Evernight Holiday Blog Hop

The posting for the next 2 weeks is going to be a bit wonky. Posting today and then another blog hop starts on Friday (which goes through next week), so two posts (and giveaways!) this week and no new post next week. Because that's just the way this Rebel rolls.

Now. Onto the good stuff....

Welcome to the Evernight Holiday Blog Hop!

We love the holidays, we love making our readers happy and we love giving away swag. What better way to do that than to hold a blog hop?

Here's how it works... the more blogs you hop to (shown below) the more chance you have of winning prizes. Each site on the hop is offering a prize and Evernight is offering an iPad 2 as the grand prize! To be in with a chance of winning the site prize simply follow the blog you're visiting and leave a comment which includes your email address. Each entry on each blog is then counted towards the grand prize draw. The more entries you have, the better your chance of winning that iPad 2! You also get extra points for liking the Evernight Facebook page. Just make sure you let us know in the comments that you've done so.
  
Happy hopping!

To reiterate, to enter for the iPad 2, you need to leave a comment here (and on all the blogs you visit) that includes your email address. If you liked the Evernight Facebook page, you get an extra entry, but you have to mention that in your comment here as well so I can pass on the info or else it doesn't count.

But wait!

There's more!

(I've always wanted to say that and mean it.)

In addition to entering to win the iPad 2, I'm giving away a digital copy of Evernight's newest holiday anthology, Vanilla-Free Christmas. That's right, people, it's time for a kinky Christmas (my favorite kind!) To give you a little taste of what you're in for...here's a little taste of "A Few of My Favorite Things"

(NOTE: Excerpt is kinky and not exactly PG-13)

I ran from the cafeteria to Santa’s office. Now, standing outside the intricately carved doors, I leaned against one of the nutcracker sentries, taking a second to collect myself and calm my breathing. He’d expect me here quickly but wouldn’t be happy if I was panting when I entered. A few seconds of deep breathing and my heartbeat slowed to normal.

I rapped gently on the door.

“Enter.” Pulling open the heavy wood, I faced Santa’s broad back as he stared out a window. Next to him a fire roared, soaking the room in heat. He gave a casual wave. “Close the door and wait.”

As soon as the door shut behind me, it vanished as if it had never been. I knew that in the hall the doorway had gone cold, as if Santa were no longer in residence. The first time I’d seen the wood covered in ice, I’d touched it. I’d had frostbite on the fingertip for a week. It wasn’t a lesson an elf had to learn more than once.

Now, I knelt, my tunic tucked under my ass, and rested my hands on my thighs. Staring at the woodgrain on the floor, I waited. It didn’t matter how long. I never counted or tried to figure it out. I simply inhaled and exhaled, never looking, never speaking.

At last Santa stood in front of me. His fingers tipped my chin up, and he trapped me in his steely blue gaze. “The harness is waiting for you. Be ready when I return.”

My heart quickened as I looked at him—I was powerless under his watchful eyes. The stories were true—he saw everything, even the deepest secrets of my heart. When he looked at me this way, I was as good as naked already. “Yes, sir.”

As soon as he disappeared in a puff of snow, I shot to my feet.

Gone were the fireplace and the window. Now the room was all gray stone with a simple wooden post near one wall. To one side, a brazier. To the other, a high table lined with tools. I shivered, but there was no time to peruse the instruments. I had no way of knowing when Santa would return.

I tugged my tunic overhead and folded it, laying it neatly in the corner. The leggings came next. Then my bra, panties, and socks. My boots stood at attention on either side of the pile. Only then did I turn and, while I smoothed my hair down, make my way to the post.

Hanging from a chain attached to the block of wood jutting to the side was a piece of leather I’d come to know as well as I knew my own body. Not a pair of hangman’s nooses. No, the harness would allow me to be suspended in a variety of positions. I wrapped a pair of straps around my ankles, securing them tightly, then slid my wrists into the loops overhead, cinching them as tightly as I could manage. I balanced on my toes, dangling from the harness. Santa likely wanted me hogtied, but I couldn’t manage that on my own, so I waited.

Belatedly, I noted the black metal rod on the floor.

Shit.

As I started to snake my hands free, the scent of chocolate and peppermint suffused the room. There was no time.

In another sprinkling of snow, Santa reappeared, the heat of the room turning the flakes to a faint mist.

No jolly red suit now. Not for me. Not for this.

He kept his black leather boots on. That much hadn’t changed. Beyond those, however, no one would recognize the bare-chested man in the dark gray jeans as the same one their children whispered wishes to at Christmas time. There was no paunch hanging over his belt—he was all big, burly and barrel-chested, his gaze dark and hooded rather than twinkling. No jolly old elf here...

And the crop in his hand was not something he’d ever used on the reindeer. 

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter for the ebook, and don't forget to comment with your email to enter into the iPad 2 giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get Your Holidays With a Little Slap and Tickle

Well, I'm not so sure about the tickle part, but I can tell you for sure there's going to be more than a little of the naughty stuff in my newest release. I'm pleased to announce that the newest short story in my Santa's Naughty Elves series comes out next week. Once again, this year's story is part of Evernight Publishing's holiday anthology and this year's isn't for the faint of heart. 

A Few of My Favorite Things will be in A Vanilla-Free Christmas, and if you can't tell by the title, maybe this will give you a better idea of what it's all about...

This Christmas, the best gifts are waiting for those who have been naughty...

And the toys under the tree are not for children. Sexy Santas, naughty elves, and dominant shifters are ready to spread some very kinky Christmas cheer. It's a good thing the ladies in our stories are looking for anything but vanilla.

Be Warned: menage sex, anal sex, sex toys, BDSM, spanking

Yep, this is the kink anthology I've been so excited about. For those of you who think of me in terms of nice and sweet and other words that don't really apply, I feel it's only fair to tell you that Santa is involved in my story in a very un-Santa-like fashion. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Happy Holidays and may you all find the best kind of toys in your stocking.

