Thea Harrison's Blog, page 26

I’m giving away TWENTY copies of LORD’S FALL by Tuesday Oct 30th! Please RT.

Whee, isn’t this fun????  If you want to enter this giveaway, be sure to read this post!  The details matter.

I am giving away 20 copies of LORD’S FALL.  The books are signed, and they are in their envelopes, ready to go!  I am headed to the post office on Tuesday morning, October 30th.  The ONLY thing I need to know is where to send them!

This giveaway is a QUICK one, because I want to try to get the winners their books before the release date on November 6th.  This giveaway is also international–up to 5 international winners.

How does that work?  I pick winners for my contests via www.random.org.  IF the random numbers come up with a lot of international folks, the cut off is five.  The rest will be domestic.  This is my way of including the international readers in such a large giveaway.

TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

Comment here for a chance to win one of the 20 copies!  Answer this question:  what are your plans for Halloween?  YOU MUST ALSO INCLUDE YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.  This is to help me when I’m picking the winners.  If you forget this, you will not be entered in the contest, although I will be sure to enjoy all your answers about Halloween.

The contest ends:  6 PM MDT (8 PM EST) Monday, October 29th.  That’s tomorrow, folks.  Winners will be posted by 6:30 PM MDT/8:30 PM EST, and if I don’t hear from the winners BY 9 AM MDT on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30th, I will give the prize to someone else.  So you must pay attention to the blog announcements.  The point is to get these in the mail on Tuesday.  It’s up to you whether or not you might be one of the recipients.

Good luck, and happy reading!

Thea

Winners of LORD’S FALL ARC International Giveaway

The contest for advance reader copies of Lord’s Fall is now closed. Thank you, readers, for your interest and enthusiasm in this contest! The winners, as chosen by random.org, are:

Obretin Mihaela (Mikky)

LynnL

Eva/TXBookjunkie

 

Congratulations! Winners, to claim your copy of Lord’s Fall: please e-mail info@theaharrison.com with your mailing address by October 24th, 12 PM (noon), MST. If we do not hear from you by this date, your prize will be considered void and your book will be allocated to someone else.

To those of you who entered and didn’t win, remember you will have a chance to win an ARC of Lord’s Fall on GoodReads from Berkeley! Please keep an eye on Thea’s FaceBook page and Twitter account for information on when that drawing will start.

LORD’S FALL blog tour

This schedule will also be posted soon in News & Events.

1. Interview: EBookObsessed  11/1/2012

2. Interview: Romance Novel News  11/6/2012

3. (Same day) Interview The Reading Cafe  11/6/2012

4. Interview: The Book Pushers  11/7/2012

5. Bitten By Books (to be decided)  11/8/2012

6. Interview:  The Qwillery  11/9/2012

7. Interview: Book Monster Reviews & Literal Addiction  11/12/2012

8. Guest Post Tynga’s Reviews: When I’m Not Writing  11/13/2012

9. Guest Post Limecello: What Makes a Good Antagonist?  11/15/2012

Hope to see you all at the events!

Thea

Blog post: Excerpt from LORD’S FALL

Someone had asked a while ago if I would post another excerpt of LORD’S FALL, but I’m afraid I’ve only just gotten around to doing it.  Here it is.

Don’t forget, there are two giveaways of LORD’S FALL at the moment.

One is on Goodreads at: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

*Ends October 23rd*

The other is an international giveaway here on my blog:  http://theaharrison.com/blog-post-int...

