this will be the last snippet from Outrageous Pride as we continue last week’s first kiss. 

“Open for me, mo chroi,”  he growled and nipped her bottom lip.

One big paw continued cradling the back of her head, while calloused fingers from the other hand tilted her chin, bettering his access to her mouth. Hesitantly, Tali parted her lips for him, then stiffened, shocked when his tongue brushed through the opening.

She had no idea what to do as he seemingly tasted her. But, instead of withdrawing from his embrace as she should have, she pressed her front to his chest, hoping to ease the sudden distress of nipples that tingled and breasts that ached.

The contact was better, yet not enough. She wrapped her arms around Kellan’s neck to get closer. He groaned and the reverberation tickled her, raising goose bumps on her arms.

Blurb:

When Natalia Fitzwilliam discovers that she’s the love child of a Texas rancher, her nebulous wedding plans suffer a knock-out punch.

Bare-knuckle boxer Kellan Lonigan is in Texas inspecting his investments when he recognizes Miss Fitzwilliam as a damsel in distress. Kell offers Tali his name for protection, knowing that he intends to claim the biggest prize of all—Tali’s heart.

What could a bluidy Irishman and a sheltered miss find in common? Bliss.

Now only 99¢ at Amazon.com! 

5 Stars 

Irish brogue and innocent beauty, captured from the beginning…” Sandy, Review at Amazon

To find more Weekend Writing Warrior author snippets, visit the WeWriWa page here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love to you all!

Weekend Writing Warriors

Hi, it’s February everyone in case (like me) you haven’t had time to look at the calendar. No doubt about it, LUV  is in the air.

I’m posting from my turn of the century romance, Outrageous Pride (Unlikely Gentlemen 2) this week. Sharing Kell and Tali’s first kiss.

“If I could give ye but one wish lass, what would ye have from me?”

Tali leaned closer, studying the dings and dents on Kellan Lonigan’s face; and then she mumured, “A kiss.”

Before she could change her mind she brushed her mouth across Kell’s, closing her eyes to better savor the experience. His lips were dry and when she felt a rough indentation on his upper lip, she tentatively touched it with her tongue, identifying it as the scar she’d noticed there.

His breath was warm and tea-scented when he huffed in surprise. And then it was her turn to be startled as his big palms moved from holding her hand, to drawing her to her feet, and then moving her to his lap–all without breaking the kiss.

“You’ve completely muddled my senses,” she whispered when she could finally speak.

His teeth flashed white in a wicked grin as he rumbled, “Have I, now?”

Blurb:

When Natalia Fitzwilliam discovers that she’s the love child of a Texas rancher, her nebulous wedding plans suffer a knock-out punch.

Bare-knuckle boxer Kellan Lonigan is in Texas inspecting his investments when he recognizes Miss Fitzwilliam as a damsel in distress. Kell offers Tali his name for protection, knowing that he intends to claim the biggest prize of all—Tali’s heart.

What could a bluidy Irishman and a sheltered miss find in common? Bliss.

Now only 99¢ at Amazon.com! 

5 Stars 

Irish brogue and innocent beauty, captured from the beginning…” Sandy, Review at Amazon

To find more Weekend Writing Warrior author snippets, visit the WeWriWa page here.

Have a chocolate-covered-strawberry kind of week!

Weekend Writing Warriors

Hi everyone. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Today I’m sharing eight sentences from Cerise Amour, my Unlikely Gentlemen coming soon title.

 

 

 

 

 

 “We were utterly selfish.”

“Granted, but then again, thanks to you kidnapping me, I’m alive instead of really dead. Do you have regrets?”

“No… but, I’m sure we’ve caused our friends and families great distress. How are we ever going to make them understand?”

“Never explain and never apologize,” he said, interrupting her angst abruptly. “We’re alive. They’ll rejoice at our return; you worry too much.”

For more author snippets, visit the Weekend Writing Warrior page here.

Have a great week!

 

Weekend Writing Warriors

Hi everyone. Brrrr… hope you are all inside somewhere warm and toasty. I’m sharing another snippet today from my next (coming soon) Unlikely Gentlemen title, Cerise Amour.

