Laird of Darkness - 7 Sentences

Our theme this week is 7 sentences from my book. Since I've posted the first chapter of Laird of Darkness at my website, here are the first 7 sentences of chapter two. :)


Duncan lifted Alana higher and higher into the cool evening air, farther from her clansmen. Her stomach flipped and spun, as it had the first time Duncan had performed this flying trick.
She prayed silently, squeezing her eyes closed.
For several seconds, she soared, screaming and wiggling, through the night sky. But Duncan held her arms and legs tightly.
“Release me!”
“Be still,” he growled.

How do you feel about dark heroes who do questionable things?

Laird of Darkness is part of the historical romance sale at Carina Press for March.

The book is available for preorder at
Carina Press
Amazon
B&N

Thanks!
Nicole
www.nicolenorth.com

7 Sentences from Flaunt It

The theme this week at Fierce Romance is: Seven sentences from my book. Sounds simple, doesn't it? But it was a lot harder than I thought it would be to pick those seven sentences.

First of all, which book? The last release? The first one? The one coming up next? The one I'm working on now?

Then which seven sentences? I'd want the tiny excerpt to give you a taste of the story. But I don't want to give too much away. And a mere seven sentences taken out of context might not make any sense. I quickly realized that seven sentences aren't enough - every snippet I thought about using made me want to give you more than just seven sentences - after all, the ones just before and right after are important too.

But I finally made up my mind. These sentences are from my next release from Samhain. For those of you who had been looking forward to its release March 22nd, I'm sorry to say the date has been pushed out. I'll let you know as soon I have a new release date. Until then, here is the cover and the blurb:



BLURB:

When it comes to sexy and sassy, Piper, the most popular waitress at Ben’s bar, has it all going on. Now that they’re dating, though, Ben wishes she’d dial down the skimpy clothes and flirty attitude, and her habit of dancing around the bar and flashing to her favorite song. Every teasing peek at her body, every laugh at some customer’s lousy joke, is certainly good for business—but it sends his jealousy meter into the red zone.

Sure, they’re dating, but he’s no muscled, tattooed stud with diamonds in his ears. How can he compete, especially when she refuses to even spend the night at his place?

Desperate, Ben books a room at his friend Paolo’s fantasy club, hoping an erotic night in front of a two-way mirror will get her exhibitionist streak out of her system. Praying it won’t prove his greatest fear—that she lives only to show off. And he’s not that special to her at all

And the seven sentences (unedited)from Flaunt It:

She wrapped her fingers around Paolo’s bicep. “But he certainly never told me you would have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Ben followed them down the hallway, rolling his plain old brown eyes at the nonsense coming out of her mouth. He’d never been the charming type. In his line of work he might have been practiced at small talk, but sweet talk had never been his thing. He’d never thought Piper needed sweet talk. Maybe he was wrong about that too.

Flaunt It will be the first of 4 stories in the Paolo's Playhouse series coming soon from Samhain.

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Helle is for Heroines

Of the heroines I've written, the Devil's Daughter, Hellé Hawthorn is my favorite. A spitfire in the truest sense, she proves she's more than just a pretty face.


Hellé is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't...

The Devil’s daughter survives a battle with ball lightening and learns her days in Sin City are numbered unless she consumes a precious mineral found only in Hell—the Hell from which she’s been banished.

Three men compete for Hellé’s attention. The first evildoer controls much of Vegas’ development and vows to destroy her. A second rogue as powerful as Satan hopes to dominate her. The third, an irresistible Greek fisherman, wants her until death parts them.

Hellé and her lover, Menlikus, embark on separate dangerous journeys with a common purpose. Their lives hinge on the cooperation of two persons—one who’s betrayed Hellé’s friendship, and one she doesn’t believe exists.


Click here for another excerpt and more information

Excerpt -- To Hellé and Back Again (Ellora's Cave Exotika)


The dark-blue glass clung to my fingers. Each cycle of Van’s menacing words burrowed them deeper into my gray matter. Wispy fog floated in front of my eyes. Stench such as that from sulfur deposits clogged my nostrils and throat and coated my tongue.



