Jessica E. Subject's Blog, page 89

#SFRMonday: A millennium into the future ~ MINDER RISING by Carol Van Natta #scifirom

Please welcome back Carol Van Natta with her new release, MINDER RISING.

MINDER RISING

Central Galactic Concordance Book 2

by Carol Van Natta

A millennium into the future, all children are tested for minder talents, and the best are recruited for the Citizen Protection Service.

Agent Lièrén Sòng is recovering from a near-fatal crash. He should want nothing more than to get back to using his talents to interrogate criminals for his covert CPS field unit, but being sidelined gains new appeal when he makes friends with a woman and her son. Imara Sesay, road-crew chief and part-time bartender, breaks her ironclad rule never to get close to customers when she asks Lièrén to teach her son how to control his growing minder talents.

Unexpected deaths in his field unit make Lièrén suspect he isn’t a lucky survivor, he’s a loose end. He should pull away from Imara and Derrit to keep them safe, but when the local CPS Testing Center is entirely too interested in Derrit’s talents, Lièrén must make an impossible choice. Can he stay alive long enough to save Imara and her prodigy son?

Available from:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo

Minder Rising takes place after the events in Overload Flux,

but can be read as a standalone story.

Overload Flux (A Central Galactic Concordance Novel)

 

In the earlier crush, Imara had asked if Derrit could sit with him to do his homework. Lièrén had nodded and said less than was polite, but his pounding headache made it difficult to do anything more. The medics and healers had done admirable jobs in repairing his ribs, diaphragm, lung, and liver, but they couldn’t do anything about the withdrawal symptoms, owing to his sifter talent that made most chemical painkillers useless. His choices had been to stay in the rehab unit for another three weeks with the constant company of a healer, or deal with the pain and discomfort on his own. He valued his privacy more than his comfort, although it was hard to remember why on nights like this one. At least he wasn’t having to regrow teeth—he’d heard from other rehab patients that it took months for the new ones to feel like they belonged in their mouths.

Tonight was the first time Lièrén had spent much time with Derrit, and he’d been relieved that the boy’s mind was blessedly quiet. Once Lièrén had considered it, he realized Derrit was a natural shielder. Talent detection hadn’t ever been one of Lièrén’s strong suits, so the boy was probably at least mid-level, if not better. When the crowd had thinned and more booths opened up, Lièrén could have asked Derrit to move, but he’d left the kid alone. He looked busy and productive, and that kind of concentration was hard to achieve for eleven-year-old boys.

Hell, it was hard to achieve for thirty-two-year-old men. He’d been given part-time CPS desk duty in a local field office while his flitter accident was being investigated. In an odd quirk of fate, though his field unit was officially based out of the main office in High Spires, this was the first time he’d ever been on Capet Dedrum itself, more commonly known as Concordance Prime, or visited its galaxy-renowned showcase capitol city.

Repeated interviews with the staff from the CPS Office of Internal Inquiry suggested they thought there was something questionable about the accident. Since his assignment for the last twelve years had been conducting covert field interrogations, it was easy for him to identify the agenda behind their questions. He’d already requested an advocate to look out for his interests, as was his right as a de facto member of the military. He knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing, but the OII investigators might take some convincing.

So far, his desk duty had been to catch the field office up on its neglected data cubes—cross-referencing, prioritizing, tagging, and threading—which wasn’t helping his headaches. He liked administrative work, and took pride in creating and keeping order, but it was mind-numbingly boring after a while.

Because of his “trade office” experience and training, he was supposed to be available to the field office for occasional tasks suited to his talents, but they hadn’t asked, probably preferring to use sifters they knew and trusted. It was just as well, since he still had little stamina, and his talent continued to feel different and unreliable while on the latest temporary drug protocol. The local field-office supervisor, Tom Yamazaki, was new to Con Prime. Despite his Japanese last name, he didn’t speak the language, and precious little Mandarin, which he’d need if he planned to make a career in Spires. Lièrén had only met Yamazaki once in person and hadn’t been introduced to the other agents in the new office, who all must have gone to the same conservative autotailor to get the group rate. They acknowledged his presence from time to time, but mostly, they ignored him.

It had been disheartening to realize that with the death of his partner, his only friends now were Rayle and Imara. They’d shown more concern and care than people he’d known for years. Only his supervisor had sent a generic “get well soon” ping. To the overworked medical and therapy personnel, he was a CPS auth code and a barely remembered name. To everyone else, he was just another tourist on the metro.

And now, it looked like the capstone to this particularly lousy day was the bald man at the bar who’d been heavy-handedly hitting on Imara and getting nowhere. He was probably drawn by her pretty face and wide smile that invited laughter, and her crazy, coiled hair that always looked like it was on the verge of breaking free from its restraint. To Lièrén’s chagrin, he’d only noticed the situation because young Derrit had seen the trouble and was watching them like a hawk. Lièrén had a sinking feeling it would be more trouble than Derrit could handle.

