Carrie Ann Ryan's Blog, page 154

A Sneak Peek into Shattered Emotions

Working on Shattered Emotions, but thought I’d share a snippet. Warning: This is unedited and subject to change before the release date.

 

She reached up on her toes and kissed him softly, her tongue hesitantly darting out to reach his. Though he desperately wanted to shred her clothing from her body and take her where he could, marking her as his and showing her what it meant to be with someone who wasn’t cruel, he knew he needed to take it slow.

He pulled back, leaving them both panting. “Sweet Ellie, sweet, sweet Ellie.”

Gone Fishing

Okay, not really, but I am in Florida with Lia Davis writing, enjoying the sun and writing. Yes, writing. LOL. I’ll be sure to take photos and then have an awesome time showing off what we’re working on when I get back! Enjoy your weekend!

A Spotlight: Shiloh Walker with Wrecked

Whatever happened to Abigale Applegate?

She’s been wondering the same thing.

With her Hollywood dreams long gone, Abigale now has a nice, neat, uncomplicated life—until the day her perfect fiancé needs to talk. Dumped, a little more than shattered, and totally confused, Abigale turns to Zach, her best friend since forever, to help her pick up the pieces. He does it with a gift—a copy of Wreck This Journal. She can vent her frustrations, and sketch out a new plan. Zach just hopes he’s part of it. Because he’s been in love with Abigale his entire life.

When the journal falls into Zach’s hands, he discovers Abigale wants a new man. And fast. Nothing more than a hot distraction. Zach has a strategy, too. He’s going to be that man. It’s his last chance. Abigale might be out to shake up her life, but Zach’s out to reinvent it. Now, all he has to do is convince Abigale that life can go as planned.

 

Excerpt (used with permission from Shiloh Walker ©ShilohWalker)

Wine would have been a good idea, Abby thought.

Stretched out on her belly, she closed her eyes and tried to think about anything but the pain. Digging her nails into her palms, she tried to zone out.

“You okay?”

Zach’s hands on her weren’t helping her zone out, she decided.  It was one hell of a distraction, but it wasn’t helping her zone out.

Swallowing the knot in her throat, she croaked out, “I’m as good as I think I can expect to be.”

“And how good is that?”

“Lousy.”

He laughed a little.  “Why don’t you talk to me?  We’re halfway done,” he said.  “If you talk, you’ll get distracted and it will be done before you know it.”

“Okay.”  She scrunched her eyes tightly closed and tried to think of something to say.  Her mind was blank.  “Shit. I don’t know what to talk about.”

“You always have something to talk about,” he teased, his voice low and easy and she knew even without looking at him that he was smiling.

“Not right now I don’t.”  Well, she could think of a thing or two.  But those things were really things she could say.  Were they?  No. She’d thought this through.  She wasn’t going down that road with Zach.

“Okay.  I’ll help.  What is this new life plan you’ve got laid out? Besides the tattoo here?”

I plan on flipping my life upside down–

She bit her lip to keep from blurting that out.  That would make him worry.  She loved him dearly and she didn’t need him worrying about her right now.  “It’s not a life plan exactly.  It’s just a for-now plan,” she said slowly.  “Some things to keep me distracted until I figure out what I’m going to do with myself.  There’s the tattoo thing, which you’re obviously helping with.  I’m going to try to stop worrying so much. One of them, though…I plan on calling up Roger and telling him off.”

He grunted.  “Good plan.”  Something soft brushed against her lower back and she hissed a little.

Damn it, that hurt.  It felt like something was slicing right through her skin.

Distraction.  Talk, damn it.  About anything.

“I don’t get it,” she said softly, some of the confusion and pain breaking free.  “I mean… I thought he loved me.  How could he love me and walk away like that?  Over the life I used to have?  That’s what it’s all about.  I used to be an actress.  I’m not anymore—I haven’t been for years and I’m happy with that.  How can he not see that?  If he loved me, wouldn’t he be able to see that I don’t want to act anymore?”

Zach didn’t answer.

Turning her head, she peered over her shoulder at him.

He had his head bowed, the gold-streaked strands falling down and hiding his features from her.

