M.L. Guida's Blog, page 8

M.L. Guida’s Guest Author: V.A. Dold

I’d like to welcome V.A. Dold. I first met her at Romcon several years ago and will be seeing her again at the Author Reader Con in New Orleans (July 30th to August 1st at the Holiday Inn) She has a new book out, Thomas, and it is the fourth book in her series.

 

BLURB:   Julia is happy with her place in the shifter community as the owner of the famous shifter bar, The Backwater. But the life she’s created for herself isn’t enough to satisfy her crazy-ass mother, Lucinda, who shops her and her sister Krystal around to the pure blood shifters like a piece of meat. Only a born shifter mate is good enough for her girls.

Thomas James has his hands full as the shifter king’s head of security. He certainly wasn’t looking for a girlfriend during the first annual shifter gathering. He had the king and queen to protect, not skirts to chase.

A childhood of emotional and physical abuse by his birth father has left Thomas emotionally unavailable and uninterested in romantic relationships. His father Tim’s cruelty to his mother and brother molded him into an extremely protective person. No one messes with his loved ones without answering to him.

Even though Julia and Thomas are destined to be mates. The obstacles standing between them and their happy ever after seem insurmountable.

Lucinda insists Julia stay away from the filthy human.

Tim is trying to kill everyone Thomas loves.

The mysterious Benevolent Sovereign who is trying to over through the throne, has sent swampers attack Thomas and destroy Julia’s lively hood.

With family like theirs, who needs enemies?

Will Julia and Thomas’s happiness be snuffed out before it has a chance to begin or will they forge through – obstacles be damned.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

 

“Hello?” Julia yawned into the phone.

Her alarm never had the chance to go off, her mother Lucinda beat it by a good thirty minutes. She was convinced she could hear Julia’s biological clock ticking, which was ridiculous since she had another six hundred years for children. No matter what Julia said it didn’t seem to penetrate her mother’s ears, so, here she was having the same conversation again.

“Julia, are you still in bed? Did you forget I’m bringing another family to your house this morning?

“I thought I told you not to bring them. I’m done with your parade mother.”

“For Goddess sake, get showered immediately. We’ll be at your door in one hour.”

“I’m not going to answer the door so don’t bother.”

Her mother ignored her as usual and one hour to the minute later was at her door.

Julia hung her head in frustration. She lost count years ago how many men her mother brought for the ‘sniff’ test. Each time it was the same, no mate. Like the little engine that could, Lucinda refused to give up.

The last time Julia locked the door and ignored her mother’s knocking, it resulted in a very ugly scene. Lucinda in the throws of an angry tirade was not a pretty sight. Her face turned a mottled shade of red right before she broke the door down and dragged the shocked men in after her.

Since that day she grudgingly opened the door, if not for her houses sake, then for the men, she could at least spare them the humiliation of a tantrum that would surely happen.

An hour later, Julia’s stomach was churning. She loathed the questions that came after each ‘visit’. Couldn’t her mother forget to ask, just once?

“Well?” Her mother, Lucinda asked impatiently from the doorway.

“Nothing.” Julia mumbled not bothering to look up from the romance she was reading. “I had no attraction. No scent. No telepathy.” She didn’t even bother to say she was sorry this time, because she wasn’t.

Lucinda snarled in frustration as she came fully into the room.

“I met with all the single men you just paraded through my house and had none of the mating signs. I don’t know what more you expect from me.” She sighed wearily.

“I expect you to accept one.”

Julia’s chin fell to her chest as a heavy sigh escaped. “You know as well as I do that it doesn’t work that way.”

“I’m sure if you made the extra effort to at least date them something would shake loose. How hard can it be? Just look at Cade and the human, Anna, they met in a bar in the French Quarter of all places. Not to mention, Simon and his mate Rose, yet another human to dilute the royal gene pool. She showed up at Cade’s house after she lost her job in Denver and now the family is stuck with her. And I heard a rumor that Stefan has found his mate, and you guessed it, a human. He bought her at the auction Simon had. I can’t believe Isaac can still hold his head up in public with his son’s mating lowlife humans. My daughters will mate with pure blood shifters and maintain the integrity of the blood line.”