Rule number one in covert field units like his was not to draw attention to himself or the unit, and rule number two was to follow rule number one. Lièrén had led anyone who asked to believe that his title of “field agent” was CPS-speak for “office twonk,” and that his unit’s mission had to do with trade support. Procedure said he should leave now, or conveniently fall asleep and see nothing, but the bald man’s haze of violent discord was slicing through Lièrén’s talent like a fistful of forceblades.

Derrit abruptly stood and began sidling toward the bar, focusing on his mother with the intensity of a laser beam. Lièrén’s headache flared, and second later, the bald man grabbed Imara’s hand. Lièrén sat, frozen in indecision.

In the blink of an eye, the bald man muttered something in what sounded like German, then stood and tried to drag Imara from behind the bar.

“Leave her alone!” shouted Derrit, closing in fast and latching onto the man’s arm.

The bald man snarled and backhanded the boy, sending him flying a meter or more into some chairs.

 

Hi, it’s me, Carol Van Natta. I’m an independent science fiction author and playwright. I believe science fiction romance offers the best of both worlds—a vision of a futuristic universe where anything can happen, and active characters with heart (and often a laser pistol or two). My books include Overload Flux and Minder Rising in the new Central Galactic Concordance series. Overload Flux won a 2015 SFR Galaxy Award and is a finalist for a Readers’ Crown 2015 Award. I share my Fort Collins, Colorado, home with a sometime mad scientist and various cats. Any violations of the laws of physics in her books are the fault of the cats, not the mad scientist.

I’ll be at RomCon 2015 in Denver, Colorado, Sept 25-27, 2015.

Visit me on the web at http://author.CarolVanNatta.com. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll always get advance announcements of new books before anyone else.

#MySexySaturday ~ Their First Kiss in HIS ALIEN VIRGIN #1NightStand #NewAdult @DecadentPub

Hello everyone! Today is the 95th week of My Sexy Saturday.

Here are the details: every Saturday, published and unpublished authors will be sharing 7 words, sentences, or paragraphs from a work-in-progress or an already published story.

Today’s theme is…

OUR SEXY GALAXY

Today, I’m sharing seven from HIS ALIEN VIRGIN, which is on sale for only 99¢ at Amazon and All Romance until June 22.

Set-up: In this new adult sci-fi romance, Daran is not only shocked to learn the identity of his date, but also what she’d been through since he arrived on Earth. Yet, he cannot hide the feelings he’s always had for her.

Brushing his thumb across her cheek, he swept away the last of her tears. “Don’t cry anymore. You’re here with me now. I won’t ever let them take you back.”

“You mean it?” She gazed at him, so vulnerable with wide blue eyes that captivated him every time he caught a glance of them.

He tried to focus on something else, only to have his attention land on the swell of her breasts peeking out from the top of the dress. With every breath she took, they lifted, teasing him, taunting him to touch. To taste.

Swallowing primal hunger, Daran trailed his fingers across the smooth line of her jaw and down her long neck. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you, Skylar.”

Her eyelids fluttered closed. Sucking in a quick breath, he met her soft lips. But she remained hesitant and unresponsive, as if unsure what to do next.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held Skylar tight. He had her now and never wanted to let her go. Guiding her gently through their first kiss, he explored her decadent flavor. Cherries and vanilla. Heaven on Earth.

~ About HIS ALIEN VIRGIN ~

She is desperately seeking freedom…

On the eve before her twenty-first birthday, Skylar steals a ship and escapes from the planet Rebed. She refuses to be another wife to the slimy space pirate that is her betrothed. After hearing of her brothers’ own success, she applies to the 1Night Stand service on her way to Earth, hoping Madame Eve can find a man to be her hero, to make her feel special, even if for only one night.

He is trying to fit in…

Daran traveled to Earth years ago, and he still struggles to fit in on the planet. But when his boss suggests a blind date, he reluctantly agrees. What would happen if anyone found out about his alien ancestry?

And they are not at all meant to be together…

As best friend to Skylar’s brothers, Daran has always forced himself to fight his attraction to her. He cannot see her as anything more than a little sister, someone to protect. So, why did Madame Eve match them together?

Has Madame Eve made a huge mistake, or will Daran tread into forbidden territory to be with the one woman he’s always wanted, and become the hero Skylar craves?

Only 99¢ from:

 

Amazon US | UK | Canada | Germany | Australia

Be sure to check out other MY SEXY SATURDAY excerpts!

