Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Romance Author Hotspot Halloween Bash

 
Hi, all! Happy Halloween!
I'm participating in a fantabulous blog hop with authors and editors at the Romance Author Hotspot.
Scroll down and click on my name (and the others below) for some great tricks and treats!
 
 
 


Rules:
Just a few!
All special guests attending #HalloweenBash 2012 are here to hang out with you here at Romance Author Hotspot. Please do not email guests off this site unless asked to. Please be respectful and play nice. No profanity allowed. (Seriously, there are kids around here.)

PRIZES:
Check out each room to see the PRIZES!
Enter to win a $50 Barnes and Nobles Gift Card! Visit each post and comment to get additional chances to win! Romance Author Hotspot will select the winner on November 8th! Are you ready to have some fun? Don’t be shy! Comment away!
Be SURE to have LOTS and LOTS of FUN!
Once party opens up, click on names below or covers on the front page, and you will be able to enter the specific party rooms! Have fun!
(Prizes are available internationally unless noted by author/publisher/party hosts.)

___________________________________________________________________________________


Authors:


Editors:


Thanks again, for stopping by, don’t forget to spread the word!
You can follow the action on Twitter with the hastag: “#HalloweenBash” and by following us
on Twitter: @RomanceAuthorHS

Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Halloween in Sleepy Hollow

Hi, all!

Ready for Halloween? Or has Sandy left you too devastated to move?

Need a break from the storm?

Visit me at Cate Master's blog, for some Halloween secrets, recipes and treats. Cate even dug up a video of Sleepy Hollow,  N.Y., the setting of THUNDER, LIGHTNING and SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS.  It's a must see!

 
Starting at midnight tonight, I'll be participating in the Romance Authors Halloween Bash. The link will go live at midnight.




The grand prize is a $50 Barnes and Noble gift-card that the Romance Authors  Halloween Bash site will raffle off  to a random commenter. Each unique entry gets the commenter a better chance to win. The Halloween Bash will run from October 31 to November 7, so you'll have lots of time to check it out!

Looking forward to seeing you.

Have a Happy Halloween.

Boo!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 10-28-12

So thrilled to announce that my sexy paranormal, THUNDER, released this week from Decadent Publishing's 1Night Stand line.

Here are six:

All she could think about right then was his mouth. The way his lips would feel on hers, bruising and commanding, as he plunged his tongue in and out, the way his mouth might travel downward, blazing a fiery path to her breasts, her inner thighs, her…. Another second under his scorching perusal and she’d spontaneously combust.

"Clearly, it’s a mix up then," she managed to strangle out at last. "So if you don’t want to…."

"I didn’t say that."


Decadent Publishing | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance | Smashwords | Book Strand


                                                      Read the Blurb and Excerpt

                            
 

                 And check out other Six Sentence Sunday participants at SixSunday.com

And check out my HOWLOWEEN Blog Hop post below for great candy apple recipes and giveaways!
                                

Friday, October 26, 2012

HOWLOWEEN Blog Hop!

HOWLOWEEN BLOG HOP
Happy Almost Halloween, campers!

AWHOOOOOO-HOOOOOO! Let's Howl!
 
Giveaways galore at the HOWLOWEEN Blog Hop this year! More than 300 participating authors, giving away great stuff and great swag, now through October 29th.



http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/
Join in the tricks, the treats, the goodies, the fun. One very special grand prize winner will win a very tasty electronic prize! Click on the button to the right.

And scroll down for everyone's favorite -- candy and caramel apples!

I'm pleased to have two light-hearted but super HOT and sexy paranormals to howl about, both set in mystical, eerie Sleepy Hollow (also know as Halloween Central), home of the Headless Horseman. THUNDER released yesterday from Decadent Publishing's mad sexy popular 1Night Stand series. And LIGHTNING, my first 1Night Stand story, released from Decadent last week!