Julia wanted to scream. A mating didn’t just shake loose, and there was nothing wrong with humans. Heck, most mates were human. There was no reasoning with her mother anymore, that ability had left the building along with Elvis years ago. She wasn’t sure if the animal part of her mother was taking over and acting erratic or if the human side was slipping into insanity.

Her mother leaned forward. “For years you have rejected the males I bring to you. It’s time you made a…”

“Mother, I know you want your children mated, but no matter how badly you want it, you can’t force it.”

“Just watch me.” Lucinda spat. “We are in line to gain the throne, the lineage must be continued and ready at all times.”

It was true the family needed to continue but mates and children came into a shifters life when the Goddess deemed it was the right time. The last thing you wanted to do was push the Goddess or try to circumvent her plan. Thinking that way was suicide.

Lucinda turned on her heel toward the door and then paused. “There will be a group of available males here Friday. This pack is out of Arizona. Pray one of them is acceptable to you.”

Once she was in her car and headed down the road Julia finally breathed easy again. Krystal would be home in a few hours and available to talk. They needed a plan, somehow they needed to find a way to approach father about mother’s behavior. The problem was her father, Charles, was completely blind to her mother’s oddities.

Julia turned the page of her book and settled deeper into her favorite easy chair; there was nothing she could do until Krystal got home. Tonight she was going to suggest again, that they bring Logan and Quinton into the conversation. It was time the boys knew what was going on behind the family’s back. Thinking it through she shook her head, she wouldn’t bother the twins Rémi and René just yet, they were too young to be dragged into this.

Once Lucinda got a notion in her head, she had a tendency to twist it until it fit her needs and desires. After that, she could never be swayed.

And her mothers drive to force both Krystal and Julia to find mates had reached critical mass.

“What are we going to do?” Julia whispered to herself.

 

Two weeks later

 

Morning was Julia’s favorite time of the day. The bar wasn’t open yet, and she had it all to herself as she wiped down tables and checked the bar stock.

The only problem was, it sometimes gave her too much time to think. Today was one of those times. She had her mother on her mind.

It wasn’t that her mother didn’t love her—she did. At least, she was pretty sure she did. But her mother was having some pretty extreme ideas of late. She apparently believed shifters should only mate other born shifters and humans were a scourge and diluted the bloodline.

In her disturbed mind, she believed if she dragged her daughters around to enough eligible shifter males she could somehow force a pureblood mating.

Julia and Krystal were tired of being paraded before one shifter family after another. Tired of letting hundreds of males sniff them in the hopes of finding a mate. It was straight up embarrassing.

As much as she loved the bayou, she was seriously considering tagging along with Krystal to Lucas’s Texas ranch. She heaved a sigh and took a good long look at the bar. All right, she would do it. If her mother tried to drag her out ‘visiting’ one more time she was packing up and heading for Texas.

 

*****

It had been a busy shift at her bar The Backwater and she was ready to relax in a bubble bath with a good romance.

Julia Le Beau came through her front door to a horrifying sight. Her beloved romance novels lay shredded and callously thrown in a pile. It must be her entire collection to create a mountain of pages and covers this large in her living room. A few feet from the carnage, lay a note on a side table. The room smelled of anger, frustration and her mother.

She was going to have to store her books in a safer place from now on. Huffing out an angry breath she picked up the note.

 

You need to get your head out of the clouds and look for a mate. You won’t find him in one of these human books. I’ve had it with your lack of interest in settling down. Pick out a mate or I will pick one for you.

 

Pick one for me?

“She has completely lost touch with reality.”

Every shifter knows you can’t just pick any old mate, you had to find the one who held the other half of your soul. It was time to have a private talk with her father. He needed to know how crazy she was acting.

Sighing, at one hundred and eighty, she was well past the age she had hoped to be mated by. Every year her mother had paraded available men into her quaint little house. Or worse dragged her out to them. Not a single one had been her other half. How exactly was she to blame for that?