 

Limited time Sale! Get HER ALIEN HERO & HIS ALIEN VIRGIN for only #99cents! #1NightStand

Hello my dear readers! I’m excited to tell you about a sale I have going on for the beginning of June. From June 1-22, you can get two of my 1Night Stand stories for only 99¢ at All Romance eBooks & Amazon…

His Alien Virgin (1Night Stand)

New Adult Sci-Fi Romance

She is desperately seeking freedom…

On the eve before her twenty-first birthday, Skylar steals a ship and escapes from the planet Rebed. She refuses to be another wife for the slimy space pirate that is her betrothed. After hearing of her brothers’ success, she applies to the 1Night Stand service on her way to Earth, hoping Madame Eve can find her a hero, to make her feel special, even if for only one night.

He is trying to fit in…

A longtime friend to Skylar’s brothers, he’s always relegated her to the look and don’t touch category. Though, Daran traveled to Earth years ago, he still struggles to fit in on the planet. When his boss suggests a blind date, he reluctantly agrees. What would happen if anyone found out about his alien ancestry?

And they are not at all meant to be together…

Has Madame Eve made a huge mistake, or will Daran tread into forbidden territory to be with the one woman he’s always wanted, and become the hero Skylar craves?

Only 99¢ from:

 

Amazon US | UK | Canada | Germany | Australia

Her Alien Hero (1Night Stand)

Erotic Sci-Fi Romance

Librarian by day, erotic romance author by night, Melinda Rose sets out for another exciting conference, this one in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. But all her plans go up in smoke when the 1Night Stand she applies for is set to happen at the same time.

Cooper Tate heads to Ottawa to meet a friend. When he learns of her deception, he is ready to head back home and vows never to trust her again. That is, until he sees a picture of his stunning date.

With the help of Madame Eve, can these two former neighbors become lovers? Or will extraterrestrial secrets rip away the hero Melinda has always dreamed of?

Available from:

 

Amazon US | UK | Canada | Germany | Australia

A new generation of #fairytales to #FallinLove with ~ Enter to WIN a #Kindle & more! #giveaway

Welcome to the Fall in Love with Fairytales blog tour!

If you would like to win an enormous grand prize consisting of a Kindle, gift certificates, and author swag, visit each day’s post(s) and follow Rafflecopter instructions for prize entries. For more information, please visit:

Fall in Love with Fairytales main page

Facebook event

Beyond Fairytales author and reader group

You can also follow the Twitter hashtag: #FallinLove

For those readers who already know me, you know it’s a HUGE surprise if there isn’t at least one alien in my stories. I’ve done it, but not very often. So, when I asked for a fairy tale to twist, I knew I would make it an alien romance. And lucky for me, The Star Money, which my Beyond Fairytales story is based on, was not long. It’s the story of an orphan girl who is willing to give the last of her belongings to those who have even less than her. And when she believes she has nothing left, she finds gold falling from the sky and never has to worry about not having enough of anything again.

Pretty simple, but with the second first draft, the hard part was fitting an alien and the romance into the story. There’s no way I could write an erotic romance about a young girl. So, I had to make the main character older. She’s 21, and about to meet her betrothed from Earth. But nothing goes as she’d imagined….

If you’ve never read sci-fi romance before, take a chance and read THE STAR PRINCESS. It’s available in the RED BOOK OF GROWN-UP FAIRYTALES for only 99¢. Plus, it’s also an audio book narrated by Jon Filipko.

I hope you are enjoying the posts from the authors behind the Beyond Fairytales series. Tomorrow, please look for a post from Louisa Bacio. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Decadent Publishing Newsletter (I’m the editor) to stay up-to-date on new Beyond Fairytales stories and other new releases. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for more sexy aliens and other sci-fi and paranormal creatures. (There may be a bit of contemporary in there, too.)

Here’s a HANDY WORKSHEET that you can use to keep track of the blog tour. At the end of the two weeks, use it combine all of the words to enter the final message in the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Red Book of Grown-Up Fairytales

     

Blue Book of Grown-Up Fairytales

      

Green Book of Grown-Up Fairytales

     

Gold Book of Grown-Up Fairytales

     

 

Can a commoner and a duke find a happily ever after? SILK & SCARS by @authorCassDean #sweetromance @DecadentPub

SILK & SCARS
The Silk Series book 3
by Cassandra Dean

For over a year, Miss Gwendolyn Parkes and the Duke of Sowrith have corresponded. At first an error, the letters quickly became something much more, a friendship forged on like minds and perhaps the hope of something more…

When Gwen is compelled by her employer to attend the duke at his Dartmoor estate, she is devastated to find her beloved friend cold and imperious, even if he is the most handsome man she’s ever seen – despite his scars.

Edward, Duke of Sowrith, has longed to meet Gwen. Arranging her passage to his estate, he is tongue-tied when confronted with her quiet beauty. All too aware of the twisted ruin of his face, he allows fear to hold him silent…until Gwen’s safety is threatened.

