Tempted Releases Today!

on March 27, 2012

Hi all! I’m still enjoying the very nice weather in Maui but wanted to take a moment and celebrate Tempted’s Release. YAY! I’ve been waiting for Max’s story to be available since turning it in last September.

The first chapter is actually a prologue where it shows the first time Max met little Janie and agreed to be her bodyguard.  This was entirely off the path he’d chosen to go hunt Kurjans.

Then the book starts with Max having to hunt down feisty Sarah Pringle, a teacher who’d been unfairly sent to an insane hospital because she saw a Kurjan and nobody would believe her.  Of course, Max may have an ulterior motive for seeking out Sarah…

Here are the ‘buy links’ in case you’re interested.  Tempted is an e-novella (Currently priced at $2.99) that you can download to any of your e-readers OR your computer.  I hope you enjoy!

My Book Boyfriend Blog Hop

on January 31, 2012

UPDATE:  Random.org has spoken and the winner is:  Vamped Chik.  Congrats!

Welcome to the Book Boyfriend Blog Hop!  I will be giving away a signed book to one randomly drawn commenter on my blog.  The winner can choose Fated, Claimed, or an ARC of Hunted.  This contest is open internationally.  Leaving a comment on the blog gets you one entry, “liking” me on facebook gets you another entry, and following me on twitter gets you a third entry.  You can do just one or all three…totally up to you!  Good luck!

If you need to jump back on the blog, or go back to find all the links, just click on the hot guy to the left.  He’ll take you wherever you want to go.  🙂

So, TEMPTED will be available on March 27th, and I thought I’d post a new excerpt.  Here it is:

Biting back a sigh, Max stalked over uneven concrete and deep puddles. Maneuvering around to the rear of the paint-chipped building, he found his prey.

Two long legs led up to a heart-shaped ass trying to wiggle out a window.  He let her drop to the ground, waiting until she turned around.

“Please don’t run.”  His boots were made for kicking down doors, not running.

Sarah yelped, pressing back against the worn shingles, hand to her chest.

It was the worst self-defense move he’d ever seen.  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Eyes the color of deep chocolate widened.  Dark circles marred the smooth skin over her delicate features.  Running had taken a toll.  Sandy-blond hair framed her classic face.  She stood much taller than Cara and Emma, the new mates of his friends and the only human females he’d been near in over a century. 

This woman, the one he hunted, she stood tall with legs long enough to give him pause.  Yet, even at about five foot eleven, she was several inches shorter than him. 

Something sizzled along his spine.  His body reacted to the gentle vibrations cascading off the woman.  Instinct honed his focus on her.  Special.  He should’ve known by his obsession with her picture.  The woman was a potential vampire mate.  Enhanced.  Maybe an empath?

He waited as she settled her stance.  Then went for a knee shot.

It was the worse side kick he’d ever seen.  Her worn tennis shoe bounced off his knee, causing no more hurt than a breeze.  She stumbled, and he reached out to steady her.  His hand easily wrapped around her bicep.  “Where the hell did you learn to fight?”

“The internet,” she gasped, trying to jerk away.

That explained it.  “The knee shot was a good move. You just didn’t aim the kick right.”  He was a big guy.  If she dropped him, she’d be able to run. 

“Should I try again?”  Fire lit her eyes while a small smile flirted with her pink lips.

The humor caught him off guard.  He matched her smile.  “You’ll just hurt your foot.”

My Book Boyfriend Giveaway Hop Hosted is by Reading Between the Wines Book Club & As the Pages Turn Giveaway.  The hop will run from 12:01 AM February 1st through to 11:59 PM February 5th, 2012.   Remember:  If you need to get back on the hop, click on the hot guy in the picture.

ALSO- I’m over at the Book Boost talking about my recent tumble down the stairs and giving away books – drop by and say hi.  CLICK HERE   AND:  now I’m at the Brava blog giving away books (yes, I’m almost out of books):  CLICK HERE.

So…leave a comment for a chance to win.  Feel free to just say hi.  Or, if you’d like to answer a question, go ahead and pick one of the following:  Have you ever climbed out a window?  How about in a window?  Any great plans for Valentine’s day? 