“Zach?”

He sighed.  “Do you really want to hear what I have to say about this right now, sugar?”

“I always want to hear what you have to say.”

“Okay.”  He used the cloth again on her back and then bent down, staring at her skin like there was nothing else in the world but her back and the design he was inking onto her flesh.  “He never loved you.”

It was a strike, square to her heart.

She closed her eyes.

“If he loved you, he wouldn’t treat you the way he did.  When you walked into a room, it would have showed on his face…if he really loved you.  Either he’d been so busy staring at you because he just had to see you, or he would have been looking away so nobody could see it.  Except he was going to marry you–you were his and he had every right to let the world see how he felt.”  Zach dabbed at her back again, still focused on the work.

She was almost glad of the pain now, because it was easier to think about how much it hurt than to think about what he had to say.

“But when you walked into a room, that f’ing prick was too busy either messing with his damned gadgets or looking at everybody else to see what they thought about you.  He was in love with the idea of having Kate the cutie on his arm.  But he never loved you.”

He paused what he doing and for a brief second, the world fell away as he looked up and met her eyes.  “He never loved you, and the son of a bitch sure as hell didn’t deserve you, sugar.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs as his blue gaze held hers.

And then, as it felt like all the oxygen in the room had dwindled away, he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

It felt like he was flaying the flesh from her bones.  And she decided that was just fine, because now she needed thatdistraction.

Was he right, she wondered?  Had Roger ever loved her at all?

And more importantly…had she loved him?

 

“Okay, here are the important things,” Zach said as he studied the design.  It was cute, sexy as hell and if he found out another guy was the one who got to press his lips to that dragonfly as where it curved low over the flare of her left hip, he thought he just might go insane.  “I’ll send you home with some instructions on how to care for it, but you need to make sure you keep it clean.  No scrubbing at it or anything–you need to be gentle when you wash it, but keep it clean.  I’ve got some ointment I’ll send home with you and I’ll go into detail about using that, too.”

She was still staring at it over her shoulder in the mirror.  Worrying her lower lip with her teeth and eying the dragonfly like she expected it to take flight or something.

“I need to get the bandage on,” he said softly.

“What?  Oh.”

She continued to stand there and he reached up, pressed his hand between her shoulder blades.  “Lean forward a little.”

Hunger screamed, jerking on the leash inside him as he eased the waistband of her skirt just a little lower so he could get the bandage in place.  Bent over the table like that, he could so easily imagine pulling the hem of the skirt up. Slipping his hand between her thighs.  Would she sigh?  Moan?

No.  This was Abby and she’d freak the hell out and then she’d run away and he’d lose her–

A soft, shaky sigh caught his attention as he smoothed the bandage down. Keeping his head bowed, he checked the mirror from under his lashes and his knees almost buckled.

Abby was staring at their reflection and her face was flushed.

What. The. Hell.

Abruptly, he stepped back and moved away.  If he didn’t move away immediately, he was going to grab her and do things he never should do to his best friend.  The woman he loved.  That was the problem.  He’d loved her for too long and he was misreading the signals and–

“Do you really think all that’s true?  About Roger?”

Hearing that shithead’s name on her lips snapped his temper. He turned around and glared at her.  “If I didn’t think that was the case, Abs, I wouldn’t have said it.  He’s an egotistical, arrogant piece of work and he never loved you.  You deserved a hell of a lot better and I knew it all along.  But he was what you wanted so who in the hell was I to say any different?”

“You’re my best friend,” she said quietly.

“Shit.” He went to pass a hand over his face and stopped.  He still had his gloves on.  Stripping them off, he tossed them into the red trash can near the door and headed over start cleaning up.  “Yes.  I am.  You asked me what I thought and I told you.  But I can’t tell you what is in that fucker’s head.  You can always ask him when you call him to tell him off, although I doubt he’ll tell you the truth.  He doesn’t even see the truth anyway.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

In the middle of gathering up his supplies, he paused.  Zach closed his eyes and started to mouth every single foul, nasty curse he could think of.  He had four brothers.  He could think of a lot of cuss words.  Half way through one that involved anatomical improbabilities and a goat, a hand touched his shoulder.