*My international giveaway ends next week, on Wednesday October 17th*

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy!

~~~

Supper was a southern-style red beans and rice dish, with slices of spicy tofu sausage, a spinach and tangerine salad and a peach cobbler. Pia’s nausea vaporized. She fell on the feast and didn’t stop until it was all gone.

A full stomach and a hot shower later, she opened up one of her suitcases. She had stolen one of Dragos’s T-shirts out of the hamper and wrapped it in a plastic bag. Shaking out the voluminous black material, she slipped it on. It gaped at the neck and fell nearly to her knees, but she didn’t care what she looked like. The T-shirt carried his masculine scent, and almost immediately after she put it on, the knot of anxious tension eased at the base of her skull.

It would be all right. He had promised.

She closed most of the windows but left one cracked open, slid in between clean sheets and . . .

She lay there in the strange bed, listening to the quiet, distant sounds of strange people moving about in the strange house. A crazed, frustrated despair lurked around the edges of her mind, looking for an opening to sink its hooks into her and really wake her up.

That was the absolute worst thing, when she needed to go to sleep, she really needed it so badly that it interfered with her actually going to sleep. Then thoughts rabbited around in her mind like rabid bunnies on crack, and oh my gods, this trip was going to be one long-drawn-out hell if she didn’t sleep, except she had to sleep some time, didn’t she?

Even if it took days. . . .

A warm breeze caressed her skin as she relaxed on her lounge chair on the terrace. She wore one of Dragos’s T-shirts and was wrapped in her favorite silk throw as she looked out at the magnificent spray of lights that was the New York City skyline at night. The French doors to their room were propped open and gauze curtains rippled. Despite all the issues and her continued discomfort at living in Cuelebre Tower, the good things were crazy, out-of-this-world fantastic.

Wait, was she supposed to be in New York? She strained to remember the last events of her day. Man, it had been a long one. A car ride.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Dragos said from within their room.

It never changed and never lessened, that fierce leap of joy she felt whenever she heard his voice in greeting or whenever she saw him again. She sprang to her feet and ran into their room.

Their bedside lamps were turned on low, and a fire had been lit in the freestanding fireplace, making soft light and shadows dance along the walls. Pia had made a few changes to warm up the austere room. The white carpet was gone, replaced with honey-colored oak floors and woven rugs, and she had added deep gold and jewel-toned pillows to their bed and to the couches. She could tell whenever Dragos’s gaze lingered on the rich textiles that he enjoyed the changes.

Magic and Power filled the room, rich like champagne and so imbued with his presence she basked in the feeling.

Dragos stretched out on the top of their bed, hands laced behind his head. He was dressed in one of his casual outfits, simple jeans, boots and a T-shirt. One long leg draped over the side of the bed, his foot planted on the floor as if he had just lain down. His bronze skin looked dark against the white bedspread, and his gold eyes glowed, brilliant and witchy.

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, his hard-edged face softening. He said, “It took you long enough.”

“I’m in Charleston,” she said. “I couldn’t get to sleep.”

“You managed it in the end.” He held a massive, long-fingered hand out to her.

She went to the bed, and he pulled her down to him. As he wrapped his arms around her, she settled into place. Her body knew him so intimately. It recognized the longer, much stronger shape of his body, every muscle and bone, bulge and hollow. Her cheek knew to rest just there, in the dip on his shoulder, and her arm understood the most comfortable way to lie crooked across his wide chest. She nestled the curve of her pelvis against the jut of his hip with his heavy, muscled thigh slightly between her legs, and they both sighed and relaxed.

It was one of her best-loved places, a necessary place, like when she curled on her side and he spooned her from behind, wrapping her tightly in his arms. He kissed her forehead, and she was home.

“I missed you,” she said.

He whispered against her forehead, “I missed you.”

Unlike the beguilement he had sent after her when she had run from him last May, this was a simple dream sending. Then, he had set a trap for a thief only to trap himself as well, and the desire they had discovered together had ratcheted into a desperately miserable fever pitch. This time the magic was gentler, as Dragos had explained it would be, and their dream would be whatever they chose to make of it.

