Maddy Barone's Blog, page 60

The Beta by Annie Nicholas

I've the read the frist two of this series and am thrilled the next is out! Take a look.

The Beta book 3 of The Vanguards is released!

Three days of hell, in charge, and running out of antacids.

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As the pack's Beta, Robert needs to watch over the Vasi werewolf pack for a few days. He hates the responsibility, but his job is to dissolve any problems while his alpha honeymoons. Nevertheless, trouble comes to town and her name is Esther. She's beguiling, beautiful and picks his pocket. Although Robert doesn't trust her, he still wants to possess her.



Esther arrived in
Chicago with the intention of slaying a vampire named Daedalus. While trailing her quarry, she encounters Robert who unhinges her world. He doesn't know her trade, and she doesn't know his connection to the vampire. Disturbed by her attraction to this unusual werewolf, she can't decide which prey to hunt. The one who's stolen her heart or the one who'll fill her bank account.



Hot graphic werewolf sex, growing body parts, and one pissed off Nosferatu.





Buy Link: www.lyricalpress.com/the_beta



Want a chance to win a copy? I holding a week long contest at this link.

http://annienicholas.blogspot.com/2011/05/mega-author-blog-hop-ticket-to-paradise.html



Annie Nicholas

http://www.annienicholas.com/ 

 

13 Characters In Wolf's Glory

For Thursday 13 I'm going to introduce you to thirteen characters from my upcoming book Wolf's Glory. Some of these characters were first seen in Sleeping With the Wolf. Others are brand new. Some play large roles, some are mere mentions. Ready? Here we go:

1. Wolf's Shadow. Hero. Second in Command of the Wolf Clan. He's claimed his mate and will not accept no for an answer.

2. Glory Peterson. Heroine. Mouthy goth princess. She'll say yes to a few things, but only on her own terms.

3. Jill Lampett, the Clan Lupa. Called Grandmother by all because she's the oldest woman in 500 miles.

4. Arthur Muddy Wolf. Alpha of the Wolf Clan and Shadow's father. He loves his son, but has to act in the best interests of the Clan. 

5. Jumping Stag. A wolf of the Clan who has also found a mate. Stag courts her, but won't force his mate to accept him.

6. Sherry Rowe. A plane crash survivor who is terrified of the wolf who claims her.

7. Blue Sky at Midday. Shadow's younger brother who had been living at Taye's den. He sees a survivor and his wolf claims her.

8. Rose Turner. A plane crash survivor, barely 16, who fiercely denies Sky's mating claim.

9. Two Bears. Not wolf-born, he wants a wife and decides that Rose will suit him well.

10. Connie Mondale. The co-pilot and only surviving member of the plane's crew, she takes charge of the surviving women.

11. Quill Wolfe. A quiet young wolf assigned to be Glory's guard in Kearney, he tries to ignore his wolf's claim to Taye's cousin.

12. Tami Casper. A plane crash survivor who didn't fare as well as Carla in the husband department. She escapes her "husbands".

13. The Tracker. A lone wolf from the Clan known for his tracking ability, he is hired by Tami's men to find her and bring her back.

May Updates

I am really looking forward to going to Lori Foster's Reader & Author Get Together  in Cincinnati the first weekend in June. I've been collecting goodies to put into little gift bags to be handed out at the conference. So far I have my Romance Trading Cards, some magnets, some chocolates, and I'm trying my hand at making some rings. We'll see how many turn out!

 What else has been going on in my life these days? A lot. Everything except writing, it seems.

My mom had to have another surgery on her elbow. It was supposed to be sometime in May, but they moved it to the Thursday before Easter. I spent a good deal of that week with her at the hospital and  at home. Then, the following Saturday was Silks & Needles, the SCA event I was autocrating and teaching two classes at. Plus I had two lovely ladies from Winnepeg staying with me, so I had to clean, right? In between all that, I was working on the edits for Wolf's Glory. I was already delayed in that because of the pneumonia that struck me down at the end of March. I'm still not entirely recovered from that.  Next weekend is Crown. Thankfully, I am not in charge of anything for that. I am having a crasher stay, but she's an old friend, so I think she can suck it up and ignore the dust and c at hair. I am also helping Isabella sew garb for Quest For Camelot. She has such an elegant figure that it is fun to sew for her. But what this all amounts to is poor Tami is still languishing away at the den with Carla and Taye instead of getting it on with her hero.

