Every day from today until January 4th, 2010, (except for December 24th and 25th), I’ll be giving away one of Lauren Dane’s fabulous novels. In turn, she will be giving one of mine away. Head on over to her blog to see which one.
Unexpected Desire…
It’s been ten years since clean-cut, sexy-as-hell police officer Todd Keenan had a white-hot fling with Erin Brown, the provocative, wild rocker chick next door. Their power exchange in the bedroom got under his skin. But love wasn’t in the cards just yet…
Now, life has thrown the pair back together. But picking up where they left off is tough, in light of a painful event from Erin’s past. As Todd struggles to earn her trust, their relationship takes an unexpected and exciting turn when Todd’s best friend, Ben, ends up in their bed—and all three are quite satisfied in this relationship without a name. As the passion they share transforms Erin, will it be enough to help her face the evil she thought she had left behind?
To enter for a chance to win this novel, answer the following question in the comment section. The winner will be announced tomorrow. All winners have a week to contact me to collect their prize.
My good friend Lauren Dane and I both have a new release on January 5th, 2010. To celebrate we’re teaming up to bring you this contest. Thirteen chances to win books, plus a shot at winning your very own Nook!
Two contests:
1.) The main contest is for the Nook and it ends on January 5th. This post will remain sticky so people can enter until then.
2.) The Book-a-Day contests will be daily, except for the 24th and 25th of December (Christmas, y’all). Check back here and on Lauren Dane’s blog (http://www.laurendane.com/blog/) to enter those. Scroll down past this sticky post for those. There’s one today, so scroll on down.
HOW TO ENTER FOR A SHOT AT THE NOOK:
1. Copy the code (click on ’share’) of the graphic above and post it to your blog. Add a link to my blog from your blog, saying something like, “Click here to enter Curl Up with a Book…and a Nook Contest”.
2. Publish your blog.
3. Come back here and reply to this post with a link to your blog entry and your answer to the following question: What new books are you looking forward to loading onto your Nook (should you win it) in the New Year?
If for whatever reason you’re technically challenged and can’t post the graphic, that’s okay. Just blog about the contest and provide a link to it. That’s a totally fine alternative.
What if you don’t have a blog?
Tell at least one other people about the contest who you think might want to enter. Post about it in a forum, on a loop, a friend via email, on MySpace, Facebook ect. Obviously, I can’t verify if you did it or not, so this is on the honor system. Once you’ve done that, reply to this post and tell me about it. Oh, and don’t forget to answer the question: What new books are you looking forward to loading onto your Nook (should you win it) in the New Year?
BOOK-A-DAY CONTESTS – more chances to win!
Be sure and check in every day from December 21st to January 5th. I will be giving away THIRTEEN books by Lauren Dane and she will be giving away THIRTEEN books of mine over on her blog (http://www.laurendane.com/blog/). Check back every morning on this blog and also on Lauren’s blog (http://www.laurendane.com/blog/) to enter for a chance to win that day’s book.
Drawings will be done randomly out of a bowl, so blame my husband or my daughter if you don’t win. Check in the next day for the winner of the previous day’s book.
Rules, Regulations, Flotsam & Jetsam
The biggie: You must be at least 18 to enter! By entering this contest you’re saying that you are at least 18 years of age. Not all of the books that will be given away are erotic, but some of them REALLY are.
As far as the book-a-day winners go, I will pay for international postage, so if you win a book during the course of the month and live outside of the U.S., no worries on that score.
All postage within the U.S. will be media mail, so you’ll have to be patient for your book to arrive, in the event you win one.
You can win more than one book. This is all by random drawing, so I have no control over who wins what. Some people just luckier than others.
You must answer the posed question in your reply to be entered. This is supposed to be fun!
Other authors are totally eligible to enter. Authors are readers too, after all.
Lastly, this contest is VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
If you want to know more about Wicked Enchantment, the first full-length novel in my new Dark Magick series, click here. You’ll find the first chapter and the book video.
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There are so many juicy excerpts from this book that I want to post. Unfortunately all of them have spoilers in them. This book has a few twists and turns, and I want to keep them secret for as long as I can. This one isn’t too spoilerific. 🙂
Don’t forget that the big contest starts on Monday!
Having no particular interest in women’s clothing other than when he was taking it off, Gabriel watched Aislinn. She touched the gowns, examined their size and length. Talked to the clerk about alterations, but she did it all with a dull look in her eyes. Whereas Carina seemed beatific in the shop with the ability to buy new things for court, Aislinn touched the garments with listless, roaming hands, as though searching for something that wasn’t there, something she knew she’d never find between the four walls of the building. While all the time she kept glancing out the plate glass window to the street and the passersby.
