Naima Simone's Blog, page 3

Undying Destiny Cover Reveal!!

  Kenric St. James is out for revenge. Over 300 years ago, an ancient female vampire turned him against his will and killed the woman he loved. He’s spent more than a century building an Enclave of warrior vampires who have sworn to defend humanity against his evil sire and her minions. But when Kenric finds a woman he finally burns to claim as his own again, Kenric knows loving her means giving his sire another target.
Emily Ross just wanted a fresh start. She’s a survivor, coming off the tail end of an abusive relationship, and craves time alone to learn who she is and to save the home that holds her heart. The last thing she needed was a controlling, alpha male calling all the shots.
Meeting Kenric might just have changed her mind, though. He is wrong for her in all the right ways. But in order to keep her heart from breaking, he first has to keep the hoards of evil vamps from stealing her very breath. Title:  Undying Destiny Author: Jessica Lee Genre: Paranormal Romance Release Date: June 2013 Imprint: Edge Purchase from Amazon
Purchase from Barnes & Noble  Author Information
 
Almost every author's bio states they've been writing since they learned how to read. It's what they've always wanted to do. Well, my journey wasn't so straight and narrow. I was a nurse for over twenty years and hold a bachelor's degree in science with a major in biology. So as you can see, my career path had originally gone in the opposite direction. I didn't discover my passion for the craft until after I'd had my son and decided to work part-time.I've always loved to read but had never read a paranormal romance. Then one night at work on break, I began reading Karen Marie Moning's Spell of the Highlander. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing, and I immediately fell in love with the genre.

I wanted to write like that. I wanted to create worlds where others could find the same escape and fascination I did when I read my first sensual paranormal romance.And I hope that's what I've accomplished in my work. Please dive in, hold on tight, and enjoy the adventure. Just be careful in the dark—you might find more than you expected waiting for you there. *wink*

Jessica Lee lives in the southeastern United States with her husband and son. She loves writing and can't wait for that quiet time each day when her son is in school, and she can get lost in another place and world with the fantastical, sexy creatures in her head.She's a member of Romance Writers of America, Carolina Romance Writers.

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Ideas, Ideas. Wherefore Art Thou, Ideas?

I've been busy plotting away today...okay plotting, yes. But "away"? Umm, not so much. It's slow going. To stir my creative pot, so to speak, I called one of my critique partners, Jessica Lee, and we started talking about story ideas and where they come from. For instance, the idea for the third book in her Ariel Estates series--which she just sold to her editor at Resplendence Publishing!!--came to her while she was eating a taco at Moe's. Apparently that "Welcome to Moe's!" really got those ideas in her head cooking--pun totally intended. The idea for Slave to Fashion by Debra Glass, my other critique partner, came to her while watching the fashion makeover show "What Not to Wear".

I've read where several authors have notebooks and notebooks full of ideas for future books. Can I just get one of those pages? Because my ideas are like my kids in school--smiley faces one day, straight faces the next. Totally unpredictable. And unfortunately, I can't bitch 'n complain to my imagination about "doing right". Stories come from the most unlikeliest places and at the oddest times. Like tonight, while trying to plot a romantic suspense, I had this really cool idea for a contemporary romance while watching The Voice. I started picturing this Jude/Tommy/night-and-day romance like on "Instant Star". Hey. Don't judge! It was a great show! Anyway, my heart started racing with excitement. And all because I saw Usher waltz with this contestant as he taught her to sing to the melody by dancing with her. I thought it was beautiful! And it had my love-o-meter chiming!

I don't think I can really beat out the Moe's restaurant for oddest times and places, but one of the weirdest places--or most inappropriate, depending which side of the fence you're on-- an idea came to me was during bible study. My pastor was teaching about the kinsman redeemer out of the book of Ruth. And suddenly...ding! If I'd been in a comic strip, I would've had a light bulb blinking over my head! What if Ruth was this Boudica-type heroine that followed Naomi back to her homeland and caught the eye of the king? That one's still in my "Story Idea" file waiting to be fleshed out but I thought it was so cool! Who knows when or if I'll write the story one day but I loved the idea... I did end up telling my pastor about it, and he wants me to make sure I spell his name right in the Acknowledgments...

