Laura Kaye's Blog, page 50

Welcome Guest Author Celia Breslin #Haven

Welcome Guest AuthorCelia Breslinto the blog!

See below for her giveaway!

Welcome, Celia!  Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.
Thank you for the warm welcome, Laura.  Let’s see... I live in San Francisco with my family. I write urban fantasy and paranormal romance and also line edit and read slush pile for an indie publisher. Vampire obsessed, though I also have a soft spot for the Fae. I seem to have a serious Starbucks Chai Tea Latte addiction. And lastly, I’m a mega Joss Whedon fan. Seriously, the man is a Genius.
LOL! Great! Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.
My debut novel, Haven, releases tomorrow!  *Happy dance*
It’s an urban fantasy romance starring Carina Tranquilli, a San Francisco nightclub owner. A witch attacks her on her twenty-fifth birthday, heralding a slew of surprises for the birthday girl: one hot guy-slash-fated soul mate who happens to be a vampire, three undead family members with a secret agenda, and lastly, a latent and unwieldy power of great interest to her family’s enemies. Carina is delighted by the boyfriend prezzie, on the fence about her family, and understandably unhappy about Team Evil shaking up her life.
LOL! Love this! Which character is your favorite and why?
In truth, all of my Haven characters hold a piece of my heart. But I hope Carina will forgive me if I confess her mentor Jonas is my favorite. An ancient vampire originally from England, Jonas embodies extreme violence in a pretty package.  He’s a man of few words, dark and moody, fiercely loyal and violently protective of those few people he loves (such as Carina).
I adore Jonas so much I gave him his own story, a prequel to Haven entitled The Vampire Code. It releases this October, also from Champagne Books.
Cool! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?
Yes, indeed. Vampires, love, and mayhem are three of my favorite things.
We have similar tastes, I see! *winks* What happened to the first book you ever wrote?
Pardon me while I *blush* here, LOL... The first novel I ever wrote was a “Harlequin” romance. I was young, maybe 12 or so? It was set on a Texas ranch and featured a college student named Amanda who meets and falls in love with the rancher’s son. It’s probably buried in a box somewhere in the basement of my mother’s home.
I love it! Is there a theme or message that runs through your work? 
Most everything I write has Love at its core. For Haven, a key question is - to what lengths will you go to protect the ones you love? I’d answer that but I have a strict “no spoilers” policy. :-)
Got it! Which romance book or series do you wish you had written?
Okay, Laura, I’m going to go all Fan Girl on you for a moment, LOL. I love your Hearts of the Anemoi series. And also, Hearts in Darkness. I’ve read the latter multiple times. Total Awesome Sauce!
OMG! Thank you! *blushes* Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is your favorite and why?
I recently completed a paranormal romance starring a human-merman surfer. Pierced, tattooed, crazy smart, he hides his true identity from the world and believes he will never find love. And when he does, oh boy...watch out world.
But let’s keep this between us, Laura. If Jonas finds out, there could be bloodshed!
My lips are sealed! Okay, now, just for fun:
Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?   Dark, all the way.
Salty or sweet? Both!
Bed or kitchen table? Bed
Beach or mountains? I’m just back from a lovely vacation in the mountains of Northern California, but I live by the ocean. Beach is definitely my fav.

Releases Tomorrow, July 2!

The Tranquilli Bloodline Series, Book 1

San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli works hard, plays hard, and never allows the death of her parents and her twelve-year memory gap to get her down. But her life takes a left turn when a witch attacks her on her twenty-fifth birthday.

Three hauntingly familiar vampires emerge to reveal she possesses a latent power. To protect her from their enemies, they admit to wiping her memories clean and abandoning her as a child, but now they need her help. As she struggles to evade her new protectors and even newer enemies, she meets Alexander, an enigmatic, undead musician. Insta-lust flares, leaving her wanting more.

With evil’s minions hounding her every move, and everything she thought she knew turned on its head, Carina must harness her burgeoning power, unravel her vampire family’s web of deceit, and fight to have a love life...without getting killed in the process.

Buy on All Romance eBooks! (more links coming!)

