Mandy Harbin's Blog: Mandy's Blog, page 5

Excerpt for Surrounded by Secrets

We are in the final countdown to the release day of Surrounded by Secrets! What better way to celebrate than with a little teaser? You’ve been asking for it, so here it is…this excerpt is Chapter One. Happy reading.

Chapter One

Jack stared at the photo he’d taken from his father’s desk weeks ago, when he’d stumbled upon it during a conference call with Lillian Caldwell. He’d been verbally sparring with the infuriating—and mesmerizing—neighbor about her desire to work for his family’s tree business full-time, rather than contracted as needed, when he’d discovered this picture of Lina Woods.

Mom.

She was frozen in time with several other people he hadn’t recognized. She looked beautiful, though. Timeless. Of course, he’d always known she was a captivating woman. Up until her death, Lina’s presence in any room commanded attention. And his father, Thomas, was always putty in her paws. They were mated, and a mated pair’s bond was an unbreakable force fueled by love and respect, a lesson that had only been reinforced by watching Jack’s brothers mate with their females.

His parents had never discussed the dynamics of their mating because it was a personal experience meant to be shared with no one. Besides, talking about mating and their heritage was pointless because Thomas’s parents had died when he was young, the history of their kind dying with them. It seemed Jack and his brothers would be doomed to struggle with the possibility of mating on their own. But Josh, Toby, and Rob had beaten the odds. They’d all found mates who loved them. Eric’s story was another matter entirely. He’d taken a mate against her will, and they’d fought to the death.

Jack figured if he were ever to be lucky enough to find a woman who wanted to spend her life with him, it would go one of two ways.

Thankfully, the compound Ariel had created seemed to be working. Now. Krista had coerced her sister into coming onto the land, and once she fussed around with the mood recipe to where Jack could stomach it, he’d been doing well on it—though he’d never truly forgive himself for stopping the meds and almost raping his brother’s mate. He had a lot to prove to his family after that major fuckup.

And to himself.

Sighing, he put the photo away in his nightstand and grabbed his worn work boots. He needed to talk to Josh about that photo, but the timing just never seemed right. Jack knew the real reason he’d avoided the conversation before was he’d been keeping his nose down, focusing on his work, hoping it might make it easier to face his family. Though hiding behind that mistake was just an excuse. Failure wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but he needed to be a man and not a chickenshit. He wasn’t known as the hard-ass around here for nothing. Besides, trying to constantly make amends had opened up a whole other can of worms.

Because Lillian Caldwell was getting her wish.

Today was her first day as an official employee of his family. And hell if that didn’t make his life even that much more problematic. She was fucking beautiful, a true vision of all that he’d ever thought made up the physical appearance of his ideal woman, curvy and blonde. Damn, he was in some serious trouble now. All those conference calls with her had done nothing but worn out his right hand for hours. He’d thought that after attacking Ariel he’d be a cold fish, but oh no, he couldn’t be that lucky. His dick still knew what it wanted, and his lion still yearned for a mate. But his brain knew better, and this had catastrophe written all over it. Not only did he get to see his personal siren in the flesh, but he got to work with her. Rather, she got to work for him. Indefinitely. God, the last thing he needed to add to his mistakes was a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Lillian Caldwell, in all her physical perfection, was off-limits. His dick, and his lion, would just have to get over it.

* * * *

 Lillian looked in the mirror. Red thong? Check. Matching red bra? Check. She cupped her breasts and shook her head. Lordy, her boobs were too big. It’d be nice if she could walk into Victoria’s Secret and buy off the shelf, but unfortunately, she had to get her bras at the big-girl store. At least she’d found a sexy one. Knockers this size usually required her to wear a grandma bra. But that was unacceptable for today. She needed something sexy in case the hottie with the body got her clothes off. Jesus H. Christ, but Jack Woods was sex on a stick.

And come hell or high water, she’d have him in her bed. It wasn’t often she set her sights on a man, but there was just something about Jack that got her body humming. It’d been too long since she’d been truly pleased by a man, and she was long past due for a righteous big O.

There was only one real reason Lillian had strong-armed the Woods clan into giving her a permanent position with their tree farming business, and she wasn’t too much of a flake to admit that. She wanted to see the hottie with the body nekkid.

