Last Chance to Bid in the Novak Auction!!!

Hear ye, hear ye!  Today (yes TODAY) is the LAST DAY to bid on items in the Brenda Novak Auction to Fund Diabetes Research!  There are tons of fabulous prizes, books, goodies and once-in-a-lifetime experiences ripe for the bidding and this is your LAST CHANCE!  Go forth and bid for a good cause, darlings!

And while you're there, bid on the dedication to Hawk's Revenge - the third Lone Pine Pride book, coming this February! (And going cheap at the moment! Be immortalized in print for a steal...)

And remember to check out my Jaguar's Kiss Themed Gift Basket...

Excerpt-a-Ganza: Shifter Madness - Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Today we continue the pre-Jaguar's Kiss binge of shifter books I adore with the first book of the fabulous Mercy Thompson series, Moon Called.  I kind of want to bow down and kiss Patricia Brigg's feet.  She's just that good.  (Heh, I typoed "god" on the last sentence, so... that too.)

Here's a taste:

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.



EXCERPT FROM MOON CALLED:

Chapter One:

I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first.

Get Your Super Fix Free

Maybe it's because I just saw X-Men: Days of Future Past which I quite enjoyed (though yes, my brain is exploding a little bit from all the wild inconsistencies between all the films - Jean pulverizing Patrick Stewart and then him magically having his own body back again while Scott remains deader than dirt being a notable WTF for me... the timelines are totally screwed, but it was still fun)...

Or maybe it's because tomorrow is my mom's birthday and that's always a good excuse to give stuff away...

Or perhaps it's because I'm recently back from RT where giving away free stuff is ALL THE RAGE...

Whatever my motives, Super Bad and Super Hot are BOTH COMPLETELY FREE THIS WEEKEND.  From now until Monday, you can score some superhero goodness (both with beaucoup five star reviews) for the price of a click.  So click on through to the other side and get reading!

CLICK HERE TO GET SUPER BAD FREE!

 CLICK HERE TO GET SUPER HOT FOR FREE!

Jaguar's Kiss Countdown - Teaser Tuesday - Two Weeks to Go!

Two Weeks Til Jaguar's Kiss and it's Teaser Tuesday time! (Alliteration for the win!) Our intrepid heroine Lila is a bit tipsy when she stumbles across the studly jaguar Santiago...

**

“Shouldn’t you be with your fiancé? Celebrating the upcoming nuptials?”

The growly quality in his voice made something warm stir low in her abdomen. She cleared her throat. “He’s out there with Patch.”

“Ah.”

The alcohol honesty chose that moment to rear its ugly head. “You aren’t much of a conversationalist, are you, Santiago Flores?” She wanted to hear more of that rumbly voice.

“You want conversation?” The words sounded like a threat. “Then by all means, let’s converse. Do you really want to marry Roman?”

This conversation again. Joy. Lila sighed, resigned. “It’s doesn’t matter what I want. It’s what I’m going to do.”

“Are you really such a martyr?” That lovely growl was back in his voice.

“It’s not martyrdom.” She was certain it wasn’t. She just couldn’t seem to think past all the alcohol to figure out why precisely.

“So you don’t think you’re giving anything up, is that it?”

That was it. No sacrifice. How helpful he was. “Exactly. What would I be giving up?”

“A thousand opportunities.” He spun to face her, dark eyes flashing in the night, all that contained ferocity suddenly erupting with startling intensity. “The chance to be something more than what others would make you.”

“So I can be what you would make me instead?” She turned to face him head on, throwing her chin back to growl up at him. “Everyone wants me to be their version of what I should be. Even you.”

“Then what do you want? Who do you want to be?”

“I don’t know! Don’t you see? If I wanted something more than this life, maybe I would go after it, maybe I would be brave, by your definition of the word, but I don’t. I never have. So what’s so terrible about what I’m doing? What am I giving up, Santiago Flores? What is supposed to stop me from doing what I’ve always known I would when the time came? What is it you think I’m supposed to want?”

“Me.”

**

Pre-order from Amazon :: B&N :: Samhain

Happy Memorial Day

Excerpt-a-Ganza: Shifter Madness - MacRieve by Kresley Cole

Today we continue our dive into my favorite shifter worlds with Kresley Cole's brilliant Immortals After Dark series.  The latest book in the series is MacRieve and... yeah... *fans self*...

  

A Beast in Torment

Uilleam MacRieve believed he’d laid to rest the ghosts of his boyhood. But when a brutal torture revives those ancient agonies and destroys his Lykae instinct, the proud Scot craves the oblivion of death. Until he finds her—a young human so full of spirit and courage that she pulls him back from the brink.