Excerpt
Turn around.
I froze, my moment of weakness chased away by a jolt of adrenaline. I resisted Adrian’s pull. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Silence.
“Nothing, I guess.” A wave of energy rolled into me, curled itself possessively around my body, and gave me one hell of a head rush. “Oh, wow.” I bit my lip, bracing against reaction.
Adrian tightened his grip on my waist. “Rina?”
Mark and Ren stalked over, faces grim.
“Did—? Do you—?” My mouth was so dry I could barely speak. “Do you guys feel that?”
Adrian squeezed, capturing my wandering attention, concern etched in the stern set of his jaw. “Feel what? What’s wrong?”
I started to tell them the Invisible Man hugged me against an electrified fence, but a second wave of energy bowled into me, making me tingle from head to toe. The sensation walked the line between pleasure and pain. A moan escaped me.
Mark took me from Adrian. “That’s it. We’re out of here.” He tried to pick me up, but I shook my head. Bad idea. Dizziness took the hall, and me, for a little spin.
Turn around. Turn. Around.
Was it a voice or instinct urging me on? Either way, the desire proved irresistible. I pulled away from Mark, pivoted, and forgot how to breathe.
The electric energy pulled back. The dizziness abated. All extraneous noise and people drained out of my perception until there was only Him.
Tall, fit, and bad-boy handsome with skin like pale honey, his thick, walnut brown hair hung tousled in a sexy, I-just-got-out-of-bed way. A hip, black, button-down shirt accentuated a sculpted upper body before it tucked into slacks painted on long, lean legs. The whole package made my mouth water.
Hot. Yummy. Totally my type.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
His mouth twitched in a hint of a smile as if he heard me—impossible given the distance between us. Heat spread, loosening my muscles, and my pulse sped up. Nerves. What’s wrong with me? Guys never made me nervous, not even gorgeous ones.
I nibbled my lower lip, mind racing to make sense of my reaction. His gaze tracked the movement and then slid back up. The heat from his stare hit me full force, driving a shaft of need through me. Energy rocked me again, a warm, electric breeze bathing my skin. My eyes widened in comprehension. The energy came from him.
Thanks for visiting, Celia!  Where can we find you on the web?

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Thanks for having me over for a visit, Laura. This was fun! :-)

Giveaway!
One commenter who leaves their email address will win an e-book of Haven after the book releases this week! What to comment? Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt? Or leave a question for Celia! Open to international! Contest ends Friday, July 5, at midnight EST! Good luck!

Thanks for reading!
Laura

It's Hot in the Dark! Hearts in Darkness is .99!

For a limited time, Hearts in Darkness is just 99 cents! The sale won't last long, so give it a try this weekend and spend some time trapped in a pitch-black elevator with a tattooed, pierced, tortured hero!

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Barnes & Noble
Thanks for visiting! And please spread the word!

Laura

Welcome Guest Author Tonya Burrows! #SEALofHonor #WildeNightsinParadise

Welcome Guest AuthorTonya Burrowsto the blog!

See below for her giveaway!

Welcome, Tonya!  Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.
Hi Laura! Thanks so much for having me today!
I write romantic suspense with heroes in (and out of!) uniform, as well as spicy contemporary romance. I’m also a full time graduate student working on a MFA in writing popular fiction. I have three fur babies—two dogs, Ella and Otto, and a fat cat called Nabisco—and we’re pretty much nomads since I have yet to find the perfect place to put down roots. Maybe I never will. I like to travel, to see new places and meet new people, and my animals are excellent traveling companions.
Nabisco! LOL Okay, tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.
I’ve actually just had two books release, one almost right on top of the other. SEAL of Honor (which you so kindly read and cover quoted for me—thanks!) released at the end of May. Wilde Nights in Paradise released on June 10.
SEAL of Honor is the first book in my HORNET series about a private hostage rescue team full of government and military outcasts. They don’t quite get along, and they can’t follow orders, but somehow they manage to get the job done and have a good old time doing it.
Wilde Nights in Paradise is the first book in a companion series from Entangled’s Brazen line. The Wilde Security series is contemporary romance and follows five sexy brothers, all ex-military, who own a private security company. You’ll see some character crossover between the two series.