She hadn’t lied when she told them there weren’t that many jobs around here, but they were right in that she didn’t need the money. They had offered her dad plenty of money for his land. She’d tried to stop the sale at first, but her dad really did need a break. He seemed so distracted lately, so she hoped unloading the responsibility of their tree farm would help him. It definitely freed up his time.

He had flown out yesterday to visit her grandma for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, when she’d told him she’d taken a full-time position with the Woods family, he hadn’t seemed that upset. Actually, he was almost happy for her. Little did he know that selling their land had opened up another, more physical, opportunity for her, too.

An opportunity she was going to grab by the balls.

Not that she didn’t have other offers. Lillian had broken up with her ex-boyfriend a few months ago, but the dickhead was still hounding her about going out again. Maybe she would if David knew how to please her sexually, but he was a little too passive in between the sheets. The notches on her belt were limited to just a few men since she was incredibly choosy, but David had been a major disappointment. He was tall with dark blond hair and green eyes. Muscular. Tanned. Gorgeous. But when it came to sex, he was a little too submissive for her liking. Ugh, and when he came, the sounds he made were a total turnoff: whiny, whimpering, weak. Such a contradiction to his strong, manly presence out of bed. Jack wouldn’t sound like that. She just knew it. He’d growled at her several times during their arguments, and each time her panties got wet. He just oozed sexual dominance.

And that was just what she needed.

She slipped on her tight jeans, put on a lacy shell, and then donned a fitted flannel shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone so the camisole, and her cleavage, peeked through. She shifted. Thongs weren’t really work attire, but she’d deal with the discomfort. She was on a mission.

No pain, no sex.

She slipped into her boots. She’d considered trading them out for something a little more fashionable, but she was going to be there to work. Wearing new shoes was a rookie mistake, so if she wanted to be taken seriously, she’d have to wear her old work boots. Besides, blisters were not sexy, and new shoes had to be broken in before being acceptable as work-wear attire.

Lillian grabbed the keys to her four-wheeler and trotted out. She didn’t need to bring a purse or anything else since she’d faxed her driver’s license and Social Security card to them last week. And since she lived next door, she wouldn’t have to pack a lunch.

She climbed onto the wheeler and started it. After revving it a few times, she kicked it into gear and headed down the trail to the Woods estate. Within a few minutes, she’d passed the gate that had been left open and made it through the clearing. Surprisingly, she wasn’t feeling nervous at all.

Under normal circumstances, she didn’t chase men, but for some reason, she knew she’d have to make the first move if anything were to happen with Jack. And that helped her resolve.

There he was. Standing next to a large pine tree that started a section of new growth stood the hottie with the body. She pulled right up to him and killed the engine. Okay, so there were some butterflies swimming in her now because, holy Christ, he was way hotter in person.

“Lillian.” He nodded to her and took her hand as she started off the wheeler.

His voice was like rough silk. She loved hearing him talk over Skype, but that paled in comparison to hearing him speak now. And the feel of his hand sent electrical sparks arcing through her. Oh yeah, she was going to fuck him. Tonight.

“Hello, Jack.”

Once she was clear of her four-wheeler, he let go of her hand and stepped back while he slid that hand through his hair. His gorgeous blue eyes held her.

He cleared his throat and shifted. “I apologize for being so difficult about you working here. I shouldn’t have—”

She waved her hand, dismissing the comment. “No need. I’m here.” She took a step closer. “Now where do you want me, Jack?”

She smiled at him and raised a brow, knowing her comment was borderline suggestive, and hoping like hell he thought so, too.

He looked to the right and indicated the nearest patch of trees. “I figured I’ll show you around the farm and tell you the years when each section is to be harvested and replanted, make sure you know your way around before setting you loose.”

Hmm, he didn’t even flinch at her suggestive tone. And she had her hands on her hips, thrusting her bodacious tatas in his direction. She wasn’t used to playing the vixen. Maybe she was doing it all wrong. A panicked thought of her making a fool of herself in front of her new boss almost paralyzed her. Then she chastised herself. She wouldn’t know if she didn’t try. But she needed to take it down a notch. This was just going to be harder than she’d thought.

