Category Archives: guest blogger

I have a new guest author this week – the wonderful Will Belegon! He’s here to talk about his latest book, Real Vampires Don’t Surf, and share some the challenges of writing in the paranormal romance genre. I’ll hand things over to him now…

In the crowded world of paranormal romance, it seems the Everest of arrogance to claim that any writers work is unique.

When Anne Rice first drew me into the nocturnal world of the vampire, almost thirty years ago, the night dwelling population was blessed with far more elbow room.  Back in those sparsely populated evenings of the eighties, Dracula rubbed elbows with Lestat and Barnabas Collins and… well, that was about all I can remember.

Now, those streets are busy indeed.  Not just with vamps, either.  Fae, shapeshifters, witches and warlocks.  Ghosts and demons share forbidden love with angels and zombies.  It’s a veritable smorgasbord of cross-genre courting.

So why would I write a novel about a vampire and a surfer girl now, when it is all but guaranteed to fall between the cracks and languish in obscurity? I wish I could say.  Especially considering that I started it almost six years ago, at a time when the chances of it being noticed were much greater.  The competition out there now is pretty intense, including that presented by my gracious host.

Real Vampires Don’t Surf isn’t my first venture into the paranormal, but it is the first time I’ve written a story involving the most recognizable of sensual predators, the vampire.  A creature far more intimately linked to our fear and fascination with sex than the werewolf or the sidhe.

I’ll climb that aforementioned mountain and say I do feel that my take on the genre has its share of unique perspectives, although I am sure if I actively hunted them down I could find other magical beings with similar trappings.

I finished this novel now because my characters made me.  I couldn’t not write it, not and stay sane.  Jess and Leah and the men around them pushed me out of bed each morning and made me speed home from work each night, made me find moments when I could listen to them and get their words onto the electronic page.   They made me stay up late and drink entirely inappropriate amounts of caffeine at times when I should have been sleeping.  The result was a novel I’m proud to have written and a sequel that is already in the works and certainly is not going to take six years to finish.

It’s a story of love discovered and lives changed. A very human story with a cast that is not entirely so.  It also has danger and death, intrigue and mystery and more than a little good old fashioned libido.  I hope that tickles your curiosity.  And if it doesn’t. might I suggest something by the talented Felicity Heaton?  After all, it’s her blog your reading right now, not mine.

Why? What is it about the extremes of existence that so captivates us?  Perhaps it is the very fact that we are reaching extremes.  Science fiction writers of the fifties used themes of alien invasion to address race relations and the fear of species mortality brought on by nuclear arsenals primed to fly at the banging of a shoe on a desk.  Perhaps our obsession with love among the magically inclined is a similar diversion.  Perhaps by exploring love between werewolf and fairy, human and vampire, we can tell truths that are actually about ending the limits society places on love.

Real Vampires Don’t Surf
 by Will Belegon

Two men. One night. Jess Blue’s life will never be the same. The feisty California surfer girl finds herself in a dangerous world of magic, romance, and intrigue. A world in which former Navy SEALs, Russian businessmen, street racers, and ancient orders of chivalry all weave her new reality.

Buy Link: http://purpleprosaic.dreamhosters.com/books/RVDS.htm

Author Bio

Will Belegon is an author/editor of erotic and romantic novellas and short stories. His primary publisher is Phaze, but he also has work available from Charles River Press and eXessica. His poetry has appeared at Oysters & Chocolate and Clean Sheets. He has read his work to nightclub audiences in New York City or to an audience of four at one a.m. in San Diego. He is always working on something new. Unfortunately, it is not always after finishing something else, thus the constant growth of his Work In Process file. His most recent release with co-author Alessia Brio is At Last, a tale of a chance meeting on a historic day. In addition, he writes about the Chargers and Padres, coaches Little League and gets constantly manipulated by his two reasons for being, his children.