Needless to say, it’s been a pretty crazy month for me.
Woot! I loved SEAL of Honor! Which character is your favorite and why?
Oh, boy. Can I say all of them? No? Bummer.
Okay, I have a soft spot for Jude Wilde, the hero of Wilde Nights in Paradise. He pretends to be an irreverent, immature player, but there’s so much more to him than he shows the world. It was a lot of fun peeling away his layers and finding the real man underneath it all.
Ooh, sounds fun! As the author, what surprised you about this story?
How hard it was to write!
Seriously, Wilde Nights in Paradise was probably one of the hardest books I’ve ever written. Not only was it shorter than what I usually write, but I also couldn’t blow anything up.
And, no, I’m not a pyromaniac. Lemme explain.
I’m used to writing romantic suspense, heavy on the suspense. Any time I started to struggle with what should happen next while writing SEAL of Honor, I’d make something blow up or a character would get shot or something else like that would happen.
Except I couldn’t blow anything up in Wilde Nights in Paradise because it’s contemporary romance. The focus of the book had to be on Jude and Libby’s relationship with only a hint of suspense. (Believe me, I tried to add more and my editor called me out on it. She’s good at that.)
But, I have to say, I’m probably the proudest of Wilde Nights in Paradise. It was hard stepping out of my comfort zone and it was a learning experience, but I love how the book turned out.
That’s awesome! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?
Yes! Both series will have sequels. The second book in the HORNET series will be out sometime in spring 2014 and the second Wilde Security book should release this fall sometime. My goal is to write a book for each of the five Wilde brothers and all of the HORNET guys. Altogether, that’s something like fifteen books, so I’m going to stay busy!
Woot! What are you working on right now?
I’m currently writing the second Wilde Security book and researching the second HORNET book. I do A LOT of research for the HORNET books, so even though I won’t be writing that for another couple months, I’m trying to get a jumpstart on it in my free time.
What happened to the first book you ever wrote?
Actually, I don’t know. I wrote my first novel-length book in 8th grade. It was an epic sci-fi/fantasy/romance/mystery. It was also an epic mess, but I was so proud of it at the time. I imagine it’s still sitting on the dinosaur computer I wrote it on, somewhere in my mom’s basement.
LOL! What do you find easiest and hardest to write?
To be honest, I find suspense easier to write than romance, but to me a book is not complete without romance. I’ve been reading & loving the genre since before I was old enough to completely understand what was happening in the sex scenes. (I remember sitting with my best friend when I was about 12, puzzling over how doggy style was possible after we read about it in a historical—we even tried to figure it out using Barbie & Ken!) So, yeah, I just can’t imagine myself writing anything except romance, but I sure do love writing suspense-y scenes. It’s exciting! And I get to blow stuff up!
(I swear I’m really not a pyromaniac.)
Suuuuure! *winks* Have you incorporated actual events or people from your own life into your books?
No, I try to avoid using people or events from my own life, but I do look to current world events for inspiration for my suspense plots. It gives the story an immediacy that is both scary and thrilling.
Is there a theme or message that runs through your work?
Family tends to be a big theme in my stories. The Wilde brothers are—well, brothers, and they have their share of family problems, but they love each other and it shows. The HORNET guys are all from broken, dysfunction, or cold families, so it was really a lot of fun to write about them in SEAL of Honor as they came together and formed their own ragtag version of a family.
Another theme that I tend to write about is identity. When SEAL of Honor starts, Gabe Bristow is going through an identity crisis because he’s no longer a SEAL and he doesn’t know who he is if he can’t be on the teams. His heroine, Audrey, helps him come to grips with his new identity as a mercenary. Alternately, in Wilde Nights in Paradise, Jude Wilde knows exactly who he is, but he shows the world the screw-up playboy façade everyone has always expected from him, in essence concealing his true identity from Libby, his heroine.
What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
I hate romantic movies. I think I get my fill of romance from books, so when I watch a movie it’s usually an action-packed thriller or shield-your-eyes horror. There’s one major exception to that rule—Disney movies. I’m a Disney fanatic and my current favorite is Tangled. I can watch that movie over and over and not get sick of it!
LOL! Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you don’t write romance) do you wish you had written?
Man, I wish I’d written the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The series is pure book crack! I’ve never seen any heroes more addictive than those Brothers.  (By the way, is it March yet? I need my next fix!)
Yep. Me, too! Okay, now, just for fun:
Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Milk chocolate
Salty or sweet? Both. Together. Yum.
Bed or kitchen table? Kitchen table.
Beach or mountains? Beach.
Give or receive? Give.

It’s a good thing Gabe Bristow lives and breathes the Navy SEAL credo, “the only easy day was yesterday,” because today, his life is unrecognizable. When his prestigious career comes to a crashing halt, he’s left with a bum leg and few prospects for employment that don’t include a desk.

