Thursday, September 30, 2010

Brigit Aine and "Red" return....



Welcome back the lovely Brigit Aine, who's début novella has just been re-released to commemorate the release of new books set in the world of Torrent. So, drop by Decadent Publishing, grab your copy, and see where it all began... More titles are scheduled to be released very soon! Now, over to Brigit...

Sometimes life takes startling turns. When “Red’s Wolf” was first published (as my first book) I was in awe and amazement that anyone would want to read something from my head. That publishing company went under and I got Red back…by then however I had written Book 2, “Cassie’s Awakening”. I thought I may as well try again…so off “Cassie’s Awakening” went to Eternal Press. It has done phenomenal over there…again I am surprised…I love all my characters, but never did I imagine that others would as well.

Book 3 was a niggling idea… “Kraig’s Kat” and it is due to be released with Decadent next month…again I am in shock. I truly hope I never get over the shock of having a book accepted somewhere. What fun it is every time a publisher says yes… I mean these are the thoughts in my head…I always thought I was just crazy.

When Decadent Publishing took Book 3, I offered for them to read Book 1 so that they were aware of the background. The e-mail I got back asked if we could clean it up, give it a new title and re-print. I cried. I’m not embarrassed to say that. I think the first book is always special and they wanted mine.

This is an updated version of the one that was printed earlier. It has more detail, has been edited within an inch of its life, and I am proud to say that “Red’s Return” is worth every tear both happy and frustrated that has been shed.

Please enjoy!

Brigit Aine
http://www.brigitsworld.blogspot.com
brigitaine@gmail.com

Red's Return Book One of Torrent's Talents is out today with Decadent Publishing for 2.99


BUY IT HERE

Saturday, September 25, 2010

THROWN TO THE WOLVES - a review

THROWN TO THE WOLVES
Book 2: The Four Brothers Clan
By CJ Elliott
ISBN: 978-1-60088-586-0
Price: $3.99
Available from Cobblestone Press

I’ve waited anxiously for the release of CJ Elliott’s latest tale of the exciting and mysterious des Quatre-Frères brothers. THROWN TO THE WOLVES was very much worth the wait. What began in Hour of the Wolf has grown with this latest installment, details are richer, the story more complex. Yet the hints that there is much more to come are well in place. So much so that you might not want this book to end, even while you can’t stop turning the pages – yeah, eBook or not, I do print them out!

Book Two belongs to Sébastien des Quatre- Frères , and in this story we see more details about the rift that exists between the Alpha of the pack, and the brother who was groomed for a destiny he then lost to his younger sibling. Resentments and old jealousies come to the surface when Sébastien’s love is taken from his side, and tradition is challenged by the proud and passionate brothers.

We learn more about the strengths of the brothers, and are also given glimpses of their weaknesses. The Alpha fears the very thing his younger sibling controls, another of these strong men suffers night terrors (which could be a problem if you’re a wolf-shifter in charge of your own territory). Amid the search for Sébastien’s beautiful mate, wounds are opened, and others healed. The threat will unite the des Quatre-Frères brothers, even as it brings the past back in unhappy ways. Destinies may yet reorder traditions that have held for thousands of years.

Book Two contains all the elements of a perfect paranormal romance, it is rich in passion, sexy love scenes, a dangerous threat to what means most to Sébastien, and the shadow of something very dark and inherently deadly. Already I am anxiously awaiting the next story in the set, and as with book one, I am enchanted with the world CJ Elliott creates with such rich imagination. This is an author who will deliver on all fronts if you are a lover of werewolves/shifters/paranormal tales. Attention to detail and intensely real and strong characters, this is one of the best series’ I’ve encountered in many years.

Available from Cobblestone Press, LLC – you really should check out The Clan of the Four Brothers! Another winner for CJ Elliott!!

Buy the Books

HOUR OF THE WOLF

THROWN TO THE WOLVES

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

GUEST: Mysti Holiday



3 Things I Want In a Good Romance Story

Everyone is different, that’s a given. But the more I read and write and interact with other readers and writers, the more I realize the amazing difference in what each person likes or doesn’t like in their romance tales. Here’s my list of “musts” for anything I read or write.

1. A happy ending.

It doesn’t have to end with a marriage proposal, or even an “I love you”. But it does have to end with the feeling that the protagonists are going to make a go at a relationship. I HATE a story where I get invested in the characters and then they break up or one of them dies. When that happens? I swear, I’ll burn the book and then burn a picture of the author for good measure and then add them to my list of “I’ll never buy your books again, and will make it my life’s work to tell other people how horrible your story is.” Yes, I’m a little passionate about my happy endings.

2. Sexual tension.

Okay, yeah, I write erotic romance so it’s going to have sex. But even better than the act itself? That delicious anticipation leading up to it. The gut-tugging awareness. The little zings of desire dancing up and down your spine. :::shivers with delight::: I love nothing more than to read that and hate when characters meet and then just get it on. Where’s the fun or the romance in that?

3. Characters who like each other as well as (eventually) love each other.

I can’t buy the stories where the characters spend the entire time screaming at each other (despite their overwhelming attraction for each other) and then end up madly in love at the end. Really? I’m a big believer in people needing to like each other in order to romantically love each other. If not? Then it’s lust, not love.

What about you? What things MUST you have to really enjoy a book? I’d really like to know.

You can find Mysti at:
http://www.menagerieauthors.com/
http://www.menagerieauthors.blogspot.com/

Blurb:

When Karin Lattimer moves across the country and her over-protective brother asks his friend Caleb Hawkes to keep an eye on her, she’s more than annoyed…she’s turned on. The attentive cop is a walking wet dream, but Karin knows he’s only hanging around out of a sense of duty. Acting on her crazy attraction would reveal more than the man’s buff body—it would also reveal her heart.

Caleb is well aware that Karin is all woman. He can’t keep his eyes off her and his hands itch to touch her. But she’s not one-night-stand material, and he firmly believes cops make lousy partners for long-term relationships.

Still, thinking clearly isn’t a top priority when Karin and Caleb finally touch. Sparks fly and barriers melt away as easily as their inhibitions, but can she convince him there's more to life than playing it safe?

Excerpt:

She grabbed her cell phone and texted him for the eight-hundredth time.

Need ur muscle, u jerk. U scared of me?

She hit send and leaned back in the grass, soaking up the sun and figuring she’d have to take the stupid car to some quick lube place. She couldn’t do it today...not enough time before work to drive into town and back. She’d have to do it tomorrow as soon as she woke up.

A shadow fell across her and she opened her eyes in surprise.

“I’m not scared of you, but you should be a little more careful laying out here in an open invitation.” Caleb shoved his sunglasses up his nose a bit and watched her.

“Open invitation?” Karin snorted. “Besides the fact those ugly hedges are as tall as you and twice as thick, it’s not like I was lying here like this…” She spread her legs and lifted her shirt until the swell of her naked breasts showed at the hem. Caleb’s nostrils flared, and she wished she could see his eyes.

“...or doing this.” She put her index finger into her mouth, sucked on it and then trailed it down her shirt until she found a nipple. Her finger circled the nipple until it poked against the thin cotton tank, then repeated the action on the other one.

“…or sounding like this.” She moaned and squirmed her hips just a bit.

“Jesus, Karin.” He looked around to see if anyone was watching. “You should be illegal.”


Friday, September 17, 2010

New review from Manic Readers!



Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewer: Cheryl

LINK: http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=reviews&bookid=7724

A Whisper of Humanity is one yummy read. It is a book you will want to sink your fangs/teeth into again and again. Denyse Bridger is a new to me author but after reading this book, I plan to check out more of her work. Denyse packs quite a lot into such a short story though she balanced it out nicely. This book had everything…mystery, interesting characters, and lots of sex. Devon is no Edward. He is better! If you like vampires then you have to read A Whisper of Humanity.


Buy it HERE

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A message from Douglas Carlton Abrams



Dear Friends:

I hope this email finds you thriving. Thank you so much for supporting my writing during this extraordinary year since my last novel, Eye of the Whale, was published. I was invited to speak to a conference of the Ocean Conservancy in Mexico and a water sustainability conference in the Netherlands. I also had the pleasure of being on two NPR programs, one on the Bay Area’s “Forum” with Michael Krasny, and the other with the national program, Hear and Now. The whole experience of researching and writing the book—learning about the dangers to all life, right along with my characters—has been quite an adventure. I can’t believe that the book has already been out for a year and that the paperback will be out at the end of September.

I am so excited to able to share with you that I have recently been offered a matching grant of $25,000 from a foundation to develop an educational outreach campaign using Eye of the Whale as the main outreach tool. I am hoping to raise funds from devoted readers to match this grant and support educational talks. Asking for money is always something that is uncomfortable, especially when it is my joy to give to my readers rather than to ask for their help. I hope you will see this as an opportunity to join with me, and others in the environmental movement, who care about the health of our water and our children.

The Ocean Foundation is administering the grant and has set up a donation page on their website. You may donate any amount you wish—small or large—on this page: https://oceanfdn.org/index.php?ht=d/MakeDonation/donationtype/3987

I want to say Thank You again, not just for reading my books, but for everything you do to help make the world a healthier, wiser, and more sustainable place for future generations!

Warmly,
Doug Abrams

Feel free to forward this email on to friends and family and to post it anywhere and everywhere you would like, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Objects of Desire…

For years women have objected vehemently to being objectified, and rightly so, of course. But, I have noticed more and more recently that this propensity for taking people and turning them into objects has been undergoing a transition. Everywhere you look in the entertainment fields, and particularly in the literary world of romance, the tables are turning, and men are being objectified now, rather blatantly. Everywhere you look, there are blogs, photos, covers, posters… all displaying buffed guys with their smoulder on high… And women are the ones posting for other women to enjoy and the comments get more outrageously sexual all the time.

So, is this sexy do you think? If men slobber over half-naked women and make remarks, it's sexist, tasteless, and a hundred other things. Is it really any different if the women are the ones making the remarks, or exploiting male beauty for the sole purpose of looking? I posted a photo album on Facebook ages ago, it's filled with beautiful men. That single album has incited the most amazingly wild comments at times...

At what point in time is beauty and sexuality simply part of who we are, and not a commodity to sell? And why the double-standard? In some cases I know personally, the very women who want to murder their husbands/boyfriends/partners for gawking at other women are the same ones who post and share photos of the men who are making a living with their good looks and contoured muscles. What's the mindset, do you think??

Beauty is beauty, in my opinion. As it ages, it takes on new aspects, but ALL people possess beauty and sensuality. Is this really something that should be bought and sold by commercial standards? Will look forward to your thoughts, and there's a surprise gift in the offing...


Wednesday, September 01, 2010

CONTEST time!!!


A cool contest with Coffeetime Romance... check it out....
scroll down, you'll find me,
and good luck to everyone - the prize package is a nice one!