“You feel like watching?” Van turned and flashed me a fanged grin.



I’d missed the latest sale at Saks due to this graveside agenda but Van missed a conscience and good manners from birth. “I’ve seen far more horrendous sights when in Hell.”



“Come over here to the portal.” Van stared us down.



At reaching the narrow trench I stepped away while Van posed Men with his feet close the burial mound, straddling the open ground.



Now to see if Van possessed the ability to read minds. No sense going any further with this game if he did. The blackness behind my closed lids formed a swirling vortex. The Brekennium barrier—a protective shield that prevented brainwashing and mind-reading and was possessed by only by Satan and his offspring—lifted around my brain. Only by intense focusing could we hellish beings temporarily remove and later reconstruct this unique magnetic field inside our skulls.

Menlikus is far sexier than you. You couldn’t do me a hundredth as well or as deep.

With my eyes open I concentrated on Van’s closed lips and recycled the thought.

Not a single twitch.


Fang-Face heaved a breath toward the close-to-midnight sky. “Are you finished praying or whatever it was you were doing?”



Van wasn’t a mind-reader. Or if he was, one of my precious powers still remained—I could prevent others from getting inside my head and learning my thoughts.



Without answering I squeezed Men’s hand. “Quite.”



Caught in the moon’s glow, the claw on Van’s forefinger shone bluish-white. “Not so close to him. I have to prepare the Skave zone.”



Skave zone?



Men and I shrugged.



From the pouch positioned near where the knife lay buried to its handle in dirt, Van removed a small cloth bundle. After laying it on his left palm he unfolded the edges until all four corners hung over his hand. His right thumb and forefinger sank into the pile of reddish-brown powder and pinched together. He dusted the faintly sweet-smelling dust onto his tongue and took another measured portion between his fingers. Three times he performed the ritual, bending over the furrow and sifting the powder into the opening. A sneeze teased the back of my throat. I closed my fingers over my nostrils and caught the outburst but pitched forward. On removing my fingers the air in front of my face lay heavier than that a couple inches behind me. Cloying citrus-sweetness soothed the thumping in my temples and unknotted the muscles in the back of my neck and I righted myself.



“The flaçon of eshlew.” Van snapped his fingers.



Barely did I extend my arm before he snatched the fluid from me. A soft pop floated toward the sky as the stopper was freed from the neck. In the same way Barden drizzled oil over her garden salads, Van spread the cod-scented contents along the ground rift.



He slapped the stopper into place and dropped the empty bottle into his pouch. “Where’s the lighter?”



When I remained silent he fished in Men’s back pocket and produced the device. His thumb incited the strike wheel and a flame flared. He crouched and touched the dancing oval of energy to the edge of the trench. A blue flame leaped about a foot above the ground and tracked down the man-made furrow to the end. Van closed the lid and tossed the lighter behind me.



What at first resembled fish oil morphed into the aroma of roasting nuts.



Van’s laughter blanketed us.



The fence of fire climbed to within a couple inches of Men’s ten inches of glory. Van beat his hands toward the flames and they lowered by half.



Daddy would love that trick.



The longest claws adorned Van’s forefingers and he pointed the left one at Men’s heart. “Straddle the flames as I’m doing. Then you’ll be ready.”



Men started toward me but Van drifted between us before my lover made a third step. The sexy Greek with the heart of gold sought the pyre that might mark his own funeral if malice or a mistake prevented Men from reaching Hell and returning.



At the base of the flames a bubbling erupted. Sparks shot into the air. Glassy amber orbs formed as the bubbles shrank.



Without a doubt, Van wasn’t playing with all his marbles. And if this were his way of playing a sick practical joke, I’d deal with him in a way he wouldn’t like.



The madman’s amber marbles swelled a bit and hissed. Their surfaces clouded and the crackling intensified.