That is, until he’s offered the chance to command a private hostage rescue team and free a wealthy American businessman from Colombian paramilitary rebels. It seems like a good deal—until he meets his new team: a drunk Cajun linguist, a boy-genius CIA threat analyst, an FBI negotiator with mob ties, a cowboy medic, and an EOD expert as volatile as the bombs he defuses. Oh, and who could forget the sexy, frustratingly impulsive Audrey Van Amee? She’s determined to help rescue her brother—or drive Gabe crazy. Whichever comes first.

As the death toll rises, Gabe’s team of delinquents must figure out how to work together long enough to save the day. Or, at least, not get themselves killed. Because Gabe’s finally found something worth living for, and God help him if he can’t bring her brother back alive.

Buy at Amazon | B&NAdd to GoodReads

He’ll guard her body all night long.

Former Marine Jude Wilde’s motto has always been “burn bridges and never look back,” so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL.

Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?

Buy at Amazon| B&NAdd to GoodReads
Excerpt from Wilde Nights in Paradise:
Jude hesitated, hating the way she backed up with his every step closer. He knew he looked predatory, knew she wasn’t anywhere near ready for him to unleash the full force of his desire. But, damn, he couldn’t help himself. He hadn’t planned on making any advances, despite the memory of losing himself in her, which had been replaying in his mind since seeing her again. Now here she was, offering one night, and maybe he was a complete jerk, but he didn’t have the willpower to walk away from that. He followed her retreat, his blood running hotter than it had in years. He was tired of denying himself what he wanted, what his body and heart had claimed as his own years ago.
She backed away until she banged into the covered pool table. Which was perfect.
“Wait.” She held up her hands, pushed against his chest as he crowded her, caging her in with a hand on each side of her hips.
“Second thoughts already?” He leaned in and scraped his teeth along the line of her chin to her ear. “Gotta tell me now.”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe we should think…” Her words trailed off into a moan as he traced the curve of her ear with his tongue, then tugged the lobe between his teeth.
“You think too much, Libs. Always have. Just feel.”
She tilted her head to the side, allowing him better access, and he took that as consent. He grazed the column of her neck with his lips, enjoying the trail of goose bumps he left in his wake. Her hands found his hair, tangled in the longer strands on top, and guided his head down to a much more interesting area of the female anatomy. Happy to oblige, he sucked one of her nipples through the layers of her shirt and bra, but it wasn’t enough. Too many damn clothes separated them. He need her bare skin under his hand, against his tongue.
“You should have put your swimsuit on."
Resignation tinged her sigh. “I was afraid this would happen if I did.”
“Hate to tell ya, babe, but this was gonna happen even if you were wearing chain mail.” 
About the AuthorTonya Burrows | Writing has always been my one true love. I wrote my first novel-length story in 8th grade and haven't stopped since. I received a B.A. in creative writing from SUNY Oswego and I'm now working on a MFA in popular fiction at Seton Hill University.

When I'm not writing, I spend my time reading, painting (badly), exploring new places, and enjoying time with my family. Give me a good horror movie over a chick flick any day. (And, let's be honest, I'll take a bad horror movie too!) I'm a geek at heart and pledge my avid TV fandom to Supernatural and Doctor Who. I'm also a big fan of The Voice. What can I say? Guilty pleasure.​​

I share my life with two dogs and a ginormous cat. We live in a small town in New York, but I suffer from a bad case of wanderlust and usually end up moving someplace new every few years. Luckily, my animals are all excellent travel buddies.
Where can we find you on the web?
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads| Amazon Author Page

Tourwide Giveaway!One lucky winner will receive a signed copy of SEAL OF HONOR, a WILDE NIGHTS IN PARADISE mug, swag, and will even have a character in one of Tonya’s future releases named after them! Giveaway ends 6/30.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING MY GUEST, TONYA!
Thanks for having me. It was a blast!

All right everyone, leave Tonya some comment love! Did you have a favorite line from her excerpt? Thanks for reading!