Meet Ella Grey and Taste Some Irish Kisses

Most of you know about the Cupid's Conquests series that started with GunShy. Well, our first international installment comes out Friday! Today, we have author, Ella Grey here along with a little taste of her book, Irish Kisses. I hope you enjoy the excerpt and pick up the book on Friday!



Cupid has been a very naughty boy. The Cupid’s Conquest series is a multi-author series started with
Gunshy by Seleste Delaney and the latest offering is Irish Kisses by Ella Grey.

Irish Kisses

The thing with love is it’s all about finding that happy ending. Sometimes it isn’t that simple. People
have a habit of making it complicated.

Eros can’t be everywhere at once so for this particular match-up he’s got some old fashion help.
Serendipity is the muse of happy endings and her brand of help raises questions that fate might be
planning in the hand of the blossoming relationship between Abigail Smith and Seth O’Connor.

Abigail Smith is having a particularly bad week.

Abby’s best friend and fellow lawyer Dawn Philips has been murdered and while Abby wants to bring
down the man behind her death. Her bosses decide that she’s too personally connected. She’s told
to take some time off and let someone else handle the case. The thing is, the case is falling apart and
Abby just can’t let it go. A mysterious private eye pays her a visit and suddenly Abby finds herself on
a plane to Ireland.

There she meets Seth O’Conner.

Seth is on holiday, travelling to Ireland to see the place where he grew up. He expected to drink
too much Guinness and have some much needed fun. He didn’t expect Abigail Smith, the beautiful
redhead and the blistering hot encounter they share in the aeroplane bathroom. She’s got secrets and it
takes a brutal attack for Seth to learn them.

Now he has no intention of leaving her side.

Biography

Ella Grey is a full-time writer, with a little monster, a big monster and a cat who might actually be
Satan.

The first instalment of the Molly O’Brien novella series was released in 2010. It was quickly followed
by the Rachel Valentine eshort series, aimed at young adults. The Red Dress, her first attempt at adult
fiction was released by Evernight Publishing as part of their Just Vamps anthology.

She thrives on new challenges and can’t wait to sink her teeth into a new story or a new genre. She
can usually be found in front of her netbook with her earplugs in. Bother her at your own peril.
You’ve been warned.

For more information about latest releases or a glimpse into the mind of a writer with a full plate, Ella
can be found here.

http://www.ellagrey.wordpress.com

Excerpt

“Are you okay?”

She looked up and into the green eyes of the guy who’d checked her out earlier. He actually looked
concerned, and it left her wondering what she must look like. “No,” she said bluntly. “If God wanted
us to fly he’d have given us a pair of nifty wings.”

He laughed as he sat down next to her. “Then why did you choose to fly?”

“Maybe it’s because I’m lacking anything close to common sense.” She closed her eyes and rested
her head on the chair in front of her. She heard a stewardess asking if she was alright, and the guy
mumbled something to her.

“It’s okay. I’ll keep an eye on her.” Abby heard something that sounded like a wallet opening. “I’m a
cop, so she’ll be okay with me.” A slight pressure on her lower back caused her to look up. “Do you
want a drink?”

She nodded. “Anything alcoholic would be great, thanks.” Alcohol would help numb her senses a
little.

As the stewardess left, she realised the cop was still rubbing her back. It felt nice. If she focused on
those small round movements, it took her focus away from the motion sickness. “I’m Abby.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, since you’re touching me I thought we should at least exchange names.” She smiled to show
she was kidding. He removed his hand and Abby felt a swell of panic as the sickness came back
suddenly. “Please, don’t stop. It is actually helping.”

He put his hand back and Abby looked down at the ground again.

“I’m Seth.”

“So you’re really a cop?”

He chuckled and it was the most dangerous sound Abby had ever heard, it made her heart pick up its
steady pace and the dark place between her legs wet. “That’s want the badge usually means.”

She smiled, even knowing he couldn’t see it. She heard the stewardess come back with their drinks,
and she slowly got up. Seth handed her one of the bottle of beer. “I’m sorry I don’t think they have
anything else, unless you want water?”

“No this is perfect, thanks.” She brought the bottle to her lips and took a slow drag from it. “I’m sorry
for ruining your flight.”

“Not at all, I came over here to talk to you anyway.”

His bluntness took her breath away, “Really, why?”

He took a quick drink and Abby watched as his tongue flicked out to catch a bead of liquid at the top
of the bottle. “Just curious, are you visiting family?” He asked, quickly changing the subject.

She shook her head. “I’m visiting for work.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a lawyer, but I’m doing a little freelance work at the moment.” While it wasn’t a complete lie,
she didn’t want to go into any gory details. She didn’t want him to get that look of sympathy that
everyone at her office seemed permanently fixed on their faces. “I’m going to Dublin. I’m looking for
someone.”

Abby took another pull from the bottle. It felt good to be able to talk to somebody. For one it took
her mind off her travel sickness, and since she found it hard to drag her eyes away from him, it was
an added bonus. Now if she could just stop thinking how it felt to have his hand on her, it would be
perfect.

You can find Irish Kisses and the other awesome stories in this series at
http://www.evernightpublishing.com/cupids-conquests/

New Sale and Why It Matters So Much

I don't think I announced it here yet, but *toots my own horn* my short story "A Few of My Favorite Things" will be part of Evernight Publishing's holiday anthology this year. First off, I'm excited because I love the opportunity to visit with my naughty elves. Second, the theme of the antho this year is kink. WOOT! And thirdly, I really enjoy doing these anthologies as it's an opportunity to stretch a specific set of writing muscles I don't touch through the rest of the year.

Another reason it's important?

I've only had two releases this year.