Links

Blog: http://willbelegon.blogspot.ca

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/will.belegon

Twitter: http://twitter.com/will_belegon

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/willbelegon/

Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/s/will%20belegon

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1000977.Will_Belegon

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/belegon

I have a new guest author this week – the wonderful Linda Acaster! She’s here to talk about the first book in her series and share an excerpt! I’ll hand things over to her now…

The British have always embraced the paranormal

The creepy ‘Oh, Whistle, And I’ll Come To You, My Lad’ was delivered unto the world in 1904 by MR James, and Charles Dickens is renowned for his ‘The Signal-Man’ (1866) which sprang from a true event five years earlier. Every tourist town in the country offers a book detailing supernatural happenings in the locality, and who wouldn’t travel toScotlandwithout attempting to view ‘Nessie’, The Loch Ness Monster?

In my Torc of Moonlight trilogy I focus on paranormal protectors of a different kind, the mere-maids, the goddesses of the water which came to literary prominence in the Arthurian legends: the celebrated Lady of the Lake whose arm broke the surface of the pool to reach for the tossed sword Excalibur and accept it as a devotional gift to powers beyond mortal knowledge.

Despite being wrapped in mediaeval armour and chivalrous exploits, the act embodied in the story dates back well before recorded time. British museums are stuffed with recovered artefacts, many military due to their high cost of production, which had been ceremonially deposited in water courses. Each spring, well and often stream, would have a protective female deity, and often a female priestess who interceded between the realms of mortals and enchantment.

And these are no fancy tales from days of yore. When Regency ladies and their beaus visited Bath or Harrogate to take the waters they would pass over a silver coin and in return take a cup from an old woman who resided by the spring. Derbyshire is renowned for its well-dressing festivals which, despite their Christian overtones, harks to a pagan past.Yorkshire, the county of my birth and the setting of my trilogy, has more springs named Lady Well than anywhere in the country, and many of them hold silver coins left by devotees. Don’t you cast coins into a ‘wishing well’ to invoke good luck? Who are you expecting to answer?

In Torc of Moonlight Nick becomes obsessed with Alice, a history student determined to find the shrine to a forgotten Celtic water deity. Together they decipher the cluesAlice unearths, but as Nick luxuriates in their nights of sensual pleasure he’s in denial of other, darker visions that impinge on his days. To tellAlice will make her flee him. To stay silent could kill her.

Book 1: Torc of Moonlight, multi 5* ebk/pbk is available now; Book 2: The Bull At The Gate coming late fall.

Torc of Moonlight
Linda Ancaster

‘Stay away from me. Don’t you understand? People close to me die.’

Nick believes Alice is overreacting. She’s been unlucky in her life, that’s all. Coincidences – they happen all the time.

It had been coincidence that they’d locked gazes during the lecture, a trick of the light that had lifted her auburn hair. But is it coincidence that someone, something, is distancing him from his friends as the need to possess Alice builds?

Drawn into her obsession with finding a shrine to a Celtic water goddess, and drowning in sensual pleasure, Nick is in denial… until he sees a jewelled sword fade in his hand and knows that he, or the thing that shadows him, has held it, and bloodied it, long ago.

To tell Alice will make her flee. To stay silent could kill her.

Buy Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FEFCKK
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/139elds
Apple: http://bit.ly/1cfNftG

Excerpt

 For a moment he thought he lay in his own bed in his own room, but the light was too dim, and there was a tinkling that sounded like water falling on rock. The scents of forest flowers assailed him from the pillow and he spread his limbs, luxuriating in the warmth that wasAlice’s bed. The only imperfection was thatAlicewas not sharing it with him.

Raising himself on one elbow, Nick pushed back the duvet. Wrapped in a white kimono, she was sitting at her workstation, the light from the laptop screen sheening her a ghostly silver-grey.

His gaze caressed the rippling fall of her auburn hair, the gentle curve of her shoulders, a pale leg extending into the shadow beneath the table. He wanted to capture her in that pose as a photograph, to look at her hour after hour and not sense the passing of time. Yet he wanted her with him, now, clasped in his arms, the heat of his passion burning a path through her soul.

