Thursday, January 30, 2014

Excerpt & Giveaway ~*~ A Mate’s Bite by Milly Taiden


Blurb
Mission: Don’t fall in love

After an explosive night of passion during a scenting ceremony, Karla Alves is sure she was just a one night stand for the man she'd been crushing on for years. She teased him and pleased him, and Nate hasn't been around since. Her fear of becoming clingy kept her from risking her heart and asking for more than a few hours of skin sin.

Mission: Crack her walls

She. Is. His. Nathan Wolfe marked Karla. His mate. Deeply involved in pack politics, Nate has had to stay away. When his sister warns that Karla needs him more than he thinks, he'll discover a bundle of secrets only his wolf can sniff out. But getting the woman he cares about to let down her guard may prove to be his undoing.

Mission: Embrace the bite

With Karla's wayward sister wreaking havoc and friends needing more of his time than ever, Nate will have to rearrange his priorities if he ever hopes to earn Karla's trust. But will time with her be enough? Only true love and a wolf's promise can hold together a relationship created with a bite, a scenting, and a hope for tomorrow.

Buy Links
Amazon.com  ~  Amazon.UK  ~   B&N   ~  ARe



Book Trailer 



Excerpt
“What…um…what are you doing?” She asked in a voice sexy, husky. She had a hard time believing it was her own. She breathed hard, as if she’d been running for dear life instead of sitting still watching him crawl all over her.
He rubbed his nose on her tummy and growled. “It’s for research purposes only.”
What the hell kind of research was he doing that he needed to be sniffing her? She tried, but couldn’t stop the wetness that pooled in her panties.
“Baby,” he groaned. A quick flick of his wet tongue and he licked her belly in a circle. “You smell delicious.”
She did? She was sweaty and hadn’t showered since they left hours ago. “Are you drunk? I thought your kind couldn’t get drunk?”
He chuckled into her tank top, his hot breath slipping between the threads of the fabric to caress her overheated skin. Her nipples scrunched up into tight little points.
 “Not drunk…” He growled, rubbing his nose up her collarbone. “Want you.”
Well it was about damn time. She grinned, watching the lines of his face tighten with arousal. Truth was, she wanted him badly. Enough she couldn’t think straight. It was good to know he was feeling some of the same desperation. Instant sparks of heat melted in her blood and turned the butterflies in her stomach loose.
“Nate?” She met his gaze and licked her lips. His eyes flashed, and she saw the wild side of him deep in his gaze, waiting to pounce. “Kiss me already.”
“Baby.” He nuzzled her lips with his, making her almost crazy with the need to deepen the contact. “I’m going to kiss every inch of you until there’s no doubt who you belong to.”
Her heartbeat thundered hard in her chest. The sound hard and booming. She could hardly hear him above the errant beats. Passion heated her blood to boiling.
“Promises,” she said breathlessly, glancing from his eyes down to those smirking lips of his, unwilling to be the one who gave in first.
Then he pounced. Lips met in a hot demand of need. He attacked her mouth like she was the only woman he’d ever want to kiss. Like he owned her. They fell back into the grass, bodies plastered together. Arousal curled into a thick ball in her stomach. She dug her nails down his back to grip his bare ass.
He groaned, rubbed his erection between her thighs, and sucked on her bottom lip. She smiled in between kisses, loving how good he felt pressing her down on the grass, his warm body blanketing hers. She wiggled her hips.
“Keep that up, and I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he murmured kissing her jaw and neck. Each brush felt like a slide of satin over her skin.
“Who said I want you to be responsible?” Goosebumps broke over her skin at his scorching look. She couldn’t stop herself from telling him how she felt. “I want you too. Now. So bad I think I may go crazy if you don’t do something soon. Stop hedging already.”


Author Bio
Hi! I'm Milly (AKA April Angel) I love to write sexy stories. They're usually either paranormal or contemporary with a large dose of heat. My paranormal stories can be anything from wolf-shifters (my favorites) to witches, demons and anything in between. My contemporaries are usually anything from soldiers to corporate romances.

I was born the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. Currently, I live in New York City with my hubby, the bossy kiddo and our little dog "Needy Speedy". Don't ask.