Now, this doesn't seem like a big deal since I've sold other pieces, and 2013 is already shaping up to be nice an busy and prolific and all that. However, digital publishing isn't like publishing 5-10-20 years ago. Hell, it's not even like publishing now in NY where you can still build your career by starting with one release a year. In digital publishing, backlist and consistent releases are the name of the game. Pretty much, you produce or you die.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm working all the damn time, but that doesn't mean that I'm selling all the time or that those sales will come out in an expected timeframe. A book I subbed in January didn't get picked up until May and isn't coming out until NEXT May. A book I subbed in March(?) got picked up in April, but it isn't coming out until NEXT March. Another I wrote didn't quite fit what the publisher wanted for the series, so I have an entire manuscript that goes with my series that is hanging out on my hard drive, waiting to be re-written. Another that the publisher wants me to make full-length (again, waiting).

So, I'm producing, but due to the fact that I'm currently working with four different publishers, my brain and writing haven't quite lined up with their timelines yet. Which meant that without this holiday antho, I had two releases this year... and they were back-to-back (less than four weeks apart). So, needless to say, I need to work with my publishers and get some timelines nailed down so I can avoid another year like that.

Good news is right now it's looking like I have March, May, and July releases next year (assuming everything gets done when it should be), which is pretty awesome. I'm really hoping to add a January one to that as well as a September (and possibly others). This makes me happy. Like bright and shiny happy.

I don't know if I'll ever be one of those authors who has ten to twelve releases every year, but I'd really like to consistently do at least half of that. Five to six sounds perfect. Hell, four works if they are spread out well. But no more years where I'm looking at my releases and saying "Oh shit. It's been X months since my last one and it's Y months until the next one." That means it's time for me to buckle down and make things happen.

Wish me luck.

And words. Words are always good.

Evernight Publishing's Birthday Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Evernight Publishing birthday blog hop!

Evernight Publishing opened its doors two years ago. In those two years we’ve signed over one hundred and sixty authors and published over three hundred books. From paranormal to contemporary, we’ve had more best sellers than we can count and made thousands of people smile, sigh and gasp. So, as a thank you to all our readers and everyone who has supported us, we’re holding this blog hop and we have a whole lot of prizes to offer you.

Here's how it works... the more blogs you hop to (shown below) the more chance you have of winning prizes. Each author on the hop is offering a prize and Evernight is offering the following grand prizes, a Kindle, a $100 Amazon gift certificate, two Evernight swag bags (which includes a tote, a tee, vouchers, a mug and other coolness) and a personalized Facebook banner. To be in with a chance of winning the author prize simply follow the blog you're visiting and leave a comment which includes your email address. Each entry on each blog is then counted towards the grand prize draw. The more entries you have, the better your chance of winning a grand prize! You also get extra points for liking the Evernight Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/evernightpublishing. Just make sure you let us know in the comments that you've done so.

Good luck and happy hopping!

For my part, I'm giving away the winner's choice of either of my Cupid's Conquests books (GunShy or Love & Other Indoor Sports). If the winner already owns both of those books, we'll work something out ;-)

(ALSO, GunShy is still 99 cents on Amazon right now, so you might want to grab that one ASAP!)

So, follow my blog and make a comment (with your email address, please), and I'll get you entered. Entering at each blog also gives you another entry for the grand prizes! So get hopping :) 

99 Cents! What?

As part of Evernight Publishing's birthday celebration, they have put a book from each of their lines on sale on Amazon for only 99 cents each! Get thee to Amazon and fill your Kindle!

Links for 99 cent books

*Romance on the Go - Moon Eyes by Marie Medina

*Naughty Fairy Tales - Jackie and Her Loose Talk by Jorja Lovett

*Cupid's Conquests - GunShy by Seleste deLaney

*African American - Most Eligible Bachelor by Empi Baryeh

*Alternative - Hero by K. Williams

*Anthologies - Master of Mine by Laura Gallagher, Jenika Snow, Alexandra O'Hurley, Rachel Clarke, Ashlynn Monroe, London St James, Melissa Hosack and Angelina Rain

*BDSM - The Diary of Anna's Submission by Jenika Snow

*Contemporary - Forever Men by Lace Daltyn

*Erotic - Paying Her Debt by Emma Shortt

*Fantasy - Chasing Earth and Flame by Adonis Devereux

*Futuristic - Whimsy by Thayer King

*Historical - The Ever Knight by Georgia Fox

*Humor - Prometheus Unstitched by Lila Shaw

*Interracial - Riding the Storm by Delilah Hunt

*May/December - The Bad Boys' Virgin Temptress by Sam Crescent

*Menage - Claiming Their Mate by Stacey Espino

*Multiple Partners - Riding Her Tiger by Doris O'Connor

*Paranormal - Black Lust by Karyn Gerrard

*Rubenesque - Three for the Road by Berengaria Brown

*Sci-Fi - Star Fallen Lover by Lynde Lakes

*Seasonal - Deception by Yolanda Sfetsos

*Shifters/Vampires - Irresistible Nemesis by Annalynne Russo

*Steampunk - The Promise of Silk by Lilith Duvalier

*Suspense - Last First Kiss by Vanessa Devereaux

*Urban fantasy - Losing his Religion by Alex Bowman

*Time Travel Time Travel - The Curse of the Scarab King by Wend Petzler

*Western - Wild West Weekend by R.M. Sotera and C.R. Moss

Happy Birthday, Evernight!

Quick blog post this week. (But there will be another this weekend with a nice surprise in it!)

So, it's Evernight Publishing's second birthday today, and they're giving their readers all sorts of presents! Starting today is the Evernight Scavenger Hunt that starts at SmexyBooks and continues on from there. That runs until Friday, just five days, people.

