Melissa Snark's Blog: The Snarkology, page 37
April 25, 2015
The Snarkology: Nails by by Christy Gissendaner @christygis #Paranormal #Romance
A big thank you to Melissa for having me today! I love visiting new sites, and I’m always happy to chat with new people.
Today is doubly happy. Not only do I get to chat with you beautiful people, but it’s also release day. Shift Happens is book one in a brand new series, I Heart Shifters. Each installment will be short, hot, and funny as heck. I’m excited about this project, and I hope everyone gets a kick out of Ellie’s antics.
Ellie, the heroine in Shift Happens, owns a nail salon. It was an interesting occupation for me to give to a character considering I can’t paint my way out of a paper bag. I blame it on being left-handed. I’m awesome like all lefties, of course, but painting nails isn’t my forte. Unless it’s paint by numbers, I’m screwed.
You get the picture.
So here’s Ellie, manicurist extraordinaire, who caters to the shifter housewives of Atlanta’s elite. Unlike me, she’s a whiz with a nail file and a bottle of polish. She creates colorful creations for her clients, all of whom don’t realize Ellie’s a shifter herself. She’s a half dragon shifter, who’s never quite mastered the art of keeping smoky belches hidden.
Since it’s finally spring and sandal season is in full effect, I couldn’t wait to treat myself to a pedicure at the conclusion of writing Ellie’s story. I got pink polish with white polka dots, in case you’re interested. ; )
My first ever pedicure took place last May, right before I attended the RT Conference in New Orleans. I’m a bit ticklish and the “cheese grater” thingamabob freaked me out…and made me giggle! (When I wasn’t busy being disgusted by the entire process.) But boy, were my foot smooth as silk. I went to the Dark Side and became a pedicure regular since then.
For someone who cringes at the sound of a file, you’d think I’d avoid a nail salon like the plague. Not so, fearless readers. I may cringe, of course, but the discomfort is worth it for a fantastic French manicure and cute, colorful little toesie woesies. I still think I have ugly feet – flat and wide – but no one can deny my love of pink when I’m all glammed-up with a fresh set of paint.
I’m currently growing out my fingernails. For a lifelong nail biter, this is a hard road to travel. My nails have finally grown past the pads of my fingers and I’m already envisioning the perfect shade of pink to christen them with. Fingers crossed I don’t lose an eye taking out my contacts. That is a tricky maneuver, let me tell ya.
So we’ve established I love pink, pedicures, and peanut butter cups…okay, so I didn’t tell you that, but it’s true and it does start with P…I want to know what style everyone is rocking these days.
Come on, share the deets. I’ll be right here taking notes.
Shift Happens (I Heart Shifters, Book 1)
Christy Gissendaner
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Etopia Press
Number of pages: 69
Word Count: 24,906
Buy Links:
Ellie Reynolds runs a nail salon that caters to shifters of all varieties. The proverbial shift hits the fan when billionaire mogul Jackson Lawrence walks in the door and offers Ellie two million dollars to sell her shop. Ellie has no intention of selling out, especially to someone who plans to bulldoze her shop to the ground and replace it with a fast food joint. Their battle of wit and will is brought to a sudden halt when Jackson’s enemies appear, throwing them into a fight for their lives.
Jackson believed he’d left violence behind when he resigned his position with the Blood Wolves, a secret shifter military group, but someone wants his company’s cyber invention and will stop at nothing to get it. He didn’t mean to drag Ellie into his mess, but he’s willing to do anything to protect her and the firewall his friend created…anything except fight his attraction to the outspoken redhead he’s suddenly responsible for. Jackson soon learns Ellie is hotter than he first gave her credit for…like dragon hot…and life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Sometimes shift happens when you least expect it.
Longer (Sexier) Excerpt
Rain kept up a staccato rhythm on the tin roof, and her supersensitive hearing picked out every drop. She’d never be able to sleep like this, not while her mind was racked by thoughts of Jackson. The situation was laughable. She should be more worried about her safety and instead all she could think about was the fine-looking man in the room across the hall, like the perfect dimples in his cheeks when he smiled really big, or the perfect symmetry of his gorgeous face. And that ass. She could bounce a quarter off that ass.
She groaned as the familiar heat filled the place between her thighs. She needed something to take her mind off Jackson.
Milk. That’s what she needed. A nice, cool glass of milk.
Well, what she really needed was her vibrator, but it was at home, tucked safely away in her drawer under a bundle of handmade scarves that she’d bought and never worn.
Ellie slid out of bed and tugged the hem of the too-short nightgown. She’d picked out a size eight when she was more like a twelve, so Jackson wouldn’t know her true clothing dimensions. When he’d gone to pay for the items she’d chosen, he’d merely lifted an eyebrow but wisely chosen not to say anything. Could she help it if she’d been born with a fondness for sweets? Blame Nana’s genes, not her own lack of will.
Speaking of sweets, cookies would be nice too. She wondered if Jackson had any in the cabinets. He seemed to keep the Montevallo home stocked with foodstuffs since they hadn’t had to stop for groceries.
A few minutes later, with chocolate chip cookies clutched in both hands and a mug of milk hooked around her thumbs, she crept back down the hall toward her room. She bent her head to take a bite of a cookie and lost her grip on the drink. She cursed when the mug fell out of her hands. The milk spilled across her toes and the ceramic shattered when it hit the wooden planks.
“Ellie!” Jackson jerked his bedroom door open and appeared in the doorway, disheveled and entirely too yummy. He wore nothing but boxers and oh geez, he had a six-pack. A perfectly lickable six-pack that made her mouth and sex water. She hoped she wouldn’t drool, although it was a distinct possibility.
“I’m sorry for waking you.”
Jackson ran a hand over his shorn hair. “Fuck. I thought they’d found us.”
“Nope, just the cookie monster.” She held up the cookies in her hands and grimaced. How embarrassing. “Want one?”
He came forward until their toes touched. Hers, milky and chilled. His, warm and dry. She wanted to feel her feet wrapped around his beneath the covers. She wanted to feel everything of his beneath the covers, actually.
His thumb brushed the corner of her lips. “Chocolate,” he explained right before he licked his finger.
Damn her knees. Useless joints that they were. “Umm.”
And damn her larynx for not working properly.
His gaze dropped and she suddenly realized she was in the too-short, too-tight nightgown. Her boobs stretched the cotton material and she didn’t need to look down to know she was nipping. If she turned around, he could probably tell she wasn’t wearing panties. She’d never been so self-conscious before, but never had she been in the presence of a hot-ass canine shifter who was practically naked.
Jackson’s expression turned predatory. His cheeks seemed to hollow out, becoming more pronounced, and his nostrils flared as if he’d caught a whiff of something. Perhaps it was her. The quick shower she’d taken had been hours before. Then again, no panties. Perhaps he smelled her scent. She clamped her thighs tight together and prayed he didn’t laugh. The situation was embarrassing enough without suffering unrequited lust.
“Ellie.” He spoke her name again, but it was low-pitched and soft.
Oh God. She wanted to eat the cookies in his bed. But later. Much, much later. “Yeah?”
“I owe you something.” He slid a hand around her waist and cupped the upper swell of her butt. His fingers spread out in a proprietary manner, as if he was sure of his welcome. “I wanted to wait until all this shit was over, but you’re killing me. I can’t hold out any longer.”
Neither could she. She went up on tiptoe and puckered her lips. He stared at her as he traced the seam of her lips with his index fingers. “I think you misunderstand the type of kiss I want from you.”
About the Author:
Christy Gissendaner is a paranormal and contemporary romance author who believes laughter and love should go hand in hand.
Christy lives in Alabama with her husband and three sons. She’s always hard at work on her next novel, but in her spare time she loves blackjack, karaoke, and anything resembling a vacation!
To find out more, please visit http://christygissendaner.webs.com
http://www.twitter.com/christygis
http://www.facebook.com/christygis
http://www.goodreads.com/christygissendaner
April 23, 2015
New Release: The Stone of the Tenth Realm (Book 1 in the Realms Trilogy) By Eva Gordon #Fantasy
The Stone of the Tenth Realm
The Realms Trilogy, #1
Author: Eva Gordon
Release Date: April 15, 2015
Publisher: Eva Gordon
Link to publisher’s page: http://www.ravenauthor.com
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count in Print: 523
ISBN: 9781513016856
Snippet: Epic Fantasy. The Stone of the Tenth Realm, the story of a young woman who escapes a Nazi concentration camp and stumbles into a parallel world.
Buy Links:
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Book Synopsis:
Sophie Katz, a Jewish chemistry student, harrowingly escapes a Nazi concentration camp. By way of Prague and with the help of a golem and a magic stone, she is transported into the Tenth Realm, a magical dimension that parallels the world she left behind.
Logan MacLeod, a Scottish warrior, hunted for a crime he did not mean to commit, flees to the Bestiary, a forest so dangerous no man dares enter. Drawn by the haunting sound of his bagpipes, Sophie and Logan meet.
Even as love ensues, the dark evil of the Third Reich threatens the Tenth Realm, led by Gustaf Hissler, Adolph Hitler’s doppelganger.
Together they must join the forces against Hissler in the Tenth Realm and help stop Hitler from world domination in Sophie’s realm. Will they be able to stop the Third Reich before its evil conquers all of the realms?
About the Author
Eva Gordon writes genre bending paranormal/fantasy/steampunk and historical novels with a strong romantic element. She loves to create stories that combine her passion for mythology, steamy romance, and action/suspense. Her imagination takes her from one universe to the next. Thus far, she has several series lined up as well as single titles waiting in line for production.
Eva has a BS in Zoology and graduate studies in Biology. When not in her den writing, she can be found teaching animal lore at writing conventions, at work at the raptor rehabilitation center, wolf sanctuaries, or to satisfy her inner Hemingway on some global eco adventure.
Follow Eva Gordon:
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April 22, 2015
The Snarkology: Those Dastardly Villains: What good is a villain? by Clair de Lune #amwriting @ClairdLuneBooks
What good is a villain?