Izzy’s Insights – Interview with Character Dage Kayrs…Take 2

on January 26, 2012

 

Sergej Khakimullin
Shutterstock

My name is Izzy and I interview book characters.  Many people say I’m a character, myself.  *Snort*.  That’s nice of them.  I’m hoping Rebecca lets me interview a bunch of her characters–I can’t wait to be in the same room with all of the Kayrs brothers.  MEOW.

So, I tried interviewing the king once before, and his brothers showed up to cause havoc.  Talen is particularly tiresome when it comes to interviews…who knows why.  But Dage agreed to meet me again and this time we met at a very quaint coffee shop that’s off the grid.  The coffee is spectacular and there’s free WiFi, so even if our meeting got cut short, I was happy.  For those of you who haven’t met Dage yet, he’s about six and a half feet tall, packed hard, with black hair and incredible silver eyes.  Frankly, it shows he trusts us that he’s not hiding the odd color.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  Thank you for trying this again.  I’m sorry about last time.

DAGE:  That certainly wasn’t your fault.  Sometimes my brothers are a handful.

If that wasn’t the understatement of the millennium, I don’t know what was.  But I nodded and gave him my most professional smile.  He smiled back…not fooled a bit.

ME:  So, I wanted to talk to you about Max’s mission – I believe he left the other day.

DAGE:  Interesting.  Why do you believe that?

Okay.  Vampires can be kind of scary and this one scarier than most.  Even though his tone stayed calm and no expression crossed his face, an odd tension made the air around us kind of heavy.  The king probably didn’t like his information getting out.

ME:  My sources are pretty good.  And this interview won’t run until Max has finished his mission (but about a month before TEMPTED, Max’s story, comes out—don’t tell the king), so there’s no reason not to talk about it.

DAGE:  Hmmm.  Okay.  We’ll discuss Max and then we’ll discuss your sources in my organization.  Basically, there’s a woman named Sarah Pringle who has created a blog and website about the Kurjans.  They’re after her, and we need to get to her before they do. 

(The Kurjans are the bad guys–pasty faced bad vampires afraid of the sun.  Unlike the good vampires).

ME:  You’re going to let her keep the website up?

DAGE:  No.  Jase already took it down and posted information about her writing a good book.  The website has been taken care of.  Now we just need to get her records from the insane asylum because I’m sure she told them all about the Kurjans.  We can’t have that information out there.

A bit of concern had me sitting back in my chair.  What exactly were the vampires going to do to poor possibly-crazy Sarah Pringle?

ME:  I find it odd you sent Max.  I mean, he’s Janie’s bodyguard now.  What did he used to be?

DAGE:  Max has always been part of the family…serving as my bodyguard as well as one of my best hunters.  The guy is a Russian bloodhound when it comes to hunting.

ME:  Ah…okay.

To be honest, I’ve met Max.  The guy isn’t just a hunter. 

ME:  But why Max?  Many of your people are scouts, including Conn.  Why send Max?

DAGE:  Let’s just say I think Max is the right guy for the job.

A really cute twinkle entered the king’s eye at this point and for a second, I could just stare.  Then I shook it off and got back to business, reminding myself that I was a professional and the guy had a mate.  I mean, really.

ME:  Are you matchmaking, king?

DAGE:  I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.

At this point, a barista sauntered up to give the king a free muffin.  I mean, seriously.  It’s a coffee shop.  You order at the counter and take your own food to your table.  Okay, I’m not just irritated that she didn’t bring me a muffin.  I’m irritated on Emma’s behalf.  Dage politely thanked the woman, keeping his attention on me.  She returned to the counter, her butt swaying the whole time.

ME:  I bet that happens a lot to you.

DAGE:  What happens to me?

Man, guys are clueless.  Even immortal deadly ones.

ME:  Forget it.  So, I have to know, does Max get a happy ending?

The peace was too good to last.  I should’ve started with the main question.  Guess who showed up?  NOPE!  It wasn’t Talen.  Jase, the youngest brother, hustled inside, his brown hair ruffled and eyes flashing.

DAGE:  What’s happened?

JASE:  Something’s going on with the witches…Conn is leaving now.  We have to go.

