In My Mailbox (33)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and is a way for everyone to show their new books for the week, including those bought, swapped, won, or received for review.

I've been moving to a new place this week and my mail has been slow catching up to me :( But I did get one awesome surprise book!

"Nightshade" by Andrea Cremer

The Nightshade ARC was sent from the publisher! I'm not sure how I got signed up for it, but I am very happy about the surprise!!

What did you get in your mailbox this week??

Winners Announced!! Set of Six RITA Nominated Books!

Winners Announced!!

The three winners of the set of 6 RITA nominated books from Hachette are:


Renee G
Julie at Outlandish Dreaming
Katelyn

Winners were chosen via random.org random number generator. Congrats to all three winners!! I have emailed all of you for your mailing address so I can send it on to Hachette. Winners have 3 days to respond :) A giant thank you goes out to Hachette for sponsoring this contest!! Congrats and a huge thank you to everyone who entered!!

Seven days of Erotica Heat! Day #6 N.J. Walters interview and giveaway

Please give a warm welcome to N.J. Walters. I would suggest N.J. Dalakis series, I read them all and loved them. I am going to work on reading some more of N.J. books so look for reviews soon.

Laurie-Hello NJ, I am so glad you could join us. I loved reading your Dalakis Embrace. How did you come to write sexual vampire?

N.J. Walters-It my pleasure to be here, Laurie. Thank you so much for having me at Bitten By Paranormal Books.
I’m so glad you enjoyed Dalakis Embrace. I’d always wanted to write a book about a vampire. There’s so much to explore in the vampire world—the taboo of blood and sex, the darker passions, immortality. What happens when a mortal and immortal fall in love. The problems are legion.
The first Dalakis book, Harker’s Journey, began when I started thinking about writing a vampire tale. Of course, it made me think about Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I started playing the “what if” game. What if Jonathan Harker from Dracula had descendants. And what if one of those descendants—Johanna Harker—was a financial consultant and had to journey to Transylvania to deal with her mysterious, but wealthy client Cristofor Dalakis. The entire story flowed from there.
Of course, Cristofor had two brothers—Lucian and Stefan—so they both needed books of their own, Lucian’s Delight and Stefan’s Salvation. But, even then, I wasn’t quite done with this family. Two more books followed—Eternal Brothers and Endless Chase. Although I’m finished with this series, I am hoping to write more vampire books in the future.


Laurie-I see you not only write erotic paranormal what other genre do you write?

N.J. Walters-It all falls under the genre of romance, but I write contemporary, contemporary/erotic, time travel/ménage a trois, paranormal/erotic, futuristic/erotic and spicy paranormal/werewolf. That’s the wonderful thing about writing romance—readers are very open to different genres. It’s not only challenging, but it keeps the writing fresh. I’m never bored.

Laurie-I have always wanted to asked this question. Does your husband thinks he benefits more with you being an erotic author?

N.J. Walters-LOL You’ll have to ask him that. But he’s very supportive of my writing and is open to helping me with research. He’s such a giver. *g*

Laurie-Can you tell us a little on what your working on next?

N.J. Walters-I currently have several projects in the works. I’ve contracted the first book in a new paranormal series with Samhain Publishing. A Touch of Magick features inept witch, Rhiannon Sparks, who discovers she needs to have sex with the right man to unleash her magick. Deputy Ryland Stone is that man. Problem is, he doesn’t believe in magick. Watch for this book in October!
I’m also working on the third book in my Courage brothers of Texas series for Ellora’s Cave. Book two of this contemporary series—Lassoing Lara—was just released on July 2nd.
I’ve contracted the next book in my paranormal/shapeshifter Shadow Ryder series with Ellora’s Cave. Out of Shadows should hopefully be out late this year.
I’m working on the next book in my spicy werewolf series for Samhain Publishing. Book two of the Legacy series—Isaiah’s Haven—is due out on August 3rd.
Beyond that, I’m trying to find time to work on a new paranormal series.


Laurie-What do you have more of shoes or purses?

N.J. Walters-Honestly, I don’t get the whole shoes and purse thing. I’m not much of a shopper. Beyond my sneakers and boots, I have one pair of flat black shoes. Until a few days ago, I had one purse—a brown, backpack style. But I saw a sale and actually found two purses I liked. One is a tourquoise hobo style bag that’s perfect for summer. The other is a patchwork of black, brown and red. I’m still deciding if I’ll keep that one or take it back.


Blurb:

Legacy, Book 2

For a werewolf, the pack is everything, but Isaiah Striker has always felt like an outsider. The only thing he cares about is his family, which is how he finds himself in the crowded city of Chicago doing a favor for his brother. What should be a fast job quickly turns into a life-changing event.

Meredith Cross has held her small pack together through sheer guts and determination. After years of running, she and her adult children now operate Haven, an eclectic nightclub. When Isaiah Striker walks into Haven, she is drawn to him immediately. But he is a werewolf, a threat to her small pack, which includes four half-breeds. Most wolves won’t accept half-breeds and she won’t risk her pack for anyone.

Their lives become more entwined as the sexual attraction between Isaiah and Meredith spirals out of control. When paranormal bounty hunters and purist werewolves threaten her pack, both she and Isaiah must overcome the constraints of their pasts if they hope to survive and have a future together

EXCERPT: Isaiah’s Haven release date Aug.3rd.

He kept heading northward, ambling aimlessly and eventually hitting Wicker Park. He knew he should be going in the opposite direction, back to Riley’s Garage on the South Side. But he didn’t want to go back, not yet. He knew he wouldn’t sleep so he might as well walk and enjoy the sights.

The city itself was vibrant and alive, filled with many different ethnic groups and economic levels. He’d seen homeless people and folks in limousines, those decked out in jeans and others in diamonds. The food and the nightlife were just as diverse. Maybe that’s what he needed. Some good food and some decent music.

He wandered past a bar and a woman’s voice drifted out on the cool October breeze. He froze, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the sidewalk. A guy bumped into him from behind and started to curse him, but one look at Isaiah’s face and he quickly moved on.

Isaiah felt his entire body clench with need as the woman’s low, sultry voice wrapped around him. Turning slowly, he stared at the outside of the small club. Haven, it was called. It was a typical older, three-story brick building with a business on the bottom and what looked to be apartments above it.

A sense of urgency filled him. An air of expectation swirled around him. Somehow he knew if he went inside this bar his life would be changed forever.

All the more reason to keep walking.

He whirled on one heel and strode in the opposite direction. About twenty feet away, he stopped.

“Fuck!”

The wolf inside him was howling, practically clawing at his skin to be free. His lungs couldn’t take in enough air even though his chest was heaving. He raked his fingers through his hair and swore again.

His instincts would not be denied. Spinning around, he stalked back to the bar. He paused on the doorstep, took a deep breath and crossed over the threshold.

The bouncer on the door nodded at him as he passed. The guy was about six-one and built, his shoulders practically filling the doorway. His blond hair was buzzed off in a crew cut and his pale blue eyes missed nothing as he watched the door and the crowd within.

The light was dim, but that was no problem for Isaiah. With his preternatural sense of sight he could see easily. The smell of liquor and warm bodies mixed with the spice of sexual arousal, creating a heady perfume. He could also smell food, and it reminded him once again that he hadn’t eaten in hours. His fast metabolism required him to eat several times more than a human male and he was running on empty.