Then she read the last sentence of the note.

 

You will attend the dance at your uncle Isaac’s on Saturday, perhaps this time you will find your mate.

 

Your Mother.

 

She audibly groaned. She hated being sniffed at by every single male who came within five feet of her.  It made her feel dirty. First thing she did after these set ups was take a long hot shower.

Julia thought back to the beginning of her ‘shame’, as her mother would describe it. She had gone to yet another event where she was set out like a prize to be won. When none of the men were a match, her parents announced that they were buying the Gator’s Tooth bar and grill and she would be the full time bar tender. Their hopes were she would stumble upon her mate amongst the patrons and visitors. The first thing Julia had done was rename the bar “The Backwater” to spite her mother.

Has it really been twenty years?

“I have six days before Isaac’s party; time enough to stock up on new books. Take that mother.”

At least her uncle’s party actually sounded fun. Her cousins would be there and she could hang out with them while avoiding her mother.

 

The day of the gathering

 

Stretching, Julia considered what to do with her free day. The gathering didn’t begin until seven that evening, and since everyone was invited, the Backwater was closed for the day.

Grabbing her robe, she slipped on her bunny slippers and made a beeline to the coffee maker. Goddess she loved her new programmable machine. No more waiting for the coffee to brew for this girl.

With steaming cup in hand she grabbed one of her new romance novels. A friend had recommended it, saying the storyline and names sounded like her cousin Cade and his mate Anna. She’d never read V.A. Dold before, but she hoped it would be good.

Not two chapters into the book and the last person she wanted to see walked through her door. Her mother. Lucinda took one look at the book and turned an interesting color of purplish red.

“Do you always barge into a persons home without knocking?” Julia asked coolly.

“Where did you get that?”

“The coffee? From the maker in the kitchen.”

“You know very well I’m not talking about the coffee.”

“Well, if you’re referring to my NEW book, touch it and die. And, if you think I’m kidding, try it.”

Lucinda was dumbstruck; Julia had never spoken to her like that before.

“Since I have a day of relaxation planned, why don’t you tell me why you’re here so I can get back to it?”

“I bought you a dress for the gathering. I was shopping for one for myself and saw this. It’s your favorite color and I’m sure it will be stunning on you.”

Lucinda held it out to Julia a little hesitantly. Interesting, She’d never seen her mother unsure of herself before.

 I’m going to have to tell her off more often.

“I wasn’t planning on wearing a dress, but I’ll try it on later and see what I think of it.”

“Wonderful. We’ll pick you up at six thirty.”

“No. You won’t. I’m driving myself.”

“But you have to ride with the family.”

“Why?”

“Because, that’s the way you travel to these gatherings. You arrive as a family pack.”

“Then I guess I’m starting a new tradition, because I’m going by myself.”

Lucinda narrowed her eyes at Julia, she was so mad Julia looked to see if steam was rising out of her ears. “You wait until I tell your father.”

“Go ahead. I’m still driving myself.”

Lucinda growled at her, spun on her heel, and slammed the door on her way out.

“Well,” Julia chuckled to herself. “That was pleasant.”

 

 

 

BIO:  V.A.Dold is the bestselling author of the Le Beau Brothers series, New Orleans wolf shifter novels. A graduate of Saint Cloud University, she majored in marketing. Prior to becoming a full time writer, she was a publicist to the authors, owning ARC Author & Reader Con’s. Still is. Her idea of absolute heaven is a day in the French Quarter filled with nothing but her computer, her coffee mug and the Brothers, of course. A Minnesota native with her heart lost to Louisiana, she has a penchant for titillating tales featuring sexy men and strong women. When she’s not writing, she’s probably taking in a movie, reading or traveling. Her earliest reading memories are from grade school. She had a major fixation with horses, and the Black Stallion was a favorite. Then junior high came along and teenage hormones kicked in. It became all about the Harlequin Romances. She has been hooked on romances ever since.