When I'm not working some really long hours at the day job, or hanging out in the awful life-sucking invention known as Facebook, messaging my bestie in the UK or shopping with my sis Julie, then I can be found watching scary movies. Buuut when I'm not doing that, I'm usually writing because the voices won't shut up.

I am addicted to shoe shopping, chocolate (but who isn't, right?) and Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Come on over and visit me! I love to meet new readers!

Like my books? Want to stay on top of all things Milly? Sign up for my newsletter http://mad.ly/signups/87477/join

There’s a monthly $50 GC Giveaway to all the emails signed up to get the latest news on my releases.

Find out more about Milly Taiden here:
Email: millytaidenauthor@gmail.com
Website:  http://www.millytaiden.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/millytaidenpage
Facebook Friend Page: http://www.facebook.com/milly.taiden
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/millytaiden


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Guest Post & Giveaway ~*~ Divine Moves by Ellyn Oaksmith


Self Publishing – How and Why I took the Plunge by Ellyn Oaksmith

My journey to self publishing happened because 1) I met Oprah. 2) My neighbor worked for Amazon. 3) I was super frustrated with writing into the void. 4) I have no other marketable skills. In other words, failure was not an option.

Maybe I would have self published if I hadn’t met Oprah. It’s hard to say because I did. For those of you sick of this story, skip this paragraph and just know that I am going to tell it for the rest of my life. I was one of 10 women to fly to Chicago and interview Oprah over the course of 3 hours at Harpo studios for O Magazine’s 10th Anniversary issue. During the preliminary session someone interviewing me asked if I was “living my best life.” Suffice it to say that my best life didn’t include sitting on a manuscript that I’d written 2 years prior, venting to my long-suffering husband and feeling like a huge loser when people asked what I did at cocktail parties. My peers were reaping the benefits of decades of hard work. I had an unread manuscript.

A chance conversation with my neighbor during which I offered my stumbling, long-winded, abashed answer to “what do you do?” led to him telling me all about Amazon’s self publishing program. His friend was now living off the proceeds of his science fiction series. Despite the fact that I envisioned his friend living in a cardboard box, eating corn out a can, I polished my manuscript, had friends read it and was utterly shocked and overjoyed when they loved it. They really loved it. They loved it to the point that the editing suffered. But that’s another story.

And one fine day, that I will never forget, I logged onto Amazon.com and clicked publish. Cue chorus of angels. What light years we’ve come from the printing press. Our words are now available to anyone in the world with a computer and a credit card. I mean someone in Vatican City ordered my book. Think about that. God bless Jeff Bezos.

My novel started out life called Knockers. It grew in popularity until an agent came calling and sold it to Harper Collin’s Avon imprint. I tried that route and have to say that there are some advantages. The staff at Avon are incredible. You couldn’t find a more enthusiastic bunch of people who had the book looking spiffier than I could have imagined. They changed the cover and the title to Adventures with Max and Louise. They published it 3 years to the day of me sitting down with Oprah. It was a great experience.

And yet, here I am self publishing. Because of what it has to offer: more control, more money, more immediacy with my readers. Power and money: I’m pretty sure those are the two things driving all of human development. You do the math.

You have absolute power over what you produce and honestly, it isn’t a whole lot more work. Of course, having the paperback delivered to your doorstep by UPS isn’t anything like slaving away over the proofs, promising yourself a scoop of cookie dough if you correct one more chapter that you have read probably 7 times in the last 4 months.  I have learned so much from publishing Divine Moves. It’s going to get easier and easier. (Sure Ellyn, you tell yourself that.) I am doing just as much marketing as I did with Harper Collins. Yes, it’s different not having a team on my side but eventually that team moves onto other books. I’m the team and I never stop working on a book.

Self publishing offers the incredible feeling of being a small business owner. You have the power to work as hard as you want, to reach out to as many bloggers as you have time. You are as big as your dreams. (Yes, I know that sounds cheesy but it’s real.) You aren’t in anyone’s pipelines and you don’t have to wait for anyone to read or sign off on anything. You go as fast as you want. A supremely successful and kind author named Hugh Howie, who wrote series that started with Wool, told me, via e-mail, that although I had the interest of smaller publishers with Divine Moves, self publishing is really so much more empowering and offers so much more financial incentive. He helped me decide to go back to self publishing and I haven’t regretted it one second.

