Friday, November 30, 2012

MR. BUFF Boy Meets Girl, Boy Ties Girl Up,...


MR. BUFF
by April Angel
Erotic Romance/Contemporary
Novella
Word Count: 19,203
Price: $3.99
ISBN: 978-1-937976-75-0
Heat Level: 4
Warnings: Light BDSM Elements
Editor: Melinda Fulton
Cover Artist: Mina Carter
Release Date: 10/5/12
E-Galley provided by Bewitching Book Tours.  
No Remuneration is exchanged and, except as noted all opinions herein are my own.

Mr. Buff At Amazon (Kindle)


Every morning, Alexandra drinks in the sexy vision of Mr. Buff through his office window across the street. He takes his workouts seriously, and Alexandra never misses the opportunity to see him return, sweaty and pumped, to his office suite to shower. Turns out Andrew enjoys the view just as much as she does and can’t take his eyes off the woman who makes his blood roar.

But when Alexandra bumps into Mr. Buff at a club, things go from visual to physical. And much to her delight, she learns that Mr. Buff is really Mr. Dominant. She loves spending time with him and getting to know him the way nature intended, but she’s looking for more than a fling. How’s she supposed to make Mr. Buff realize he’s Mr. Right?

My take:

This is a short tale with a variation of Boy Meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy Gets,...? In this case it might be Boy and Girl window stalk each other finally meeting in a sparky conflagration of dinner followed by explosive sex. The end., No, seriously, that would be no story at all, would it?


So you know that amid all the happy humping and heaving something other than the obvious male member is going to come up and something other than a condom will get in the way. 

April's characters are not at all shy when they hit the sheets either. And, April isn't shy about language. The format is short so the character development and plot have to be short as well. But even with those limitations April/Milly manages to slide some interesting things into the characters' personalities and the plot.  The BDSM component is not a big part of the story, a little spanking, and some bondage.


If you like a bit of a story, with a lot of sex then check this one out!


Excerpt:

“So? What’s he doing? Come on, come on. Stop holding out already.” The soft, feminine voice on the other end of the line whined like a child.

Alexandra rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. Why in the world had she decided to tell Nina about Mr. Buff? Every morning, like clockwork, she’d get a call from her best friend and cousin requesting updates. Wound up and ready to pant, she looked into the office right across the street.

The large, sparkling glass windows on both buildings allowed her to view the man walking around. She drank in the sight of the large, buff body, hence the name Mr. Buff. The man definitely took his workouts to heart.

“Alex! What’s Mr. Buff doing now, chica? Tell me please, please, pretty pleeease?” Her fiery cousin, Nina, was a pain in the neck when she thought she was missing out on something good—especially information about one sexy, half-naked man, a man currently running long fingers through his impeccably cut hair.

Alex watched a few locks fall across his forehead. “Not much. He’s about to put his shirt on.”

“Crap. Listen, I have to go, but you have to record this stuff on your phone and e-mail it to me. Stop being so selfish and share. You know I don’t have a man right now. I can use all the visual stimulation I can get.”

She hung up on her cousin’s laughter and continued watching the top contestant to fulfill all her fantasies dress. Under an idyllic trance, she visualized the rest of him when he was in the shower. Excitement hurled through her at the thought of getting a peek at Mr. Buff in the wet room. A streak of unbidden desire whisked through her veins and raced down to her cunt.

Her brain, better than any digital calendar, had recorded his schedule down to the minute. Each morning, he walked into his office wearing his workout gear. In running shorts and tank top, his body glistened with perspiration. Every time she got a glimpse of all that sweat-covered brawn, her nipples pebbled.

In wide-eyed enthrallment, she watched him head into the bathroom attached to his office to shower. Every single day it was the same. He walked out in his suit pants but never the shirt. She wondered if he had some kind of conspiracy against her hormones. The display of contracting muscle made her breath hitch.

His powerful back and amazing, tight ass were sending out Morse code signals, beguiling and inciting her interest.

His white, tailored dress shirt cut the visual feast short. She had to bite back the urge to scream. Not that he would hear her, but her coworkers sure would.

Why not just go over there and ask the man out? Typically, she would have done that already. Found out his name, instead of just calling the poor, sexy, strapping creature Mr. Buff, at the very least. “Go after what you want” was her motto in every aspect of her life; she was a self-assured woman. Until recently, she didn’t lack self-confidence. Thanks to her ex, her confidence had taken a whipping some months back.

Jerk-off Jack had been cheating, and the confrontation that followed was not pretty. Questions that had never existed before rose with his words: “You’re a control freak, Alexandra. No man wants a woman telling him what to do in the sack. Sometimes I want to be the one leading. You’re too aggressive. You’re a good fuck, but not someone I could ever be with long term. I even wonder if you’re faking it at times.” Oh yeah, Jerk-off Jack had definitely let loose.