“Zach?”

Damn it, he couldn’t do this.  Moving away, he started grabbing shit at random.  Dumping trash, slamming the tools here, there.  Being careless with them, but he couldn’t look at her yet.  If he did, she might see–

He went to dump the trash and turned around.

Abby was right there, dark brown eyes locked on his face, her shirt still knotted just under her breasts, leaving her belly bare.

“What is this?” she teased.  “You make me play twenty questions all the time.”

Edging around her, he focused on cleaning up.  “I’m thirty-two years old, Abby.  Yeah.  I’ve been in love,” he said, keeping his voice flat and his eyes on the task at hand.  “It didn’t work out.”

“Why not?”

“She never seemed to notice that I was staring at her when she walked into the room.”

 

Order Links

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A little about Shiloh:

Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more…ah…serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing just about every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.  She writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance, and urban fantasy under the name J.C. Daniels.

 

Learn more about Shiloh here

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Blurred Expectations: An Excerpt

Howdy! I’m still writing and trying to get things done, so I thought I’d give you guys and excerpt from Blurred Expectations (Redwood Pack 4.5). The next novella in the Redwood Pack series, Forgiveness (Redwood Pack 4.7) comes out next month!

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“Hey, boys,” Hannah said as she came in the house. Her ample hips swayed as she took off her jacket. Her beyond sexy walk was an effortless movement, one she didn’t even have to think about. Josh loved the fact that she radiated sex toward him and Reed without even trying. Reed immediately wrapped his arms around her, and she sank into him.

Josh came around the other side of them and welcomed her. Her sweet honey and bitter-apple scent invaded his nostrils, and he shuddered in anticipation.

“Hello, my witch,” he whispered as she wiggled against his cock. He pulled back so he didn’t bend her over the table and fuck her right there. He had plans that included time, teasing, and kissing. Not hardcore fucking.

Okay, maybe a little of that, but it would have to wait. At least like five minutes.

Reed captured their mate’s lips and groaned. “I love welcoming you home.”

Hannah giggled—yes, they made her do that—and turned her head to kiss Josh. “I love it, too.”

She sighed, and Josh picked up on a little sadness with it. They’d been so busy with the war and their own lives, he was afraid they’d neglected their Hannah. He had to fix that. He had to fix a lot of things.

Chapter 1 Reveal: Her Warriors’ Three Wishes

 Happy Monday! Today is Chapter 1 Reveal Day for Her Warriors’ Three Wishes! The second book of the Dante’s Circle series comes out April 23rd and I’m so excited to continue this journey with these seven friends who somehow find themselves no longer human.

You can find Chapter 1 HERE.

Question Sunday and Winners

Howdy! Ask me anything you’d like in the comments and I’ll come and update the post throughout the day with the answers! So ask away! Tomorrow is the chapter 1 reveal for Her Warriors’ Three Wishes so be on the lookout throughout the day!

So yes, ask me questions. Like what is next or who is mating who or other random things on your mind!

Also the winners for the Her Warriors’ Three Wishes Print ARC Giveaway are below. Please email me if you see your name here.

LadyPhryxus | Janet B |  Angila |  Sue G |  Renee B

Q. How many books will be in the Dante’s Circle Series?

A. There will be seven full length novels and at least one novella. I do think this world opens up more than just the seven women though, so be on the look out. *grins* Dust of My Wings is already out while Her Warriors’ Three Wishes comes out April 23rd. An Unlucky Moon comes out in Sept and the novella His Choice will be found in the anthology Ever After in Oct.

Q. hey i wanted to know if north will get his story soon and if you know who is mate is

A. Yes! North will get his story soon. It’s called Hidden Destiny and I will be writing it in the fall so it will be out early 2014. And yes, I know who his mate is. You’ll meet her in Shattered Emotions, Maddox’s book. *grins*

Q. what is going to be the titled of your next series and also is the holiday Montana series going to continue

A. I do have four (gasp) series coming that aren’t announced so be on the lookout throughout the next year for that LOL. However, my next new series is called Keys of Fate and the first book, Fated Tranquility  comes out in Dec. Lia Davis and I are actually writing the four book series together and are meeting next week in Florida to get things on the way!

