On the 11th day…
Congrats to yesterday’s winner…Jana! Don’t forget to leave a comment today for your chance to win!
Many, many moons ago, I was a stressed out librarian who’d bitten off way more than she could chew at work. Next thing I knew, I was suffering from insomnia and spending far too many nights, wide awake and fighting off panic attacks. At the time, I read historical romance novels voraciously. Books from incredible authors like Stephanie Laurens, Celeste Bradley, Julia Quinn…and my favorite, Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series. I’d always wanted to write a book, so in an attempt to disappear from the anxiety of real life, I sat down and opened a document with the words Chapter One. It worked. Night after night when sleep plagued me, I fired up the computer and started putting words on the page. Before I knew it, I’d finished No Recourse and No Regrets, my first and only attempts at historical romance. Before I finished writing No Regrets, I’d discovered this erotic romance author, Lora Leigh, and that was all it took! My reading and writing interests turned to the super spicy genre and that hasn’t changed in nearly a decade. Hence…the end of my very brief foray as a writer of historical romance.
At the beginning of this year, I received the rights back to these two stories from my publisher and I decided to self-publish them. My graphic artist friend, Valerie Tibbs, created beautiful new covers for them. I will admit I’ve written loads of stories, but these two are very near and dear to my heart. Mainly because I can remember that amazing sense of accomplishment when I wrote the words “The End” and realized I could actually write a book. They are also the books I’ve rewritten the most! LOL. As I learned more and more about the actual craft of writing, I applied my lessons to these books. They’ve evolved a great deal from the original stories (they’ve gotten dirtier–heehee), but this world and these June Girls are still…even nearly 10 years later…so vivid in my mind. Probably because…they saved at a time when I really needed saving.
So…how about an excerpt from No Regrets?
“Please,” he whispered desolately. “Go.”
Unwilling to leave him alone with his dark thoughts anymore, she simply shook her head.
“Go,” he repeated, his voice cracking under the strain. “You’re in danger. I told you what will happen.”
“No,” she said, squeezing his hand with hers. “You won’t hurt me and I won’t leave you alone. Not again”
“Dammit, Vee! Get out! I don’t want you to see me like this!” His fear and distress turned back to the red-hot anger she hadn’t seen in him since the night he kissed her roughly in his office.
“Well, that is a shame because I’m not leaving,” she calmly replied.
Without warning, he rose, quickly lifting her in his arms and carrying her to his bed. He deposited her in the center of the silk counterpane, following her down and covering her with his own large body. “I warned you,” he growled, as his mouth covered hers in a hard kiss.
Shock was quickly replaced by desire as she opened her lips to receive his tongue. She wanted this, wanted him, and this time she wouldn’t run from him. It was her turn to shock him as she nipped at his lips with her teeth. His calloused hands gripped her head harder holding her still for his passionate assault. With dueling tongues, teeth and lips, they devoured each other, starving for more.
“Go,” he whispered.
“No.”
Impervious to her response, his lips traveled across her cheek, his tongue caressing the delicate shell of her ear, before taking the lobe in his teeth. She moaned with desire as his hands parted her light robe, touching her everywhere through her conservative gown.
He dragged his lips down her neck, continuing downward, licking her breasts through the material. Nipping softly, he pulled on her nipples, making them hard and eliciting an excited gasp from her kiss-swollen lips.
“Leave,” he said as he drew one of the tight nubs into his mouth.
“No,” she answered breathlessly, grabbing his hair to hold him in place, terrified he’d continue and terrified he’d stop.
With shaking hands, he seized the top of her night rail and tore the material down the center to her waist. Spreading the cloth, he studied her full, white breasts, spellbound for almost a full minute before drawing the rosy nipple into his mouth again.
He filled his hands and mouth with her round fullness, playing with her until she felt an unfamiliar, overpowering twinge in her stomach and even lower. She arched into his powerful hands anxious for something more. As if aware of her feelings, his lips trailed lower, grazing her stomach as his hands grasped the ends of her destroyed gown once again. She waited breathlessly, readying herself to be completely bared to his sight.
He froze, looking up and waiting for her eyes to meet his. “This is your last chance. Tell me to stop.”
Gazing into his eyes, she saw all the vulnerability and uncertainty he tried so hard to hide. In her time at Waterplace, he’d become her friend, protector and employer. Tonight as she looked into his beloved face, she wanted him to be her lover as well. She wanted to erase his past, to make him happy, even if only for a short while.
“No,” she whispered once more. She watched his fear turn to relief and she smiled. “Don’t stop,” she said again, stronger this time.
No RecourseJune Girls, book one
Who says lightning doesn’t strike twice?
When Hayley Garland finds herself out in the English woods late one night, she’s nearly struck by lightning during a freak storm. But what she thought was a near miss is actually a direct hit.
Captain Jack Campbell is riding along the Dover shoreline, cursing his ill-timed trip in a torrential downpour. Before he can find shelter, he discovers something much more interesting: a beautiful redhead.
Sparks fly whenever Hayley and Jack are together—in and out of the bedroom. But between a wicked earl, a missing woman, Hayley’s penchant for finding trouble, and the inconvenience of an unexpected trip through time, they have to find a way to work out their differences before events from the past threaten to take away their future.
This book was previously published and has been revised from its original release.
No Recourse is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.
No RegretsHow far would you go to help a friend?
Tori Hamilton’s friends have disappeared without a trace. Mysterious clues lead to their possible whereabouts, but is she willing do what it takes to find them? Even if it means traveling back in time?
Lord Benjamin Sinclair is losing his mind—literally. He’s inherited a rundown estate and become guardian to a little girl—a self-imposed mute—with a tragic past. He’s also found himself in possession of a beautiful amnesiac who seems to have no past at all. On top of all that, he’s suffering from serious nightmares—remnants from his time at war—and an overwhelming sexual attraction to his strange lady.
Soon, Ben and Tori aren’t merely fighting to keep their hands off each other. They’re forced to do battle with a villain determined to silence Ben’s ward once and for all.
This book was previously published and has been revised from its original release.
No Regrets is available at Amazon, Smashwords, ARe and Barnes and Noble.
Now…how about a question for the daily contest? Who are some of your favorite romance authors in either the erotic or historical genres? Answer in the comment’s section for a chance to win an ebook copy of No Recourse or No Return. And don’t forget to enter the grand prize contest through rafflecopter.