My nails gouged my palms and my throat muscles clenched. Menlikus posed over the pyre wearing a smile I’d always remember.



“Good riddance. Hope you stay down there.” Van chanted a few phrases in Latin and pierced the tip of Men’s right middle finger.



He milked a few drops of blood, turned Men’s hand so the palm pointed down and slapped the backs of my boyfriend’s fingers. The blood hit the fire and flared the blue flames a few inches higher. A ferrous tang replaced the roasted aroma.



Van swept around to Men’s right, grabbed a fistful of his hair and tipped his head toward his left shoulder. The walls of my veins cleaved closer together and more heartbeats launched toward my tongue.



Wishing you many happy reading moments,



Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED -- Ellora's Cave

Great Review for Nameless Surrender

Every now and again I'm notified about a review for a book that's been out a while. I have to admit, I really love it when that happens! So when I opened my email earlier this week and found a review for Nameless Surrender, I was really happy. Then I read the review, and was grinning from ear to ear.

No names. No words. Just Sex.

After months of blindfolds and secrets, after countless encounters without a single word spoken, Dean Lucas knows what his mysterious partner at the adult-only club Entice wants and gives her everything she physically desires. But now he hungers for more than just her body. He craves her heart, too.

Zoe Grant has finally found a way to let go of past betrayals, a way to sate her long-hidden desires. And the fact she doesn’t know the man’s name, has never seen his face, suits her just fine.

But, when the two are unknowingly brought together outside their mutual comfort zone, will Zoe be able to set aside her past and surrender her trust once again? And can Dean convince Zoe, nameless or not, that love knows no bounds? 

Here's the review, from Joyfully Reviewed:  

Dr. Zoe Grant is looking for release, and she finds it at the exclusive adult club Entice. Zoe’s weekly private sessions with an unknown man is just what she never knew she needed. This unknown man has the power to make her feel things she has never before experienced.

Dean Lucas is not sure what is wrong with him. Usually these kinds of arrangements at Entice satisfy his needs, but his new submissive makes him want things he cannot have. Their contract states no talking. She can never remove her blindfold. However, the more he’s with her the more he wants her in every way not just sexual. Dean, being the super sexy SWAT guy that he is, devises what he believes is a fool-proof plan to woo his little submissive right into his arms forever.

Zoe has been through an awful divorce and isn’t ready for a relationship. What will happen when Dean starts messing with their perfect arrangement? Can they have something more fulfilling than they ever thought possible or will the past get in the way of their future?

Nameless Surrender is one hot naughty novella. Zoe and [Dean] simmer until their deepest desires boil the pages. Dean’s little game is so wicked it will make your toes curl. I am not usually a big fan of BDSM, but it definitely worked in Nameless Surrender. Zoe needed to surrender herself to someone so she could learn to trust again. It was beautiful to see her become a stronger woman. Nameless Surrender is an enticingly erotic novel.

Thank you, Miranda, and thank you to Joyfully Reviewed as well!! 


Have a great weekend!

Kristin
www.kristindaniels.com
www.facebook.com/authorkristindaniels
http://twitter.com/Kristin_Daniels

Guest interview: Taryn Kincaid

Taryn Kincaid started writing as soon as she could and never stopped. Sometimes she has been lucky enough to get paid for it. As an award-winning reporter and columnist, she covered everything from fires and homicides, to corrupt politicians and hero dogs. And also the fun-and-fluff stuff. Not usually a bit like TV. Nowadays, she haunts courthouses. That’s not usually a bit like TV, either. Taryn reads and writes all genres. She is a member of RWA, Hudson Valley RWA and RWA’s Beau Monde, and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapters. She is the author of Healing Hearts, a Regency novella, and Sleepy Hollow
Dreams, an erotic paranormal. Taryn is addicted to the blogosphere. And Twitter.

Welcome, Taryn! Please tell us about Healing Hearts, your new release from Carina Press.

Healing Hearts is a romantic, sensual, Regency novella about two people with damaged hearts and spirits, who discover they are made for each other! And the healing power of passion and love.

