Jennifer Bene's Blog, page 52

‘Lethal Sin’ is on BookBub today!

 

That’s right! ‘Lethal Sin’ was accepted by BookBub so I’m hoping lots of new readers will find my work and enjoy checking it out! SO EXCITING!

Finally, a kiss on #SatSpanks!

It’s time for Saturday Spanks and if you’ve been following along with the snippets from my latest release, you know that Alaric and Tara have been growing closer and closer together. Aaaaand guess what came out yesterday? THIS BOOK! ‘Tara’ (Daughters of Eltera Book 2) is available here for only $2.99 or FREE on Kindle Unlimited! Today’s snippet picks up after they spent the night at a dance club where they met one of Alaric’s contacts, and then spent the night dancing and having fun. It was the most free Tara has been in a while, and Alaric is about to see just how grateful she is.

—

She was beyond beautiful, and he couldn’t imagine why Gianni had even been willing to part with her – but perhaps he’d never seen her like this. So alive. He pulled into the car park at the hotel and the moment the car stopped Tara leaned over and kissed him again, bracing one arm on his door so she was slightly above him. It stole the breath from his lungs, and this time he didn’t ignore the urge and pushed his hands into her hair as she leaned over the center console, silky waves that were thick enough to feel heavy in his hands. Her lips were so soft but he kissed her back hard, holding her to him. He heard himself growl as she shifted across the car and was suddenly in his lap, her back brushing the steering wheel, nestling him between her thighs.

“Tara –” He started to speak but she kissed him again as they were firmly pressed together in the small space of the front of the car. Alaric knew he should say something, knew he should stop, because this was exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do. But she fitted against him perfectly, and he didn’t want to say no.

—

Want to find out what happens next? You’ll have to grab a copy of the book!! This may be the last snippet I have for a while on either #WIP Wednesday or #SatSpanks because I need to figure out where I’m going with the book I’m writing before I start sharing pieces. Either way, I do hope you all love the book!

In the mean time, check out these other author’s snippets below:

Thankful Thursday

It’s Thankful Thursday again lovelies and I stumbled across oh-so-many sexy images while I was searching for things to post on my brand new instagram for the ‪#‎juneinstaspanks‬ ‪#‎challenge‬ (my username is jbeneauthor!). This delightful man caught my eye, and while he didn’t work for any of the posts for the challenge, he absolutely, positively works for Thankful Thursday. I think those abs are going to be the perfect distraction for us all until Friday arrives, don’t you think? So. Hot.

Don’t forget, Tara (Daughters of Eltera Book 2) goes live TOMORROW! So, pre-order today or buy it tomorrow, and spend some time with this dark, paranormal romance this weekend! Can’t wait to hear what you all think! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G81ZKD6

Want to talk about the deliciousness of Thankful Thursday? Join the comments happening on my Facebook page!

Can they change their destinies on #WIP Wednesday?

Look at that, lovelies! It’s already time for #WIP Wednesday again, and guess what comes out on Friday? THIS BOOK! ‘Tara’ (Daughters of Eltera Book 2) is available for pre-order here (it goes live this Friday, June 3rd!), and you can get a nice look at the cover on my reveal over here. For today I’ve got a snippet that really sums up the conundrum that Tara and Alaric are in. She’s a slave, and cursed to remain one, and he’s the assassin hired to deliver her to her next master.

—

“If you can fight, then why don’t you fight them? Why are you so –” He groaned. “- so okay with all of this?”

“I can’t fight them,” she muttered. Alaric let out a frustrated shout and stood up. He dropped the laptop on the coffee table before interlacing his fingers behind his head, growling as he fumed and paced across the room.

“Why, Tara? You have to give me more than that.”

The only reason she even contemplated answering him was that he seemed to really care. The answers would only make everything harder for him, would only complicate his job, would only complicate everything.

But… for some unknown reason she was going to answer him.

“You’ve seen the good half of what I am, Alaric, the immortality, the way I heal every morning when Eltera sends her power out to me and I light up.” She laughed a little to herself, suddenly at a loss for words.

How could she explain Gormahn’s curse? What words existed to make this mortal understand powers that hadn’t showed themselves for so long?