He found an empty table for two in the far corner and sat with his back to the wall as he scoped out the place. The woman was no longer singing. No matter. He’d find her before he left here.

The place was crowded for a Thursday night. He could see only one other free table. Several couples were dancing to a bluesy number being played by a four-piece band that managed to fit on a tiny stage at the far end of the place. The bar dominated one wall with plenty of seating surrounding it. The bartender was a big guy who looked up when Isaiah’s eyes landed on him. Their gazes met and held, neither of them backing down. The guy finally looked away when a woman walked up beside him and placed her hand on his arm.

And holy shit, what a woman. Isaiah was ninety years old. Still relatively young given his five-hundred-year lifespan. But in all those years, he’d never seen a woman like this one.
Even from a distance, he could tell she was tall. Long black hair fell like silk over one of her shoulders and didn’t stop until it hit her waist. Her features were more striking than beautiful. Exotic. Strong. Her full lips were painted a deep red that all but begged a man to kiss them.

Isaiah’s cock swelled in agreement, pushing against the zipper of his jeans. He hadn’t been aroused this quickly since he’s been a young male just coming into maturity.


Thank you so much N.J.!!!
Authors website
authors blog

Now for the giveaway. N.J. is giving away an eBook download for her backlist-Winners choice.


Rules you have to be a follower and leave a comment or question below for N.J along with your email if you want to enter the giveaway.

Extra
+2 twitter, blog, facebook etc...
Please make one post.


Did you miss a day of this event? Well if you look on top of the post under announcements you find a list of authors, as there day comes up I will add a link so you can get to them. So if you missed one you can go back and enter the give aways for that one author, if you want. I will leave all give aways open unit Tuesday Aug 2nd at 6 am.

I will add. If you leave a question after the that day the authors was here, she may not get back with you..

Book Blog Follow Friday June 30

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

So sorry for the lack of posts this week, I've been moving to a new place!! It's been a lot of work, and there's still a lot to do this weekend!! Hopefully we'll be all settled in by next week and I'll have plenty of time to read and blog!!

As for today, it's time for another Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com!! I've found so many awesome new blogs to read by participating in this fun event! Check it out by clicking the pic!!

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

Don't forget it's the last day to enter the contest to win 6 RITA nominated books!! The contest ends tonight at midnight!!

3 sets of 6 RITA nominated books!!

BOOK DIFFERENTIATION

Contributed By Hank Quense
© 2010
This three-part article describes one aspect of marketing and selling books. With the gazillions of other books available, authors need something to make their book grab the reader's attention. Book differentiation is one way to do this.

Part One: The Differentiation Process
Getting a book published means you can call yourself a "published author." You may not know it yet, but it also means you can add the titles "marketing manager" and "sales manager" to the title of "published author." In other words, you, the published author, are in charge of marketing and selling you book. Surprised? I was.

What do these new titles mean? As marketing manager, you have to spread the word on
your book and create a buzz about it. This will get some folks interested in or curious about the book. These folks will visit your selling site. As sales manager your job is to convert these visitors to customers. Your differentiation statements are the key to converting the visitors. These statements tell the world why your book matters and why readers should buy it.

This is a vital aspect of self-marketing. Consider this: thousands of new books become available every month. Consequently, your book is competing against all these other books for the readers' attention and money. Your book has to stand out from all the others and persuade readers to shell out money to get a copy.

I've read a number of books on self-marketing and using the internet as a marketing
platform. While they all contain good ideas, many ignore this subject. When it is
mentioned at all, it is covered rather quickly and shallowly. I intend to cover the subject in depth because I believe it is of paramount importance.

For many years, I worked selling high-tech telecommunications equipment. If I wanted
to talk about a new product or new features on an existing product, I'd call a customer, explain what I wanted and the customer would set up a meeting with other interested departments. Later, I'd give a presentation and answer any questions. The critical point to make is this; I knew the customers and could get a face-to-face meeting whenever I needed to. Marketing and selling on the internet are entirely different processes for several reasons. First, you are selling from websites, not in-person. You don't know the website visitors and the majority of them don't know you. A second reason is that I presented my product to what amounted to a captive audience. Website visitors are not captive; they are capricious and fleeting.

To sell your book, you have to devise a sales plan. Yeah, a sales plan. You're the sales manager in charge of selling the book and sales managers develop sales plans. After you develop the plan, you then implement it. The sales plan consists of two parts. The first part is to develop your differentiation statement. The second is to develop the means to use the statement most effectively. That is, place the statement where potential customers can see it.

The good news about the sales plan is, that unlike many other marketing activities, it's free. It can also be completed before the book is published. I start working on a differentiation statement for a new book long before the book is finished. This gives me ample time to tinker with the messages and to perfect them.

Part Two: Differentiation Development
Essentially, what this process entails is developing three sentences or short paragraphs that can be used to sell your book. The pitch line is the hook to grab the readers' attention. Its purpose is to persuade the reader to keep reading the other two statements. It should be simple, a few short sentences at most, and it must make a clear statement about your book. What's in it for the buyers? is a statement that explains what the reader (i.e. a book buyer) will get in exchange for money. This must be explicit. This statement is not the place to get cute. Don't come across like the legendary used-car salesman. Tell the readers what benefit they'll get from buying the book. Think of this statement in this way: If your
book is surrounded by hundreds of similar-sized books on a shelf in bookstore, what would persuade the buyer to choose your book instead of one of the others?
What's different about this book? With all the books published every month, what
makes your book stand out from the others?

These dry descriptions are difficult to grasp so I'll use examples from my published
books. Tunnel Vision is a collection of twenty humorous short stories. Here is my differentiation statement.
Pitch Line:
Live longer. Laughter is good for your health. Read this book and you may live longer.
What's in it for the buyer?
Unusual characters, settings both strange and familiar, and bizarre plots are a few of the things you'll experience and enjoy.
What's different about this book?
Aren't you tired of reading scifi and fantasy stories that take themselves too seriously? Well, you won't find any stories like that here. It doesn't take anything serious. Politics, Shakespeare, Lord of the Rings, the military, aliens, the undead, they all get cut down a notch or two.

Fool's Gold is a retelling of the ancient myth of the Rhinegold. The story involves a magical horde of gold and ring of immense power. Sound familiar? Tolkien borrowed part of the myth to write Lord of the Rings. My version takes place in the future and uses aliens instead of fantasy creatures. Here is how I worded my differentiation statement.
Pitch Line:
A Ring of Power? That is soooo yesterday. Now it's the Chip of Power and it produces
laughs.
What's in it for the buyer?

Differentiation-2
Aliens, ancient Gods, humor, beautiful Valkyries, heros, conniving nobles, betrayal,
greed, incest, a magical gold horde; this story has something for everyone.
What's different about this book?
This is the only retelling of the ancient Rhinegold myth that is set in the future and is a humorous scifi tale.