At the end of the day, there is only the work. I have a burning need to write. I did it for years when no one was reading and it makes watching my readership grow all the sweeter. I love looking on Facebook as the likes add up and my Tumblr readership blossoms and as people follow my Pinterest posts. You can look at all the social media as extra work or you can become an extrovert and embrace the new order. Sure it’s hard to fit it all in but never have readers had this much access to a writer nor writers to their audience. It’s breaking down some huge walls. And there are days when an e-mail or Facebook comment from a reader can have me charging back to work with new energy and enthusiasm.

This is a terribly exciting time to be a writer and publishing is in a little bit of a Wild West phase. Sure it’s a scramble for everyone and sometimes the ride is a little bit bumpy but the future, from where I sit, looks very bright indeed.

Thank you for reading!

Divine Moves
By: Ellyn Oaksmith


Blurb
Seventeen years of loving is a hard habit to break…

Meryl thought things couldn’t get any worse. She’s caught her husband in bed with the neighbor. She just found out she’s broke. Then her outrageous mother, Faye, shows up.

Faye wants to be a grandmother and has money to loan so it’s hard to say no. But what Meryl doesn’t know is that Faye, a former stripper and born again Christian, plans on opening an exotic dance and women's fitness studio in Meryl’s affluent suburban community.

When Meryl’s book club gets roped into promoting the studio by dancing at a charity tea, they discover that their laced up ‘burb isn’t as proper as they think. As her husband fights to win her back, Meryl grows increasingly attracted to a handsome sheriff, recovering from his own loss. As a crisis looms, Meryl must face her demons from the past. But first she has to get through Christmas.

Funny, sad and sweet, Divine Moves reveals the forces that derail our lives and the sometimes divine intervention that keeps us on track.

Buy Links
Amazon  
Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/12/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_14.html

Author Info
I've been hooked on writing since 4th grade when my story of an alley cat was read in class as an example of a good scene setting. I just about fell off the chair in utter joy. I was a total goner when a film I'd written while at the American Film Institute was screened and people laughed. At the right places!

At Smith College I gave my professor a heart attack when I compared Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the book, to the movie.  

I write every day from 10-2 although while editing, it's much longer. I live in Seattle Washington with my family and my shelter dog who is my workout partner. I love to interact with readers on https://www.facebook.com/EllynOaksmith and http://ellynoaksmith.tumblr

Author Links

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Cover Reveal & Giveaway ~*~ Hero by Leighton Del Mia

ebook
Title: Hero
Author: Leighton Del Mia
Genre: Dark Erotica, Standalone
Expected Release Date: February 27, 2014
Cover Designer: Cover It! Designs
 
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Synopsis
Calvin Parish
They call me Hero. I defend. I protect. I ask for nothing in return, and that makes me good. Doesn’t it? That which makes me the ultimate predator also feeds dark impulses I’ve learned to control—until I bring her too close. For years I’ve watched her from afar, but what started out as duty has become obsession.
Cataline Ford
I work hard. I play by the rules. I’m content. My scars are quiet and invisible, and that keeps me hidden. Doesn’t it? One fateful walk home, I’m taken by someone I didn’t know I should fear. Captive and afraid, nobody will tell me why I’m confined to this hauntingly beautiful mansion. I’m given everything; I have nothing. He takes what he needs from me, and for that I hate him. But I might have loved him once. And just because you’re reading this doesn’t mean I survive him.  
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Excerpt
Because I’m lost in my thoughts, I don’t hear Cataline enter the room. Her tight black dress cuts across her mid-thighs, and her cleavage teases from a plummeting neckline. She’s done her makeup for probably the second time since arriving at the mansion. 

“What is this?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. 

“What?” 

Jasmine drifts under my nose as she walks away from me to her seat. 

“I told you not to dress up for dinner.” 

“I thought you’d like it,” she says, lowering herself gracefully into the chair. Her back is straight as a rod, and her fingers are laced. “You don’t?” 

Norman decorates the table with food as I stare Cataline down. He clears his throat. “For dinner, we have—” 

“Leave us.” 