Fuck it.

“The other half of what I am is the curse, and when I have a master the curse shows itself as bands of light around my wrists. If I disobey, or even just piss them off, they activate and the pain is indescribable. Like fire and breaking bones and drowning all at the same time.”

He stared at her from across the room and she untucked her legs and leaned forward.

“I used to fight them. I used to fight the curse. I used to foolishly try and fight the power of a god. And then someone I loved died because I was too proud to accept who I am.” Tara winced. “I’m a slave, Alaric. No one can save me from that, it is what I am. And unless Gormahn decides to release all of us, which he’s never going to do, I will be a slave forever.”

“But -”

“Alaric, you’re only making this worse for yourself. I came to terms with it. I accept it, and it’s your job to deliver me to my next master. Neither of those facts are going to change.” She smiled bitterly, and he shouted a curse and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

She didn’t know why after the conflict she felt so warm in her chest, even though it ached at the same time. No one had cared enough to get angry on her behalf in centuries, but while it was sweet of him, it didn’t mean anything.

She might as well have been any nameless object, and he was the delivery truck.

A handsome, kind, gun-toting delivery truck.

May the gods damn it all.

—

As she says, neither of those facts are going to change – but what are they going to do about it? You’ll have to check out the book to find out, and it’s OH SO CLOSE to being in all of your hands! Make sure to snag a copy on pre-order so it lands in your lap on Friday for some sweet weekend reading! Trust me, the end of this book is… epic. Until then, read on to find some other great authors on this blog hop!

 

Music Monday – ‘Touch’ by Lights Fade Low

For this week’s Music Monday I am so glad I found this song because if my latest release ‘Tara’ ever got to be a movie (or the Daughters of Eltera a TV series) I would want to play this song during the explosive scene at the climax of the book, maybe remixed with some heavy metal? For those of you that have read it already you know I mean the scene with Tara, all glowing bad-ass, in the hallway, in that scene – know what I mean? If you haven’t had the chance to grab it yet, it’s right over here!

I think once you read the lyrics below from Lights Fade Low’s song ‘Touch’ you’ll get what I mean:

No one will touch you

No one will touch you

I’d rip their heads off if they tried

No one will take you

No one will break you

I’ll keep you whole until I die

I can feel you inside

underneath my skin

Feel you take me from within

And so I surrender

bound to you in sin

Feel my outsides turning in

No one will push you

No one will push you

I’ll push back hard with all my might

‘Touch’ by Lights Fade Low

 

Alaric says there’s no other girl on #SatSpanks this week!

Hello, lovelies! It is time for Saturday Spanks again, and we’re back for another delicious snippet from my upcoming release ‘Tara’ (Daughters of Eltera Book 2). It’s now available for pre-order here (it goes live on June 3rd!), and you can get a nice look at the cover on my reveal over here. In this scene Alaric and Tara have been running around Milan in his sleek, sexy Maserati and enjoying the day. Of course, in the life of a Faeoihn, life never seems to be easy for long.

—

A beep went off from his messenger bag, which was tucked down by her heels.

“Can you grab that for me?” Alaric maneuvered the car into a slow turn through traffic as she leaned forward and began to dig through the bag, finally pulling out his phone.

She held it out for him.

“I’m driving, what’s it say?” He didn’t take his eyes off the road as he weaved in and out of traffic, accelerating around the drivers who were less interested in driving and more interested in sight-seeing.

“It says you have a text message from Claude.”

“Unlock the phone and read it to me. 1-4-7-2.” Alaric saw her tilt the phone back towards her in his peripheral vision. He shook his head at himself. Here he was buying expensive locks to keep Luca and the other employees of Infinity Consulting out of his room while he slept and at the same time providing the unlock code to a girl he had known less than twenty-four hours.

Such a contradiction.

“It says to meet him at his club tonight, after 10:30pm, and to bring me.” He could hear the smile in her voice, “Unless bring the girl is referring to someone else?”

“There’s no other girl.” He looked over at her and gave her the smile Luca always shook his head at. She just smirked at him.

Hard to impress.