Lillian nodded and tried to seem nonchalant. “Sounds good. I’ll just follow you on my wheeler.”

When she turned to her four-wheeler, she noticed a tic in his jaw. Odd.

“You shouldn’t wear perfume to work. It can attract insects,” he practically barked at her.

At that, she had to laugh as she straddled her ride and looked over at him. “Don’t worry, big guy. I know the drill. I don’t wear perfume. There’s nothing artificial about me.”

Heat flared in his eyes before he quickly banked it. Well, well, well, maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all. Time to sink or swim.

“Since this is my first job outside of my family business, I think drinks are in order tonight. You can pick me up at eight.”

She started her wheeler, not letting him answer. She saw the warring in his eyes. He was going to try to turn her down.

Good luck with that, hottie with the body. Tonight, you are mine.

Breaking the Silence

It is with eyes wide open and a heavy heart that I have decided not to continue my Young Adult series, Season’s Change. For the last six months, I have been embroiled in chaos with the publisher of the first book in the series Season’s Change: Summer. I’m not going to rehash the ridiculous way the changing of the guard took place or the unprofessional manner in which business has continued. If you are curious, you can do a search on the publisher, Noble Romance, and get many blogs that detail others’ experiences, which mine mirror.

For me, writing is a passion, an outlet for my creative side, but publishing is a business. Therefore, after long nights, tears, wonderful friends and family, and meeting with my attorney, I’ve decided to make the business decision to put this series on hold indefinitely. Since the first book ends on a cliffhanger (and my royalty statements have been M.I.A. from the publisher), I’m going to ask that you not purchase Summer. It is within my right to continue this series with another publisher, but until I get my rights reverted on the first book or that original contract expires, I will have to continue dealing with this mess if I go forward with the series. No thank you.

Since Season’s Change is the only Young Adult series I’ve worked on to date, I’ve also made the decision to focus solely on adult romances. Branding is a major part of this business, so I’m taking this opportunity to narrow my focus. When I work on young adult stories again, they’ll be branded accordingly.

Besides the shoulders of my fellow authors—you know who you are—what has helped me get through the stress of this situation is the knowledge that this industry is always evolving. Stories can be modified, contracts do expire, and life goes on. I have many other projects in the pipeline with wonderful publishers that’ll keep me busy for quite a while. Projects I’m really excited about, but I do apologize to those of you who took the time to read the first book in this series. I know what it’s like to love a book and then find out the author couldn’t continue the series for one reason or another. It sucks big time, and I have an overwhelming urge to just finish the series where it’s at and keep getting screwed over by that publisher just so those who have read it can continue. But that wouldn’t be a smart decision, which is why it has taken me months to accept this new course.

I am looking forward to the future and am going full steam ahead with several other books. It’s not just the destination to enjoy, but the journey to get there. And I’m excited about this new journey.

Candy Kink Giveaway Hop ~ And My Not-So-Traditional Christmas Traditions

It’s time for the Candy Cane Kink Giveaway Hop! Are y’all ready to get kinky and win some prizes? No tacky holiday sweaters are required, but drink as much eggnog as you’d like.

I am so ready for Christmas! Seriously, I finished my shopping two days ago. This is a first for me, but it wasn’t by choice. Since I’m getting ready for my Christmas vacation—minus Chevy Chase—I had to finish everything by this week. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE shopping—and yes, I got my Black Friday deals—but this time of year brings out the amateurs. We shopping connoisseurs can spot them a mile away, and mobs of people do not make for fun shopping. From Thanksgiving through Christmas, I only shop for specifics. I’ll have to wait until after the holidays for recreational shopping to commence once again. Pending Mayan apocalypse notwithstanding.

But I still love this time of year and always get in the Christmas spirit by doing my annual traditions. Granted some of mine may not be like yours, but they’re fun for me. My fingernails are painted red and white, so I have a little bit of Christmas all day, every day. I’ve listened to “Merry F*cking Christmas” from South Park’s Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Album. If you’re perverse like me, listen to it. Is it politically correct? Um, no. It’s from South Park, and Mr. Hankey is poo. Nothing ever classically beautiful came from singing shit, but it’s hilarious. You can listen to traditional music when the kids are around. I’ve also watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. There’s just something about Clark Griswold and his Christmas shenanigans that really makes it feel like Christmas to me.