Laura

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AJ Nuest on the Guilty Pleasures of a Meet-Cute #ShesGotDibs

Welcome Guest AuthorAJ Nuestto the Blog!
The super sweet AJ Nuest is here to celebrate her newest release, She's Got Dibs, with a fun post on the meet-cute. Take it away, AJ...
The Guilty Pleasures of a Meet-Cute
Howdy everyone and a huge THANK YOU to Laura Kaye for hosting me on my first FREE day of She’s Got Dibs! I’m thrilled beyond thrilled to be here! Whoo hoo!Right off the top, I feel I must confess I’m a huge movie buff. Nothing says guilty pleasure to me more than an all-day movie marathon, a bowl of popcorn and a box of tissues in hand. And I must admit, one of my favorite parts of this butt-on-couch break from reality is the meet-cute. A meet-cute, you ask? What the heck’s meet-cute?Wikipedia defines it as: a term sometimes used to describe a situation in film, television, etc. in which a future romantic couple meets for the first time in a way that is considered adorable, entertaining, or amusing. I stumbled across the term while watching a fun film called The Holiday. If you haven’t seen it, you should. The movie stars Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black…but my favorite character in the movie is Arthur, played by Eli Wallach.Arthur is a retired screenwriter from the early days of film and befriends Kate Winslet when she decides to switch homes with Cameron Diaz for a man-free vacation in California. They meet one day when she is out driving and finds an elderly Arthur on the street with his walker. Concerned he may be lost, she offers him a ride home.Arthur tells her they’ve just experienced a meet-cute and explains what it means.I immediately fell in love with the idea and knew I had to use a meet-cute in my next book. But how does one craft a good meet-cute? And how would I know if I’d been successful?Well, I started with two strangers and stranded them at LaGuardia airport during an ice storm. They meet briefly, have a light exchange and then separate. However, since they are both now spending an unplanned overnight stay in New York, they meet a second time a few moments later while searching for pajamas in the airport boutique. Enter Tessa and Dibs, aka the meet-cute: Navigating the corridor, she occasionally tiptoed to see over everyone’s heads, and then veered left toward a small boutique nestled in a corner between a shoe shine place and a store selling sundries and magazines. She jostled through the oncoming foot traffic and entered.Orange velour, purple velour, green velour…who wears this stuff? She picked up one of the lounge suits. Elvis meets Richard Simmons…oh, and look at the pretty gold lamé epaulets.She shuddered and hung the lounge suit on the rack, approached another display and paged through the sweatshirts. Ugly, ugly, ugly…Movement caught the corner of her eye and she leaned away from the clothes, her line of sight inching past a metal stand of women’s discount shoes. Dibs stood near the back of the store, flipping through a rack of men’s shirts. She skimmed the length of his arm, the hint of muscle pulling his jacket sleeve taut around his biceps. He selected a loud, plaid button-down shirt, grimaced, and quickly replaced it. A quiet laugh tickled the back of her throat and she lowered her chin.He glanced over, did a double-take, and zeroed in on her across the floor. He picked up the plaid shirt and held it in front of his chest. His eyebrows rose.She winced. “No,” she mouthed. But he thought his choices were bad?She unhooked a sweatshirt the shade of pink bubble gum and swept a graceful hand down the embroidered daisies and butterflies like a game show hostess. He squeezed his eyes shut, scrunching up his nose. Chuckling along with him, she returned the sweatshirt to the rack.She moved to another section of the store and furtively peeked in his direction when she located a yellow cable-knit sweater with a faux tiger-fur collar. She smiled slyly and grabbed the hanger, swiveling in time to find Dibs holding a lime-green hoodie, measuring the sleeve down the length of his arm. His chin came up, and his contagious laughter echoed across the floor over the apparent horror on her face.She put her palm up. “What?”He widened his eyes. “I know.”Across the store a folded stack of powder blue sleeping shirts rested on one of the built-in shelves. She closed the distance, shook out the first and pressed the garment along the length of her suit. Two fluffy orange kittens peered up at her, a ball of yarn and a toy mouse all silk-screened on the front.Dibs cleared his throat, but the periwinkle-blue negligee and bathrobe set dangling from his index finger hid his face from view. Floor-length and classic in design, the pieces shimmered under the lights as if they were silk.He peeked around the hanger.A playful glint sparkled in his eyes and she shifted her focus back to the negligee. It would be an outright travesty to pass on such a beautiful nightgown. But a complete stranger choosing her lingerie? Yeah, not so much. Mulling over her choices, she reconsidered the kitten nightshirt and chewed the inside of her cheek.Her eyes returned to the negligee.Dibs shook his head, bobbing the hanger. “This one,” he mouthed.
What do you think happens next, hmmm? LOL Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun crafting an opening scene between two characters. The chemistry between Tessa and Dibs took on a life of its own.
If you’re curious to find out more, She’s Got Dibs is FREE on Amazon starting today through June 29th! All you have to do is click the link below!
Thanks to Laura Kaye once again for hosting me! And I hope you enjoy your very own copy of She’s Got Dibs!
About AJ:Multi-published, award-winning author and editor, AJ Nuest, lives in a small farming community in NW Indiana with her loving husband, two beautiful children, and a bevy of spoiled pets. She and the cat are currently vying for dictatorship. The cat is winning.