ONLINE LINKS:

Website http://www.vadold.com/


Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vickieann1


Tsu   https://www.tsu.co/VADOLD


Twitter https://twitter.com/VADOLD


Goodreads   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

 

BUY NOW LINK:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/V.A.-Dold/e/B00J25KTO6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

 

Giveaway:   http://www.vadold.com/monthly-giveawa...

 

M.L. Guida’s News: Colorado Romance Writers’ Retreat

 

Big Horn sheep are outside the Main Lodge at Amberwood

We’ve been having a great time at the Colorado Romance Writers’ Retreat. I’m sitting at the down stairs kitchen at the Mountain Lodge at Amberwood where a family of mountain sheep are resting for the day. They’ve been with us all day, taking in the sun. It’s peaceful up in Estes Park and yes, I’m getting some writing down as well. We have eleven people up here. Half us came up on Thursday and the rest on Friday. We’ve been handing prizes this weekend like the ones below. People have set goals. I think mine might have been too lofty: 12000 words and I’m up to 3500 words, but I’ve not give up yet.

Saturday is our last full day. Tomorrow we return to civilization and back to work. I’ve enjoyed this retreat and my story is coming along. I’ve been working on a young adult story that I will publish under J.L. Bowen.

 

M.L. Guida’s News: Cover Reveal

 

 

Release Date February 2015

I’m excited to announce that the third installment of the Legends of the Soaring Phoenix will be out soon. This is a novella and it’s Amadi’s story.

Amadi is swept off the Soaring Phoenix and washes onto St. Kitt’s, only to find himself a slave once again on the Sorcière De Mer. His new master is actually a woman and he soon learns a woman can be more depraved than a man. Violet Perdue is his only bright spot, but when she betrays him, he feels all hope is lost, and he’ll remain a slave forever. She surprises him and risks her life to grant his wish for freedom. If he leaves her, she’ll face certain death. To defeat evil and discover true love, he must learn to trust and forgive.

M.L. Guida’s News: Looking Back on 2014

2014

This year had both its highs and lows. I published four books—Dark Promise, the Underworld Series, A Pirate’s Revenge, 2nd in the Legends of the Soaring Phoenix series,  A Vampire’s Fallen Christmas Star, the second in the Vampires on Holiday series, and Punishment, the second in the Angels of Death series. I’d like to thank all my readers and fans for reading these books.

Dark Promise

A snippet of A Pirate’s Revenge

I was accepted into Authors After Dark. This is one of the biggest paranormal readers conventions and I’m very excited about attending. Sherrilyn Kenyon is the main speaker. I love her books, Acheron, being my favorite. This will be in Atlanta in August 2015. Hot Lanta!

I’m also going to Authors and Readers Con in New Orleans. This is in late July 2015.

Never been to either city and I’m excited to go. Will be going to ghost tours in New Orleans. Maybe even see Ann Rice’s house!

I attended Margie Lawson’s Immersion Weekend. Not only did it help my writing skills, but I met the most wonderful women-the Wanton Caterpillars!

I was also much more active in writing on my blog and I want to thank all my author guests and readers who stopped by.

I also refinanced my house and dramatically reduce my house payment which helped me immensely. And I added a new puppy to my house-Raven.

Raven

But then there were lows. Although I love Raven, I miss my cocker spaniel, Sadie. I had her for 12.5 years and she was my buddy. I will always remember her.

Sadie at the cabin

What will 2015 be like next year? Besides the two readers conferences I am attending next summer, I plan on releasing several books again—A Pirate’s Agony, a novella, A Pirate’s Obsession, a full length novel, and another Christmas novella in the Vampires on Holiday series.

Although I love writing paranormal romance novels, I’m dipping into writing young adult novels. Some will be romance and others not. I started writing a contemporary young adult novel during NaNoWriMo, but did not hit 50000 words. However, I’m determined to finish it. These books will be written under another name: J.L. Bowen.

And of course, I have the same resolutions of eating healthy and losing weight.

What were your highs and lows this year? And what do you plan doing for next year?

M.L. Guida’s News: Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! This is Raven’s first Christmas, and I’m excited to see how she does with all the bustle tonight and tomorrow.