He’s all that the hero is not. He’s devious, lying, plausible, selfish and violent. So we hate him on sight right? Wrong. Sometimes we do, but nobody wants a carbon copy villain, and often the most effective and intriguing ones are those of whom we aren’t sure or better still the heroine isn’t. We sit reading the story shaking our head at the heroine’s inability to see how she’s being deceived, but sometimes we are just as gullible and the reveal of the villain makes us gasp. The best villains keep us guessing. Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice is a superb example of this. Only very slowly do we begin to doubt.
The villain can be just a baddie, kidnapping the heroine and allowing the hero to be just that, riding to the rescue in true 7th cavalry style. Let’s not underestimate that. We were all brought up on such books and films. However there’s a lot to be said for leading the reader up the garden path, presenting two alternatives, first one seems to be the villain then the other. I had a lot of fun in “Dragon’s Mate,” with two possible evil geniuses. The fun was in having two candidates for the honour and hopefully keeping the secret until the last chapter.
So does the villain stay a villain? Often he does, it’s interesting to have him won over by the innate goodness and nobility of the hero, the staunch loyalty of the heroine or by the power of love, either the love between the two principal characters or his own love. It’s a good plot device to use one of his own character defects to get him out of the picture as Angel does in “Angel in Hell.’
One of my favorite baddies is the hero’s own mother in ‘Catriona’s Golden Angel,’ are there no lengths to which she won’t go to part them? Can’t she see she’s risking losing her only son? No she can’t. Not until her husband reminds her of her own past, but is it too late?
Catriona expects just another night of whips and bondage at the opening night of Prometheus in Chains. Then her blond Angel walks in the door. Tall, slim, and athletic with a luscious body. It is lust at first sight for both of them. Catriona and Angel meet outside the club, and he woos her. She introduces him to Kinbaku bondage, and in the process they fall deeply in love. Forceful in their private lovemaking, he is still very much her submissive in the club. His mother dislikes her on sight. Someone is circulating damaging rumours about Catriona. In his public persona of Adrian Webster, Angel discovers who is behind the attempt to damage Catriona and it rocks his world. Will this split them up? He is going to have to make a difficult choice. Ready for a confrontation, instead, she has a surprise in store for him, and a happily ever after. ** A Siren Erotic Romance
Available for purchase:
Excerpt:
Catriona gathered her hair in a French pleat. Her dress was a simple, dark green, but it clung in all the right places, and showed off her figure to perfection. She wore only a pendant and matching earrings in rainbow moonstones. Her heels were three inches and a lighter green patent-leather, as was her evening bag.
“You look so beautiful, Mistress!” he said. He took her in his arms and kissed her, leaving her knees weak and her knickers soaked. She wished they didn’t have to go out. She wanted him inside her again and was going to have to wait until the evening was over.
When they got to the restaurant where they were to dine before the pottery exhibition, Angel’s parents were waiting. His mother was very like him, Catriona thought, or should that have been the other way round? She noticed that Mr Webster’s hand was on his wife’s shoulder as he rose. His look was appraising, and she’d been around enough men to know that he was pleased, at least with her outward appearance.
Angel held her chair until she was seated. There was an awkward pause. Angel and Mr Webster started talking at the same time, then they stopped and laughed. Mrs Webster was a faded blonde, of medium height, approaching fifty, and showing some slight signs of ageing. Catriona thought that she must have been a real beauty in her day, because she was still good-looking. It wasn’t hard to see where Angel got his looks from. MrsWebster radiated disapproval as Angel introduced Catriona.
“Mother, this is Catriona Guthrie. Catriona, this is my mother.” She was cold and polite but distant.
“Miss Guthrie,” his mother said, inclining her head slightly.
“I’m very pleased to meet you. Please call me Catriona, Mrs Webster.”
“This is my father.”
Mr Webster shook hands with her. “Pleased to meet you, Catriona, my dear. That’s a lovely name, Scottish I assume?”
“Yes, Mr Webster, I was born in Glasgow.” Catriona felt the cold gaze of Angel’s mother’s eyes. Catriona put up her chin, she wasn’t going to be intimidated. Catriona felt she was being weighed in the balance and found wanting. Her clothes were too ordinary, her hair too bright, and her Glasgow accent too pronounced. She’d lost the broad Glasgow accent, but had enough left to betray her origins.
“Please call me Richard. I was in Glasgow, just last week. It’s a very lively city.”
Catriona was grateful he at least was trying to put her at her ease. It was fortunate he’d not asked which part of Glasgow she was from, and wondered if they already knew.
“Indeed it is. Do you go there often, Richard?”
“No, just the occasional business trip. Have you lived in Sheffield long?”
“About seven years.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I trained as an accountant.” Richard Webster was tall, graying and distinguished. His manners were impeccable, and every bit as polished as his son’s. He tried to counteract the icy waves of disapproval they all could feel flowing from his wife, but even his practised urbanity was not up to that task.
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And Jericho Burned by MJ Compton #Romance @Comptonplations
Title: And Jericho Burned
Author: MJ Compton
Release Date: February 11, 2015
Price: $2.99
Format: Kindle
ASIN: B00T9X7AKW
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Available at: Amazon
Lucy Callahan will do anything to save her sister, even if that means marrying a stranger. Even if that stranger is an undercover government agent out to destroy the cult holding her sister hostage. Even if that stranger is a . . . werewolf.
Lucy Callahan will do anything to rescue her sister from a cult, even marry a werewolf she’s just met. But the werewolves are working undercover for the government, and Lucy fears a confrontation between the agents and the cult could be deadly.
Stoker Smith longs to be the best thing that ever happened to his human mate. He wants to take her home, start their family, and compose his music. And although his pack’s treaty with the government says he doesn’t have to work undercover now that he’s mated, he promised Lucy he’d get her sister out of the cult’s heavily armed compound. Lucy’s sister is now family and to a werewolf, family is everything.
But Operation Jericho quickly turns ugly, thrusting Lucy into the middle of her worst nightmare, where she must choose: her sister or the mate she’s grown to love.
Author Bio:
MJ Compton grew up near Cardiff, New York, a place best known for its giant.
Although her 30-year career in local television included such highlights as being bitten by a lion, preempting a US President for a college basketball game, giving a three-time world champion boxer a few black eyes, a mention in the Drudge Report, and meeting her husband, MJ’s urge to create her own stories never went away.
MJ still lives in upstate New York with her husband. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Central New York Romance Writers. Music and cooking are two of her passions, and she enjoys baseball and college basketball, but she’s primarily focused on wine . . . and writing.
MJ COMPTON LINKS
Website & Blog www.comptonplations.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/Comptonplations
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMJCompton
Tsu http://www.tsu.co/mj_compton
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8075221.M_J_Compton
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/MJ-Compton/e/B00J9DFFIG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
April 21, 2015
The Snarkology: Those Dastardly Villains: All Shapes and Sizes by J.C. Conway #Romance
Villains come in all shapes and sizes. Some have serious psychopathic tendencies, but if well developed, they are understandable—often broken victims that took a bad turn. Stephen King did a fantastic job of creating such a villain in Mr. Mercedes, and literature abounds with similar miscreants. We can’t get enough of them.
Other stories require subtle, less maniacal villains—regular folk landing in their role through common vices. Two such villains drive the plot in Hearts in Ruin. One, a college department chair, succumbs to pride. As a young man he championed a breakthrough archeological theory and built his career on it. But now he defends the status quo, opposing new ideas that challenge his once innovative theory. The other, a college president, succumbs to simple greed involving secret plans to develop the land at issue. Both of these men think they’re doing the right thing, although if either reflected upon their actions objectively, they would be uncomfortable with their decisions. The thing is, like most people, they really don’t examine themselves too carefully or question their own motives. So they carry on and their paths intersect forming an immense obstacle that threatens to ruin the protagonists’ careers and destroy forever an important new discovery.
Title: HEARTS IN RUIN
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Date Published: May 2014
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Word Count: 52,000
Buy links:
Amazon Paperback Print Edition
iTunes Store
Amazon Kindle Edition
Barnes & Noble Paperback or Nook Edition
Liquid Silver Books All E-Book Formats
Kobo Edition Formats
Andrea had one goal in life, a quiet career as a mainstream archaeologist—nothing more nothing less—and she’s one ancient secret away. When she is teamed with maverick prodigy Daniel Fuchs at his controversial pre-Clovis dig on tribal land, she soon realizes his wild theories may sidetrack her career. Her smartest move is to expose him and that is exactly what she plans to do. Except…he’s hot, sexy, and there is a chance his theories may be right.
As the dig deepens and outside forces mount, Andrea and Daniel find their careers and their shaky relationship on the brink of ruin. Who can she trust? To survive professionally and emotionally, Andrea must decide between what is expected and what she believes, because time is running out and the developers’ bulldozers are poised to level the site.
Delve into the mystery and excitement of an archaeological dig in the New Mexico desert and experience the drive, determination, and passion surrounding the quest to unlock the Paleolithic past in this contemporary, romantic suspense. Hearts In Ruin…no shovel required to join this adventure to discover an ancient truth!
Excerpt:
In the following excerpt, Professor Lassiter has just learned that Daniel Fuchs has reopened a dig that Lassiter shut down. The reopening threatens the academic theory upon which Lassiter’s career has been based. He is now in the library intending to use his position and experience to intimidate a doctoral candidate into helping him discredit Daniel.
On a hunch, he tried the second floor. Too many of the young scholars relied on computers. He hoped Jeffrey wasn’t one of them. But there he was in the technology center, glued to a screen, clicking with a mouse, slouching, and coaxing a machine to do his work, and his thinking, for him.
The professor stood in the doorway and harrumphed. Jeffrey turned, and then straightened.
“Oh…Hi, Professor.”
He eyed the consoles dispassionately. “This is no way to verify citations.”
Jeffrey shook his head. “Of course not. I just do the preliminaries here. I’m headed to the racks now.”
“Good.” He scrutinized his young doctoral candidate. He wasn’t the brightest of the lot. But he knew his place. “I hear your friend Dr. Fuchs found volunteers for the dig.”
Jeffrey compressed his lips and nodded, avoiding direct eye contact. “I heard.”
The professor drilled him with a hard stare. He wanted Jeffrey to think carefully about his loyalties, and about the importance of obtaining his doctoral degree, before answering the next question. When it appeared Jeffrey was sufficiently uncomfortable, he asked, “Where did he find them?”
Jeffrey hesitated, but the cogs turned. The professor maintained his cold stare and waited. Finally, Jeffrey shrugged. “I think I heard something about Horvath Levy? Something like that?”
Horvath Levy? Professor Lassiter suppressed a smile. It was about time he got a lucky break. He glanced at the notebook next to Jeffrey’s computer station—citations to his current paper. “I need you to do some quick, priority research for me.”
Author Bio:
J.C. Conway writes romance, science-fiction, and fantasy stories for adults, young adults and middle-grade readers. He is a long-standing member of Romance Writers of America, Yosemite Romance Writers, the World Science Fiction Society, and Mystery Writers of America. He is also a complex-litigation attorney, a former high-school math and computer science teacher, a family man, and a fan of great fiction that stretches the imagination, probes the depths of the human condition or otherwise illuminates the unknown or the misunderstood.
Author Links:
Website and Blog: http://jcconway.com
Hearts in Ruin Website: http://heartsinruin.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B009HM7GS6
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/115404176161414180246/115404176161414180246/posts
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/J.C.Conway.Writer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jcconwaywriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8188641
RED TIDE RISING by Allie Gail (Contest) #Paranormal #Romance
Ages 18+. Contains strong language, explicit sex and elements of horror. This book is the final installment in the Immortal Touch trilogy.
What good is immortality when every moment is agony?
The vampire Ash has returned from his watery grave, proving that death is merely a minor inconvenience. Picking up where he left off? That might not be as easy. Because someone else is vying for Sami’s attention – the last person he ever would have expected.
Fulfilling her desire for immortality seems the surest route to winning her favor. But for Sami, this gift will come at a terrible price. One simple lie of omission is all it takes to send her spiraling into a terminal state of madness. And as the last remnants of her sanity slip away, Ash can no longer deny that her maniacal behavior is putting them all at risk. His perfect angel has become a perfect liability.
But can he find it in his heart to destroy her?
Available from:
Barnes and Noble (Paperback only)
Excerpt:
Almost simultaneously they blinked, the two heads bobbing about in disoriented confusion as they struggled to assimilate. Straightening, Ash took a step back and spread his arms open with a haughty smile.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the freakshow! I am your host and master of ceremonies. Tickets are nonrefundable and the rules here are simple. There are only two, so please give me your undivided attention as I will not, I repeat, will not be going over these instructions twice. Listen up, here we go. Rule number one. Do. Not. Scream. First motherfucker in here that wigs out on me gets their gray matter painted all over the walls. Unless you want this place redecorated with your brains, I suggest you take ol’ Sparky’s advice here and – how’d you put it? Oh, yeah. Keep. It. Down.
“Rule number two. I am in charge here. In case you illiterate hillbilly dumbasses don’t know what that means, I’ll clarify. You will do what I say, when I say it, without asking why. These rules are non-negotiable and subject to change at any time, without any warning, in accordance with my whim. Do we have any questions from the audience?”
Sami watched, enthralled, as the startled couple exchanged panicky looks. Once again almost synchronously, their bulging eyes returned to the gun being waved around in front of their faces. Neither of them seemed to know what to do.
The woman was the first to hazard a question. Bringing a shaking hand to her chest, she coughed twice before saying in a croaky voice, “P-please…I need a Xanax. I think I’m having a panic attack.”
“A panic attack? Really?” Asher’s free hand flew to his mouth in exaggerated dismay. “Oh, my. Now that is unfortunate. Regrettably, management won’t allow us to stop the ride and let you off once it’s started. However, we will have some nice parting gifts for you. May I have your name, please?”
“My…name?” Her cheeks grew even more wan if that was possible. She looked dangerously close to face-planting into the floor.
“Yes. Your name. What people call you. Comes above the street address on your mail. Generally the first line on your birth certificate. Any of that ring a bell?”
“Brandy,” she whispered before coughing again.
“What was that you were asking for, Brandy? A Xanax?”
“Yes…please. They’re in…in my purse. Over there.”
“My dear, you don’t need medication. What you need is a transfusion. Request denied. Next?”
At her side, Kemper seemed to suddenly spring to life. “What’s going on here?” he snapped indignantly. “Who are you people?”
“I apologize, but due to union rules we are only permitted to answer one question at a time. Kindly select just one.”
Not only baffled but clearly getting pissed off, Kemper gritted his teeth so that his lower lip protruded in a way that reminded Sami of Slingblade. “I said…who ARE you people?”
“Oh! That’s right! You don’t even know how to address me yet, do you? Please pardon the oversight. Let me introduce myself. I am known as Alpha to the fortunate, Grim Reaper to the unfortunate, and Total Prick to everyone else. You can simply call me Sir. To my left is my lovely assistant Samara. Take a bow, gorgeous.”
Smiling brightly, she gave a dainty little curtsey. “How do you do?”
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Allie fell in love with books from the moment she was issued her very first Sally, Dick and Jane reader. Born and raised in Alabama, she now resides in the sunny panhandle of Florida with her own blue-eyed Prince Charming and two fat, obnoxious cats. When she’s not busy obsessing over the lexicon of her latest project, she can usually be found watching B-movie horror (the cheesier, the better!), reading or playing online computer games while indulging her unhealthy Pepsi addiction.
Stalker Links:
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/alliegailauthor
Twitter – http://twitter.com/alliegailauthor
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7007359.Allie_Gail
April 20, 2015
The Snarkology: Those Dastardly Villains: by Christy Effinger #TWRP #paranormal #NewAdult
At first glance, Dr. Virgil Simon is as smooth and sophisticated as a piece of Italian marble. Well-groomed and impeccably dressed, he delights in fine wine, dabbles in classical piano music, and directs a highly selective retreat called Bramblewood where mediums flock to study spirit communication. The man’s ambition is tempered only by his self-control.
But as Mira soon realizes in Say Nothing of What You See, Dr. Simon’s need for control extends far beyond himself. Behind the mask of cool composure there hides a monster.
Dr. Simon has been eaten alive by anger. After the betrayal of his former wife, the man allowed his bitterness to brew for over twenty years. Now, he’s corroded from the inside out. But he’s got everyone fooled.
Dr. Simon’s devoted followers see only a poised and powerful medium who has mastered his craft. Their loyalty is so intense, their commitment so complete, that they will do anything the leader requests. Anything.
Mira Piper is brought to Bramblewood against her will, drug along by her capricious mother Chloe who decides on a whim to study mediumship. When Chloe abandons Mira, the girl discovers firsthand the depth of Dr. Simon’s depravity.
From the beginning, Dr. Simon is intrigued by Mira. She represents unspoiled innocence, and he admires her sensitivity and strength. He views Mira as a project to be perfected. Mira, however, isn’t manipulated as easily as his students. Then Troy arrives.
Troy represents everything Dr. Simon hates. Deception. Betrayal. Humiliation. Troy is the son of Dr. Simon’s ex-wife, the woman who broke his heart. He travels to Bramblewood at the deathbed wish of his mother, who requested that he hand-deliver a letter to Dr. Simon. But the meeting goes awry, and Troy is left an injured captive in the northern wilderness.
Which is to say, Dr. Simon has the young man right where he wants him.
A distraught Mira intervenes. She can’t bear to see someone mistreated. Dr. Simon reconsiders his plans for Troy. He is less moved by Mira’s compassion and more motivated by jealousy. A sinister scheme is conceived, one that will subject Troy to the same heartbreak Dr. Simon suffered: betrayal.
Dr. Simon is like the serpent in the garden. He offers Mira forbidden fruit in exchange for her innocence. Beguiled by what is offered, she bites.
But there’s more. Dr. Simon knows Mira’s weak spot. One tragic summer evening, Aunt Charlotte jumped off a grain elevator while a horrified Mira looked on. Now, Dr. Simon uses Mira’s vulnerability to tighten his hold on her. And it’s all in the name of revenge.
The problem is—and it’s a problem Dr. Simon can’t see—ultimately he is punishing himself. He festers in his own cruelty. He refuses to forgive and pays for it with lost happiness. Though he seems to have the upper hand for much of the story, there is a moment of reckoning. Even a psychic has his blind spot. As Dr. Simon learns too late, the only thing stronger than hate is love.
To read a character interview with Dr. Simon, visit the Wild Wild Women Blog: http://www.wildwomenauthorsx2.blogspo...
Title: Say Nothing of What You See
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date Published: August 29, 2014
Genre: Paranormal New Adult
Word Count: 97,296
Buy links:
When her aunt steps off a grain elevator into the emptiness of a prairie evening, Mira Piper loses her one protector. Chloe, her flighty mother, impulsively drags her daughter to Bramblewood, an isolated spiritualist retreat in northern Michigan, run by the enigmatic Dr. Virgil Simon.
Chloe plans to train as a medium but it’s Mira who discovers she can communicate with the dead. When her mother abandons her, Mira discovers a darker aspect to Bramblewood: the seemingly kind doctor has a sinister side and a strange control over his students.
Then one winter’s day Troy Farrington arrives, to fulfill his mother’s dying wish and deliver her letter to the doctor. But calamity strikes and he finds himself a captive, tended by a sympathetic Mira. Haunted by her dead aunt and desperate to escape Bramblewood, Mira makes a devil’s deal with Dr. Simon. But fulfillment comes with a steep cost…betrayal.
Excerpt:
“You are absolutely stunning, Mira.”
I stole another glance in the mirror. The material was a rich, shimmery gold that fell from my shoulders in folds of liquid light. It looked like something a Greek goddess might wear. Oh, how I wished the girls from Amberville High School could see me in this dress!
“When you came here,” said Dr. Simon, “I had a vision of you like this. I looked at the girl before me, but I saw the woman you are now.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, gesturing toward the piles of clothes on my bed. “You’ve been so generous. I know you’ve spent a good deal of money on me—”
“Money means nothing,” he interrupted abruptly. “I have more than I could ever spend, more than I know what to do with. Don’t consider the cost.”
His tone was brusque, and I wondered if I had offended him.
But the next moment Dr. Simon smiled. “I think of you as my charity case. You were like a doll thrown out in the garbage. I simply rescued you from the trash, cleaned you up, and dressed you in something decent. But the beauty was present all along.” He touched my cheek. “Here.” Then he touched my forehead. “Here.” Then he touched my chest. “And here.”
I knew he was referring to my heart, but even so, his hand on my chest made my face warm with discomfort.
“You blush so easily,” he laughed. “You’ll never be able hide anything, Mira, with such a transparent face.”
“That’s all right,” I said, taking a small step back. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
Author Bio:
Christy Effinger’s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in various print and online publications. She lives near Indianapolis. Her website is www.christyeffinger.com.
Author Links:
Website: http://christyeffinger.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/christyeffinger
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April 19, 2015
Eban by Allison Merritt (Contest) #Paranormal #Romance @Allison_Merritt
Genre: Paranormal Romance
If love can’t save them, there will be hell to pay.
Grateful for his mother’s human blood that cools the dark fire of his demon father, Eban Heckmaster has set up a medical practice in New Mexico territory. But there’s no hope of living a normal life until he rids himself of a seductive demon that’s been pursuing him.
Vanquishing it won’t be as simple as sharpening his demon-hunting sword. The clever creature is hiding inside his best friend’s head, and she has no idea of the havoc she’s been wreaking, especially with his body.
Beryl suspects Eban knows why she’s been waking up with no memory of where she’s been or what she’s done, but he’s not talking. But when she inevitably learns what he’s hiding—or rather, what’s hiding inside her—she wonders if her love for him is real, or an illusion created by the demon’s lust.
Eban is losing the battle to hold his rising desire in check. There may be only one way to extricate Beryl from the beast entangling her mind. Call upon his demon blood…and offer it as a sacrifice.
Product Warnings
Contains a half-human, half-demon doctor who can heal anyone except himself, and a woman who’d blush if she could remember the sensuous torture she’s been inflicting on him. Could make you wonder if you should start listening to the voices in your head…
Buy links:
~Excerpt~
Eban Heckmaster dreamed of becoming tangled in a river of gold. Soft and silky upon entering, it turned deadly within moments. He couldn’t breathe as it filled his nose. It bound his wrists, his ankles, blocked his vision. So much and so warm, sweat broke out across his body.
He’d die cradled in a gilded nest.
And he was fine with that.
Anything was better than living with the knowledge that his brother had taken the woman Eban loved as his bride hours ago.
Eban’s lungs ached for breath and his eyes shot open. Startled by weight settling on his abdomen, he tried to sit up, but two small hands held him down. Thanks to his demon blood, it only took a moment to adjust to the dark. In the nonexistent light, he peered up at Beryl Brookshier’s angelic face. She gave him a wicked smile as long strands of wheat blonde hair tickled his bare chest. He sucked in a breath when he realized she was naked and a sheet was the only thing separating her from his raging erection.
“What are you doing?”
The second the words were out of his mouth, Eban knew he wasn’t talking to Beryl.
“Ravish me, Ebaneezer.”
The demon used Beryl’s voice and body, but the thing talking to him was far from human. The notion of taking its head off and sparing himself a lot of trouble was tempting.
If not for the real Beryl’s trusting green eyes and bashful smile.
“That stopped being funny the first time you got naked in front of me.”
She caressed his cheek. “You were dreaming. I was trying to make your dreams more pleasant.”
He slapped her hands away. “You thought you’d tempt me into bedding you and then letting some other parasite into my brain. That’s not going to happen, Rosemar.”
“You want this body. Why deny it, Heckmaster?” The lust demon glowered at him, her irritation creasing the smooth face she borrowed.
“Get off me.” He pushed her away, then grabbed the sheet as she slid off his chest.
“What I want is for you to vacate it, leaving Beryl’s mind intact so I can get out of Berner.”
Her pique faded, replaced by a sultry smile. “We’ve lain awake at night imagining the coupling. This body twined around yours, the friction of skin on skin. Hard muscles meeting soft curves.” Her green eyes brightened mischievously. “Miss Brookshier has quite an imagination.”
He tensed, flushing at her descriptions, but revulsion held his desire at bay. “She’s there with you, right now?”
Rosemar waved a hand. “She’s locked away, but she’s not as innocent as you seem to think. This body is familiar with masculine touch.”
Eban suppressed a groan. “It’s none of my business. Nothing I’m interested in exploring.”
“Your body suggests otherwise. A simple sexual escapade isn’t a lifetime commitment.”
She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, pouting while she batted her eyelashes.
“It is where demons are concerned. You can’t stay in there forever, you know.” He sat against the headboard, trying to ignore the way she pressed her breasts forward.
“Can’t I?” The wicked grin returned. “You can’t get rid of me without killing her. You know that.”
~Giveaway~
Allison Merritt is giving away a $10 Amazon GC to one lucky winner.
Enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win.
~About the Author~
A love of reading inspired Allison Merritt to pursue her dream of becoming an author who writes historical, paranormal and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres. She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and dogs. When she’s not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks and conservation areas.
Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that’s gathering dust after it was determined that she’s better at writing fluff than hard news.
Author Links:
April 16, 2015
Eva Gordon’s Facebook Release Party
Author Eva Gordon would like to invite everyone
to her Facebook Release Party For
The Stone of the Tenth Realm, Book 1 in the Epic Fantasy Realms Trilogy
Guest Fantasy Authors/Bloggers and Giveaways
April 18, 9 AM—8PM
https://www.facebook.com/events/351733241693215/
The Snarkology: Those Dastardly Villains by MJ Compton #amwriting #werewolves
I approached this topic from several directions. Every version ended up sounding like a 9th grade English essay: The Symbolism of the Color Red in The Red Badge of Courage, or The Symbolism of Wild Pigs in Lord of the Flies.
I examined the villain of my current release, And Jericho Burned. Randy Butler is a little man with a big ego, enormous paranoia, and an uncanny knack of finding a person’s vulnerability and exploiting it. He has no conscience, no morals, and a charisma that appeals to a certain segment of the population. By using a blend of anti-government rhetoric and Old Testament religion, Randy has started his own cult and formed a new nation he calls New Sinai. And of course, every nation needs an army, so Randy declared himself General and that’s where his real trouble began.
If he had confined himself to ranting, he would have been fine. But he and his alleged army started stockpiling weapons. Big weapons. Nasty weapons. You know: the kind of armaments that makes the government raise its eyebrows and send in the troops—who happen to be werewolves in this instance—to find out what’s really going on.
Dwight Swain wrote: “A villain is the personification of the danger that threatens your hero.” So I put on my 9th grade English essay analyzing cap to see if my villain had fulfilled his obligation. As every character is the hero of his/her own story, I decided to look not only at the romantic leads but the other characters in the story.
To the pack of government secret agent werewolves, Randy Butler represents the alpha male of his pack. Like all alphas, he demands unquestioning obedience. But Randy is a bad alpha. He doesn’t make decisions based on what is best for the pack, but what’s best for Randy Butler. Poor leadership could result in the end of the pack, something werewolves don’t like to contemplate.
To Randy’s ragtag followers, he is yet another unfulfilled promise, which is the story of those people’s lives.
To his wife, Randy is another version of her abusive father, except Randy is sober. Children of abusers tend to repeat the patterns in their adult relationships. She’s on track.
To werewolf Stoker Smith—the story hero—Randy is much more than a bad alpha (another story conflict for Stoker). He is also claiming Stoker’s mate for New Sinai. Stoker waited his whole life to meet Lucy Callahan. He’s not going to give her up. This takes the werewolves’ reconnaissance mission from government obligation to the personal. If Stoker loses Lucy, he will be alone for the rest of his life.
And to the heroine, Lucy Callahan, Randy represents the greed she fears motivates Stoker (she has a small inheritance, which Randy wants so he can buy more weapons), the loss of her only family (her sister is married to Randy), and the claustrophobia that has plagued her since childhood. “No one in and no one out,” of New Sinai. That includes people, media, and thoughts. Randy stifles all independence and anything that might spark rebellion.
Conclusion: Randy Butler fits Swain’s definition of villain. My 9th grade English teacher would be so proud.
Title: AND JERICHO BURNED
Publisher: SOUL MATE PUBLISHING
Date Published: FEBRUARY 11, 2015
Genre: SEXY PARANORMAL ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Word Count: 87,000
Lucy Callahan will do anything to save her sister, even if it means marrying a stranger. Even if that stranger is an undercover government agent out to destroy the cult holding her sister hostage. Even if that stranger is a . . . werewolf.
Excerpt:
Stoker Smith caught his first whiff of his future as the band finished their set.
His spine tingled as he inhaled the scent of something sweet and wonderful, like a mountain meadow in spring; something female and green that hit his nose like a bronco kick to the gut. As he tried to separate the layers of fragrance mingling in a potpourri of perspiration, stale beer, and the perfume marinades in which the honky-tonk angels had soaked, he realized there was another element lurking in the atmosphere of the bar.
Fear.
She was terrified.
She needed him. Now.
“Come on, Stoker,” Tokarz de Lobo Garner—Toke Lobo to fans—said. “Break time.”
Stoker switched off his electric keyboard and threaded his way through speakers, equalizers, Luke’s drums, and the other paraphernalia of the band to the edge of the chicken-wire enclosed stage.
“She’s here,” he murmured to Tokarz. “And she’s in trouble. I need to find her.”
“Who’s here?” Tokarz asked.
“My mate.”
AND JERICHO BURNED is the second in the Toke Lobo & the Pack series. The first book is MOONLIGHT SERENADE. Night Owl Reviews gave AND JERICHO BURNED 4.5 stars and named it a Reviewer Top Pick.
Author Bio:
MJ Compton grew up near Cardiff, New York, a place best known for its giant.
Although her 30-year career in local television included such highlights as being bitten by a lion, preempting a US President for a college basketball game, giving a three-time world champion boxer a few black eyes, a mention in the Drudge Report, and meeting her husband, MJ’s urge to create her own stories never went away.
MJ still lives in upstate New York with her husband. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Central New York Romance Writers. Music and cooking are two of her passions, and she enjoys baseball and college basketball, but she’s primarily focused on wine . . . and writing.
Author Links:
Website & Blog www.comptonplations.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/Comptonplations
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMJCompton
Tsu http://www.tsu.co/mj_compton
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8075221.M_J_Compton
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/MJ-Compton/e/B00J9DFFIG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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