A Beauty in Chains

Seized for the auction block, Chloe Todd is forced to enter a terrifying new world of monsters and lore as a bound slave. When offered up to creatures of the dark, she fears she won’t last the night. Until she’s claimed by him—a wicked immortal with heartbreaking eyes, whose touch sets her blood on fire.

A Full Moon on the Rise

With enemies circling, MacRieve spirits Chloe away to the isolated Highland keep of his youth. But once he takes her to his bed, his sensual mate becomes something more than human, evoking his savage past and testing his sanity. On the cusp of the full moon, can he conquer his worst nightmare to save Chloe . . . from himself?


EXCERPT FROM MACRIEVE: 

This was probably a bad idea, but at that moment, Chloe couldn’t recall a single reason why. If MacRieve stopped this, she was fairly certain she’d slide-tackle him.
He didn’t stop. His lips were hot on her, scorching a line up her neck.
Excitement drummed through her, her dread completely absent, her senses overloaded. She smelled the rain, the blossoms, his heady scent. How could he possibly smell so good?
When his clever tongue flicked rain from her damp skin, she wondered, Why fight this?
She was as eager as she’d been during her first pro soccer game. She hadn’t let anything stand in her way that day, just surrendered completely to the thrill, the adrenaline, the driving need to experience everything.
She would do the same with this. Don’t be a coward. See where this path leads you.
So far this path was making her question how she’d been living without MacRieve her entire life.

The Shifter Mystique

I'm visiting the Magical Musings blog today, chatting about Jaguar's Kiss and the appeal of shifter romances.  (T-minus 19 days until release day!)  Come tell me why you find shape-shifter romances irresistible.  (It's the alpha males, isn't it?)

Romantic Times Conquered!

I have returned from New Orleans triumphant - or at least exhausted and happy.  RT was a blast - met lots of fabulous readers, fangirled over some of my all time favorite authors, and played hard in New Orleans (though not as hard as some - that city is for partiers of a different caliber than yours truly).  Now I'm back and more excited than ever for the new series - and pumped up to dive back into my writing cave.  Onward, reader friends!

Jaguar's Kiss Countdown - Teaser Tuesday - 3 Weeks to Go!

Three weeks and counting until Jaguar's Kiss and time for another Teaser Tuesday!  Lila and her bestie Patch are wandering the pride lands with a few beers, trying to celebrate her engagement...

**

Lila took another swig of beer. It was darker than she liked, the taste sharper than the fruity ales she preferred, but tonight she liked the bite. She didn’t feel brave. She didn’t know what she felt. Not how a bride was supposed to feel, that was for sure. “I don’t know why I’m not more excited. I get to plan a wedding. And force you to wear a dress loaded with ruffles and flounces.”

Patch ignored her attempt to goad her with bridesmaid dress hell. “You don’t love him.”

“I don’t see how that matters. My parents don’t love each other. It’s never been a problem for them.”

“You aren’t your mother.”

“No. More’s the pity.”

A white fence appeared out of the darkness beside them. The elk enclosure. They’d come farther than she thought.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

No, Patch was her staunchest ally. She would never say what Lila always thought the pride elders were thinking. That Lila didn’t have her mother’s strength. That she didn’t have her poise and intellect and leadership ability. That Lila wasn’t Alpha’s mate material at all. That she was just a girly pleaser who could play the role when it was easy but would buckle under the first real threat.

“I just meant that you’ve always wanted to be in love,” Patch explained. “Ever since we were kids.”

She had. It was almost embarrassing to admit, since she’d known since birth that no fairy tale prince was going to sweep her off her feet. She had a role to play and falling in love wasn’t part of it. “Maybe I’ll fall in love with Roman. He’s very…” She couldn’t think of anything. He was handsome. He was smart. He was strong and powerful. He was everything a lion should be. “He’s a great man.”

He just never looked at her like she was even remotely special. He looked at her like a duty. She supposed there was affection there, but no interest. No passion. No heat. He didn’t look at her like…

Like Santiago looks at me.

**

Pre-order from Amazon :: B&N :: Samhain

Excerpt-a-Ganza: Shifter Madness - Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

I'm still away at RT being positively inundated by fabulous books, so this seemed like the perfect time to share some book love here.  My shiny new shifter series releases in less than a month, so for the next few weeks I'm gonna be highlighting some of my favorite shifter series of all time here at the blog. 

Today we head down under for Keri Arthur's fabulous Riley Jensen Guardian series, launched in 2006 with Full Moon Rising.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.


EXCERPT FROM FULL MOON RISING:

Jaguar's Kiss Countdown - Teaser Tuesday - 4 Weeks to Go!

With only one month until Jaguar's Kiss releases, it's time for an edition of Teaser Tuesday! Lila is a good little lioness who has always done her duty for the pride, but now that her arranged marriage is about to be announced, doubts are creeping in... helped along by a certain sexy jaguar...

**
Jitters. Perfectly normal. Everyone got bridal jitters.
“Lila?”
The smooth baritone, the soft barely-there lilt of an accent touching the vowels. She knew without looking who it would be. And she didn’t want to look. Didn’t want to see those miles-deep brown eyes watching her with the unnerving mix of intensity and irritation. She’d never figured out why Santiago Flores always seemed so annoyed by her.
Conjuring up a smile, she turned her head and forced a sparkle into her voice. “Santiago. So good to see you.”
And it was always good to see him. The man was masculine beauty incarnate. Thick black hair just long enough to start to curl, burnished bronze skin, and a sculpted face and body that would have been pretty if it hadn’t been so powerfully male.
A slight frown put a crease between his brows. “Are you all right?”
“Me? Of course I am. Don’t be silly.”
A slow lift of one eyebrow seemed to argue that Santiago Flores was never silly. “You look like you’re about to vomit all over those pretty red shoes.”
“Why, Santiago, you do say the sweetest things.” She dimpled and batted her eyes at him—falling back on her second motto: It’s always the right time for flirtation. She angled her ankle to better display the shoes. “They are fetching, aren’t they?”
Those bottomless brown eyes narrowed. “You don’t have to be happy all the time like some kind of perfect little Stepford kitten. You’re allowed to have moods.”
She smiled brilliantly. “This is my mood.”
He snorted. “Of course it is. Why would anyone be frustrated by having their entire life story written for them? Never making any of their own choices—though maybe that’s what you want. If you don’t choose, it’s not your mistake, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lila swallowed, trying to maintain a smile that was wobbling around the edges.
He was just a loner. An outlier. His opinion of her didn’t matter.
Even if he was right

 **

Pre-order from Amazon :: B&N :: Samhain

Off to RT!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, and the biggest convergence of romance reading book nerds waits for me in New Orleans!  (Can I get a woohoo?)  Good food, good company and great books, what more can a girl ask for?

If you're coming the convention (and really, what could possibly keep you away?) be sure to find me!  I'll be hosting a table at the Samhain Saints & Sinners party on Thursday night, participating in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's Burlesque Class & Revue (with feather boas and goodie bags for the first 25 attendees) on Friday, and signing at the Big Book Fair on Saturday (look for me in the traditional section). 

You know it's a professional conference when you pack your new corset and your shiny new halo.  I'll be back with many stories! In the mean time, read on, reader-friends.  Read on.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (and Hilarity)

One of my favorite things about my season in New York has been indulging in my Broadway addiction and by far my favorite new show of the year is A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.  (I've seen it twice with plans to go again.)  So naturally, I was thrilled to see this little-show-that-could (no Big Names attached, multiple Broadway debuts) is leading the nominations for Tonys, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards this year.

It's sort of Gosford Park meets Oscar Wilde with music and romance.  All of the performances are brilliant and who doesn't love a good murder?  (It seems to be a theme this year, with Bullets Over Broadway on the Great White Way as well as Heathers & Murder For Two Off-Broadway.)  Anyway, I wanted to pimp my favorite show a bit.  If you're in New York, it's a must see.

Here's a bit of one of my favorite songs... the love triangle, when Our Intrepid Hero Monty is caught with his mistress in one room and his fiance in the other...

Countdown to Jaguar's Kiss!

Only five weeks until Jaguar's Kiss releases into the wild!  Who's ready for some shifter lovin'?

Bidder Up!

It's May!  The lusty month of May!  And you know what that means.  Time for the Brenda Novak Auction to benefit diabetes research!

This year the auction is bigger than ever.  You can bid on everything from dream vacations to lunch with your favorite authors to books that haven't been released yet or goodie baskets or critiques or even a chocolate of the month club subscription. 

You know I've gotta have a couple items up for auction.  This year you can bid on the Jaguar's Kiss Goodie Pack - filled with all things leopard-print you might need for a night on the town, shifter-style, including a sparkly knuckle clutch I'm kind of in love with and will cry when I have to part with: Check out all the basket goodies HERE.

Aaaaaand, have you ever wanted to have a book dedicated to you?  Have your name immortalized in print?  This is your chance!  The winner of the Novak Auction get the dedication of Hawk's Revenge - Book Three of the Lone Pine Pride series (ebook release February 2015, print release the following year).  Check it out HERE.

Go forth and bid!  Good luck, darlings!