Finally, there is my nonfiction book Build a Better Story.
Pitch Line:
Have a story that needs to be told? Here's the best way to go about doing it.
What's in it for the buyer?
The book describes a process that eases the work involved in developing a story. This
reduces the time spent in reworking flawed and imperfect drafts. Following the process allows more time to be spent on the creative activities and shortens the time spent on less creative work.
What's different about this book?
Besides the process, this book takes a unique approach to character building and
plotting. It identifies problem areas that inexperienced writers struggle with and explains how to address those areas. Two of them are character motivation and scene design.

Of course, when you use the statements don't use the questions, just the answers. So
my complete differentiation message for Fool's Gold looks like this:
A Ring of Power? That is soooo yesterday. Now it's the Chip of Power and it produces laughs.
Aliens, ancient Gods, humor, beautiful Valkyries, heros, conniving nobles, betrayal,
greed, incest, a magical gold horde; this story has something for everyone.
This is the only retelling of the ancient Rhinegold myth that is set in the future and is a humorous scifi tale.

Do you get the idea? How do you start? Take a blank sheet of paper or a start a new
mind map file on your computer. Jot down every possible idea that comes to you for each of the three statements. Don't eliminate any ideas because you think they are too dumb. This 'dumb idea' may trigger a great thought or two later on. Keep refining the ideas. Add more ideas, combine others. Eventually, suitable statements will evolve out of this exercise, but it may take more than a single session to get it.

Once you develop the complete statement, don't sit back and relax. You need at least
one, preferably two paraphrases of the message. These are used to repeat the message -- to emphasize it -- without using the same words.

Part Three: Using the Message
What do you do with these statements after you develop them? You stick them
anywhere they'll fit. On your website, on blogs, on ads, press releases, in your trailer. If you can't fit the entire statement someplace (such as Twitter), use the pitch line by itself.

WEBSITE USE
On your book-buying page, make the pitch line the opening statement followed by the
rest of your differentiation message. Why? Earlier, I mentioned captured audiences when I made a sales presentation. On the Internet, no one is captive and their attention span is too minuscule to measure. When these visitors land on your Web page, you have a second or two to persuade them to read beyond the first line of text they see. That is the job of your pitch line; to get the visitors to read further. The next statement (what's in it for the buyer) has to tell them there is something of value here, something they can use or enjoy.

Finally, your page tells them what is different about your book, what is in it that they can't get elsewhere. If this works, the visitors will read even further where they can learn how to get a copy and how much it'll cost. If you get a sale, you have accomplished the difficult process of converting a visitor to a customer.

TRAILER USE
Make sure your differentiation statements are clearly visible and emphasized in the
trailer. Get the message in the beginning and the end of the trailer. Innumerable people from all over the world will view the trailer and you want them to understand your message.

INTERNET ANNOUNCEMENTS
Log onto social media sites and post an announcement that your book is available.
Include the differentiation message in the announcement. Log onto book sites like Goodreads and Librarything. Add information about your book. You can upload the cover and add descriptive text about it. Make sure that text includes
your differentiation messages.

PRESS RELEASES
Display your differentiation messages prominently. Make them the opening statement in
the body of the release. Rephrase the message and place it a second time further down in the body.

EMAIL
Use the signature capability in your email program to build a unique signature using the pitch line by itself. Link that pitch line to your book-selling Website. Now, every time you send an email, you'll also be pitching your book.

Once the differentiation statements are completed, you've taken a big step toward
getting people to buy your book. Keep going! You can do this.

Hank Quense writes humorous fantasy and science fiction along with an occasional article on fiction writing. He lives with Pat, his wife of many years, in Bergenfield, NJ. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.

To date Quense has over forty stories and articles published. His novel Fool's Gold is a sci-fi retelling of the ancient Rhinegold myth. Tunnel Vision, a collection of twenty previously published stories. Both books are available in e-book and print formats.

Build a Better Story is non-fiction and will help fiction writers with a process to develop a story.

His latest, Tales from Gundarland, is a collection of humorous short stories and novellas.

He is presently working on a novel that is a blend of fantasy and science fiction and a second novel that is pure fantasy.

Visit Hank’s Website at http://www.hankquense.com or his Blog at http://www.hankquense.com/blog.

7 days of Erotic Summer Heat! Day #5 Lissa Matthews

Please give a warm welcome to author Lissa Matthews. I won Lissa eBook Sweet Caroline from Cecile at All I want and More. When I started reading I knew I found another erotic author to add to my favorites. If you haven't read one of Lissa's eBooks please try one!


Laurie-Hello Lissa, I am so glad you could join us today. I read on your website you love all things BDSM. Can you tell us some of the toys that falls in that line you like best?


Lissa-Floggers, belts, wrist and ankle cuffs, ball gags, Hitatchi wands. However, all things BDSM doesn't necessarily mean toys...it is a mental thing, a control thing, a physical thing that has nothing to do with sex play. It's not about clubs or multiple partners or parties. It's about the intrinsic trust between a Dominant and his submissive... And it is individual to those involved. There is no one right way or one wrong way to practice, to live it. However, one should always, ALWAYS practice it safely, sanely, and consensually.

Laurie-What do you have more of shoes or purses?

Lissa- I think I have the same number of each...which isn't very many. I think I love purses a little more though... And totebags. O.M.G. I LOVE totebags.

Please if you would give us a sizzling hot male picture of your choice.


AShift Excerpt
Release date is August 24th

“Hey Charlie, let me in this room.”
“Why do you need in there?”
Carson Jenings sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was tired. Tired of dreams, tired of wandering the woods at night, restless, tired of waiting on the woman to show, and now that she was finally damn here, he couldn’t get her to wake her ass up and answer the door. “I need the person inside, and she’s not answering.”
“Well maybe she’s not there.”
His patience was wearing thin, and he hadn’t slept in days. Dreams of her kept him up, kept him hard and aching and hungry. All he could do to try and ease the frustration in his body was run and hopefully wear himself out. Knowing she was coming though just kept his nerves on edge. She wasn’t here for him, but she was his. Melanie said Ruby would come, and she’d been right. Now all Carson needed to do was get to her without scaring the shit out of her by breaking the door down. Not to mention, his brother Patrick wouldn’t be happy with him if he did it either. “Charlie, it’s seven in the morning. She flew cross-country so she’s got jetlag more than likely, and she’s not used to our little world up here. Trust me, she’s in there and chances are, she’s still getting her beauty sleep.”
“Okay, well don’t tell anyone. I’ll get in trouble for it if Patrick finds out.”
“Won’t breathe a word.” Carson made a motion of locking his lips and throwing away the key. Charlie seemed to believe him and slid the master into the lock, and it popped open. Carson mouthed a thank you and slipped in silently. Sure enough, she was still asleep. The curtains were drawn over the windows, and what little light there was came from the small lamp on the chest of drawers on the opposite side of the room. The only sound was his breathing and the small nasal snore from the woman in the bed. His woman.