Finally together, they grow closer until it seems they can never again be apart – but can a commoner and a duke find a happily ever after?

Available from:

Amazon US | UK | Canada | Australia | Germany

All Romance | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo

Other books in the series:

SILK & SCANDAL (The Silk Series Book 1)

SILK & SCORN (The Silk Series Book 2)

“Edward.” Her hand slid up his lapel. Turning, he found her gray gaze upon him, a faint crease between her brows. “What is different?”

He stared into her eyes. She met his monocular gaze, no part of her expression revolted by the eye patch, the scars. He glanced at her hand, stroking his chest almost absently, her attention fully and totally on him. “When I received your letter, the one meant for Etta, it was like a ray of light, a beacon through relentless gray. So I responded and you sent your next letter and they….You were so full of joy, it bubbled out from the page and made me think perhaps I could experience it, if only a little. You had Etta, and your parents, and your employment, and though all three annoyed you on occasion, you had such…illumination.” His finger began a mad rhythm against his leg. “I’ve never had any of that. I’ve been here alone since the accident. I didn’t go to Eton. I was too ill. By the time I was old enough to attend university, I was so far behind there was no point. I went to London for the Season, but…. That did not turn out well.” Memories of horrified stares assaulted him, the whispers and notoriety that had come with his foray into society. Forcing the memories away, he said, “So I came home, and stayed.

“Then you sent me a letter. A bright, shining thing, and we corresponded and I…I wanted to meet you. So I arranged it that Beecham brought you to Sowrith, but I never thought he would not tell you, that I—” He grimaced. “You know what happened.

“Then you arrived, you were here, and I couldn’t…. There were no words. So I stood like a fool and watched you, and I wished I had the words that came so easily by pen. You were just like your letters—bright and gold and glittering, with your smile and your lightness, even when you frowned. And that was amazing to me. You are amazing to me. I wish I could…I wish I could tell you…” Finally, he looked at her.

Eyes wide, she regarded him, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Shifting his weight, he averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things. I—”

A gentle finger against his lips stilled his words, and he remained silent as her hand slipped to cup his cheek. The ruined one. Emotion shuddered through him as he absorbed her touch.

“See? You say such things and I can’t…” Her thumb tracing his cheekbone, her other hand slid up his chest to crumple his lapel as she pulled. Following her direction, he leaned down.

Tentatively, her lips brushed his.

Hardly daring to breath, he stood stock still as she hesitantly explored the shape of his mouth, her lips molding to his with small stops and starts. Her tongue darted against his lips and he shuddered, the sensation exquisite and overwhelming.

Wrapping his good arm around her, he urged her close. She came, her arms slipping about his neck as her lips opened under his. The wind tore at his hair and howled in his ears, his heart thundering in his chest. Her mouth was warm and eager, tasting of honey and gold. Of Gwen.

Cassandra Dean is a best-selling, multi-published author of historical and fantasy romance. Her latest novel, SLUMBER, is part of Decadent Publishing’s Beyond Fairytales and features Cassandra’s take on Sleeping Beauty. Her next novel, SILK & SCARS, is part of her popular Silk Series, featuring Victorian Era lawyers and their happily ever after.

Cassandra is proud to call South Australia her home, where she regularly cheers on her AFL football team and creates her next tale.

Visit Cassandra’s website at http://cassandradean.com

Join Cassandra’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/kzesP

Follow Cassandra on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraDean

and on Twitter @authorCassDean

Contact Cassandra at cassandra@cassandradean.com

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Goodreads Page | Authorgraph

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#SFRMonday: So HOT, you’ll want to steal him, too ~ STEALING MERCURY by @CharleeAllden #scifirom

You may know her from the blog, SMART GIRLS LOVE SCI-FI AND PARANORMAL ROMANCE, but today, Charlee Allden is here as an author. Check out her new release, STEALING MERCURY!

STEALING MERCURY
by Charlee Allden

Born a slave, Mercury is an Arena Dog, genetically engineered to fight and die in the Arena for the entertainment of others. Trained as a gladiator from boyhood, he’s gathered and led one of the most successful teams in arena history. In their violent world, where men must form alliances and share what little bounty they have to survive, his only goal has been to keep his men alive. But two of his men are dead and he, Diablo and Carnage are condemned to be hunted down and killed in Arena’s newest inhuman sport. Worse, their demise will leave Carn’s mate, a woman Mercury has sworn to protect, alone and vulnerable. And then there is Samantha—a courageous human he has no right to claim. But she is his. He feels it deep in his soul and with an ache in his body he can’t deny.

