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Sunday, April 21, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Krystal Shannan Features - Kim Carmichael
The Thin Line Between Good and Evil
At my very core I am a romance author. Everything else aside, at the end of
the day I believe in heroes to die for, heroines that give them a run for their
money and a happily ever after.
Then The Promise crept into my mind. I was taken with the idea of writing a
hero who at his essence was evil personified – a demon. How on Earth did one take an incubus
and make him redeemable? How could
I make my readers cheer for him at the end?
I started thinking about how so many things in life toggle
that fine line between good and evil.
One person's favor is another person's burden. Take The Wizard of Oz, in that story the Wicked Witch is
exactly that, irredeemable, terrible to the core. Flip the camera 180 degrees and you get the musical Wicked
where the Wicked Witch (Elphaba) is anything but wicked, and in fact it was
everyone else around her who was truly evil.
Many times, the villain is nothing more than the hero in his
own story. All you need do is look
at things from another set of eyes.
So for my demon, I gave him something he never encountered
as an incubus…a child. Not just
any child, but a crying child who just lost a parent. I let him get to know her throughout her life. I let him
experience the trials and tribulations of being human. In his world humans were
nothing but useless mortal creatures to be used, but I let him encounter
someone who used him right back. I
gave him a human who didn't know enough to be scared of him. In fact, while my heroine couldn't even
love herself, she learned to love him.
Hero to die for?
I am quite in love with Dolan, my torn up and miserable demon.
Heroine that gave him a run for his money? Leora confounded him from the day he
walked in on her.
Happily ever after?
Hey, at the end of the day I write romance.
Kim Carmichael's newest release is
The Promise:
|
Demon Dolan Ciar exists on three simple words:
desire, denial, and destruction. Every four years, he is allowed one night of
earthly passion to punish a deserving female. By the time he is finished, his
victims are left as willing receptacles for demons yet to come.
Since she was four, a demon has
been the only constant in Leora Desmond's life. He taught her how to seize
control, to never give up, and to take whatever she wanted. At twenty-four,
her self-centered existence is focused on one thing. She wants Dolan, and she
won't be dissuaded.
A mistake brought Dolan to
Leora. A promise bound him to her. Returning once again to ask for his
freedom, he is faced with Leora demanding to be his next conquest. The
ultimate retribution would be to take from her the ultimate symbol of her
selfishness.
Now, Dolan must decide if he
can doom her to life in living hell or face his own set of unearthly
consequences, while Leora must choose between her pleasure and her heart.
The Promise blurs the line between
good and evil, desire and love, and promises and commitment.
|
|
He
tilted his head. "You look older."
She
forced herself to blink and to remember her goal. "Then I assume I am at
last old enough to be a fit for a demon." She stepped forward, stopping
less than a foot away from him. The back of her throat dried out, and she
swallowed.
He
put his hand to his chin, his gaze taking her in. "This old song and
dance. When will you use the brains you have and leave it alone?"
His
words hit her, but rather than retreating, she moved closer. The energy, the
tingle, the wafts of spice encompassed her and lured her toward him.
"Never."
"You
were smart last time. Why don't you release me so I can do what I came here
for." He glanced down at her and then shifted his focus beyond her.
"I have needs as well."
"Tonight
I am the one you came here for." The mention of his last visit stung,
but she willed herself to keep going. She ran her fingers up the buttons of
his shirt. "You always told me to take control."
He
shook his head. "A lesson you learned well."
She
reached up and clenched his collar in her fist. "I let you go last time,
but tonight I am the one you need."
He
grabbed her wrist. "I spared you before. Never forget that."
She
stared right into his eyes. No weakness was allowed tonight. "It's me,
Dolan. Me, or you can be celibate until the decade I do you the favor of
dying. I don't care about your pain." She tensed, preparing herself for
his retaliation.
"I
thought I taught you better than to make demands of a demon." He pressed
his palm to the side of her face.