Melanie had been concerned with how her sister was going to take that bit of news, but it didn’t really matter much to him. He’d convince her, coax her, seduce her, whatever it took. He needed her, probably in ways he didn’t even know of yet, but the immediate need was her; her body, her sex.
He pulled the padded chair over from the sitting area and sat, propping his feet up on the end of the bed careful not to jar it too much. For the first time in days, he started to relax and the tiredness began to take over. He could use some sleep. Hell, he could use a whole month of sleep. Crawling into bed next to her seemed like a damn good idea. He knew why she was there, but her sister wasn’t lost. He knew exactly where Melanie was, and it wouldn’t take long for him to get Ruby to her. The sooner he got her in front of Melanie and proved that the other woman was alive, safe and sound, in love with his fool-headed brother, the sooner he could get Ruby into his home and into his bed.
She rolled over, and he caught sight of her face in person for the first time in the low lamplight. She was pretty with soft features. He knew from the pictures Mel had shown him, Ruby was soft and round from head to toe. She wasn’t willowy and thin which was a good thing as far as he was concerned. He was a good-sized man, and he didn’t want to worry about breaking the woman he was fucking, especially when he planned on doing a whole lot of it.
Before he could think better of it, he got up out of the chair and stripped off his clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor and slid beneath the blankets. She purred and moved closer to him, snuggling. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting, but hell, he’d take it. She wore flannel pajamas and while it was kind of cute, she wouldn’t be wearing them anymore. She wouldn’t need them. He was very warm natured, bordering on furnace hot, and she wouldn’t need anything on in bed…except him.
She pillowed her head on his shoulder, and he gently slid an arm around her, pulling her even closer. His cock was screaming hard, and he had half a mind to pull her the rest of way on top of his body and at least burrow his dick between her flannel covered legs, but he figured that might be going a little too far without first introducing himself.
Her soft hair tickled his skin, and her breath was cool against his neck. Mel had talked nonstop about Ruby from the moment his brother had brought her home. Ruby was supposed to be some sort of librarian that studied fairy tales or some such thing but she had yet to find her own Prince Charming or White Knight. Carson hadn’t paid much attention beyond being polite to his brother’s mate until Mel brought out some pictures of Ruby. Something he hadn’t believed existed had suddenly cracked open inside his gut, tugging at everything inside his soul.
Others in his family had said it was just the beginning and seeing their mate for the first time caused that very same reaction, almost like a shell breaking. It was the human part of their make-up taking over, allowing them to truly bond with others, to feel emotion on a human level, to feel human arousal as it was connected to love, empathy, pain and sorrow.
His kind were loners, sticking close to one another, but not mingling much with normals. That’s what full humans were. Normal. At least in the eyes of society. He and his family were different, strange, and took care of their own. They controlled their own destiny, their own paths, making their own way of living so no one would ever know just how different they really were.
His bear half simply needed to eat, sleep, survive. He cared for his family, but it wasn’t in this kind of way, this all-encompassing need and desire to live. When he’d seen the picture of Melanie and Ruby together, laughing, his human half began kicking in. At first he didn’t like it, wanted to fight it, but the more pictures he’d looked at, the more he heard her voice on the voicemails she left for Mel, the more the hunger had grown to know her, see her, touch her, have her.
He didn’t have the luxury of spending a whole lot of time wooing her. Mating was something he needed to do and do quickly. His human half was still getting used to his animalistic needs and vice versa. It was sometimes so overwhelming that he couldn’t stop masturbating, couldn’t stop or slow down his need for orgasms. His brother, James, Mel’s mate, said eventually there would be a more controllable balance, but it likely wouldn’t take effect until he’d been with Ruby a few times. His bear half had a mating season, but his human half didn’t. There were no female shifters so the science of the true ice bear mating didn’t figure into his family genetics. Until he met his mate, a male shifter was allowed to have sex with anyone he wished, but once his mate was introduced into his psyche, other women were off limits.
His bear side and his human side had to learn to live together, which meant Ruby had to learn as well. He hoped it was as easy for her to accept and adapt as it had been for Mel.
She shifted in her sleep and turned over, presenting her back to him. He turned as well and held her from behind, scooting close and wrapping his other arm around her middle. His cock nestled itself against her ass and twitched, throbbing painfully. God above, he wanted inside her. And when she wiggled that ass…
He flattened his hand against her lower belly hoping to still her. That was a mistake. The tip of his pinky edged the top of her flannel-covered mound. He couldn’t feel the outline of any panties nor the springy curls that would normally… Shit. The woman, his woman was wearing no panties and was smooth.
When she nestled in and settled down, her body relaxed and she sank into him. She fit like she’d always been meant to be there. He couldn’t wrap his head around how that kind of thing was possible, but his body seemed to recognize the truth of it and he was too tired to fight it.
Her feet pressed into his shins, and her head was still at shoulder level on him. Her cunt and ass were at the perfect position and angle for his cock.
And he’d never known a peace so deep and strong. He’d never known the kind of protection and obsession that filled him now either. Hunger and lust peaked and flowed through him. He couldn’t wait to meet her eyes and see her smile first hand, hear her voice, taste her lips, feel her under him, open and hot.
He kissed the top of her head, and she moaned. He closed his eyes and tightened his arms, smiling for the first time in weeks and let much needed sleep take him.

Thanks you so much Lissa!
Places to find Lissa.
Authors website
Authors blog

Lissa is Giving away a e-copy of either Sweet Caroline or Stick Shift the winner choice between them.

Rules you have to be a follower and leave a comment or question below for Lissa along with your email if you want to enter the giveaway.

Extra
+2 twitter, blog, facebook etc...
Please make one post.

Did you miss a day of this event? Well if you look on top of the post under announcements you find a list of authors, as there day comes up I will add a link so you can get to them. So if you missed one you can go back and enter the give aways for that one author, if you want. I will leave all give aways open unit Tuesday Aug 2nd at 6 am.

I will add. If you leave a question after the that day the authors was here, she may not get back with you..

Nobody Wants a Girl Auto Mechanic! - Career Girl Romances #66 (December 1971)

Last week, KB over at Out of This World presented a nice post with some car-themed work by Alex Toth. One of the beautifully draw pieces by Toth featured a young woman working on a car -- much to the surprise of a few of the male characters. The Toth story reminded me of "Nobody Wants a Girl Auto Mechanic!" from Career Girl Romances #66 (December 1971).




Published six years after the Toth story, "Nobody Wants a Girl Auto Mechanic!" tells the story of bright Lisa, an aspiring car-fixer-upper looking for work. Lisa gets turned down by shop after shop without even having an opportunity to show her skills. Trying one more time at Chuck's Auto Repair, Lisa is greeted with the same response - a big fat no.

That's coffee he just spit up Exorcist-style.
I think. I hope.

Frustrated by the same response she is used to getting, Lisa makes a dash for it, accidentally leaving behind her tool kit. Chuck's sister, Mae first scolds Chuck for being such a "big man" and then promptly goes to return Lisa's tool box. When Mae goes to return Lisa's tools she apologizes for her brother's archaic behavior and conducts an impromptu interview with Lisa and her male family members, all who can vouch for her talent in fixing up their cars and motorcycles. Convinced that Lisa would be a great mechanic, Mae cooks up a plan to stage a protest outside of her brother's auto repair shop.


Mae and her crew of activists don't relent until Chuck gives in and hires Lisa, proving a costly move for the business. Though Chuck is willing to give a female mechanic a shot, his customers aren't. The business declines rapidly, and the customers stop rolling in.


Feeling responsible for losing Chuck's clientele, Lisa decides to leave the shop. Chuck won't have any of it though and declares, "Now this is my fight too..." and decides to take up the cause of women's lib.