Then there's the weekend surprise, so make sure you come back to visit.  I lied! This isn't holding out to the weekend (so no extra blog, sorry...). Evernight has taken a best-seller from each of their categories and put them on sale at Amazon for only 99 cents! You can get the full list of sale books here. Or you can just go buy GunShy right now at this link. Happy Birthday indeed!

And next week is the Evernight Birthday Blog Hop. There are a LOT of authors participating and each one is giving away something on their blog, and each entry puts you in for grand prizes including a Kindle among other awesome stuff. So make sure you stop back here and hit all the blogs on the tour so you can enter as many times as possible!

(Once all the birthday goodness has ended, I'll be talking about NaNo prep for a couple weeks and then probably only doing mini-blogs through the month of November. It's not that I don't write like a crazy person all the time, but... it's NaNoWriMo and that ups the crazy factor all on its own :P)

Cupid's Conquests News!

After several months of debating how to bring more Cupid's Conquests stories to the world, I spoke to the owner of Evernight Publishing, and the decision was made to open the series up for submissions!

This is a multi-author/shared-world series, but we're doing things a little different. Because it's more than just "here's this set-up, run with it", there are steps prospective authors need to go through. There's this general information about the series on the Evernight site.

Cupid's Conquest is a new multi-author, shared world series unique to Evernight Publishing.
For more information on requirements and how to submit, please contact: Seleste deLaney at selestedelaney@gmail.com and include "Cupid's Conquests" in the subject line.
The series focuses on contemporary romance between unlikely pairings or those kept apart by forces internal or external who are brought together by the magic of Cupid's arrows. We're looking heroes and heroines readers will want to see overcome the odds against them. 
~~*~~
Cupid's been a bad boy...
After years of letting love languish on Earth, Cupid has been banished to the surface until he teaches humanity to love again. One couple--or more--at a time.
~~*~~
15,000-35,000 words.Evernight Heat Level 2 or higher (erotic romance, not erotica)M/F, F/F, & M/M Combinations of above considered.
HEA required. 

That's right, I'm the contact person! Woot! If you're interested (based on the above) to write for the series, you get in touch with me and we'll talk a bit about what the shared world entails and if your story will be a good fit. Then we're off to the races. 

People have already shown an interest and I'm super excited that more Cupid's Conquests stories should be in our future really soon. And by all means, if you're interested in writing for the series, please contact me! 

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop--Day 5

Welcome to DAY FIVE and my part of the Twelve Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

We're talking about Evernight Publishing's Holiday anthology, Stockings & Suspenders, a set of steamy stories, including one form me! Each of the contributing authors are talking about their stories leading up to release day on Friday, Decmber 9.

My predecessors:

Day 1: London St. James

Day 2: CR Moss

Day 3: Jezebel Jorge

Day 4: Lila Shaw

If you haven't already, please visit their blogs for more blurbs, more excerpts, and more chances to win (see the end of the blog for prize info!).

I get to tear stocking number five off our cover. Look at those biceps! Rawr! I do so love a man with great arms, don't you? Well, enough about the hotness on the cover. Let's take a peek at what you'll find inside Stockings & Suspenders:

~~*~~

As the temperature drops, the women in this collection of stories find naughty and delicious ways to warm up for the holidays.

A boss with a proposal to make her sweat, a promise from an Italian assistant, a cabin in the middle of nowhere with two men waiting to cater to her every desire, a special surprise for a lonely solider...

All of these encounters and more from ten talented authors. Get ready for some holiday loving...Evernight style.

~~*~~

My story is number five in the collection, and it's called "Making the Naughty List" (Something some of us strive for every year, I'm sure.)

Blurb:

Daisy gave up on her wish to find the elf who rocked her world with a kiss so long ago. This year, all she wants for Christmas is time with her best friend, but he keeps leaving theNorth Pole to be with his girlfriend. Still, when Santa gives her a special assignment—get Gage Thomas off the naughty list—Daisy doesn’t exactly jump. Then again, once the old man makes a decision while you’re under his employ, you don’t get much say.

She figures meeting Gage will fill in all the blanks Santa didn’t bother with. Too bad the guy with the steely blue eyes and brilliant smile seems anything but naughty. At least until the two of them end up in her hotel room alone. Then it isn’t so much a question of whether or not Daisy can get Gage off but at what point she’ll cross the line and make the naughty list herself

Excerpt:

“Look, Daisy, we can just hang out or call it a night if you want.”

Damn. Damn. Damn. I can build an XBox360 from a box of scraps but screw up what has to be the world’s easiest seduction. “No, I don’t want you to go. I just…”

He closed the distance between us and, shaking his head, tipped my chin up. “Breathe. I’ll stay.”

I exhaled, not realizing I’d held my breath when I stopped talking. With his hands on me, I couldn’t think though. I needed space. No. What I needed was for Santa to send a fucking sign of how to play this. I slipped from under his touch and moved to the bedroom. “I’ll be right back…”

As soon as I had the door between us, I could focus. I suck at interrogation. But the seduction thing isn’t off the table, right? I just need to woman up and try not to lose myself in the sex. Then I turned around. Goddamn mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch. Santa sure as hell didn’t believe in subtle signs. I yanked the leather corset, boots and whip off the bed and threw them in the closet.

With the dominatrix outfit off the table—or the bed—I felt better, like the pressure was gone. Just talk to him. Let one thing lead to another. Get him to spill everything he’s doing wrong so I can fix it.

In the other room, he stood by the window, his reflection showing worry lines still. I eased up next to him and laid my head on his shoulder. “Sorry about my freak out.”

He turned, his steely gaze meeting mine as he brushed my hair back. I forced myself not to flinch when his fingers brushed against the tip of my ear. “We just met. I get it. But it is nice to know that you’re as attracted to me as I am to you.”

“I am. I most definitely am.” The same stupid heat and electricity I felt every time I was too close to him flowed through me again. Damn it. I didn’t want to seduce him for information. I kind of just wanted to seduce him. Were Santa’s wants really more important than mine?