Would she be able to find a man who would want her, deal with her for who she was and not try to change her? At thirty-three she was tired of the dating scene. Was it so wrong that she wanted to meet someone and maybe settle down?

Alexandria refocused her mind, her vision still glued to Mr. Buff. Oh shit. He was watching her. Heat crawled across her skin and settled over her cheeks. Embarrassed, she gave him the usual small smile and microsecond wave.

His wicked grin turned the man from handsome to outright gorgeous when he waved back. Balling and holding papers in a death grip, she dropped her gaze. All she needed was for the man to think she had some kind of sick fetish for watching him.


About the Author:

April Angel (also writes as Milly Taiden) was born in the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. She grew up between New York, Florida and Massachusetts. Currently, she resides in New York City with her husband, bossy young son and their little dog Speedy.

She’s addicted to shopping for shoes, chocolate (but who isn’t?) and Dunkin Donuts coffee.

A bookworm when she can get her hands on a good story, she loves reading all Mina Carter, Cynthia Eden and Dianne Duvall among others.

You can visit her at: http://millytaiden.com





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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Egg on My Face! ARCS and FOOLS FOR LUV


egg fear
egg fear (Photo credit: Lori Greig)
REMINDER: Today is the last day to enter to win at FALL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN.

AND, There's still time to enter to win Suzanne Johnson's RIVER ROAD Through TOMORROW!


ChloeNeill.com
Hmm, this hasn't happened in a while, if ever, after all   I watch my watch my schedule closely but somehow totally missed posting something today. I still feel as if it is just "missing!"

But, the show must go on, so here is some news instead:

Exciting ARCs I have coming up:

CHLOE NEILL'S HOUSE RULES Will be out in Early February and Chloe is giving away two copies of the ARC at her website starting Monday, December 3!


I am having a tough time not opening this one and sticking my head in it until I finish reading it!


In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps.
At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal—tested like never before.
ChloeNeill.com
It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined. ChloeNeill.com


TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER: CLICK


The next book in the series BITING BAD is due out August 6, 2013:




Also exciting is the new Argeneau series entry, IMMORTAL EVER AFTER by Lynsay Sands is  out at the end of February: 



New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands delivers a wickedly fun Argeneau novel featuring a vampire ready to claim his mate and the beauty who resists her fate! A kiss doesn’t mean eternity . . . Valerie Moyer doesn’t believe in vampires—until she is kidnapped by a fanged psychopath! After escaping her bloodthirsty captor, she’s through with creatures of the night. Until she finds herself under the protection of the darkly handsome Anders. Not only is she expected to accept that Anders is immortal, but also that she is the woman destined to be his life mate! . . . Or does it? Anders felt a connection to Valerie from the moment he cradled her bruised body in his arms. But before he claims her, he must destroy the vampire who almost stole her from him forever. His job would be easier if Valerie didn’t fight him every step of the way. Still, Anders loves a challenge, and the green-eyed beauty is worth fighting for! AVON Romance
Suzanne Johnson and Lynsay Sands will be guest blogging at FOOLS FOR LUV in February,  Fools for Luv is a 2 week Valentine blog with a guest line up that can't be beat! I have teamed up with Dana Alma from READAHOLICS ANONYMOUS for this and we are really excited and working hard to bring a thrilling event with guests, giveaways and a blog hop.



To ORDER or PRE-ORDER
Available NOW         Feb. 5                    Feb. 26




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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU Fate and Holiday Magic








ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
Fate WIth A Helping Hand Book One
by Lisa Mondello
Print Length: 192 Word Count: 40,000
Book provided by Publisher/Author via Net Galley.
No remuneration exchanged and all opinions herein are my own except as noted.


English: Photo of Jonathan G. Meath portraying...
English: Photo of Jonathan G. Meath portraying Santa Claus. Date approximate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes fate needs a little hand...


Santa Claus is going to have a rough season... Lauren Alexander is raising her daughter alone. Abandoned by her family for her decision to keep her daughter Kristen, she has done a pretty good job for the last six years. Or she thought she had. That's why she is crushed when little Kristen gives up her wish for a toy or goodie and instead asks Santa for a present for her mother. She wants Santa to bring a Daddy. Delivering Daddies isn't Santa's bag.
But this Santa has a plan...

Kyle Preston knows what it is like to be abandoned too. Luckily he found the support of loving adoptive parents and has turned himself into one of the most successful Real Estate developers in town.

Building a house is easy. Building someone's trust is a whole other story. But with a little helping hand, a little Christmas magic can make all the difference in the world. (Bewitching Book Tours)
This season is magical and it is celebrated by many religions in different ways. Here in the USA and other countries where Christianity is the main religion, we celebrate the Christmas holiday on December 25th. It has become not just a religious festival but a time when family and belonging are given a lot of importance and therefore people have a llot of expectations of the holiday that the lack of fulfillment thereof can lead to sadness, loneliness and depression. Even Non-Christians can get the blues.