 

 

FORGIVENESS: An eARC Giveaway

Howdy! Forgiveness is coming soon and now available for pre-order. Plus I’m doing an eARC giveaway! Comment on this post with your favorite Redwood Pack Book (and why) and follow this blog and/or newsletter to be entered! This is OPEN to all readers and will end on 4/10/13 at 11:59 pm.

 

Pre-Order Now!  kobo |  ARe

Redwood Pack Book 4.7 Coming May 21st, 2013

Adam Jamenson’s courtship of his mate wasn’t the most conventional. In fact, it didn’t exist. Though he knows Bay loves him with every ounce of her soul, he needs to prove to her that he’s worth it. Not only for her, but for himself. While they move on and learn to be the Enforcer mated pair, Bay will find herself on a path that leads her to a history beyond just her and Adam’s mating. When she finds a locket rich in history and memories, she’ll do all in her power to see those involved found and remembered. With Adam by her side, they’ll both find the true meaning of forgiveness.

Author’s Note: This is a novella set between books 4 and 5 to give you a taste of Bay and Adam. It is best that you have already immersed yourselves in the Redwood Pack world, however even new readers will enjoy a glimpse of one of the Redwood’s favorite couples

Enforcer’s Redemption: An Excerpt

Since I’m still in my writing cave, I thought I’d show off the previous novel of the Redwood Pack, Enforcer’s Redemption.

Was he dying? Maybe he was already dead. It was the only reason Adam could think of for this to happen. Maybe it was a dream. Yeah, that sounded better, though it was more like a nightmare. His body felt heavy, as though someone had added weights to each of his nerve endings then punched him.

Bay stood there, red hair curling around her face and the mass tumbling down her back and over her shoulders. Her green eyes were bright with the fear she probably thought she’d hidden so well.

She looked so small standing there, though knew she was average height. He remembered her coming up to right below his shoulders when he’d held her…

No. Stop it. He couldn’t think of that.

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Redwood Pack Book 4

Adam Jamenson has suffered through the worst loss known to man. The only reason he lives day-to-day is to ensure the safety of his Pack. As the Enforcer of the Redwood Pack, it is his job to protect all in his path, though he was unable to protect the ones he held dear. The war with the Centrals is heating up and Adam must try and grit through it in order to survive. Though the broken man inside of him may not want to ….

Bay Milton is a werewolf with a past. And a secret. She’s met the Redwood’s Enforcer only once, but it left a lasting effect. Now she needs to find him or everything he had thought he lost, may be lost again.

Together, they must struggle and find a way to fight their pasts and present in order to protect their future. But the Centrals have a plan that might make their path one of loss and destruction.

HER WARRIORS’ THREE WISHES: A Tease

I’m in the middle of writing and working on SHATTERED EMOTIONS (Redwood Pack 5) so I can’t blog that much, but I thought I’d share a tease from my next release, HER WARRIORS’ THREE WISHES (Dante’s Circle 2).  

 

Coming April 23rd, 2013

Pre-Order Now!

kobo | ARe

 

Jamie cracked open her eyes and held back a whimper. Oh, God, her body ached something fierce. She tried to move, but something held her in place. Her neck strained as she looked up, and tears slid from her eyes.

Someone had shackled her to a wall so she sat with her legs free, but nowhere to go.

What did you buy today?

I’m a huge book fan when I’m not writing LOL. Okay, fine, I’m a huge book fan then too. Today I bought NINE books even though I can’t read them yet. What did you buy?

 

1. Fever – Maya Banks

2. Lush – Lauren Dane

3. Rising Darkenss – Thea Harrison

4. The Bridgertons Happily Ever After – Julia Quinn

5. Love Irresistibly – Julie James

6. Tethered – Meljean Brook

7. Wrecked – Shiloh Walker

8. Only Lycans Need Apply – Michelle Bardsley

9. Nautier and Wilder – Jaci Burton