He pauses. Though my eyes are still fastened on Cataline, I know he’s watching me as he bows his head. “As you wish, sir.” 

I stand and slowly walk the line of the long table. My footsteps echo through the hall, appropriately menacing. I’ve just come from a burning building but am back in my suit and tie to maintain appearances. And my ridiculous glasses, which I remove and toss aside. She’ll believe I’ve just returned from the office. When I’m standing over her, she tugs up the neckline of the dress and blinks at me. I resist smirking as she tucks hair behind her ear twice. 

“Well,” she says, “aren’t we going to eat?” 

“I’m going to eat.” 

“I’m not?” 

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one meal at this table, and it’s you.” 

My ears pick up her slow swallow, my eyes the curl of her hands in her lap. “That sounds like a threat,” she says quietly. 

I bend over, flatten one hand on the table and wrap the other around the arm of her chair. “It’s not. This is a threat: if you’re not naked and spread out on this table in two seconds, I’m going to spank you so hard, you won’t know up from down.” 

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Guest Post & Giveaway ~*~ Melting the Ice Queen's Heart by Amy Ruttan



Ten Things about Amy Ruttan


Just ten? I hope I can come up with ten exciting things about my life, but I’m not positive. ;) I think my life is pretty ordinary, but hopefully my ten things are pretty interesting and maybe you’d like to tell me some interesting things about you. I’m always interested in other people.

  1. I was supposed to be born on St. Patrick’s Day, but was a born a month late and arrived Easter Sunday in April. I say April because sometimes Easter occurs in March. LOL!

  1. I love everything British and mostly the comedies. Monty Python, Vicar of Dibley, Carry On movies. Love it all. Also love Downton and Call the Midwife. I’m a total anglophile.

  1. I always wanted to write for Harlequin, but I kind of stumbled upon Medicals during the 2010 Fast Track. It took a couple of years with revising and making it through the slush before I was bought Jan 25, 2013, but it was worth it. I’ve learned so much writing for Harlequin.

  1. I love car trips. My aim is to drive to all the provinces and States that I can. Obviously this will be impossible for Hawaii and Nunavut. My list for Provinces has become quite shorter. I only have Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut left to see. Lots of States still, but I’m getting there.

  1. I’ve been to the top of a mountain. This is a huge deal for me because I’m TERRIFIED of heights, but in 2012 I conquered my fear and went up Whistler’s in Jasper National Park.

  1. I’ve had my foot in every single great lake thanks to my family’s cross country trip to Alberta in 2012. Yep, I’ve been in Ontario, Erie, Huron, Superior and Michigan. Word of advice. Superior is COLD.

  1. I’m addicted to Diet Coke. Though I’m working on it, because it’s not very good for you, but instead of chain smoking or drinking like all the classical writers of yore, when I’m working on a deadline I start chugging it back. It’s a bad, bad habit.

  1. I’m terrified of sharks, but in San Francisco I sucked up my fear and touched one. I guess I’m all for trying to overcome fears. Having three kids helped me conquer my fear of needles that’s for sure!

  1. I knew my husband was the one the first time I met him. I know people don’t believe in that usually, but I knew the moment I met him.

  1. I love the badlands and the prairies. Never thought I would, but my trip out west in 2012 through South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana made me fall madly and deeply in love with those wild, wide landscapes.


And those are ten things about me that are totally random and hopefully not a dreadful bore!


 Melting the Ice Queens Heart
By: Amy Ruttan
Releasing Feb 1st, 2014

Blurb
It started with a kiss… 

Having left his humanitarian posting in Africa to raise his two orphaned nieces in San Francisco, Dr. Gavin Brice has enough on his plate without an inconvenient attraction to his new boss! The frosty Dr. Virginia Potter clearly disapproves of his maverick ways - but with one amazing kiss, the ice begins to thaw….

Buy Links
Amazon  ~   B&N   ~   Harlequin 

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/12/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for.html


Author Info
Born and raised on the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario, Amy fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. When she's not furiously typing away at her computer, she's a mom to three wonderful children.
Life got in the way, and after the birth of her second child, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a romance author.
You can find out more about Amy at her website.

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