Darn it.  My source in the Realm hadn’t reported anything about the witches.  I mean, we all knew Conn was heading to Ireland to collect his witch soon (and I fully expect she’s not going to allow any sort of collection), but I hadn’t known it would be this quickly.

DAGE:  Izzy, I appreciate your time, but I need to get going.

The darn barista, who had somehow lost a couple buttons on her shirt, hustled over, her gaze on Jase.  So, yeah.  The guy is seriously hot.  But I mean, come on.

ME:  I’d like to talk about Conn and his mission to Ireland.

Dage flashed a smile as he stood to join Jase. 

DAGE:  I’ll arrange for an interview with Conn when he gets back.  You’ll enjoy meeting him.  And we’ll discuss your sources in the Realm next time.

Okay, it was kind of a threat.  Then, well…the coffee chick made a move.  Not a kill ya type of move.  But an almost genuine trip to basically land in Jase’s arms.  They got all tangled up, and he ended up just picking her up.  The woman beamed.  Then she pouted really pretty when he put her down with a smile and whispered something in her ear.  The Kayrs men left.  I took a look at the flushed waitress.

ME:  What did he say?

NEARLY TOPLESS WAITRESS:  He said he’d be back next week

Excellent.  So will I.  🙂

See the cover for TEMPTED!

on August 26, 2011

Excellent news, my friends.  The magnificent Megan just sent me the proposed cover for TEMPTED.  Isn’t it hot, hot, hot?!?  Tempted is an e-novella that will be released on March 27, 2012.  It’s about Max (Janie’s bodyguard) and a woman named Sarah Pringle.  Sarah just escaped from a mental institution.  You can buy Tempted on your kindle, nook, e-reader, computer, ipad…

Here’s a quick excerpt:

“Miss Pringle?  I’m coming in.”  The door opened on a gust of wind, and Max stepped inside.

“Wow.”  She could only gape.  Wet brown hair, thick and wavy, plastered to his head.  A soaked black t-shirt and jeans revealed rock hard muscle.  No injuries from the fight?  Perfectly healthy.  Not even winded.  He was the largest man she’d ever seen.  His face was rugged…strong.  Not handsome…but, well, masculine.  Yeah.  That was the term.  Deep, dark, and shielded brown eyes took her measure. 
A shiver slid down her spine—some fear—some intrigue.  “How did you find me?”

“You left a trail a first week Boy Scout could follow.  I saw you heading for the tower, so I just kept pace until you got here.”  He eyed her sopping clothing, dark gaze wandering up to her face.  “Your lips are blue.”  Three steps had him at the cabinets, yanking them open to grab a sealed bag.  Those large hands ripped open the bag and yanked out two wool blankets.  “Take your clothes off.”

“No.”  It came out on a croak.  How insulting.  He’d been tracking her, easily keeping her in sight.  So much for getting to freedom.  “We need to run.  If you’re here…they’re coming.”

He wiped his forehead with his arm.  “No, they’re not.”

Her mind spun.  If they weren’t coming—they were dead.  “You killed four of
them?”  She backed away, knees hitting the cot.  Her teeth chattered and she
clenched her lips together.  How had he survived?  “What the hell are you?” 

“A damn good fighter.”  One broad hand ripped his wet shirt over his head to hang on a nail. “We’ll wait the storm out—but you need to warm up.”

A good enough fighter to kill four deadly monsters?  That good of a fighter didn’t exist.  Neither did absolutely perfect, harder than granite, sculpted male chests.  Oh she
wished he’d put his shirt back on.  The breath heated in her lungs.  “No.”

“No to what?” 

No to you beating the Kurjans.  No to there being Kurjans.   No to taking off clothes.  No to it all.”  Hysteria had her vision blurring.

“Stay calm, sweetheart.”  He moved toward her, slow and steady.  Like an animal stalking
prey.  Except he looked more like a mountain than an animal.  Not one of those rolling hills from home…but a real mountain.  Jagged and wild—yet solid with the earth.  Unmovable.

Instinct had her raising her fists, preparing to fight.

He stopped cold.  Those eyes warmed and he cocked his head to the side.  “Honey, take your thumbs out of your closed fists.”