Lycan Lore 2: Offspring

Lycan Lore 2: Offspring
by Shannon Leigh
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-360-3 (Electronic)
AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 7, 2008!
Sequel to Amber Heat best-seller Lycan Lore...
Genres: Dark Fantasy / Werewolf / Shapeshifter / Ménage (M/F/M) / Group Sex / Series
Heat Level: 3
Length: Novella (23k words)

BLURB:

Nine months ago, Heather’s life took a dramatic change. She became a werewolf. Shortly thereafter, a lycan hunter named Cray murdered her sire, leaving her to struggle through her horrible existence alone. But if turning into a bloodthirsty, ravenous, beast of the night wasn’t bad enough, she'd also conceived a child on the evening of her attack. With the next lunar cycle about to begin, the hunter hot on her heels, and her unborn child at stake, she's desperate to stay alive. Hoping the hordes of partying females will mask her scent, she flees to the crowded shores of South Beach, right into the arms of a local college student named Mike, a man who could prove more than a one-night stand.


Born a lycan, bred a hunter, Cray McCorbin has learned to control his inner beast, as well as accept the responsibility of eliminating other wolves who can't. He's not proud of his job—killing isn't something he enjoys—and prefers to consider himself a protector of humanity, despite his own heritage. Nine months ago, however, fate intervened in his miserable life and fulfilled the old Lycan Lore, presenting him with a mate. Cassandra, Heather's best friend, is all Cray's ever dreamed of and more. But destiny can sometimes come with a cruel hand. Though he'd gladly give his life for her, his duties as hunter comes first. He can't allow any renegade werewolf to escape, not even Cassandra's best friend...

EXCERPT:

Heather made her way through the maze of palm trees, trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and the throngs of people still partying at the Clevelander. She’d scarcely made it three blocks before the first twinge of pain started in her lower back, like a needle being jabbed in her spine. Despite how many times she’d endure the transformation, it never got any easier.

Not far enough!

Her breaths became gasps as she quickened her pace. Another sharp pain nearly felled her to the ground. Breaking into a run, she kicked sand up behind her in her haste.

A sudden break in the foliage created a window to the heavens above. Moonlight filtered down through the gap, bathing her in its commanding glow. Unable to fight the change any longer, she fell to her hands and knees in the soft sand.

Heather tugged off her clothes. They’d be torn to shreds if she left them on. In another few moments, she would neither need them, nor care.

Her body wracked with pain, she collapsed onto her side with a strangled cry. Fearing the shifting of her insides might harm her baby; she clamped her arms around her belly and prayed for his safety. “Please, God…”

Bones cracked, muscles tore, and organs shifted, traumatizing her body once again as she turned into a hound from hell. Her frame shook as though having a grand mal seizure. Fur sprouted from her darkening skin as her human exterior morphed into the true beast contained inside.

The last thing she heard before her mind went blank and blood lust steered all thoughts was the sound of voices nearby. She wanted to scream, tell them to run, but it was too late. Heather was gone, replaced by the thing Graham had left behind.

Staying low to the ground, she crept to the edge of a picket fence bordering a narrow pathway leading from one of the hotels on Ocean Drive to the beach. Shrill laughter danced in the air as the hushed voices of a man and woman drew near. Little did they know that death waited a mere twenty feet ahead.

***

Shannon Leigh

Boulevard Bellini

Has anyone bought a Magic Bullet Blender yet? I just got one, haven't tried it yet, but I found a recipe on their site that looked pretty tasty. Here's what it says...

A unique frozen version of the snazzy, upscale Bellini cocktail. A delicious blend of fruity flavor that's tasty without being sweet. A perfect cocktail for brunches and luncheons, or poolside, or breakfast, or anytime! (Breakfast?!!! ha ha)

Ingredients:
ice
frozen peaches
2 shots champagne
2 shots peach schnapps
1 shot lemon-lime soda
1 tsp. sugarPreparation

First ...Fill a Party Mug or Tall Cup halfway up with ice and add frozen peaches to fill the cup.

Then...Pour in all of the liquid ingredients.

And ... Blend until smooth.

I don't know about breakfast,but it sure sounds like a tantillizing afternoon drink! I could use one of these tonight!
Shannon Leigh

Greenwood Manor Review...

Look what Megan at Bitten By Books had to say about Greenwood Manor...

Laura Flannery is a 35 year old woman who needs a vacation, yesterday. She is working at a dead end job, has an old bitty that lives next door and always wants to know her business. If that is not enough, when Laura gets a vacation her neighbor asks if she can feed her five cats. When a post card comes in the mail for a new bed and breakfast, Laura decides to go on a little vacation of her own.

Barnabas is the owner of Greenwood Manor but stays out of sight at first. His butler William and cook Rosie get her settled in. When Barnabas does meet her face to face, he tells her that he is her husband. By the way, he is also dead.

Her stay begins with a taxi driver that cannot wait to get away from her and the house. Strange things keep happening at the old manor such as hearing voices in her head and people floating instead of walking. Laura thinks that she has gone nuts because the alternative is too scary.

This book had me giggling and getting misty all at the same time. Shannon Leigh knows how to get the emotions out of her characters and bring them to life on paper. The love scenes are on the spicy side but done in a way that shows the special connection between Laura and Barnabas. Greenwood Manor is a book that I would recommend to all my friends.

Shannon Leigh

Erotikos Review

Look what Megan at Bitten By Books had to say about Erotikos...

This was a combination of three books in one with three friends who get together for a girls night in. It consists of getting drunk, playing board games and a possible movie. Renee, Candi and Mina are all completely different but are great friends who do not spend enough time together.


Mina brings over a new board game to play that she found. It says that it can bring you adventure in sex for either one or multiple players. The rules are that each woman picks a pewter man of her choice. They have a choice of a vampire, construction worker and a business man plus five others. After reading the directions, they roll the dice to start their own sexual fantasy.


Each woman had her story and a certain man of her choice so there was a variety. The men that were chosen were perfect for each woman and I have to say that I would have picked them all. Hey, I can dream can’t I? Shannon Leigh has been added to my automatic buy list. The sex scenes are very explicit in Erotikos.


Shannon Leigh

Giveaway info

I thought I'd get the giveaway details posted early and out of the way. I'll make it simple, all you have to do is post a comment on one of my posts, and I'll put your name in for a drawing of a signed book cover of Lycan Lore 2: Offspring

The more comments you make, the more chances you'll get. I'll draw a winner tomorrow morning. Be sure to stop by both blogs to increase your chances. Easy enough? Now, let's get on with the fun stuff...

Shannon Leigh

Chasing Booty Review

Look what Amy at Bitten By Books had to say about Chasing Booty...

What a thrilling ride! Ms. Leigh brings us a different kind of intergalactic tale with steamy hot sex in this story. Gaelyn and Reese have been attracted to each other forever, yet both refuse to give in and pursue their lust and desire. They are equally stubborn, but when they connect, their chemistry goes way beyond explosive. Both are bounty hunters and they end up chasing after the same bounty. But when the bounty is the one doing the chasing, they both need to work together and overcome their past issues.

This is an enjoyable book with tons of sex scenes, in bedrooms, in caves, pretty much everywhere that they can. With lots of suspense and action, Chasing Booty will surely keep you at the edge of your seat. This is definitely a must read to those who love a short tale with lots of suspense and thrills.

Rating: 4 Tombstones!

Shannon Leigh

Good Afternoon!

I didn't forget that I'm blogging today, just had some "morning" business to take care of. I've gotten quite a few book reviews to share, as well as some sneak peak excerpts from my upcoming release, Lycan Lore 2: Offspring, due out September 7th. I'll also be posting some info on a contest here shortly so be sure to check back throughout the rest of the day to find out more.