Then he turned and wrapped his arms around me. “Then why don’t we just see where the night takes us and not try to push it there?”

Before I had time to think about a response, I stood on tiptoe and brushed my lips against his. I froze an inch from him. My lips felt alive; every kiss until that moment faded as if they’d never existed.

Then he moved in and pressed his mouth against mine. The old kisses had faded before, but this… this made the world disappear. Gage and I were the only things that existed. His hands tangled in my hair, and I opened to him. Lips, tongue, fingers, skin… all I knew was his touch, and what I knew was incredible.

Oh yeah, that was the moment when I thought the one thing guaranteed to get my name on the naughty list right next to Gage’s. Fuck what Santa wants.

Letting that go freed me in a way I never expected. The next thing I knew, we were against the wall again, my hands clawing at his t-shirt until I could get my palms underneath. His skin was so hot, like he’d been lying out in the sun all day. It melted the sliver of North Pole chill I still carried, warming me to my straight to my core and then some. I wanted his heat, yearned for it. His shirt was off and tossed to some corner of the room or other. I pressed the length of my body against his, savoring the sensation along with the feel of his growing erection.

“You’re so warm,” I murmured against his neck as I trailed kisses against that gloriously fiery skin. I teased his nipple with my tongue, the light salty taste of sunshine and sweat did nothing but make me want more.

“And you are making it nearly impossible to behave myself. All I want to do is take your clothes off, throw you down on the bed and take you.”

“Not happening.” My hands slid along his back while his stopped inches from anywhere interesting.

He gave a throaty moan when my hips ground against his. “Why not? You’re sure as hell acting like you want it as much as I do.”

“Because you missed a step.” I nipped at his chest. Whatever it was about this man, it drove away all those silly concerns about what I did or didn’t know how to do. All that remained was the heat, the electricity, and the want. “If the rest of your clothes stay on, all your other plans are pointless.”

A low growl rumbled through his chest as he fisted my hair and tugged my head back until I met his eyes. “Any other complaints about my plan?”

“Only how long it’s taking you to get to it.”

The muscles in his arms bunched, and he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. My instinct from years growing up on the streets was to kick and yell, but I’d asked for this. Fuck. I wanted this. He kicked open the door to the bedroom and flopped me onto the king-sized bed.

The chill hit me an instant before the panic. Without his heat around me, everything I was doing roared back—disobeying Santa, having sex with a man I barely knew… A really wonderful, sweet, incredibly sexy man who made me forget about everything else.

Then he was on the bed next to me, teasing open the buttons of my blouse as he kissed me. When I tried to take over, to get closer, he pinned my hands over my head. “Oh no. I let you lead out there. My turn. I figure it’s the only way to be sure I control how fast things go.”

He let me go and in my attempts to do what he asked, my fingers brushed against something, making metal clank against metal. Gage lifted his head from my neck and I wanted to scream. Then with a beautifully evil smile, he reached up near the head of the bed and lifted a pair of handcuffs. My breath caught. “I… I… I…”

“And you said I was naughty.” He dipped his head and gave me a phoenix kiss—all feather-light and on fire. “Thanks for giving me a way to be sure you don’t try anything funny.”

Before I could put up more than the tiniest protest, that I wasn’t sure I really felt in the first place, Gage had shifted me up the bed, and the cuffs snapped around my wrists.

All those years on the street and my first time in handcuffs was in a posh hotel in Florida. If this was the naughty list, I never wanted off.

~~*~~

Please leave a comment (with your email address) for a chance to win prizes from the drawing on December 10 (the twelfth day of Christmas!), including a copy of Stockings & Suspenders and a $15 Evernight Publishing gift certificate (for more details, visit the Evernight blog). I'd also love it if you felt so inclined to join my blog with Google Friend Connect in the sidebar.

Tomorrow is DAY 6. I really hope you'll visit Carolyn Rosewood to read more about her story, "A Very Naughty Christmas." (See? We all want to be naughty.) Plus, you'll get another peek at that yummy cover model.

Birthday Winners!

First, I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog during the last week. I got swamped with regular life and didn't manage to come back and comment (which I normally try to do :( ). I hope some of you will stop by on Tuesdays (starting again next week), which are my regular blogging days here. I also hope you all took advantage of the great sale on Saturday--I know I did :)

Now, to what you really want to know, we'll start with the winner of GunShy...

Nay Nay!!!!

Congrats! If you're around to comment, you can let me know if you would prefer PDF or EPUB format, otherwise, I'll be sending you an email today.

Next up, the $5.00 gift certificate from Evernight Publishing...

Anna Keraleigh!!!!

Evernight has your email, so you should be hearing from them soon.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, the grand prize winners...

Uh...

I've been scooped on this one. *sigh* To find out if you won the grand prizes, you need to go to Evernight's blog. Congrats to the winners here (and there), and Happy Birthday, Evernight!

Happy Birthday Evernight Publishing

As a mom, my kids' first birthdays hold a special place in my heart.

My son wanted nothing to do with his cake. He didn't want to touch the frosting. We had to dunk his fingers in the frosting and actually smear it on his face for him so we could get that required first birthday picture. To this day, he still doesn't eat frosting--he scrapes it off cake.

My daughter, on the other hand, was a sugar-junkie from the beginning. The main reason she had so little frosting on her face was because it all went in her mouth. It's at the point where the two of them basically split cake when we have it. He eats the cake, she eats the frosting.

Saturday, October 1, is Evernight Publishing's first birthday, and I can't wait to see how the party turns out. If you've paid attention to the books they put out, I'm pretty sure Evernight is going to be the kind of toddler that savors every delectable bite of that cake...and you can bet it'll be rich and chocolatey.