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I have a new guest author this week – the wonderful Sheri Fredricks! She’s here to talk about the first book in her new series and share a hot excerpt! I’ll hand things over to her now…

Hi Felicity! Thank you for inviting me to be a guest on your blog today.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sheri Fredricks and I love to create modern mythic romance stories. My sensual books hold the hidden secrets of shape-shifting centaur warriors, wood nymphs who disappear into trees, trolls who dive underground—and more!

I’m currently writing a series called The Centaurs.

Remedy Maker is the first book:

Remedy Maker
Sheri Fredricks

Man by day, Centaur by night, Rhycious is a remedy maker who needs his own healing.

He’s the royal physician, famous for his cures. War and posttraumatic stress disorder has broken his spirit, preventing him from finding true happiness. Then a direct order from the queen to investigate an uprising forces him out of his secluded cabin at the edge of the forest.

Patience is an optimistic, good-natured Wood Nymph who works as a mediator to ensure harmony within the Nymph sector.

Environmental pollution in the aquifer stream that feeds the taproot tree of her heart is slowly killing her. Resigned to the fact she will not live long, she sets out to discover the mysterious disappearance of her sister. Experience has taught her to deny herself the love of a male, but the gruff Centaur is different. He doesn’t push his expectations on her, only his healing nature.

When Rhycious loses his grip on reality, he believes his inability to control his disorder will drive Patience away. Nevertheless, desire flares, and Patience draws him close. Kidnapping and betrayal turn their mythic joint venture into a deadly bout.

Will their love endure when survival hinges on trusting each other?

Buy the book from:
Amazon: http://is.gd/sktnSH
Print: http://is.gd/s03Lhi
Barnes & Noble:  http://is.gd/BEPhdh
Smashwords: http://is.gd/TFOtIq
ARe:  http://is.gd/wtSZhc

Excerpt

“Should we practice our joint effort, polytima, and see how good we can be together?”

How much hotter could they possibly get? Much as she hated flames, her body burned hot enough to internally combust.

“Rhycious!” she cried out, going for a scolding tone. But it came across like a sensual invitation.

His arm tightened around her waist, drawing her the wasted millimeter of space nearer. Patience’s mind spun. A man who wanted her was holding her in his arms. She closed her eyes.

His mouth traveled up her throat, licking and sucking, until he settled over her lips once more. Persistent and demanding, his tongue slid along the seam until she complied and opened.

He charged right in like a Centaur warrior would, drawing her tongue into battle with his. Feinting and parrying, they slid sensuously against one another.

“My gods, Patience. You taste so damn good.”
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I’m sharing the books of one of my fellow Indie Romance Books authors today.

Here’s a little more about contemporary and historical romance author Alexandra Marell…

About Alexandra Marell

I live within sight of the Lancashire moors with my family, cats and vast collection of musical instruments. Saturday nights are likely to find me in some spooky mansion or castle indulging in my hobby as a paranormal investigator. I’ve worked as a teacher and a publisher and now I write full time and especially love to write romance that’s tightly focused on the main characters and their emotional journey.

I also write adult rated romance as C.A. Nicks/Candy Nicks.

Connect with Alexandra

Website: http://www.candynicks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorCandyNicks.AlexandraMarell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/candynalexm

Alexandra Marell’s Romance Books

 
The Cursed Princess
Alexandra Marell
Dario Denaro hasn’t come to the Island of Sorellina to fall in love again – he’s here to oversee the renovation of Villa Cristina, the most exclusive of the Denaro residences. And Elena Marcante, who’s on the island to visit her ailing grandmother, certainly doesn’t expect to run into the man who left her twenty years ago without a word of goodbye. But Cristina the cat has other ideas. Once the most noble Princess Cristina Denaro, she was cursed by her jealous lover, Bernardo Marcante, to live as a humble cat until a Denaro and a Marcante declare undying love. But after five hundred years and with the family feud still running deep, Cristina is desperate, while Bernardo’s spirit lurks in the ruins of the old temple wracked with remorse for what he did to her.