She’s Got Dibs, won 1st Place in the Contemporary Category, Heartland Romance Authors, Show Me the Spark!Contest, 2010

True love does not exist…or so event planner Tessa Adams learns the day she gets jilted—twenty-four hours prior to walking down the aisle. One-night stands are much easier, and with sexy philanthropists like David Brenner, how can she resist? Now if she could just get rid of him. Had she known the biggest event of her career would be working for David’s father, she would have cut and run. Instead, she’s unwittingly become a part of his parents' plan to destroy his life-long dreams. Will sacrificing her love protect him or be the ultimate betrayal?

Wealthy and gorgeous, David Brenner seemingly holds the world in the palm of his hand—his generous heart and infectious smile are just two in an endless stream of attractive qualities. But the one thing he wants, he can’t have—a repeat of the passionate night he spent in the arms of a skittish Tessa Adams. His family’s far-reaching power threatens to crush their dreams. To prove his love, he would risk everything…but will the return of her ex-fiancé be their final undoing?

Buy She's Got Dibs
Find AJ around the web at:Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
Leave AJ some new release love everyone! Did you have a favorite line from her excerpt? Or do you have a favorite meet-cute from a book or movie?
Thanks for reading!Laura

Taken by the Vampire King Cover Reveal!

I'm very excited to share my newest cover for Taken by the Vampire King, the third book in my Hearts of the Anemoi series. Here's the blurb:

Henrik Magnusson is supposed to be immortal, but a mysterious ailment leaves the vampire king near death, and not even the blood of the Proffered, human virgins trained to serve the elite, can sustain him. Then he rescues a beautiful young woman from his enemies, and is filled with blood lust and desire he hasn't felt for centuries.

Photographer Kaira Sorenson's life takes a nightmare turn when she's attacked by blood-thirsty creatures—and saved by a vampire. She should be afraid of Henrik, but she can't deny her intense attraction to this regal, enigmatic being—nor the fact that her blood may be his only salvation. Now she must decide if she's willing to be his forever…

And here's the cover:
Releases August 1, 2013Pre-Order at Amazon | B&N
First two books in series:

What do you think? Thanks for dropping by!

Laura

Search for Arial Burnz's Midnight Hunt Scavenger Hunt Pieces! #bbb03hunt

Laura Kaye – June 17, 2013A big thank you to Laura Kaye for hosting me on her site! Laura, I am honored that you’re able to kick off my cover reveal here today! *Virtual hugs* to you!!
What is the Scavenger Hunt?This is not your typical cover reveal. We’re goin’ on a Scavenger Hunt! In short, I’ve split my new book cover for MIDNIGHT HUNTinto fifteen puzzle pieces and scattered them across the Internet. From June 17th through July 1st, one piece a day will be revealed on a blog, website or one of my internet hangouts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.).
Gather the codes from all the pieces and send them to me at the end of the hunt and you’ll be entered into the drawing for Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift cards, a signed paperback copy of my new release MIDNIGHT HUNT, as well as some signed Romance Trading Cards and other swag (Total Approximate Retail Value of All Prizes: $65). Please click herefor the details and my contact information, and here for Official Rules.
Today’s Puzzle PieceLet’s start with the first piece! *drum roll* Tah-dah!