My complete, undying adoration for Donnie Wahlburg inspired my second book, Love and Protect. One day I was going through my daughter's closet searching for a shoe that she "Couldn't find annyywheeere!" and found an old folder with all these pictures and articles I'd clipped out and saved from those old teen magazines. You remember them! Tiger Beat and Bop! God, I'm old... Anyway, I found this story I'd written when I was fourteen about him and me, how we met and fell in love. How he chose me over all those other groupies, I mean, girls. Sigh. It was awesome. And the idea for the rock star hero just formed...

Speaking of Love and Protect... *Cue Dolemite music here* It is available in print today at Ellora's Cave! Whoo-hoo!





Ex-DEA agent Erin Montgomery is reluctantly back on the job, posing as the sex-kitten groupie girlfriend of rock star Sean Ledger. She’ll be joining his band’s tour to try to catch an obsessed, dangerous fan. Tormented by nightmares of her failed last assignment, Erin’s not exactly eager to be drawn back into the fray. But once she meets Sean, all rocker, all man and dripping with raw sex appeal, she knows she’s right where she belongs.
Sean is reluctant to have someone investigating his crew, but when he meets Erin, his objections fly out the window. The beautiful, hard-bitten agent turns him on like no other woman ever has. Sean’s caught glimpses of the fiery passion lurking under Erin’s cool front and he’s determined to break through her hard exterior and make her his.
But Sean’s stalker is still at large and she’s made it clear that she’s willing to stop at nothing—even murder—to get him.
 
Check it out here!

My Next Big Thing!

Okay, see, what had happened was... Hee-hee! Anything that starts off like that is guar-oon-teed to be an excuse about sumthin'!! I was tagged by the hysterical Jennifer Echols in this Blog Hop thing where writers answer questions about themselves and then tag others to reveal all...hopefully something really embarrassing and blackmail worthy, but really who gets that lucky these days? Sigh. Well, here's the dirt on my next book, the first in a romantic suspense series with Entangled Publishing...expected to be released in June of this year... *Cough! Buy it! Cough!* That was subliminal in case you didn't catch it...

By the way, I don't have a cover so here's a menage--I mean, collage, COLLAGE!--of my recent covers! Hee-hee! My bad...



1). What is the working title of your next book? Secrets and Sins: Gabriel. The next one in the series? That's Malachim. Why the angel names, you ask? Well, June's a-coming! Why, yes, yes. I am a promo whore...

2). Where did the idea come from for the book?
From some serious brainstorming sessions with my critique partners, Jessica Lee and Debra Glass.

3). What genre does your book fall under?
It is romantic suspense. A deviation from the erotic genre my books usually fall under. And lemme tell you, it was a huuuge change!

4). What actors would you choose to play the parts of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooh. I Paul Walker as Gabriel. And for Leah? Aishwarya Rai!

5). What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
A private detective's investigation into a twenty-year old disappearance threatens her relationship with the man she's been in love with since childhood and ensnares her in the diabolical game of a madman bent on revenge. Dang! That was a super long sentence!

6). Who is publishing your book?
Entangled Publishing, more specifically the Entangled Suspense line.

7). How long did it take you to write the first draft of the synopsis?
Which first draft? I originally wrote this book during NaNoWriMo. But then did two complete overhauls. Soooo MONTHS!

8). What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don't know! Uum... If a reader likes Cynthia Eden and Katie Reus' romantic suspense books, I think they'd give mine a whirl.

9). Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The alarmingly dwindling deadline. Hee-hee! Okay, seriously. Stand By Me and my favorite friends-to-lovers trope. I just can't get enough of that!!

10). What else about the book might pique the readers' interest?
The book has secrets galore, a tortured hero and a bromance between four friends....so does that make it a menage a quatre bromance? Hmm...