Even a sinus infection won’t dampen my holiday spirit. Well, partly because I wore a t-shirt to my doctor’s office yesterday that said “Dirty Minds are a terrible thing to waste”…one of my great purchases from RomantiCon 2012 that Ellora’s Cave put on in October. Not only did all the little old ladies do double-takes at the clinic, but the cute pharmacist who filled my antibiotics got a little flustered. Did the shirt go with my red and white fingernails? No. But it was my own little mix of Christmas and kink. And damn it, it was pretty funny seeing the reactions. Awww, ‘tis the season.

In addition to the movie and music above, I also take my son to Starbucks and we go look at Christmas lights every year. It’s our little tradition, and even as he gets older, he still wants to do it. That in and of itself is a Christmas miracle—anybody with teenagers would understand how big of a feat it is for them to be agreeable.

So there you have it, some of my Christmas pastimes. If you give me a little bit of Christmas, I’ll give you a little bit of kink. Tell me about some of your Christmas traditions. If I really like the idea, you’ll win an autographed copy of Love at First Byte—a kinky anthology with three stories about love in the digital age.

But just for stopping by, I’m spreading the news about a free book in my Woods Family Series, so everyone can have a little Christmas cheer. Book 1, Surrounded by Woods, is free for a limited time everywhere since the 4th book is coming out in January. Go get your free copy while you can!

Thanks for stopping by. Don’t forget to hop along and visit the other participants. There are all kinds of goodies to get!

Links to other blogs participating can be found here (or by clicking on the hot candy cane dude above):

http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2012/08/candy-cane-kink-giveaway-hop-sign-up.html

Wicked After Dark Blog Hop ~ Join the Fun!

I’m participating in the Wicked After Dark Blog Hop! Since my latest release is a paranormal romance—book 3 in the Woods Family Series, SURROUNDED BY TEMPTATION, I’ll be giving away a copy of it to one person who posts a comment to this blog. But no fear, my publisher has graciously offered book one in the series, SURROUNDED BY WOODS, for FREE for the next couple of weeks on Amazon!!! Everybody go grab your free copy while you can! http://www.amazon.com/Surrounded-Woods-Family-Book-ebook/dp/B005F6E7Z8/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Now on to the fun! Since it’s time for Halloween—and yes, me eating candy corn for dinner last night is proof enough—I’d like to know what was your favorite costume growing up? I have pictures of me being an angel (that wins for being the most creative since I was nothing of the sort), witches, ghosts, etc., but when I was a pre-teen, I got to dress up as a “punk rocker.” I put pink spray in my hair, loaded up the heavy makeup, dressed in a 1980’s Madonna fashion, and had a blast! It was an excuse to tease the hair and don the eyeliner at a young age, but I went with it.

I don’t recall ever dressing up as a vampire or a werewolf (though, I remember others doing so). It makes me wonder why I love the paranormal so much. There’s no doubt about it. I love reading and writing about things that go bump in the night… as long as some of those “bumps” are the result of bedposts hitting the wall. . Gotta love the sex! That’s why my paranormal series is about shifters whose primary characteristic is about their need to mate. It’s about a family of mountain lion shifters whose feral need to mate with any available woman is deadly. Their human side respects mating bonds already in place, but their animal side sees any untaken woman as a right to claim. If they force a mating, the female will attack; the male will rise to the challenge… and they’ll fight to the death. Because of this, the Woods family stays locked on their family land, unable to leave in fear of their carnal desire.

After I grew up and got married, I continued with the Halloween dress up, albeit a little kinkier at times. I’d come to bed wearing bunny ears, a necktie, and a cottontail… or devil horns and a tail sticking out of a thong. LOL, yeah, I love Halloween. It’s a time we get to be a kid all over again. And yes, I’ve dressed up in a 1980’s fashion as an adult for a Halloween party. So let’s have it. Tell me about your favorite costume. It can be unique or just homage to your younger years.