Tall as her husband, Cerise turned in his arms and studied his face without tilting her head. Instead of the pasty skin and weakened wreck she’d set out with on this bizarre journey, she gazed at a healthy man in his prime.

“I think you’re forgetting that someone back home planned your death.”

“Not someone—Jack,” he growled.

“I don’t believe it. I did not give birth to a murderer.” None too gently, she clasped Jeb’s face between her hands and glared at him.

“I’m alive so he’s not a murderer,” he muttered as his expression became dour, his features settling into the harsh planes she’d seen so often in the past.

For more author snippets, visit the Weekend Writing Warrior page here.

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Gem Sivad

Writing Erotic, Paranormal and Historical Romance

Author of the series Eclipse Heat & Unlikely Gentlemen

Published by Ellora’s Cave, Siren BookStrand & Dark Mountain Books
______________________________
Web / Twitter / FB / Amazon / GR / 
 

Weekend Writing Warriors

Good morning everyone. Happy Sunday! I’m sharing the first lines from Cerise Amour, my next title coming soon from my Unlikely Gentlemen series.

Cerise stretched her long limbs, enjoying the feel of silk sheets caressing her naked body. She’d retired the night before wearing a sleeping gown, which, as usual had been discarded. Without looking, she knew it lay on the floor next to the bed—on his side. Her foot mistakenly, or perhaps not so accidentally, skated down his calf, and his breathing changed from a rumbling snore to a growl.

In one fluid movement he surrounded her, pulling her back tight against his chest. Even though he emitted more heat then the smelting furnaces they’d viewed in Luxemburg, Cerise shivered.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I don’t like pretending to be dead,” she whispered.

For more author snippets, visit the Weekend Writing Warrior page here.

Have a great week!

Gem Sivad


Writing Erotic, Paranormal and Historical Romance
Author of the series Eclipse Heat & Unlikely Gentlemen
Published by Ellora’s Cave; Siren BookStrand & Dark Mountain Books
______________________________
Web / Twitter / FB / Amazon / GR /

 

Weekend Writing Warriors

Good morning everyone. Happy Sunday! I’m sharing the first lines from Cerise Amour, my next title coming soon from my Unlikely Gentlemen series.

Cerise stretched her long limbs, enjoying the feel of silk sheets caressing her naked body. She’d retired the night before wearing a sleeping gown, which, as usual had been discarded. Without looking, she knew it lay on the floor next to the bed—on his side. Her foot mistakenly, or perhaps not so accidentally, skated down his calf, and his breathing changed from a rumbling snore to a growl.

In one fluid movement he surrounded her, pulling her back tight against his chest. Even though he emitted more heat then the smelting furnaces they’d viewed in Luxemburg, Cerise shivered.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I don’t like pretending to be dead,” she whispered.

For more author snippets, visit the Weekend Writing Warrior page here.

Have a great week!

Gem Sivad


Writing Erotic, Paranormal and Historical Romance
Author of the series Eclipse Heat & Unlikely Gentlemen
Published by Ellora’s Cave; Siren BookStrand & Dark Mountain Books
______________________________
Web / Twitter / FB / Amazon / GR /

 

Baby it’s cold outside…

Welcome to the Baby it’s cold outside blog hop. And, oh my, that title is dead-on–at least where I live. As I write this post, the snow outside has changed from a light frosting to a heavy sheet of white.

Brrr… 

Time to warm up. Here are a few of my favorite keep-out-the-cold necessities.

 Hot Chocolate…

My mother made it with cocoa powder, sugar, a dash of salt, water, and milk all mixed in a pan and cooked on top of the stove. I use a packet of instant chocolate, empty it into a mug, add some milk, and nuke that bad boy until it’s hot and the marshmallows are melted goo.

Hot Fire…

I never get tired of watching a fire or smelling wood smoke. And my gosh the joy of coming in from outside and warming your backside and then your front, turning in front of the flames like a wiener on a stick. But nothing warms me up faster than the next…

Hot Love. 