“What I want to know,” Pia said, “is why you didn’t put us in some silk-draped tent in a desert, so we could act out a sheikh fantasy.”

His wide chest moved in a low chuckle. He told her, “I’ll keep that under advisement. You maintained control of your dampening spell this time.”

She stirred, murmuring, “I’ll take—”

He clenched her tight and said sharply, “No, don’t!”

She froze, looking at him with eyebrows raised.

“Two reasons,” he said to her unspoken question. “The shift of your magic might break the dream. And even if it didn’t, if you take the dampening spell off here, you might actually remove it from your physical body too. You never know if one of the guards might have to wake you up for any reason. Remember—you told me when you woke up in the motel room the first time, the spell had slipped and you had to recast it.”

She scowled, intensely disliking the idea of anyone walking into her bedroom when she was asleep, or possibly breaking the dream without warning. “Okay. Makes sense.”

Now that he mentioned it, the whole thing did feel a little dreamy. His arms were around her, and yes, they felt strong and sure, but somehow they did not seem quite as solid as they should. Deep down her bones knew the difference because she had experienced the real thing. She buried her face in him and held on tightly.

He tapped her forehead with a finger. “You’re thinking too hard again.”

“What, are you afraid I might wake myself up?” she said, muffled against his T-shirt.

“You might. Mostly I don’t want you to get so tangled up in details that you mull and stew the night away. The time we have is limited. We need to make the most of it.”

“Whose genius idea was this again?” Her mutter was truculent. “Oh yeah, it was mine.”

He laughed quietly, took hold of her hand and played with her fingers. “Tell me, how was your day?”

Freaking miserable. “We drove a lot. Then we got here.”

She debated whether she would tell him about her sort-of confrontation with Eva then decided against it for now. She had no idea if he would be calmly pragmatic, or if he would go all evil alpha and threaten to ruin Eva’s army career, or something else equally over the top and disastrous.

And there would be no point to any of that, especially when she suspected the issue had been resolved enough as it was. Eva was no Aryal—thank God. Pia and Aryal might have reached a balance so that they could spar together, but Pia knew Aryal had never forgiven her for the mistakes she had made last spring, and it was likely Aryal never would.

Argh, harpies. Look them up under the definition of trouble.

She glanced at Dragos. He had tilted his head and was watching her closely. “What are you glossing over?”

She sighed. “Anything else I might have to say would be a complaint.”

“Tell me,” he said.

She could tell by his expression that he meant it. “I got carsick and couldn’t eat all day. It was awful. The house is magnificent, but you’re not here. That’s awful too. I’m trying to spare you a long, boring litany of whine.”

He frowned. “Were you able to eat supper?”

“Yes, I stuffed myself.” She paused. “Actually there’s nothing to whine about that supper. It was just damn good.” She peeked at him. “Except you weren’t here to eat with me.”

“And there it is,” he said. “I knew you could get there if you really wanted to.”

She pulled her hand from his and touched his lips. He had such a severe mouth. Like the rest of his hard, rough-edged features, it was stamped with temper and the force of his personality.

Only she knew how tender and gentle that hard-looking mouth could be. It wasn’t fair, to love someone this much and to have it returned in such a fierce, undying tidal wave of passion and devotion. It was completely unfair, that fortune should lavish upon her such an extravagant, rare gift.

Blog Post: International giveaway of three ARCs of LORD’S FALL

When I received my ARCs of LORD’S FALL, I was delighted for a couple of reasons.  Berkley produced the ARCs with full color covers, and they had sent me extras!

I decided the best thing I could do with the three extra ARCs is to hold an international giveaway!

Contest Details:

The contest runs from the posting today and will end on 12 pm (noon) MDT on Wednesday October 17th.

Contest rules are as follows:

1. Each contestant can have up seven (7) entries. You do not have to complete all seven steps to play. All you have to do to enter for the giveaway is step #2. Completing any combination of the rest will just give you more chances to win.

2. +1 entry. Leave a comment here on my blog.  Comments left elsewhere, such as Goodreads, Twitter or on my Facebook page do NOT count as entries.  I will only pick winners from here.

You must include your email address in your comment, along with any details from steps #3 and #4.

3. +3 entries (1 entry each) for following me on Goodreads, Twitter (@TheaHarrison) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheaHarrison). (You must include this information in your comment on my blog for contest credit!)

