Lashell Collins's Blog, page 8

Weekend Jams – Howl

It’s Friday, and you know what that means! Time for Weekend Jams!

So, my new shifter romance, Secrets of Lunar Falls, is out and available for purchase, and I am into the second draft edit/rewrite stage for book 2 of the trilogy, Lies of Lunar Falls. I don’t want to give anything away, but something about the storyline of this second installment has me thinking about these lyrics:

“If you could only see the beast you’ve made of me
I held it in but now it seems you’ve set it running free.”

It’s a song by Florence + the Machine, and one that I somehow never heard before a few days ago. But now that I have, it’s sort of become the theme song for book 2 of the Lunar Falls Trilogy. I’ve added it to the trilogy playlist, but you can listen to it here. Enjoy!

Howloween Blog Hop Winners!

 

The Grand Prize winner of the Howloween Blog Hop has been announced and you can find the name of the lucky winner by checking the Hops With Heart website.

As for my little Howloween Giveaway, the winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is Lori Hopkins. Congratulations to Lori, and thank you to everyone who stopped by my site and entered the drawing!

#8Sunday – Secrets of Lunar Falls Out Now!

Happy Sunday, Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Welcome to my installment of Weekend Writing Warriors, the uber cool blog hop where writers of every genre share 8 sentences from something they’ve written. It’s a great way to sample new writers and find some new favorites, so be sure to click through and check out the others.

Today, I’m continuing on with chapter 3 of my new paranormal romance, Secrets of Lunar Falls, which just released on Friday! In this scene, Gabe has just entered the diner and taken a seat next to Carly at the counter. Some creative punctuation has occurred to fit the scene into eight sentences.

Carly glanced at him once more trying to understand why this man made her so nervous. Every time she’d run into him lately all she could think about were the strange erotic dreams she kept having. They were always the same, she was either standing alone in her backyard beneath the moonlight, or she was running through the forest with wolves. Then out of nowhere she would be with Gabe Masters, kissing him, making love to him, and each dream had gotten progressively more erotic. She was completely embarrassed every time she ran into him.

It was more than just the dreams though, there was something about him that both intrigued her and made her uneasy. There was a duality in him that she couldn’t pin down. On the surface he was polished and charming, and surprisingly sophisticated for a small town sheriff, but Carly sensed something else about him … a roughness, an edge that she couldn’t name, some wild untamed quality that almost frightened her.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is now available to purchase wherever ebooks are sold. You can also order the paperback from Amazon.

Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, Paperback

Here’s the official blurb:

When veterinarian, Dr. Carly Tipton, takes a new job in the tiny farming community of Lunar Falls, she expects to build a new life for herself. She expects to meet new people and have new experiences. Maybe she’s even expecting a little adventure. But what she’s not expecting is to fall head over heels in love – not with the town, and certainly not with its ruggedly sexy sheriff, Gabriel Masters. She’s also not expecting all the secrets Lunar Falls is hiding. Secrets that could destroy everything she ever believed was true about her own heritage and the family she left back home.

Gabe isn’t ready for Carly when she blows into town. That woman has the power to bring him – a man born and raised to be a GrandAlpha – to his knees, and she’s human! That simple fact alone makes her dangerous to Gabe’s position within the pack. But the fact that he can’t seem to stay away from her tells him that this woman is the one. Human or not … she’s his mate. And now Gabe has to find a way to make their bonding complete without sparking a civil war among his people.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is book one of an adult, sexy shifter romance trilogy.

Don’t forget to check out the other amazing writers of the Weekend Writing Warriors!

Weekend Jams – Lunar Falls Playlist

It’s Friday, and that usually means Weekend Jams around here. But today, it’s also Halloween, and that means it’s release day for Secrets of Lunar Falls!!!

To celebrate, I’m doing something a little different on Weekend Jams. I recently built a website for the Lunar Falls Trilogy and included on that site is a playlist of songs that I listened to for inspiration while writing the story. I like to think of the playlist as “an ode to the moon” if you will, not to mention a nod to werewolves everywhere!

The website is sort of my version of the bonus material you would find on a DVD – besides the playlist there’s a who’s who rundown of each of the characters, a map of the Moon Hunter’s territory, even a listing of some “real life” werewolf sightings that have taken place here in Ohio! So here’s the link to the playlist on the site, but be sure to have a look around while you’re getting caught up in my shifter groove!

 

Howloween Blog Hop & Giveaways!

Welcome to my stop along the Paranormal Romance HOWLOWEEN Blog Hop! The hop is being brought to you by #HopswithHeart, and there are plenty of fun prizes and giveaways to be had so make sure you visit the Hops With Heart website to check out all of the wonderful paranormal romance authors and bloggers participating this weekend. Grand Prize for the Hop is a $50 Amazon Gift Card, and to enter for that giveaway all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter.