So here're my author peeps I'm tagging:

The brilliant Debra Glass, author of erotic historical romances!

The wonderfully talented Kerry Freeman, author of sexy m/m erotic romances!

The fantabulous Jessica Lee, author of beautiful paranormal romances!

The marvelous Paisley Smith, author of hot girl-on-girl erotic romances!

Check back with them to find out what they have going on!

A Beast of a Book!

Coming at ya on April 5th! The second book in the Breathlessly Ever After series, Bargain with the Beast ! Ellora's Cave is re-releasing my fairy tale book based on the timeless classic, Beauty and the Beast. A scarred man. The woman who wantshim and hopes to heal him with her love. Le sigh.


“What will you have, Beauty?” said her father. “Since you have the goodness to think of me,” answered she, “be so kind to bring me a rose, for as none grows hereabouts, they are a kind of rarity.”—Beauty and the Beast
  “Show me someone who says they don’t want anything from you and I’ll show you some real estate in the land of Wake the Fuck Up.”—Xavier St. James


In a last-ditch attempt to save her beloved community center, Gwendolyn Sinclair corners childhood friend Xavier St. James, brother of her dead fiancé…and the man who secretly owns her heart. Surely his wealth and contacts can save the run-down building from ruin. The arrangement he proposes confirms what she’s long suspected. He’s become a beast, and he offers a beast’s bargain, one that offends her pride even as it stirs her every desire and titillating fantasy—submit her body to his whim for seven days and the community center remains open.

Losing both his father and brother has left Xavier scarred in more ways than one, but forbidden lust overrules conscience when Gwendolyn appears, asking for help. He’s craved her for years. At last he’ll discover if the passion in her eyes blazes just as hot between the sheets. Her fiery surrender leaves him hungering for more, but their bargain is only for seven days and, ultimately, she could never truly love a beast.

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Publisher’s Note: This story was previously published elsewhere in 2011 under the title Loving the Beast.

Nope. Not in My Book!

The release of my second fairy tale-based book in my Breathlessly Ever After series is eminent so that means I have to start thinking about the next one. What story do I tackle? What spin do I place on it? What genre? I've been kicking around ideas for the last couple of weeks and yeah, still stumped. The ideas are brewing but nothing's solidified into that perfect blend of characters, motivation, conflict and love. Y'know, like a good cup of coffee. Yet something did come out of my weeks-long ruminations. I know what I definitely DO NOT want in my book. Basing my books on classic, much loved tales, there are certain elements I have to include. Like in Bargain with the Beast, the hero had to be wounded both inside and out. And the heroine had to be able to look beneath his beastly appearance to the beautiful soul of the man.  In Stroke of Midnight, though the "evil" stepsister was the heroine, she was rejected by her family and for one night found magic in the arms of her prince. But...there are some things I refuse to incorporate. Why? Because they're just plain jacked up!

For instance...

Little Red Riding Hood - Besides the hood because it's just a tad bit too cliche-ish for me, there won't be any splitting of wolves' guts and people spilling out. Don't get it twisted, I don't mind a good disembowelment in a book but the only time my heroine is gonna be eaten is...well, you get the picture! In my story Red would kick ass and take names, not be taken down and saved by a passing woodsman. Unless she was taken down by the woodsman...

The Little Mermaid - Anyone within the sound of my voice or has 20/20 vision of their screen, please understand this...I detest Hans Christian Andersen's version. Like loathe. She gave up everything for the prince--her voice, her long lifespan, her heart and eventually, her life. Not to mention endured excruciating pain just to dance for that ingrate. And he was so blind to who stood right in front of him--the very woman he was holding out for!--that he broke her heart and married another woman. There won't be a stupid, short-sighted hero (with no redeemable qualities), a self-effacing heroine or a sacrificial suicide in my book. Damn, I wanted to punch that mermaid's face in... There's meek and then there's mealy-mouth... Grrr! Don't get me started!