Lauren has a daughter who she can hardly support and her parents essentially kicked her out. So while she tries to put a good face on it for her daughter she definitely feels the loss of family and she is sad because she can't give her daughter everything she wants.

Her experience with her boyfriend and her parents has made her untrusting and cynical towards men. Further, like single moms I know, she doesn't want to bring a man into her daughters life who won't be there in a few weeks. Isn't that a tough bind?

This short story is a sweet tale which today, 10/31, is free. Every holiday tradition has a place in the book from sitting on Santa's lap to singing carols and making cookies. It's pretty sentimental, doesn't spend a lot of time on the religious themes, it's a little steamy, but it's also a story where a young man shows his decency and is really a good guy. A woman regains her ability to trust and be happy. And, does a little girl get her Christmas wish? You'll need to read Lisa's short piece of fiction to find out.
English: Christmas cookies (Left to right, top...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hey, it's not all roses and kitty cats; there's a problematic past, a messed up little sister and some grandparents who have had their heads so far up their own behinds to meet their granddaughter. I never figured out how fate got a helping hand except maybe in the way Lauren and Kyle were thrown together, but who cares!


This is a perfect story to get you in the mood for the holidays. So, take a break from whatever you're doing,  sit down by the fire with a lovely hot libation and have a sweet little read. Bring a kleenex!



I happened to have read this and it came out as a tour date by coincidence. More fate? Lisa is touring cyberspace with BEWITCHING BOOK TOURS.





About the Author:


Lisa Mondello (a.k.a. LA Mondello) has held many jobs in her life but being a published authors is the last job she'll ever have. She's not retiring! She blames the creation of the personal computer for her leap into writing novels. Otherwise, she'd still be penning stories with paper and pen.


Her first book, All I Want for Christmas is You, was the winner of the Golden Quill contest for Best First Book and to date has had over 400,000 downloads worldwide.

She is currently the author of 14 novels under the name Lisa Mondello and LA Mondello. You can find more information about Lisa Mondello at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com

www.LisaMondello.blogspot.com

@LisaMondello

http://www.facebook.com/lisa.mondello.1






Barnes and Noble (nook)




HERE'S AN EXCERPT:
Excerpt All I Want for Christmas Is You

"You don't have to be afraid. This will explain it all. I promise you." He smiled warmly and Lauren wanted to trust him if only to believe in simple kindness.

With shaking hands, she took the piece of paper, warm from being in the pocket close to Kyle's body. She held it up straight so that she could see Kyle while reading the words on the paper.

"Dear Santa..." she read out loud, then read the next part silently. "Oh, no," she groaned.

"I know. That's just how I felt."

Lauren shot him a skeptical glance. "How did you get this?"

"Kristen gave it to me."

"That's impossible. Mrs. Hopkins just helped her with it this afternoon and-"
"And she gave it to me in the Mall," Kyle finished for her.

She looked at him quizzically, still trying to comprehend the course of events leading up to his seizure of her daughter's precious note.

"It's not that hard to figure out, Lauren," Kyle said warmly.

His dark eyes gleamed with the light from the lamppost. He wore no hat to protect his head from the falling snow. Now his hair was filled with powdered flakes, matting it down.

His grin was bright and wide as he informed her, "I'm Santa Claus."

Fate with a Helping Hand Series includes:

Book 1 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
Book 2 THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
Book 3 THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE'S BABY



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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

RIVER ROAD REVIEW, INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY!



RIVER ROAD
Sentinels of New Orleans, Book 2
by Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tor Books November 13, 2012

ISBN: 978-0765327802
ASIN: B00842H5VI

Hard Cover and E-Book Formats,  336 pages
Word Count: approx. 92,000
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

River Road at Amazon  River Road at B and N  




Book Description:

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues. Bewitching Book Tours Materials

I so enjoy Suzanne's writing.  I feel she has really gotten into DJ/Drusilla's head and allowed the character to pour onto the page.  The writing is mature with smart, genuine dialogue and relationships. It isn't super snarky but it is often funny. 


http://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com

This is a series I continue to enjoy and which is even getting better as we get to know the characters. ROYAL STREET and RIVER ROAD are musts for fans of the Rachel Morgan series (but without the tomato apocalypse).  DJ's life is really getting complicated with other species coming across from the Beyond. 

Suzanne has created a very complex infrastructure of agencies and species mainstreaming in a mostly unaware human world.  I had a few questions for Suzanne while she is touring with Bewitching Book Tours.  Please welcome Suzanne to Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust!


Hi Suzanne,and welcome back to Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust. I just have a couple of questions (Tee Hee).

1. Tell us, please, as her creator, does DJ look like the cover model?

I think this is often an issue for readers, ex. recently I saw a lot of complaints about the cover of last summer’s THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa. So, I wonder is it an issue for the author of a book when the cover and the story don’t match? I realize writers have little or no control over the cover.

Suzanne: I was worried about it before I saw the first cover. In fact, when my editor asked what I didn’t want to see on the cover of Royal Street, I had a list: no red or dark hair, no tight leather clothes, no gun, no tramp stamp. DJ is not the typical kickass urban fantasy heroine. And I was very grateful that my editor asked, because I know a lot of authors don’t get input into their covers at all, so it meant a lot.

When I finally saw the cover art, the only thing I asked them to change was DJ’s eye color, and they graciously did so. I thought artist Cliff Nielsen did a great job matching the DJ in my head with the model he used for the Royal Street cover. When the River Road cover came out, Cliff Nielsen had used a different model for DJ—she looks a little younger to me. The DJ in my head looks more like the Royal Street model than the River Road model, but on the whole I like the River Road cover better (did you see the alligator hidden in the lower right quarter?). On the UK covers, the DJ model (same one for both books) is different, but still a good DJ.

After all that, the short answer is: Yes, I’ve been really happy with my covers!


2. Does River Road to hold up on its own or do you feel the series needs to be read in order?

Suzanne: I think River Road stands alone very well, although from this point on in the series, reading in order will be more important. Royal Street gives the reader the grounding of what happens to the preternatural world around New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit: how DJ starts out really naïve and insecure; how DJ and Alex ended up partners, and their relationship’s development; Jean Lafitte’s evolution from enemy to ally; how some of the world of magic works; and how the preternatural world is organized.

But a reader could pick up River Road and catch up quickly. Three years passed between book timelines because I wanted to get my characters past the hurricane and survival mode, which I tried to be very accurate in portraying in that first book. River Road sets the tone for the rest of the series. It has the characters in place, the borders between worlds are down, the Interspecies Council is being formed, and the true fallout of the downed borders starts being felt as the different species begin jockeying for power in the post-Katrina world.

3. I really enjoyed Royal Street, but sadly it is sometime since I read it. Could you explain the world DJ, Alex, and Jake live in?

Suzanne: Yikes! The real question is, can I do it without going on and on and on….

Before Hurricane Katrina, there were two parallel worlds. Our human world, just as we live in it, and the “Beyond,” another world (outside our physical realm) where most preternaturals live, some in their own kingdoms: Elfheim; the Realm of Vampyre; Faerie; the Street of the Gods; etc. Between modern New Orleans and the Beyond is a thin strip of metaphysical space called Old Orleans—think of it as a crazed mirror version of New Orleans where different time periods coexist and species can mingle.

There are also the Historical Undead—formerly famous humans given physical immortality by the magic of human memory. As long as they’re remembered, they live on. The more they’re remembered, the stronger they are. If you or I died, or even one of the wizards like DJ or Gerry, we wouldn’t end up in the Beyond because the few dozen people who might mourn our passing—well, okay, I should just speak for myself, LOL—would not be enough to give us an immortal afterlife.

Humans don’t know preternaturals exist. A few species that can mainstream among humans live among us but keep their true natures hidden. Among those are the wizards. Wizards are the largest and most powerful of the preternaturals (and the best able to mainstream with humans), so for millennia they have been responsible for policing the borders. The wizard border guards are called Sentinels. The other species don’t like the wizards, seeing them as arrogant bullies.

Another species that can mainstream well are the weres and shifters. Werewolves, merpeople (aquatic weres), and even weregators can be found mainstreaming in South Louisiana. Shapeshifters differ from were-creatures in that shifters change instantaneously by magic, are able to shift at will, and are not tied to the cycles of the moon. They generally shift into one specific animal, are born not made, and are pretty rare. Finally, a third member of the shifter/were family—like the criminal cousin no one wants to claim—is the Loup-Garou, which is a shapeshifting legend (also called rougarou) among the old-timers in the Cajun communities. In my world, the Loup-Garou is a rogue werewolf carrying a very contagious curse. He is bigger than a regular werewolf, suffers from very poor impulse control, has anger-management issues, and totally shuns the pack structure. All Loup-Garous are alphas; they don’t play well with others and find it difficult to mainstream.

All of the major prete groups are structured. The elves have the Synod and four clans beneath them, the vampires have Regents, the Fae have the Courts, and the wizards have Elders. We haven’t met all these types of pretes in the books yet.

Wizards skilled in certain kinds of magic can take exams to be certified into one of four congresses. Red Congress wizards do physical magic, and are usually the fighters; Green Congress wizards specialize in ritual magic like potions, spells, and ceremonies; Blue Congress wizards specialize in creative magic, like recreating scenes and doing illusions; and Yellow Congress wizards do mental magic like telepathy and minor divination. In this world, witches are minor mages (often humans with a little magical talent) and much looked down on by wizards. (There are no warlocks, but there can be male witches just as there are female wizards.)