Mae convinces the next customer, Ted Bosswell to let Lisa work on his car. Happy to prove her talent, Lisa gets to work.


The engine starts like a gem, and Ted tells Chuck he only wants Lisa working on it from there on out. Obviously impressed with her work, Chuck grabs Lisa and lays a big smooch on her -- and the rest, as they say, is history!


Not a bad story, wouldn't you say?! "Nobody Wants a Girl Auto Mechanic!" manages to incorporate the women's movement in a non superficial way and yet retain a believable romantic essence. There is just a certain sweetness to it -- and I am not gonna lie -- that jumpsuit is tops!

7 days of Eroitc Summer Heat! Day #4 Kate Douglas interview and giveaway

You cant have erotic event without the amazing author Kate Douglas of Wolf Tale's. Please give her a warm welcome.
Kate is attending the RWA conference she may stop in or have someone fill in for her. I hope she is having fun and meeting a lot of people!




Laurie- Hello Kate. I am so glad you could bring your Wolf Tale's gang over to our blog today. Your Wolf Tales are really hot and erotic all the way. Would you tell us how you came across starting these books?

Kate-Thanks for having me, Laurie. Wolf Tales began in a weird way—first as a very short story of only a thousand words that I turned into a serial to help launch the new (at the time) publishing company, Changeling Press. Erotic romance was just becoming popular and my agent showed the series to Kensington editor Audrey LaFehr, who chose Wolf Tales to launch their new line of erotic romance, Aphrodisia. I had originally written a story about a woman who has a car accident during a blizzard and is rescued by a man she never sees. After a night of explosive sex, she wakes up on the side of the road, near the site of her accident, still with no idea who her lover has been. I took that anonymous encounter, decided I wanted the man to be a shapeshifter caught “mid-shift,” and my Chanku were born. The name Chanku, by the way, is actually the local name for a sub-species of Tibetan wolf, hence my Tibetan origins for my Chanku.


Laurie-Do you have a hard time coming up with different erotic scenes in your Wolf Tales or do they come naturally?

Kate-The erotic scenes are really easy for me to write, probably because I know my characters so well. I write from a very deep point of view, which means I get into the character’s head and write each scene as they experience it. I think it makes the sex scenes more powerful and helps create the emotional connection between reader and story that’s important to making a sex scene work the way it should. Without that attachment, it becomes nothing more than pornography. We authors of erotic romance tread a fine line between a truly sensual scene and something that’s going to leave a reader feeling like they need to take a bath!

Laurie-You have been to a lot of author conventions. Would you tell us, a little of what its like as an author to go in the convention knowing your going to meet your fans?

Kate-I love conferences and conventions, mainly because I spend all my time writing and they’ve become just about my only social outlet. There’s nothing more fun than being surrounded by other readers! I think we all share a bond in that we love to read books that end well—there’s something about that “happily ever after” rule in romances that really works for me. Of course, meeting fans of my books is absolutely unreal. I’m still at the “pinch me” stage where it amazes me that people are reading and enjoying my books, that they see my characters as real people, just the way I do. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it!

Laurie-Can you tell us a little on what your working on next?

Kate-I’m just finishing up my final—for now—book in the Wolf Tales series: Wolf Tales 12. We’re going on hiatus with this series for awhile—after 21 books and novellas—between Wolf Tales and my Chanku stories in the Sexy Beast anthologies—it’s time for something new, though I fully intend to return to the series at some point and write the next generation’s stories. In this one, I’m planning to answer a lot of questions—where the Chanku originated, how long they live, and some of the secrets of their species that many of them don’t really know the answers to yet. I think it’s going to give readers some closure, while leaving the series open to continue with stories for all the kids.

Laurie-What do you have more of shoes or purses?

Kate-I have to admit to more purses than shoes, even though I generally carry just one favorite, a small Sven shoulder bag. However, our son’s mother-in-law owns a wonderful handbag shop called Clutch http://www.clutchhealdsburg.com/ and I can’t walk past that store without buying SOMETHING!


Laurie-If you would give us a sizzling hot male picture of your choice.


The photo I’ve attached is my “visual” for Igmutaka, the spirit guide in Wolf Tales who takes on a human appearance in Wolf Tales 10. I see him as a rather androgynous male—described more as beautiful than handsome. I saw the picture of this model online and knew he was Ig! I think readers of Wolf Tales 10 will agree—Ruben Cortada looks just right. He’s even got green eyes!

Thanks again for inviting me to blog with you—this is scheduled to appear while I’m in Orlando at the RWA conference, so I’ll do my best to stop in and answer readers’ questions. If I can’t, I’m sure Anton will be able to cover for me.


Wolf Tales 11--coming December 2010
Excerpt: Found here at Wolf Tales 11

Places to find Kate
Authors website
Facebook

Now for the give away.
Laurie: I will give away the winner’s choice of Wolf Tales VII, VIII, 9 or 10 or Sexy Beast VI, VII or VIII, and I will mail to one international winner, but choose two winners from the blog.

Rules you have to be a follower please leave your email if you want to enter the giveaway.

Extra
+2 for twitter, blog, facebook etc..
Please make one post.

Did you miss a day of this event? Well if you look on top of the post under announcements you find a list of authors, as there day comes up I will add a link so you can get to them. So if you missed one you can go back and enter the give aways for that one author, if you want. I will leave all give aways open unit Tuesday Aug 2nd at 6 am.

I will add. If you leave a question after the that day the authors was here, she may not get back with you..

7 days of Erotic Summer Heat, Day #3 Author Anitra Lynn McLeod

Please give a nice welcome to author Anitra. I had the privilege to win two of Anitra books from Michelle's book blog. I read the first book and have to say if you want an out of this world sensual book to read, put these on you list.

Laurie-Anitra, I am so glad to have you here during this event. You write very sensual books, can you tell us one of you favorite so far, and in that book what is your favorite sensual passage?

Anitra-Thank you for hosting me! Well, my favorite so far is the first in the Onic Empire series, Wicked Harvest. My favorite sexy scene starts around page 138 where Chur and Enovese have been at odds with one another for a while and he enters while she is bathing. He watches her, touching himself, then joins her. It's sexy but also very emotionally charged. I've always loved how Chur was so beyond alpha but also very tender and romantic without even trying. He was a delight to write. :)


Laurie-What does it take to create the perfect female lead, to the alpha male, With out making her aggravating? Or the other way around. How do you blend it all for the perfect couple?


Anitra-Oh boy, you just want all my secrets! Developing characters is tricky, especially alpha males: go too far and they come off like bullies, or creepy stalkers if they are determined to get the woman no matter what. I think the trick is to give them those kinder moments, like the scene I describe above. It shows Chur's softer side but he's still all male. As for creating a woman to match him? That's even more difficult. If she's too hard she comes off bitchy, too weak and she's TSL (too stupid to live). I think the same applies for her: show her stronger side complimenting the male, enhancing him, and he'll be okay with it and so will the reader. Not that readers are turned off by strong women, not at all, just that if the female lead always outsmarts, outlasts, outplays the man it can make her look masculine. I really had to balance this issue for my new series with Samhain since my female lead is very strong.

Laurie-Can you tell us a little on what your working on next?