Dario and Elena are no longer a pair of love-struck teens, but will they remember that magical summer they spent together? With hope of ever breaking the curse fading and with a few family secrets revealed along the way, Cristina is determined the medieval cathedral bells will finally ring out for the union of a Denaro and a Marcante.

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Canada

Apple iBookstore USA | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore New Zealand

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books

In The Dark With You
Alexandra Marell
Nineteen year old Alicia Stanton dreams of a handsome and rich man to marry and when the enigmatic reverend Crosby asks for her hand, she thinks all her wishes have come true. But then disaster strikes and she needs a place to hide and fast.

Because of an affliction, twenty one year old Damien Lucius has spent all of his life behind the walls of the spooky old Lucius mansion on the cliff, which has slowly become his prison. Villagers say vampires live there and he’s only too happy to encourage the tales, if it keeps them away. With the years of loneliness and despair taking their toll, he’s ready to end it all, but Fate it seems has a job for Damien. A night of rare rebellion, and his first time out of the mansion, finds him and his cousin Alex on the moonlit cliff road where they encounter a terrified young woman in need of refuge.

In the Dark With You is a long, character-based novel of 163,000 words about two young people growing up, making their own destiny and finding love in the unlikeliest of places. But love is only the beginning. All too soon they must each ask themselves what they’re prepared to sacrifice for the people they love.

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Canada

Apple iBookstore USA | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore New Zealand

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books

The Heart Wants
Alexandra Marell
**Both stories come with a tissue and weepie warning**

Every Christmas Eve, the ghost of Catarina Bellamonte takes human form and waits for her lover to return. But after sixty-two long years, she fears she may never again see the young German soldier she fell in love with during World War Two.

Philipp Munch makes a nostalgic visit to the old Italian villa and remembers Catarina, the woman he loved and lost so many years ago. As he enters the house his only thought is to say a proper goodbye and lay the ghosts of the past to rest. But it’s Christmas Eve, and magic is in the air…

Bonus story included in this file

Waiting For Eternity

July 1940. The Battle of Britain is heating up and emotions are running high at Langdon Royal Air Force base, especially for the fighter pilots in the front line and the nurses who care for them.

Then, in 2003 Jen Saunders makes a last visit to the World War Two airfield that saw so much drama, so long ago and reawakens ghosts of the past.

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Canada

Apple iBookstore USA | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore New Zealand

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books

Setting Him Free
Alexandra Marell
As Quality Control Manager for Exotic Resorts Inc., Danielle Radley’s life is one long round of sun, sea and sand. Unfortunately, it also involves airplanes – and Danielle hates flying with a passion. Flying home from a tropical resort, she finds herself sitting across the aisle from an enigmatic man handcuffed to the seat. A man who fascinates her more than he should.

Taylor Bradford is a broken man. Tired of running, he just wants it over. That is until he catches Danielle’s eye on the plane. A moment of instant connection awakens feelings he thought long dead. When the plane gets into difficulty and starts going down into the tropical rainforest below, he reaches for her hand…

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Canada

Apple iBookstore USA | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore New Zealand

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books

Something Worth Fighting For
Alexandra Marell
When an innocent man is released from prison he needs to rebuild his life. For Daniel Denham, that’s easier said than done. Until he meets artist Callie Lester in her house by the sea.

Callie Lester is horrified when her mother, who was Daniel’s lawyer, announces she’s invited him to stay. He’s recently been released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit and is looking for work. Callie needs a website to advertise her growing business as a portrait artist and Daniel had a promising career before he was falsely accused. But he’s a man with problems. Does she really want him around when things are so good? The moment Daniel walks into the house by the sea he knows it’s a place where he can begin to get his life back together. A place where he can heal. But things are never that simple. Rumours to some people are truth and facing the outside world and all its judgements is the hardest thing of all. Daniel comes out of prison a changed man, unsure of who he is and haunted by the things he had to do to survive. But as he and Callie grow closer, Daniel is surprised to discover he’s not the only one with ghosts from the past that need laying to rest…

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Canada

Apple iBookstore USA | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore New Zealand

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books
 

I have a new guest author this week – the fantastic H. D. Thomson! She’s here to talk more about her new release and share an excerpt of the book, plus offer you a chance to win the first book in the series too! I’ll hand things over to her now…

Thanks so much Felicity for having me visit today! I’ve always wanted to cross the pond, but I was hoping I’d be able to go by plane or boat instead. Maybe one day… I can always wish! J

I have a new book out this week, Shrouded in Illusion, which is the third installment of the Shrouded Series. To celebrate I’m holding a contest for a $25 gift card to Amazon and a chance to win 1 of 4 ebooks of Shrouded in Darkness, the first book in the series. Details on entering are on the Rafflecopter Badge.

Again thanks for having me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shrouded in Illusion (Shrouded Series Book 3)
H. D. Thomson

Someone wants Skye Hunter’s son and they’re willing to kill her or anyone else to get to him. One the run for her life, she is forced to turn to the only person who can help her—a complete stranger with a shared past—David Bishop, a renowned illusionist.

David’s life is also an illusion, built of smoke and little else. He meets Skye, a woman filled with passion and conviction, and the pain he sees in her eyes is a mirror to his own soul. But when he realizes she has the same strange, telekinetic phenomenon inside her body that he does, he is forced to question his life, his childhood and the father who raised him. Can these two lost souls uncover the mystery behind their powers and save Skye’s son and themselves in the process?

Buy Links

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│KOBO

Excerpt

The fear and unease she’d tried to bury resurfaced. Her heartbeat quickened and sweat thickened across her skin, causing her t-shirt to cling tighter against her body. She’d been here before. Skye didn’t have to search her memory. She’d lived, breathed inside these four walls as an orphan.

After passing several doorways, Skye stepped into a room to the right. A floorboard creaked beneath her weight. Broken blinds hindered the sunlight from struggling through a large bay window. A couple of desks, decades old sat like large bull frogs, bulky, brown and weathered. Laughter and tears echoed through the past and into the room, faint but unmistakable memories from Skye’s past.

Other children had lived here and died.

She paused, frowned.

A sound, possibly a footstep, resounded from the hall. She backed up against the wall beside the door. Forcing air in and out of her nose, slowly, quietly, she waited and listened.
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It’s time for another visit from fabulous paranormal romance author Amanda J Greene at my blog today and she’s sharing more about her Rulers of Darkness series with the third book, Caressed by a Crimson Moon, and a very saucy excerpt for you all to enjoy…

Caressed by a Crimson Moon (Rulers of Darkness #3)
Amanda J Greene
Consumed by madness and tormented by dark memories of blood and death, Hadrian Lucretius, King of the Validus Clan, has returned after living in self-imposed exile for nearly three hundred and fifty years.

To maintain peace with the vampires, Eva Maldonado is offered as a sacrifice to the crazed vampire king by her father, the alpha of the Silveria Shifter Pack. Hadrian’s reputation is both legendary and lethal; he is ruthless, bloodthirsty, lusty, and soulless. When Eva arrives at the ancient fortress high in the Carpathian Mountains, she is shocked to find a ravaged man with dark burning eyes filled with loneliness and dangerous desire.

Would she be his lover…or his prey? His savior…or his victim? Would Hadrian lure her into madness or would their perilous passion be their redemption?

Available from: Amazon Kindle | Nook | ARe

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It’s time for another visit from fabulous paranormal romance author Amanda J Greene at my blog today and she’s sharing more about her Rulers of Darkness series with the second book, Caressed by Night.

Caressed by Night
Amanda J Greene
Dimitri Arsov, the last remaining pure vampire, was thought to be dead for the past four hundreds years. Now, he is back and has a score to settle with the traitor that had tried to kill him centuries ago. But as he waits for his prey to blindly step into his carefully laid trap, his overwhelming hunger for blood is triggered when he saves a beautiful art historian.

