Dana Delamar's Blog, page 18

Guest Post: Dana Mason on Developing the Characters for "Dangerous Embrace"

Today I have the pleasure of hosting Dana Mason, author of Dangerous Embrace and the upcoming Precious Embrace, who shares with us how she developed some of her characters. Take it away, Dana!

Writing this story, with two completely opposite characters, was an interesting challenge.  Most writers will agree when I say, once you craft a character, they take on a life of their own. That was certainly true with Mark and Sarah.

To my surprise, the character with the personality most like mine was the hardest to write. Sarah’s head was a difficult space to get into. It sounds crazy, but she was so well guarded even in the stage of creation that I couldn’t get her right without an intense amount of work. The same held true in the editing stage, and it was at that time when I realized I had to let my own guard down to really see her and what she needed.

While many of Sarah’s personality quirks (ahem, read flaws) came from me, that’s where the similarities end. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine enduring what she’s overcome, which just created another challenge for me. I needed to make her strong, yet vulnerable enough to need Mark’s help and love. She was worth the challenge and I hope you all like her.

Mark on the other hand, the family man and all around nice guy, was easier to understand. I’m sure that has to do with my own imagination and the way I’d want my own personal hero to be. All of us can draw a picture of the perfect hero. We all know what we want when we’re being scooped-up and taken care of, even when we’ve convinced ourselves the LAST thing we need is to be cared for. 

Unlike Sarah, Mark has lived in the same town his entire life. His parents are still married. He’s had a very ‘normal’ upbringing, and he has a pretty positive outlook on life. Something Sarah has trouble relating too. When Mark discovers Sarah, in need of help, yet so unwilling to accept it, he’s not sure how to handle her. But he’s sure he wants too, and he knows he needs to.

Dangerous Embrace is the first in a series of books based in Northern California. All three books address second chances and learning not to take life for granted. Book two, Precious Embrace, will be released July 11th. Learn more at Goodreads. 

What's Dangerous Embrace about?


Sarah Jennings wants nothing more than a quiet life--alone. Raised by an eccentric mother, their life on the road only taught her how to run away from hard times. When she finds herself in an abusive relationship, this lesson serves her well. 

Eight years later, she's settled back in her hometown and less fearful then she's ever been in her life. She's a first grade teacher, and with few friends and less family around, she has what she wants, a quiet life under the radar where she can be free of her past and live quietly. Until one night and one brutal act of violence changes everything. 

Injured and afraid, Sarah wants to run again, but Mark Summors refuses to let her go.

Mark was born and raised in Santa Rosa. He married his high school sweetheart and never questioned his life, until he found his wife with another man. Now divorced, he wants something more. He's passionate about his job, he wants to protect people, and he devotes his life to it. This time he's protecting more than just another client, he's protecting his future; at least, Sarah Jennings will be his future, once he convinces her she loves him.

When Sarah agrees to let Mark help, she doesn't anticipate just how important of a role he'll play in her future or how the violence in her past will come back to threaten them both.

Excerpt from Dangerous Embrace:
Sarah pried open her heavy eyelids and turned, trying to focus on the clock. “Ow, dammit!” She clenched her teeth and looked down at the sling tied to her arm. The smothering realization pressed on her chest. When the nausea hit, she flung the covers off and rushed to the bathroom, fighting to get to the toilet before her stomach heaved.
When the painful dry heaving stopped, she lay back on the cold tile floor, exhausted, and waited for the room to stop spinning. Her ragged breaths roared in her ears and seemed to echo in the quiet room. When her breathing slowed, the silence ebbed around her in waves, but when footsteps approached the bathroom door, she tensed again. 
A bead of sweat dripped down her scalp and at the same time someone tapped at the door. Her pulse spiked and she fought like hell to remember who brought her home from the hospital.  
She closed her eyes. “Who’s there?” The waver in her voice pissed her off. Gawd—please don’t let me be pathetic in front of whoever this is.
A hesitant and completely unfamiliar man’s voice said, “Are you all right? Do you need something?”Sarah sucked in a hard breath. “Um…” She exhaled slowly. “Who are you?”
“Mark Summors.”
She stiffened and tried to sit up. “Do I know you?” she asked her voice pitching. 
“I can explain if you open the door.” 
She steadied herself against the bathtub. The sling had slipped up her arm, exposing the trail of bruises. She swallowed another wave of nausea and tried to put the pieces together. Mark Summors? She glanced around for something to use as a weapon just in case, then she wanted to laugh—and cry. Who the hell was she kidding? She rolled her eyes. Good plan, Sarah, take on a strange guy with a toilet brush.  
“Can I come in?”  His voice was muffled as if he was resting his face against the door.
“Go ahead.” She clamped her mouth closed to suppress a shiver, then said, “It’s unlocked.” 
The door eased open and a cup of water shot out at her. 
“Oh, thank you,” she cried out, relieved to wash the disgusting film out of her mouth. She snatched the cup out of his hand and gulped it, letting her eyes lift above the rim to see his face. 
 “Ah.” Sarah choked and inhaled the water. She set the cup down, almost upending it as she dropped it. “Oh my God!” She would never forget those intense blue eyes, just like she would never forget the smell of her attacker’s breath. They were all thrown together in the same horrifying memory.
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About Dana Mason: 
Dana Mason started writing to prove to her computer geek husband and her math & science geek kids that she actually has a brain; it’s just a right functioning brain instead of a left. She’s lived all over the country and uses that experience in her writing and character studies. Her debut novel, Dangerous Embrace, is the first in a contemporary romance series about a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can be when you don’t hold on to what’s important. Second chances don’t come easy…but sometimes love is worth the risk.
When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She’s also a board member on the local Art's Council and does what she can to support the art community. 
Website | Goodreads Author Page | Twitter | Facebook