Aislinn Christiana Guinevere Finvarra of the Seelie Court, supposed purebred Tuatha Dé Danann, was bored. Bored with her life, yearning for more. That was another secret she kept from her peers. Add it to the pile.
She had to feel so lonely.
The heaviness that had settled in his chest earlier eased a bit. Maybe luring her to the Unseelie Court was the best thing he could do for her. At least in the Black Tower she could pursue her magick without fear of reprisal or banishment. She could even be tutored to enhance whatever skill she possessed. A woman as intelligent and as interesting as Aislinn deserved that and more. She didn’t deserve to be stifled and strangled in a toxic and delusionary environment like the Seelie Court.
She wouldn’t be bored anymore. She wouldn’t be alone. Sure, she’d hate him for what he’d done. This couldn’t end any other way. But in the long run she’d be better off in Black with her own people.
“I think I found it.”
Gabriel came back to himself, realizing she’d browsed over to the lingerie section. A distance away he could hear Carina nattering at one of the store clerks. He walked to her and saw she held a red satin and chiffon slip in her hands. It looked long and…fascinating. Sexy. Now these were the kind of clothes that men were interested in, at least for the couple minutes a woman wore them before they became a heap on the floor of the bedroom.
His eyebrows rose. “Try it on.”
She disappeared into the fitting room and reappeared a couple of minutes later. It covered her down to her ankles, yet still managed to be the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. The bodice cupped her breasts just perfectly, just the way he wanted to. His fingers curled as he imagined doing just that. The red looked incredible against her skin tone.
“Turn around.” His voice came out just a tad hoarse and he realized he was clutching a silk gown off one of the racks hard enough to wrinkle.
She turned and he lost his breath. The back dipped down very far, all the way to the top of her beautifully rounded bottom. He wanted to run his lips over every inch of slender, flawless skin from her the nape of her neck to the small of her back and then—
“Gabriel?” She’d turned around and stared at him, frowning.
He cleared his throat. “It’s beautiful on you. Your next lover will drool all over the carpet.” He knew that for certain because it would be him. No way was he allowing any other man to see her in that gown.
Aislinn was his.
It’s less than a month until the release of the first full length novel of my new Dark Magick series and I’m starting to get really excited. Harriet Klausner posted her review of the book today, which is a signal that release day is nigh.
Klausner says, “Wicked Enchantment is a superb romantic fantasy starring a brave heroine whose bloodline is not totally Seelie pure and an Unseelie whose bloodline is too pure with the Dark Magick. Their relationship is filled with distrust and attraction….. With a terrific late twist, sub-genre fans will relish this wickedly enchanting thriller.”
I do love writing secondary characters. Sometimes it gives me an opportunity to explore the hero or heroine of my next novel just a little, letting me get to know him or her before I write their story.
That was the case with Aeric O’Malley who appears as a secondary characters in my upcoming release, Wicked Enchantment. I got to know Aeric pretty well while I wrote Wicked Enchantment. It helped me gear up for Aeric’s story, Cruel Enchantment, which will release in the summer of 2010.
Here’s a short snippet from Wicked Enchantment (January 5th, 2010) with Aeric in it. Just a little taste. 🙂 I can’t post a longer snippet because I I want to avoid spoilers. This book hasn’t release yet, after all.
Excerpt from Wicked Enchantment, first book in the Dark Magick series.
When he reached the top of the winding staircase, Aeric O’Malley, one of his only friends, leaned in the doorway leading out onto the roof. He crossed his brawny arms across his chest and lifted a dark brow. “You’re late and the souls are restless. We almost left without you.”
Aeric, long ago and in another world for the fae, had been a blacksmith with an ability to forge magickal weapons that had given a whole new dimension to the battles in which they’d been wielded. These days there wasn’t much call for magicked battle weapons, though Aeric still found work here and there, making charmed restraints and the occasional illegal charmed club or sword. Now Aeric was a part of Gabriel’s host and one of his best friends.
Some called it the Furious Host, but Gabriel thought they were only mildly annoyed. Probably more so than usual since he’d been making them wait.
“I’ve been busy. I’m doing something for the Shadow King over in the Rose.” Gabriel said, reaching the door.
“The Rose?” Aeric pushed off the doorframe fell into step beside him. His longish dark blond hair was tied at the nape of his neck and he wore a pair of battered jeans, steel toed boots and a T-shirt that strained over his chest. He wasn’t a blacksmith anymore, but he still had the build of one. “What’s it like over there?”
“Boring.” Except for Aislinn. She was a spitfire. He’d tell Aeric all about it, but Aodh wanted it under wraps. “Are the rest of them here?”
“Yeah. We’ve been waiting for the last hour.” His voice came out an angry, low growl.