With this party on the horizon, it is my pleasure to announce that I've signed my third contract with Evernight. The follow-up to last year's holiday story, Yes, Alana, There Is a Santa Claus, will be included in this year's holiday anthology. Making the Naughty List will be part of this year's anthology Stockings and Suspenders.

This story follows a different narrator, an elf named Daisy. She's not exactly your stereotypical elf. Brady picked her off the streets of Detroit years ago, and now with him dating Alana, she feels left behind. So, Santa sends her on a mission of the utmost importance. She needs to get a man named Gage Thomas off the naughty list...by whatever means necessary.

So, in celebration of Evernight's birthday and my new sale, I'm giving away a copy of my latest Evernight release, GunShy. (I'll be choosing a winner on Friday.**** CORRECTION: The contest runs through the weekend. Winner will be drawn on Monday!****)

And... Evernight is also going to choose a winner from commenters here for a $5.00 Evernight gift certificate.

AND...every time you comment on one of the birthday blogs, you're entered for the grand prizes as well.

In order to enter for all of those goodies, just follow my blog and post a comment (and don't forget to include your email). It's a birthday party, so tell me your favorite memory of a birthday, favorite party game, favorite kind of cake... I'm pretty open as long as it has to do with birthdays :)

Oh yeah, and on their birthday, Evernight will be marking down ALL of their books, including GunShy, by 75%! That means even if you don't win, you can still get it at a great price.

Blues and News

First and foremost (since people have been asking), I'm doing better with the depression. I'm not back to my normal (I use that term loosely) self, but I'm getting there. Thanks for all the *hugs* and happy thoughts and love. Every bit of it helps and is appreciated :)

I am a little melancholy today though. It's the first day of school. The Boy is a fourth grader, which means in two short years he's going to be in middle school. I'm pretty sure that means I'm old, but I'm going to try to ignore that fact and just do my thing. But...Mini-Me started first grade this year (and she got her ears pierced in celebration of becoming a big kid). She's been doing half-days for a while now, but this will be the first time in almost ten years that I've been alone all day every day. I'm not really sure how it's going to go. On the plus side, more time for writing! On the down side...yeah, we're just going to pretend the depression thing doesn't worry me.

In the meantime though, I have news!

Remember a couple weeks ago when I announced that Evernight Publishing had picked up GunShy and the Cupid's Conquests series? First, I have a group of authors hard at work on more stories for the series which has me totally geeked. Second... my editor and I busted through edits, and they bumped up the release date. So scratch November. GunShy is coming...*Drum-roll*... September 16! Yes, it will be available ten days from now. I'm crazy excited and I really hope people love this story.

In other news, authors from Decadent Publishing (including me) will be at The Romance Studio chat room tomorrow night at 9pm eastern time (6pm Pacific... hopefully the rest of you can figure it out from there). Please stop by! I'm pretty sure the people in charge are doing giveaways (*hint* Check out which authors are there and have their websites at the ready to search for answers to questions... at least that's how they did it last time :P)

Please Welcome A.D. Blackburn!!

Today we have a visitor, the lovely and talented A.D. Blackburn! She was part of the same Christmas anthology I wrote a piece for ('Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas) and her first full-length novel came out just last week. I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

Hi, A.D., can you tell us about your new release?

Possession is about James Gunn, president of the Diabolus Venator Motorcycle club and demon hunting bad-ass. Without giving away too much, he faces more than a few struggles in the book and in the end he has to make a choice which is more important to save; his own soul or the love of his life. No easy choices there.

Your hero, James, is a demon-hunter. With the trend towards "monsters" as heroes, what made you decide to go the other way?

I have a genuine affinity for bad boys but I've long maintained that not all bad boys have fangs. In the same vein, not all bad boys are really bad. James is terrifying. He's tall, extremely dark, heavily tattooed and he's shed his fair share of blood, but there's a humanism to him that just drew me in. I enjoy fleshing out the softer side of harder men...take that how you will.

What do you prefer to write: emotional scenes, fight/action scenes, or sex scenes? Why?

I enjoy writing them all and writing a steamy sex scene makes my day but to be honest, I love writing fight scenes. I get seriously worked up when my hero is facing a foe and they are getting ready to get dirty. There's something primitive about writing the fight scene that just makes me want to write a hotter sex scene. I know, I know, I need therapy lol!

On your site, you mention your smoking hot husband, so I'll admit, I had to check him out. *wink* Since you also like to write hot men, what do you find attractive in a guy (fictional or otherwise)?

I am such a pig because I stare at my husband all the time. He's 6'3, dark haired, light eyed and cut to pieces. Yum. He's so rugged. I couldn't have written him any better. Fictional or otherwise, I cannot resist a man who works with his hands. The dirtier the better. Blue collar gets me everytime. Not to say that a doctor or a lawyer wouldn't float the same boat, so long as when they doff the suit and tie or the lab coat, they get greased up under the hood of a muscle car that works better than a BOB. Caveat to this is that I want him to have a brain in his head. Ornamental and functional is the name of the game :)

Yes, brains are a must. Who is your favorite hero not of your own creation (TV, movie, literary)?

Oh THUD. This one is hard. I have a few favorites. If I have to put it down to one solitary hero, it would have to be Captain Jack Sparrow. I love that dirty pirate, Savvy?

I do indeed *evil grin* What is the sexiest thing you've ever done to get a guy's attention?

I was plodding around the house in one of my husbands long sleeved button down dress shirts and he was chatting outside with some friends...I opened the door, and threw the shirt to him...may not sound all that sexy but it damned sure got his attention.

LOL nice! Speaking of things done to get a guy's attention, you and I have talked corsets a time or two. Describe your perfect corset.

OH EM GEE...over bust with a sweetheart neckline, grommets at the back with red leather ties...red and black brocade but the pattern would be skulls and flames. Word!