“Are we going dancing?” She leaned back against the door, letting his phone dim and then relock in her hands.

“We can if you’d like, but we’re going there to get you papers.” He looked back at the road to maneuver them towards the hotel.

“Papers?”

“ID, a passport, the things we’ll need if we have to leave the country.” Alaric spoke and then looked over at her. The light had gone out in her eyes again as she withdrew into herself.

“For when you deliver me.”

“Yes.” He gritted his teeth when he responded. This was what he’d signed up for. Losing his nerve now wasn’t going to help. “In that box of clothes was there anything that would fit in at a nightclub?”

“I wouldn’t say it fits, it’s rather tight, but there’s plenty I can wear to a nightclub.”

—

Like the blurb on Amazon says, Alaric has some decisions to make. He’s always had that pesky no women, no kids rule, but does that mean he’ll defy Luca to save her? You’ll have to grab a copy of the book to find out! There’s only a few more snippets before this book goes live! In the mean time, check out these author hot authors below…

Cover Reveal: ‘Tara’ (Book 2 of Daughters of Eltera)!!

Hello, lovelies! I have such an exciting cover to share with you today! If you’ve been following the blog hops lately you know I’m working on the sequel to the first book in the Daughters of Eltera series ‘Fae’. The second book, ‘Tara’, follows one of the Faeoihn (immortal female warriors enslaved by an ancient god) as she runs into a very mortal assassin who has been sent to take her to her new master. Once they meet, he has to decide if he can do the job his mentor has asked of him, or if he’ll defy everyone in his life to protect a woman he’s just met. The book is available for pre-order RIGHT NOW at this link: Pre-Order Tara

The absolutely, mind-numbingly incredible Eris Adderly remade the first cover for the series last month, and now she has made the 2nd. It is beautiful, the woman on the cover looks like Tara did in my head, and the whole thing just reminds me of a movie poster. SO. BAD. ASS. She’s amazingly skilled and available for covers on a limited basis, so if you’re as in love with this as I am, head over to her website!

Now, without further ado, here is the cover reveal for ‘Tara’ (Book 2 of the Daughters of Eltera series) which is coming out June 3rd! Pre-order now!

Thankful Thursday

It’s Thankful Thursday, lovelies, and it must have been a rough week for many of us because I’ve ALREADY had several requests for the hottie that’s going to carry us into Friday! If you’re in the US then you may have a three day weekend thanks to Memorial Day. And while you’re remembering the fallen and spending time with family & friends, I hope that this guy made the transition to Friday a little easier… because he is oh so gorgeous!!

What do you think?

Want to talk about the deliciousness of Thankful Thursday? Join the comments happening on my Facebook page!

The slave and the violin on #WIP Wednesday

Hello there, lovelies! It’s #WIP it Up Wednesday and that means another snippet from my current work in progress ‘Tara’! This is the second book in my Daughters of Eltera series, and it’s a series that’s close to my heart. Dark, paranormal romance full of gods and goddesses and immortal female warriors cursed to serve – and this one has a very sexy assassin who is trying to battle his loyalty to the man who raised him, because he doesn’t want to turn Tara over to the man who has purchased her. What will he do? Who knows! (Well, I do… and I bet you have an idea!) In this scene Alaric asked what she wanted to do for the day, and she asked to be around music…

—

Tara took a deep breath of the resin and wood and polishes. Her fingertips traced a violin that had years of experience on it and a price tag to match. Alaric was speaking to the owner of the shop, a well-educated man who had clearly spent his life dedicated to all of these instruments that brought so much beauty to the world.

“Why don’t you pick it up?” Alaric’s voice was low again as he stepped up behind her. “Or did you want to just stare at it?”

She could hear the challenge in his voice, and reminded herself that in a matter of days it could be years before she laid her hands on any musical instrument. As she was trying to make a decision the shop owner stepped up behind her with a bow and pressed it into her hand with a kind smile. “Please, signorina, do you play?”

Alaric leaned back against the edge of a display, so tall and clean cut in his pressed shirt, his tie, his slacks and shined shoes. His eyes were locked on her though. They followed her hands as she took the bow from the owner, before he carefully lifted the violin and handed it to her like one would lift a newborn.