Shannon Leigh

DREAM ON-Adult Excerpt

Here is another sizzling excerpt from DREAM ON available September 1 from Amber Heat. Alex and Nina are in the midst of the morning after and a little more love play is such a good way to jumpstart the day, don’t you think?

EXCERPT

Nina cracked open her eyelids at the sound of furious barking and squinted at her bedside clock. Eight fifty-three blinked back at her in neon green. Milo! She wriggled out from Alex’s arms and grabbed the terry robe from the brass hook on the bedroom door.

Shrugging into the soft garment, Nina opened the spare room. Milo started to wag his tail, then barked and charged past her. She turned to find an adorably rumpled and very naked Alex squatting down and holding one hand in front of him so her dog could investigate, the other strategically placed over his morning erection.

She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the doorframe.

“Security detail?” He chuckled, scratching behind the little guy’s ears.

“Not exactly. More like the ‘Someone New To Give Me Treats’ squad. Come on, puppy. Let’s get you outside.” With a suggestive wink at Alex, Nina started down the hall to the kitchen, the jingle of dog tags right behind. Shutting the back door behind her dog, she squeaked as strong arms wrapped around her, and Alex half-dragged, half-carried her up the stairs.

“Wait!” She laughed when he set her down, only to grab her hand and pull her back toward the bedroom.
As if he had a sudden idea, Alex stopped in the hallway and lifted her against the wall. His mouth clamped down on hers, his hard-on pressing into her belly. She moaned as he made quick work of the robe’s belt and shoved aside the material to get to her flesh.

“I need you now,” he growled, his hands cupping her breasts, thumbs flicking across the hardened peaks.

“Unnh,” Nina gasped when he closed his lips over her tender nipple, sucking furiously. Lust fogged her brain, her clit throbbing in anticipation of what was to come.

“C-condom,” she gasped.

“Put it on while you let out the dog.”

Then he was sliding inside her, so thick, so deep. Her legs hooked over his hips, and she used the leverage to impale herself to the hilt, his wiry pubic hairs grazing the top of her mound.
Bracketing her hands with his, Alex raised them over her head and pressed them against the wall. He pumped her like a jackhammer, fast and deep, his balls slapping against her ass.

Sweat coated their bodies as they rocked into each other. The ridge of his abdominal muscles scraped over her lower belly like a wet washboard. Her inner muscles clamped down on his solid length like a hungry mouth.

Alex licked and laved her throat, the sensation flashing straight to her pussy, making her body shudder on the precipice of orgasm. She was so close, needy flames licking through her veins, every breath fighting its way out of her constricted chest.

Climax roared through Nina like a blaze in a fireworks factory, a high keening wail exploding from her as her body convulsed. Alex wasn’t far behind, his own cries ripped from him as his cock spasmed inside her.

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at DREAM ON, coming September 1 from Amber Heat.

Melissa Bradley

http://www.myspace.com/melbwrites

"Beautiful Liar" by JM Snyder

BEAUTIFUL LIAR by J.M. Snyder

Now available from Amber Allure Press!
Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
At fifteen, JT Pierce was the star of a hit TV show and had the world in his hands. Every teeny-bopper magazine had his face on it; every teenage girl had his poster on her wall. But then the show went on hiatus, and JT wouldn’t lower himself to bit parts or commercials. Slowly, his star faded from view.

Seven years later, JT is Johnny Thomas, who hopes to jumpstart his career by hiring his former manager, Lou Merrin. He wants to do serious movies, a huge blockbuster or two, and claim one of those coveted Oscars for himself. But Lou cautions Johnny about the paparazzi, who can make or break a star these days, and he’s heard rumors of Johnny’s sexuality that might prevent him from landing those coveted leading roles.

Still, Johnny’s nothing if not persistent, and he swears he’ll play it straight. Until he meets Brett, a photographer who turns his life ~ and his heart ~ upside down. Suddenly the celebrity gossip website Z-23 seems to have exclusive pictures of Johnny, and someone close to him leaks information about an audition that was supposed to be kept quiet. When photographs surface that Johnny thought were taken in confidence, he realizes he must choose between the career path Lou offers him and the love he wants to share with Brett.

Excerpt:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Inside the club, the air is close and smoky. The crowd moves like the tide, flowing from one side of the room to the other, catching Johnny in the undertow and pulling him along until he’s washed up against the side of the bar. He’s seeing stars he only dreams about meeting one day and he stands with his back against the bar, watching them bob past him like ships in the night. All the big names are here, and he feels his own status burn a little brighter just being this close to the others. This is what he’s missed all these years. This is where he should’ve been, where he belongs.

Someone bumps into him. He moves aside to make room but the stranger presses against him, clinging to his side. He feels a strong hand ease around his arm to settle somewhere in the small of his back, and hot breath curls into his ear. A masculine voice sighs into him, “Hey.”

Johnny spares a glance and finds himself staring into deep eyes the color of rich chocolate. His gaze flickers to take in short brown hair, lighter than his own, streaked by the sun and standing up from a tanned, sweaty brow. A strong, aquiline nose above too red lips. A small gold hoop earring in one ear and, around a slim neck, a black cord with a handful of white puka shell chips like all the surfer guys wear. The shells fall in the hollow of the stranger’s throat, accenting his dusky skin.

One thought crosses Johnny’s mind. Fuck Lou. He isn’t famous yet, right?

His grin must be encouraging, because it makes the stranger grin back. Leaning against Johnny, he shouts to be heard over the music and the crowd. “Anyone ever tell you that you should be a model with a smile like that?”

Johnny laughs. “Is that your best line?”

“I’m serious. Brett Cary.” The stranger holds out a business card for Johnny to read. Freelance Photographer. “With your looks? I could make you a star.”

Taking the card, Johnny jokes, “That seems to be the general consensus today. You do headshots?”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Brett says.

His suggestive look says he’s not only talking about photos, either. And suddenly Johnny’s evening goes from just alright to hell yeah.

“You come here often?”

Johnny shakes his head. “I’m usually at the Den downtown,” he calls out, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd.

The Den, only Hollywood’s hottest gay club. Johnny watches Brett smile, a slow, sexy grin that says he got the hint. Closing the distance between them, he leans down over Johnny’s shoulder, one hand brushing over the soft skin on the inside of Johnny’s elbow. the touch is ticklish but Johnny doesn’t pull away. Instead, he studies those dark eyes and imagines they’re shadows he could disappear into tonight. Brett’s mouth curves into a bemused grin. “Can I buy you a drink?”

His gaze flickers past him and Johnny turns to see the bartender, waiting to take his order. When he moves, his back presses against Brett’s arm ~ warm, firm, strong. With a coy glance over his shoulder at Brett, he suggests, “How about some Sex on the Beach?”

The photog’s eyes widen at his brazen words, but a moment later, they soften and the smile’s back. One hand drifts to Johnny’s waist, nimble fingers easing into the band of his jeans. “You want to wait that long?” he teases. “I was thinking the VIP Lounge upstairs … ”

Buy your copy of Beautiful Liar today!

DREAM ON

DREAM ON is my newest release and will be available September 1. I am so excited about this second release. I’m still trying to process how well my first release, MICHAEL’S KEEPER did. I’ve had an amazing time since being an Amber Heat Wave winner. The readers, the staff and my fellow authors have all been wonderful. Here is a sneak peek at DREAM ON, available this Labor Day. Enjoy and I will be back a little later with another excerpt.

SYNOPSIS

Nina Rozek has one big nightmare of a fortieth birthday. She’s overslept, is late for work and manages to get herself pulled over by the hottest young cop she's ever laid eyes on. And if that weren’t enough, she looks like something her dog would dig up in the backyard. Not that it matters, though, since the handsome police officer is much too young for her…

Alex Torres feels the heat deep in his gut as soon as he locks eyes with the sexy speedster. But, as a police officer, he knows using her info to get a date is oh-so-illegal…

When the two unexpectedly cross paths at a rock concert later that evening, the intense attraction between them boils over into a night of scorching passion straight out of their wildest fantasies. In spite of their many differences, Nina and Alex forge an unlikely relationship that quickly changes everything. Their own problems aren’t the only obstacles they face, however, as friends, family and career threaten to tear them apart.