I found a skull corset recently (sequins though). Sadly hubs vetoed it. *sigh* With that in mind, do you like the idea of sticking your paranormal romance heroines in corsets or is your first thought "How could she fight in that?"

Oh she'd fight in a corset and LOVE IT...then again, a heroine in my books that fought anything would have to be tough as nails so the boning in a PVC get up would suit her to a tee :)

What's up next for you?

Currently, I am working on Possession's sequel and I am finishing another dark paranormal romance that I hope to have submitted in the near future. Mainly, I just want to keep writing. I've been so lucky to have this opportunity and with any luck I can keep going.

Quick Six

For your hero:
Boxers or briefs? Commando...wait, that wasn't an option. Erm, boxer briefs.
Harleys or horses? Harleys, no question.

For your heroine:
Stilettos or sneakers? Stillies all the way.
Leather or lace? Leather

For YOU:
Wine or whiskey? Wine...I am a self-proclaimed red wine snob!
Sex or seduction? Seduction. It is truly an art form!

Is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

Thank you. Without readers, I wouldn't be a writer and I will never forget that. I've had a few readers from the anthology email me and it was the most heartwarming experience. Being a great storyteller means nothing if there is no one to tell your tales to, so thank you from the bottom of my heart!

ABOUT POSSESSION
In the epic battle between Heaven and Hell, there are angels and demons…and then there’s James.

Tall, dark and deadly, James Gunn is the President of the Diabolus Venator motorcycle club, a group of one time outlaws turned gun-toting, sword-wielding ass-kicking demon hunters. His no-holds-barred style of dispatching hells darkest minions has earned him quite the reputation, but when he fights a low-level demon that warns him that his soul is in danger, he laughs it off…until he discovers that they mean to steal his heart to obtain it. When James realizes that a high-ranking demon has marked him for a prime spot in hell, he pulls out all the stops to protect the one thing he loves more than his own soul – his one- time girlfriend Maddy.

What James doesn’t count on is that this particular demon knows a little bit more about the art of possession than the average minion and he’s forced to make the ultimate choice between the love of his life or his own soul.
ABOUT A.D.
A.D's first romance was with every male character Jude Devereaux ever put on paper. A literary sap from the gate, A.D. bought notebooks and scribbled alternate endings to her favorite stories - always placing herself as the heroine of course. The happily-ever-after bug was firmly planted into her brain, but she needed something more than bodice ripping and white horses that galloped into the sunset. She needed something darker and far more sinister, so she turned to the genre that she now calls home...paranormal romance. Within the bendable walls of the fantastic and the down-right different, she finds that the sky is the limit when it comes to what happens with her characters, and thats just how she likes it.

A.D. lives in the small little mill town of Lincolnton, North Carolina with her amazingly supportive and smoking hot husband, three wonderful albeit loud children, a dog that thinks its a pig and two cats that defy description. When she is not writing, she likes to make huge messes in her kitchen, read, and feed her DIY network/QVC addiction.

This Week's Schedule...

Today (Sunday): I have a post up at 30 Days of Decadence about some of my favorite off-beat holiday things. Come check it out, I'm giving away a copy of The Ghost of Vampire Present and something special for one Max fan.

Monday: Day off unless something changes (woohoo!) However, Holiday Story Time starts today at Robert's place.

Tuesday: Interview at the blog of the wonderful and funny Deanna Wadsworth(POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT WEEK!). We'll be drinking and laughing and having a good old time. Join us! AND Deanna is also doing her Holiday Story Time today!

Wednesday: I'm going to be at the Harlequin author post-party chat. I'll be popping on periodically from midnight until 10 pm so stop in and say hi :) Also today, PJ is up for Holiday Story Time!

Thursday: It's my day up for Holiday Story Time! There'll be a video of me reading an excerpt from The Ghost of Vampire Present and giving away a copy to one lucky commenter!

Friday: I'm at the Daily Dose of Decadence with ten interesting things about the Blood Kissed series. Also posting my next Friday flash in here (psstt..... it's a Max story, don't miss it!)  And, Clarissa is up for the last of the Holiday Story Time videos.

Saturday: I'm on video again and babbling about the holidays over at 13 Wicked Days of Christmas. (Have I mentioned I hate being on camera? I'll probably hide under a rock again until next year LOL.) Another giveaway here of digital copy of either The Ghost of Vampire Present or 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas.

Huge and busy week. I hope you are all willing to stick with me and check out all the posts and giveaways! I promise to tone it down for the rest of December ;-)

The Good, the Bad and the Sickie

No real post this week, sorry. Things have just been crazy. If you noticed, there was no Friday Flash, no Tuesday Teases...nothing. Yeah...

Anyway, the long and short of it is I've been sick for about a month now, still fighting this cough, intermittent fever, and other stuff, and it all finally caved in on me this week. I managed to get a couple video blogs done that'll go up before the holidays without any choking fits (WIN!), but other than that and a couple promo things, this week was a wash on me and the blogosphere. Hope you'll forgive me, but odds are I'm just going to use Tuesday Teases to point you to the other places I'm going to be during the week for the rest of December. With the holidays and stuff, I figure that's more than enough keeping up with me for people to do. I'm going to try to get back on the Friday Flash bandwagon next week though so keep an eye out for those on Thursday or Friday.

There is actually a lot of good news though. As I mentioned last week, 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas is out AND it is also available in print. And just a couple days ago, The Ghost of Vampire Present came out. Both have gotten reviews already--YAY!

In other Blood Kissed news. I've received the last of the feedback from my alpha reader, so I have what I need to get started on the first round of revisions. The bad news? Until at least a little more of the sickies leave my brain, I'm not sure about tackling them yet. Don't know how long I want to leave them sitting though either. Anyway, it's one step closer to being done, which is a good thing.

So...that should update you on what's going on here. Now I'm off armed with many cough drops to see a movie with my kids.