Kerstyn Ingmar’s life was normal and straight up boring until the night she is rescued by the dangerously sexy, powerfully mesmerizing, Dimitri. Unable to resist his diamond blue eyes and intense kisses, she is drawn into his world of darkness and closer to her impending doom.

While their desire consumes them, Dimitri is haunted by images of a bloody and deadly future. As his enemies draw near, he must find a way to save his mate from her destiny before fate destroys them both.

Available from: Amazon Kindle | Nook | ARe

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This week, my guest blogger is the lovely Amanda J Greene, and she’s here to tell you all about Caressed by Moonlight, the first book in her Rulers of Darkness series!

Here’s a juicy excerpt from this paranormal romance…

Excerpt

“What did I tell you?” Lana smirked as she pulled Victoria away from her mob of admirers. She had been the center of attention since she walked through the door. Men crowded around her and argued over which one would dance with her next. Her feet ached from their clumsy feet and her ears rang from their boisterous voices.

“I told you that your age would not matter, nor your lack of a fortune.”

“Indeed, you did,” Victoria whispered back.

“And these girls certainly pale in comparison to you,” Lana went on. “You look ravishing and I’m confident that all the men here will agree with me.”

“I had not expected to have so many suitors. How am I to choose?”

“Well, all I can say is that every girl here is jealous of you. No woman has ever had so many men after her at one time.”

“I feel like a fox in a fox hunt.”

“Yes, and they are the hounds,” Lana said as she glanced back at the group of men watching them walk away. “But you needn’t pick one just yet, there are more parties to attend, more men to meet. London has a pool of young bachelors ripe for the picking.”

“You make them sound like fruit,” Victoria laughed.

“And when you hear them talking about us they make us sound like brood mares waiting to be bred.”

The girls’ giggles vibrated through the room, turning curious heads. They smothered their smiles and slipped from the ballroom to the hall.

“So,” Lana began once she got her giggles under control, “have any of them caught your fancy yet? I noticed some very handsome gentlemen surrounding you. Would you like to add any of them to the list we made this morning?”

“Just about every one of them in that group,” she glanced over her shoulder, “are too young for me.”

“Too young, my foot.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Lana, all the older and more mature men are in the card room. Those that are in the ballroom have kept their distance. They must be intimidated by all the young blood.”

Lana glanced across the hall at the smoky room. “Those men are no fun.”

“Exactly, they are more serious. If I told them my predicament they would be more apt to understand than those featherweights parading themselves out on the dance floor.”

“So, you don’t want some jack-a-dandy. That makes sense,” Lana said with a shrug. “I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want my husband chasing after light skirts all the time either, but the men in the card room have perfected the game of seductions like an art form. They know how to twist a woman’s heart.”

“Scandal is more than likely attached to their names, but I also think they would find a marriage in name-only more suitable.”

“That is a very good point if you don’t plan on having any children,” Lana added.

“I could marry a man who already has children.”

“Miss Richmond!” a woman called, waving her handkerchief in the air.

Lana groaned as she smoothed her dress and rolled her eyes.

“We have been spotted,” she whispered.

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I have a new guest blogger this week. Alexandra Anthony is at my blog to introduce you all to her new vampire romance book, Tempted!

Here’s more about the book, and a juicy excerpt…

Tempted
by Alexandra Anthony

When personal assistant Savannah Wood lands a dream job with up and coming rock star Nick Hart, it seems too good to be true. He’s devastatingly handsome, reserved and charming…but he has a secret he’s determined to keep.

Their attraction to one another is immediate and Savannah is determined to keep a professional relationship between them. She’s been burned before and has no desire to reopen old wounds.

The lines between professional and personal begin to blur when Savannah finds out Nick’s secret: he’s a century old vampire with a painful past. He’s also hesitant to open himself up to her, yet they find their temptation to one another is stronger than either can resist.

The paparazzi, a string of murders and cryptic, ominous letters threaten their budding relationship. Will their attraction and love be enough to keep them together…or will it tear them apart?