And of course, if it’s a cowboy you’d like to curl up with in front of a fire, you might want to try a little Eclipse Heat, my erotic western historical romance series published by Ellora’s Cave and available at most third party distros.

Breed True Excerpt: Julie rocked in the big chair that had materialized shortly after she’d arrived. She was snuggled in a blanket, staring mesmerized at the flames when she was jerked from half-sleep by pounding on the cabin door.

“Who is it?” She wasn’t going to lift the plank, unbarring the door, without knowing who stood outside.

“Let me in, Julie.”

She was enormously relieved to hear Grady’s gruff voice. When she swung open the door, he took in her nightgown, the crib in front of the fire, the rocking chair pulled up close, and he smiled. It was such an unusual expression on his face Julie smiled back. He sniffed the air, “Sure smells good in here.”

Before she could hurry to get supper for him, or pour him a cup of coffee, he pulled her into his arms. “Hmmmm,” he murmured into her hair. “You smell good enough to eat.”

Damp from his shirt and pants seeped into her nightgown as she stood in the circle of his arms. When she shivered, he pulled the blanket tighter around her and stepped back, releasing her. “Sorry. Forgot I was all wet.”

Unexpected feelings of tenderness welled up in her throat. Julie took the blanket from her shoulders and wrapped it around his. “I don’t want you getting sick. You work too hard and don’t take care of yourself.” When she would have stepped away again, he pulled her close inside the cocoon of the blanket. “You should get out of those wet clothes,” she whispered, trembling, but not from cold.

“I think you need to get out of that damp nightgown too,” he murmured, walking toward the fire without releasing her. He stopped by the crib where Amy snored softly at one end and Emma smiled in her dreams at the other.

She grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He untied the ribbon on her nightgown and pushed it off her shoulders to fall at their feet. And then he kissed her. His lips settled gently over hers, asking without words. She opened for him, and his tongue explored her mouth.

A moan escaped her throat as she felt the brush of his hot skin against her breasts. She liked the feel of his callused hands, thumbs circling her nipples erotically as he continued to plunder her mouth. “I want you, Julie—want me too.” He used the words that always inflamed her.

Be sure and leave a comment so you’re in the HUGE final drawing. There are some pretty amazing author give-aways and a Kindle Fire to be won. Stay warm!

Goodbye 2013

Hi everyone. Whew! What a ride. When I stepped back from the computer for a bit and began counting my year’s accomplishments I had to blink. Good Lord no wonder I had a spell of braindrain.

February 2013-River’s Edge, Book I-Unlikely Gentlemen Series- Dark Mountain Books

InD’Tale Magazine Crowned Heart Award


March 2013-Wolf’s Tender - Book  4- Eclipse Heat, Ellora’s Cave Publishing
April 2013 -Destiny’s Dream- a short Eclipse Heat companion read
May 2013-  Print edition of Five Card Stud released from Ellora’s Cave
June 2013-Trouble in Disguise- Book 5-Eclipse Heat


July 2013-BEACH, BEACH, BEACH



August 2013- New Website launched
September 2013- Outrageous Pride- Book II-Unlikely Gentlemen
October 2013-Cat Nip, The Saga of Misery Hess Free Read
November 2013-Breed True- Book 6- Eclipse Heat

December 2013- Print edition of River’s Edge released from Dark Mountain Books


I’ll be sending out a copy of Dreamcatcher eZine to close out 2013 with more exciting news…*hint* think Unlikely Gentlemen 2.5 *beaming* Title, Cover Art, Blurb, Excerpt–If you haven’t subscribed yet, here’s the link:

Subscribe to Gem’s Dreamcatcher eZine: https://a.pgtb.me/FWNxbR

And to start the new year right, I’m going to join JustRomance.Me.com and a gzillion other great authors who are sliding into 2014 in the “Baby it’s cold outside” blog hop. Hope you’ll come and play too!!!

 

Book Shout Out: The Navy’s Ghost

Siobhan Muir‘s latest comes out today, and I wanted to share this excerpt with you. Enjoy reading here on my blog or download for your e-reader.

The Navy’s Ghost (Excerpt) by Siobhan Muir

Mobi  Epub  PDF











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