Here's the blurb:
As a girl, Emma Whiteside asked Adam Caldwell, Viscount Riverton, to wait for her to be of marriageable age. Now, twelve years later, Emma hates Adam as much as she once loved him, holding the former army major responsible for the death of her brother on the battlefield.

Adam already blames himself for the loss of the men under his command. But the fiery young woman Emma's become sparks his arousal, as well as emotions Adam thought long dead. The passion between them makes him want to reclaim the man he was before the war.

Though she tries to hold on to her hatred, Emma's longing for Adam is undeniable, especially after the two share a smoldering kiss. Still, Adam is certain no woman would want a man so damaged. Can Emma prove him wrong?

And here's an excerpt:

The wind blew off the sea, moaning and wild, buffeting the man pacing the cliffs.

Hidden by a wall of rock, Emma Whiteside shielded her eyes against the bite of salt spray and continued to watch him, as she did every dawn.

Today, she thought. Today she would approach him at last. Confront him. Give him the royal tongue-lashing he deserved. She had nothing left to lose, after all. And she might not have the opportunity tomorrow. Or ever again.

The things I will say to you, Riverton, will peel the skin from your bones and lay you lower than anything Napoleon's Grande Armée had to offer.

A small voice nagged Emma from within, the advice reasonable considering her current dire circumstances. Better to seek the man's aid than chide him. But she snapped her mind closed against the unwanted counsel. The viscount was the last man on earth she'd ever ask for help.

Grief chilled her, numbed her heart, deadened the tender feelings she'd once had for him. Only her need for vengeance broke through her frozen emotions now. She longed to set Riverton in his place, however little effect her words might have on a man so impervious to remorse.

But once again Emma could neither confront him nor beseech him. The evidence of his stiff-necked pride—and her own—continued to hold her back with as much force as if an unseen hand pressed down upon her shoulder. She glared in the man's direction, as if it were his hand oppressing her.

Fierce gusts punished him, impeding his tortured progress. Pain twisted his handsome features but he confronted the gale without flinching. A tiny chip splintered off from the ice sheath encasing Emma's heart.

Damn him.

How do you bear it, Riverton? Are you made of stone?

She knew he was not. She saw the agony against which he fought, the stalwart way he pushed himself onward, despite the uneven gait that hampered his progress.

A cold blast of wind whistled past, ripping the hood of Emma's cloak aside, whipping her hair against her neck. The frigid current stung her eyes, wringing reluctant tears. She blinked the moisture away and rubbed the damp trail from her cheeks.

No tears, she instructed herself. Not for him. Never for him.

Riverton wore no coat or cravat. His linen flapped about him, white shirttails torn from his trousers—an unlikely flag of surrender when he refused to give quarter.

Did you stand so against the French?

Emma could think of no oath dark enough to curse a man so remarkably stoic. She envisioned him in her mind's eye, saber raised, hastening up and down the lines, shouting at his men to hold: Major Adam Caldwell, Viscount Riverton, at his most courageous.

She shuddered, conjuring the brutal attack that haunted her grimmest moments, the scene clouded by smoke and thunder, blurred by the limits of her grief and imagination. The battle where her twin had fallen, belly pierced by an enemy bayonet.

Michael admired you so, Riverton. I will never stop blaming you. 'Tis time you knew it.

Anger burned within her breast, bright as her love for the viscount once had.

And yet...her gaze swept him again, lingering on the trousers that molded his muscular thighs, the loose shirt that emphasized the breadth of his shoulders. 'Twas but the vicious wind that stole her breath, she told herself.


More excerpts (and reviews!) are at my blog: http://dreamvoyagers.blogspot.com/


Awesome, intense excerpt! Do you have a review you could share with us?

Sure could! And I'd be thrilled to:

From The Romance Reviews

HEALING HEARTS is a sweet historical romance story that any girl could love. This tale is the perfect combination of drama, angst and passion that will entertain you throughout. If you are looking for that stunning, but short read, HEALING HEARTS is the novel for you.

