Amber Belldene's Blog, page 10

A little m/m silliness: Blood Vine’s Pedro flirts w/Adrian from @CeliaBreslin’s HAVEN

On one of my first research trips to investigate the mysterious winemaker Andre Maras, I traveled from San Francisco to the Kastel Estate Winery’s tasting room in Sonoma County. I pulled into the parking lot next to a dark blue BMW convertible.  A gorgeous blond tapped my passenger door as he swung his open to exit his car.

“Hi there. Pardon the love tap.” He swiped a large, tanned hand over my door. “No harm done. But I’ll buy you a drink anyway.”

It was not hard to imagine that hand swiping over my hip in a similar way.  “Thanks, but I think they are pouring for free inside.”

He produced a card. Black. One word–H A V E N–in shiny silver text. “Stop by my club anytime. Drinks on me.” He shot me an Oscar-worthy smile and strode to the tasting room, leaving me alone in the lot.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was showing off that very nice view of his backside on purpose. I cracked the big rustic door of the tasting room and slid inside.  When my eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, I nearly swooned. Handsome company, even if they were clearly into each other more than they would ever be into me. The blond shook hands with a stocky dark-haired man I knew must be my host for the afternoon, Pedro Torres. I could overhear their warm greeting.

“Hola, Adrian. Como estas?”

“Muy bien, my muy guapo amigo,” Adrian replied with a wide grin. He gave Pedro a slow once-over, still holding his hand. “Yeah, I miss seeing this on the dance floor. Where’ve you been hiding?  The men at HAVEN miss you.” He cocked his head. “And mi tambien.”

Pedro snorted, yanking his hand back to punch Adrian lightly on the shoulder. “Dude. Nix the Spanglish.  And, amigo, you miss anything with a pulse and a penis.”

Adrian’s deep laugh was the sexiest sound I’d heard in a long time. They hadn’t noticed me lingering in the doorway, and he stepped closer to Pedro. “I only like cocks if they belong to someone like you, my smartass friend. And I don’t discriminate against people without them. ”

“Yuck. Your switchy shit creeps me out.” Pedro slid a hand into Adrian’s hair, looking not at all creeped.

Switch? If I weren’t a happily married romance novelist, that word might have intrigued me.

Adrian quirked a brow. “Come on, man. You know Rina. She’s irresistible.”

“Whatever, dude.”  Pedro yanked him close until wall of muscle met equally solid wall of muscle, and thumped him on the back.  Damn, I would not have minded being in the middle of that hot man sandwich.

They kissed each cheek–twice, lucky cheeks–then a quick peck on the mouth.

Adrian pulled back. “As much as I’d like to continue this…” he licked his lower lip. “I actually made the trip to check out your latest and greatest.” His gaze darted south. “Wine, that is.”

“Riiight…” Pedro gave him the look that comment deserved.

“Hey Pedro.”  Adrian’s tone turned serious. I’d just met the guy and I could tell it was out of character.

“Yeah?” The winemaker pulled away, wearing the same look of curiosity that fluttered through me.

Adrian leaned against the bar, fingers tapping a staccato rhythm on the marble. “You know that thing about a pulse?”

Pedro took a full step back. “Uh huh.”

“Maybe I’m way off base here, but I have a theory about your mysterious Andre Maras. And why he’s never in the tasting room.”

I knew Andre Maras was a vampire, and Pedro knew it, too. But, how the hell had Adrian guessed?

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?” Pedro brushed a lock of dark hair off his face.

Adrian’s fingers ceased their drumming. “Pedro, amigo, I knoooow about vampires.”

Pedro’s eyes widened. “Seriously, are you doing a blood sucker?  Now it all makes sense. I could have shipped you the wine you needed. You wanted to grill me!”  Pedro grinned, shaking his head.  “I DO NOT get frisky with vampires. I don’t want fangs anywhere near my…”

His mouth fell open in astonishment and I could sympathize–Adrian had flushed bright pink.

Adrian shrugged. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

I dropped my purse.

Shit.

When I tried to grab it, my keys clattered to the floor.

Both men turned their attention to me. Adrian straightened, arms folded across his broad chest. “Hell, I forgot about you. Have you been listening the whole time?”

With one knee on the floor, I looked up and nodded sheepishly.

“Shit.”

“Oh, don’t worry about her. She’s Andre’s friend. Writing some kinda book.”  Pedro strolled over and offered me a hand. “Amber, right?”

“Yeah.  Nice to meet you.”

His hand was thick and he had one of those firm but gentle handshakes. I liked him on first contact, even if he didn’t switch.

“I just had a few questions about winemaking.  You know, the stuff Andre gets too impatient to answer.”

“Sure thing.  Let me pour you a glass.” He escorted me to the bar with a hand at my elbow. “I take it you already met Adrian?”

“I did. He gave me a love tap.”

Pedro rolled his eyes. “I’m sure that’s not all he’d like to give you. He doesn’t require a pulse or a penis.”

Adrian raised his hands, blue eyes glinting with mischief. “Guilty.”

Clearly, he’d recovered from his earlier embarrassment.

I coughed. “Um, I’m, uh…married.”

“Oh, he doesn’t mind that either.”

Adrian chuckled. “Hey man, no fair. I’m a lover not a homewrecker.” He tapped the bartop.  “Now pour us some booze already.”

Pedro twisted the wine key on a bottle of my favorite Kastel Estate Zin and the cork popped out with a thunk. Three glasses waited to receive the crimson liquid. Once it was poured, we raised them.

“To Andre,” I said.

“To Kastel,” Pedro replied.

“To vampires,” Adrian finished.

Clink. Clink. Clink. And we each took a sip of the sweet but balanced, peppery wine.

———

Enjoy more of Pedro in Blood Vine available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and in Blood Entangled, coming in July.

Adrian comes out to play in Celia Breslin’s urban fantasy romance HAVEN, releasing July 1, 2013.

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Meet the Blood Vine cast & e-book #giveaway

Today I am on Rom Con’s paranormal blog with a cast list from Blood Vine and I’m giving away an e-book!  Please drop on by and tell me which character you find most interesting.

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Andre, Zoey & St. Valentine + @OmniPub gives away 3 fully loaded Kindles

Omnific Publishing turns three this Valentines Day, and they’re giving away THREE KINDLES for THREE GREAT YEARS!  My debut vampire paranormal romance Blood Vine will be on Kindle Three!  The rafflecopter link is at the bottom of the post.
As a special Valentine just for you, I have a brand new scene featuring the hero and heroine of Blood Vine.  By the end you’ll probably be able to guess who the hero and heroine of Blood Entangled will be.  And, there is a little cameo in the scene from St. Valentine himself!
Welcome everyone from the Vampire Bite Blog Hop!  I hope you’ll enjoy this taste of my vampire world.

Quick footsteps sounded in the cellar, and Andre rose from his desk, uncertain who to expect.

The door swung open and Kos stepped inside holding a shopping bag striped with two shades of pink.

“What on earth is in there?”

“Something for Zoey, Lena picked it out.” Kos held the bag at arm’s length, shying his face away from it.

Andre could guess its contents.  “Lingerie?”

“Apparently.”

“I try to keep her out of underwear as much as possible.” Andre received the bag and rummaged through tissue paper in yet another shade of pink.  “So, why is my formerly jealous household cook purchasing frivolities for my mate?”  His fingers tangled in slippery fabric and he yanked the minuscule garment out of the bag.

Blood-red lace and ribbons dangled from his fingers.  No, he would not mind seeing Zoey in that.  And it was too insubstantial to obstruct any intimate activities they might want to indulge in.  He began to get ideas.

“Christ, Andre, my retinas are burning.  Put it away.”

Andre dropped the panties, if you could call them that, back into the bag.  “You did not answer my question. Why is Lena shopping on my behalf.”

“She knew you would forget Valentines Day, and she insists it’s important to human women.”

“But Zoey is no longer human, and she was remarkably unsentimental before.”

Kos tilted his head and drew his blond brows together, lost in thought.

Andre snapped his fingers.  “Davo, Kos. You do not normally go wool gathering right in the middle of a conversation.  What set you off on that reverie?”

“Lena said you would say that–that Zoey didn’t care about Valentine’s Day.  And then you did, and she told me to tell you to trust her.”

Andre stifled a chuckle, but it caught in his throat like a cough.  His son’s inexplicable infatuation with Lena had not waned one bit, even after the idiotic girl had undressed and ambushed Andre in his bedroom.  “Is she still sleeping in your room?”

“She is.  We both like the company.”

“Indeed,” Andre said, laying on the innuendo, even though he heard everything that happened in his house and nothing besides the reading of some very boring books happened in Kos’s room.

More footsteps rustled in the hallway, lighter this time, and Zoey appeared.  Her gaze settled on the bag immediately and then her eyebrows arched.  “Planning to model something for me?”

The item in question would cover only a very small part of him, and he truly did not possess any small parts.

“No, lover, this is for you.”  He handed over the bag without ceremony.

Her pulse accelerated unmistakably, confirming Lena’s hypothesis.  Next a warmth flooded his chest, a mirror of her own emotions.  His mate was proving to be more and more tenderhearted everyday. Just fine with him, as long as she kept her wicked sense of humor.

Kos would be able to hear her heartbeat too, which explained his sidestep toward the door.  “Kos, did I ever tell you about young Valens?”

“Who?” Kos halted.

“No.” Zoey put her hands on her hips. “You didn’t know him.”

“I did.  Certainly.”

Kos leaned a hand on the doorframe. “Valens?  As in St. Valentine?”

“Kos, do keep up.  He was a soldier like me.  But he was one of those zealous Christians.”

“And by zealous, you mean…?” Zoey’s mouth quirked.  She knew him so well, better even than Kos, who apparently did not see the attack coming.

“Yes, celibate, poor thing. No wonder he went willingly to his martyrdom in the arena with the wild animals. I do think he would be surprised by the way we honor his memory.” Andre pointed at the gift bag.  “But Kos, Lena has left no doubt how she would like to celebrate.  Surely she would be glad if you relieved her of the burden of her celibacy.”

Zoey burst into giggles—one of the most delightful sounds on the entire planet.

Kos rolled his eyes and rapped his knuckles on the door frame. “Christ, Andre, mind your own business. And congratulations on being such a thoughtful mate. You’ve clearly pleased Zoey.”

Barb delivered, Kos vanished vampire-fast into the cellar.

Zoey pulled the clump of tissue paper out of the bag and fished around inside until the stringy thing reappeared, alongside a matching crimson negligee.  “It’s gorgeous. You didn’t pick it out yourself, did you?”

“I had some help.” He raised a shoulder dismissively.

“Honestly, I would have thought I didn’t care about Valentine’s Day until I saw the bag in your hand.”  She stepped close and wrapped her arms around his neck, looking him in the eye.

“Imagine that.”

She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. “And, about Valens…”

“Yes?”

“I remember that not long ago, you were a happily celibate vampire.”

“Did you forget that celibacy was also your fault? It is only fair that you relieved me of the burden.”  And he kissed her before she could ask anymore questions about that divine negligee.

Davo—he owed a great debt to Lena.

Blood Vine is available in print and ebook from Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Enter to wine one of three Kindles via a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kindle #1 will feature all of Omnific’s 2010 titles!

Passion Fish, Three Daves, Seers of Light, Boycotts & Barflies, A Valentine Anthology, The Unidentified Redhead, Stitches and Scars, Eve of Samhain, Life, Liberty, and Pursuit, With Good Behavior, Trust in Advertising, Take the Cake, Immortal Awakening, The Redhead Revealed, Whisper of Light, Shades of Atlantis, Breaking Point, Whirlwind

Kindle #2 will feature all of Omnific’s 2011 titles! 

Indivisible, Pleasures Untold, Bad Behavior, Pieces of Us, Becoming sage, Crushed Seraphim, The Way That You Play It, Big Guns, Concessions, It’s Only Kinky the First Time, Starstruck, New Flame. Shackled, Swim Recruit, Sway, Full Speed Ahead, The Second Sunrise, The Summer Prince, Whatever it Takes, Ember, Cat O’ Nine Tails, The Guardian’s Wildchild, Small Town Girl, Poughkeepsie, Embrace

Kindle #3 will feature all of Omnific’s 2012/2013 titles!

Destiny’s Fire, Grave Refrain, Streamline, Burning Embers. Saving sunni, Cocktails and Dreams, The Winemaker’s Dinner: No Reservations, The Winemaker’s Dinner: RSVP, The Winemaker’s Dinner: Appetizers, Recaptured Dreams, Clarity, Divinity, Glimpse of Light, Circle of Light, Iridescent, Between the Lies, Reaping Me Softly, Once Upon a Second Chance, Bittersweet Seraphim, Wallbanger, The Winemaker’s Dinner: Entree, A Christmas Wish, Blood Vine

You can also enter to win via Rafflecopter on the Omnific Publishing Blog.

Good luck, and THANK YOU for your support of Omnific Publishing! Here’s to many more years of smart, sexy, rule-breaking romance!

In addition, Omnific’s DEBUT COLLECTION will be on sale February 14-16 for only 99 cents each:

Passion Fish by Jessica McQuinn and Alison Oburia

Three Daves by Nicki Elson

Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy 

Boycotts & Barflies by Victoria Michaels

The Unidentified Redhead by Alice Clayton 

A Valentine Anthology by Alice Clayton, Jennifer DeLucy, Nicki Elson, Victoria Michaels, and Alison Oburia

 

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Blood Vine featured on @ParRomanceReads

I’m excited that this week my debut novel Blood Vine is featured on the website Paranormal Romance Reads.  Check out their amazing site for all things paranormal!

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Omnific Valentine’s Day Anniversary Celebration!

My awesome publisher Omnific turns three this Valentines Day, and they’re giving away THREE KINDLES for THREE GREAT YEARS!  How great would it be to earn a fully-loaded Kindle? My debut novel Blood Vine will be on Kindle Three!

Kindle #1 will feature all of Omnific’s 2010 titles!

Passion Fish, Three Daves, Seers of Light, Boycotts & Barflies, A Valentine Anthology, The Unidentified Redhead, Stitches and Scars, Eve of Samhain, Life, Liberty, and Pursuit, With Good Behavior, Trust in Advertising, Take the Cake, Immortal Awakening, The Redhead Revealed, Whisper of Light, Shades of Atlantis, Breaking Point, Whirlwind

Kindle #2 will feature all of Omnific’s 2011 titles! 

Indivisible, Pleasures Untold, Bad Behavior, Pieces of Us, Becoming sage, Crushed Seraphim, The Way That You Play It, Big Guns, Concessions, It’s Only Kinky the First Time, Starstruck, New Flame. Shackled, Swim Recruit, Sway, Full Speed Ahead, The Second Sunrise, The Summer Prince, Whatever it Takes, Ember, Cat O’ Nine Tails, The Guardian’s Wildchild, Small Town Girl, Poughkeepsie, Embrace

 

Kindle #3 will feature all of Omnific’s 2012/2013 titles!

Destiny’s Fire, Grave Refrain, Streamline, Burning Embers. Saving sunni, Cocktails and Dreams, The Winemaker’s Dinner: No Reservations, The Winemaker’s Dinner: RSVP, The Winemaker’s Dinner: Appetizers, Recaptured Dreams, Clarity, Divinity, Glimpse of Light, Circle of Light, Iridescent, Between the Lies, Reaping Me Softly, Once Upon a Second Chance, Bittersweet Seraphim, Wallbanger, The Winemaker’s Dinner: Entree, A Christmas Wish, Blood Vine

Enter to win via Rafflecopter on the Omnific Publishing Blog or here February 14 -16, 2013:

Good luck, and THANK YOU for your support of Omnific Publishing! Here’s to many more years of smart, sexy, rule-breaking romance!

In addition, Omnific’s DEBUT COLLECTION will be on sale February 14-16 for only 99 cents each and I’ll post those links on Valentine’s Day too!

 

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And what the F#&% is romance, anyway?

I’m on Sapphire Phelan’s blog today for Romancing on Friday with a post called “A Quality of Attention,” in which I explore what we mean when we talk about romance.  I hope you’ll drop by and leave a comment!

And, if you follow me on Twitter, now you know why I wanted to learn how to symbol swear!

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A Fang By Any Other Name + Giveaway

Today I’m on the blog Star Crossed Romance and giving away a copy of Blood Vine:

One of my favorite things about writing in the paranormal genre is the way all the romance tropes become fresh—enemies to lovers, a baby on the door step, and my favorite: star crossed lovers.   Romeo and Juliet, kept apart by family rivalry, become a human and a vampire, a succubus and a demon slayer, a werewolf and a werepanther (I haven’t read this one, but it must be out there—the whole cats and dogs thing would be so fun!)…Read more.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has written a review of Blood Vine or ranked it on Goodreads–those honest reviews and rankings help others find books they will enjoy.  If you haven’t had a chance, please consider doing so!

Just because it’s Monday Giveaway

I’m about to send out another shipment of Kastel Estate wine glasses to giveaway winners and my mom, who’s been impatiently waiting.  I’d love to send you a pair!  Leave me a comment about what you will drink out of the glasses to be entered to win!

Another way to enter this giveaway is to start following @AndreMaras on twitter and tweet your answer!

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Glorious Wounds

Back in December, during the church season of Advent, a hymn verse caught my attention, and it hasn’t let me go.  “Oh, what rapture, Oh, what rapture, gaze we on those glorious wounds.” The song is about Jesus, and how, even after he was resurrected from the dead, he still showed the marks of his suffering.

At the time, I was reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and I couldn’t help but think of the highly erotic scene near the beginning of the book where Claire examines all Jaimie’s scars, and from the way she touches him, we all know she is going to fall hard, even though she is still in love with her husband who is alive two hundred years later.

Yes, that’s right, I was thinking about that highly erotic scene in church, while singing one of my favorite hymns.  And I’m quite sure Jesus didn’t mind a bit—he understood perfectly well what scars mean to us.  That’s why he showed his to his doubting disciple Thomas after he was resurrected.

Inside or out, every human being has scars.  Some of my personal favorites are two banged-up knees, my c-section scar, and a barely visible mark on my hand when, as a toddler, I bumped into my dad’s lit cigarette.  He felt terrible, and that little incident inspired him to quit smoking.

Scars have stories.  The silver lines across Jaimie Frazer’s muscular back catalog the narrative of a sacrifice he made for his sister, and his willfulness in resisting the cruelty of the bad guy.  And instantly, all the readers are in love and just waiting for Claire to admit she is too.

Aeron, Keeper of Wrath, from Gena Showalter’s Darkest Passion scarred up his own face in order to render himself unlovable, after his heart was broken.  In a novella I absolutely adore called Splinter, Remittance Girl has a seriously scarred character—I won’t spoil a drop of that story for you by explaining more, but if you’re not afraid to consider how pain, religious devotion, and ecstasy go together, read it!

Scars can be signs of strength, or courage, or just plain-old abuse.  They aren’t all glorious, for sure.  We can heal, but they don’t go away.  We carry around the marks of our suffering and showing them to others is a profound intimacy.

Maybe thats why they are so effective, when it comes to characterization.  When we see the hero or heroine’s scars, it’s a window into their past.  Maybe their emotional wounds play out in a gesture, or display on their face in an a moment of conflict.  But a physical scar is a place where flesh was once broken, where the barrier of skin that keeps our insides inside split open.  When one human being touches another’s scars, it seems possible for the boundaries between them to dissolve—like the very best sex.

Our fragile bodies break, and bleed, and make love, and die.  It is their frailty that makes them beautiful, and sometimes their wounds that make them glorious.  I am a sucker for that moment in the book where the wound is laid bare to the reader, and it takes your breath away and makes you fall in love, just like Claire, just like Thomas.

Who are your favorite wounded heroes?

 

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Interview & #Giveaway: Win a pair of Blood Vine’s Kastel Estate Wine Glasses

 

Drop on by the blog of author Babette James today for an interview with me and a chance to win a pair of these fun wine glasses. 

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