Heat
radiated through her body, sending a warning to every one of her nerve
endings. "A demon who comforts a child is a failure of a demon in my
book."
His
jaw tightened. "That was a mistake. An oversight."
|
Kim will be awarding 3 Promise Swag Packs that include a promise
button and Trading Card. Be sure to leave a comment and your email!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Krystal Shannan Features - Red and the Wolf by Laura Lee Nutt #pnr
Red and the Wolf
Laura Lee Nutt
They said Little Red
Riding Hood lived happily ever after. They lied.
Six years after the attack at her grandmother’s cottage,
Blanchette still wilts at the sound of a wolf’s howl. The
scent of pine rising from the Black Forest surrounding her home is a constant
reminder of the beast’s assault and the injury it left on her finger. After
years spent hiding away, Blanchette’s world tilts when she wakes--naked and
without memory of the previous night--in the forest, instead of behind the
safety of her closed shutters.
Since rescuing Blanchette and her grandmother, huntsman Heinrich
has befriended her family by day, and keeps watch as a powerful wolf over his
territory by night. Sinister otherworldly creatures constantly threaten his
domain and the human village he protects.
When the emperor sends a hunter to investigate the attack
and slay any inhuman beings, Heinrich must tread carefully and protect not only
himself, but his newly-discovered mate, who prowls the moonlit nights alongside
him. He must also determine who is responsible for a string of murdered
villagers, proving he can control his lupine nature and offer protection to the
village, rather than danger.
CONTENT WARNING: Vengeful fae, dark magic, vicious murder,
moral quandaries, explicit sex, and tragic honor.
A Lyrical Press Fantasy Romance | Lyrical Press Once Upon
Series – Embracing Ever After
Excerpt:
Herr Kaismann’s soul-scouring gaze left Blanchette certain
the man had memorized her every detail. He showed no regard for Herr Jaeger’s
unconcealed aggression, yet an odd compassion in his gaze made her unsure
whether or not he would inspire nightmares. Usually in her terrorizing dreams,
strangers joined the wolf along the shaded woodland path where the flowers
dripped fat drops of blood when she plucked them.
Breaking his stare and shifting his attention to Herr
Jaeger, Herr Kaismann said, “I thought the girl was blond.”
“What?” Herr Jaeger asked, incredulous. “What does the color
of Blanchette’s hair or your being some--” Herr Jaeger bit off whatever he had
originally intended to say and glanced at her as if remembering she still clung
to him. “What does any of this have to do with Fraulein Blanchette?”
Herr Kaismann folded his hands neatly before him. “The tales
say Little Red Riding Hood was blond, and from everything I have seen, your
Blanchette is the true Little Red Riding Hood.”
Herr Jaeger glanced at her, scowled, gray eyes igniting with
the comforting protective anger of a man defending his woman. He shifted and
turned on Herr Kaismann. “You speak of nothing more than a child’s tale. Do not
harass our young women in its name.”
Only, it was true, at least in part. How had the man found
her out of all the girls in the Holy Roman Empire? In the world? How had he
realized she was the girl to whom the tales referred?
A thin smile turned Herr Kaismann’s lips. He stepped forward
so less than a pace remained between the two men. “The emperor and I find the
prospect of such simple stories being pure fancy rather…unbelievable. At the
heart of every fable or children’s tale lies a grain of truth. In discovering
it, we reveal the real danger. We cannot have man-eating wolves running loose,
now can we?”
Red and the Wolf buy links:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-and-the-wolf-laura-lee-nutt/1114744174?ean=2940016262352
Lyrical Store: http://lyricalpress.com/red-and-the-wolf/
I’d like to invite you and your readers to participate in the giveaway I’m hosting this month to celebrate the release of Red and the Wolf. On Monday, April 1, I’ll announce the winners on my website—no tricks for April Fools Day, I promise. You will have from 12:00 AM on Monday, March 11, central time, to 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 31, central time, to gain points. Each point counts as an additional time you will be entered in the drawing for a number of prizes such as a beautiful, illustrated edition of Andersen and Grimms’ fairy tales and Little Red Riding Hood’s basket complete with an assortment of goodies to brighten anyone’s day, even a grandmother’s whose house has just been burgled by a werewolf. For more details and how to earn points, visit my website. To earn your first point, comment on today’s post.