Sleeping Beauty - None of that waking with a kiss stuff. I'm sorry. Halitosis, people! Nothing romantic about it! That's all I'm saying. After one night I've been known to have one helluva case of dragon breath! Now one hundred years?? Forget that--a week! Naw. If someone wakes from a coma, there will be breath mints running through their IV instead of saline.

Snow White - First, a huntsman almost takes her heart. Then a peddler woman laces her stay so tight she almost dies because her breath is cut off. After escaping that harrowing experience, another merchant woman comes by and pops a poisoned comb in her head, almost killing her...again. She's saved. Then another old woman comes by and offers her an apple. Which she bites and falls into a cryogenic state. Soooo which murder attempt should've been the tip off that an old woman was out to kill her? I mean, after the laces, I would've have 'ol girl's IQ tested. Therefore, no TSTL heroines in my book!

So two weeks later, I haven't come up with what my new book will be about. But I DEFINITELY know what it won't be about!

Laughing Hysterically...Or it Could be the Lack of Sleep...

So right now I'm in Deadline Hell. And it's a hell of my own making, I'll freely admit that. But it still doesn't negate my manic mindset or the guilt that overwhelms me when I'm eating--or sleeping--without writing in between. So I figured blogging and searching for something to blog about wouldn't mire me down in shame. And what better subject than....ta-dah-dah! Writing! And funny things about writing too!

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. -- Douglas Adams

A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God. -- Sidney Sheldon


Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life. --Lawrence Kasdan

If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing. -- Kingsley Amis

Let's face it, writing is hell. -- William Styron

The best time to plan a book is while you're doing the dishes. -- Agatha Christie

The first draft of anything is shit. -- Ernest Hemingway

Always avoid alliteration. -- Author Unknown

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. -- Gene Fowler

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. -- Author Unknown

When male authors write love stories, the heroine tends to end up dead.” -- Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. -- Margaret Chittenden

Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up. -- Ernest Hemingway

I am a drinker with writing problems -- Brendan Behan

Okay! Back to writing! And I'm damn sure in a better mood!

Forecast: Rain and Flying Pigs!

Anyone who meets me for the first time will probably find out three things about me within the first ten minutes of conversation: my father is a pastor, I have a grand *cough! obsessive* passion for Vin Diesel and I abhor spiders. I'm very, very proud of my father and value his wisdom and guidance. That's not going to change. My love for Vin has endured for ten years...Hey, if I still adored him after Babylon, A.D., I'm gonna always be down for him! And my hatred and fear of spiders? Well, that's been around for the last three decades and still holding strong! Not. Gonna. Change.

So when I come across something that makes me not question one of these three tenets but presses my "The Hell You Say!" Button, I'm shocked. You know what "The Hell You Say!" Button is... The Maury Show is nominated for an Emmy. The hell you say! They're recalling NyQuil for too much alcohol. The hell you say! They're making a remake of Dirty Dancing. The hell--See? I threw you a curve ball on that one. That's the "No, the Hell They Didn't!" Button. Subtle difference but different all the same... But you get my point, right?

Well, this weekend, an author pushed my "The Hell You Say!" Button. While cruising the free books on Amazon (hubby has placed me on a "No Book" moratorium for a few days) I came across a book entitled A Hint of Frost by Hailey Edwards. I enjoy reading new authors and Ms. Edwards is new for me. And when I read the blurb it sounded really interesting! I'm like, cool. Probably about gods and ice (y'know, frost) and some awesome new mythology. So I downloaded it. Aaaand about five minutes into the book I realized, this ain't about gods...the characters are based on freakin' SPIDERS!!

Honestly, I did close the book. Shut off the Kindle. But then, a short while later, I had to open it again. The writing, the heroine's voice, the author's description of this world drew me into the story like...well like a spider would lure it's dinner into its web! Now I know what you're thinking! Get a grip! It's a book! It's not like they're are pictures! But see, that's where you would be wrong. Hailey Edwards' writing is so vivid and strong that she creates images with her words! The characters don't shift into spiders but their natures are like the arachnids they represent. I couldn't put it down! I even had my husband google the different clan names to see if Ms. Edwards had really based them on the abominations that haunt my dreams...and they are. He found it totally fascinating, by the way... The author accomplished what Tolkien and E.B. White were unable to: Make me read anything having to do with spiders! I bow down to you, Ms. Edwards! Because if anyone had told me as late as last week that I would read anything regarding those eight-leg freaks I would've said--all together now!--The Hell You Say!