REVENGE is a double-finalist in the 2013 Booksellers Best Awards!

I received the most amazing phone call the other day. It was Patti Shenberger, from Greater Detroit RWA (GDRWA), calling to tell me that Revenge (Blood and Honor, #1) is a double-finalist in the 2013 Booksellers Best Awards!!!
Revenge finaled in the Best First Book and Romantic Suspense categories. It's so amazing to get all your hard work validated in this way. Even if Revenge doesn't win, it's still an honor to make the finals of this contest.  
Many thanks to my beta readers and to Kristine Cayne, my amazing critique partner, for all their help with this book!

24-Hour Sale at Kobo This Weekend!

Kobo is having a 24-hour sale this weekend in the US and Canada! 

The sale runs May 11th at 6am EST to May 12th at 5:59 am EST. 

Use Promo Code: 24HOUR30  

Valid in United States and Canada only. 

And while you're there, enter the contest to win $5000! 


Don't have a Kobo reader? Shop Kobo ereaders!
Have a smartphone? Download the free Kobo app! 

Book Lover's Buffet Sale -- Over 175 books for only .99!

Introducing the Book Lovers’ Buffet. Load up, you won’t gain a pound!
The Buffet’s “Bouquet of Books” sale will be open May 1-3. More than 175 ebooks, all reduced in price to just 99 cents. Save in categories such as Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense, Erotic Romance, and more!

PLUS, visit the website to win gift cards to your choice of online retailers. $400 in gift cards up for grabs!

Titles from popular authors such as:

• Gemma Halliday
• Angie Fox
• Jenna Bennett
• Amanda Brice
• Jennette Marie Powell
• Clover Autrey
• Carly Carson
• E. Ayers
• Genevieve Jourdin
• CJ Lyons
• Renee Pace
• Sophia Knightley
• Tori Scott
• Meredith Bond
• Emily Ryan-Davis
• Anthea Lawson
• Diana Layne
• Lindsey Brookes
• Gina Robinson
• McKenna Chase


And many, many more!
Hosted by Indie Romance Ink.

Kobo Contest - $5000 Up for Grabs!

Are you excited about the upcoming release of Dan Brown's Inferno? Well so is Kobo, and they've come up with a very cool contest to celebrate!

Channel your inner Robert Langdon to solve puzzles by gathering clues found in three original short stories authored by J.F. Penn, available free of charge at the Kobo bookstore. 

A new short story will be released weekly over three weeks. Players who accept "The Descent" challenge are taken beyond the books to collect additional clues online that will be needed to decode the mystery. The first player to successfully solve the mystery will win a single $5,000 CAD cash prize and a Kobo Glo eReader signed by Dan Brown!

Throughout the contest, additional clues and guidance will be given to players through Kobo's social media channels to help them solve the puzzle.

"The Descent" contest is open to residents of the United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), and the United Kingdom, and runs from April 25 to May 14, 2013. No purchase necessary.

For more information and full contest terms & conditions, please visit the contest landing page: kobo.com/thedescent. 

Win Books and a Kindle Fire at the Spring Fever Reads Giveaway!

April 12 - April 13th
It's time for the Spring Fever Reads Giveaway! You can win eBooks from your favorite authors and enter to win the grand prize: a Kindle Fire! Woot! Ten blogs are hosting the various giveaways, so that gives you multiple chances to win.

Here's how it works: There are ten blogs who are featuring the giveaway books and the grand prize Kindle Fire. The books will be won individually, so your chances of winning are very high. Be sure to go to all ten blogs to maximize your odds.


Spring Fever Reads Giveaway Event
Have you joined our event on FaceBook yet? Please take a moment to do so and invite your friends. We are using the event page to highlight the books that are being given away on our blogs. We're also having some games you can play to earn additional entries in the giveaways. Come on over so you don't miss out on anything!

Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/321896231269344/

Book Prizes
We have over 40 ebooks to give away! I'm hosting giveaways today for the following five awesome authors, as well as the grand prize giveaway. To enter the giveaways, follow the instructions in the RaffleCopters below.


Patricia Macias - HOT & WILD (DE LA CRUZ SAGA)
Hot & Sexy Reads ~ A hot-blooded saga of the De La Cruz familia. These romance thrillers are centered on their fortunes, romance, pasión, and danger. Enjoy their explosively passionate nature. 
Hot & Wild ~ Christian Arturo De La Cruz is a Navy SEAL. Christian lives for excitement. He loves it when the risk is great, dangerous...
Where to buy Hot & Wild: Amazon (US)
Learn more about Patricia Macias: 
Website | Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Dana Mason - DANGEROUS EMBRACE

Sarah Jennings has the perfect quiet life she’s always wanted. Until one act of violence reminds her that safety and security are an illusion, but Mark Summors is no illusion. He promises to protect her, and that scares Sarah more than anything. When she agrees to let him help her, she doesn’t know just how important of a role he’ll play in her future or how her past will come back to threaten them both.


Where to buy Dangerous Embrace:
Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBookStore
Learn more about Dana Mason:

Website | Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Facebook

K.S. Haigwood - HELL'S GIFT
Depression consumes the guardian angel, Rhyan, after his human charge chooses her soulmate over him. Filled with anger and despair, he lashes out. And when his hate-filled words land him neck-deep in Hell, he realizes he's gone too far. He expects trouble, but not to discover his own soulmate in the fiery depths. Abigail is there with good reason, but she's done her time, and in order to save them both, Rhyan must strike a deal with the Devil.

 The stakes are higher than ever before, with his soul, his friends and even the fate of Heaven and Earth in jeopardy. If he fails, Rhyan stands to lose more than he ever feared. Will true love be denied? It will take everything he's got to break down the traps Lucifer puts in his way. New lines are drawn and old scores are settled, and Rhyan is in for the fight of his life. With Abigail as the prize, and humanity in the balance, he will stop at nothing to claim...Hell's Gift.

Where to buy Hell's Gift: Amazon (US)
Learn more about K.S. Haigwood:

Website | Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

A.L. Jackson - TAKE THIS REGRET
There are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives. For Christian, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth.
Christian Davison has a plan for his life. He is determined to become an attorney and to one day take his place as partner in his father’s law firm. Nothing will stand in his way, not even Elizabeth Ayers and their unborn child.
After Christian cuts her from his life, Elizabeth spends the next five years struggling to provide for her daughter and willing to sacrifice anything to give her child a safe, comfortable life.
For five years, Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do anything to win them back just as Elizabeth will do anything to protect her daughter from the certain heartache she believes Christian will bring upon them.
When Christian wrestles his way into their lives, Elizabeth is faced with asking herself if it is possible to forgive someone when they’ve committed the unforgiveable and if it is possible to find a love after it has been buried in years of hate. Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?
They say everyone deserves a second chance.

Where to buy Take This Regret: Amazon (US)
Learn more about AL Jackson:

Website | Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest

Jo Robinson - SHADOW PEOPLE
A hidden room. A prophesy about to be fulfilled. On Lapillus, the demonic Nefandus torture and kill to satiate their foul hunger. A small number of the dragon-like Voxavi remain in limbo, and their Lord is trapped in a wall of diamond. 

Natalie, Gabe, and Brian are propelled into this gem-encrusted world, only to find that the fate of the universe rests on their shoulders. Book one in the Shadow People series. 

Where to buy Shadow People: Amazon (US)
Learn more about Jo Robinson:

Website | Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook  | Pinterest


Win These Books!
To win one copy of one of these books (drawn at random), follow the instructions in the following Rafflecopter. If you leave a blog post comment with your email address and which book you'd like to win, your choice will be accommodated if possible. The more actions you complete, the greater your odds of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grand Prize Giveaway - a KINDLE FIRE!

You heard that right! We're giving away a fabulous Kindle Fire Tablet (7" LCD Display, Wi-Fi, 8GB)!




To enter the giveaway for the grand prize Kindle Fire, follow the instructions in the following Rafflecopter. The more actions you complete, the greater your odds of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Want to Enter Again? 
For more great ebooks to win, please return to the Spring Fever Reads Giveaway Event page. We'll be highlighting more ebooks, and the blogs where you can go to win them.

Giveaway and new firefighter romance releases from Kristine Cayne!

Hi everyone! I'm really excited today to be featuring the latest releases from my awesome critique partner, Kristine Cayne!

You might know Kristine as the award-winning author of Deadly Obsession and Deadly Addiction , the first two books in her Deadly Vices romantic suspense series. (If you love romantic suspense, you must check them out!) Kristine has recently branched out into erotic romance with her Six-Alarm Sexy series about a team of firefighters in the Seattle Fire Department. 