EXCERPT

Nina was drowning. There was no other way to describe this rush of taste, scent and heat. Like the song said, she wanted to stay right here, just like this. She’d never imagined for one second that she would be in the arms of a hot young stud, making out with him. Or that she would consider inviting him back to her place. Sensible, forty-year-old accounting managers didn’t do these things.

Why not? The little devil voice danced inside her head.

She moaned as Alex’s tongue swept inside her mouth, twining with hers, exploring, savoring her like a gourmet treat. Her heart knocked against her chest in a primal jungle beat. His hands squeezed her rear tighter, pressing her belly against his erection.

He groaned and tore his mouth from hers, gulping in air like a winded runner. He touched his forehead to hers. “We have to stop. We can’t… Not here.”

Nina wanted to scream. “I know,” she whispered instead.

They stood there, arms around each other, cheeks pressed together trying to control their racing hearts.

Nina wanted this to continue. Between cowardice and desire, she felt her nerves stretch to their limit. Situations like this just didn’t come along.

So go for it. There was that blasted little voice again.

She decided to take a chance. “I don’t want this to end.”

“Neither do I.” Alex caressed the skin of her lower back just above her jeans. “But I did drive my friends.”

Nina worked out the logistics in her head as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Athena drove, and I really have to go home with her. Give me your cell phone.”

He slipped it off his belt clip and handed it to her.

She was freaking crazy. Blaming it on the beer wouldn’t help because she’d only had the one.
Before she lost her nerve, she flipped open the phone and keyed in her name and number.

“You want me to call you tomorrow?”

“No.” Nina pressed “save” and handed over the phone. “Tonight. After you take your friends home.”

Alex stroked a thumb across her cheekbone. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

He lifted her against him, and kissed her hard and quick. “I want to leave right now.”

Nina couldn’t have agreed more and moved in for another kiss. It went from zero to sixty in three-point-five seconds. She put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away. “You are dangerous.”

Alex bent at the waist, hands on his knees. “Shit! No more touching.”

Her body screaming at the loss of contact, Nina agreed. As she sank down beside Merrilee, she reflected that it was going to be a very long concert.

Hope you enjoyed this. I’ll be back later with a smokin’ excerpt.

Melissa Bradley
http://www.myspace.com/melbwrites

My Process

Today I thought I'd talk about writing. I love learning about the writing processes of other writers. Some sit down and plot. Some use databases and spreadsheets to keep track of characters and plot points. Others dive right into a story and go with the flow.

I like to come up with a story idea and jot it down on paper. Yeah, pen to paper. Then I'll sit at my computer and flesh out my idea. Character names, brief descriptions, an idea of what the story is about, maybe even a proposed ending.

From there it's on to writing the thing. With my handy spiral notebook by my side, I pour words through a keyboard and let the characters take over. Heck, on the manuscript I'm working on now, I hadn't intended for one of my heroes to react the way he's reacting, but it makes for a better story. Now I have to figure out how to rein him back in.

So while I'm typing away, new names and ideas come up. I jot them down so as not to forget them later on. New characters will appear and I need to remember who they are and why they're there in the first place. Frankly, I think I'd be lost if I couldn't immediately access my notebook. To go from my Word program to another database behind my screen? I need to be able to see my story while I work on it.

And now, it's time for me to get back to my writing and my self-imposed deadlines.
Feel free to comment. I'd love to hear how the rest of you write. If you're a reader, I'd love to know if you've ever tried to write anything and how you went about it.

Chow!

Marie
www.marieharte.com

Sex Scene: Take One from Lee Avalone

Sex Scene: Take One by Lee Avalone ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-353-5 (Electronic)

Hank Blue is living the life, a Hollywood success story with millions of adoring fans. So why isn’t he happy? What would his fans say if they knew Hank sleeps with Hollywood starlets only to hide the fact he’s gay? Coming out of the closet would destroy everything he’s worked for in the blink of an eye. All the sacrifices he’s made would be for nothing.

As a vampire, Drake has seen it all more than once. Why does a mortal movie star tempt him where others have failed? Is he really so shallow? Drake wants Hank Blue. And Hank wants Drake’s alias, mild-mannered bit actor Wayne Reed.

Little does Hank know he has a vampire by the tail... MORE?
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/SexSceneTakeOne.html

Genres: Gay / Dark Fantasy / Vampire / The Arts / BDSM / Ménage / Group Sex / Voyeurism Heat Level: 3 Length: Extended Amber Kiss (14k words)

Sorcerer's Lover

The Squire is still selling and doing pretty well and for that I can say I am quite grateful. I am giving consideration to a sequel for William and Duncan but in all honesty I wouldn’t look for it until some time in 2009.

Next up for me with Amber Allure is Sorcerer’s Lover. It is tentatively scheduled for release in late September, so look for it then if all goes as planned.

Full disclosure, the story is fairly short. I am planning on more from the two lovers, Warin and Benedict. Look for that in 2009.

After that I am involved in several Amber Allure releases coming up including a medieval ménage and several gay contemporary stories. For more information on those check out my website at http://www.authorshawnlane.com/.

Here is a sneak preview of the upcoming release, Sorcerer's Lover:

“You’re awake.”
Benedict tugged at the shackles locked to his wrists. It started to come back to him. Samson and the others were escorting him home and then…
“Fight all you want, you can’t get out of those.”
Lord, he was naked, too. Benedict stared at his bare flesh lit by what seemed to be dozens of wall sconces. Yet where was the voice coming from?
“You might be a little dizzy still. It takes some adjustment to come back from that particular spell.”
Benedict blinked, his head hurt. Spell? Then he really had been shrunk? And his men…had they been killed?
“I’m not going to hurt you, your highness.”
That man. He’d fallen from the tree. A dark angel. But not an angel. Something far more sinister. “I’m…I’m not a prince,” Benedict said softly, finding his voice, seeming to speak to no one.
“You are the king’s son.”
“A bastard son only.”
“Ah, but you are infinitely more than that to the king. You are well-favored.”
Benedict shook his head. “Who are you? Why do you hide yourself and where are my men and my…clothes?”
A low rumbling chuckle was his only answer for several moments.
There was movement by the door, but still Benedict could see no one there. “What trickery is this?”
“I know not the whereabouts of your men currently. Or whether they live to tell of their failure to protect you. If they did survive no doubt your father will see to their execution. They are no longer a concern to you, your highness. As for your clothes…you do not need them for what I have in mind. You are my prisoner and are mine to do with as I please.”
Benedict’s heartbeat raced. He swallowed the lump of fear forming in his throat.
“As for who I am, your highness? We met once, though I think you do not recall me. It was a year ago at your father’s court.”
Benedict tried to recall meeting the dark angel who’d fallen from the tree and then attacked them. He would have thought he would recall a man that attractive. Before the attack, Benedict had been thrown by the masculine beauty of the man.
Though most of his life he resisted his attraction to men, Benedict hadn’t been able to prevent his cock from growing half-hard just looking at the man. Dark curly hair, soulful dark eyes with impossibly long lashes, the man from the tree had instantly reminded him of a fallen angel. Only now, it was clear just how far the angel had fallen. The devil’s apprentice, no doubt. Had he been able, Benedict would have crossed himself.
“Think, your highness. Think hard. You had much to drink that night and in a dark hidden corner you allowed…”

My Home

I am so excited because my newest spicy tale, DREAM ON, will out September 1 as part of the Amber Pax collection SEASONS. I’ve mentioned it once before in a previous blog, but I wanted to share something about the location and inspiration behind the story.