When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.

Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

In hindsight, this blurb takes on a whoooole different meaning...

Bringing the Heat to Hoover, AL!!

Bring your "Hallelujah" fans, avaricious appetite for books and your sense of humor! Five of romance's steamiest writers are bringing the heat to a Barnes and Noble near you! Well, depending on where you live at, it may not be sooo near you, but...I digress! Kira Sinclair, Debra Glass, Carla Swafford, Kerry Freeman and me, Naima Simone, are going to be signing books, selling 'em and most likely telling inappropriate jokes on February 16, 2013 at the Patton Creek Barnes and Noble in Hoover, Alabama. Admit it! You want to come! Well give in to the desire...for books!

Find us at:
Barnes and Noble
Patton Creek Shopping Center (next to the Galleria)
171 Main Street
Hoover, AL 35244

Here's a link to the store - http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2175

We're looking forward to seeing you!


Kira Sinclair Debra Glass


Carla Swafford Kerry Freman


 Naima Simone

Under His Wings Available on January 23rd!

Yes! *fist pump* Under His Wings, Book One of the Dark Judgment Series has a release date! January 23, 2013! I'm so excited and can't wait to share Nicolai and Tamar's story with you. Here's a sneak peak!

Blurb:

Warrior, lover…savior. A winged avenger with chocolate feathers and lavender eyes haunts Tamar Ridgeway’s dreams—her erotic escape after surviving a horrible plane crash and enduring years of painful physical therapy. But fantasy becomes terrifying reality when she’s attacked by a mythical creature from her darkest nightmares. Now her sexy warrior is vowing to save her, whether she wants his protection or not.

Nicolai Abioud, judge and executioner of the hippogryph, is stunned when the woman he rescues is the same who submits to him nightly in his dreams…and a replica of his dead wife. He’s fascinated by her beauty and spirit, consumed by the craving to touch…to take. Yet he lost his one true bondmate five-hundred years ago. And falling for a human—no matter how beautiful—is a foolish risk. But the choice to love may be snatched away. Danger is closing in. They must conquer their enemy and fears. Or be doomed to lose the love of a millennium.

Excerpt

Dusk bullied its way across the skyline, the rolling bank of gray and black clouds forcing daylight to pick up its ball and go home.
Nicolai Abioud studied the fast-moving mass as several stories beneath him the denizens of the dark stirred and crept out of their hiding places, ready to go about their business of the encroaching night. The rundown five-story building he crouched on top of probably hosted all manner of illicit activities. Drug addicts and prostitutes peered out of windows as jagged as their souls, scouting the dirty, garbage-littered streets for patrolling cops or predators more vicious then they.
He was such a predator.
Only he had bigger prey to bag.
He scanned the obsidian alleys, his raptor’s eyes sighting even the smallest scurry. Below, a scantily clad woman led an old man down the passageway. As she maneuvered him behind the large dumpster, she glanced toward the sky as if sensing the hunter who perched above her.
Even if she could spot Nico, her concern would’ve been misplaced. Her wariness was better reserved for the other who stalked these streets.

“Nico.”
He didn’t glance over his shoulder as the low, sandpaper-over-gravel voice echoed inside his head. The heavy strokes of wings against air had reached his ears several moments ago.