The Six-Alarm Sexy Series
Prequel: Aftershocks


The first book, Aftershocks, is a romantic suspense prequel that sets up the Six-Alarm Sexy series. Here's what it's about:

When Seattle is struck by a devastating earthquake, technical rescue firefighter Jamie Caldwell must save his estranged wife and daughter from the wreckage of a collapsed building. He's defied the odds hundreds of times, but will his luck finally run out for good?

Excerpt
Adrenaline surging through her system, Erica hung onto the doorjamb as the quake rocked the old courthouse. The building swayed and groaned, windows rattled and shattered as the earth continued to tremble. Cracks raced across the ceiling and plaster dust showered down, covering everything in a thin white film. She’d lived in Seattle all her life but had never experienced a quake as powerful as this one.

And her daughter was all alone.


I LOVED this story. Even after I'd read it three or four times, I was still on the edge of my seat with worry. It's THAT good!

Where to Get Aftershocks
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | B&N US | Kobo | All Romance eBooks | Smashwords 

Book One: Under His Command


Winner - Best BDSM Romance - 2012 Sizzling Awards

A firefighter desperate to save his failing marriage earns the trust--and the sexual submission--of his controlling wife in the most pleasurable of ways.

After an explosive one-night stand results in pregnancy, Jamie Caldwell is thrilled to marry the perfect foil to his Dom side. But when his submissive wife starts cringing every time he gives a command, Jamie shackles his dark desires. A bout of rough, frenzied reunion sex makes him wonder if now he should free the Dom he's kept in chains and teach Erica the joys of submission and sexual surrender.

Erica Caldwell secretly loved every sinful thing Jamie did to her on their first night together. However, terrified she'll become a codependent doormat like her mother, she repeatedly rejects Jamie's dominance, despite craving the kind of release only he can give her--the release that comes from yielding to Jamie's every demand.

Hoping that the trust required by BDSM will help them rebuild their faith in each other, Jamie and Erica embark on a journey of sexual exploration. But is it too late to repair their crumbling marriage?

A Sexy Excerpt
Something soft and cool slid over her eyes. “What’s this?” she asked, reaching for it.
“Shh… It’s just a blindfold. To heighten your senses.”

Like she needed her senses heightened? He’d already taken her places she’d never been. “I’m not sure about—”

His hand smacking her butt cheek completely derailed her train of thought. “Did you just slap me?”

“That was a spank. Now turn around.” He tied the scarf over her eyes, plunging her into darkness.

She really should resist, tell him to stop. Something. But she didn’t. “Okay. Why should I let you spank me?” she asked. So far this night had been like nothing she’d expected. Jamie was skilled and unpredictable. And she was genuinely curious.

“Because you love it.” His fingers trailed down the crease between her cheeks and dipped into her. Her body convulsed, pushing against his hand to take more of him. What was it about fingers that felt so darned good?

Another smack, this one a little harder, had her trembling. “See how wet you are? How good it feels?” he said.

He was so right.


Is it hot in here, or is it just me? *fanning self* This books starts off with a bang and gets even more sizzling from there as Jamie and Erica work out their problems in beautiful Hawaii. The sex is scorching, the romance is touching, and the Hawaiian backdrop is gorgeous. This book has everything I look for in an erotic romance, and it has an unusual scene in it that is certain to spark extra-hot fantasies... and don't you just love that title?

Where to Get Under His Command
Amazon US  | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | B&N US | Kobo | All Romance eBooks | Smashwords 
Giveaway!
To celebrate her new releases, Kristine is giving away this super-cool book thong that features Jamie Caldwell, the hero of Aftershocks and Under His Command. Isn't it gorgeous?



To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easter Weekend Sale at Kobo--30% off!

Enjoy 30% off incredible reads!Get great eBooks in your favorite genres for less, this weekend only!PROMO CODE: 30LONGWEEKEND

Click Here FOR THE Easter SAle
Hurry! Offer ends April 1Valid in Canada, US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand
Don't have a Kobo reader? Shop Kobo ereaders!
Have a smartphone? Download the free Kobo app! 

Save $79 at Barnes & Noble this weekend!

Don't have an ereader? Thinking about buying a tablet? Now's your chance to get both for one low price!

Buy a Tablet, Get an Ereader Free! Get both for Only $269 and Free Shipping! Valid 3/24 - 3/31

Get a free copy of "The Da Vinci Code" courtesy of Kobo!

Between right now and March 24th, Kobo is giving away the hugely popular Dan Brown novel, The Da Vinci Code, for FREE. Yes, as in $0.00.

Don't have a Kobo reader? Shop Kobo ereaders!

Have a smartphone? Download the free Kobo app!