Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 389

Terry Irene Blain: A Look at Elizabeth, The Virgin Queen

March is Women’s History Month. There are many who made their mark in history and one of my favorites is Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603, reigned from 1558 to death).

Elizabeth’s greatness lies in two parts.  The first that she survives to become Queen, and second that she guided England from the disastrous state she inherited to a wealthy and stable country.

As the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was born a princess, but as Henry progressed through his six wives, she was declared illegitimate, shifted from pillar to post and eventually reinstated third in the succession after her younger half-brother Edward, her older half-sister Mary (who also went through the legitimate/illegitimate back and forth).

Nine year old Edward VI succeed at Henry’s death and he pushed the English church further into Protestantism.  To maintain the change in religion started under Henry, Edward and his advisers changed the order of succession leaving out both Mary and Elizabeth.  He left the throne to Lady Jane Grey, a great-grand daughter of Henry VII and Edward’s cousin.  However on Edward’s death, the country, however, supported Mary Tudor.

Unfortunately, Mary tried to bring England back into the Catholic fold. While Mary was queen there were several rebellions as protest against the reinstatement of Catholicism or against the marriage to Philip of Spain.  As the Protestant heir to the throne, Elizabeth was the focus of any attempt to end Mary’s reign.  Mary had Elizabeth in and out of the tower or under house arrest with these rebellions.

Her early childhood and her confinements taught Elizabeth to keep her innermost thoughts and feelings to herself, and she continued to do so throughout her queen ship.  She managed to survive a stint of house arrest as she was a focus point for those against Mary’s policies.  Then with Mary’s death, Elizabeth came to the throne.

The second part of the Elizabeth’s greatness was her forty-four year reign that brought stability to England.

At the time of her ascension Scottish preacher John Knox published “The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Reign of Women”, predicting disaster in France with the regency of Catherine de ’Medici, in Scotland with Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I in England.

France was racked by religious wars under Catherine and her sons, Mary was forced from Scotland and lived as a prisoner in England.  Only Elizabeth and England prospered.  She became the Supreme Governor of the English Protestant church, saying she did not want to make windows into men’s souls, only requiring their outward conformity.  This evolved into today’s Church of England.

Early in her reign she refused to marry, for to do so would tie England to another country.  Her predecessor Mary had married Philip of Spain which tied England to the Spanish war with the Low Countries.  This resulted in the loss of Calais, the last English possession on the continent. Elizabeth was pressed by her advisers to marry and produce an heir.  Although she was often ‘engaged’ to various European royalty, these were more in the area of an alliances that helped the country.  She often spoke of England as her child.

Other major events under her reign included the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which let England rule the seas and develop her colonies in the Americas.  This was the time of the Elizabethan Renaissance as under her reign prosperity and stability bought forth a burst of literary figures such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow and Edmund Spenser.

Not too bad for a women born, grew up and came to reign in a man’s world.

I’ll be giving a workshop at the California Dreamin’ Conference http://caldreaminwritersconf.org/ titled STEP BACK IN TIME: Creating Realistic Historical Heroines which brought Elizabeth I to mind . 

Terry Irene Blain was lucky enough to grow up in a large Midwestern family with a rich oral tradition. As a child she heard stories of ancestor’s adventures with Indians, wild life, weather and frontier life in general. So she naturally gravitated to the study of history completing a BA and MA in History and taught History at the college level. Married to a US Navy sailor, now retired, she’s had the chance to live in various parts of the United States as well as travel to foreign places such as Hong Kong, Australia, England and Scotland.  She currently writes contemporary as well as historical romance based in the American west.

https://www.facebook.com/TerryBlainAuthor?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/TerryIreneBlain

http://www.terryireneblain.com/

Tara Nina: Don’t Blink

For months, my youngest has been preparing to move to Florida. My hubby and I have joked about her leaving and how happy we’d be to have the house all to ourselves. I went along with him until now.

Now it’s a reality. She will be moving at the end of March. Her job transfer came through and she’s finishing packing. Not sure how I feel about this. Unhappy. Apprehensive. After all, she is my baby. When they said don’t blink, they’ll be grown in an instant.

It’s true.

Yesterday, we were bringing her home from the hospital all cute, tiny and cuddly, in need of our help to make her strong and teach her right from wrong.  We patched her skinned knees. Kissed her boo-boos. Watched every game of every sport she decided she wanted to play. Brushed the knots from her hair.

I’m not ready for her to leave. Where’s the handbook on how to let them go? Unfortunately, I know I have no choice. It’s a fact of life. Kids grow, mature and fly away. All I can do is hope she realizes the door is always open if she ever needs to come home. Any suggestions on how to make this easier? Besides wine. It’s not working. LOL.

Sincerely,

Tara Nina

*~*~*~*~*

Dual Release

Book five in the Cursed MacKinnons series.

A lead on a demonic cult lands Cait and Jenny in the arms of a pair of scrumptious twin Scottish lairds. Hot sex fueled by danger tightens their bonds with these men. But sunlight plays against them. Dour and Donnell MacKinnon are cursed. Just the girls’ luck—they finally find the perfect men and they’re gargoyles.

The cult wants the MacKinnons dead. Cait and Jenny want them in their beds. Men by night. Gargoyles by day. It’s a battle against evil these women are determined to win.

http://taranina.com

http://facebook.com/tara.nina1

Buy Link: http://www.ellorascave.com/dual-release.html

Corrina Lawson: Diversity and Phoenix Inheritance (Contest)

My new paranormal romance release, Phoenix Inheritance has three things I’d never thought I’d write in a romance:

A cat, dogs, and a kid.