“Yes?” he asked aloud. The prostitute had finished her transaction and was headed toward the mouth of the alley. Either she had a blue-ribbon-talented mouth or the man had a two-second fuse. Nicolai was betting on the latter.
“There’s no sign of him,”Lukas Gallo reported along the telepathic link they shared. “Maybe he’s moved on.”
“No.” Nicolai met the steady, ice-blue gaze of his second-in-command and one of the three males he led. Tonight Lukas hunted with him. The other two warriors—Adon Laskaris and Dorian Zarides—searched for traces of their prey on the east side of the city. Together the three males formed the krinos, the select, highly trained fighting unit that served under the Dimios, their people’s executioner. Or Nicolai.
On the rooftop, Lukas’ obsidian plumage, wings and body seemed to swallow the shades around him, a worm hole sucking the shadows into his huge bulk. Only his arctic gaze and the distinctive three white stripes across his back relieved the midnight feathers, equestrian hindquarters and tail.
"This is prime hunting ground for him. He’s not finished,” Nicolai murmured. 
A sigh whispered down their connection. “We were almost too late to cover up his last kill. Even Evander wouldn’t risk the exposure another would bring.”
“No?” Nicolai arched his eyebrow. “He’s a rogue, Lukas. By the very definition, he doesn’t give a fuck about rules. And he damn sure doesn’t care if he reveals us to the human world. It’s a game to him,” he rasped, returning his gaze to the streets that grew more active, teemed with more people…more quarry for the kill. “Us. Them. We’re all pawns in this screwed up version of Clueto which only he knows the rules.”
Lukas remained silent at the words that sounded bitter to Nicolai’s own ears. Evander Agnew, the latest of his people to go rogue. Over the last four months, he’d cut a bloody trail through Europe and now here to North America. The kills had been spread out and Nicolai, Lukas, Adon and Dorian had worked swiftly to cover them up. But Evander didn’t show any signs of stopping. The humans had no idea a monster out of their mythical lore—and their worst nightmares—had been unleashed on them.
And Nicolai had trained the sadistic bastard. 
As the Dimios, the race’s judge, jury and executioner, it fell to Nicolai to hunt Evander and bring him down just as Nicolai had done all other rogues who’d gone off the proverbial reservation.
Hunting his brethren, executing them and preserving the secrecy of his people’s existence were Nicolai’s responsibilities—had been for eight-hundred years. As long as the hippogryph had been in existence, they had those who’d gone rogue for one reason or another—resentment over the restrictions governing their exposure to the world, exile or bloodlust.
Whether they were angry, power hungry or deranged, he’d pursued them all. Yes, he experienced regret over some of the punishments, but it had never been personal.
Until now.
Until Evander—an elite warrior Nicolai had trained and a trusted soldier he’d commanded—betrayed him by preying on the weak and defenseless.
Until four months ago when Evander had started his rampage with the murder of Nicolai’s best friend.
Grief writhed in his gut like snakes on a Gorgon’s head. Nicolai, Lukas, Adon, Dorian—they accepted their deaths were possible every time they pursued a rogue and engaged in battle. But Bastien hadn’t signed up for that. He’d been a healer, not a warrior. Yet Evander had targeted Bastien because he’d been Nicolai’s friend. Just to hurt Nicolai, Evander had stolen the life of a good man.
For that the betrayer would die. If Nicolai had to track him for the rest of his existence, he would destroy this rogue.
"Nico, let me take this one,” Lukas urged. “You’re too personally involved—”
“Forget it,” Nicolai snapped. A loud crack rent the air and he glanced down, startled his black talons had stabbed the edge of the roof. Fine fissures zigzagged over the railing and chunks of cement littered the ground. Lifting his head, he met Lukas’ censorious gaze. Juveniles half-shifted as they learned to dominate their beast. For an adult—especially a nine-hundred-year-old warrior—to do so meant a loss of control. Dangerous for one whose duty required he discipline not just himself but an entire race of people. “Forget it,” he repeated, voice grim. He eyed his second-in-command until Lukas lowered his sleek black head, a sign of the male’s submission. “We hunt here tonight. And we’ll keep on until we find the demented bastard and take him out.”
The cold, grim words echoed in the night air as Nicolai leaped onto the high narrow ledge, landing in a crouch. He splayed his fingers on the rough concrete, maintaining his balance as he reexamined the murky expanse of sky. The dense blanket of pollution hid the twinkle of stars and obscured the moon’s pearlescent glow. A shaft of longing for the clean, fresh air of his home pierced him. If he breathed deep, he could almost taste the rain-scented breeze that blew over the private peninsula off the Washington state coast. There the stars glittered like bright diamonds scattered across a velvet cloth by a celestial hand.
As different from this place as shit from shine.
“Lukas.” Nicolai squinted at a sizeable, dingy cloud sailing at a slightly faster clip than the others. Something about the odd shape…and when the moon’s beam struck it…
“That’s him,” he growled. Not waiting for Lukas’ reply, he dove off the ledge, arms outstretched, head thrown back. Magic sizzled from the soles of his feet, blazed a path up his legs, thighs, to his gut and chest and shot to his shoulder blades and legs. It consumed him. Bone snapped and popped, muscle and tendon contorted. His head rounded and formed a large, high-arched beak and shaggy crest as feathers sprouted along his arms and back. Two pairs of legs—the front pair talon-tipped and the back hoofed—stretched and kicked as his wings beat hard one, twice, and the hippogryph’s powerful, magnificent body climbed high into air. At the same time he cast a gyges, the magical net rendering him invisible to the human eye.
Beside him, Lukas’ black half-eagle-half-stallion beast appeared and together they streaked through the sky after their prey.
“Stay back,”Nicolai ordered through the telepathic link. Lukas’ head snapped to the side, his arctic blue eyes glittering with shock and growing anger. Before the other hippogryph could voice an objection, Nicolai growled, “Don’t interfere. That’s an order.”