Both in time for all the spooky festivities! I'll give away one book from my backlist and lots of swag to one commenter who tells me why LIGHTNING's Lily is a reluctant succubus and in what newstand items THUNDER's sexy Sean Campbell can sometimes be found.

Here are the covers, blurbs and excerpts, where the clues can be found.


BLURB:
In mystic Sleepy Hollow, succubus Lily Night put her prom date, Campbell Jones, into a coma after a night of wild, unbridled sex. She has steered clear of mortals ever since, afraid of damaging them or worse, not to mention the inconvenience of knocking out the power every time they have sex.

Successful architect Campbell Jones has lived with strange powers and a sexy secret since that prom night. He’s buried himself in work to forget the woman who’d dumped him at the ER then vanished from his life without a trace.

Neither Lily nor Campbell have forgotten that night or the love they’d shared. Will a 1Night Stand help them bury their past?

EXCERPT:

“A little higher and more to the left.”

Lily Night narrowed her eyes as the building maintenance man shifted her framed diploma on the freshly-painted wall opposite her desk. She tried not to ogle the firm ass encased in a pair of tight jeans or the way the man’s shoulder muscles rippled beneath his T-shirt.

Maybe if I pop an Altoid, I’ll have an excuse to wipe away the drool.

She refrained from jumping the handsome worker dude’s bones. The last time she’d dallied with a human, the encounter had not gone well. Vivid images of that long ago prom night bombarded her. Campbell Jones had been a young, strapping, hunk-and-a-half football player and they’d started their date full of hope and expectation and lust. When he’d adjusted the fragrant gardenia corsage on her wrist, she’d inhaled his crisp, citrus scent and thought she might swoon at the sight of him in his tux. The black material stretched across broad shoulders that mirrored the promise of the bruising man he’d be in his prime. But she’d all but sucked him dry as flashes of lightning crackled over their heads. By the time dawn painted the sky, she’d turned him into a mere shadow of his former self. Literally.

And briefly knocked out cell phone service in the lower Hudson Valley, as well.

She’d sworn off humans ever since. Instead, she pulled all-nighter after all-nighter to evade the dreams in which men called to her—and to avoid the university dating scene that inevitably led to frequent and addicting sex.



BLURB:

Lonely young witch, Veronica Hardwicke, has struggled to get on with her life after the death of the elderly husband who’d left her a fortune and a sprawling estate in mystical Sleepy Hollow. When frightening things go bump in the night on a stormy Fourth of July, who better to call than the sexy developer and contractor, Sean Jones, who's been renovating her mansion for months?

Sean may grace the tabloid pages with a different supermodel on his arm every night, but it's Veronica who drives him nuts. Ignoring his instinct to stay away, he answers her summons.

Will the thundering passion of their 1Night Stand tear down the barriers between them?

EXCERPT:

Veronica paced back and forth in the grand entry foyer of the Belmont mansion, the kitten heels of her Prada mules clacking on the marble floors.

The rest of the place might not be finished, but she’d insisted on having a few rooms completed, so at least she felt like she was living in a home, rather than a massive, never-ending construction project. Well, her contractorhad insisted, even though working around the main entrance and central hallway created more work for him and his crew. But she was forced to admit he was right.

Her cell phone chimed on top of the antique credenza shoved flush against one wall. She leaped for it. Probably Geneviève, to regale her with all the fun she was having in Paris. Or Sean, to advise her he couldn’t make it after all. She sighed and read the text message on the small screen.

Congratulations, Veronica. 1Night Stand has found your date. Have a good time.

With both anxiety and mounting excitement, she stared at the screen and waited. No other info. Outside in the night, thunder boomed. She jumped then laughed at herself.

Ghosts are one thing, but freaking out at the weather now? Cripes, you really do need this date!

She let her imagination run wild, then texted back for more details:

When? Where? Who?

An insistent pounding at the front door jarred her out of her fantasy. She swung the door open on another explosive crack of thunder.