I was amazed by how deeply I was sucked into this short story. You barely have a hundred pages to understand the characters' past, their passion and their pain but Taryn Kincaid does an amazing job of condensing their story. The heroine, Emma, has a whirlwind of emotions she goes through within such a small amount of time, but you never feel rushed or cheated by the brevity of this story.

I love a tortured hero as much as the next girl and Adam was an amazing tortured hero. You could tell he was considered a somewhat arrogant lad before he went to war, but of course, he has come back a changed man.

Regardless, Emma has loved him for a very long time, but Adam took her twin brother with him to war and did not bring him back. Suffering the despair of her loss and the massive debt her family is in, she is torn between whether or not to confront Adam and ask for his help. She believes that she hates him, but one kiss from this wounded soldier melts her heart. Adam has no doubt Emma belongs in his life as his wife, it's just the small matter of convincing her they belong together.

Shorter stories are normally not my favorite since I sometimes feel you are cheated out of the emotional attachment you could have in a full-length novel, but that was certainly not the case with this story. Adam and Emma pulled me in with their desire for one another, hooked me with their inner torment and satisfied me with their happily ever after.

Ms Kincaid is certainly an author to watch out for. HEALING HEARTS looks to be her second published works and with her talent she has nowhere to go but up.

(Read more great reviews from Happily Ever After Reviews, Over A Cuppa Tea, Once Upon A Chapter, Cloudy With a Chance of Books and My Guilty Pleasures on my blog!)


What a great review! What inspired this story?

Years and years ago, I adored Laura Kinsale's Seize the Fire and its damaged and reluctant hero. Seize the Fire was so different from other romance novels I was reading at that time and it stayed with me. I've always been fascinated by the toll wars take on our warriors. Adam is based on one of the first heroes I ever tried my hand at. That hero's heroine was not a bit like Emma, though (she was more of the typical Regency heroine, making her debut and not mature enough to deal with such a man). And, of course, I didn't know enough to do justice to their story. But the returning soldier theme is one I love to explore. I just love the damaged hero so!

OMG I'm a huge fan of Laura Kinsale. I love her damaged heroes. Seize the Fire is one of my favorites too. Why did you choose your setting and why was it perfect for your book?

Ah. The setting is Kent, a fictitious cliff somewhere near Dover. The cliffs, the waves crashing against the rocks below, the angry wind that whips the hero and heroine to and fro...just seemed to reflect the inner tempests warring within them and their stormy relationship!

Ooh, sounds amazing and atmospheric. Which of your characters is most like you? And why?

Probably the character most like me is from a paranormal WIP. He's the Lord of the Underworld. You don't really want to explore why he's most like me! Also, the heroine in my current WIP, a romantic suspense, is a lot like a younger version of me! She's a journalist, as I was.

Please tell us about Sleepy Hollow Dreams.

Hey, thanks for asking!
Sleepy Hollow Dreams is an erotic urban fantasy paranormal, loosely (very loosely) based on the Rip Van Winkle and Legend of Sleepy Hollow stories from the mystical Hudson Valley and the pen of Washington Irving (who takes a verbal beating from my hero, Ryck Van Winkle, miffed that Irving got his story so wrong! ) It started out as a small Halloween story and then it grew and grew. Ryck visits Katy in steamy, sexy dreams, but when demonic forces threaten Sleepy Hollow because of his nightly escapades, he arrives in Sleepy Hollow in the flesh! Hunky flesh. I originally submitted Sleepy Hollow Dreams to The Wild Rose Press' paranormal line. But the editors thought it more suited to the Scarlet Rose erotic line. (With a few added up-ticks of the mercury on the heat level thermometer!)

Do you have any advice for unpublished authors?

Keep reading. Keep writing. Cut mercilessly. If you've said it once, no need to say it six different ways in the same paragraph. (A hard one for me, since I love metaphors and similes and often muse myself with them.)

What’s next for you?