What do you imagine Little Red Riding Hood carried in her basket to her grandmother's house?
About the Author:
In elementary school, Laura Lee Nutt checked out every fairy tale in the library so often, if she picked something else, it was cause for curiosity. Even into adulthood, she nurtured her imagination with stories of fairies, true love, monsters, especially werewolves, and the fantastic, but she wondered what happened after “happily ever after.”
This curiosity and catching an illness one chill winter day brought her before a blank computer screen, desperately desiring to write something new. Heinrich, Blanchette, and Karl swiftly spun the tale you just read. Laura feverishly typed, barely fast enough to keep up.
Once Red and the Wolf was born, other stories coalesced in Laura’s mind, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, all asking the same questions: What might happen if the end of these tales wasn’t really the end? What were these characters’ lives really like after the harrowing events of the fairy tale? What if achieving true love and happiness required something extra? Thus came the idea for this series, Embracing Ever After, where achieving true love requires something special and happily ever after isn’t really the end.
Contact links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraLeeNutt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraLeeNutt
Website: http://lauraleenutt.com
Saturday, March 16, 2013
I'm Moving! Please come with me!
My fabulous subscribers! I'm MOVING!
My blog will slowly be moving to a new address, built into my author website.
If you are looking for my Sneak Peek Sunday snippet with Darren and Eshe, please follow the link below and subscribe to the new blog feed.
This blog will continue to be active through March with tour stops. On April 1st all blog posts will move to the new address.
Follow me here!!!
Friday, March 15, 2013
@KrystalShannan Interviews - NYT Best Selling Author Jayne Rylon #giveaway
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
@KrystalShannan Features - Ashlynne Laynne
The Progeny (The Progeny Series #1)
“No fate other than the one I choose.”
The timeless
creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseaus— a vampire clan with the purest
bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was
different, yet the same: Ascher-a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.
Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.
Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human Wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.
Blood Bonds (The
Progeny Series #2)
“Forever. For
always. For eternity.”
The ties that bind two hearts are powerful. For
Ascher Rousseau and Shauna McCutchin, it’s more than just a blood bond. Their
union is that of vampire legend. Their love is a predestined prophecy foretold
centuries ago.
It’s a week before Ascher and Shauna's sealing and
the couple is making final preparations for their eternity, but
Ascher's ex has other plans. Ursula is hell-bent on revenge—revenge fueled
by lover's scorn and her father's death—and she begins breeding a fresh
army of newborn darklings to do her bidding.
When Ursula finds a new weapon—an ally
with the capability to dismantle the Rousseau clan— Ascher and Shauna's
bond is tested and they must stand together against Ursula or lose each
other for eternity.
Blood
Promise (The Progeny Series #3)
“Their love is fated by an ancient prophecy. Now the promise
is fulfilled.”
Ascher Rousseau is a half-human, half vampire whose life has
been a series of prophecies and predictions. After finding incredible love and
passion with Shauna—a Wiccan with powers beyond anything he’s ever known—he
seals to her and hopes for happiness. But his enemies seek to destroy all that
he loves, and he finds that happiness never lasts for long.Darkness is descending and a vampiric revolution is nearing. A new brood of hatchlings is born to join their darkling brothers, in preparation for war. A preordained chain of events is set into motion that could lead to the rise of the demonic “cloaked one” and his half-human fallen children, while ending humanity—as we know it.
Can a supernatural love and the loyal bond of a family save the Rousseaus and the world from certain extinction?
About
The Progeny Series
At its core, The Progeny is
simply a story about a man and woman who fall in love, and the fact that he’s a
half-blood (half-human, half vampire) and she’s a Wiccan human are secondary
factors. When we meet Ascher, he’s grumpy. Frankly, who could blame him? He’s
engaged to seal to Ursula—a cold and careless vampire who wants nothing more
than to get her hands on a bloodstone— and he feels conflicted about his
existence.
All of that changes when he
meets Shawnette McCutchin. She’s beautiful, intriguing and possesses some of
the most potent blood that he’s ever smelled. A war immediately begins inside
Ascher. He craves Shauna’s blood just as much as he craves her body and the
closer they get, the harder it is for him to control his urges. After Ascher
calls off the sealing to Ursula, the trouble begins. His family’s peaceful
period ends when Ursula’s army attacks the Rousseaus.
This series encompasses a
family dynamic of which we’ve never seen. The Rousseaus share a common mortal
and immortal bloodline, but loyalty is the thread binding this clan. Shauna and
Ascher’s dissuaded love only strengthens the family bonds. Their unique union
transcends bloodlines and completes the prophecy, defying the archaic beliefs
of centuries old covenants while shattering the wall between the Wiccan and
vampire worlds that has existed for ages. This series is erotic paranormal
romance intended for adults, as it contains adult sensuality, language and themes.
Sniplet
from Blood Promise...
The distant sound of running water came from the master of
the two-bedroom penthouse suite. Glancing out the arched floor to ceiling
windows, she marveled at how even this late at night, there was a sea of people
crowding the streets. Distracted and completely absorbed in the view, she never
even heard Ascher return and startled when his arms banded around her neck.
His hands smoothed down her sides. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Enclosing her within the protective confines of his circled arms, his hands
splayed across her stomach, bonding them.
As if by instinct, her body obeyed its rhythmic demands,
moving fluidly with his. He knew her body—every curve, mark and hollow—and she
felt each hard inch of him, even through the boundary of his silky pajama
pants. The swaying of their bodies was achingly familiar, the movements
mirroring the motions of their lovemaking.
Grasping her hand with his, he led her into the double doors
and sweeping archway of the spacious bedroom. More candlelight and flowers
accented the decorative cream and white color scheme. The room possessed a
surreal sexuality that heightened her awareness of his mood, thus quickening
her pulse. She took an exaggerated breath as her lungs struggled to keep pace
with her pounding heart.
Four days of worry and mental distance had all but leached
the lust from her body, leaving their brutally hot sex life in ruins. The
seductive lighting and sight of him gloriously half-dressed coupled with two
glasses of Rousseau Red now fueled her hormones, further driving her wild
desire for him.
Ascher disappeared behind a huge beige column separating the
bedroom from a massive, candle-lined Jacuzzi-style spa tub. The sound of
flowing water ended, and he returned nude.
Ashlynne
on Facebook ~ The Progeny Series Facebook Page ~ Twitter ~ Manic
Readers
~ Blog ~ Website ~ Reader Email
The
Progeny Series is available for purchase worldwide at Amazon
US Amazon UK BN Amazon Spain Amazon France Amazon Austria Amazon Italy Amazon Germany Smashwords
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
@KrystalShannan Features - Nancy Adams - Excerpt Tour
The Bannockburn Spell
by Nancy Adams
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the help of a
bet, an eight-hundred-year-old marriage contract, and a spell, ex-SBS soldier
Will might just have enough in his arsenal to capture Meghan’s heart.
Since arriving in Little Glen, Scotland, Meghan
Kennedy’s life has got decidedly more interesting. She enters into a bet with
hunky ex-SBS soldier, William MacKenzie, discovers an ancient marriage contract
and to top it all off, she learns that she had a spell cast on her…eight hundred
years before she was even born. None of it matters, because she refuses to make
the same mistake twice. Will’s hard body and sexy grin don’t matter, his
beautiful hypnotic eyes don’t matter, and it doesn’t matter that every time
they kiss her body calls out for his, as though denied of his touch for
hundreds of years.