In Royal Street, Hurricane Katrina tears down the borders, or “levees,” between much of the Gulf Coast and the Beyond, especially in New Orleans, and it falls to the New Orleans Sentinels to try and keep order in the city. The senior Sentinel, Gerry St. Simon, goes missing after the storm so the job goes to his protégé, a young wizard named DJ. Since DJ is Green Congress and the Elders don’t trust her shaky physical magic, they assign an Enforcer—basically, an assassin—as her partner. DJ also is the only wizard, as far as we know, to have elven blood on both sides of her family tree, so she has inherited some elven magic that the wizards find troubling.

While DJ and Alex are trying to find Gerry and solve a string of murders, the largest non-wizard preternatural groups begin jockeying for power behind the scenes. We don’t see a lot of them in Royal Street, except to be aware of them making moves in the background, but they begin to assert themselves in River Road and subsequent books. I’m trying to introduce them slowly so this vast multiverse doesn’t get overwhelming.

In Royal Street, we meet the wizards, historical undead, shapeshifers, and Loup-Garou. In River Road, we add the merpeople and a couple of other water species, and get a brief intro to the elves. In Elysian Fields, book three, we’ll meet more species.

4. Since DJ has to have dinner with ‘Undead Jean’ in payment of a debt it got me thinking: If DJ could have dinner with one person living or dead [not Undead] who would it be?

Suzanne:  I think she’d go back and have dinner with Gerry, because there are a lot of questions she’d like to ask him. She doesn’t even know whether she has extended family or not. She’d like to know why he made the decisions he did. But Gerry isn’t famous enough to have an afterlife in the Beyond, so that isn’t going to happen. Well, probably not. ☺

As for a living person, she’d loved to have dinner with Benjamin Franklin. How fun would that be?

5. Is Jean LaFitte undead like a vampire? If he lives through belief, is he actually corporeal? Or, in Star Trek TNG terms, is he just a tactile, magically produced holodeck program?

Suzanne: Ah, but our famous French pirate is warm-blooded and indistinguishable from a human, as he keeps trying to convince DJ! He is probably the most famous New Orleanian. Not only is he studied, read about, and remembered, but there are tons of places named after him—the Lafitte Wildlife Refuge, Lafitte National Historical Park, the town of Jean Lafitte, etc. Evoking his name when referring to those places also gives him strength. It’s why he can stay in the modern world for very long periods without going to the Beyond to recharge his batteries, so to speak.


3. Has DJ been in a serious relationship before this weird shifter/loup garou and undead love quadrangle?

Suzanne: DJ grew up very sheltered by Gerry. He home-schooled her in magic and regular subjects. She went to college at Tulane, but was still living with Gerry. She had a couple of flings but really has had very few opportunities for relationships. She had a brief affair with another Green Congress wizard, Dante, while she was studying for her congress license, but it didn’t end well. Her lack of experience is one reason she’s so wide-eyed when it comes to all this sudden attention from guys. Here comes Alex, whose friendship she values too much to get involved with (so far), and Jake, to whom she’s initially attracted because he’s so normal, but now she’s having to rethink that.

There wasn’t ever meant to be a love quadrangle! But Jean Lafitte really caught on with readers and suddenly he became a viable “fourth” that I hadn’t really intended. Once I started looking at him that way, I started having fun with him as a wannabe suitor.
DJ’s romantic dithering will not go on forever, though. In book three, it’s time for her to put up or shut up.

4. With whom would the reader Suzanne versus the author Suzanne like DJ to end up with?

Suzanne: The reader Suzanne would probably be pulling for the French pirate, at least for a while. I mean, he can’t get killed. He’s sexy. He’s entertaining (as long as you don’t mind a little thievery and a mercurial temper). What’s not to love? Oh, yeah, that dead and violent thing. Well, nobody’s perfect!


5. Should DJ learn to swim?

Suzanne: Uh…you think? DJ should learn to swim, and she seriously needs to learn how to aim that staff of hers. My favorite line from River Road is: “Holy crap, I’m burning down the Louisiana wetlands.”


Thanks for having me here today, Steph!

THANK YOU SUZANNE, It was our pleasure (mine and all the blog's readers' too)!!

GIVEAWAY!
TOR sent me a hard cover copy of RIVER ROAD so I could share it with one of my wonderful Readers. Please use the Rafflecopter form to enter. 18 and older and US addresses only. please.  18 and Older only, US only, Goes Through 11/30/2012.  Additional rules on form. 11/29 CLARIFICATION to clarify: for an email subscription to count it must be confirmed - without confirmation you are not actually subscribed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




ANOTHER GIVEAWAY FROM SUZANE VIA HER BEWITCHING BOOKS TOUR! 
Prizes are 1. A Choice of Kindle Paperwhite, or a Nook SImple TOuch (Or 100 GC to Amazon, B&N or Book Depository)
2. 5 $10 Gift Cards to Amazon, B&N or Book Depository.