Samantha Devlin is a down-on-her-luck indie-freight pilot, working in the belly of a corporate hauler until she can earn the credits for her own ship. When an old friend hires her as an emergency replacement to pilot a cargo carrier for the Roma Company, she’s shocked to learn her cargo is three, living, breathing, and dangerously sexy Arena Dogs. When Samantha learns she’s taking the men to their deaths, she must decide is she if willing to risking everything for a man whose customs require that he share her with one of his men and demands he return to Roma to protect another woman. Her heart tells her Mercury is worth any cost, but her head sees nothing ahead but disaster.

Caution: features two scorching hot heroes and one impossibly impulsive woman. Their story may just make you want to steal an Arena Dog or two of your own.

Available from:
Amazon | iBooks |  Kobo

 

Another howl echoed in the hollow space of the hangar. At the far end, a loading crew in red Roma jumpsuits maneuvered three large cages across the dull gray floor plating and into position alongside the courier ship. The hangar lighting glinted off the crude metal prisons that looked more like low-tech jail cells than animal containment crates.

Arena Dogs.

That’s what the news vids had called them. But her scan of the news feeds hadn’t prepared her. They hadn’t actually included vid of the gladiators known as the fighting Dogs of the RomaRex Arena.

She couldn’t see them well from across the hangar, but she could clearly see they were men. Men locked in cages and shipped as freight.

A new ache started in her chest. They were men and they were her cargo. Living, breathing, cargo. Bronze chests left bare, dark hair past their shoulders, heads thrown back, the thick columns of their throats working to make those haunting howls.

“They’re out of sorts today. Their handler says they’re melancholy over being separated from their mate, but I’m not convinced.” Owens spoke from near her shoulder. He’d shifted to stand at her side, looking over the hangar like a feudal lord surveying his land.

“Their mate?”

He chuckled again, a sound she was coming to despise. “They have this odd practice of sharing their females. They have quite a complex social structure. We weren’t expecting it from this mix of DNA, but…”

Samantha didn’t follow any of what came after sharing their females. That thought stopped her overwhelmed brain. Her head wanted her to be appalled, and she was appalled that he talked about them as if they were nothing more than animals, or a science experiment, but her reaction to what he was saying could be more aptly described as…fascination. Fascination and guilt. While she stood there captivated by the raw emotion in their howls, they were imprisoned and suffering.

Her stomach churned and she knew she was in over her head. She wanted to ask why Roma was calling the men Dogs. Why they’d put them in cages. Why the men with her weren’t freaked out by the howling that was scraping her insides raw.

By the time her brain re-engaged, Owens had gone and Sevti was leading her toward the cages.

The weight of his hand on the center of her back urged her forward. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to prepare you more. Even scrambled messages are risky.”

“Messages are risky,” she hissed. “What part of this isn’t risky?” She knew her outrage at the whole situation was bleeding into her voice and they needed to keep quiet, but she’d heard the change in his tone. His earlier calm had been icing over a sticky, stressed center.

“They’re slaves, Samantha. We’re helping them get to freedom.”

“I know the Alliance denies citizenship to the non-earth races, but slavery?” She managed to lower her voice. They were still walking toward the hellish looking cages. The loading crew had temporarily disappeared through a door marked Crew Only, but the workers in their crimson uniforms could return at any moment.

“They’re genetically engineered fighters. You’ve heard of the Arena Games?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, just continued on in a rush of words. “Roma wanted gladiators, only better. Stronger. Faster. More lethal. They force them to fight. To slaughter each other. They’re considered property of The Roma Company.”

“How is that—”

“They claim they’re a result of a genetic manufacturing system, property. And they used enough animal and non-human alien DNA to get the Council of Earth Allied Planets to declare them non-human…animals.”

Samantha didn’t exactly have one hundred percent human DNA herself. She shuddered at the idea of being deemed non-human just because her grandmother had been Cerrillian. It was bad enough to know she’d lose her pilot’s license if anyone learned what her father had done—but slavery. She fought the urge to tug at her sleeves, to make sure the distinctive bands of color along her arms stayed covered. She was a mixed-breed on the wrong side of the Alliance-Gollerra border. Why had she thought this risk worth taking? “Why haven’t I heard of this? I thought the gladiators were—”

“It’s not like Roma is going to advertise it. But we’re a long way from the core, Sam, and most people here don’t give a damn.”

“But—”

“We don’t have a lot of time and I have to tell you.”

If he was going to tell her he’d lost his mind, she could only agree.

Sevti kept his pace, but dabbed at the fine sheen of perspiration across his forehead with the arm of his uniform jacket. “Owens is suspicious.”

She wanted to shout of course he’s suspicious, you infected fifteen of his people with a virus but she managed to keep her mouth shut and listened.

“He’s sending two of his men with you to accompany the Dogs.”

She stopped, body jerking to a halt that ripped her out of Sevti’s hold. Her boots were suddenly lead, fused to the floor plating. “What am I supposed to do with passengers?” What was she supposed to do with genetically engineered fighters in her cargo-hold? Her heart pounded out a fast tattoo in her chest and her legs had turned rubbery.