I suspect I’ve gone sentimental in my old age though, I promise, there is a moment when stuff blows up.  What it also has, and not for the first time, is a  main character who happens to be a person of color.

Daz Montoya, who is of mixed Filipino and African-American heritage, is the third non-white hero in my novels, joining African-American Aloysius James of Luminous and Ghosts of Christmas Past, and Gregor Sherringford, the Indian-British consulting detective in The Curse of the Brimstone Contract. One could argue Philip Drake of Phoenix Legacy is also a person of color, as he’s a quarter Native American, but if someone can pass for white, they don’t experience our society’s prejudice in the same way as one who’s recognizably the other.  Therefore, I don’t count Philip.

Daz has been around since I included him in the supporting cast for the first Phoenix Institute book, Phoenix Rising. By the time I started writing Phoenix Inheritance, I never thought “hey, I’m writing a POC as a hero.” I thought “I’m finally able to give Daz his own story. Awesome.”

However, Daz was originally part of a deliberate choice to include people of color to my Phoenix Institute universe after I’d talked to several friends who felt they weren’t being properly represented in romance. One friend, Rita-nominated author Karen Harbaught, herself Japanese-American, is the reason the heroine of Phoenix Rising, Beth Nakamora, is Japanese-American. Why? Because Karen and the others were right: why was the fictional world so white if the real world is so diverse?

I grew up reading comics books and science fiction and fantasy novels and I know what it’s like to be missing from your favorite genre. Finding three-dimensional female characters at the heart of SF/F and superhero stories was like finding a diamond amidst mounds of coal dust.  I held close to my hear those few female characters who, even if they weren’t main characters, at least had powerful moments, like Eowyn in Lord of the Rings.  I nearly cried at 13 when I realized that Lesss in The DragonRiders of Pern was a main character. And I bought every single issue of Batman Family Comics that featured Batgirl.

So how could I write stories excluding whole swaths of people? Answer: I can’t.

But you shouldn’t buy Phoenix Inheritance because it’s a blow for diversity. You should buy the book because Daz is an awesome hero that anyone can love.

That he breaks the mold is just a bonus. Below, I hope you’ll see why I adore Daz. And you can enter to win a copy of Phoenix Inheritance by commenting here or liking my Facebook page.

EXCERPT: CHAPTER ONE, Phoenix Inheritance.

Daz Montoya’s lungs burned with the need for air. The fifty pounds of dead weight in his backpack pushed down on his shoulders and his belly scraped the bottom of the pool. He kicked several times, short, sharp strokes designed to close the distance to his goal: the far wall.

The tiles loomed closer but somehow still out of reach. Spots appeared before his eyes. Air bubbled out of his mouth.

He would not abort.

All his life, he’d been the best. The best trained, the best prepared, the best at leading his men. But now he was in over his head, involved in a war with immortals, firestarters, telepaths and God knew what else. He had to level up or he’d just become cannon fodder. Disposable. Or, worse, a point of weakness that enemies would use to get at those he was supposed to protect.

Daz’s vision narrowed. Chlorine stung his eyes.

Level up, dammit. He reached out with his leading hand, flailing for the wall. One more kick. One more stroke. His fingertips scraped the tiles.

There. He let his feet drift to the bottom of the pool, ready for the final thrust that should send him to the surface, even with the weight strapped to his back.

The water surrounding him vanished. Fuck.

He instinctively gasped in air and used the wall to keep his balance. The backpack straps dug hard into his shoulders. He blinked and looked around.

A wall of water rose over the pool’s surface, held back by an unseen hand.

“Alec!” Dammit, he’d been going to make it. “Why the hell are you interfering with my training?”

Alec Farley, wearing his customary T-shirt and jeans, floated down into the empty space where the water had been. Though it probably took considerable effort to hold back the water with his telekinetic ability, Alec showed little sign of the mental strain.

Alec’s power was what Daz had to measure up to to be of use to anyone. Alec’s home, the Phoenix Institute, existed to teach those gifted with psychic abilities, especially children, to use their powers responsibly. That was Alec’s job. He did it well.

Daz’s job was keeping the Institute safe, so it could operate as planned. And, lately, he’d been doing a freakin’ lousy job.

“Showoff,” Daz said.
Though it looked like Alec was floating in midair, what he was really doing was pushing against the floor with his telekinesis to give the appearance of floating.

“I just figured this was the quickest way to talk to you.” Alec landed next to him at the bottom of the pool.

“You figured you’d have fun while interfering with my training.” Alec had no shame at all about his abilities. He thought they were cool.
Daz usually did too. But not right now, not when it reminded him of how weak he was.

He rolled his shoulder, resisting the urge to touch the half-healed handprint burned into his skin, a souvenir of his failure on the last mission.

“I wasn’t trying to interfere with your training. I just wanted to talk to you.” Alec kept one hand up, to guide his TK in keeping the water in check. “What the hell are you doing down here without a spotter? You said never to do that, that it was too dangerous.”

“That’s because we always had to take your power into account when training you. We never knew how you’d react.” Of course, Alec was right. No one should train like this without a spotter.

Daz grabbed the bottom rung of the pool ladder and heaved himself up and out. He dropped the weighted backpack, and it hit the floor tiles with a clink. Leveling up practice was obviously over for the day but he was going to do it again, spotter or no spotter. He touched the handprint on his shoulder. He’d needed rescuing. Unacceptable.

Alec levitated topside and landed near Daz. The water, released from Alec’s TK hold, splashed back into the pool.

“Why are you risking yourself like this? Why are you pushing yourself so hard?” Alec asked.