Okay…so it’s not much right now. But that code is very important!! Be sure to write that code down. You can right-click on the image and save it OR jot down the code somewhere. (Hint: You can always go back to my sitewhere the links to the pieces will be consolidated on one page and updated throughout the Scavenger Hunt.)
Zooming In On the Piece… Bonded By Blood is the name of my Vampire Chronicles …and it means more than just the blood connection through feeding. By the end of Midnight Conquest (Book 1 and 99¢ throughout the scavenger hunt), you’ll know exactly what the connection is and you’ll continue to learn the depth of the series title through the books I have planned. The main storyline of the series is covered in six books; however, I have at least two spin-offs from Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), which will take place in the 1700s amongst shapeshifting pirates, and several contemporary stories will branch off from Midnight Deliverer (Book 6), which takes place in the 21st century. The entire series spans from the early 1500s in Scotland to the 21st century in Los Angeles. Yes, the historical research has been a PITA…fun, but definitely grueling.
Exploring the ParanormalWhile we’re hunting down pieces, we’ll be hunting down paranormal hotties and discussing what we love about them, too. Since the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles is primarily about, well…vampires…let’s start with them.
Vampires have always been an archetype for sex and sexuality. Especially forbidden pleasures!! Maybe it’s the biting on the neck. (Who doesn’t love an affectionate nibble?) Or the intimacy of giving your very life essence to another…perhaps even the implication that such a gift must be seduced from the giver. There have been dozens of psychological explanations and speculations about why vampires are so appealing. Personally, I can’t get enough of them. The whole nibble thing is a big turn-on, and the dark side of these sexy night stalkers is extremely appealing. Bad boys and girls, right?
Do you find vampires sexy? Why or why not? What has drawn you to these dark lovers?
I’ll be available if you have questions and I’m looking forward to interacting with everyone. (Be sure to save your venting for what you don’t like until later. I’ll give you a chance to do that the end of the hunt.)
Added Bonus: If you leave a comment for any of my characters, they just might surprise you with a response!! Rick and Angus have DEFINITELY been known to make appearances. (Click here if you’d like to learn more about my characters.)
Thanks again, Laura, for having me as a guest! Let the HUNT begin!

Welcome, Arial! And good luck everyone! Thanks for stopping by!
Laura

Sofia Grey Talks About Obsessive Behavior #Obsession

Welcome Guest AuthorSofia Greyto the Blog!
I'm happy to welcome Sofia Grey to the blog today to talk about her new release, Obsession. She has an interesting post today about obsessive behavior and a giveaway down below, so read on...
Obsessive Behaviour
I used to work for a guy who was obsessive about having a tidy desk, with everything in its place, and always in the same place. When he annoyed anyone in his team, they’d take great delight in rearranging the items on his desktop while he wasn’t looking. Nothing major, just shuffling the order and positioning, the kind of minor movements that I’d never even notice, but he did. He’d sit down and go silent, then give a little sigh of frustration, and start moving everything again. Pens had to line up precisely. The paperclips had to be sorted by colour and size. The ruler had to be aligned with the keyboard. We’d all hide grins and pretend not to notice.
It makes me wonder how he ended up that way. Did it start with losing his favourite pen, perhaps, and always replacing it where he knew he’d find it? Or was he a natural neat-freak who let it get out of control?  Or was that his attempt at stamping control over his desktop?
In Obsession, Gabe becomes obsessed with the idea that his wife, Suki, is cheating on him:
I idly flicked through a loose stack of magazine clippings on the side of her desk and watched them spill across the surface. That must be her ‘ideas file’. Yep, they definitely looked like the subjects she covered in her phone-ins. One particularly interesting bundle of pages near the top caught my eye and I took it back to my den to read in more detail. Twelve Ways To Spot A Cheat—How To Tell When Your Man Is Playing AwayIt was amusing, full of handy hints such as the classic lipstick on his collar and unexplained credit card bills for flowers and hotel rooms. Pu-lease. I found it difficult to believe that anyone would be so stupid, but I could see how Suki would make this into a fun piece. The next two pages made me pause and stare. They were printouts from the Internet. Suki, or one of her team, had done some research.Signs Of A Cheating Wife—Thirty Things To Look ForI probably wouldn’t have paid it any attention if it hadn’t been for Suki’s scrawled note in the margin. Would he notice this? And then, another note at the bottom: How many?Smiling, amused at first, I read through all thirty items… and realised too many of them could be applied to my wife.
As for me, I have to have my tea made just the right way. A specific brand of teabags. Boiling water, not leaving the tea bag in for too long, half fat milk, no sugar. I’m not obsessive you understand, just fussy about my hot beverages * grin *
So what do youobsess about? Do you line up your shoes neatly in pairs? Refuse to walk under ladders? Leave me a comment about your pet obsession and you’ll go into a draw to win a copy of Obsession.
Obsession is available 12 June 2013, from Time & Tide Publishing.