Sean stood on her doorstep, his soaked T-shirt molding sculpted pecs and abs, his drenched hair flattened over his brow. Rain poured down as he fiddled with his iPhone, a bemused expression on his face. Behind him, jagged arrows of lightning tore the dark sky. He glared at the screen, glanced at her in confusion, then back at the screen.

Veronica’s own phone pinged again. Thunder roared. She read the message in disbelief.

You’re looking at him.

There's no trick to this (well, maybe a small one at the end!)
None. So simple even I can do it.


CANDY APPLES

8-10 apples

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water

1/2 c. red cinnamon candies

Inserts sticks in apples. Boil everything else to hard crack stage. If you have a candy thermometer, that'd be to 300-310 degrees. If not, don't fuss yourself. You'll know. Swirl apples in candy (quickly) and place on wax paper.




Want even simpler?

CARAMEL APPLES
(Just take the cellophane off the candy!)


6 apples
1 package (14 oz.) individually wrapped caramels
2 tablespoons milk

Insert sticks in apples.
Butter baking sheet.
Microwave caramels and milk two minutes, stirring once.

Cool briefly.

Roll each apple in melted caramel.
Nuts and such optional


 

THUNDER!

THUNDER, my second hot and sexy paranormal for Decadent Publishing's popular 1Night Stand series has released.

Only a week after the release of my first 1Night Stand Story, LIGHTNING.


My head is positively spinning, like Regan in The Exorcist. (At least I am not spewing pea soup!)

Speaking of The Exorcist, I'm over at the 1Night Stand blog today, talking scary movies. Leave me a comment and you may win a copy of THUNDER or LIGHTNING and some other swag.


 


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Guest blogging with Laura Kaye

I'll be guest blogging today at bestelling Entangled, Harlequin, Decadent Publishing and Wild Rose Press author Laura Kaye's blog!

We both have new releases.

Come visit.

I'm giving away stuff!

http://laurakayeauthor.blogspot.com/2012/10/welcome-guest-author-taryn-kincaid.html

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 10-21-12


LIGHTNING, my debut 1Night Stand story for Decadent Publishing released this week! The blurb, excerpt and trailer are below. You'll also see the trailer for THUNDER, which is releasing in the next week or so!

Here's this week's six from LIGHTNING:

Her ability to make rational decisions rapidly fled. He’d all but imprisoned her, not allowing her to move. The sensual heat of his presence seeped into every one of her cells, engulfing her in a heady daze, soothing her, melting her. Whoever the hell this guy was, the megawattage he put out made the small buzz she’d gotten from the Sex on the Beach look like a blip from a fizzing quadruple-A battery.
 
Her awareness of him zoomed into hyperdrive. The guy stood so close she smelled his aftershave—fresh, clean, citrusy—and his arousal—erotically musky and male.





Blurb:
In mystic Sleepy Hollow, succubus Lily Night put her prom date, Campbell Jones, into a coma after a night of wild, unbridled sex. She has steered clear of mortals ever since, afraid of damaging them or worse, not to mention the inconvenience of knocking out the power every time they have sex.
Successful architect Campbell Jones has lived with strange powers and a sexy secret since that prom night. He’s buried himself in work to forget the woman who’d dumped him at the ER then vanished from his life without a trace.
Neither Lily nor Campbell have forgotten that night or the love they’d shared. Will a 1Night Stand help them bury their past?

          
Excerpt:
 
“A little higher and more to the left.”
Lily Night narrowed her eyes as the building maintenance man shifted her framed diploma on the freshly-painted wall opposite her desk. She tried not to ogle the firm ass encased in a pair of tight jeans or the way the man’s shoulder muscles rippled beneath his T-shirt.
Maybe if I pop an Altoid, I’ll have an excuse to wipe away the drool.
She refrained from jumping the handsome worker dude’s bones. The last time she’d dallied with a human, the encounter had not gone well. Vivid images of that long ago prom night bombarded her. Campbell Jones had been a young, strapping, hunk-and-a-half football player and they’d started their date full of hope and expectation and lust. When he’d adjusted the fragrant gardenia corsage on her wrist, she’d inhaled his crisp, citrus scent and thought she might swoon at the sight of him in his tux. The black material stretched across broad shoulders that mirrored the promise of the bruising man he’d be in his prime. But she’d all but sucked him dry as flashes of lightning crackled over their heads. By the time dawn painted the sky, she’d turned him into a mere shadow of his former self. Literally.
And briefly knocked out cell phone service in the lower Hudson Valley, as well.
She’d sworn off humans ever since. Instead, she pulled all-nighter after all-nighter to evade the dreams in which men called to her—and to avoid the university dating scene that inevitably led to frequent and addicting sex.
Mortals. Bleh.