*This is an erotic, romantic book. It contains sexy vampires, graphic language, adult content and situations that aren’t for the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.*

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I have the wonderful and talented Caris Roane at my blog today to share a glimpse into the world of her winged vampires in the Guardians of Ascension paranormal romance series she writes. I’ll hand the post over to Caris now…

Hi, everyone!  I want to thank Felicity for having me today as part of my WARM-UP-YOUR-WINTER BLOG TOUR.  On most of the blogs on this tour, I’ll be revealing excerpts from the sixth book in my vampire series called, GATES OF RAPTURE (12/24). I created the tour with the hope that you might get to know my Guardians of Ascension, who are my most beloved winged vampire warriors.  I know the covers have wings on them, but the books aren’t about angels AT ALL… just vampires… with wings.  I also have goodies for you to win, details to follow!

 
GATES OF RAPTURE is the sixth installment of Guardians of Ascension and features Warrior Leto, a famous, ancient Warrior of the Blood, six-six, long straight black hair, piercing blue eyes, and built to battle death vampires for centuries and drive the ladies crazy!  Major yummy!  Romantic Times Magazine gave GATES OF RAPTURE a 4 ½ Star, TOP PICK review!  I couldn’t be happier!

For the excerpt today, I chose a scene in which Leto reviews how his recent return to Endelle’s service happened.  He’s stunned at the all the changes in his life, including Grace’s presence.  After a long night battling, Endelle, the ruler of Second Earth, sent Leto and Grace to Warrior Antony’s villa, with armed guards patrolling the estate.  Grace is exhausted.  Here’s how the scene unfolds…

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 11:

Once at the villa, Leto stared at the couch in Medichi’s formal living room and the memories flooded back.

Five months ago, Luken had supported him, half-carrying him to the sofa where Leto had thought he would breathe his last. Though Grace had fed him twice from her vein, it hadn’t been enough, and Leto had been near death. He’d been taking dying blood a long time, a hundred years, but he’d made the decision: No more. If he had stayed the course, he would have died, probably that very night.

But his brother warriors and their brehs, had stepped in and changed everything. Havily donated her powerful, unusual blood and he had been permanently healed from his addiction. He never again experienced the severe cramping that occurred at the withdrawal of dying blood. He owed his life to Havily, and to her breh, Marcus, who had allowed him to take her blood, and to their small group for providing all the extra support he’d needed.

Seeing the couch now brought it all back, how his life had changed forever in that moment. Glancing at Grace and giving her hand a squeeze, he was grateful.

She met his gaze and smiled. He just wished that he could see the future more clearly especially the why of his beast-state and just what role he was meant to play in Grace’s life, even in his world. And what would happen if he really was in his ascension to Third Earth?

Grace had spoken more than once about how she had gone through life as a ghost and the truth was he could relate. Even though they’d completed the breh-hedden and even though they had amazing sex together, he didn’t feel a complete connection to her.

But he didn’t blame her. He blamed himself. He was as much a ghost as she was. In all his long life, he’d never truly given his heart to another ascender for safekeeping, not once. Maybe the death of his mother had ruined him in that way, but he kept an invisible emotional barrier all around his heart, always protecting himself, always working hard to be the best warrior, perhaps unwilling to love until the last death vampire was slain.

It was in this way that neither he nor Grace had been ready to complete the breh-hedden. It felt strange to be able to feel the pressure of his palm against hers, to know what his skin and the squeeze of his hand felt like from her point of view. They were so close and yet still so far apart. He wondered if he could ever truly let go with her, truly give his heart completely, truly yield to all that the breh-hedden could be.

Parisa appeared from a side hall at the southern end of the villa. She carried several black towels folded over her arms. “I found some extras in the second suite. I’m putting you in the room closer to the library.” When she reached a rectangular table in the center of the hall, she waved them forward then gestured to her left.

Leto put his arm loosely around Grace’s waist as he walked beside her down the hall.