Tara rested it on her shoulder and felt her breath catch. It had been six months since Gianni had smashed the violin he’d bought her, all because she’d smiled too much at one of his friends at a party. She had actually cried then, real tears, not a show. She had begged him not to, and he had destroyed it anyway. Then he had left her alone in the house for a week with nothing but the security team to make sure she didn’t leave the room.

The first movement of the bow across the strings mended something inside her that had broken with the violin Gianni bought her, the same thing that had been ground to a powder when he had told her he sold her. She chose something from Mendelssohn that she had memorized years before, and as the notes flowed out she could feel herself swaying in those treacherous heels. It didn’t matter though.

Nothing did when there was music.

When she stopped and opened her eyes, the shop owner had his hands over his mouth and Alaric was staring at her intently. Tara swallowed and held out the violin for the shop owner. That small moment of music had done what Eltera’s power couldn’t – it had calmed the storm inside her that Gianni’s decision and the memories of Leonidas had stirred up.

The owner didn’t move to take the violin and Tara let her arm drop to hold it down at her side. “Thank you.”

“We’ll take it.” Alaric spoke clearly and the shop owner just nodded. The older man’s eyes were wet as he turned away.

Tara shook her head. “No. Don’t buy it.” She turned and set the violin back on the display, leaving her hands with only the bow.

“That was –” His mouth stayed open a moment before his eyes met hers again. “– worth any amount of money.”

She felt color come to her cheeks. “Thank you, however, I won’t have it for more than a few days. I’d rather never have it, than have it and lose it.” She sat the bow down as well, turned and walked to the door of the shop before she caved and said yes. She waited at the door even though she wanted to walk out into the noise of the street, out of this silent shop with all of its immaculate instruments.

Alaric said goodbye to the shop owner and finally stepped up behind her, touching her elbow as he pushed the door open. When they walked outside he looked down at her. “I would let you bring it with you.”

“And if your client isn’t a fan of music?” She met his eyes, and he turned and cursed under his breath. “Don’t let it bother you. It’s fine. I don’t need anything. I never have.”

—

Tara’s quiet strength in the face of everything she’s been through is one of my favorite things about her, and Alaric mirrors her in so many ways. Both have been through so much shit, but they hide it all underneath this calm facade – only it all starts to crumble the longer they’re around each other. It’s such a fun adventure and I can’t wait for all of you to read it! If you want to catch up on what’s happened in this world, you can read the first book Fae on Amazon. It’s FREE on Kindle Unlimited or $2.99 to buy it! ^_^ While you’re waiting for it to download, why not check out these other fun snippets below?

Music Monday

Holy shit, my day job is insane right now. INSANE. It means that I’m behind on editing ‘Tara’, my upcoming release which is the 2nd book in the Daughters of Eltera series. However, my lovely cover designer for this series has ALSO had an insane day job lately and so the cover isn’t ready for it anyway. Does that count as a valid excuse for me not having it done? It should. I spent Sunday evening doing day job work instead of author work, and that is sacrilege. SACRILEGE, I say.

Anyway, enough of my whining, I have super exciting news that I’m sending out to my mailing list this evening, and I’ll share it sometime this week to the rest of the social media sphere. For this Music Monday I have this fantastic song by an artist I had not heard before this song, it’s called ‘Use Me Up’ by Wanderhouse.

It starts out all sweet and unassuming, and then the beat picks up and check out these lyrics:

Blind lover

Waiting for you

Your silhouette is still moving

Inside of our room

Red tide

Swallowed the blue

And my ship’s under water

Waiting for you

You can use me up

You know I’ll give you everything

Love me any way you want

Before you run away

Come and use me up

You know I’ll give you everything

Chew me up and spit me out

I’ll love you anyway

I’m here ready when you’re ready

I’m here say you won’t forget me

I’m here ready when you’re ready

I’m here

‘Use Me Up’ by Wanderhouse

Seriously, how can you not love this? I jam out to it every time it plays on Spotify. Remember to always come back on Mondays for more wicked little ear worms to get you through the work week! Thanks lovelies!