Anitra- I am working on a more sensual series for Samhain called the Fringe (no relation to the FOX show) that takes place in the 25th century. Think Buck Rogers meets Firefly and you have a taste of what the tales will be like. The first novel, THIEF, will release November 2, 2010. The second novel, OVERLORD, will release May 3, 2011. These are classic romances with strong sexual tension but they are not erotic. In the Fringe series you'll find action, adventure, drama, and romance!

I'm very excited to be working with Samhain on my Fringe series but also my Onic Empire series. Sinful Harvest will release in February of 2011 with Kensington, but fans won't have to wait long for the next book: Wicked Empress releases with Samhain March 1, 2011. This will kick off the second trilogy in the series. The Onic Empire books will remain erotic romances but with this move I'll be able to explore multiple character romances and stronger erotic themes.


Laurie-What do you have more of shoes or purses?

Anitra-Shoes. Mostly tennis shoes and hiking boots. I stopped wearing heels a long time ago. I have one purse that I hardly ever use. I travel light and use an envelope billfold thing made of eel skin. I had the same one for 30 years and it finally wore out. I bought a new one that looks exactly like the old one but it's deep burgundy rather than black. I'm hoping to get 30 years out of it then I'll only have to buy one more. :)

Please if you would give us a sizzling hot male picture of your choice.

He is totally hot! ;)

Click here for her excerpts


Here is a blurb and picture or her coming soon release Sinful Harvest

ENSLAVED BY DESIRE
Virile, golden-haired Kerrick performed his manly duties like a champion, bedding virgin after virgin with the restraint expected from a Harvester. But when his leaders decide to change the rules, the tables are turned. Kerrick becomes the sexual servant of his destined mate, the beautiful and fiery Ariss. For the first time in Ariss’s life, she is the master of her own pleasure. With Kerrick’s slow sensual hand, undeniable physical gifts–and wicked imagination–she begins to experience sensations beyond her wildest dreams. Somewhere deep inside Ariss, something powerful has been unleashed–and no man can satisfy her like the one called Kerrick…

But when lust becomes love, who is the master…and who is the slave?

Thank you so much Anitra!!

Places to find Anitra
Authors website
Oh, I forgot to add that I do have a newsletter people can sign up for. It's an announcement only Yahoo group and I promise not to cram your in-box! I send out an email about once a month. It's at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anitralynnmcleod/


Now for the give away. Anitra is giving a copy of Wicked Harvest or Dark Harvest to one lucky person--they can choose which one. US or internationally is fine and I'll pay to ship the books from Utah.

Please leave a comment or question for Anitra. You have to be a follower and leave your email if your entering.

Extra
+2 for posting on twitter, blog, facebook etc..


Did you miss a day of this event? Well if you look on top of the post under announcements you find a list of authors, as there day comes up I will add a link so you can get to them. So if you missed one you can go back and enter the give aways for that one author, if you want. I will leave all giveaways open unit Tuesday Aug 2nd at 6 am.

I will add. If you leave a question after the that day the authors was here, she may not get back with you..

That Pow Look - Mod!

Rare in an American romance comic of the '60s and '70s is a feature in black and white. Rarer still, is a fashion spread in a Charlton book! I have no idea who may have illustrated this page, but it is fantastic!

"That Pow Look -Mod!"

Teen Confessions #48
(January 1968)

Sadly, by the time this issue would have hit the stands, Mod fashions would have already been on the way out. A very cool page nonetheless!

'That Perfect Someone' by Johanna Lindsey -Review-

   This one was a nice novel to curl up with on a rainy day and get swept away. It was as action-packed and full of twists and turns as any novel we can expect from Lindsey, and I really liked it. 'That Perfect Someone' wasn't as affecting as some of the other Mallory novels in the series, but it still holds solid merit.
   Julia Miller is shocked to find the battered up face of her elusive fiancee' staring back at her after he left England and disappeared without a trace all those years ago.
   Richard Allen is dangerously in love with the wife of a formidable English nobleman (the beloved James Mallory, see 'Gentle Rogue') and can't help himself when an opportunity to clap eyes on James' wife again comes about.
   He fled England 9 years ago to escape the controlling manipulations of his father, the Earl of Manford, and is now dismayed when his precarious foray back to London puts him face to face with the one woman he detests the most; his fiancee'.


   For 9 long years, Julia Miller and her fortune were held firmly on the shelf. Betrothed practically from infancy, Julia held no illusions as to why her presumable husband-to-be left England and never came back. They threatened each other with consequences of death multiple times, and Julia even managed to draw blood from Richard on more than one occasion when their tempers couldn't be reigned in. Finally determined to put the past behind her and take the reigns of her future, Julia begins to contemplate the best way to rid herself of her troublesome marriage contract to Richard Allen and start her life anew. She hopes for the chance to engage all of society as a woman in search of a husband of her choosing, but fate had other plans.
   At the masquerade ball being thrown in honor of Georgina Mallory's birthday, friends and family from near and far all come together to celebrate. Little do they know, amidst the crush of party-goers, the 'Frenchmen sailor' moving among them is not only a party crasher, but the missing son of an Earl. Richard Allen left home 9 years ago, determined to make it on his own, fell into piracy and came out on the other side of things with the help of his loyal friends. Richard was the second son of the Earl of Manford and once his eldest brother married well-socially-,  it was up to him to marry well-financially-. His father never showed him any semblance of love or affection and tried to control every aspect of Richard's life until one day, he had enough and took matters into his own hands. 
   Back in London for a short visit, Richard tries to avoid detection by both those from his former life and the husband of the woman he is dangerously infatuated with. Suffice to say, nothing goes according to plan and he comes face to fist with James Mallory and face to face with the woman he left behind.
   Julia is in a rage once she discovers Richard is back and she tries to settle the matter of their betrothal before he get the chance to takes off again. When Richard is also discovered by his father, he is given an ultimatum: either marry Julia or be 'taught a lesson' and transported to Australia as a 'convict'. The latter is forced on him when he refuses to marry just to fill his father's pockets, and it is Julia (with the help of a reluctant James Mallory & friends) who saves him from his horrid fate.
   Once Richard is safely off the transport ship, he and Julia come to a 'truce' of sorts and put their differences aside so that they may devise a plan to steal the marriage contract which has ruled their lives thus far and destroy it. The plan was simple: pretend to be in love to gain entry into the Earl's home, search for the contract and dispose of it, and FINALLY move on with their lives. But, as their feelings for each other start to grow more intense, their plan backfired and they now have to face the consequences together. The hero and heroine are both stubborn as mules, but eventually they learn to be honest with themselves and each other and soon realize that they are with their 'Perfect Someone'.

Rating: 3 1/2 Red Roses

My Favorite Part of the Book: Is when Richard is saved from being transported to Australia, and at first has no knowledge that it is Julia who helped put the rescue party together. He says something mean to her and then she gets upset and runs off. The others in the cabin who witness this call him out on his stupidity and he goes after her to try and make things right. In the heat of his apology, some old feelings are stirred up and as Richard comforts Julia, they begin to feel some undeniable sexual tension. The whole sequence of scenes were sweet, sensual and full of emotion and I loved them!