Parisa was another beauty, Antony’s breh. She wasn’t as tall as Grace, perhaps an inch or so shorter. Her hair was long, dark brown, and layered. She had extraordinary violet eyes.

She led them to a room on the left and as she pushed the door open, she said, “Antony won’t be home until dawn. He’s out battling at the New River Borderland. Of course, as soon as he gets back, I’ll be putting him to bed.” A faint blush climbed her cheeks as she held the door wide.

Grace passed into the room and Leto followed her. The bed was a massive carved mahogany and looked bigger than a king, which was a real plus, especially if Leto went beast. Grace moved to stand near the doorway leading to the bathroom, her arms folded across her chest.

“I know this has been a long night,” Parisa said, her voice quiet.  “But please make the villa your home, especially the kitchen. Have anything you like.” She glanced from one to the other. “Sleep well.”

She closed the door.

* * *   * * *   * * *

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!  I’ve had an extraordinary time creating and writing this series!  Let Guardians of Ascension be a new journey for you.  GATES OF RAPTURE released on December 24^th.

To Learn More about Gates of Rapture and to read the opening chapter:  CLICK HERE!!!

To Order GATES OF RAPTURE   Amazon   Barnes & Noble   iTunes    

 

Here are the giveaway details (all international with appropriate compensatory prizes as needed) :  On each stop of the tour, I’ll be giving away the same awesome collection of prizes as listed on the Rafflecopter form, so be sure to stop by each blog on the tour for a chance to win at each blog.  Be careful to follow the directions on the Rafflecopter form at each site.  And be very careful of the dates! The contest at each site will last 3 days only, and those dates will be listed on the Rafflecopter form as well!!! 

For links to all the other blogs on the tour:  CLICK HERE!!!

The Grand Prize Drawing – VERY IMPORTANT:  to be eligible for the Grand Prize drawing of the Nook with Glowlight, you must leave a comment at the bottom of this blog!  (And for more chances to win the Nook, you can go to every site on the tour and enter that many times—totally up to you!  But comments must be left!)  The grand prize drawing will be selected by random.org in the following manner.  On January 18^th, three days after the tour ends, I will enter the number of blogsites into the random number generator, which will deliver up the winning site.  I will then go to the winning site, count up the comments one by one, and enter that number into random.org.  Random.org will then provide the Grand Prize winning number matched to the comments on the winning blogsite.  This means, that if you travel to all the blogs on this tour, you can enter the GRAND PRIZE contest on every single blog you visit by leaving a comment at each blogsite!  Good luck to all!

The Goodies as listed on the Rafflecopter form are :  a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (or similar for International),  a replica, antique typewriter key bracelet that spells ‘dream’,  a signed copy of ASCENSION (the first novel in the Guardians of Ascension series), Romance Trading Cards and bookmarks.  

The Grand Prize drawing for a Nook with Glowlight, will take place on January 18^th, three days after the tour officially ends!  Good luck!

For links to all the other blogs on the tour:  CLICK HERE!!!

* * *   * * *   * * *

MORE ABOUT CARIS ROANE…

Caris Roane has published over fifty Regency romance novels and novellas under the pen name, Valerie King.  In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance.  Having had a long-time love affair with vampires, Caris tackled the paranormal genre and built a unique vampire world based on ascending dimensional earths.  Her series is called Guardians of Ascension.

Her most recent self-published project, The Blood Rose Novella Series, launched in May of 2012 with the first title:  Embrace the Dark. 

Currently, Caris is working on a new vampire series set to launch in the Fall of 2013:   WARRIORS IN CHAINS with the first novel, BORN IN CHAINS.

Caris lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her two cats, Sebastien and Gizzy.

TO FIND CARIS ROANE ON THE WEB…

Website Home Page:  www.carisroane.com

Twitter handle:  @carisroane

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/caris.roane

Email:  carisroane@gmail.com

Again,  to be eligible for the Nook with Glowlight, leave a comment below like this:  carisroane at gmail dot com!  Good luck to all!

Enter the Giveaway below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway