Helen B. Henderson's Blog, page 95

X-Post on Writing - Always and Never

Stop by the Romance University for a piece inspiring to all authors, both newbee and experienced at http://romanceuniversity.org/2014/12/01/always-and-never-two-words-that-never-apply-to-writers-by-holly-jacobs/

Till next time ~Helen

Dragons Soar Again in Hatchlings Curse

Now Available - Hatchlings Curse (Book 2 of the Dragshi Chronicles)

 Lord Branin Llewlyn is a dragshi, a human who can exchange bodies with a dragon. After millennia of waiting... and searching, Branin and his dragon counterpart, Llewlyn, have found their intended mates--the Lady Anastasia and her dragon soul twin, Jessian.

For the dragshi, the freedom of flight comes with a price. Now that he has found Anastasia, Branin wants more than anything in the world to find a cure for the hatchling’s curse and end the childlessness of his kind. His hopes soar when Anastasia uncovers the location of First Rising, a hidden valley with cryptic references to mating flights and dark references about the deaths of suitors.

Click herefor an excerpt and a free read of the first chapter.
Buy Links:   Amazon  KoboiTunes  Barnes and Noble 
And if you missed Dragon Destiny, an excerpt for the first book in the series can be found here.
~Till next time. Helen

Tuesday's Title - AEquana’s Quest by Linda Mooney

She was unique in every way, including the way she loved him.

Genre: Urban FantasyPublisher: Music And Press Date of Release: Available November 2014
Buy Links: http://lindamooney.com/AEquana.htm 
Blurb:
It will take a very long time before AEquana heals from the abuse and torture she endured growing up in those government labs. But Talon's love is helping her forget and go forward with life.
Unfortunately, they stumble onto a multi-million dollar gem heist, and are targeted by those who think they're easy prey. Their enemies have no idea who they're up against when they try to take on the ex-Navy SEAL and his mermaid.
Warning! Contains a mountain-side pool, phone bashing, lubricating oil, vicious attacks, the absence of cuffs and chains, and a plea and a promise that will test the strength and depth of two people's love.
Author Bio:
Linda loves to write sensuously erotic romance with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel.
A wife, mother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher, she lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast where she delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love.
She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year, and her book MY STRENGTH, MY POWER, MY LOVE was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book LORD OF THUNDER was named the Epic Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.
Find her on the web at http://www.LindaMooney.com

Sunday Snippet - Suitors Compete in the Sky

MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO STOPPED BY EARLIER - BLOGGER DECIDED TO EAT THE EXCERPT, LEAVING ONLY EVERY OTHER LINE. HELEN

Here's a sneak peek from the fantasy, Hatchling's Curse. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and elsewhere.

EXCERPT


The first thing Branin noticed when he joined Drak was the ruddy hint to the dun-colored dragon’s hide.

Drak lowered his head to Branin and Liam’s level. His eyes whirled and his usual confident tone contained a strange hesitancy. < Friend Branin, Friend Liam, I have a great favor to ask you both. Crisiant and I want to try one last time. In the short days we’ve spent in the valley, her color has brightened... and the urge to rise has renewed. My mate will fly, probably at the second dawning. According to the hieroglyphs, a successful mating requires a chase.> His voice stopped, as if he was unsure how to continue. 

<Drak does not want any others of his kind around,> Llewlyn told Branin. <His mind contains a violence unknown to dragons. Even I did not feel such a strong urge when Broch tried to kill Jessian.>

Branin noted the dragon soul’s comment without lessening his attention to Drak.

<Liam, Branin, not to impugn you dragshi, or Orfhlaith and Llewlyn, the dragons you are twinned to, but no shifter can catch a true dragon, unless we choose.> A plea entered his tone. <Knowing you cannot win, will you participate? Help me recreate the ancient conditions?>

“Of course,” Branin agreed. Liam echoed the sentiment a heartbeat later.

<Think before you commit yourself,> Drak urged. <We don’t know the effect such an action will have on you.> An apology rose to be quickly squashed. <I’m sorry, my friends, but I must be honest. I don’t even know if in the throes of the mating I will be able to control myself.> After a moment, he continued sadness in his heart. <On the ring of stones, they talk of the death of suitors.>

END OF THE EXCERPT. 

More of Hatchlings Curse can be found at
http://helenhenderson-author.blogspot.com/p/hatchlings-curse.html.


And don't forget to check out the others on the Sneak Peek Sunday hop.


Powered by Linky Tools
Click here for more peeks.

~Till next time, Helen

Book Hook- Soar With Dragons

Book Hooks 11/12 - Hatchlings Curse
(Book 2 of the Dragshi Chronicles)
Lord Branin is a dragshi, a human who can exchange bodies with a dragon. After millennia of waiting...and searching, Branin and his dragon counterpart, Llewlyn, have found their intended mates.

For the dragshi, the freedom of flight comes with a price. Now Branin has to find a cure for the childlessness of his kind. Cryptic references to mating flights add hope, but dark references about the deaths of suitors threatens not only his life, but the dreams of all dragon shifters.

Excerpt:

Worry shattered the dream beneath a different one--the darkness of a dark-filled cave. An evil chortle floated over a figure chained on the wet sand below the high tide line. A single moonbeam lit the pale face--Anastasia. Panic from the earlier attempt on her life resurfaced, setting Branin’s pulse racing.

Anastasia’s caresses pulled him away from the nightmarish image. Her fingertips traced the scar on his jaw line, then moved down his neck. Feather-light touches teased his senses pulling him deeper into maelstrom. As he surrendered to increasingly larger waves of passion, amplified by Llewlyn’s link with Jessian, another’s laughter remained--Broch’s.
Click here for another excerpt and a free read of the first chapter.
Buy Links:   Amazon  Kobo iTunes  Barnes and Noble 
And if you missed Dragon Destiny, an excerpt for the first book in the series can be found here. 


Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

Comment to Win

I’m visiting at the Literary Lagniappe. Stop by to see the story behind the cover for the fantasy, Magic and Steel – Mt-wan Comraich. Leave a comment to enter the contest to win a pdf of Dragon Destiny, the first book in the Draghsi Chronicles.
~Till next time, Helen

Tuesday's Title - The Detective's Dilemma by Karen McCullough

Her fingerprints are on the gun, but Sarah swears she’s innocent.

Title:  The Detective’s Dilemma
Author: Karen McCullough
Date of Release: November 3, 2014 
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Kensington/Lyrical Press
Buy Links: Amazon   Barnes and Noble 


Blurb: Although Sarah Anne Martin admits to pulling the trigger, she swears someone forced her to kill her lover. Homicide detective Jay Christianson is skeptical, but enough ambiguous evidence exists to make her story plausible. If he gives her enough freedom, she’ll either incriminate herself or draw out the real killers. But, having been burned before, Jay doesn’t trust his own protective instincts…and his growing attraction to Sarah only complicates matters.
With desire burning between them, their relationship could ultimately be doomed since Sarah will be arrested for murder if they can’t find the real killer.


Author Bio:
 Karen McCullough’s wide-ranging imagination makes her incapable of sticking to one genre for her storytelling. As a result, she’s the author of more than a dozen published novels and novellas, which span the mystery, fantasy, paranormal, and romantic suspense genres. A former computer programmer who made a career change into being an editor with an international trade publishing company for many years, she now runs her own web design business to support her writing habit. Awards she’s won include an Eppie Award for fantasy; three other Eppie finals; Prism, Dream Realm, Rising Star, Lories, Scarlett Letter, and Vixen Awards, and an Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies and numerous small press publications in the fantasy, science fiction, and romance genres. She lives in Greensboro, NC, with her husband of many years.


Website: http://www.kmccullough.com
Blog: http://www.kmccullough/kblog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenMcCulloughAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kgmccullough

Storyline - Love Forever?

One of the pieces of advice I give authors, especially those just starting out, is to keep a journal. No it is not the diary once popular among young girls. What the authors journal contains are things such as a name that says "I am xxx." URL's, photographs, or rough sketches of a place or time that will serve as the basis for a locale.

Storylines, notes, tidbits of thoughts fill more pages. Below is one item of interest for writers of romance. 

Archaeologists with the University of Leicester uncovered remains of two skeletons holding hands believed to have been resting that way for at least 700 years.

Think of the circumstances that put them in the position. Did he die first? Or did she? Expand the thought and there is the beginnings of a story.

More of the story can be found at https://gma.yahoo.com/ancient-skeletons-found-holding-hands-england-164100113--abc-news-topstories.html

Till the next time. ~ Helen

Love Covers? Stop by the Ranch. #MFRWAuthor #CoverReveals

Love Covers? Love to see how artists interpret a story? Then stop by the Ranch and visit with Calisa Rhose. Each month she features romance.
For those who like a little paranormal or fantasy with their romance, the month of November showcased the covers for:
A Question of Boundaries by Sandy Bruney (Pararomal Romance)Dream Home - Book #7 of the Dream Series by J.J. DiBenedetto (Paranormal Romance/Suspense)In the Dark - Book #1 of The Cities Below series by Jen Colly (Paranormal Romance)Unexpected Metamorphosis - Book One of the Alissia Roswell Series, Tianna Holley (Fantasy Romance)
And from Fantasia Frog Designs, the cover for my fantasy, Dragon Destiny, Book One of the Dragshi Chronicles.
From the contemporary or historical romance genres:
A Marquis For All Seasons by Renée Reynolds (Historical Romance)Dearest Darling-TWRP- Love Letters series by Andrea Downing (Western Historical Romance)Never Pick a Pretty Woman - Book #1 in Crystal Ridge Western series by Mary M. Forbes(Contemporary Romance)Second Chance, Book #1 of the Chances Book trilogy by Martha O’Sullivan (Contemporary Romance)The Jerusalem Connection by Janis Susan May (Contemporary Romantic Adventure)
Stop by http://calisarhose.com/2014/11/03/calisa-rhose-presents-uncover-monday-november-mfrwauthor-coverreveals/ and check out the covers by a variety of talented artists.
Till Next Time ~ Helen

Only one man can wield the dragon sword’s power

Now Available. The latest of the Dragshi Chronicles, novella, Magic and Steel - Mt'wan Comraich
Genre: Fantasy / RomancePublisher:  High Eyrie Publications

Buy Links: Amazon  Barnesand Noble Kobo iTunes 

Blurb: The Lady Mairin Alidryer of the Dragshi searched for the one man in the world intended to be her mate. However, the man she left behind when she gained the freedom of flight refused to accept the truth that she did not love him. Now the head of a band of raiders, her former suitor turned stalker swore to have Mairin on her knees in front of him.

All that stands between his plans is the true human, Kedar, wielder of the enspelled sword called Mt’wan Comraich. But will the steel of the Protector of Mt’wan be enough.

Bodyguard to the Lady Mairin, Kedar dared not fail in his duty—or more dangerous—love her. For like the true dragons, the shifters mated for life in this world and the one beyond.
~Till next time, Helen

And if you haven't flown with dragons before, look up Dragon Destiny, the first novel in the chronicles.