4. +3 entries (1 entry each) for tweeting about this contest, blogging about it, or linking to it from your website, etc. (Please tell me where! You must include information on this in your comment on my blog for credit).

5. Giveaway is open Internationally/No P.O. Boxes. Yes, you read that right: this is international.

7. I will pick the three winners with the help of Random.org, and announce who they are Wednesday afternoon, October 17th, between 12 noon to 1 pm MDT.

I am very happy to share these lovely ARCs of LORD’S FALL with you, and hope you have fun!

**This is not your only chance to win an ARC of LORD’S FALL.  Berkley will be having a giveaway on Goodreads of 29 copies!  I will be sure to post and tweet information on this as soon as I receive news that the contest has gone live.  Please note:  publisher giveaways on Goodreads are not international.**

The three winners of Hunter’s Season for Facebook fans

After consulting random.org for numbers, the three people who won an eARC of Hunter’s Season from my giveaway for Facebook fans are:

Megan Olson

Grace S

Maria Mercedes

Congratulations!  Email me at thea@theaharrison.com and be sure to let me know which kind of efile you need (i.e. epub, mobi, etc).  **Please note: if I do not hear from you by Friday September 14, I’ll allocate your prize to someone else.

Happy reading!

Thea

Hunter’s Season giveaway for Facebook followers – ends 12 noon MDT Monday Sept 10th

I’ll be having a Twitter contest on Monday to give away 3 eARC copies of my new novella Hunter’s Season, which releases two weeks later on Tuesday September 18th.  I haven’t decided on the details of the Twitter giveaway yet, and may not before Monday.

Then I thought it would only be fair to offer a giveaway of 3 eARCs of Hunter’s Season to Facebook followers as well!

Contest details:

1. Answer the following question:  where is your favorite place to read?

2. In your comment, you must include your Facebook ID.  This giveaway is for Facebook only.  To be eligible, you must like my Facebook page at:  www.facebook.com|TheaHarrison

3. Giveaway ends on Monday September 10, with the three winners announced at 12 noon MDT here on my blog.

Official cover blurb for Hunter’s Season

We’ve taken the next step forward in producing Hunter’s Season–we now have the official cover blurb!  The novella will be up for pre-order very soon now.

Here’s the blurb with a re-posting of the cover art.  Enjoy.

Book Title: Hunter’s Season

Series Name: A Novella of the Elder Races

Author: Thea Harrison

ISBN13: 978-1-61921-311-1

Length: 34,937

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Price: $3.50

Publication Date: 09/18/2012

Tagline: Duty. Devotion. Desire. When fate brings two isolated people together, love is in the cards.

Blurb:

A Novella of the Elder Races

As a palace guard and assassin for the Dark Fae, Xanthe always wore a mask, hiding her emotions to do her duty. But when her identity is compromised, she trades undercover work for guarding Queen Niniane—a position that often brings her in contact with Chancellor Aubrey Riordan.

Aubrey’s trust is shattered. A year ago his wife tried to assassinate their new queen in his name, a betrayal of everything he believes in. And now an attack on his life is proof the dark conspiracy is not yet over. Although injured and weak, Aubrey can’t help but be drawn to this shy assassin and loyal protector. Xanthe is everything Naida wasn’t, and the passion she stirs in him is something he thought had long passed him by.

Warning: Take a man recovering from an assassination attempt, the assassin sworn to protect him, add in a magical Tarot card deck and an isolated cabin, and watch the sparks fly!

Winner of @jcharbonneau’s MURDER FOR CHOIR giveaway

The winner of the MURDER FOR CHOIR giveaway is Teri, Entry #12!

Congratulations, Teri!  Email me your mailing address, and I’ll put your book in the mail.

Best,

Thea

Hunter’s Season blog tour details, starting September 12th

Here are the dates and websites for the Hunter’s Season blog tour!  Lots of original blogs, interviews, and an online chat on Goodreads.  It’s going to be lots of fun!

HUNTER’S SEASON BLOG TOUR

Sept 12:  Interview  http://paranormalreadsreviews.blogspot.com/

Sept 13:  Original  http://www.thebookvixen.com/

Sept 14:  Interview  http://www.paranormalhaven.com/

Sept 17:  Original  http://thebookpushers.com/

Sept 18:  Interview  http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.com/

Sept 19:  Original  http://bookswarm.blogspot.com/

Sept 20:  Interview  http://www.smashattackreads.com/

Sept 21: Q&A on Goodreads Goodreads group, Gotta Have Paranormal Romance with a Kick.    7 PM EST/ 5 PM MDT

Sept 21:  Original  http://hangingwithbells.blogspot.com/

Sept 24:  Interview  http://redhotbooks.blogspot.com/

Sept 25:  Original  http://www.rubysreads.com/