And here are the videos!
LIGHTNING:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gz0LqF-fs&feature=youtu.be

THUNDER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWB9zh4OZjc

Visit other Six Sentence Sunday authors here: http://sixsunday.com

Friday, October 19, 2012

LIGHTNING Releases!

Yes, I know. Amazon, Barnes&Noble and a couple of other places jumped the gun yesterday, making LIGHTNING available on their sites and forcing Decadent Publishing to go live on the Decadent site a day earlier than planned....

...But today's still the OFFICIAL release date!

I know this because I took the day off from work to celebrate.

And also because I'm the featured guest blogger today at the Decadent Publishing 1Night Stand blog, talking about Astraphobia -- the Fear of Thunder & Lightning.

Yeah. A little bit about the book, too.

Y'all come see: Astraphobia (Or Stay Calm & Let the Lightning Strike!)


And I'm also over at Cate Peace's blog, Going from Nobody to Somebody, for Free Promo Friday. I'll give away refrigerator magnets of LIGHTNING and my next 1Night Stand release, THUNDER, to someone who comments!






You can find LIGHTNING at:

 Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Decadent Publishing | All Romance


And here's the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gz0LqF-fs&feature=youtu.be




Thursday, October 18, 2012

LIGHTNING !

Although the official release date from Decadent Publishing is tomorrow, LIGHTNING, my debut 1Night Stand is already up at Amazon today!

Check it out!

Buy link

And the fantabulous, wonderful JoAnne Kenrick has created a magically awesome video.  for LIGHTNING, my debut 1Night Stand story Decadent Publishing.

You can read LIGHTNING tomorrow and check out the video trailer today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gz0LqF-fs&feature=youtu.be

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Jessica Subject

My super guest blogger today is the amazing and prolific Jessica Subject, one of my fellow Decadent Publishing authors and Six Sentence Sunday pals. Please give her a hearty welcome!

Today, Jess discusses how she comes up with the names for all those folks running around in the writer's brain! And, she's giving away great swag to celebrate the publication of CRASH LANDING, her newest sci-fi erotica release from The Edge, Decadent Publishing's HOT erotica line.


Naming Characters

Depending on the story I’m writing, naming the characters involved can take some work.

For my heroes, I tend to prefer single syllable names, or nicknames. Some examples from my stories include, Frey, Josh, Bryce, Dare, and Quinn. For the heroine’s name, it really is dependent upon the story, and can range from one to three syllables.

Often I will search for a name in my Dictionary of Baby Names, which gives the meaning, derivations, and origins. I’ve also gone online to check the numerous lists of baby names depending on time period and origin.

One of my worst habits when naming characters is using the same first letter over and over. My favorite letters to begin characters’ names are: B, J, and L. I purposely use the dictionary to look under different letters now.

For Crash Landing though, I used Google Translate. Why? Because I wanted very specific names. Latin is now considered a dead language, but it is still used in the formation of new words in the modern language. In this case though, I was looking for exact translations. One characters comes from space, so I looked for the Latin translation of space. The latin noun cael means heaven, sky, universe, world, space, air. So my first character was named Cael. The second character, although also from space, lived in the water. And so he became Mare (sea, water, briny, aqua, brine). The female character is from Earth, and although not an exact translation, I named her Tara.

So, how about you? Do you think character names are important in a story?