Daz grabbed a towel and dried off his hair and torso, wondering if Alec would understand. Due to his isolated upbringing—very little contact with the outside world— Alec was incredibly mature in some ways but completely innocent in others.

“Firefly, sometimes I need to do stuff, okay?” Daz said.
“This was suicidal,” Alec said.
“I was just about to surface and I’d made my goal. I know what I’m doing.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.” One advantage of having been Alec’s trainer was that Daz could still lie to him and get away with it.

“Beth says you’re overcompensating for what happened in Germany.”

“If I wanted an opinion about my state of mind from your telepathic girlfriend, I’d ask.” Daz ditched the swim trunks, finished drying off, and dressed in the sweatpants and T-shirt he’d left on one of the benches.

Things that make me happy…

I was bleary-eyed this morning until I looked at my little desk companion here. Her arms were busy lifting up and down. Her only purpose—to make me smile. I’m not one of those who loves a clean desk, as you can see. I need clutter and little gadgets and toys. They all make my desk feel lived in and cozy. It’s a welcoming place, not a sterile one.

Which got me thinking about the things that make me happy, in general. I’ll list the first ones that pop into my head. Then I’d love for you to share yours!

Things that make me happy…. hearing the three girls giggling together, a cup of coffee on the porch with my dd, the fresh smell of a newly made bed, the wave of ladybugs from my flowery friend, a really spicy meal, reaching THE END in a story, giving one of my girls a piece of jewelry I made and seeing them wear it again and again, following a sign along the road to discover something I haven’t seen before, finding treasure at the flea market.

It’s not long. Most are simple things. Now, how about you?

Tamara Hunter: My Passion for Reading

I consider myself a voracious reader. Growing up, I lugged countless stacks of books from my hometown library. I cannot tell you how many pages my face creased because I fell asleep while reading in bed. I was the child who snuck a flashlight under the cover so I could finish reading a book. I burned quite a few batteries (not for that reason…at least not at that age). And don’t ask how many paperbacks I’ve dropped in the bath water over the years. Who knew my elbows required that much room?

Recently, I settled in for a wait at the doctor office. Hooray! A perfect opportunity to read. I search my cavernous tote bag for my iPad. Wait a minute. I know I had it when I left home. A sense of doom rolls over me quick as a dust storm. I rummage through my bag again. I can’t have lost it. Oh, Lord! Not my books. How on earth will I make it through the day without the wonderful stories I lose myself in at every opportunity?

My palms dampen. Sweat trickles between my breasts.  My throat constricts. I stand up, eager to escape the office and retrace my steps. Hopefully, I can locate my reader before someone else considers this his or her lucky day.

“Ma’am?”

I look over my shoulder.

An older lady two chairs away from me smiles and gestures at the floor. “You dropped something.”

God bless her. I want to kiss her, but it is a doctor’s office. She’s probably sick. I know I am.

Blood roars in my ears and I feel faint with relief. I pick up my precious piece of real estate which apparently rested on my lap beneath the huge tote. That’s it. I’m carrying a backpack from now on.

When I’m finally called back to see the doctor, she kindly informs me that I have the flu.

“Fantastic.” I smile from ear to ear, giving the Joker a run for his money. When the doc stares at me with a frown then writes additional notes in her file, I wonder if she’s recommending me for a psych exam.

My body can fall to pieces but as long as I have my beloved stories, all is right with the world. This passion for books is similar to the passion my heroine, Trella Arnold, has for painting.  What do you feel passionately about?

*~*~*~*~*

 

PAINTED PASSION

ISBN:  9781419949395

Excerpt Choice #1

Trella’s luminous eyes searched his as if seeking reassurance. “I’m not a damsel in distress,” she muttered.

Carlos cradled her face in his hands. “Far from it.” He touched his lips to the space between her arched eyebrows. The kiss was meant to be comforting, but as soon as his mouth made contact with her soft skin, his body’s wiring sputtered from shock.

“I know you’re strong, but we have to be smart.” Incapable of avoiding her heat, he kissed the bridge of her nose. He needed to stop before he did something he couldn’t take back.

Her fingers entwined with his. “Hector won’t get away with this.”

He kissed her right temple. “I agree.”

“We’ll take him down and anyone working for him, too.”

Her words, uttered without an ounce of mercy, fueled his arousal. Carlos was beyond ready to be turned out, burned and fried by the release of her passion. He kissed her left cheek. “He’ll have no idea what hit him.”

“We’ll nail his ass to the wall.”

He wanted, no needed to taste her. “No one pisses off my girl,” he whispered. He didn’t know when he began thinking of her in such a manner.

He touched his lips to hers, his entire being fusing with the spirit of this amazing woman. He didn’t bother fighting what he’d wanted to do since he’d arrived yesterday. He nibbled at her softness, wishing he was feasting on every inch of her.

She tensed for a second then relaxed as her mouth moved against his. She parted her lips, permitting him entrance.

He groaned at her submission. She tasted of citrus fruit, juicy and luscious. The patio, the pool, the night—everything around them disappeared, leaving him aware of nothing but her. Their tongues touched and met, and the softness of hers, sliding over his, triggered an erection that spurred him on.

He moved his hands to her waist, lifting her off the ground, their bodies melding, pelvis to pelvis. Ever since he saw her again, kissing her had been in the back of his mind. Being around each other, it was bound to happen sooner or later. He much preferred sooner.

He wanted to carry her upstairs, but the timing was wrong. He didn’t care if she kissed him out of shock. He’d take her lips on his for any reason.

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Lindsay McKenna: Taking Fire — releases today!

There are two black Arabian horses that figure prominently in Taking Fire.  US Marine Corps Sergeant Khatereh (Khat) Shinwari, uses them to cause havoc, attack the Taliban, protect her father’s village along the Afghan border with Pakistan.  She had two full sisters, two Arabian mares, Mina and Zorah.  Mina is her main riding horse.  Zorah is a pack-horse, carrying supplies and medicines to the villages that Khat takes care of.  She is a paramedic, as part of her training.

Khat has learned to be a shadow warrior using her sturdy, endurance trained mounts.  Mina is the one that she rides and sets up ambushes as well as sniper attacks, up in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, near the Pak border.  With a black horse at night, it won’t be seen by the Taliban or Al-Queda soldiers.  During the daylight hours as she operates as a Shadow Warrior creating havoc for her vaunted enemy, Mina may gallop for miles along rough, narrow trails used only by goats.   Khat relies on her nimble, swift mare to carry her away from the enemy before they can find and capture her.  She has evaded her enemy for five years, lives in any number of caves to escape detection, takes care of her hardy, brave Arabians, who in turn, take care of her.

Because Khat is half Afghani, she had the blood of these warriors in her DNA.  And utilizing the Arabian horse is part of her black ops life.  Mina gets her to an ambush, and helps her escape it.  Khat cares and adores her brave and beautiful horses.  And they love her in return.

Khat needed this breed because of it’s well-known endurance.  First bred in the Middle East, the Egyptian Arabians are well known for their delicate beauty.  But their beauty is molded by thousands of years of being bred and living in the hot deserts of many countries.  There is no breed more intelligent than an Arabian.  Even today, among the Bedouins, their horses are cherished  At night, the horses come and stay with the family in their tent, an accepted part of the human household.  Over these thousands of years, because of this tight human-animal connection, Arabians are considered “people” horse breed.  The bond between people and Arabians is one of legend nowadays.  But it’s true.  I know because I bred, raised and sold Arabians in Ohio for ten years when we had our farm.  As you read Taking Fire, just know that the information on these wonderful four-legged secondary characters is all true.

Lindsay McKenna Links:

Website: http://www.lindsaymckenna.com

Blog:  http://lindsaymckenna.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsay-McKenna/504139729714132?ref_type=bookmark

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/lindsaymckenna

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/LindsayMcKenna

Book trailer:  http://vimeo.com/lindsaymckenna/breakingpoint/

Amazon: amazon.com/author/lindsaymckenna

Instagram:  www.instagram.com  (Lindsay McKenna)

Lindsay McKenna Newsletter: 
audible.com:  The complete Wyoming Series

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Where did February go? (Contest)

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A new one’s coming today! Signup

* * * * *

This never happens. Me, here at the end of the month. But it does give me a great opportunity to recap.

What’s my February been like? Snow, snow and more snow. Oh, and ice. And babysitting kids who should have been in school. Good news there is that menopausal women who babysit little ones have less chance of developing dementia. The problem is, if I spend any more time with them, I’ll want dementia!

But February’s been productive. Lots of stories spinning in my mind. Not any new stories actually started, but I did revise/expand/polish some things I’ve had lying around doin’ nuttin. If you missed them, here’s what released in February!

Short Stories!

One a week, as promised. Free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers and just $.099 for everyone else! And more are coming in March! So if you like a quick romantic/erotic fix—a story that gets straight to the point (er,his point), then these are for you!

 

The Obedient Wife: Find out what really happened between The Beauty and The Beast. Hint: It’s not your children’s fairytale!

Drive Me Crazy: She’s out for one night of passion in a trucker’s big rig…

 

Dr. Mullaley: She’d been warned the doctor was eccentric, but this nurse discovers his cures are of a mechanical nature…

Dreaming by the Sea: A mysterious man rising from the sea awakens a woman to her past…

Longer Stories!

Rules of Engagement (Lone Star Lovers)

This SEAL’s back in Texas and asking her to marry him one last time…

Callie Murphy’s never been one to moon over a man. Fairytale romances don’t exist outside of books and she’s seen first-hand how transitory love can be after watching her mother fall in and out of marriage.

Derek Tilden hammered home that truth when he joined the Navy to become a SEAL—he was the boy who couldn’t wait to see the world and she was the girl ready to plant deep roots. Now he’s back and asking her to marry him one last time…

Buy at Amazon — More venues coming!

Sweeter Than Honey

Something’s on the rise in Two-Mule, Texas. And it ain’t just the temperature.

1880, West Texas

Honey Cafferty lives a happy, if precarious, existence as a traveling saleswoman. She sells her elixirs and potions while searching for the one thing she hasn’t been able to brew from the back of her colorful wagon—a sense of belonging. She arrives in Two Mule, Texas, with her Elixir of Love, a potion that improves a man’s libido but might just get her run out of town.

Sheriff Joe Tanner is protective of his little town. Downright hostile toward anyone who might take advantage of the fine folk under his protection. Any snake-oil salesman who rolls into town better just keep right on rolling.

Honey isn’t what Joe expected, from her vibrant red hair and cat-green eyes to her curvy mouth and hips. And when the men of the town begin to plead exhaustion—and place the blame squarely on her sweet-smelling shoulders—Joe has no choice but to launch an investigation. A very, very deep investigation…

Buy at: Samhain | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Contest

Because I’m lazy like this, my contest is going to be super simple!

Answer me this (I love this ungrammatical phrase!) for a chance to win a free download from among all my currently available short stories listed here:

Have you been dreaming of summer—hot days with sweat trickling down a cold glass of tea, you in a swimsuit beside a pool/the lake/the beach?

Heather Long: Rogue Wolf

Wolves of Willow Bend

Rogue Wolf

Releasing February 27, 2015

The Italian Alpha, Salvatore Esposito, crossed an ocean and dared to venture into unfriendly territory to hunt for his missing sister in Willow Bend. He’ll do anything to get her back, even if it means he must resist chasing the fierce enforcer who wakens his primal beast…anything.

As an enforcer, Margo Montgomery monitors the lone wolves. She is in the middle of investigating missing wolves from multiple territories when the order comes in to escort the Salvatore to Willow Bend. There’s bad blood between her and the current Alpha of Willow Bend, but they soon discover a new danger—a lone wolf gone rogue.

Now Margo must hunt the rogue—a pursuit made all the more dangerous because it becomes readily apparent the rogue they seek isn’t alone and Salvatore refuses to be left behind—not when wolves are vanishing without a trace… 

Rogue Wolf

Book #4 in the Wolves of Willow Bend Series

Amazon | All Romance | Kobo | iTunes   

Series Reading Order:

Wolf at Law (Prequel)

Book 1: Wolf Bite

Book 2: Caged Wolf

Book 3: Wolf Claim

Book 4: Rogue Wolf

About the Author:

Heather Long

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Contact Details:

Website: http://www.heatherlong.net

Email: heather@heatherlong.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeatherLongAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HVLong

Excerpt:

Five cups of coffee and over a thousand miles later, she waited against the wall in the international arrivals area of Midway airport. Julian came through with the name of the airline—a flight via Canada—and the time of arrival. They had no photo of the Alpha and only his name. Plenty of humans stood around holding placards with names written on them. Margo didn’t bother.

The number of scents trailing around her—from the over-perfumed to the under-bathed—threatened to give her a headache. She’d taken an hour at a hotel to shower and change into fresh clothes. Fortunately, she hadn’t bloodied any clothes on her current assignment. Jeans, boots and a denim jacket over a dark green turtleneck fit for the current weather outside. She didn’t stand out, though a number of human males gave her a lingering look. Ignoring them, she scanned the new arrivals passing through the sliding glass doors with their bags.

Arms folded, she braced one foot against the wall. More arrivals spilled through the doors into the early morning light. She dismissed three men immediately. One dripped sweat, the second dripped illness, and the third—her nostrils flared—he avoided looking at anyone. She may not know her target’s appearance, but no Alpha walked with their head down and their gaze on the path in front of them.

A collection of women came through, all chattering about the delicious passenger—his height, his accent, his eyes—on their flight. Home from a holiday it would seem, and apparently the view on the plane trumped anything they’d seen on the ground.

The doors swished apart and fresh odors wafted toward her. Sampling the air, she scented him before she saw him. The hint of sweet-floral fragrance with an element of citrus, but beneath it all a distinctly masculine bite of hot sun on fur, and something her wolf couldn’t sort out.

A stream of businessmen waded through the travelers. Their suits were a dead giveaway, though so were the harried looks, cell phones in hand and rumpled appearances. Dismissing one after another, she stilled.

Awareness swept over her and she canted her head slowly to find one man had stopped a half-dozen feet away. Well over six feet in height, he towered over her five-foot-ten frame. Jet black hair crowned a deeply tanned face. Black eyes—true black, so dark she couldn’t make out a pupil—stared at her.

More than one set of eyes in the room turned toward him, and the crowd parted to walk wide of him. No one dared invade his space.

“Hello, Mr. Esposito,” she said, barely raising her voice. If he were who she believed him to be, he’d hear her anyway. The corner of his beautifully formed mouth quirked, and he made his way toward her. He carried only one mid-sized bag and moved with a tireless grace. The group of women who’d been gushing only moments before fell silent.

Yes, definitely Alpha. He had every woman’s attention and the men who weren’t admiring him, did their damnedest to stay out of his way. Straightening, Margo ignored the faint hint of heat licking along her skin. As the distance between them closed, her wolf quieted further, watchful and wary. An unfamiliar wolf in their midst—would he be friend or foe?

“Buongiorno, signorina Montgomery.” Smooth. His accent stroked her senses, and she narrowed her eyes. For all the attention his looks received and the exotic bite of his scent, the handsome man before her didn’t radiate Alpha. His power didn’t sweep out to encompass her like so many Alphas did on approach.

As a matter of fact— “Good morning, Mr. Esposito. Welcome to the United States.” Though the throng of the airport was heavy with new arrivals and those waiting to greet them, the crowd continued to avoid running into him. “Where is your pack?” Alphas might be the most powerful in a pack and they might rule with a velvet glove or iron fist, but they did not take sojourns into foreign lands without backup.

It wouldn’t be sane.

“They are not here,” he answered, then smiled. “You will take me to Willow Bend, yes?”

Cagey bastard. She refused to smile, however, no matter how charming his accent sounded and regardless of the way a shiver chased along her spine when he rolled his ‘r’s. “No, I’ll put your ass back on a plane if you don’t tell me where your pack is.” A lone Alpha? No.

“It is so hard to believe I would travel without an entourage?”

Holding his gaze proved a challenge, but he was not her Alpha. As an Enforcer, she bowed to no one. Keeping her posture relaxed, she raised her eyebrows. “No, not at all hard to believe if your wolves are elsewhere causing mischief.”

Pursing his lips, he squinted briefly. “Mischief—trouble? You’re worried my pack is doing something they shouldn’t?”

“We can stand here all day, Mr. Esposito. Until you tell me where your pack is, how many you brought, you’re not going anywhere. I won’t lead a Trojan Horse into any pack. If you’re a planning a coup or other trouble for any of the U.S. packs, you’ll have a problem with me. Capiche?”

His expression tightened briefly. “You do not carry the scent of pack,” he said as though it were a puzzle.

“No, I don’t. I don’t need to in order to deal with you.”

Sweat trickled down the back of her neck, and her wolf shifted within her restlessly. No power leaked from the presence within the man standing before her, but she and her wolf both knew he weighed, measured, and studied them. After a long moment, his lids dropped to half-closed and he took a step forward. The nearness amped her wariness. “Would it suffice for me to offer my word that they are performing no mischief?”

“At the risk of being insulting and challenging you directly…” She let the last three words hang in the air between them for a moment before continuing. “You are a stranger, so your word has no value.” Admittedly, he hadn’t lied to her as of yet and she gave him points for honesty.

“Admirable.” He made it sound like a compliment, if one left him perplexed. “Few would willingly oppose my desires, at least openly. Fewer still would refuse to back down.” Though his English was flawless, she didn’t let his comment sway her determination.

“Still not an answer to my question. Where is your pack, Mr. Esposito?” The perspiration sliding down her neck threatened to soak her shirt. Thankfully she’d worn the jacket, though even in the dense cloud of human bodies that made up the airport population, she didn’t doubt he would scent her distress sooner rather than later.

Neither she nor her wolf cared to rouse whatever sleeping beast the Alpha possessed, but they couldn’t afford to back down. If he proved intractable, she’d have to deal with him there and find an excuse to toss him back onto a plane. No one ever said the life of an Enforcer would be boring.

“Bella, you amuse me, but I have little time for play.” A hint of authority crept into his words. “I will, however, show you courtesy as you made a request and your assistance would be useful as you know the terrain and I do not.”

Rather than interrupt, she simply raised her eyebrows and waited.

A frown, like a swift moving storm, gathered his brows together before they relaxed and the expression erased. Yep. She was pissing him off, a talent she had in spades.

“They are in Canada, in unclaimed territory. They will not cross into the United States until I send for them.”

“What part of Canada?” She pulled out her cellphone.

“A little town on the other side of border called Pierre St. Pete.”

Weird name, but it was Canada. She dialed Hadley as, last she’d heard, Hadley was in that area. “Hey, it’s me. I’m in Chicago. We have—” She glanced Esposito. “How many?”

An aggravated sigh, and his teeth gave an almost audible click. “Four.”

Gauging his expression, she tested a theory and simply raised her eyebrows again. Something was a tad off in his scent, but the exotic richness of it worked like a drug against her tired system, so she wasn’t sure if it was quite a lie.

His eyes didn’t change color but the weight of his stare seemed to double. “Four.” He repeated, “Only four.”

Hadley didn’t interrupt, but then she could hear the conversation clearly. “Four wolves from the Seven Hills Pack, Italy, in Pierre St. Pete, Canada. Keep on them, don’t engage. They’re waiting for word from their Alpha, who is here in the States with me.”

“Why do you get all the fun assignments?” Hadley teased. “Are any of his wolves hot?”

The Alpha’s lips twitched, and his bad mood evaporated. “Ask for Giovanni. He is very popular with the ladies in Rome.”

After clearing her throat, Hadley whispered. “Will do. Should I check in with you, Margo, or you want me to call Julian?”

Still eyeing Alpha Troublemaker, Margo said, “Julian, unless you think I need to know. I’m escorting him as far as Willow Bend.” Then because his smug smile annoyed her, she added, “Where he will be Mason’s problem and not mine.”

Goodbye, knowing smirk. Disconnecting the call, she motioned to the doors. “Shall we?”

“After you,” he said. “You know the way and, I promise, I will guard your back.”

Fantastic. A foreign Alpha with an agenda behind her, four foreign wolves waiting on the other side of the border, and she was on her way to see another Alpha who hated her.

The trip just kept getting better and better.

Sabrina York: Elite Metal – Book One in the Elite Warriors Series (Contest)

Elite Metal is here—a novel

approach to collections, where all the stories intertwine! Our heroes are

ex-military secretive operatives, who all belong to a kickass motorcycle club.
Sound yummy? I know!

Follow  us on Facebook for release updates!
https://www.facebook.com/elitemetalbooks


 
Elite Metal – Book One in the Elite Warriors Series

For decades the US Marines funded a top-secret unit known as Elite Recon. A deadly group of men and women sent to infiltrate dozens of countries completely undetected. Mission objectives so extreme casualties were not only probable, but expected.

The current batch of operatives had returned from hundreds of assignments unscathed…until one mission went horribly wrong. Several men lost their lives and the group disbanded. The remaining leathernecks were scattered in the wind with new identities. They were told to blend in. Be normal. Or face being forever silenced just like their fallen brothers.

Now, two years later, each living member of the group is kidnapped and given a chance to make things right. But this time they’re no longer under the thumb of Uncle Sam. A mysterious private backer who knows about their past has brought them back together. No longer are they forced to turn a blind eye to the lost and forsaken.

A new life. A new future…Elite Metal.

Anna Alexander, Jennifer Kacey, Heather Long, Sabrina York Rebecca Royce, Saranna DeWylde and Roxie Rivera

About Sabrina’s Story

Sterling’s Seduction

When Sterling spots a reporter masquerading as a waitress in a dingy bar in Deep Ellum, he suspects she’s investigating the team. And that’s something he just cannot allow to happen. Too many lives are at stake. He will do everything in his power to learn the truth—even seduce her. And to stop her story from coming out? He might even tie her to the bed.

Nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping his brothers safe. Nothing. It’s a damn shame she’s everything he’s ever wanted. It’s a damn shame her touch warms his cold, dead heart.

Sterling’s Seduction EXCERPT

As she rounded the corner, her steps stalled.

Because there he was, leaning against his bike. Waiting for her.

Well, she hoped he was waiting for her. When he saw her, he unfolded his long legs and stood.

“Did you change your mind?” she asked, trying for a flippant tone.

His beautiful eyebrow arched. “About what?”

“Taking me home?” Might as well be brash.

He gestured to his bike. “My alternator is shot. I’m waiting for a ride.”

“Ah.” Why disappointment flooded her was a mystery. Or not.

“Was there…an offer on the table?” His voice was a low melody that danced on the skeins of air. It was annoying. And not.

“Hey. I’m not the one who walked away.” She tried not to let her petulance show.

He stepped closer and searched her face. She let him. Not hiding at all. Or not hiding everything. She let her interest show.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Pigtails—”

“Pigtails?”

“Yeah. Pigtails.” He flicked her hair, reminding her how she’d pulled it up. She’d been going for backwoods innocent, but it might have backfired on her. With a harsh movement, she yanked out the rubber bands and her hair fell around her face. His lashes flickered. Something that looked like hunger washed over his features.

“What do you want to get straight?”

His jaw clenched. “I don’t like questions. Pure and simple. Understood?”

The way he said the word, with a thread of dominance in his tone, sent a shiver through her. She lowered her eyes and nodded. “Understood. So…do you? Want to come home with me? No questions asked?”

“Maybe.” He checked his watch. “Looks like my ride isn’t going to show, anyway.”

Hardly the flood of interest she would have preferred. Irritation rippled. “Or I can give you a lift home.” And when his cheek bunched, “Or call you a cab.”

“I’d rather go home with you.” He stepped closer, too close, and pulled her against him. His fingers were harsh on her flesh, his insistence alluring. Yes, this was what she wanted. Something rough. Something ruthless. Something demanding.

Hunger rose in her, swamping her desire to finish this story and get back home. Hell, she could probe him with questions later. After. This need was far more pressing.

When he lowered his head, she caught a whiff of his aftershave and her knees locked. He was tall, muscled and rough around the edges. Just the kind of guy she’d always craved.

His lips touched hers and she nearly collapsed. It was a wild rush, a tumult of sensation. For a starved woman, as she was, it was irresistible. She couldn’t help but kiss him back, a manic frenzy. Her passion seemed to spur his on, and he wrapped himself around her, tipped his head and deepened the kiss. His hands roved over her back, her hips, her ass. Nothing tentative. Nothing tender.

When he lifted his head, she was a bowl of Jell-O. Ready and willing.

“So do you want to?” Her voice caught on the invitation.

“Yeah.” He yanked her tighter and his cock gouged into her belly, hard and needy. “Yeah. I want to. Just no more questions.”

No more questions.

Right.

*~*~*~*~*

GET IT NOW!

ELITE METAL

Bound By Steele

Anna Alexander and Jennifer Kacey

To save his Marine brothers and sister he must accept the past isn’t dead and buried. Reuniting survivors means he is forced to first forgive…the enemy.

Chrome’s Salvation

Jennifer Kacey

A former leader of Elite Recon, reduced to nothing more than an apathetic existence. Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance…now nothing will stand in the way of him coming back to life.

Adamantium’s Roar

Anna Alexander

Adamantium left Beth to what he thought was a better life, only to find she had been living in hell. Now he’ll do anything, break any vow, to claim her as his for all time.

Pure Copper

Heather Long

Copper will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means seducing and betraying the one man who really sees her.

Sterling’s Seduction

Sabrina York

When a snoopy reporter threatens the Elite Metal, Sterling will do whatever it takes to kill her story about the team. Even if it means he has to tie her to his bed.

Platinum’s Choice

Rebecca Royce

Platinum left the life he had with Rose in New York to rejoin his team and silence the nightmares from Operation Phoenix.   But when Rose is forced to go on the run with Platinum’s hidden son, he will have no choice but to return to his old life and reclaim what he has ached for every day since. Red Wolf’s sniper wants to nudge Plat’s underbelly and they’re going to find out quickly how deadly he can be.

Mercury’s Poison

Saranna DeWylde

A scarred, mad genius more monster than man must protect the beauty he’s become obsessed with from a beast more terrible than himself.

Forged in Silver

Roxie Rivera

Rebel. Nomad. Troublemaker. After surviving the double-cross during Operation Phoenix, Former Elite Recon Marine Silver embraces the underworld and builds a new life as one of the world’s most renowned thieves. Jewels, paintings, corporate espionage–there’s no job he won’t take for the right price.

BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SZGM6UI/

ELITE METAL PARTY GIVEAWAY:

Win the Elite Metal Party Pack 

Anna Alexander:  Adamantium t-shirt & Autographed copy of The Cowboy Way; Saranna DeWylde: Ebook bundle of Fat and Slut; Jennifer Kacey: Signed print copy of Jennifer Kacey’s  BDSM Anthology and extra goodies; Heather Long: A print, autographed copy of Her Marine Bodyguard and $10 GC to Amazon; Roxie Rivera: MMA tshirt, Autographed copy of a print book & a button; Rebecca Royce:   Signed print copy of Alphas Strength and a choice of an ebook from her backlist; Sabrina York: Tiara Signed Tryst Island Print Book and Bling.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Sabrina York

Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers. Her titles range from sweet & sexy to scorching erotic romance.  Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york, on Facebook or on Pintrest. Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt on Amazon or wherever e-books are sold. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests. Free Teaser Book: http://sabrinayork.com/home-2/sabrina-yorks-teaser-book/ And don’t forget to enter to win the royal tiara!

Website: http://sabrinayork.com/

Like my Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/sabrinayork

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Check out my Pintrest boards: http://www.pinterest.com/sabrinayork/boards/

Books by Sabrina York

CONTEMPORARY

NEW

Heartbreak on a Stick (Contemporary Romance)

Snow Angels (Calendar Men Series from Decadent Publishing)

Wired Series—Steamy Contemporary Romance

Adam’s Obsession (Ellora’s Cave) Book 1

Tristan’s Temptation (Ellora’s Cave) Book 2

Making Over Maris (Ellora’s Cave/FemDom) Book 2

Tryst Island Series—Steamy Contemporary Romance

Rebound Book 1

Dragonfly Kisses Book 2

Smoking Holt Book 3

Heart of Ash Book 4

Devlin’s Dare Book 5

Parker’s Passion Book 6

REGENCY

Noble Passions Series—Steamy Regency

Folly (Ellora’s Cave) Book 1

Dark Fancy (Ellora’s Cave) Book 2

Dark Duke (Ellora’s Cave)   Book 3

Brigand (Ellora’s Cave) Book 4

Defiant (Ellora’s Cave) Book 5

FANTASY

Lust Eternal (Erotic Fantasy, Ellora’s Cave)

ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS

Five Alarm Fire (Steamy Contemporary for the High Octane Heroes Anthology, Cleis Press)

A Cowboy for Delilah (Steamy Contemporary for the Cowboy Heat Anthology, Cleis Press)

Saving Charlotte (Steamy Contemporary for the Smokin’ Hot Firemen Anthology, Cleis Press)

Sterling’s Seduction (Elite Metal Collection)

Stone Hard Seal (Hot Alpha Seals: Military Romance Megaset)

The Real McCoy—in the Cowboy 12 Pack

Whipped—in the WTRAFSOG Collection #8  

SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS

Extreme Couponing (Erotic Contemporary/BDSM, Ellora’s Cave)

Fierce (One Night Stand, Decadent Publishing)

Pushing Her Buttons (Erotic Contemporary/BDSM, Ellora’s Cave)

Man Hungry (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)

Rising Green (Erotic Horror, Ellora’s Cave)

Snow Angels (Calendar Men Series from Decadent Publishing)

Training Tess (Erotic Contemporary/BDSM, Ellora’s Cave)

Trickery (Erotic Contemporary with Magical Elements, Ellora’s Cave Hex Line)

Lindsay McKenna: Taking Fire

This is a story of US Navy SEAL, Mike Tarik, who is an American citizen, but 1/2 Saudi and 1/2 American, through his mother.  His father is a world renown cardiac surgeon.  Dr. Bedir Tarik met his wife, Annie, over in Saudi Arabia where she was an American school teacher.  Bedir, who is Sufi, believes firmly that love is the only way to peace and harmony in the world.  He falls in love with Annie, and they marry in Riyadh.  Later, she gets pregnant with Mike and he is born in San Diego, California.

Bedir takes his young son over to Saudi Arabia for three weeks every year.  He has a charity in Riyadh, and he and Mike take a pickup and distribute clothes, food and money to the poor at the fringes of that city, as well as to  many others.  He teaches his son generosity, giving back and being grateful for what he has.

Mike grows up wanting to become a Navy SEAL.  Bedir has already shown him his family’s lineage and tells his warrior son that he has the genes of his warrior great-grandfather.  Mike’s view on it is that he wants to help the poor and oppressed, to rid them of tyrants who kill or make their lives miserable.  When he deploys to Afghanistan with Seal Team 3, he works with NGO charities to bring food, clothing, and shoes to the desperately poor Afghan villages near where his team is located.

He carries on his father’s belief in always helping those who have less.  But on one mission, he finds himself in need.  He and his four-man SEAL team are out on a mission.   And it is a black ops US Marine Corps sniper who saves his team and him from a deadly ambush.  And she’s a woman!  Mike’s entire life changes in the moment he is injured and saved by this mysterious operator who cares for him deep in the cave systems of the Hindu Kush Mountains near the Pakistan border.

Sergeant Khatera Shinwari is wary of this SEAL, must maintain her deep black ops cover and although she’s powerfully drawn to Mike, there is no way she can act upon it.  Mike, before he’s picked up by a Night Stalker helicopter once he’s ready to leave her care for FOB Bravo, promises her, he will see her again.

Khat doesn’t believe him, as much as she wished she could.  Her life is not her own.  Her loyalty is to her Afghan people, not to a single man like Mike.  But life has a funny way of changing up, and Mike isn’t about to just let this enigmatic, beautiful woman disappear out of his life.  No way…..

I had great fun creating this story and it’s unlike anything my readers have read.  I’m very excited about it, about the sympathetic characters that you are sure to cheer on!  And toward that end?  I’ve created a “Director’s Cut” of a much longer ending to TAKING FIRE.    Don’t worry, the book you’ve bought is complete with an HEA ending.  But if you want to know “what else” happened?  Then ON FIRE, HQN, 5.1.2015, digital only, 40,000 words long and $2.99, will be available to you to continue their twisting and dangerous destiny with one another!

TAKING FIRE, HQN, 2.25.2015.

This is a Shadow Warriors series pocket book and ebook.

ISBN-10: 0373785054

ISBN-13: 978-0373785056

ASIN: B00OYCW3SC

Coming…

ON FIRE, HQN, Ebook only, Director’s Cut to TAKING FIRE

Pub. date: 3.1.2015

On all major ebook platforms

ASIN: B00QXN8J3S

Lindsay