Buy link

Christmas A-List!

I love the holidays. Love ‘em! And it’s not just the gifts, music and food…well, c’mon, they are a huge part of the equation but not all. I love the beauty of the decorations—all the lights make the world look like a beautiful, mystical fairy land. Then there’s the good cheer…except for the cashiers at Wal-Mart who give you the evil eye and Judas kiss when you come in shopping on Christmas Eve at 4 p.m. Not…that I…do it… Ahem. But for a little over a month, people are kinder, happier and more giving. It’s a time for family traditions, new and old. Sigh. I love it… So here are some other Christmas favorites! Do you recognize some?

 Favorite Christmas movie: All time favorite is “A Christmas Story”. Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Frah-rah-rah-rah-rah-rah-rah-rah-rah! But my recent favorite is “A Princess for Christmas”. I mean, what’s better than a handsome honest-to-God prince falling in love with a commoner from Buffalo, NY, a castle, a crotchety old duke and precocious kids who melt his heart? And throw in the snobby fiancée who is shown for the witch she is by the sheer shining goodness of the beautiful would-be princess? Yeah, love that movie. Go, Hallmark! 

Favorite Christmas meal to prepare: Stuffed pork chops. Of course since I am domestically-challenged, it also my favorite meal for Thanksgiving, Easter and Father’s Day…

 Favorite Christmas song: It’s a toss-up between the Jackson 5’s “The Christmas Song” and Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s “The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth”. Classics!! Never fails to have me singing and in the Christmas spirit!
 

Favorite Christmas memory: I remember on Christmas Eve my sister and I would pile our stuffed animals and dolls around us in bed while we waited for Santa Claus. But first we would bake cookies, watch “A Christmas Carol” and write our letters to Santa.

Favorite “A Christmas Carol”: This is a hard one! I love just about every version of “A Christmas Carol” there is—from black-and-white, to musicals to “A Diva’s Christmas” with Vanessa Williams! But my favorite is the 1951 adaptation with Alastair Sim. He was one of the best Scrooges! Cold, miserly and full of contempt. But when he changed…I believed his joy in Christmas! Plus this version followed the book more closely than others! It is the best!
 
 
Favorite Christmas decoration: Hands down my Christmas village! I’ve been collecting the pieces for seven or eight years and it’s huge now! I look at it and imagine living in a place like it one day…
 

 
So those are my Christmas favorites!! What are yours? Share!