   Overall, you're guaranteed to find something to love about this book. Like the main character's struggle to remember exactly why they hated each other all those years ago, the side plot of Richard's true paternity, or the wonderful cameos by some Mallory series favorites. Towards the end of the novel, it feels as though the story is being prolonged. Once Julia and Richard decide to be honest about their feelings, the whole point of the second ship voyage to the Caribbean is misleading and pointless. I thought something more dramatic was going to happen. The book tried to do a little too much, and some elements weren't developed pace-wise to their full potential, which threw the book off a little, but you'll still find plenty of reasons to finish the book with a smile on your face.

*Why not try one of the earlier novels in the Mallory/Anderson Series, 'Gentle Rogue', Georgina and James' Story!

*And if pirates tales are your poison, try one of Johanna Lindsey's!:'A Pirate's Love'!

My Interview over at BusyMomsWhoLoveToRead book blog!

   Lol yep, that's right! Yours truly was actually the interviewee for a change and did an interview (interrogation-style) over at Busy Moms Who Love To Read (No, I am not a teen mom, sorry MTV. But lovers of books will find something to love on this site whether they change diapers or not). I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful Pam a.k.a OutnumberedMama during the GotBooks? events (which I hope to be apart of next year) that recently took place in the blog-universe. A few days ago, she contacted me with an email that had a subject bar that read: "I want to interrogate you"...how could I resist?! She asked me all about my love for books, reviewing and all that other good stuff, so make sure you stop by and see what I had to say. (and please comment; I'll subscribe to the post so that way I'll see what YOU thought).

Click 'here' for a link to the Interview: here

*Thanks once again Pam for the exciting opportunity to play VIP and answer your questions!

Just a short shameless plug moment: I have recently added Goodreads to my long list of social networking site I have accounts on. Hopefully you have noticed that I have widgets to the blog's Facebook FanPage, Twitter feeds AND a convenient 'Like' button scattered about on here as well. I will add a goodreads widget soon! I hope YOU will find the time to add, follow, friend, ect me on any/all of these social platforms. I put different content on different sites, so stay fully connected with the blog and the blog's cooky owner (that's me) by adding me on all these sites!!! (and please remember to GFC (Google Friend Connect) follow on the actual Blog right here).:

 -My Goodreads
-My Personal Facebook Profile
The Blog's Facebook FanPage (please 'like')
There's a 'Like' button on the right sidebar under the Twitter widget (just click it !!!!!)
-Twitter  (tweet to @NotAnotherRBlog)

Mostly a Re-post: Giving up the ghost; When to trunk your manuscript

Sorry for the re-post, but I've been really busy with revisions for Evangeline. It's been a long road, kind of gravelly and washed out in some areas with a slew of bumps, but after months of hard work, the ride is smoother than ever. I've been working on this manuscript since November of 2008 (a NaNoWriMo attempt), and though I had a pretty good submission request rate when I started querying it last spring, it didn't take long to see that the writing just wasn't good enough...

Originally posted July 7th, 2009

Lately I've been spending a lot of time with my work in progress [Strings], while querying a finished novel [Evangeline] that is as polished as I can make it. But today I received a rejection on the full (a full request from the start, so far I have had no partial requests turn into fulls for this project) that really made me think.

The agent mentioned they liked the concept and the setting, but I had problems with narrative, that the agent wanted "more" from the mc's experience. I believe the agent's comments to be genuine, and not something I'm reading into too much. The concern about narrative I had received pretty uniformly from most agents, and something I kept in mind during the latest stage of revisions. So it looks like I didn't do as well on the revisions as I had thought.

Which begs the question: barring the spontaneous propagation of a literary professional who is willing to do a line by line of my work to tell me where the problem narrative is, how do I know what needs to be changed? How do I know if I can even change the book enough to make it saleable? Will more betas help at this point, or should I put all my writing energies into my wip, where I can apply what I learned trying to write the last one?

I have a good-sized list of agents I can still query, and I could change little things, but I'd need an objective reader, or hell, a committee at this point, to help me decide where to start with yet another stage of revisions. I've read it so many times, the words just start to run together at this point.

Keep writing! the agent in question says. Does that mean I should keep writing the same story, or move on to another? It's enough to make me pull out my hair. I'm getting so deep into the main character of the wip, a place I never really got to with the mc of the novel being queried, that it would be difficult for me to switch gears right now. It's hard for me to go backward. Maybe I am a better writer now than I was, but am I a better storyteller? Can I craft a whole story that makes sense from start to finish that immerses the reader in a living breathing character's life and problems? If I can't do this, what right do I have to call myself a writer?

So for now I'm going to play it cool, wait on another full and a partial request, and decide later. Maybe there's an agent out there who will like the story enough to give me the critical feedback I need to whip the story into shape. Or maybe I'll go nuts with my wip and finish it in six weeks (ha!) and have another story to foist other concerns on. And the vicious cycle will start all over again.

How to decide without losing my sanity? Should I tackle two stories, revisions and draft writing, at the same time? Or put all my eggs in a brand new basket?

I wish I knew.

Aww, it's okay past-me. Here we are a year later, and things are looking better. You finished that WiP and learned a lot about character development and pov. And you DID apply what you learned to Evangeline. And you did enlist a small army of beta readers to help figure out where you were going wrong. And now future-you—meaning yours truly, ME—is busy with this second round of revisions to resubmit to Dreamy McAgent in the hopes that she'll like it enough to want to represent us. So you see, it all worked out for the best.

All it took was a little practice, hard work, and TIME. So if anyone else out there is thinking about trunking a story you love, maybe you just need to put it aside for a while and work on something else.

Your future-you will thank you. ;)

7 days of Erotic Summer Heat! Day # 2 Author Leah Braemel intervew and giveaway

Please give a warm welcome to author Leah Braemel . I fell in love with Leah writing when I read Texas Tangle and just had to have her during this event!! If you haven't read one of her ebooks please give them a try.


Laurie-Hello Leah, I'm so glad you could join for this erotica event week. I read your ebook Texas Tangle and loved it. From the first m/f/m book I read I just can’t get enough of them. I am curious how hard is it to write a book where there are three in the mix?

Leah-It can be challenge when it comes to pronouns. Just who does “he” refer to? Hero 1 or Hero 2? Then there are all those hands and legs and stray body parts to keep track of. Not only that you have to consider the emotions that are involved between the three. With Private Property, I played with a theme I hadn’t seen much before—that the hero Mark Rodriguez, who had been the one to arrange the menage in the first place, decided once the evening had begun that it wasn’t as much fun. He was having severe jealousy problems, but he didn’t feel he could back out. So the second hero, Sam, who was there as their third for that one time event, decided to teach him a lesson and force him to realize he loved Jodi, the heroine. In Texas Tangle, both men, Brett and Dillon, equally loved Nikki, and Nikki loved them both, but at the time of the menage, Nikki thought she had to choose between them. Which added a tension to the entire event. Which of course made it both difficult and fun to write.

Laurie-Can you tell us where is your favorite place to go to write?