One person will win an electronic copy of SURROUNDED BY TEMPTATION (winner to be decided after the blog hop ends):

When Krista needs Ariel’s biochemical expertise because her new boyfriend can turn into a mountain lion, Ariel thinks her sister has lost her mind. But the possibility of a major discovery like this is too much of a temptation to ignore. Create a drug to stop a shifter from forcing a mating? Only if she got to test his sexual limits herself.

Rob thinks Ariel is an angel in disguise, and he immediately knows she’s the one for him. But is he strong enough to resist his animal’s need to claim her once the temptation begins?

Click on the image below to see what others are posting on the hop for other chances to win fun prizes!

Surrounded By Woods (Woods Family Series Book 1) FREE on Amazon right now!

Now sure how I got this lucky! The only confirmation I got was that this book would be free on All Romance Ebooks to help celebrate the release of Surrounded by Temptation (Book 3). I checked Amazon rankings yesterday–this is something all authors obsess about…we can’t help it–and when I saw that there was no ranking, I got confused. I went back and forth and searched the page and then glanced at the price: $0.00! I had a friend check it from his phone just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things! I’m not sure how long it’ll be available for free. I know it’s scheduled to remain free on All Romance Ebooks throughout my blog tour (until approximately around 11/11/12).

If you haven’t gotten your copy of Surrounded by Woods, I’d would LOVE for you to download your FREE copy from Amazon. I checked this morning and the ranking is showing again. And boy was I shocked…it’s currently ranked #67 in the Erotica category!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!! I want to see how high it’ll go before the free period ends.

Surrounded by Temptation Blog Tour Begins!

Hi y’all! I have a very busy month ahead. I will be attending Romanticon in Ohio this weekend and signing copies of Darkest Sin for those who attend the conference (it’s not on sale yet, only for those who attend)! Also Surrounded by Temptation released on the publisher’s website last week and should hit third-parties in the next couple of days. I decided I wanted to do everything I can to get the word out about this release, so I hired an awesome company to set up my tour. Here’s a list of the stops I’m making:

October 11:http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com

October 13:www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

October 14: www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com

October 16: www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com

October 17: steamyside.blogspot.com

October 18: http://www.crazyfourbooks.blogspot.com

October 20: www.lisasworldofbooks.net

October 22: www.VampireRomanceBooks.com

October 23: http://janieraeldridge.blogspot.com/

October 23: http://www.smittenwithreading.blogspot.com/

October 24: http://confessionsfromromaholics.com/

October 25: http://saphssteamybooks.blogspot.com/

October 26: http://jbridgerwriting.blogspot.commbates@legendarywomen.org

October 27: nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com

November 1: http://bibliophilesthoughtsonbooks.blogspot.com/

November 2: http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/

November 3: http://booktimeforlife.blogspot.com/
lilmama2brynn318@yahoo.com

November 3: http://saphssteamybooks.blogspot.com/

November 5: www.bittenbylovereviews.com

November 6: http://jademystique.blogspot.com

November 7: http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/

November 8: http://erzabetsenchantments.blogspot.com/

November 8: www.smartmouthtexan.wordpress.com

That’s a lot of chatting! I’d love for you to stop by and say hi.

DRUM ROLL!!!!! To help celebrate this tour, my publisher has agree to make Surrounded by Woods, Book 1 in the Woods Family Series, FREE during the tour on All Romance Ebooks only. It’s not free yet… should hit the site as free when Surrounded by Temptation becomes available there (hopefully by the end of the week). It’ll be here: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/prod... SQUEE!!

Also, Darkest Sin will be available in paperback on November 2. I’m doing some promo for it, too: the conference this weekend, Coffee Time Romance is promoting it, and I’ll be at Guilty Pleasures on 11/9 posting about it.

Whew, that was a lot. I hope to meet lots of people during my blog stops and at the conference.

Surrounded by Temptation Release Day Today!

It’s been a year in the making. The last Woods book to release was Surrounded by Pleasure in October of 2011. I have been crazy busy but when I was able to get back to the Woods family this spring, everything felt right. I missed these brothers just as much as you have, so when I finished Surrounded by Temptation, I kept right on writing and finished the 4th book in the series (which just got accepted and contract signed, so I’ll have more info soon on that one, too!).