Raven’s 1st Christmas

My favorite part of Christmas is being with family. I like watching my nieces and nephews ripping open their gifts. They’re not little anymore, but they bring joy to my heart. This year, we will have four puppies at Christmas: Raven, my sister’s German Shepherd, Gunnar and my brother and sister-inlaw’s two akita’s. Raven will be overjoyed because she thinks all these dogs are here to play with her!

What is your favorite thing to do at Christmas?

So, as Santa says: Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

M.L. Guida's News: Winter Warm Up

Winter Warm-Up Blog

 

www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com

Only a few more days until Christmas and shoppers need a break from all the hustle and bustle. Curl up on the couch, have a cup of cheer and relax.  Christmas is such a special time. I love going shopping with family and getting together with friends, but I also like staying home, admiring my Christmas tree, having my dog sit next to me, and yes—reading.

Christmas tree 2014

I would like to give you the same joy. You can win a $ 75.00 Amazon Card which can come in handy this time of year.  To win, all you have to do is click on the Rafflecopter and fill out the information.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/dis...

But this isn’t all. I’m going to be giving away a free copy of A Vampire’s Fallen Christmas Star. If you think rock stars and vampires go together, you’ll enjoy this short read.

If you read the short passage and answer the question at the end, you’ll be eligible to win a free copy.

“Emmet, Emmet Carver.” Her tone was frostier and crueler than the winds screaming over the cliffs of Moher.

“I’m sorry.” He looked at her, the concern in his eyes replaced by something more shameful, like he was afraid of her reaction. “’Tis because of me this happened.”

“Why?” She trembled and fumbled for a rock, still not trusting the man.

“Your father was protecting me.”

With his broad shoulders and muscular arms, the man did not look as if he needed protecting.

He reached out his hand. “I promise I will not hurt you.”

She shrank, her heart pattering.

He put his hand close to her nose and regret clouded his brows. “You are near death.”

His scent of leather and horse wiped out the sickening stench of blood and gore.

He pushed the hair out of her face, his touch gentle and kind. “I can offer you a chance to repay Emmet for what he has done to you, your family, and your home. Or you can die in peace and join your family in the next realm while Emmet lives. The choice is yours.”

Hate burned on the back of her throat. “How?” A coughing fit gripped her, and she spewed blood. Her vision clouded, and she fought harder and harder to breathe.

“My name is Janus Morano. And I am a vampire.”

A vampire? Had she descended into hell for failing to defend her virtue?

“Will you accept my gift?”

Behind him, her father’s clenched hand lay unmoving on the grass. His promise of vengeance rang in her ears—The Angel of Death will strike you down.

Emmet had only laughed as her father’s eyes shuttered closed, blood dripping from his mouth.

Eleanor would not deny her father’s dying wish. “I want revenge.” The last thing Emmet Carver would see before he left this world would be an avenging Angel of Death.

What was the name of the vampire who changed Eleanor into a vampire?

M.L. Guida’s News: Winter Warm Up

Winter Warm-Up Blog

Only a few more days until Christmas and shoppers need a break from all the hustle and bustle. Curl up on the couch, have a cup of cheer and relax.  Christmas is such a special time. I love going shopping with family and getting together with friends, but I also like staying home, admiring my Christmas tree, having my dog sit next to me, and yes—reading.

Christmas tree 2014

I would like to give you the same joy. You can win a $ 75.00 Amazon Card which can come in handy this time of year.  To win, all you have to do is click on the Rafflecopter and fill out the information.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/dis...

But this isn’t all. I’m going to be giving away a free copy of A Vampire’s Fallen Christmas Star. If you think rock stars and vampires go together, you’ll enjoy this short read.

If you read the short passage and answer the question at the end, you’ll be eligible to win a free copy.

“Emmet, Emmet Carver.” Her tone was frostier and crueler than the winds screaming over the cliffs of Moher.

“I’m sorry.” He looked at her, the concern in his eyes replaced by something more shameful, like he was afraid of her reaction. “’Tis because of me this happened.”

“Why?” She trembled and fumbled for a rock, still not trusting the man.