ENTER HERE!  http://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/2012/11/now-on-tour-river-road-by-suzanne.html

Short Excerpt from RIVER ROAD



The minute hand of the ornate grandfather clock crept like a gator stuck in swamp mud. I’d been watching it for half an hour, nursing a fizzy cocktail from my perch inside the Hotel Monteleone. The plaque on the enormous clock claimed it had been hand- carved of mahogany in 1909, about 130 years after the birth of the undead pirate waiting for me upstairs.
They were both quite handsome, but the clock was a lot safer.
The infamous Jean Lafitte had expected me at seven. He’d summoned me to his French Quarter hotel suite by courier like I was one of his early nineteenth-century wenches, and I hated to destroy his pirate-king delusions, but the historical undead don’t summon wizards. We summon them.
I’d have blown him off if my boss on the Congress of Elders hadn’t ordered me to comply and my co-sentinel, Alex, hadn’t claimed a prior engagement.
At seven thirty, I abandoned my drink, took a deep breath, and marched through the lobby toward the bank of elevators.
On the long dead-man-walking stroll down the carpeted hallway, I imagined all the horrible requests Jean might make. He’d saved my life a few years ago, after Hurricane Katrina sent the city into freefall, and I hadn’t seen him since. I’d been desperate at the time. I might have promised him unfettered access to modern New Orleans in exchange for his assistance. I might have promised him a place to live. I might have promised him things I don’t even remember. In other words, I might be totally screwed.
I reached the door of the Eudora Welty Suite and knocked, reflecting that Jean Lafitte probably had no idea who Eudora Welty was, and wouldn’t like her if he did. Ms. Welty had been a modern sort of woman who wouldn’t hop to attention when summoned by a scoundrel.
He didn’t answer immediately. I’d made him wait, after all, and Jean lived in a tit- for- tat world. I paused a few breaths and knocked harder. Finally, he flung open the door, waving me inside to a suite plush with tapestries of peach and royal blue, thick carpet that swallowed the narrow heels of my pumps, and a plasma TV he couldn’t possibly know how to operate. What a waste.
“You have many assets, Drusilla, but apparently a respect for time is not among them.” Deep, disapproving voice, French accent, broad shoulders encased in a red linen shirt, long dark hair pulled back into a tail, eyes such a cobalt blue they bordered on navy. And technically speaking, dead.
He was as sexy as ever.


About the Author:

Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance from Auburn, Alabama, after a career in educational publishing that has spanned five states and six universities. She grew up halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis' birthplace and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football and fried gator on a stick.

Website: www.suzanne-johnson.com

Blog: http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Johnson

FB: http://www.facebook.com/Suzanne.Johnson.author

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5046525.Suzanne_Johnson

Publisher Page: http://us.macmillan.com/author/suzannejohnson



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Monday, November 26, 2012

LUMBERJACK IN LOVE Features Some Wicked Hard Wood



 



LUMBERJACK IN LOVE 

by Penny Watson

E-Book and Paperback: 114 pages
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 4, 2012)

City slicker Ami Jordan was just dumped by her back-stabbing boyfriend, has no job prospects, and can't find a decent cup of coffee in the entire state of Vermont. The last thing she needs is a sexy, bearded lumberjack complicating her life. Even if he’s smart, talented, and has the hottest ass she’s ever seen.

Tree house builder, environmental champion, and Bulldog owner Marcus Anderson has no patience for flatlanders with an attitude. But when landscape designer Ami Jordan shows up at his log cabin,  he suddenly develops a hankering for a high-maintenance city gal. Now his house looks like a jungle, his recycling is in disarray, and his libido's on fire.
He's a lumberjack in love. (www.pennywatsonbooks.com)



I really, really enjoyed this adorable novella from my Facebook friend Penny Watson. Now, I was able to download when it went up as free on Amazon for a couple of days, it's not free at this time but it is reasonably priced.  When I read a book by a friend or the relative of a friend I always worry I will absolutely hate it or that I will find umpteen typos or truly noxious grammatical errors (My grammar isn't perfect so I only complain about the truly noxious errors). This is a well-written, sweet novella with engaging characters, driven by realistic needs and desires. There are no millionaires hiding behind their Vermont-y beards.  Penny includes a good dose of steam. And yes, there's some hard wood.

This novel got off to a slightly shaky start for me because Ami seems like such a brat! But I was drawn into the friendly ambiance of LUMBERJACK IN LOVE as quickly as Marcus is drawn to Ami. Once I understood her vulnerability and Marcus' total hottness I didn't put the book down.  The dialogue between the characters is absolutely, spot on genuine. And, THANK YOU PENNY, no "telling" rather than "showing." I also enjoyed how the couple's relationship developed, and that Ami took time to figure out what she really wanted. I also enjoyed Penny's expert grammar and use of language.  Penny also writes nice sex; exciting and satisfying but without those unrealistic fireworks that leave the horniest of us feeling inadequate.