Ex-SBS soldier William MacKenzie is disciplined,
trained to be an efficient soldier and he takes the same approach with his life
as he does his business. Then Meghan arrives, with her fiery temper and hair to
match, all he can think about is Meghan. Her feisty temper bemuses him, her
beauty astounds him and her stubbornness annoys the hell out of him. Lucky for
him, he doesn’t know how to quit, he can be just as stubborn and occasionally
ruthless, and he will use any means necessary to get her. Of course the ‘means’
at his disposal just happen to be a bet, a marriage contract and an ancient
spell, but if in the end Meghan belongs to him, who is he to argue?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Funny, I’m not scared by
either one of you. Thanks for the water, Will.” She gave him a wink, then
turned.
Will
watched as she started to walk away, he couldn’t hold it back any longer and
threw his head back and laughed. It wasn’t the answer he had been expecting. He
wanted her to blush as she had yesterday in the airport. Nevertheless, this
feisty side was more to his liking, and that wink. She was playful too. Very,
very nice.
“Meghan!”
he called out before he could stop himself. She turned to face him, just as she
had taken another swallow from her bottle. He almost groaned out loud as he
watched her lick the water from her lips.
“Yes?”
“How
about letting me try to rattle you tonight over drinks?”
He
thought he saw doubt cross her face but she raised her chin, just a little,
then nodded. “Okay. Duncan and I will meet you at The Black Ale. Around seven?”
Trying
to turn him off by dragging Duncan along wouldn’t work, he happened to enjoy
Duncan’s company, so the joke would be on her.
“Great,
I’ll see you both then.” He grinned back at her. She gave him a confused smile,
shook her head, then continued with her run.
Will
stood rooted to the spot watching her. The sway of her hips held his attention
until she was out of sight. He knew now how she must have come to have such a
nice backside—running up hills would do it. He was surprised that she’d tackled
his road first.
Before
turning back to the house, he glanced at the old keep. A thick grey mist
hovered along the bottom of the great wall, giving the impression the ruins
were floating on a cloud.
The
old castle had been in his family for over a thousand years, and they still
owned it today, though now it was a pile of stones. Tourists would come every
once in a while to see it but would leave shortly after, as it didn’t offer
much in the way of grandeur. There were other castles in Scotland that offered
more, which was fine with him. He couldn’t care less if the tourists came or
not. He liked it just the way it was and had always felt drawn to the old keep
and would usually end each of his runs up there. Meghan must’ve felt that same
pull. Why else would she try his hill on her first day here?
A
memory he never knew he had flashed before his eyes. A woman with long red hair
and a long green gown was waving to him from the top of the great wall of the
keep. A sudden fear pulled at his chest as he waved back, a fear that he would
never see her beautiful face again.
Will
blinked and the memory was gone. He walked back towards the house with Lucy at
his side and stopped to look back up at the wall. Even though he couldn’t see
the redhead’s face clearly, he knew with his entire being that it was Meghan
standing on that wall waving to him.
Buy
Links
Nancy will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host. Be sure to leave a comment and your email to enter to win!!!
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
I
am a full-blooded Canadian, right down to the maple syrup running through my
veins. I enjoy watching hockey, but despise skating...and the cold. I enjoy a good helping of Tourtiere
with a side of Poutine as must as the next person, yet I am only bilingual when
it comes to swear words. I am
proud to say I survived my token shot of Newfie Screech, although I did refuse
to kiss the Cod - that is never going to happen - and I openly admit, that I
fell in love with the Rocky Mountains the first time I saw them.
I
have many occupations written down in my passport, mom, wife,
author...zookeeper! However, I
have to say that writing is by far the easiest part of my day.
I
have three small -but legal- addictions: bed lines, lavender, and books. All of which, are replenished on a
regular basis. Reading into the
wee hours of the morning, is one of many bad habits, next to spontaneously
rearranging furniture and randomly painting rooms in my house.
Author
Links
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