“Your father was protecting me.”

With his broad shoulders and muscular arms, the man did not look as if he needed protecting.

He reached out his hand. “I promise I will not hurt you.”

She shrank, her heart pattering.

He put his hand close to her nose and regret clouded his brows. “You are near death.”

His scent of leather and horse wiped out the sickening stench of blood and gore.

He pushed the hair out of her face, his touch gentle and kind. “I can offer you a chance to repay Emmet for what he has done to you, your family, and your home. Or you can die in peace and join your family in the next realm while Emmet lives. The choice is yours.”

Hate burned on the back of her throat. “How?” A coughing fit gripped her, and she spewed blood. Her vision clouded, and she fought harder and harder to breathe.

“My name is Janus Morano. And I am a vampire.”

A vampire? Had she descended into hell for failing to defend her virtue?

“Will you accept my gift?”

Behind him, her father’s clenched hand lay unmoving on the grass. His promise of vengeance rang in her ears—The Angel of Death will strike you down.

Emmet had only laughed as her father’s eyes shuttered closed, blood dripping from his mouth.

Eleanor would not deny her father’s dying wish. “I want revenge.” The last thing Emmet Carver would see before he left this world would be an avenging Angel of Death.

What was the name of the vampire who changed Eleanor into a vampire?

M.L. Guida’s News: Bewitching Blog Tours

I am on a blog tour with Bewitching blog tours. These are the dates if you can, stop by and leave a comment.

December 8 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
topic: how do vampires celebrate Christmas

December 9 Guest blog and review
Fang Freakin’ Tastic Reviews
http://fangfreakintasticreviews.com

December 9 Spotlight
Share My Destiny
http://sharemydestiny.blogspot.com

December 10 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
topic: anything vampires and Christmas- gift list, decorations, etc

December 11 Interview
Diane’s Book Blog
http://dianes-book.blogspot.com

December 11 Review
Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
www.pratr.wordpress.com

December 12 Spotlight
Ashley’s Paranormal Book Blog
http://www.ashes86blog.wordpress.com

December 15 Spotlight
All I Want and More Books
https://alliwantandmorebooks.wordpress.com/
 
December 15 Interview (please return by Dec 1)
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
www.issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours

 

M.L. Guida's Guest Author: Sandy Wolters

Welcome, Sandy, and congratulations on your two new books. They look hot, hot, hot!

Blurb:

Her marriage a disaster, Lilly closes the door to her personal life. Can meeting Bruce open a door to a new life or will her fear shut her off from love?  All Lilly has ever wanted to do is sing, but being an internationally famous superstar has turned her life into a living nightmare. Closing the door on her destructive marriage, she runs to her best friend’s rural home in northern Arizona, hoping to stay out of the public’s eye and sort out her life.  Bruce Silk, a Flagstaff police officer, doesn’t approve of his brother’s rakish rock star lifestyle but still keeps an eye on his remote home when he’s out on tour. More than once he’s had to arrest groupies who invaded the property to steal some small memento from the famous Clay Silk. So why does he feel sucker-punched when he slaps the cuffs on this latest trespasser? When One Door Closes is the first book in the “Rock Star Series.”  Each book in this series is stand alone.

Excerpt:

Curiosity gripped him. Who was this woman his philandering brother seemed to care so much about? Bruce watched from the kitchen doorway as she finished preparing their hot cocoa. Her small size seemed incongruent with the amount of sensuality exuding from her. No wonder she’s Clay’s favorite, he thought as a pang of jealousy swept over him.

Dominating the room, her sensuous presence relaxed his cop perceptions and stimulated his male senses to a full appreciation for the view in front of him. Looking at her feet, he realized that despite the six-inch heels, the top of her head had only come up to his chest while he was handcuffing her. Damn, he thought, she is one fine woman. Who the hell wears those kinds of shoes sitting on a back deck all by themselves?

Observing her skintight, leather-clad legs, lust filled him as his eyes and his imagination quickly moved to gaze at her curvaceous southern regions. Staring at her beautifully rounded bottom, his mind swiftly moved to a destination that he had not been fortunate enough to visit lately, even though it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. A lascivious grin, coveted by most of the women around these parts, crept across his face.