What a fun, fun book. Light but with meaningful content.

Look Penny is a friend, but I highly recommend this book because it's actually quite good.









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Sunday, November 25, 2012

RED HOT HOLIDAY
Wow! So Hot it's Like Christmas on the Sun!

RED HOT HOLIDAY
Wish List\I Need You for Christmas\Breath on Embers
K.A. Mitchell, Leah Braemel, Anne Calhoun
December 3, 2012

Carina Press (e-formats only)
E-Galley loaned by Publisher via NetGalley.com. No Remuneration was exchanged and all opinions are my own unless otherwise noted.


Description
I'll be home for Christmas…to fulfill all your dreams.
This holiday, a Mountie is determined to get her man. A widow finds a fireman who ignites her passions again. And two men unsure of their commitment discover a happily ever after—and a blindfold—under their tree. No matter your desires, this collection of three shorts is bound to treat you to all the joys of the season.
Edited by Angela James, this anthology includes:
I Need You for Christmas by Leah Braemel
Breath on Embers by Anne Calhoun
Wish List by K.A. Mitchell

Stories also available for purchase separately.
99,000 words

BDSM is the flavor of the day. So much so that I can't think of any erotica I have read in six months where it is not in evidence somewhere in the story.  Sometimes it feels entirely forced and artificial. In these stories for the most part it is a justifiable part of the story.  Each of these stories is well written, and exhibits excellent editing. I found each story to be longer than I expected. This isn't what you would expect to read to the kiddies around the fire on Christmas Eve.  In fact, the stories are so sexy that if you blush easily you might want to read it in private.


This is probably the best holiday erotica anthology I've ever read. I really enjoyed it and can highly recommend it to any one who likes to read something naughty for the holidays.  But more than that these are also good, heartfelt stories. There's more to these stories than a ride on a sleigh.


Wish List by K.A. Mitchell
Blindfolds. Handcuffs. Submission.
There's so much Jonah Kendrick hasn't tried, and so much he wants to explore. But just before Christmas he finds a ring box in his boyfriend's desk. Jonah panics. He loves Evan and their sex is hot, but how can Jonah be ready for forever, when there are so many items on his Naughty Bucket List? Desires that might drive Evan away.
Evan's noticed Jonah has been distant. His usually talkative and cheerful boyfriend is preoccupied. The seemingly straitlaced Evan stumbles across Jonah's wish list of sexual kinks, and Evan realizes he may not have to hide his true nature from Jonah after all. The Dom in him wants to see Jonah on his knees, begging, submitting, but Evan isn't sure Jonah's ready to accept what being Evan's sub would mean.
The two lovers must figure out how to share their hidden desires with each other before their secrets permanently damage their love.
This story proves it's not whether a character-couple in a sexual relationship is gay or straight that makes a story hot, it's conflict and relationship that make it interesting and viable and the physical stuff is hot when it's well written and there is something between the characters.  This story has internal conflict, relationship and the sex is steamy as all get out.  Well worth my time. 
I Need You for Christmas by Leah Braemel
Ryan Porter is a sculptor, and beneath his callused hands, even the most rigid metals bend to his will. So, too, does his girlfriend Megan—a confident, strong woman who delights in submitting to Ryan’s dominance in the bedroom.
Megan is a Mountie, and she’s spent the past few years in the arctic following her career dreams. Family obligations kept Ryan at home, but their love survived the distance thanks to several hot visits. A Mountie always gets her man, and Megan is bound and determined to keep Ryan.
Now Megan’s with Ryan for the holidays…but how long will this visit last? She’s always been willing to do anything Ryan desires, but will he finally tell her that all he needs for Christmas is her?

This story was really interesting and seems based on O. Henry's classic Christmas story "Gift of the Magi" where each member of a poor, young couple gives up their most treasured possession to afford a present for the the other. 

There's a lot of love between Megan and Ryan and they are each interesting and unusual characters.  She's tough in her role as a cop, and submissive in the bedroom, but it isn't a 24/7 thing. He's dominant but so sweet and in love.  Their mutual sacrifices are bigger than those in the O. Henry story, irretrievable things.  But while the surprise is nice there's a communication problem when one member of a couple makes important life changes without talking to the other.


Breath on Embers by Anne Calhoun
Christmas is the perfect time for Firefighter Ronan O’Rourke to take things to the next level with his sexually adventurous girlfriend. He knows she has feelings for him—and he’s sure of his feelings for her—but when Thea refuses his invitation to sample Christmas in New York City because what they share is nothing more than sheet-burning sex, Ronan sets out to change her mind.
Deep down Thea Moretti knows she cares for Ronan, but she can’t move past her grief over her late husband. Loud music and sex with Ronan are the only things she’s got that her feel alive, so she takes as much of both as she can get. She knows Ronan wants more, but during the darkest time of the year finding her way won’t be easy.
Ronan gambles everything and challenges Thea: one night of passion with him and another man. Can he prove to her that what they share isn’t just great sex but an emotional connection strong enough to last forever?


I thought this story contained the most emotive content, the most complex personalities and the hottest erotica in the anthology, as this couple struggles to get past her grief. I thought this was beautifully written, sweetly sad and at times heartbreaking. Thea is a young widow who has decided to merely exist, not live, after her husband's death. I loved this story and, Anne, if you're reading this, does that lingerie store exist?

It took me a while to figure out what the point of Ronan's agreeing to the menage was.  There is a moment in that incident where the emotion is so raw and real that it tore right through me. This was intense!



Out on December 3!
To Buy




RED HOT HOLIDAY at Powell's Books


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Saturday, November 24, 2012

SEALED WITH A CURSE: Left Me Enthused!



http://www.cecyrobson.com
SEALED WITH A CURSE
Weird Girls Book One
Cecy Robson

Signet/Penguin
  December 31, 2012

Mass-Market Paperback and E-Book Formats
388 pages
Loaned E-Galley from publisher via NetGalley.com.  No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions herein are my own except as noted.

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls-with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird...

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region-until one of them blows up a vampire in self- defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust- fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders: are the vampires of Tahoe cursed with a plague?

Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the region safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and oh yeah, not lose her heart to the wrong guy-or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, it's coming for her and her sisters. This Wird girl has never had it so tough. http://www.cecyrobson.com

Once I picked this up and started to read I only paused to eat, sleep and step outside to watch the meteor shower.  This is a delightful debut novel from a writer, Cecy Robson, who on her website says she has always had an overactive imagination.  She dreamed one night of a group of close friends and their werewolf boyfriends. Her imagination impelled her to write the story, and, here's the key, read it and realized it needed a complete rewrite, and another and another.  Then she had a professional it again.  Finally after umpteen rejections and on a chance meeting, she found an agent who loved the book and told her to use the first three chapters as the novel. 

A writer listens, takes the criticism, learns and is rewarded. Dream to Book -- 3 years. Frankly, we all know that hard work and the best editing doesn't always pay off; and there is a lot of luck and magic involved. Usually, "sudden" success isn't sudden and persistence can pay off.

This is the introduction of a new Urban Fantasy with Romance series.  It occurs in what is ostensibly our world, with humans unaware of the supernatural world around them.  In this world there are all types of were-critters, vampires,  and witches. There are probably other creatures besides these, shape shifters are briefly mentioned, but the sisters are not like any of the supernaturals the other supernatural beings are familiar with. Robson has taken a lot of time and care developing her "Weird World;" things are explained ahead of them happening so there is little of that deus ex machina feeling.

The way the sisters are cursed reminded me of the Sleeping Beauty curse as performed by a fairy godmother , only these were actual relatives who cursed their kin. I like the weirdness of the sisters' abilities.  And, that they have limitations. There are details like that that add depth throughout the story, but no so many I feel like I need a scorecard for them.

Celia is the most well-developed character but Robson takes time to show something of each character: 
Celia's three sisters,

  • Taran (snarky and tough),
  • Shayla (snarky and hot) and
  • Emme (sweet and compassionate);

The male characters are certainly different in physical attributes and abilities, atypical.  The two main male characters are Aric, an alpha werewolf and a Misha, a master vampire under attack.  The male werewolf is honor driven and a real leader. The master-vampire, Misha,  is devious and likeable in an Eric Northman way (but mostly without Eric's somewhat evil streak), maybe with a little Mary Janice Davidson's Sinclair thrown in for good measure.
We also learn a lot about the boyfriends, Gemini, Koda and Liam.

Cecy quells the new writer's scourge of info dumping. We learn things through Celia's retelling, and the characters' words and deeds.

Speaking of home, it is in Lake Tahoe and it is well-described; I got a definite sense of place.

The book includes lots of True-Blood-Style icky gore. In Robson's world, vampire heads don't come off bloodlessly as they do in  the Twilight Saga. Some of the gore is comic and some is painful. Even with the gore, the novel left me feeling it was funny and light.

There's quite a bit of steamy romantic feeling, but the feeling is never fanned into a fire. Darn, it might flare up in the next book. I hope.

The story ended in resolution, not a cliff hanger. Even so, there's enough interest left that I know I will snap up the second book as soon as it's available. This  debut is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially  for lovers of Charlaine Harris and Mary Janice Davidson who will enjoy the freshness and snark.

For a taste of what I am so enthused about an e-novella for the series is out on Dec. 4 (with an excerpt from Book One):




You can also pre-order the book:



OR  SEALED WITH A KISS AT BARNES ADN NOBLE
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