“They’re not just passengers.” He wrapped his hand around her forearm and squeezed as if he thought the gesture was needed to convey the seriousness of the situation. “They’re two of his goons, handlers from the arena. These men are hot-tempered and arrogant, used to dishing out abuse with impunity. Steer clear of them as much as possible and stay out of the way when the resistance team boards. Keep your head down and you’ll be fine.”

She couldn’t imagine anything less fine. She was well aware of the seriousness of the danger she’d landed in. Samantha looked over to the nearest cage and the man inside. The tips of his pointed ears peeked up through a shoulder-length fall of dark hair. They twitched, but his attention focused in the direction the workers had gone. The prisoner’s broad shoulders and wrists were marred by silver ropes of scar tissue that made her ache to look at them.

He might be a victim, but that didn’t mean he was an angel. They fight to the death and share their females, she reminded herself. But if they cared so little for life and for their mate, why would they infuse their howls with such grief?

When she started forward again, urged on by Sevti’s insistent tugs, the Arena Dog jerked around to press against his cage directly in front of them. He gripped the unrelenting bars tight enough to make his knuckles whiten and the muscles in his arms bunch. Thunder clouds and lightning flashed at her from the depths of his silver-gray eyes.

 

Charlee Allden is a long time fan of love, adventure, and happily-ever-after. She grew up in Florida where a huge fallen oak tree in the swampy woods near her home served as her very own Star Ship Enterprise. Today, Charlee is a multi award winning author of sexy, intense, romantic adventure and suspense. She still lives in Florida across the street from a miniature version of the swamp she lived by as a child. You can connect with Charlee online and sign up for new release announcements by visiting her website at http://www.charleeallden.com/

Author Contact Information:

Charlee Allden email: charleeallden@gmail.com

Twitter: @charleeallden

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CharleeAlldenAuthor

 

He knows how she feels in BENEATH THE STARRY SKY #MySexySaturday #1NightStand @DecadentPub

Hello everyone! Today is the 94th week of My Sexy Saturday.

Here are the details: every Saturday, published and unpublished authors will be sharing 7 words, sentences, or paragraphs from a work-in-progress or an already published story.

Today’s theme is…

A SEXY DELIGHT

Here’s seven from BENEATH THE STARRY SKY, a contemporary erotic romance that is part of the 1Night Stand line.

Set-up: In this contemporary erotic 1Night Stand romance, Josh (a former tv star) is trying to stop Tamara from feeling sorry for herself, because he can relate to how she feels.

She heard no revulsion in his voice and glanced over at him. “You still want to have a one-night stand with me after seeing me like this?” Is this guy blind?

“Sure. It’s not very often I find someone who I can relate to. What’s your name? Madame Eve never told me.”

She tensed. “Tamara. But you know nothing about me or what I’m going through.” She stood up. If he wasn’t going to leave, she would.

As she walked past, he grabbed her arm. “I can relate, and I’ll show you if you just give me a chance.”

Too weak to fight from all of her crying, she didn’t resist. “Fine, show me.”

He released her then unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. Turning around, he said, “Look at my back. See all of the scarring there? Well, it extends up past my hairline. I went with hair restoration surgery instead of a wig, but I still know what the sting of rejection feels like.”

Her eyes widened. Insert foot in mouth. “I’m sorry.” She’d acted like a bitch, and the last thing he needed was more rejection, more people feeling sorry for him. If anything, they both needed someone who could simply understand. “It’s just that so many people sympathize with how I feel, but they truly have no idea what it’s like to have alopecia, to have hair one day and none the next.”

~ About Beneath the Starry Sky ~

Left at the altar with bald patches on her head and her self-confidence stripped away, Tamara Johnson must pick up the pieces of her life and face her Alopecia Areata, the autoimmune disease causing her hair to fall out. She is convinced no man will date a bald woman and arranges a one-night stand through Madame Evangeline’s popular service, 1Night Stand. With her new wig held firmly in place, Tamara arrives at the Castillo Hotel in Las Vegas for a night of passion and pleasure. Anything more than one night would mean exposing her bald head, and she will never do that to any man again.

Running into the Castillo Hotel, away from the paparazzi constantly at his heels, Josh Summers wants to spend his next few days locked away from the flashing lights and screaming fans. When he finds an incredibly sexy woman lying on his hotel room bed in nothing but lingerie, he thinks management has made a mistake. Leaving her behind, he heads for the lobby to get the situation rectified. But an unexpected text from Madame Evangeline sends him back to his room. Though unsure whether the woman on the bed is really his perfect match or just another fan believing him to be like his character on television, he knows he must find out, even if it means he must risk telling her his own secrets. If Tamara can handle his imperfections, she just might be his ideal woman.