A few WIPS, including the above-mentioned romantic suspense (a pretty new genre for me), and the paranormals. Would like to revisit Sleepy Hollow. And Regency England!

Would you like to ask readers a question?

What are your favorites? What do you like to read most? How do you feel about damaged characters, wounded heroes? What romance tropes do you love the best?

Buy link for Healing Hearts: http://bit.ly/hExrQT

Web links: http://dreamvoyagers.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TarynKincaid
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taryn.kincaid1
eHarlequin Community: http://community.eharlequin.com/users/taryn-kincaid
Goodreads: http://community.eharlequin.com/users/taryn-kincaid

I Am What I Am

This was a song from way back, from the show and movie La Cage Aux Folles. I had a gym instructor who played it a lot so I remember it more than I otherwise would. And it's about gay men. Which is not the topic today.


But the point is, the phrase epitomizes my kind of heroine. I love the kind who says: here I am, this is how I behave, and now I'm going to have some adventures. Think of Lulu in the Evanovich books. She loves her fast food, her tight clothes, and herself. No one is going to change Lulu, no matter how much she doesn't fit into a socially acceptable mold. I love that attitude.

Another such heroine is Pippi Longstocking. Pippi never changes. More importantly, she has no desire to change. She's the same person at the beginning of the series as she is at the end.

It is true that neither one of these heroines is a romance heroine. But they are wonderful female characters.

Of course, most novels involve a journey of change for the protagonists. So it's quite common to see the heroine start out as one type and yearn to be another type. Many wonderful books have been written with this type of character arc- a journey of self-discovery. Though I would argue that usually the heroine reverts at the end to some form of the person she was at the beginning. People don't usually change too much no matter what happens to them.

I wonder if Buffy the Vampire Slayer is such a heroine? I've never actually seen the movie (shhhh). Or is it a TV show? Well, I imagine her to be such a heroine so I'd probably like her.

I'm wracking my brain to come up with another well-known heroine with such a supremely self-confident acceptance of herself. Any ideas?

Nice and Naughty Girls

What is your favorite type of romance heroine? Mine tend to be nice good girls, but they also have a secret naughty side. Perhaps like me?? :)

I enjoy writing about heroines who have somewhat of a past and a bit of sexual knowledge. Perhaps a bad experience with a past boyfriend or husband, someone who didn’t appreciate them the way the hero will. That contrast is fun and interesting for me to explore.

Catriona, in Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29 Indulge Your Fantasies, was one of the few virgin heroines I’ve written. But she isn’t shy, timid or afraid of sex. Quite the opposite. She’s far more forward and bold than Torr, the hero, wishes at first. Plus, she’s in love with him and not afraid to tell him. She tempts and taunts him to go against his honor and ravish a virgin. How can he resist when she secretly slips aphrodisiac into his ale? She’s determined to have Torr for her very own.

Alana, in Laird of Darkness, my March 21 release from Carina Press, is a beautiful blond lady in her early twenties. She had a secret tryst at age 17 with a handsome stable lad of about the same age. If possible, she’s determined to keep this a secret from her future husband, a chief. But when she, by her own choice, ends up in the bed of Duncan, the dark laird who is holding her hostage, he figures out she isn’t as innocent as she’d like him to believe. When he parades around in the nude, she might blush, but her hungry, appreciative gaze tells him she knows something of what goes on between a man and a woman. When he quiets her fears in the darkness of night, she blatantly encourages him to shift his comfort to seduction. She might never find another man she is so intensely drawn to.

I enjoy writing brave, spirited, courageous heroines who throw caution to the wind and go after what they want.

The first chapter of Laird of Darkness is available on my website here. It includes the scene where Duncan captures Alana and carries her back to his lair. Will she fight him every step of the way? Laird of Darkness is available for preorder from Carina Press, Amazon, and B&N.

What is your favorite type of heroine to read or write about? Do you prefer them serious or humorous? Forward or reserved? Nice or naughty… or both? :)

Thanks!
Nicole

http://www.nicolenorth.com/