I grew up and currently live on Chicago’s southeast side. It is an area of Chicago that rarely gets included on maps of the city. In fact, more often than not, one needs to buy a Lake County, Indiana map in order to see it. It sits on the shores of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand Calumet River. The neighborhoods here go by the names of East Side, South Chicago, Hegewisch, Millgate, the Bush, South Deering and Jeffrey Manor. It is a vibrant, multi-cultural place with a predominantly Mexican and African American presence and a strong heritage of Serbian, Croatian and Polish with a bit of German, Italian, Irish and Lithuanian in the mix as well. It is a land of churches, schools, beaches, railroad tracks and the relics of once mighty steel mills that used to dominate the skyline.

The churches and the steel mills made this area. All along the river are docks and cranes that loaded and unloaded giant ore carriers, like the Edmund Fitzgerald, from the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence sea way. I remember standing at the bridges and watching as these huge ships floated down the river. Today the river traffic is salt and grain carriers as well as other, smaller ships. Yachts and sailboats that traverse the Great Lakes in the summer are wintered here. In the razed tracts of land where mighty mills once churned out steel 24/7, there are marshes and wetlands containing wonderful species of birds and animals. The Burnham bike trail that starts in down town Chicago ends at Wolf Lake here between East Side and Hegewisch.

At one point this area was home to dozens of large Catholic parishes with schools. That number has dwindled considerably but the churches still stand, some of them home to other denomination Christian congregations. These parishes as well as other churches were the lifeblood of the community with festivals and gatherings, neighborhood programs and help you could count on in times of crisis like when the mills were starting to close. There are huge parks here like Calumet, Bessemer, Mann, Russell Square and Trumbell, with large field houses and baseball diamonds where kids play, go to summer day camp and play sports. I spent a lot of time at these parks. My grandfather was one of the founders of the youth baseball league that is still going strong today.

This area decreased in size enormously when the mills shut down. Now, there is lots of building going on and refurbishment. More families are moving in again. There is a gaming casino just over the border in Indiana that has provided a much needed economic boost.

Not many people know this place but Martin Luther King once led a peaceful march down 108th street during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1984, the Olympic torch came through here on its way to Los Angeles and again in 1996 on its way to Atlanta. It has had its moments of infamy as well. The body of Bobby Franks, victim of Leopold and Loeb, was found at 118th street and Wolf Lake in 1924, the massacre of union workers at Republic Steel in 1937 and perhaps most horrific of all, the Richard Speck murders of 8 student nurses in July of 1966.

I love this area and have always felt that it has never gotten enough good exposure. As a writer, I knew that I was in a unique position to shed light on this wonderful area so I decided that I would set some of my stories here. My first, MICHAEL’S KEEPER, is set partially in my particular neighborhood, East Side, and in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana straight down US 41 from this area. DREAM ON is set in Hegewisch, East Side, South Chicago and partially in the more well known neighborhood of Hyde Park.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into an interesting and often overlooked area of Chicago, my home. I’d love to hear about your neighborhoods and hometowns so stop and by to share some memories.

Melissa
MICHAEL’S KEEPER
DREAM ON coming September 1
http://www.myspace.com/melbwrites

Win A Download

If you'd like to win a download of one of my books, then tomorrow, Thursday,August 21, 2008, please visit: http://www.authorisland.com/ answer a simplequestion, and maybe you’ll be the winner.

Thanks,
Christiane

Front Street Reviews Probes Me Deeply

Just a few days ago, Araminta Matthews at the excellent book review site, Front Street Reviews, interviewed me for the site. Front Street has reviewed several of my titles, and they are great to work with.

Araminta recently reviewed my "novel about reincarnation and love," Orientation and her reading of the book prompted many of her questions. Araminta said this about Orientation: "I have never read a romance novel. Can't stand the idea of them. I am of the theory that romance novels are for the romance-less, a commodity I have thankfully never been without. Rick Reed's Orientation is a romance novel, but it is unlike anything I ever imagined romance novels could be. It is a feminist testimony, it is an earthquake to the infrastructure of stereotyped sexuality, and it is a blessing to believers in an infinite universe."

I wanted to share the interview with you (don't worry; it's short) because I thought she came up with several interesting and unique questions which were not the run-of-the-mill kind of thing you might usually see with author interviews. So here's the interview in its entirity. I'd love to hear what you think!

Please describe your whole book in ten words.
Heart-wrenching, dramatic, suspenseful, provocative, sad, happy, dramatic, mysterious, romantic, heart-pounding

Part of the excitement I have around your book is that it is a great book for the glbtq community. What is your place in that community, if you don't mind divulging?
My place? I have never known my place...and it gets me in a lot of trouble. Seriously, I suppose if you're asking about how I live as a gay man, it's pretty quietly, with most of my life revolving around my writing, my son, my partner, and my dog.

Do you have a favorite GLBTQ author? Who would you recommend to this community?
The first person who came to mind was Armistead Maupin. I remember being thrilled when I was very young with his TALES OF THE CITY books and devouring all of them. Last summer, I read his latest installment to those books, MICHAEL TOLLIVER LIVES...and was moved to tears. Maupin speaks to me. I would recommend people like Maupin, Jean Genet, Alan Hollinghurst, Patricia Highsmith, Patricia Nell Warren, Victor J. Banis, Felice Picano...I could go on, but the above are all innovators and trail-blazers and good authors to know.

Who are you reading right now?
Right now, I'm reading a book called GROTESQUE by a wonderful and quirkly Japanese author, Natsuo Kirino. It's a very odd little tale from the POV of a woman whose beautiful sister became a prostitute and was brutally murdered.

Where do you do most of your reading? and your writing?
I read all over the place...on public transportation, in the back yard, in bed, and sometimes, dangerously, in the car (but only when stopped at lights, which sometimes get me an angry horn blast from behind). My favorite place is probably on the sofa in my office. I do almost all my writing at the desk in my office, from where I'm answering your questions right now.

What is your favorite GLBTQ book?
Our Lady of the Flowers, by Jean Genet. It's dark as dark can be, dangerous, and ground-breaking.

Who is your favorite glbtq hero/ine?
Oh, I guess staying in vein with the above, I would say Maupin's Michael Tolliver. He's sort of a gay everyman.

What are you working on now and when can we expect it in print?
I just moved from Miami to Seattle and that move has been taking up a lot of time and allowing the writing projects to pile up. I have contracts for two ebooks novellas...one is a coming out story (a romantic tale), and the other is a gay take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears (go figure). I also have several ideas for a new novel and the one I'm most drawn to at the moment is one involving an infamous, late 20th century American serial killer. I also have my first young adult novel coming out just in time for Halloween (it's a horror story) called DEAD END STREET (Amber Quill Press). I also have a couple ebook novellas coming out soon, one is called FUGUE and it's quite racy and risque about a master/slave relationship, and PERSONA, a sweet little love story involving hidden identities and meeting online.

Many of your readers, and ours, are aspiring writers -- what advice do you have to help aspiring writers to break into print?
Persistence. Keep writing and don't give up. Today, more than ever, there are lots of options for new writers, including small press and ebook publishers. When you do have something polished and ready-to-go, be careful about submitting. Research carefully and make sure the publisher you're contacting is the right one and follow their guidelines to the letter.

Most people imagine writers lead a glamorous life. What sorts of glamorous things you do?
Oh, I could never say, lest I arouse hateful jealousy among my adoring fans.

Do you have a color scheme? What colors do you connect to?
Dark ones, mostly: blues, purples, deep scarlet.

What one question do you wish you had been asked in interviews past, but have yet to have been asked? and your answer?
Would you accept one million dollars as a token of gratitude for doing this interview? My answer would be, "Absolutely!"

If you could give your book to one person, who would it be and why?
I would give a copy of IM, my thriller about a serial killer who meets his victims online, to the next gay man who arranges an online hookup and invites a stranger into his home.

Go here to read an excerpt from Orientation and purchase it.

Go here to see a trailer for Orientation.

Go here to visit my website and here to visit my MySpace.

Do I Look Like My Dog?!

I've had lots of emails from people who couldn't see my MySpace blog...where I did this same topic. These are people who haven't joined MySpace and that's fine. I doubt I would have joined either if not for being an author.


So I decided to give those who wanted to see what all the commotion was about a place to go. So here it goes...


This is my dog BO...long O...and Me.


In case you couldn't tell who is who...BO and ME, our names are both two letters.

This picture was taken when he was younger. We were visiting my daughter while my house was being built...a time I remember fondly. As was I younger too...my picture was taken in October of '05. It was my first publicity picture aside from the shots taken for the local newspaper when I was young. (Do we really want to go there?)



Just after this picture was taken, he somehow escaped out the side door, got into to the mud and trashed my daughter's house.

So what do you think? Do I look like my dog?


If you have a dog..or another pet...do you look like yours?

www.britblaise.com
www.myspace.com/britblaise

Now Available - Passion's Victory

I'm pleased to announced that Passion's Victory is now available at Amber Allure. Writing this story brought several surprises, one of which many writers are familiar with. The characters of Micah and Jonas refused to stick to the plot, and the story is better for it. Like Jonas, I took that leap of faith and went where he sent him. I hope you'll enjoy Passion's Victory.

When passion is the prize, it’s time to change the rules...

Micah Souther is young, talented, and gay. As the junior owner of the family business, he knows better than to look for love “on the clock.”

Jonas Chadwick is the new guy at the firm. Older, wiser, and a survivor of the school of hard knocks, he’s not in the market for an office romance, even if he knows for certain his young boss is gay.

One kiss is all it takes to send Micah and Jonas on a collision course, and when bodies collide, the friction gets hot...

An EXCERPT from Passion's Victory

Any of my neighbors watching were getting quite a sideshow. I shoved my hand in my pocket, fumbling for my keys. They fell from my shaking fingers to the porch decking. Jonas pushed me back, breaking physical contact. I longed to see his eyes, to get some idea of what he thought, what he felt.

“Bend over and pick them up,” he said cheerfully as he rubbed my nipple.

I stared at him and tried to catch my breath. “Not in front of you, Chadwick. I know all about men like you.”

“Do you?” Something rough and dark in his voice gave me pause. What demon did he battle?

“I know enough.” I pushed him back against the side of the house, not with some little force. “Why did you come back?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to satisfy my curiosity.”

“Bullshit.” I fisted my hands in his shirt and gave him a shake. “We take this inside, make it private, or we’re done here.”

Jonas stared at me for the longest twenty seconds of my life, then he nodded. I released him and he bent over, snagged my keys, and dropped them into my outstretched palm. I unlocked the door and invited the devil into my home for the second time in one day.

“I need a drink. Do you want one, Jonas?” I needed to haul him into my bedroom and have my way with him, that’s what I needed. My insides quivered. I shivered despite the warm evening.
But I knew, to my sorrow, that quickie sex now would be a mistake, and I bet he knew it, too.

“I’ll take a brandy, if you have it.”

“I hope you’ll settle for bourbon.”

I poured us each a generous shot and handed him one. He nodded and tossed it back like a pro. I followed suit, and we set out empties down on the counter in unison. Jonas reached for me again. I lifted my chin and stared him down. His hand dropped to his side.

I wanted him. God, how I wanted him. I ached with it. His gaze met mine before flicking down to the bulge in my pants and back up.

“Looks nice.”

“It’s a sock,” I told him cheerily, in the same tone that he’d used to tell me to bend over.

“Hmm. Well, that’s the risk we run, isn’t it?”

I snorted. “Ya think?” I went to check his package, and he moved away.

“Shy?” I hardly thought shyness to be a problem for him given his examination of my tonsils with his tongue.

“Let’s just say I’m cautious...”

**

Passion's Victory -

http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/PassionsVictory.html

Surrendered Victory - #2 Best Seller June 2008 - http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/SurrenderedVictory.html

For more information about KC Kendricks -

website: http://www.kckendricks.com/

blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com/

Alliance series still going strong

I was really excited to hear that Alliance: Cosmic Scandal hit # 4 on the July Amber Heat best seller list. It's the fifth story in my futuristic Alliance series, and it's great to know that someone is still buying and reading the stories!

Brit Blaise wrote a blog about world building a while back and I have to admit world building is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing futuristic romance. In the Alliance series, two planets in the same galaxy have banded together to fight the space raiders plaguing their merchant vessels. Zigan is a traditional world, with a monarch and rigid societal structure. Mhajav, on the other hand, has a modern society where pretty much anything goes, with one exception: virgins are prohibited from marrying. This becomes a big problem when Myrek, heir to the throne of Mhajav, falls in love with that rare creature, a Mhajavi virgin. Khira asks him to make love to her, but under Ziganese law, he must marry a virgin. Their love defies the laws of two world and causes a cosmic scandal that requires a creative solution.

So far, the reviews have been great:

Blue Ribbon Rating: 4.5... "The fifth story in the ALLIANCE series, COSMIC SCANDAL tells of a man and woman in a cosmic snarl. Author Lyndi Lamont writes with such passion that I wanted to crawl into Myrek’s arms. When he didn’t allow sweet Khira to lose her virginity but instead found other ways to feel close, I had to keep an ice cold drink handy. I highly recommend short story ALLIANCE: COSMIC SCANDAL to my friends who enjoy romantica." - Kathleen R. Romance Junkies

4 Nymphs... "Cosmic Scandal is another delightful episode in the Alliance series. For the first time, Myrek desires to follow his heart rather than his duty but Khira knows their love is doomed. Lyndi Lamont continues this fabulous saga of two planets struggle to come together with Myrek older brother to Rulik, who was introduced in the first book Diplomatic Relations. This is a very enjoyable series; I look forward to the next installment." - Chocolate Minx Literary Nymphs

Click here for more information on the worlds of the Alliance series, or here to buy a copy of Alliance: Cosmic Scandal and read an excerpt.

Lyndi

World Building...

I promised to post today on the blog and I didn't have a clue what to talk about... Imagine that.

Then...I spent Saturday with my youngest son, Corey, who is an avid reader. When we were still living in Phoenix, he never left the house without a book in his hand. He would read on his lunch break and every opportunity. He can’t just sit…Corey needs a book like he needs food.

He reads Speculative Fiction…big honking books. Anyway we were talking about world building. I told him one of the best parts of writing for me is the fun of building my own world…the place I want to be with my characters…and nobody can tell me, “No, they shouldn’t do this.”

Does the world have to be big and complicated? Because a writer has built an intricate world in a million-word, heavy-ass, need-wheels-to-carry-it-around, tome…does that give it more value? More power to the writer who can do it well, but does sheer volume make the world more valid than a simple world? IMHO, I don’t think so. A world is a world is a world.

One of my pet peeves is reviewers/editors/anyone who I’ve read that says, “And the vampire did @#$%! Everyone knows vampire’s don’t do @#$%!

If I’m building a world…my vampires or anyone else I create can do whatever they want…as long as I don’t break my OWN rules. No one can tell me I’ve broken the rules. Someone else’s rules don’t have to be mine.

Vampires are the easiest to use as an example…who says the sun will kill them? Who says they can’t drink the blood of a corpse? Who says they use mind control? And on and on and on…

What do you think? If a writer gives you a good enough reason for why their character can do the unusual—will you believe?

www.britblaise.com

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/bio_Blaise.html

Fugue--A Sexy Preview from SLAVE TO MY DESIRES AmberPax

I was so thrilled with the new AmberPax covers Trace Edward Zaber did for the September AmberPax, I thought I'd use today's blog to present a little preview from my story, "Fugue." I hope you enjoy it...in many ways.

Synopsis

In Rick R. Reed’s tortuously sexy new novella, Fugue, you might not always know. Fugue takes the brave reader into the dungeon playroom of a master and his boy. It’s the kind of place where “darkness skitters into corners, hiding in shadows where the walls disappear.” A boy is chained to the pipes along the ceiling. Hooded, he can only experience the sensations his master delivers with his whips, fingers, tongue…

But in the boy’s mind, a dream state takes him places even the master could not imagine…places where the established pecking order is turned upside down. As he’s being deliciously whipped, tantalized, and tortured, the boys takes a mental journey on a late-night train where his adventures are even more raw and erotic than what goes on in this very dungeon.

Come along for the Fugue…and answer for yourself the question: who is the master and who is the slave?

Excerpt

Pipes run the length of the ceiling. It is to these pipes that I am chained, my arms raised above my head to accommodate leather cuffs and the links of steel that marry me to the pipes. For now, it is painless, but I am a seer of pain and know what the future holds: how the muscles in my arms will first ache, then scream for relief, and finally succumb to the numbness that I will curse. It is as if the muscles and tendons in my arms have a kind of sense memory. They know what’s coming and their prescience fills me with a sense of delicious dread. You may wonder how one can both anticipate and dread pain at the same time. I do not. Some things about the dichotomy between pleasure and pain are not mysterious to me, although they might be difficult for me to put into words that you’d understand. To stoop to a cliché, it’s just something you have to know on an instinctive level.
It’s a slave thing.
Shackles embrace my ankles, keeping me anchored to the cool, damp floor. This sense of immobility ratchets up the tension and anticipation, and these feelings war within me, causing tingles throughout my body in much the same way as the restraints holding me in place do. I ache for something to happen, yet know I am powerless to bring anything about. Patience is a virtue I have learned, honed in its tutelage now for several years.
Ever since I met my master. That man of mine. The one I love. The seer and deliver of pain, of pleasure, of love…and discipline.
Waiting. Anticipation pulses like a drug, pounding and surging through my body, binding me more thoroughly than these cuffs, chains and shackles. The air against my naked body is especially cool, its dampness almost like a second presence, like an icy caress. Part of the chill comes from the fact that I am bereft of hair; earlier, he shaved me clean, right down to the hair that sprouts between the cheeks of my ass. He has clamped my nipples and the bite of the steel hurts and, at the same time, keeps me in a constant state of arousal. My balls hurt as well; he has pulled them low with metal cuffs which twist around the top of the sac, gripping and tugging….a constant, dull ache.
This is true love.
Yet all this dull sensation of pain is but a prelude to the full sympathy of hurt that’s on its way. I keep my eyes shut tightly; a lazy smile moves across my lips, disappears.
Waiting. Anticipating. Almost overriding the pedestrian ache of my constraints is the roaring of my blood in my ears, the pounding of my heart, the quickening of my breath, all of these racing with each little noise I hear. My mouth is dry with want, with need. I almost want to shout out into the murky light: “Hurry! Hurry! I almost can’t bear you making me wait like this. The anticipation is too much. It’s torture even I don’t want. Hurry!”
But I don’t dare. I keep my own counsel and stay mute. A good slave knows his place, knows when to groan, when to scream, when to whimper, and when to sigh. And now, in this waiting, is not the time.
Behind me, my master busies himself, arranging lashes on a table: cat o’nine tails, bullwhip, riding crop, and even a wooden paddle with holes drilled in its smooth oak surface that transports me back to junior high school. I remember being in seventh grade detention, the paddle whistling through the air, singing through those holes as the gym teacher, Mr. Wright, brought it down hard on my adolescent ass, not knowing that the pain he was delivering was also filling me with the most delicious pleasure, or that my dick was hard and dripping in my jeans. Had he known, would he have continued?
Would it have been a kind of pleasure for him, too? Thinking about such a prospect makes my dick hard even now.
My master comes up to stand behind me, firm touch of his hand on my chest, then moving away. His hands are warm and strong. I am his.
I smell the leather: deep, musky, manscent.

Visit my website.

ON COMPANY TIME by JM Snyder

Now Available

On Company Time
by J.M. Snyder

a gay interracial erotic romance

Amber Allure Press, e-book, $4.00

Buy your copy today!

Blurb:
Jimmy's job in customer service is just a paycheck, in his eyes. His boss Debbie wishes he were more of a "people person" and more enthusiastic about coming to work. To improve his skills, she schedules him to attend a two-day, out-of-town workshop Jimmy's already dreading.

Then he discovers Scott Raines will be tagging along.

Jimmy's had a fierce crush on Scott, who works in sales, since his first day at the office. The man is gorgeous and funny and so damn intimidating, Jimmy hasn't yet screwed up the courage to ask him out. Maybe the workshop will provide the perfect opportunity to remedy that. They'll travel together, share a hotel room, and who knows where things may lead? Johnny might yet get to make his move.

Unless Scott makes one first.

Excerpt:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

I finally push through the heavy glass door at the front of our building and step out into the hot summer sun. Squinting around the parking lot, I see Scott by his car ~ he leans against the open trunk as he watches me hurry down the steps. When I approach, his smile widens, flashing impossibly white teeth that seem to dazzle against the darkness of his skin. Fashionable sunglasses hide his eyes but I feel his gaze trained on me.

A ball of excitement bounces around inside my stomach, making me anxious and nervous and not a little bit silly. I'm leaving work early and going on a road trip. With him. "Hey," I call out when I'm close enough. I point to my own car a few spots from his. "Let me get my stuff."

He nods. "Are you getting hungry?" he asks. "I was thinking maybe we could grab a bite to eat before we hit the road, so we don't have to stop on the way."

Now food is involved, and in my mind it's escalated into a date. I resist the urge to whoop into the air and hide my stupid grin by ducking into the back of my car for my overnight bag. My pants bite into a sudden erection that pounds at my crotch, and I resist the urge to fling myself across the back seat, unzip my pants, jerk off hard and fast in my hand just to alleviate the sweet ache that's set in. I love him, I decide. If we don't hook up this week, I'm going to come home and join a freaking monastery. This guy is meant to be with me.

"Jimmy?" Scott asks. "You want to get some food before we head out on the road?"

He sounds like he's coming closer, and suddenly I'm all too aware of the fact that my ass is up in the air, aiming his way. I hope he enjoys the view ~ I have a nice round butt that looks great in tight pants, if I do say so myself. What the rappers call junk in the trunk. Lots of padding for the pounding, I liked to say when I was in college and looking to score. I wonder if Scott's staring at my ass right now, thinking something along those lines.

I hear his shoe scrape over the pavement ~ he's stepped up beside my car, and for the briefest second, I feel a slight brush across my backside. Barely there, might have been fingers or might've been the hem of his shirt, it was that indistinct. But in the confines of my slacks, my dick jerks to attention, coming a little in its excitement. Did he just cop a feel?

God, I hope so.

In my haste to stand, I don't step back far enough to clear the car door and crack the top of my head on the edge of the jamb. Bright pain flares across the back of my head and blooms behind my eyes as I lean down over the back of the driver's seat. "Fuck!"

Strong hands grasp my head as Scott massages my scalp, his fingers rubbing gently through my dirty blond hair. I melt beneath his touch. "You all right?" he asks, pulling me toward him. "Jeez, that had to hurt."

"No shit," I mutter. What a way to damper a good mood.

I stay bent at the waist and let him examine my head. He's mere inches from me now, my face impossibly close to his groin. Anyone passing by would think I was blowing him.

And why aren't I?

Buy On Company Time today!

NEW RELEASE - OH, GEORGE

OH, GEORGE

by Christiane France
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-341-2 (Electronic)
August 2008
Cover Art © 2008 Trace Edward Zaber
Amber Quill Press - Amber Allure
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/OhGeorge.html
Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Romantic Comedy
Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Amber Kiss (16k words)


Blurb:
By projecting the image of a swinging bachelor, company owner Zack Hannington has never had a problem keeping his personal life private from his employees. But when handsome and ambitious George Parker joins the secretarial pool, Zack finds himself indulging in X-rated daydreams that stress him out and seriously mess with his head.

He knows George is a kindred spirit, and he’s positive he’s met the man somewhere before, but he can’t remember where or when, and his own rule of never playing house with "the help" makes matters worse.

Zack doesn’t know if he’s in love or in lust with George, but just as everything seems to be working out even better than his dreams, he screws up and loses it all...

Or has he?

Excerpt:

Once they were seated, Zack watched as George served the coffee—his beautiful, long-fingered hands deftly handling the china and pouring the aromatic brew, as well if not better than a highly trained English butler.
As George brought Zack his coffee, Zack felt the other man’s cool fingers brush against his hand. The touch produced a sensation that traveled up Zack’s arm like an electric shock, and as he looked up, George snagged and held his gaze for what felt like an hour, but was probably less than a heartbeat.
“Sugar, sir?” George inquired with a faint but unnervingly knowing smile Zack knew was intended to press any remaining buttons the brief physical contact had missed.
He knew damn well the touch had been deliberate. As George returned the tray to the sideboard, Zack followed him with his eyes, wishing the Tarasios people were anywhere but here, demanding his attention. He also wished George was not his employee. The man was a walking advertisement for poetry in motion—the perfectly tailored pants encasing those tight buns, the smooth, flowing walk that made him appear to glide across the carpet, was not only wonderful to behold, it was giving Zack the biggest, most painful hard-on he’d had in weeks.
He took a deep breath and changed position slightly. If George wanted him stirred up, his wish had been granted. He felt hot and slightly dizzy, and while he desperately wanted a glass of ice water, he knew better than to ask for it. He’d met guys like George before—arrogant, assured little bastards who knew exactly how they affected their victims and how they enjoyed watching them squirm. Well, for George’s information, Zack Hannington didn’t squirm for anyone. Not today, not ever. And the absolute last thing he wanted to do was let George think he had the upper hand.
Warning himself to cool it was a waste of time. He wanted George. And he wanted him now. He wanted to feel his stiff cock pushing into that tight ass over and over and… Once he was finished with Tarasios, he’d tell George to meet him in his office, and he’d lock the door, and—
“Did you hear what I said, Zack?”

http://www.chrisgrover.ca/
http://www.myspace.com/185513895

Ilona's Wolf released

Ilona's Wolf,part of the Howling At The Moon... Again AmberPax, was released over the weekend while I was at the RWA Conference in San Francisco. This is my first werewolf story and the first with a Medieval-style fantasy setting. World building can be a challenge, but it can also be a lot of fun. In this story, I created a kingdom called Velosia in which magic is openly practiced, the old Roman gods and goddesses are still worshipped and werewolves fight to conceal their existence.

My muse didn't lead me in the expected route where the werewolves cycles are tied to the phases of the moon and he's a victim of his biology. In Velosia, werewolves are born with the ability to shapeshift at will. Except for my hero Rolf who starts the story trapped in wolf form. The beginning is a twist on the old fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, only in this version, Red is saved from the woodsman by the wolf.

While picking herbs in the woods, Princess Ilona is rescued from a woodsman by a wolf. When the creature licks her wounds, it is suddenly transformed into a man. A very handsome, very naked man who makes passionate love to her in a glade.

Cursed by an evil wizard, Rolf was trapped in wolf form until he tasted the blood of a royal. Now he must escort the princess on a hazardous journey back to the castle to stop an ill-fated wedding.

Passion flares between them, but both know there is no future for Ilona and her werewolf. Or is there? In a world where magic and passion combine, anything may be possible.

Here's an excerpt from Ilona's Wolf:

... she heard the creature approaching. It bounded out of the woods and stood, snarling. Then it lifted its head and let out a blood-curdling howl. The woodsman took one look at the fierce creature and ran off down the path. The wolf chased after him, then wheeled and trotted back toward her.

She sat frozen, her back to the tree. Oh, gods, don't let it see me. She tried to cast an invisibility spell, but fear weakened her. The wolf looked at her, golden eyes gleaming, mouth open, showing off large, sharp teeth. She closed her eyes and gripped her throat with both hands. Quaking with terror, she listened as the animal padded toward her. She felt its hot breath on her cheek, then a huge tongue licked her mouth, her cheek, her forehead.

Opening her eyes a slit, she stared into the face of the wolf. Sad, golden eyes stared at her, and her fears receded. Perhaps he'd been tamed. She reached out with what was left of her powers, but sensed no immediate danger. "Good wolf," she stammered.

She held out one shaking fist, and the wolf sniffed it before licking her knuckles. It moved closer, sniffing her clothing. To her surprise, the animal hunkered down beside her and laid its head on her leg. She touched it, stroking the soft fur.

Relief flooded through her. Saved by a wolf, of all creatures. "Thank the gods you showed up when you did. I'd no wish to be ravished by the likes of him."

The wolf lifted its head and seemed to smile up at her, mouth open, tongue lolling.

She smiled at the canine as she continued to pet it. "I don't mind you rescuing me, but 'tis not exactly what a girl dreams of. Where's my knight on a white steed? That's who is supposed to do the rescuing."

When the wolf lowered his head, sniffing between her legs, she laughed and pushed it away. "Don't be rude."

The creature responded by sitting up and resting its head on her breast. She put both arms around it and hugged it close, dropping a kiss on its head. "Don't get me wrong, Sir Wolf, but I still wish you were a knight. A strong, handsome knight like my Werner. I miss him so much, you know. Dagmar says another knight will come for me, a handsome knight to protect me and make sweet, passionate love to me."

Looking around for her basket, she summoned it to her side. The wolf jumped up, staring at the basket. Her vision seemed to blur as the wolf's face slowly became humanlike, then shifted back. She must have hit her head harder than she'd thought if she was seeing things. She closed her eyes and shook her head, but the aching had receded.

When she peeked again, the wolf was gone, but a naked man crouched in front of her. A very handsome, well-built man with shaggy brown hair and golden brown eyes.