Actually, I've completely neglected doing any housework so I could write. I wrote quite a bit this weekend. Tami has proposed to her strong, silent-type shy hero and he is currently riding through a snow storm to fetch a priest, keeping himself warm by daydreaming about their upcoming wedding night. Tracker is full of contrasts. He's tough and merciless to those he considers enemies (which would be anyone who hurts Tami in any way), but he's careful and gentle with Tami. There is one scene where he kills some men who are trying to capture Tami, and callously leaves them where they fell. But in a later scene, she cries and he is absolutely wretched, because he wants to comfort her, but is too shy to do more than hover anxiously and offer her a scrap of fabric to wipe her nose. I love Tracker.

I won't have much chance to write this week either. I'm taking mom shopping tomorrow, sewing with Isabella on Tuesday, I have church Wednesday, my local Writers' Guild meeting on Thursday, Friday Sete comes and I should do at least some cleaning, and Sat and Sun are Northshield Crown Tourney. If only I didn't have to work a day job! I'm expecting the final line edits for Wolf's Glory around the end of the week, so the following week will be filled by the last edits. After I turn those in the book should be out in a few weeks later. Maybe mid-June? Or earlier? Fingers crosssed!

Viking Wire Weaving Jewelry

A lovely handmade necklace and matching bracelet made of sterling silver wire in the simple and elegant style popular in northern Europe from 700 to 1100 AD. This was made to be a prize in the Not Going to Conference Conference on Romance Divas. Or maybe it will go to Diva Fest at nationals. I'll let Cup decide. 

The Weaverfields Heir by David Bridger

A new release – THE WEAVERFIELDS HEIR by David Bridger

When Kate Richards inherits a dilapidated English estate from her estranged grandfather, she finds herself thrust into a world full of hostile new family members, mysterious Romany tenants, and strange visions of "the net" – an invisible web that connects everything in the universe. Kate thinks she's losing her sanity, but the odd family stories and disturbing tales of locals convince her that something sinister is going on at Weaverfields, while the inescapable pull of the net draws her deeper into the secrets of her new home.

But with those secrets come danger, and an old evil that refuses to let go of its hold on the net – or on Weaverfields. The only person who seems to understand is Joe, a Romany street artist with his own ties to the land. Kate and Joe must master the net before the past intrudes on the present… in very ugly ways…

Read an excerpt and buy The Weaverfields Heir at Etopia Press.

13 Things I've Made This Year

Time for Thursday Thirteen. Here are thirteen things I've made in 2011:

 

 1. A warm handknit balaclava for my brother.

 

 2. A Moebius scarf/wrap for a friend.

 3. A dishcloth and scrubbie for the next door neighbors.

 4 & 5. A hat and scarf for me

 6.The petticoat to go with my steampunk outfit

 7. The bustle skirt for the steampunk outfit

 8. My steampunk outfit sans hat

 9 & 10. I hand dyed the yarn and hand knit the socks for a secret sister sock exchange.

 11. Socks that I knit for ME!

 12. Sandbags for the flood fight

 

13. Wall Art. The covers of my two books framed between two handcarved wolf mirrors that friends gave me as a congratulatory gift for my first release.

The Beagle

Photo by Gary Lura

One of the secondary characters in Wolf's Glory is one of Wolf's Shadow's many cousins. This cousin is one who doesn't spend a lot of time with the Clan. He's a bit of a loner, not liking to be with large numbers of people, with the predictable nickname Lobo. He chose it himself, preferring it over his real name.  Lobo plays a small but important role in the story as he and his trusty sidekick help save Glory from being kidnapped. What sort of a sidekick does a werewolf have? Well, a beagle of course! What does Lobo call his trusty sidekick? The Beagle! Lobo is the sort of guy who today would lift weights, ride a Harley and be perfectly happy spending hours working on his bike with a beer at hand. He's the kind of guy who is glad to offer a hand to his neighbors and rescue a damsel in distress as long as he isn't required to stick around to receive their gratitude.  The Beagle, on the other hand, is thrilled to make friends with people, especially people who will pet her and feed her things that aren't good for her. This is a picture of The Beagle, who is based on Raz, the dog belonging to my friend Jill Lamp and her husband Gary Lura. The Beagle is just like Raz, and Lobo may have a little of Gary in him, too.

Her Own Best Enemy by Cynthia Justlin

In honor of Cynthia Justlin's birthday later this week, she's holding a $0.99 SALE on her romantic suspense, HER OWN BEST ENEMY. This is a limited time sale, so grab it while it's cheap!

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Desperate to track down her ex-husband who disappeared along with their son, Grace Stevens delves into his past and uncovers evidence of a shocking dual life. The man she thought was an ordinary computer consultant is in fact a former high-ranking Special Forces officer with unique skills in military intelligence. With nowhere to turn she is forced to plead for help from Keith King, the one man she hoped to never see again. Against her better judgment she'll have to put her child's fate into his hands.

Keith has officially hit rock bottom. Framed for the theft of deadly missile components, the cynical Special Forces officer is in danger of losing the only thing he can count on: his career. His one shot at clearing his name lies in locating Grace's ex, who was working with Keith on a secret mission to take down a cutthroat military traitor. But to team up with Grace he'll need to spend 24/7 with a woman who has every reason to hate him. Out to use each other for their own agenda, desperate mother and disillusioned soldier find they must work together to stay alive, and in the process discover that sometimes even the best of enemies fall in love.

Get it from Amazon or B&N!

Thursday 13 – Flood 2011

Welcome to Fargo. Grab a Sandbag please. Here in eastern North Dakota we are dealing with our 3rd straight major flood. This year it has all been very quiet and laid back. If you are only in the city and not having to drive anywhere, you would hardly know there's a flood. That's because we knew this one was coming. In 2009 we had a mere 9 days to build miles and miles of sandbag dikes. This year we started building sandbags in February. And the river crested at 38.75 feet, the 4th highest crest in history. It is receding now, slowly. We're expecting up to 5 inches of snow on Thursday nmight and friday, so that may slow things down. But the real problem now is in the rural areas. If you look at these pics and onder why is there a foot of water on the interstates, it because we live on completely flat land. Pour a glass of water on a table, and it will cover the entire table. Not very deeply, but it will keep running until something stops it. Here, there are no hills to stop it, so it just goes everywhere. In my county we have over 60 miles of roads closed, and another 50 miles that are drivable but under at least 6 inches of water. One of my co-workers Carla Busche (I wrote Sleeping With the Wolf for her), has to drive for almost two hours to work, since so many of the roads are flooded and everyone crawls along at a snail's pace on the few roads that are open. It's normally a half hour from her farm to work, but now she has to leave at 4:45 am to punch in by 7:00. Her husband takes the kids to daycare partly by boat.Fargo is weathering the flood well, but Valley City, only 55 miles away, is fighting hard. Pray for them. Here are 13 pics of our flood:Honey, we're gonna need the boat.

 

This is prairie land, not a lake.

  

                       

Main Ave Bridge. We let the parks go.

Updates!

What have I been up to lately? Aside from recovering from pneumonia? Well, working on edits for Wolf's Glory. And working the day job. After missing a little over a week at my desk at NAS, I'm way behind on my work.  So I put in my eight hours there, and go home to my other desk. My editor has been very understanding about me being sick. She said I should take care of myself first, then work on the edits. I have gone through the manuscript,  made some changes and additions, and turned it in. My editor will review it and send it back sometime this week for me to continue to make improvements. If you go to the Excerpts Page you will find the whole first chapter of Wolf's Glory.

Another thing that everyone in Fargo is doing is watching the river rise. Unlike in 2009 we have had months to prepare for this flood. I put in my shift at Sandbag Central filling sandbags back in February. This time around the flood fight is calm and steady. I don't even have an emergency evacuation bag packed. Hm. Hope I won't need one. The river is hovering right around 38.5 feet, 20.5 feet above flood stage. I believe that is the fourth highest crest on record. It may still go a little higher, but not much. As long as the dikes and sandbags hold we'll be fine. There are about 60 miles of roads under water, including an interstate highway, so getting around is tricky. Rural kids are being brought to school via ATMs, canoes and air boats. Fun times here in the Red River of the North's valley. Send positive vibes our way, everyone!