Leah-Ideally I like to write on my laptop out in my family room – there’s a big patio door there that lets in lots of sunlight and I can look out over my birdfeeder and watch the cardinals and goldfinches (and the occasional chipmunk) darting in and out. However, when I’m out there the boys (and my hubby) think nothing to sitting down and turning the television on or starting a conversation. *Horrors* Terrible that they should expect to enjoy their family room that way, isn’t it? As a result I generally retreat to a small room by the front door that we’ve turned into an office. While it’s dark and dreary, it has a door that I can close for some peace and quiet. (When my cat Spike’s not scratching on it to get in or out, that is. Which is always. It seems that it doesn’t matter where the door leads or which side of it he’s on, if a door is closed he has to scratch on it until it’s opened and he can poke around to make sure he’s not missing anything.)

Laurie-What is your favorite perk being an author?

Leah-Meeting authors who I’ve read and admired for years. I’ve already accosted Cathy Maxwell, Nora Roberts, Jo Beverly, Margaret Moore, Eve Silver, Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, and Kelley Armstrong to name a few. Next time I go to a conference I have a whole new list of people to stalk, I mean meet.

Laurie-Can you tell us a little on what your working on next?

Leah-Laurie, I’ve got a few projects on submission, but none of them have been contracted yet—the one for Carina has to go through an acquisitions panel so it’ll be a while and I feel like I’d be jinxing them if I mention them here. *fingers crossed* my editors will like my submissions and I’ll have good news soon. If I hear anything between now and then I’ll let you know so you can update this.

Laurie-What do you have more of shoes or purses?

Leah-Purses. (Unless snow boots count as shoes. Seriously. I have more boots for shoveling snow or walking in it than I have shoes. Though not a single pair of them are Uggs.)

If you would please give us a sizzling hot male picture of your choice.


Texas Tangle
Blurb:
Thanks to her cheating ex-husband and her thieving brother, all horse breeder Nikki Kimball has left is a bruised heart, an overdrawn bank account and an empty home. When sex-on-legs Dillon Barnett and his brooding foster-brother Brett Anderson start showing more than just neighborly attention, Nikki is intrigued…and a little gun-shy.

Dillon and Brett have a history; back in high school, the two friends fought a bitter battle over Nikki. Now, ten years later, Brett still longs to be the man in Nikki’s life, but he’s determined to stand back and let Dillon win Nikki’s heart.

Society says Nikki must choose between the two men she loves. Is Nikki strong enough to break all the rules in order to find happiness?

Excerpt (they can also download the entire first chapter as a PDF or download it here: http://carinapress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/texastangle_excerpt.pdf ) but here’s a sneak peek:
Text Copyright © 2010 by Leah Braemel



Brett Anderson switched off the strobe lights and parked his squad car beside the others. The three units parked in front of Nikki’s, lights still flashing, highlighted the trim figure striding back and forth across the lawn, her arms wrapped about herself. Where the hell was Dillon, and why had he left Nikki alone?

He got out of the car and headed straight for her, ignoring the house for the moment. When he’d recognized the address blasted over the police radio, it had been all he could do not to abandon the accident site out on the highway. At least Tiny had been the first responder on scene and had kept him in the loop.

“Hey, Nik.”

Nikki’s head snapped up. “Brett!”

She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms about his waist. The fear that had caught him since he’d first heard the call relaxed as he closed his arms around her. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” She buried her face against his neck, her chest heaving as she struggled to maintain control. If he knew her, it wasn’t an effort to hold back tears but to contain her anger. “Everything I’ve got is gone.”

“I know, Nik. But it’s just stuff. At least you’re safe.” Tucking her head under his chin, he stroked her back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. Despite the number of visits he’d made to her place over the years, only in his fantasies had he been able to hold her like this again.

They stood wrapped together for a few minutes, her breathing gradually calming down, her body softening against his. Brett memorized how she fit perfectly against him, taking the time to notice the tinier details like how her braid dangled halfway down her back. He fantasized about removing the elastic holding it in place and running his fingers through her hair, freeing it from its bindings. What would it be like to lie beneath her, to feel her hair cascade over his chest?

“Tiny thinks Phil took everything.” She tilted her head back to look at him, reminding him of the last time he’d held her in his arms. What would it be like to kiss her the way he had then?

Not now. Not yet. She’s been victimized. If you make your move now, you’ll never know if she’s turned to you because you represent safety or if she’s hot for you.

“I heard.” When he’d heard Tiny broadcast the B.O.L.O. on Phil, the tow truck drivers had saluted the curse he’d uttered. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t understand any of it.” She shook her head in confusion and looked toward the house.

Goddamn that lazy bastard. How they could be related was beyond his imagination. Then again, of all people, he knew how genes didn’t carry the best—or the worst—traits between family members. Thank God for small mercies. “Honey, there were no marks on the lock to show someone had broken in. There were no broken windows—”

“No,” she interrupted. “I understand why they think it was him, but what I don’t get is how he could have done this to me, his own sister. I took him in instead of making him live in a halfway house, or somewhere with strangers. There must be some other explanation.”

He cupped her cheek until she looked at him. “It’s not about you. To Phil, it’s about satisfying himself, no matter who he hurts.”

She leaned her cheek into his palm, her eyes closing. “What would I do without friends like you?”

Friends? Yeah, he’d tried to stay her friend. After he’d come back from college, it had hurt to see her in town with her husband, to be reminded of what he’d lost. A couple months later, he’d joined the Barnett County police and had discovered her husband receiving a blow job from town slut Patsy Schrader in the grocery store parking lot. It had just about killed him not to warn her that her husband was cheating. Same with the next time, when he’d caught them in flagrante dilecto in the back seat of Patsy’s van. Or the next.


Right after she’d finally kicked the sorry bastard out the year before, he figured he’d have another chance. But every time he’d checked on her since, she’d been oblivious to why he was visiting. Instead she’d announced she was determined to make it on her own and spurned all his help.

Maybe now they could pick up where they’d left off ten years before. He moved a half step closer, and she didn’t step away. Instead she continued to look up at him, her lips slightly parted. Inviting him to kiss her. He bent his head until the brim of his hat brushed the top of her head.

A throat cleared on the porch. “Hey, Anderson, you get that accident scene cleared up?”

Stifling a sigh, Brett pulled back. On the porch, Tiny rocked on his heels, one eyebrow raised. Shit. There went the professional rating on his next review. Then he saw Dillon standing in the shadows, arms folded across his chest.

Shitfuck.

When Dillon stepped into the light, he couldn’t miss his friend’s narrowed eyes. Nor could he miss the heat in them when they turned on Nikki. Shitfuckdamn.

You’ve been down this road before. Remember that fiasco? It’s Dillon’s chance with Nikki this time. Not that either of them had ended up with her back in high school, but he wasn’t prepared to lose Dillon or the Barnetts. Not again.

He dropped his arms from Nikki, and stepped back. “Hey, Dill. Nik, I gotta go help Tiny here. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Thank you so much Leah!!

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Now for the giveaway. Leah is happy to giveaway one Lucky winner a e-copy of any of my backlist which will include Private Property, Personal Protection, or Texas Tangle.
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Did you miss a day of this event? Well if you look on top of the post under announcements you find a list of authors, as there day comes up I will add a link so you can get to them. So if you missed one you can go back and enter the give aways for that one author, if you want. I will leave all giveaways open unit Tuesday Aug 2nd at 6 am.

I will add. If you leave a question after the that day the authors was here, she may not get back with you..