With this book, I wanted to do something a little different, so our heroine knows coming to the estate that these men are mountain lion shifters. Here’s the info on Surrounded by Temptation:

When Krista needs Ariel’s biochemical expertise because her new boyfriend can turn into a mountain lion, Ariel thinks her sister has lost her mind. But the possibility of a major discovery like this is too much of a temptation to ignore. Create a drug to stop a shifter from forcing a mating? Only if she got to test his sexual limits herself.

Rob thinks Ariel is an angel in disguise, and he immediately knows she’s the one for him. But is he strong enough to resist his animal’s need to claim her once the temptation begins?

Warning: This book contains a shifter who must resist his feral need to mate and a biochemist who is hell-bent on testing his sexual limits. You’ll never look at science the same way again.

Hot, right? I gotta tell you, this book was a lot of fun to write and I’m looking forward to the release of the next one as well. It’s currently only available at the publisher at http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?m... But I’ll update the website with buy links once it hits 3rd party retailers.

Happy Reading!

I’m Bloggin’ It Over at Parker Kincade’s Today!

I’m headed over to Parker Kincade’s blog today to talk about my new release, Surrounded by Temptation, and give away some free stuff. Yay! Since the book comes out on Friday, I’ll be busy over the next 4-6 weeks visiting other blogs, chatting, meeting new peeps, and doing more giveaways! I’m thrilled that Parker asked me to come on her birthday, so head on over and hang with us a little. http://www.parkerkincade.blogspot.com...

Surrounded by Death is Alive – Sort of

So if you’ve been following me on Facebook (and if you’re not, then you should!), then you know I’ve been working on a short story on the Woods Family series. This short story, Surrounded by Death, is a prequel to the series and is about the deceased brother, Eric. I decided to write it after getting a lot of emails asking about him, but since his fate is already sealed, I didn’t feel right making his story a full length book (and I could have). Since this story is really my gift to you for reading the series, I plan on making this book free everywhere… for a little while at least. But that is easier said than done.

It is up on Smashwords for free right now, and will be distributed to Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, etc. as a free read in the coming weeks. But Amazon will not allow me to load a book for free on their site, so it is listed on Amazon right now for $0.99 (the lowest price they allow). I will have to wait until it goes live with their biggest competitor (Barnes and Noble) and request a price match to get it free there. What this means for you is you’ll have to wait to get it for free on Amazon when it goes live on B&N… and even then, that could take some time. My goal is to have it listed free everywhere by the time Book 3, Surrounded by Temptation, hits Amazon (around October 11, 2012).

I will be participating in a blog tour to promote Surrounded by Temptation for a month when it releases, so I plan on leaving the short story, Surrounded by Death, free during that time to help promote the series. After that, I might start the process to change the price back to $0.99, because frankly, it is already selling on Amazon at that price, and my momma didn’t raise no fool.

So, yes, Surrounded by Death is now available, but with an asterisk.

Amazon’s link ($0.99): http://www.amazon.com/Surrounded-Death-Family-Prequel-ebook/dp/B0099GXQYS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1347559181&sr=8-8&keywords=mandy+harbin

Smashwords link (free): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/234606

I will update my website with all the buy links once it gets distributed everywhere.

Surrounded by Temptation Release Date Announced!

I am so excited about this next installment in the Woods Family series! The cover is gorgeous (Thanks, Elaina!!) and it’ll be available in just a few short weeks. Squeeeee!!! It’ll be officially available on Amira Press’ website on October 5, 2012, and should hit third party vendors (Amazon, B&N, etc.) around the 11th.

If you liked the first two books, then I think you’ll be in for a treat with the next one. More information about the family is revealed, and rather than having our heroine be clueless about the guys’ ability to shift, I decided it’d be fun if she knew coming into it instead. This book was a lot of fun to write, and I’m already working on the fourth book. Lots of things are in store for our Woods family *wink, wink*. So if you haven’t experienced the Woods yet, then I highly suggest you pick up the first two books, Surrounded by Woods and Surrounded by Pleasure. But of course, I’m bias.

Here’s the cover. I can stare at it all day!