17 Weeks to RT!

Okay, okay, I know 17 weeks is kind of a long time, but with everything coming up, I have to start wrapping my head around this stuff in advance. You see, last year when I went to RT it was just for the con experience and pitching opportunities...and I still wasn't prepared.

This year? Now I'm a published author and I need to look at the convention in terms of promo as well as fun and opportunity. I'm slowly gathering some promo items to take with me, but I need more. The thing about promo is everyone's doing it, so I want my stuff to stand out. This is proving more difficult than anticipated since I also need to factor in cost and weight since I'll have to take it all on the plane with me or ship it in advance. So, with that in mind, I'm actually running out of time depending on what I go with.

But I also still need to prepare for pitches, and that means finishing novels not intended for my current publishers. This is harder than it sounds because in my mind I should be on the next Badlands story and doing something else for Evernight and plotting the next Blood Kissed, and that doesn't even take into account my young adult stuff. It's more than a little mind boggling. But I'm hoping to have stuff finished, polished and ready to pitch (especially since I have the experience from last year under my belt).

It's looking like I might be part of a panel this year too, which is huge. It also involves another set of stuff to prep. I'm incredibly geeked about it, so I hope like hell it pans out.

Then there's the fun and games portion of things. Hello? Outfits! Faery Ball, Vampire Ball... I love the madness. I'm on the lookout for bits and pieces to my costumes (still hunting for the perfect corset for the Vampire Ball).

Soooooo much to do and think about, and that's not even taking into account the little things like remembering to bring a power strip so my roommate, PJ Schnyder, and I can both get ready for events at the same time.

Basically what this post boils down to is a heads-up if you plan to attend an event like this. Yes, you can prep for it really quick if you need to, but I recommend putting some thought into things beforehand if you can. Now though? I need to get back to my novel-writing :)

Sleepy Saturday...

It's been a very busy week,what with NaNoWriMo eating my brain and doing edits on The Ghost of Vampire Present. (Did I mention edits are done? Yeah. Madness, but they are done.) So, since I'm not entirely coherent, I'm just going to let you know that I did a post on Blood Kissed over at Daily Dose of Decadence. Please check it out.

Also, I'm going to be doing a kind of crazed blog tour in the first half of December.

On December 1 I'm at Romance Author Hotspot, then I might have some time off (lol, it won't last, so check back for updates)

December 3 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas releases

December 8 We're having a party to celebrate the release of the anthology at the Book Boost. Lots of prizes and fun will be had! (I also have my monthly post at the Para-Posse that day, so make sure you stop by!)

December 12 I'm doing a holiday post at Decadent's holiday blog. Again...prizes!

December 14 The fabulous and funny Deanna Wadsworth is interviewing me over at her blog. We met last year at RT and the two of us always have fun with each other.

December 15 I'm at the eHarlequin Open House, specifically the Carina Press post party. It's an opportunity to meet lots of current and upcoming Carina Press authors, so please pop in sometime during the day

December 16 is the day I will be doing my Holiday Storytime! There will be video of me reading from The Ghost of Vampire Present. For those of you who know me, you are aware getting me on video doesn't happen very often. There are also prizes with this, one every day from Decadent Publishing, and a couple extras from Tilve and Book Matrix Media. Make sure you check out all my friends' vlogs this week too.

December 17 I'll be on the Decadent blog sharing some interesting things about me or Blood Kissed (I haven't decided yet)

December 20 I'm scheduled for an interview with Got Romance

AND I'm planning a short holiday story for one of my characters at Got Romance (date TBD) and an interview with Wicked Little Pixie (date TBD). After all that I might just sleep for a while. In case it isn't clear, all of this means my REGULAR blogging isn't going to happen unless the mood strikes. Hope you'll join me for the blog hop!

Clicking and Cover Art

First, I got the cover art for the Evernight Publishing holiday anthology. It's so pretty....

Okay, now that I've teased you with something that won't be out until December 3, I have a new story available free...right now. As you know, Danielle LaPaglia shared her flash fiction with us on Tuesday (if you haven't read it, check it out), and yesterday I was on her blog. "More Max" has been something I've heard since Of Course I Try came out. "The Cost of Love" is my answer to that plea. WARNING: If you haven't read Of Course I Try, this story is very spoilerish. Proceed with that in mind. (Click here to read "The Cost of Love")

Announcement Time! (sort of)

As promised, I have an announcement, but because of circumstances outside my control (and lousy planning on my part), I don't get to do it in my normal fashion. Anyway...

Sometime in September, I saw a call for an anthology with a new digital publisher. I was working on The Ghost of Vampire Present at the time and working on the idea for my NaNo project, but I looked at my calendar and wondered if I didn't have time to put something together for this one too. The people who have been following my craziness on twitter or facebook know I stayed busy right up until NaNo started on November 1. I literally took Halloween off, finishing my outline the night before.

But I didn't really take Halloween off. You see, in those couple weeks between finishing The Ghost of Vampire Present and starting on Kiss of Death for NaNo, I penned and submitted a little story called Yes, Alana, There Is a Santa Claus. I received my first round of edits from Evernight Publishing on Halloween and made sure I got them in before NaNo actually started at midnight. The story will be part of their upcoming erotica/erotic romance anthology 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas.

The only sad part is I don't have a cover or release date to share yet. Trust me, when I do I'll be sure to post. Which leads me to announcement number two...

I've finally realized that trying to blog three times a week per blog is killing me. Even with throwing in "easy" blogs, I'm just stretching myself too thin and it's making me enjoy it less. So, Thirsty Thursdays are gone and won't be replaced. My "official" blog days here will be Tuesdays and Saturdays, saving the occasional Thursday for when I have announcements that won't fit (due to guests or planned posts) on the other days. I hope you weren't just here for the drink recipes and will come back for whatever I give you the other days.

And I hope you'll keep an eye out for 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas!