Saturday, October 31, 2015

Halloween at the Northridges

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


Here's a free read I wrote for the Black Hills Wolves newsletter, which came out yesterday. It features Brick Northridge and Summer McCoy, hero and heroine of WOLF'S SONG, their kids; Brick's brother, Chance Northridge, and Chance's squeeze, Julie Pembroke.  You'll be able to read Chance and Julie's story in ANOTHER CHANCE, releasing in February!
Halloween at the Northridges
Brick Northridge surveyed with satisfaction the lawn of the cabin--really more of a luxury lodge these days--that he'd rebuilt and renovated during his ten year banishment from Los Lobos. About halfway between Wolf territory and the big cat town of Shady Heart, South Dakota, the log and stone structure now housed his young family.
A fire pit, surrounded by a circular mound of cut rocks, crackled merrily in front of the wraparound porch. The flames spread warmth to the darkest corners of the property, as his little twins, a wolf pup named Clay and a kitten cub named Autumn, frolicked nearby under his mate’s watchful eyes. Summer toasted hot dogs and melted s’mores for them until they were coated in chocolate and bouncing from their sugar highs.

An enormous Harvest moon glowed golden and low in the sky. Gossamer spider webs and fluttery ghosts dripped from the trees ringing the dense forest and pumpkin-headed scarecrows already dotted the grass where his little ones rolled, an irony his mate enjoyed.

“Do I look terrified to you?” Summer inquired, her head tilted with amusement, as she brought him another armful of pumpkins and set them out on the picnic table where he worked, careful to keep the tools of his trade away from his inquisitive kids.

 Born half-cougar and half skinwalker and able to assume various animal forms, Summer still preferred her guise as a raven. The winged form allowed her to soar above him when he ran as a wolf, or to check out that all remained well in Los Lobos below.  His mate had proven her fearlessness. It’d take more than a few straw-stuffed dummies to ever scare her away.

He and Summer loved this time of year. In fact, they’d named their baby girl, a kitten cub who looked just like her gorgeous, green-eyed mother, for the season.

An artisan and master carver gaining reknown for his exquisitely detailed signature figurines, sold by commission, as well as from an online website and in Summer’s friend’s boutique in Shady Heart, Brick set aside one week a year to work his knife skills exclusively on the orange vegetables, which he and Summer distributed throughout Los Lobos. Twinkling jack-o-lanterns were gracing almost every porch or windowsill in town, including the bar and tables at Gee’s place, The Den, as well as the desk in the office of their Alpha, Drew Tao.

Much to the younger Wolves great delight, Brick’s artistry turned Los Lobos into a twinkling Halloween central this time of year.  He loved that the littlest cubs came by with their parents or older siblings to drop off small orange globes they’d picked in the pumpkin patch in the Community Garden behind the schoolhouse.

Most of the time, they were content to let him surprise them. But some of the more ambitious—clearly young dominants in the making—brought him rudimentary sketches and gave him instructions about what they wanted—which tickled him to no end. More than a few demanded the pack Enforcer: “Ryker, with his scariest ‘you’re going to be grounded for that’ face.”  Or “Gee, when he’s growling over a pot of honey.” Or, from the bravest of them, “Bad Magnum.”

Growing up, his own family had been decimated by the machinations of the evil former Alpha, Magnum Tao.  Having just been reunited with his older brother, Chance, and his twin siblings, Amber and Garnet, it gave Brick a special feeling of community and family to do this for the pack to which he and his kin once again belonged.

Still shy around people, Amber and Garnet sat rocking on the main porch, which was strewn with festive holiday lights, twinkling bats and glowing ghoul lanterns for the carving party. Chance arrived with Julie Pembroke, whose tray of delectable mini-cupcakes distracted Clay and Amber from their hot dog and chocolate-marshmallow-graham cracker feasting or periodic study of their dad’s work.

Summer brought out a giant tub filled with cider and apples, in case any youngsters happened by with an urge to bob. The tub proved an attraction too tantalizing to Autumn’s cat curiosity.  After watching Uncle Chance demonstrate how to bob and come up with a ripe one stuck in his mouth, Autumn hissed, shifting into a pint-sized furball. With mischief brewing in her green eyes, she stuck out a paw and speared an apple for herself.

The adults—even Amber and Garnet—convulsed with laughter as the little kitten basked in the praise and applause then trotted around the lawn with her prize.

Clay watched her for awhile and then, not to be outdone by his twin sister, he shifted into his pup form, let out a squeaky howl and sprang onto the picnic table where Brick worked. Although he managed to whisk his sharp tools away from his small tyke in the nick of time, he wasn’t quite quick enough for Clay.

Small claws jutting from his little paws, he advanced on the biggest pumpkin on the table and slashed at it. With a howl of satisfaction, he jumped off the table and took a victory lap, his fuzzy tail waving triumphantly in the air.

“Sweet Luna,” said Uncle Chance. He whistled long and low, as he turned the jack-o-lantern for the other’s to see. A small but perfect wolf, howling at the moon above. “Beginner’s luck?”

“No way,” said Summer, sweeping up her twins and cuddling each of them in an arm. “Like father, like son.”

Brick’s chest swelled with pride as he gazed at his family. He took his own victory lap.
 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE NORTHRIDGES! 

(c) 2015, Taryn Kincaid
Read Brick and Summer's story in WOLF'S SONG
Available from Amazon: US | Canada UK | Australia  | Barnes and Noble 
And watch for ANOTHER CHANCE, coming soon!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

5 Stars for HER CAPTAIN!


HER CAPTAIN, my contemporary zodiac love story for Fated Desires Publishing, has received a 5-star review from Manic Readers!




Manic Reader Review 
Rating: 
Reviewer: Alberta 
Review:

Slate returns from several tours in Iraq a damaged man, suffering from PTSD but not willing to do much about it. He lives alone, socializes as little as possible, & tries to forget his friend & commanding officer who didn‘t make it back from overseas. Before he died the commander extracted the promise from Slate that he’d look after the CO’s little girl. Slate had no idea that the little girl was a feisty beauty nearer his own age, but can he resist her siren’s call?
Holly is determined to ‘fix’ Slate & bring him back to the land of the living & loving. This is a lovely love story, with a great hero’s journey. I loved it! Apparently there are several more authors waiting to publish more in this series, each about a different zodiac signed couple. Looking forward to the rest of them.


Although the official release date is December 15, 2015, you can 
                   Pre-Order HER CAPTAIN now!

             Amazon | ARe | Kobo | Google | iTunes | Barnes & Noble


 
BLURB:

Capricorn Slate Claybourne, an ex-Seal and former sniper who has seen and done things in country that no man should endure, returns to his bucolic hometown on Pieberry Island, desperate for the mundane, everyday routines he once wanted to escape. 

A broken, soul-dead man unable to be around people, his body still a lethal weapon when his night terrors wake him from sleep, Slate’s failed to keep the promise he made to the commander who died in his arms: to look after the older man’s baby girl. 

But animated Aries Holly Harper is not the pigtailed tot Slate expected her to be, when she lands on the island to take over the decrepit Pieberry House, determined to turn it into an inn for summer tourists, and even more determined to yank Slate back into the land of the living. 

First she crashes into him at the island’s holiday Winter Festival, dumping a towering stack of pies at his feet, then she drags him off to a fortune teller against his better judgment. Except for the sizzling attraction smoldering between them, they’re incompatible in every way. 

But when a furious December nor’easter traps them together at Pieberry House, will Slate and Holly overcome their pasts and discover they are two halves of a whole?


And stay tuned for news and tour dates for HER CAPTAIN's blog tour, November 23-December 18!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Katalina Leon's DARK SKY

RELEASING 10/20/15 
from Fated Desires Publishing

DARK SKY
A Tempting Signs (Scorpio) story

By 

Katalina Leon


12 Authors. 12 Zodiac Signs. 1 Explosive Series. What seductive, contemporary romance will you find today? SCORPIO. 
BLURB:

Avery VaylĂ©, has always had a crush on her big brother’s best friend, Severin. But at the age of sixteen she watched in despair as Severin joined the Navy and later married someone else. 
Severin Ortega is a ruggedly handsome, Scorpio who has suffered humiliation of a messy divorce. The ladies love his wicked smile and obsidian eyes, but he’s extremely lonely and loath to expose his heart to another betrayal. After serving eight years, overseas, he returns without fanfare to the high desert Naval Airbase where he grew up to see if his childhood sweetheart is still sweet on him. 
Sometimes fate has a way of putting things right. On a lonely desert highway, Avery’s car breaks down. When Severin shows up as the tow-truck driver, the chemistry between them is off the charts. Avery sees her chance to win the man she’s always wanted, but knows this moody Scorpio has been stung by love. During a night of stargazing in the desert, she coaxes him into opening up, all the while bathing him in the love she longs to share. But their lucky stars may not last. Avery’s bullying ex shows up on the scene and Severin’s past has been tarnished by a dark secret that won’t stay buried.

BUY:

Saturday, October 17, 2015

SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS celebrates a Book Birthday!

My first published book, SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS, celebrates its Book Birthday!  I've officially been a published fiction author for five years! 

To celebrate, I'll send a random commenter a copy! Tell me why you want to read it below!



Holy Guacamole, five years is a lot of blood, sweat and tears under the bridge!

I was so thrilled and excited when SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS released from The Wild Rose Press in October, 2010 -- just in time for Halloween. 

A few weeks before SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS was accepted for publication earlier in the summer of 2010, I had gotten my first call -- not for SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS, but from Angela James of Carina Press for my Regency, HEALING HEARTS. When I got the call a short time later from The Wild Rose Press, my head was spinning, my heart doing somersaults.

  HEALING HEARTS didn't release until the following February, though. 
So SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS, even though it was contracted second, remains my first published book and will always have a special place in my  heart. 

This is the perfect time to visit Sleepy Hollow. And the perfect time to catch up with Ryck and Katy, if you haven't before.

It's an erotic paranormal romance and a contemporary retelling of the Rip Van Winkle story with a little Headless Horseman thrown into the mix. Demons abound.

           If it's October, it's time to return to Sleepy Hollow!
 BLURB:

All Katy Lyndhurst wants is a normal suburban Sleepy Hollow life, despite the strange things that keep happening to her. Blistering hot erotic dreams bleed into her waking hours, making her yearn for her dream lover to materialize. When her sexy dream voyager, Ryck, shows up in the flesh and ignites her steamiest passions, she wonders if he's a sultry fantasy conjured by her fevered brain…or something much more dangerous?

Centuries ago, a wicked succubus cursed Ryck Van Winkle to fulfill the desires of sleeping women while unable to take pleasure himself. Only Katy possesses the power to break the spell and awaken him. But Ryck’s defiance sparks the demon’s fury, causing supernatural portals to crumble and allowing demonic minions to threaten Katy and her world.

Now Katy and Ryck must battle the forces of darkness together. But will Ryck will be trapped forever in her Sleepy Hollow Dreams?

EXCERPT:

Galloping hoof beats pursued her down the old post road. 

Ghostly hoof beats. The legendary Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. 

Chasing her. 
With deadly purpose. 

Faster and faster. 

Katy ran on, her sides cramping. Her flip-flops smacked asphalt but the clop of the demonic hooves echoed louder. She clattered into the street as the sidewalk ended, and gasped for air. 

A piece of one rubber thong broke and she stumbled, tripping onto the grassy median bordering Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Her shriek ripped through the quiet suburban village. Utter fatigue claimed her, halting her steps. She collapsed in exhaustion, her sleep-drenched mind blanking as she fell. 
Hard-muscled arms scooped her up before she hit the ground. The horse’s unearthly scream ripped through her as the beast thundered past. Her rescuer clasped her against his broad, masculine chest. A familiar glow of warmth stole over her, filling her with a sense of peace and security... 

Beneath her ear, a strong heartbeat pulsed, quickening in time to the increased thudding of her own. His autumn scent seduced her as he swept her away, his long-legged strides purposeful and sure. She rested her cheek against his shoulder, her head fitting perfectly in the hollow of his neck. Her fear ebbed, replaced by desire. 
A large hand slid over her breasts, her nipples already taut and straining with need against the thin cotton of her dress. She arched into him, rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat, rewarded by his harsh gasp and the ragged hitch in his breathing. 

Moments later he carried her into the cemetery, and she felt the soft October earth, rich and spongy, at her back. Large, manly hands made quick work of the few clothes she wore. 

“I’m dreaming,” she murmured. 

“No. Not this time. Open your eyes.”

  Amazon | Amazon UK |  AReBarnes & Noble | Fictionwise  |   The Wild Rose Press

Friday, October 16, 2015

Deena Remiel's DISQUIETED SOULS Releases!



DISQUIETED SOULS 


A Black Hills Wolves Novel

By 

Deena Remiel




BLURB:
Willow Bissett, a fashion photographer, has had enough of the career that’s blackened her soul, and wants out. Her passion lies in taking pictures of nature, and she’s determined to make a living from doing it. When she stumbles upon a gruesome scene in the Black Hills Forest, her life is forever changed.

Greyson shouldn't be alive. As the runt of the litter, his mother left him to die in the wilderness. Picked up by Drew, son of the Alpha, he is adopted into the Tao Pack. Rather than living a charmed life, he lives his days alone, tormented by his abandonment and his unique appearance. His soul yearns for acceptance, peace, and closure.

Willow could be the answer to Greyson’s prayers, or the very death of him.

EXCERPT:
“Are you a fugitive from the law?”
He bared a perfect set of pearly white teeth any mother would be proud of and chuckled. “No. And I’ve never been arrested, either. You can relax.”
“So,” she pressed on, breathing easier once again, “you have a thing against the medical profession?”
He turned his face toward her, and she could now confirm his eyes, one rich amber with golden flecks, the other the deepest blue, were as beguiling as she’d figured. “You could say I’m a fast healer. I’ll be fine in a couple of days…Willow.”
When he spoke her name, it was as though he’d spread a coat of silky chocolate over her entire body and licked every ounce of it off with his tongue. Her palms tingled, her face flushed, and she shifted in her seat to ease the growing ache down low.
“Fast is one thing, but you’d need to be supernatural to bounce back from these wounds in a couple of days. Insert foot in mouth, Will.” She groaned and dropped her head into her hands.
“What do you mean?” His voice returned to a shaky whisper, but she heard him just fine.
She shrugged off her embarrassment and peered up at him. Enough dancing around the issue. She needed answers now that he was conscious and looking all delicious despite his injuries. So, she ignored his question and asked the first of many of her own. “Who are you?”
“My name is Greyson. Thanks for fixing me up. I’m sure you did an awesome job.”
“You’re welcome. I’m no doctor, but I make a damn good triage nurse in the wilderness when I need to. Back to you, Greyson. What the hell are you? And what actually happened out there? I can only guess, but I want the whole story. From the beginning. I don’t think it’s too much to ask…considering.”
“What if it is?”
“What if it is what?”
“Too much to ask.”

PRE-ORDER/PURCHASE LINK: 

http://www.amazon.com/Disquieted-Souls-Black-Hills-Wolves-ebook/dp/B015HV359O

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Landra Graf's A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME


A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
a Beyond Fairytales story
By
Landra Graf

Blurb: Zombies don’t belong in fairy tales….at least not those with a good chance of a happily ever after…
Jason Prince, Charming's once-upon-a-time star jock, only attends his Charming high school reunion to find his way into the heart of a certain wallflower who had no date for the prom.
Shy, geeky, chemical engineer, Emma Fay has been keeping her love for Jason a secret because she knows Jason and Rose belong together. But, when Rose Briar pricks her finger, fulfilling a prophecy about death and a plague, she throws a wrench into the class reunion that not even the best planning committee can tackle.
Can Jason and Emma stop Zombie Beauty Rose before she turns their loved ones into her undead court and sends them forth to spread the infestation to the rest of the world? Or will human flesh become the daily special at diners everywhere? And will there be enough left of Jason and Emma for romance to blossom?
Buy Links:

Excerpt (Option 1):
That’s when she saw him, and, damn—he looked better than he had in high school. Back then, he’d been equal proportions of muscle on top and bottom, but since then his shoulders and upper body had filled out. He looked like a bronzed god. Even though it was fall, he still sported a tan, his blonde hair a shade lighter than she remembered, most likely from time spent outside. Seeing him sparked errant thoughts of finding out what he was doing now. His eyes connected with hers.
His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear anything as he walked her way. She rolled down the window when he reached her door and angled down to lean against it.
“Emmaline Fay, what are you doing? Hiding in the car like a scaredy cat?”
The rich, deep sound of his voice coupled with his childish taunt made her feel self-conscious, and a flush of heat and anger coursed her skin. She’d forgotten about his ability to aggravate her at the drop of a dime.
“No, just trying to decide if this is a good place to park. You know how you country boys tend to scuffle your way over and around cars after a few too many.”
“True, but we’re men, and we have to impress the ladies somehow. You can’t tell me a scuffle doesn’t make you smile.”
She tried to keep her expression civil even when Jason’s familiar scent found her nose, inspiring a fresh round of stomach squirminess. “The only time I feel like smiling is when the cops show up to make an arrest.”
Jason grinned. Even his teeth were perfect. Rose had definitely picked a winner. He took a step back and winked. “Come on out of the car, kitty claws. Maybe we can find a scuffle together if you’re that excited about the law.”
“Always the jokes and nicknames. You haven’t changed.” She rolled up the window and removed her keys from the ignition. Hilarious how he riled her up and got under her skin with only a few sentences. Keeping her distance should be her key objective of the night. Otherwise she might lean in and sniff him or, worse, engage in one of those arguments she loved to start. Pathetic. Maybe her decision to stay out of the dating game was a liability.
She walked to the curb, Jason trailing behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him jerk his head up, and she stumbled on a piece of raised sidewalk.
“Whoa there. Everything okay?” He put a hand to her waist, and she barely kept herself upright.
Her skin went hot. Everywhere. “I’m fine.” But she wasn’t.

Author Bio: Landra Graf consumes at least one book a day, and has always been a sucker for stories where true love conquers all. She believes in the power of the written word, and the joy such words can bring. In between spending time with her family and having book adventures, she writes romance with the goal of giving everyone, fictional or not, their own happily ever after.
Author Links:


Sunday, October 11, 2015

HER CAPTAIN is coming...Pre-Order Now!



Have you met Holly and Slate yet? They're the heroine and hero of HER CAPTAIN, my Tempting Signs story for Fated Desires Publishing. He's a Capricorn. She's an Aries. Together they're a combustible combination.

Each zodiac sign was written by a different author and HER CAPTAIN is Book #10, releasing December 15, 2015. It's available for Pre-Order now! Here's a taste!



“I like the tousled look on you,” she confided.

  “Jesus. You really have no boundaries, do you?” He raked her with a glare and rested the cartons on the hood of a nearby car, then brushed a hand through his disheveled hair. His attempt to restore some semblance of order failed miserably when a wayward lock flopped over his forehead. Growling, he flipped the stray curl away with an irritated gesture.

“I think not,” she responded. “I’m never going to have them where you’re concerned.”

“We’ve just met, Holly.”

      “But I don’t feel like we’re strangers, really. Didn’t my dad ever mention me? He talked about you. Besides, I’m an Aries. Get used to it.”

     With his now-straggled hair and a puzzled air reorganizing his features, he appeared almost boyish, or might have, if it hadn’t been for the wave of pure, unadulterated lust smacking her like a two-by-four every time she gazed at him.

“You have no idea what Aries is, do you?”

 “It’s a constellation. I’m a sailor.”

    “It’s also a zodiac sign. You know, like in horoscopes? And it’s not actually aligned with the constellation anymore because of the way the equinoxes have caused a shift.”
His eyes glazed over a little.

     “Aries are impulsive, impetuous, impatient, and daring,” she nattered on, surprised at her breathlessness, but not her need to babble. “I’m guessing that’s everything you’re not.”

     He frowned. “I can be impatient,” he said, as if that was a good thing. The look he shot her indicated his nerves might, in fact, be wearing a little thin at the present moment.

“And I suspect, given your last employment, daring, too.”

     “Maybe that,” he conceded. “Not by inclination or choice.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I’m a lobsterman now. And I run the ferry when needed.”

       “But still mainly serious, driven, hard-working, and wise, fiercely loyal, tough, and unapproachable on the outside but with a soft, warm, and squishy nougat center. I have you pegged for a total Capricorn. I bet you’re a secret romantic at heart, although you never show the world that side. When’s your birthday?”

    “Do we have to play this idiotic game?”

    “We do. And it’s not idiotic. You’d be surprised how telling astrology can be. Was I wrong about you?”

    “Well…” He paused, and the silence between them lengthened.

“I’ll take that as a no.” She grinned at him.

“All right.” Again he said nothing more, and she wanted to shake him until a confession fell out of his mouth.

    “Chatty, too.” She tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his gaze to her breasts. But he still didn’t take the hint. She groaned. Such a man. “Eyes up, sailor.” She flicked a finger in the vicinity of his chin until he raised his focus. “Birthday?” she demanded again.

   “In a couple of weeks,” he said at last, the admission apparently so difficult it might have been wrung from him on pain of torture.

She snapped her fingers. “Knew it. Do I have you sussed or not?”

“Do you?”

“I mean, we’re completely incompatible. Like oil and water. The tortoise and the hare.”
He shot her another incendiary look, and then glanced at the exit as if contemplating how fast he could make his getaway.

“Oh, wait. So I ruffled your feathers a little, and you’re not going to help me now?”

      Instead of replying, he seized her fiercely by the arm and spun her around, dragging her into him until he’d caught her up against his rock-hard chest. Then his mouth came down on hers, hard, harsh, and demanding. Giving absolutely no quarter. Shocking her into utter and complete silence.

Whoa! I thought this man lacked spontaneity? Holy simmering cinnamon buns!

Available for Pre-Order Now at:


Stay tuned HER CAPTAIN's virtual book tour with Goddess Fish, November 23 - December 18!

Interested in reviewing HER CAPTAIN now?  Fill out the Google Doc! http://bit.ly/1L6byJ8