 

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the Crash Landing:

Cael gripped the cushioned arms of the captain’s chair as his ship tumbled bow over stern. The console flashed a blinding red in front of him. Piercing alarms drilled into his mind and he lost focus. The seconds raced by as he plummeted toward Earth. He’d fucked up this mission of peace. Contact with his home planet had ended months ago. No one from Narien could save him now. His death was imminent.

The water below wouldn’t soften his landing. At its current speed, his ship would disintegrate on splashdown. The planet’s gravity pulled him down faster.

He coughed; the acrid scent of fried electronics stung his nose and the back of his throat. Please let my death be quick.

A rattling to the left caught his attention above all other noise. The handle on the cabin door shook. Freedom. It wasn’t his time to die, if he could get out.

The altimeter on the dashboard read six thousand meters, high enough to jump and land safely with his chute. Only to land in frigid water and die of exhaustion or hypothermia from treading without any hope of a rescue.

“Shit.” But he’d die if he stayed. He had to take the chance. Yanking off his safety harness, he pulled himself to standing and strained to reach the recess where his pack hung. Stretching up, he fingered the cloth strap. Not close enough to grab hold of it.

The ship jolted and flung him to the stern. He weaved his arm through the straps of the pack on his way past, dislodging it from the hook. Yes.

His triumph was short-lived as he flew starboard, smashing his shoulder against the wall. He groaned when an electrifying spasm shot down his arm to the tips of his fingers. The ship lurched again, and he tumbled back toward the console. He grabbed the door, his feet dangling in mid air. If he didn’t get out now, he’d forfeit any chance to survive.

The ship righted again. He planted his feet against the bottom of the door and twisted the crank. The latch snapped open, filling him with a sense of hope. Careful to keep at least one hand on the handle at all times, he slung the pack over his shoulders.

All set. Time to jump. Pushing off the floor, he slammed his uninjured shoulder against the door. It blew open and tore away from its hinges, lost to the sky.

Cael teetered on the edge before plunging out of his failing ship. Wind whipped all around him as he twisted to catch his bearing during freefall.

Glancing down, he spied crystal blue lake, much closer than he’d expected. Too close.

He jerked the cord on his chute–several hundred feet lower than he should have. At least. His feet skimmed the cold waves just as his chute caught the current and heaved him back into the air.

The ship splashed into the water beside him, disintegrating into millions of pieces. He raised his hands in front of his face as shrapnel flew at him. Tiny shards sliced into his arms and legs, but the extreme heat from the cloud of steam billowing up at him stung the most.

From the moment his toes touched down in the once frigid water, his skin sizzled. He screamed in agony. His death would have been quicker and less agonizing if he’d remained in the ship.

A hard piece of his spacecraft smashed down on his head, and he welcomed the darkness.

Crash Landing Blurb

As his ship plummets toward Earth, Cael believes his life to be over. His last ditch effort to save himself ends in a fiery crash. When he wakes up, he believes he’s entered the afterlife, but his surroundings indicate otherwise. He made it to Earth. But who saved him, and what do they want with him?

Now available from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers.

 

More information and Buy Links here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=10879

Giveaway!!

Leave a comment with your email address to receive Crash Landing swag (signed postcard & magnet). Giveaway ends October 19th, 2012. Thank you!

Bio:

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 10-14-12


LIGHTNING, my sexy paranormal for Decadent Publishing's hot 1Night Stand line, releases in just 5 days. So guess what this
Sunday's 6 are from? (Although I did entertain the notion of  6 from THUNDER, which releases from Decadent in a few weeks, just to show off the awesome video JoAnne Kenrick made me!)


There was something about his kiss, something that struck a long forgotten chord within her. But she could not name the elusive tune. Her blood sang a new song with every caress of his lips, every bold stroke of his tongue. His scent washed over her, sexy and compelling. She wanted to drown in his masculine essence. She tugged him to her, the dark power of his virility thrilling her.   


LIGHTNING
 

Monday, October 8, 2012

THUNDER Trailer

The magnificent and fabulous JoAnne Kenrick, a fellow Decadent Publishing writer and the author of such sweet and sexy treats as Sweet Irish Kiss and Shamrocked, made me a super awesome trailer for THUNDER, my second 1Night Stand story, releasing October 26 from Decadent!

It's up on YouTube.

Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWB9zh4OZjc


 
And let me know what you think!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 10-7-12

Six more from LIGHTNING, a hot and sexy paranormal 1Night Stand story releasing from Decadent Publishing on October 19.
 

"Lil’s whiter than Edward Cullen and you’re talking about where her diploma should go? It’s like the blind leading the sexless."

Zena uncoiled her slinky frame from the sofa and prowled the room like a huntress seeking prey.

"Fuck this. She needs a man. A mortal man."


 
 
You can read the official blurb and an excerpt here.

                And check out  other Six Sentence Sunday participants at sixsunday.com.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Release Dates!

Learned yesterday that the release dates for LIGHTNING and THUNDER have been pushed up.

LIGHTNING releases Friday, October 19 and THUNDER a week later on Friday, October 26.

Both hot & sexy paranormals out in time for Halloween. Which is only fitting since they take place in magical, mystical Sleepy Hollow.

LIGHTNING is my first 1Night Stand book for Decadent Publishing, featuring a sex-shy succubus and the love of her life.

THUNDER is my second 1NightStand book for Decadent, featuring a not-very-good witch and her contractor...who happens to be the younger brother of the hero in LIGHTNING!

I'll be guest-posting on the 1Night Stand blog on the 19th and the 26th. Hope you'll join me!





Here's the Blurb and an Excerpt from LIGHTNING:


Blurb:
In mystic Sleepy Hollow, succubus Lily Night put her prom date, Campbell Jones, into a coma after a night of wild, unbridled sex. She has steered clear of mortals ever since, afraid of damaging them or worse, not to mention the inconvenience of knocking out the power every time they have sex.


Successful architect Campbell Jones has lived with strange powers and a sexy secret since that prom night. He’s buried himself in work to forget the woman who’d dumped him at the ER then vanished from his life without a trace.


Neither Lily nor Campbell have forgotten that night or the love they’d shared. Will a 1Night Stand help them bury their past?

Excerpt:

“A little higher and more to the left.”
Lily Night narrowed her eyes as the building maintenance man shifted her framed diploma on the freshly-painted wall opposite her desk. She tried not to ogle the firm ass encased in a pair of tight jeans or the way the man’s shoulder muscles rippled beneath his T-shirt.
Maybe if I pop an Altoid, I’ll have an excuse to wipe away the drool.
She refrained from jumping the handsome worker dude’s bones. The last time she’d dallied with a human, the encounter had not gone well. Vivid images of that long ago prom night bombarded her. Campbell Jones had been a young, strapping, hunk-and-a-half football player and they’d started their date full of hope and expectation and lust. When he’d adjusted the fragrant gardenia corsage on her wrist, she’d inhaled his crisp, citrus scent and thought she might swoon at the sight of him in his tux. The black material stretched across broad shoulders that mirrored the promise of the bruising man he’d be in his prime. But she’d all but sucked him dry as flashes of lightning crackled over their heads. By the time dawn painted the sky, she’d turned him into a mere shadow of his former self. Literally.
And briefly knocked out cell phone service in the lower Hudson Valley, as well.
She’d sworn off humans ever since. Instead, she pulled all-nighter after all-nighter to evade the dreams in which men called to her—and to avoid the university dating scene that inevitably led to frequent and addicting sex.
Mortals. Bleh.




And here's the "unofficial blurb" for THUNDER


When witchy Veronica Hardwicke hires By Jones to renovate her spooky Sleepy Hollow Mansion, she gets more than she bargained for in her sexy contractor. But the hunky Sean Jones is determined to keep his professional distance. Until one stormy night and one steamy 1Night Stand.