Josh Delaney is the ideal honey trap.

 His charm and model good looks would be enough for most women, but coupled with his psychic ability to read their thoughts, he’s impossible to resist. Suspicious husbands employ him to test their wives, to see if they can be tempted to stray.
 High profile couple Suki and Gabe Bridgewater have the perfect marriage, or at least, that’s the image they portray to the world. Behind closed doors, Gabe’s dominance in the marriage is unravelling and he decides to test Suki, using Josh as bait.

 For Josh it should be just another easy job, but two things go horribly wrong.

 One, Josh falls in love with Suki.

 And two, Gabe refuses to let her go.

Amazon | Amazon Print | B&N | All Romance | Trailer
Blog tours are fun to take part in, these are my stops:
12 June – Layne Macadam13 June – Laura Kaye14 June – Lissa Matthews15 June – Cover Reveals website16 June – Ella Frank17 June – Allyson Lindt18 June – Parker Kincade20 June –Trish McCallan23 June – Silken Sheets & Seduction26 June – Sotia Lazu29 June – Love Lust & Laptops About Sofia Grey:Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and alwaysmakes them work hard for their happy endings.
Find her at: www.sofiagrey.com and on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sofiagrey1, or on Twitter @SofiaGreyAuthor

* images courtesy of 123rf.com

Giveaway!
So what do you obsess about? Do you line up your shoes neatly in pairs? Refuse to walk under ladders? One commenter who leaves their email address will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Obsession. Good luck!

Thanks for reading!Laura

Sign Up for the 6/17 Cover Reveal of Taken by the Vampire King!

Hey everyone! I have a new cover for Taken by the Vampire King (a Vampire Warrior Kings novella) I'd like to share around this Monday, 6/17. If you'd like to help me by hosting a cover reveal on your blog, fill out this quick form here and I'll send you all the materials on Friday 6/14!
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This is a different cover than the one you might've seen on Amazon/B&N already, and it is SO pretty! :) Thanks for helping!
Laura

Summer Holiday with a #Vampire ~ My 1st Anthology!

Hey everyone! I've just learned one of my stories was picked up in my first print/ebook Harlequin anthology. My Vampire Warrior Kings story In the Service of the King appears alongside vampire stories by Michele Hauf, Kendra Leigh Castle, Lisa Childs, and Caridad Pineiro in Summer Holiday with a Vampire. 

This is only available via UK book sites, but if U.S. readers would like to have that story in print you could order it if you didn't mind paying the extra shipping costs... This is the first time In the Service of the King has been made available in print anywhere, so I thought this was tons of fun and wanted to share!

Amazon UK print | Amazon UK ebook (6/21) | Mills & Boon (both available now) 
Thanks for reading!
Laura

Who Doesn't Love a Bad Boy? #Hop

Who doesn't love a bad boy? I know I sure do! So I'm excited to participate in this awesome Bad Boys of Romance Blog Hop!

My all-time favorite bad boy? You guys probably already know!


Zsadist, son of Ahgony, twin of Phury, warrior of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, from J.R. Ward’s Lover Awakened.
Why do I love him?
A former blood slave stolen from his family and held and used against his will for a century, he bears scars on the inside and the out. After his rescue, he is filled with an unquenchable fury and abject humiliation and he strikes out against friend and foe alike. He is the ultimate anti-hero.
I love Zsadist because his scars ran the deepest, his sense of self was the most shattered, he felt the least worthy of love, his need for redemption was the greatest and his achieving of it the most powerful. And for all these reasons, Lover Awakened is my all-time favorite romance, hands down. I have re-read it so frequently I no longer know the number of times. I have talked about it so much that my author friends no longer think it’s strange that I don’t like when they say they like Zsadist because, you know, as a bonded female and all, I just really can’t handle anyone else expressing their interest in him. *winks*

Thanks for hopping!

Laura


Go here for the other blogs participating in this hop!

My GiveawayA signed paperback of my newest release - featuring THE bad boy of the Anemoi gods, Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer!Open to international!
Go here to learn more about Chrys & join in my South of Surrender blog tour with grand prizes including $100 gift cards!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Here's the grand prize, a Kindle and tons of ebooks!a Rafflecopter giveaway