Emerging on to the roof he saw the rest of his host reclining on the shiny black quartz top of the tower. The mystic horses roamed aimless. There were six tonight, which meant a healthy amount of souls to reap. Abastor was Gabriel’s black quarter horse and was the only mount that appeared nightly. A headstrong horse only Gabriel could control, Abastor led the hunt. The sleek black Netherworld hounds, Blix and Taliesin, also roamed, sniffing what there was to sniff when they weren’t tracking needy souls throughout the city.
Want more Snippet Satruday? Here’s a whole list of authors who are doing it today:
Usually it’s the characters that make or break a novel for me. They have to engage me and I need to care about what happens to them. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to be “nice” characters or “good” people. I’ve found gray and downright black characters to be extremely engaging in some of my favorite series (Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law series comes immediately to mind).
That said, Jane True, the heroine of Tempest Rising, is likable in a genuinely good way. She’s the kind of character I could identify with immediately. Sympathetic without being wishy washy, Jane engages you from page one and makes you care. She’s strong in a quiet, internal way and amusingly self-deprecating. That brings me to the other main thing I loved about this novel, the author’s awesome sense of humor. I laughed out loud often (sometimes every page) while reading this book, much to my husband’s dismay since I usually read late at night, in bed, while he’s sleeping. 😉
I’m really looking forward to seeing how her character evolves and grows throughout the series and can’t wait for Tracking the Tempest. There’s a definite question who Jane will end with romantically speaking–will it be the classy vamp or the reclusive, mysterious barghest? I know who I’m rooting for! Peeler has made my auto-buy list with this fast-paced, sexy read and I can’t wait to see where she takes things from here.
Cats and computers don’t mix, as I’ve said before. Synja, my generic sweetheart of a feline knocked hot tea on my laptop last month. And last night….? She SAT on my keyboard and somehow deleted everything from my desktop. *sigh* I was able to recover most of it from my trashbin and move it into documents.
Normally I keep my “files of the moment” on my desktop for easy access, but whatever my cat did (Sigh!) made it so I can’t save anything to the desktop. This isn’t a totally critical thing. My files are all still there and I can still get to them, it’s just freaking inconvenient. I’ve done a systems restore and that didn’t work. I’ve also messed around with the settings for hidden files and folders, thinking that maybe the desktop stuff is still there on the desktop and I just can’t see it. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I’d appreciate advice. I’d rather not have to tote my laptop back down to the Geeksquad this week if I can avoid it.
Between Synja sitting on (and dumping steaming hot tea on) my laptop and Wiggle drooling all over it, it’s amazing the poor thing is still functional. Surprisingly, my three year daughter leaves it alone. Thanks for small miracles.
Sorry I’m a day late in posting this, my satellite internet connection was down yesterday.
With no further ado….the winner (chosen by random drawing) is: Jessica K! She said, “I’m also thankful for TREES! and AUTHORS! because without those two very important pieces to a great book. Then again, I also love digital books. ;)”
Congrats, Jessica! Drop me an email at anyabast (at) gmail.com and we’ll organize your prize. 🙂
I’ve been quiet lately, but for good reason! I finished JEWELED yesterday. Whew. Just in time for Thanksgiving, and I’m giving THANKS for that.
I have lots to give thanks for this year (as I do every year). I’m an incredibly lucky person and I don’t take my blessings for granted. One thing I’m thankful for is YOU, my reader. Thank you so much for supporting me, buying my books, sending me emails, and talking me up. I can’t even say how grateful I am to ALL of you!
To show my appreciation, I would like to hold a Thanksgiving Contest. Reply to this post with something you’re thankful for and I’ll give you the choice of a book from my stock (I’ll tell you the titles I have on my shelf and you can pick one). I’ll draw a winner on Monday, November 30th. This contest is open to all entrants, but is VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
As for the ARCs of Wicked Enchantment…I had so many wonderful blogger/reviewers contact me that I wish I had about twenty more ARCs to give away than I do. In order to make it fair, I had to draw names at random. I have contacted some of you to let you know to expect ARCs, but I have NOT contacted all of you yet (my book deadline made me put everything on hold for about a week).
I also plan to dig into the twenty five million emails that have been piling up now that I have some free time. So if you’ve sent me an email lately, I’ll be getting back to you soon.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, all of you!!! If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, here’s to a wonderful Thursday. 🙂
I have six ARCs of Wicked Enchantment and I would like to give them to readers who have well-maintained blogs (ones that are regularly updated) to read and review. The only catch is that you agree to read and post a review of the book sometime during or before the week of January 5, 2010.
Are you one of these people? Drop me an email with your blog link and I’ll pick six. 🙂 anyabast (AT) gmail (DOT)com
If you want to know more about Wicked Enchantment, the first full-length novel in my new Dark Magick series, 