Lilly turned to find him leering at her, locked away in his own private daydream. Still it was a look she would recognize anywhere. She’d seen it countless times but never really appreciated it until tonight. Too bad, she thought, that I’m not the type of person to have a one-night stand, unlike my husband. A stab of fresh pain hit her in the chest, and she had to catch the sorrowful moan before it left her lips. No. I’m not going to do that to myself—not anymore. She had an inkling that if she let him, this man could make her feel better for a while at least. Letting these dangerous thoughts slip away, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

He came back from wherever his imagination had just taken him to find her smiling sweetly at him. As she moved toward him with the mugs in hand, he was grateful she had let him off the hook so easily. There was no way in hell he wanted to explain where his daydream had taken the two of them. It was bad enough that she obviously knew that his thoughts were lustful—no need for her to know how much further they had taken him.

Read entire first chapter excerpt:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/when-o...

Amazon Geo URL: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B00I6S8KA0

B&N:  http://ow.ly/tFMSh

iTunes:  http://ow.ly/AjLYF

ARE:  http://ow.ly/AjM37

Kobo:  http://ow.ly/AjMfs

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/404832

Blurb:

Can a man who has never lacked for women in his life meet the challenge when the woman he truly desires wants nothing to do with him? Clayton Silk has reveled in the attention he receives as a rock star. His only close friend is Lilly, another international rock star, but she has chosen to step back from the spotlight and enjoy her relationship with his brother Bruce, which has started Clay thinking about his life. When he decides to take a break from touring and spend some time with Bruce and Lilly, he meets a woman who drives him to distraction, a woman who resists all his usual charms, and makes him wonder what it will take to break down her resistance before he loses his mind. As he discovers, it may just cost him her life.

Excerpt:

They were both startled when Barney picked that moment to come running through the house. He moved back and forth in front of them with urgency. When all he got was curious looks, he stopped and gave them both an inquisitive stare.

Nancy reached for the dog. “What is it, boy?”

Barney started to whine quietly, his big blue eyes almost hidden from view because of his wrinkles, but still able to convey his consternation through his expressive face. Nancy set her beer on the table and moved forward so her knees were almost touching the mammoth-sized dog. “He looks like he’s in distress, Clay. What’s wrong with him?”

At that moment, both Nancy and Clay heard a faint voice. “Help! Help!”

Nancy jumped back and practically landed on Clay’s lap. She grabbed his leg and held on for dear life. Never taking her eyes from the dog, she yelled, “Did you hear that? Clay, did you hear that? Did Barney just actually say help?”

Something akin to terror sparked in Clay’s eyes as he looked at the enormous dog in front of him. Shit, he thought, this can’t be happening! Did the damn dog actually find the spooks and get himself possessed? Unnerved because he no longer knew what to expect with the disembodied voices and where they were coming from, Clay’s voice broke when he spoke. “Barney?”

Panic set in, and Nancy’s fight or flight instinct raised its ugly head as the dog moved slowly toward her with a look of desperation in his expressive eyes. The death grip she had on Clay’s leg would definitely leave bruises.

The beast gradually opened his mouth and spit a slimy, mucous-covered, green mass of feathers out on her cozy, white bathrobe. Nancy jumped and gasped for air at the sight of the unmoving bird covered in goo and lying limply in her lap, its bony little legs straight up in the air with talons clinched tight in a death grip.

Nancy and Clay, stunned at the gift Barney had brought them, stayed perfectly still, not knowing what to do next or how to react.

Barney nudged the bird with his cold nose and whined. The bird chose that moment to move as fast as possible to get away from its captor. It turned quickly, gained its footing, and ran as fast as its little legs would carry it up the bathrobe. With determination, it dove down the front opening of the robe and found respite between the warmth of Nancy’s bare breasts.