Available on its own:

     

Or as part of my 99¢ 1Night Stand Box Set!

       

Be sure to check out other MY SEXY SATURDAY excerpts!

An interview with P. J. Morgan, narrator of UNKNOWN FUTURES #lesfic #1NightStand @listentoPJ

Hello my dear readers! Have you had a chance to listen to any of my audio books yet? Well, today I have a special treat for you. I’m interviewing P. J. Morgan, the fabulous narrator for my most recent audio book, UNKNOWN FUTURES. Be sure to check out the sample from the audio book after the interview.

How long have you been narrating audiobooks?

P. J.:  It’s been pretty much exactly a year since I started narrating commercial audiobook titles (May 2014).

How did you get started?

P. J.: I had made contributions to LibriVox (www.librivox.org), a public domain, volunteer-run audiobook site, for about six months prior to that, just to get my feet wet. I loved it, and wanted to turn my hobby into an income source, as well as find a way to share my work with a larger audience.

What are your favorite types of stories to narrate?

P. J.: I love stories with interesting, fully-realised female protagonists. Fortunately, I get to do a lot of those! I also really enjoy lesbian-themed stories, fantasy, and anything with great writing and a solid plot.

What are your favorite scenes to narrate?

P. J.: Action scenes are a lot of fun. You really get lost in the story you’re telling, which makes it easy to nail the pacing without lots of editing!

That seems to be a favorite for narrators and listeners alike. What are your least favorite scenes to narrate?

P. J.: I would say dialogue is the hardest to get right, especially with many characters talking in the same scene, but recording it can actually be so much fun. I really love narrating just about everything, because there’s a challenge in all of it.

Yes, I believe challenges help us to grow in what we do. In Unknown Futures, what was your favorite scene?

P. J.: Well, it’s kind of hard to beat the sex scenes between Jewel and V! I love all the wonderful alien characters aboard the space station, too, and the scenes including them were so much fun to narrate.

Thank you! What format of books do you prefer to read or listen to?

P. J.: I’m a total traditionalist, and I find nothing so comforting as having a good print book in hand. I like the tactile experience of reading a book – the weight of it in your hands, the feel of the pages between your fingers. I just can’t get into eBooks, but the convenience is hard to beat. I’ve been known to read free eBooks on my phone in desperation.

I’m still trying to break into audiobooks – funny, I know. The right narrator can make the listening experience transcend the words on the page. Not to mention, it’s a good educational experience for a fellow narrator! It’s important to study what the actors at the top of the game do right. I’m trying to get into the habit of picking up an audio copy of any book I enjoyed in print, to see how the experience differences.

That’s a great idea! Who is your favorite author?

P. J.: Oof, that’s probably the toughest question you could ask! I don’t have many favourites (so far), but it’s a very tight race between them. If I could only pick one, it would have to be P. G. Wodehouse. I can’t read anything of his and not be instantly in a good mood. (Close seconds are Sarah Waters, J. K. Rowling, and Margaret Atwood.)

I know. So hard to pick just one, right? What do you like to do in your spare time?

P. J.: Between having a full-time job in IT and voicing audiobooks at night, there’s not much time left over, but I like to read as much as I can, and I write a novel every year as part of National Novel Writing Month. I have dogs, cats, and horses, so caring for all of them takes up a lot of time, too. I’ve been known to craft in odd moments, and I do a lot of community theatre, and sometimes appear in short films or on TV.

Very cool! What projects are you working on next?

P. J.: I’m currently wrapping up narration on a fantastic novel called Deep Down Things by Tamara Linse, whose short story collection How to Be a Man was my first commercial audiobook title. I also just started work on the second book in a wonderful urban fantasy trilogy by Fiona Skye, Silver Shackles. I’m hoping to pick up a few other shorter titles in the coming months, too.

Outside of audiobooks, I’m looking for other types of voice over and on-screen work. My dream is to voice a cartoon character someday, or start a comedy webseries, or maybe edit one of my novels!

I wish you all the best with all those project! Where can readers, listeners, and authors find you?

P. J.: I’m at listentopj.com, and also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pjmorganvo and Twitter at http://twitter.com/listentopj.

Thank you so much, P. J., for visiting and for the fabulous work you did in narrating UNKNOWN FUTURES!

Unknown Futures

a 1Night Stand audio book

by Jessica E. Subject

Lesbian Science Fiction Romance

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1 Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn’t expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.

Flavia left everything behind to be one of five humans working for the Space Service space station. Extremely homesick, she is excited to learn she will be a guide to a woman from Earth visiting the station for a couple days. She is immediately drawn to the petite woman, seeing past her scars to her true inner beauty, stirring unforeseen desires.

Unfortunately, Jewel is there for a date which Flavia hasn’t been told about. Can she contain her lust and simply show her a good time? Or will she let her desire lead them into an unknown future?

NOW AN AUDIOBOOK!

Narrated by P. J. Morgan

Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Add Unknown Futures to Goodreads

Author @SSaraDaniel shares her Top Ten Romance Movies & a #giveaway #1NightStand @DecadentPub

Sara Daniel’s Top Ten Romance Movies

Below you will find my top ten list of romance movies, in no particular order. Leave a comment letting me know if I left out your favorite. I’m sure I missed some goodies!

French Kiss – I laughed. I cried. From Meg Ryan joking with Kevin Kline about his “little problem” and then emptying her “nest egg” for him, yeah, I loved it.
Love Actually – Usually, when multiple subplots are featured, I have a favorite storyline, but in this movie, I loved them all.
While You Were Sleeping – I watched this movie on continuous loop in the 90s. It never got old.
Legally Blonde – Cute and smart. Let’s hear it for the girls!
Sweet Home Alabama – Okay, I’m a total Reese Witherspoon fan, and I might have a thing for sexy redneck guys too.
Pretty Woman – Who wasn’t rooting for Julia Roberts and Richard Gere?
You’ve Got Mail – I just watched this again recently, and sadly it was pretty dated (hello, dial up Internet!). But the online premise is still very current.
Bridget Jones’s Diary – I might be a sucker for Colin Firth.
Contact – Okay, this is not truly a romance, but the romance thread really tugged at my heart. And hello, Matthew McConaughey. No movie list of mine is complete without his name appearing somewhere.
Magic Mike – HELLO Channing Tatum! And I get to ogle him again in the sequel.

Can their rekindled passion survive? ARCHANGEL ZACH by @LisaHughey #giveaway #PNR

ARCHANGEL ZACH
by Lisa Hughey

For three hundred years, Zach has suffered under the crushing guilt over his part in the death of his one true love. Since then he’s hidden himself away, dispensing his forgiveness far from the human realm and the threat of more heartbreak…until the day that he is conscripted into war against the angels’ most dangerous enemy…the Grigori.

Every night, Shasa Jefferson dreams the same scene—a far off island, a gorgeous, magical man, and sizzling passion that curls her toes. But getting lost in dreams is no way to live a life…until the day Shasa’s mystery man appears on her doorstep spouting terms she doesn’t understand and forcing her to confront her deepest fears.

Zach is amazed to find the soul of his true love in Shasa, but how long can their rekindled passion survive with the shadow of the Grigori and Zach’s own past transgressions threatening to tear them apart?

Archangel Zach is the third installment in The Seven series, featuring hot Archangels and their human loves. The Seven Archangels, Guardians to Earth, have lost touch with the human realm, dwelling in the Third Sphere and watching over the earth from afar…until their mortal enemies escape from banishment determined to wreak destruction on Earth and the Angelic Realm. Suddenly, the Archangels must team up with the humans and all hell breaks loose.

Available from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play

 

The tender, adoring look in his eyes disintegrated. His body stiffened instantly and he glanced away from her before his gaze came back to rest impersonally on her face.

“Are you steady now?” Even his voice was the same as her dream. The rumble invaded her body and twined through her with an easy familiarity. But as she looked at him, the love and joy she’d experienced turned to doubt.

He couldn’t possibly be the man from her dream.

It was a dream. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

She didn’t believe in the supernatural. She left that to her mother who lived and breathed the woo-woo, crazy ass, nutso stuff.

God, she must be more messed up than she thought. When she glanced back at the man’s face, his jaw and cheeks were carved from granite. A dark stubble dusted his chin and upper lip emphasizing his kissable lips. Don’t go there, Shasa. No kissing.

The cold impersonality in his gaze completed the picture of a surly, aloof man. Now he looked like her dream man’s older, harder, angrier cousin.

 

USA Today Bestselling Author Lisa Hughey has been writing romance since the fourth grade, which was also about the time she began her love affair with spies. Harriet and Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys later gave way to James Bond and Lara Croft and Jason Bourne. Exploring the complex nature of a profession that requires subterfuge and lies fascinates her. She loves combining her two passions into fiction. As evidenced by her Black Cipher Files series.

Recently she’s been immersed in the Stone Family novellas, stories about a blended family of brothers and a sister who have a lot more in common than they realize. But of course she couldn’t just write about family and romance. There are complex plots, bad guys, and suspense too.

Taking a break from romantic suspense, Lisa entered the paranormal world of the Angelic Realm. The Seven deals with forbidden relationships between humans and Archangels. At its heart, Rafe is a novel about the dynamic of family relationships. As this series evolves, the core story continues to be about love triumphing in the face of opposition and heartache. (The really hot Archangels don’t hurt.)

Lisa loves to hear from readers and has various places you can connect with her. Sign Up for Lisa’s Latest News to get notification of her new releases and occasional fun giveaways.

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