"Who are you?" she gasped.

~~~~~~~

For more information and a steamier excerpt, go to Amber Heat.

Lyndi

Wolfsbane Revisited

One of the best parts of creating memorable characters is getting to revisit them later and see how they’re getting along. I’ve always been a fan of the Epilogue, the sequel, the flash forward – anything that gives me a glimpse into the lives of my favorite characters after their story has ended.

I was thrilled to finally write the sequel to my 2006 Amber Heat/Amber Pax release Wolfsbane: Aspect of the Wolf, because from the moment I created secondary characters Vance Garrison [brother to Daniel, the hero in WB1] and Charlotte Swanson [cousin to heroine Emilie Swanson] I knew that not only did they both deserve some screen time of their own, but they would make a perfect couple.

I especially enjoyed the challenge of bringing together two wounded hearts. Vance lost his fiancé in WB1 – due to his lycanthropic curse, and Charlotte is so wary of men and relationships she even cautions Emilie to avoid getting too involved with Daniel. I knew these two characters would be guarding their feelings, trying not to fall for anyone with the potential to hurt them, and I knew their passion would be explosive once it was unleashed.

Here’s a short except from Wolfsbane 2: Leader of the Pack to give you a bit of glimpse into Vance and Charlotte’s tumultuous relationship:

*******

He’d given her his bed, only because it hadn’t seemed right to give her Daniel’s, and the couch was too impersonal, not to mention lumpy. It hadn’t seemed odd to have a woman in the house again, until she’d peeked her head into Daniel’s room, where he lay contemplating Carl’s assurances there had been no werewolf activity in the area.

He hadn’t realized the T-shirt he’d given her was one Beth had worn on several occasions when she’d stayed over. The memories hit hard, but he couldn’t very well ask Charlotte to take it off after he’d offered her use of anything in his wardrobe. The damage was done.

Now, two hours later, all he could think of was his own misery. At least that would keep him awake and keep the dreams at bay for a few more hours while he waited for Carl or Jake to return his calls.

The sounds from the next room didn’t quite register at first. The bed frame squeaking, the bumping of the headboard against the adjoining wall didn’t phase him.

It wasn’t until Charlotte moaned that Vance realized something was wrong.

He vaulted out of bed and raced into the hall. He probably should have knocked, but the scene in Emilie’s apartment played in his head. Bloody scratches on the door and the ominous scent of rutting were would plague his dreams if he permitted himself to sleep. On the way across town Charlotte had railed against the creature, promising him every vile punishment imaginable, but Vance knew, beneath the self-righteous anger, she was terrified.

He threw open the door to his bedroom and launched himself inside, ready to confront an enraged lycan.

Moonlight, coupled with the neighbor’s bright back porch light, illuminated the room enough to show him Charlotte was alone. She lay tangled in the sheets, struggling to free herself. Fisted above her head, her hands seemed immobilized as though some unseen force were holding her down.

“Charlotte!”

Vance crossed the room in two strides and grabbed her wrists, but she broke free of his grip. The contact only seemed to frighten her more. She screamed and thrashed, but now with her hands free from their invisible bonds, she could fight back. She clawed at his arms, savagely tearing skin with her blunt, unpolished nails.

“Hey! Hey, it’s me. It’s Vance.”

He hated the thought of using force to subdue her, but her strength seemed enhanced by her terror. Finally, after capturing her wrists again, he threw himself over her in an attempt to calm her struggles.

“Charlotte, wake up. It’s Vance. Come on, sweetheart. Come back, it’s okay.”

She heaved beneath him, arching her back as if in great pain. When her eyes finally flew open, her pupils were dilated almost completely, leaving only a thin rim of green iris. She screamed again and thrashed, unseeing, still trapped in her nightmare.

“It’s Vance. It’s me—”

“Get off me!” Finally coherent, she met his gaze, and her battle ceased abruptly. Her body went soft under him, and Vance relaxed.

“Are you okay now?”

“I will be when you get off me. What the hell do you think you’re doing, anyway?”

Vance canted back on his knees, allowing her to sit up. “I was trying to wake you up from your nightmare. Has it been like this every night since you got back to Cypress Park?”

******

To find out more about Wolfsbane 2: Leader of the Pack visit Amber Quill Press/Amber Heat today!

I’m Baaack. Here is a short, yet sizzling adult excerpt for my upcoming release, DREAM ON. This is a sneak peek, so forgive any errors as this has not gone through final edits.

EXCERPT

Nina and Alex are having their first time together after the concert.

Nina gasped as Alex tugged her close, molding his hands to the curves of her buttocks, his erection hard against her belly. His mouth closed over hers and she welcomed the heat, reveled in the fierce pleasure. She clung to him, a tidal wave of need crashing through her, the world spiraling out of control.

Lifting her against his chest, Alex slid his hands under her gown as she wrapped her legs around him. She cried out at the fever hot touch of his skin on her naked flesh. His fingers drifted between her cheeks to stroke her creamy vulva, then he pressed a blunt tip inside to play with her swollen clit.

Back and forth and back and forth, the torturous rhythm drawing her body tight, her breath fighting its way out of her constricted lungs.

He tore his mouth from hers with a grunt. “Floor or bedroom?”

She couldn’t remember enough English to answer. He seemed to understand her predicament and carried her, half walking half stumbling into the living room. Soft microsuede hit the backs of her legs and she realized Alex had set her down in the big overstuffed chair by the window. Kneeling between her splayed thighs, he yanked her gown off, then his shirt and bent to her, cupping her breasts, his thumbs strumming her nipples like guitar strings causing the already tight peaks to harden further.

“Holy God,” he whispered raggedly.

He sucked one tip into the moist cavern of his mouth, swirling his tongue around and around building sensation to an unbearable level.

Nina arched into his touch with a desperate cry, her fingers spearing into his hair, holding him to her. He kissed his way to her other breast, suckling and teasing that bud.

She yanked at the button of his jeans with her free hand, wanting him, needing him inside her.

“Alex, Alex….”

“Right here,” he soothed, rubbing a palm gently over her quivering belly as he tugged a condom from his back pocket.

Hope you enjoyed reading this. DREAM ON will be available soon from Amber Quill. In the mean time, if you are looking for something right now, please check out my current title, MICHAEL'S KEEPER available now at http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/MichaelsKeeper.html

Have a great weekend!

Melissa Bradley

http://www.myspace.com/melbwrites

SNEAK PEEK-DREAM ON-PG

Hi everyone,

Melissa Bradley here, hope you are all having a terrific weekend. I am so excited because my new release, DREAM ON, will be released soon as part of the Amber Pax Seasons collection. Look at this gorgeous cover Trace did. Here is an unedited sneak peek, PG for now. Another, steamy excerpt will follow later

SYNOPSIS

Nina is having a disastrous fortieth birthday. She overslept, was late for work and managed to get herself pulled over by the hottest young cop she'd ever laid eyes on. The last thing she expects is to cross paths with Officer Alex Torres again.

That evening at an Aerosmith concert, the sparks fly, plunging Nina and Alex into a blazing night of passion neither can forget or give up. To Nina's surprise, the two forge a relationship that will change everything. But age isn't the only hurdle they face. Friends, family and career threaten to tear them apart.

EXCERPT

Nina was drowning. There was no other way to describe this rush of taste, scent and heat. Like the song said, she wanted stay right here just like this. She’d never imagined for one second that she would be in the arms of a hot young stud and making out with him. Or that she’d be considering inviting him back to her place. Sensible, forty year old accounting managers didn’t do these things.

Why not? The little devil voice inside her head demanded.

She moaned as Alex’s tongue swept inside her mouth, twining with hers, exploring, savoring her like a gourmet treat. Her heart knocked against her chest in a primal jungle beat. His hands squeezed her rear tighter, pressing her belly against his erection.

He groaned and tore his mouth from hers, gulping in air like a winded runner. He touched his forehead to hers. “We have to stop. We can’t… Not here.”

Nina wanted to scream. “I know,” she whispered instead.

They stood there, arms around each other, cheeks pressed together trying to control their racing hearts.

Nina wanted this to continue. Between cowardice and desire her nerves were stretched to their limit. Situations like this just didn’t come along.

So go for it. There was that blasted little voice again.

She decided to take a chance. “I don’t want this to end.”

“Neither do I,” Alex caressed the skin of her lower back just above her jeans. “But I did drive my friends.”

Nina worked out the logistics in her head as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Athena drove and I can’t not go home with her. Give me your cell phone.”

He slipped it off his belt clip and handed it to her. She was freaking crazy. Blaming it on the beer wouldn’t help because she’d only had the one.

Before she lost her nerve, she flipped it open and keyed in her name and number.

“You want me to call you tomorrow?”

“No,” Nina pressed “save” and handed the phone over. ”Tonight. After you take your friends home.”

Alex stroked a thumb across her cheekbone. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

He lifted her against him and kissed her hard and quick. “I want to leave right now.”
Nina couldn’t have agreed more and moved in for another kiss. That went from zero to sixty in three-point-five seconds. She put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away. “You are dangerous.”

Alex bent at the waist, hands on his knees. “Shit! No more touching.”

Her body screaming at the loss of contact, Nina agreed and went to sit beside Merrilee. It was going to be a very long concert.

Hope you enjoyed this excerpt. I'll be back later with a steamier one.

Melissa

www.myspace.com/melbwrites