Jumping up, Nancy stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do, arms spread wide, fists clenched and chest heaving, her body stiffened with pure panic. Her eyes, filled with hysteria, darted toward Clay, whose eyes crinkled with humor. He had his fist pressed against his mouth to stop the laughter, but one look at her standing there, ready to freak out, and he burst out laughing.

The bird chose that same moment to stick its head out of the opening of the bathrobe. “Help,” it yelled once again. She felt it shaking with fear and realized the poor thing was only trying to protect itself. Barney tried to reach out with his nose to comfort his newfound toy, but the bird quickly retreated back into the warmth and safety of Nancy’s breasts.

 

Read entire first chapter excerpt:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/another-door-opens-excerpt.html

Amazon Geo URL: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B00PQT7MRO

B&N:  http://ow.ly/ESu9h

iTunes:  http://ow.ly/ESuxU

ARE:  http://ow.ly/FlsKP

Kobo:  http://ow.ly/ESuPj

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/494887

If you’d like to learn more about Sandy, you can reach her at:

Sandy Wolters is a prolific writer with five other novels to date.  Soul Mates, her steamy time travel romance, won first place in the Paranormal Romance Guild’s 2013 Reviewer Choice Awards for Paranormal Romance-Novella.

Author Links:

Website:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/

Sandy’s Spotlight Blog:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/sandys-spotlight

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Sandy-Wolters/e/B00569J3UI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1417876442&sr=1-2-ent

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4772120.Sandy_Wolters

Twitter @SandyWolters:  https://twitter.com/SandyWolters

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sandy.wolters.5

E-mail:  sandywolters.author@gmail.com

 

M.L. Guida’s News: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

 

Great sale coming!

 

First of all, I  hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Today is Cyber Monday. A truckload of Colorado Romance Writers are putting their holiday books on sale—Jessica Aspen, Aidy Award,  Sandra Kerns,  Holley Trent  Leslie Breene, Bonnie McCune, and Sean Thomas. I’m so excited to be part of this awesome group. A Vampire’s Fallen Christmas Star is on sale today.

 

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Summer, Present Day, Frisco, Colorado

Eleanor Baines ran down the deserted street. Pain throbbed in her arm, and blood dripped down her sleeve. She couldn’t believe the damn vampire killer had nicked her with a blade that was coated with hallowed mud. Usually the assholes sported a tattoo of a dagger stabbing an opened-mouthed skull with long incisors, but this kid didn’t have one. Luckily, she had built a resistance over the years to hallowed mud, but it wasn’t enough. Her muscles were weakening, and her vision was becoming blurry.

Donna pass out.

She glanced over her shoulder. The chubby killer hurried after her and would soon overtake her. He’d surprised her at the post office when she went to open her safe deposit box. Her fault. She hadn’t thought he’d be threat—he wasn’t even sixteen. How had he known she would be there at midnight? She had even used a pseudonym.

Her heart beat hard, and each time, terror thumped between her temples. Nausea gripped her stomach. Damn! The poison was working swiftly, breaking down organs and closing up veins. Only human blood would stop the shutdown of her system. Her mountain home was a mile away, and she’d never make it in time to drink the harvested blood in her refrigerator.

She glanced over her shoulder to find the damn killer gaining on her. Her legs were so heavy it felt like she was trudging through mud. She turned, but slammed into a brick wall and stumbled. Strong arms gripped her, stopping her from her falling down.

“Hey, are you all right?”

Her rescuer lifted her to her feet. She stared into the darkest, midnight-blue eyes she’d ever seen.

A shirtless man held her arms. He had chiseled abs, and long brown hair that flared over his broad shoulders. God, he smelled good. Pine with a hint of lemon and sage. She panted. “Help…me.”

“Get away from her,” her pursuer said. “She’s a vampire.”

The man shoved her behind him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” her enemy said. “But it’s the truth. She’s going to rip your throat out.”

Please. She hadn’t ripped anyone’s throat out except for Emmet Carver’s. This young killer had watched too many vampire horror flicks. Eleanor’s legs wobbled, but she drew on her strength. If she fainted, she’d fall into the death sleep with hallowed mud pumping through her system—then she’d never wake.