I’m really excited because this is release weekend for me. My new paranormal romance comes out TOMORROW!!! It’s called Secrets of Lunar Falls, and it’s my very first foray into the world of the werewolf. It’s about a small pack of wolf shifters who live, hidden in plain sight, in a small rural town in Ohio. But these wolves aren’t exactly isolated. They’re part of a whole society of werewolves that live throughout the state, hiding their secret from the humans as they’ve done for centuries, until a human female falls into the arms of their GrandAlpha and he realizes with one sniff that she’s his mate!

For bonus material on the story – character breakdowns, playlist, future book release dates, and more – visit the Lunar Falls Trilogy website!

Buy Links:  Amazon || B&N || iTunes || Kobo || Smashwords

And, as part of my Howloween Blog Hop entry, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card. To enter the drawing, just comment on this post and don’t forget to include your email address so I can contact you if your name is drawn. One random winner will be chosen on November 2. Happy Halloween, Everyone!

#8Sunday – Lunar Falls & Moths to Flames

Happy Sunday, Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Welcome to my installment of Weekend Writing Warriors, the ultra cool blog hop where writers of every genre post just 8 sentences from something they’ve written. It’s a great way to sample new writers and find some new favorites, so be sure to click through and check out the others.

Today, I’m continuing on with chapter 3 of my upcoming paranormal romance, Secrets of Lunar Falls. In this scene, Gabe has followed Carly to the local diner, having seen her enter the establishment from across the street.

This was a woman that he could not pursue, no matter how beautiful she was or how badly he wanted to bury his nose in the crook of her neck and inhale. No matter how his body was insisting otherwise, Carly Tipton could not be the woman for him. His life was complicated enough as it was – he did not need to add a human mate to the mix. Not that it was never done, but it would be an impossible situation for him with his position in the pack, and he knew without a doubt that his mother and his grandfather would fight him every step of the way. And that was a battle he wasn’t sure he had the strength for.

No, he could not pursue Carly Tipton. And yet, here he was, purposely going out of his way to see her, to spend a few moments being near her. 

“What the hell are you doing, Gabe?” he asked himself.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes and Kobo. Here’s the official blurb:

When veterinarian, Dr. Carly Tipton, takes a new job in the tiny farming community of Lunar Falls, she expects to build a new life for herself. She expects to meet new people and have new experiences. Maybe she’s even expecting a little adventure. But what she’s not expecting is to fall head over heels in love – not with the town, and certainly not with its ruggedly sexy sheriff, Gabriel Masters. She’s also not expecting all the secrets Lunar Falls is hiding. Secrets that could destroy everything she ever believed was true about her own heritage and the family she left back home.

Gabe isn’t ready for Carly when she blows into town. That woman has the power to bring him – a man born and raised to be a GrandAlpha – to his knees, and she’s human! That simple fact alone makes her dangerous to Gabe’s position within the pack. But the fact that he can’t seem to stay away from her tells him that this woman is the one. Human or not … she’s his mate. And now Gabe has to find a way to make their bonding complete without sparking a civil war among his people.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is book one of an adult, sexy shifter romance trilogy.

Don’t forget to check out the other amazing writers of the Weekend Writing Warriors!

Weekend Jams – Battleground

It’s time for Weekend Jams, and the only song that has been on my mind today – in fact, it’s been running through my mind on repeat for two days now – is a song called “Battleground” by Slash, Myles and the boys.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong! Yes, I do adore this group, but that’s not why I picked this song for Weekend Jams. I chose it (aside from the fact that I can’t seem to shake it) because it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a ballad about a relationship on the rocks, and the lyrics are just so heartbreaking to me. It paints a very vivid picture of a man so completely in love with the woman in his life, but lately every conversation turns into an argument, and he’s left wondering “How did the bed that we made become our battleground?” As a writer, this song gets my creative juices flowing, and I can’t help but make up a whole backstory in my head – who is this couple? How did they meet? Why are they fighting? Will they survive it?

I love a song that paints a picture or makes me see a little movie (or video) in my head, and this song is definitely one of those. Enjoy!

#8Sunday – Lunar Falls & Fighting the Feeling

Happy Sunday, Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Welcome to my installment of Weekend Writing Warriors, the super fun blog hop where writers of every genre post just 8 sentences from something they’ve written. It’s a great way to sample new writers and find some new favorites, so be sure to click through and check out the others.

Today, I’m continuing on with chapter 3 of my upcoming paranormal romance, Secrets of Lunar Falls. In this scene, Gabe is still pondering his obsession with Carly Tipton.

He couldn’t sleep at night unless he had ventured to her place and made sure that she was all right. Hell, a couple of times he’d actually curled up at her back door and slept, just to be near her. He was guarding her place … watching over her, whether he wanted to or not.  

It wasn’t just her amazing scent, or the fact that she was clearly beautiful. There was just something about her that he could neither explain nor resist. It was the way she moved, the way she smiled, the sound of her voice. Everything about her seemed to call to him on some deep, intrinsic level, and Gabe was trying very unsuccessfully to fight it. To fight what he already knew. 

Secrets of Lunar Falls is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes and Kobo. Here’s the official blurb:

When veterinarian, Dr. Carly Tipton, takes a new job in the tiny farming community of Lunar Falls, she expects to build a new life for herself. She expects to meet new people and have new experiences. Maybe she’s even expecting a little adventure. But what she’s not expecting is to fall head over heels in love – not with the town, and certainly not with its ruggedly sexy sheriff, Gabriel Masters. She’s also not expecting all the secrets Lunar Falls is hiding. Secrets that could destroy everything she ever believed was true about her own heritage and the family she left back home.

Gabe isn’t ready for Carly when she blows into town. That woman has the power to bring him – a man born and raised to be a GrandAlpha – to his knees, and she’s human! That simple fact alone makes her dangerous to Gabe’s position within the pack. But the fact that he can’t seem to stay away from her tells him that this woman is the one. Human or not … she’s his mate. And now Gabe has to find a way to make their bonding complete without sparking a civil war among his people.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is book one of an adult, sexy shifter romance trilogy.

Don’t forget to check out the other amazing writers of the Weekend Writing Warriors!

Weekend Jams – Scream!

“Ahhh!”

Do you ever feel like you just want to scream? I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately for various and mounting reasons – some book and self-publishing related, some related to real life issues. To say that I’m feeling stressed right now would be an understatement. What’s that old saying? “When it rains, it pours!” Or how about, “It’s always something!” Or, “If it ain’t one thing, it’s another!” Anyway, you get my drift … it’s been one of those weeks around here – incredibly frustrating – and I am feeling a little bit like crawling back into bed and pulling the covers over my head and hiding until it’s all over. So, for this installment of Weekend Jams, I thought this song was terribly appropriate. Michael and Janet Jackson singing about all of life’s little frustrations. Because, as the King of Pop so eloquently puts it, “As jacked as it sounds, the whole system sucks!”

#8Sunday – Lunar Falls and Stalker Sheriffs

Happy Sunday, people! Welcome to my installment of Weekend Writing Warriors, the super fun blog hop where writers of every genre post just 8 sentences from something they’ve written. It’s a great way to sample new writers and find some new favorites, so be sure to click through and check out the others.

Today, I’m moving into chapter 3 of my upcoming paranormal romance, Secrets of Lunar Falls. In this scene, Gabe is at work and having a particularly trying day.

 

Feeling slightly helpless, he ran both of his hands through his thick black hair as he took in another deep breath. And as he did, the now familiar scent that had been wafting in and out of his consciousness for almost a month now suddenly slithered through the air, tantalizing and sweet, and Gabriel exhaled and took another deep whiff, drinking it in as though the scent were water and he was dying of thirst. She was somewhere close by!

He turned and looked out his open office window just as Dr. Tipton passed by across the street. She was walking toward Mother’s Diner, where they’d first met, and Gabe knew that it was lunchtime at the vet clinic. 

He felt a little pathetic for knowing that. He had tried very hard not to pay attention, but he couldn’t help himself. From the moment she had fallen into his arms in the diner three weeks ago, Gabe had proceeded to track Dr. Tipton’s every movement.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes and Kobo. Here’s the official blurb:

When veterinarian, Dr. Carly Tipton, takes a new job in the tiny farming community of Lunar Falls, she expects to build a new life for herself. She expects to meet new people and have new experiences. Maybe she’s even expecting a little adventure. But what she’s not expecting is to fall head over heels in love – not with the town, and certainly not with its ruggedly sexy sheriff, Gabriel Masters. She’s also not expecting all the secrets Lunar Falls is hiding. Secrets that could destroy everything she ever believed was true about her own heritage and the family she left back home.

Gabe isn’t ready for Carly when she blows into town. That woman has the power to bring him – a man born and raised to be a GrandAlpha – to his knees, and she’s human! That simple fact alone makes her dangerous to Gabe’s position within the pack. But the fact that he can’t seem to stay away from her tells him that this woman is the one. Human or not … she’s his mate. And now Gabe has to find a way to make their bonding complete without sparking a civil war among his people.

Secrets of Lunar Falls is book one of an adult, sexy shifter romance trilogy.

Don’t forget to check out the other amazing writers of the Weekend Writing Warriors!