Foodie Friday with Lena Loneson

I'm really pleased to welcome Lena Loneson, author of God of Ecstasy, who's introducing us to a recipe that sounds truly yummy, as does her book. Enjoy!! And be sure to check out the blurb for God of Ecstasy after the recipe.

Thanks for having me on Foodie Friday, Anya!  I’m a novice cook myself, so I recruited a good friend (also one of my beta readers) for help with a wine-centred recipe: Risotto with Lamb Ragu.

My latest book, God of Ecstasy, is part of the Pricked series and features tattoos, which is what I’ve been talking about in my blog posts lately.  The tattoo part was easy for me–I have two myself, including a large back piece–but where I really needed to do research was with another important part of my book: wine.

My hero is Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, madness, and ecstasy.  He’s cursed by an evil djinn to remain trapped in a wine bottle, I Dream of Jeannie-style, for eternity.  He’s only released to fulfill three sexual fantasies whenever a woman rubs the bottle. 

Before writing God of Ecstasy I knew a lot about beer, but almost nothing about wine.  I was inspired by a winery tour in upstate New York, where I discovered I really enjoyed a good white wine: particularly a dry Riesling or chardonnay.  The next step?  Cooking with it! 

This recipe comes from my friend Garli, and I’ve taste-tested it myself, to much stomach happiness.

Risotto with Lamb Ragu

Ingredients:

Lamb ragu:

½ lb Ground lamb

½ small can tomato paste

1 cup Chicken stock

Butter

Fresh-peeled garlic

Fresh rosemary

Saffron

Salt and pepper if desired

Risotto:

2 cups of arbregio rice

½ cup dry white wine (e.g. Pinot grigio)

1 small diced onion

4-5 cups chicken stock

Butter

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Crumbled bleu cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Chopped mint leaves

Have all the ingredients out on the counter, as you’ll be tossing them in different pots as you work.  The main thing you’ll need for this recipe is a good stirring arm and attention span (my own biggest hurdle), as you watch the pots.

Lamb ragu:

Add garlic to a large saucepan on the stove with some olive oil, until it starts to brown.  Add the ground lamb, breaking it up with a spoon.  Add rosemary, salt, and pepper, to taste.   Add half a small can of tomato paste and 1 cup of chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10-20 minutes on the back burner.  You can start the risotto as it simmers.

Risotto:

For the risotto, you’ll need a large pot/pan (the heavier the better, helps it to heat evenly) in which to make the risotto.  Also, start a small pot with simmering white wine and a larger pot with 5 cups of simmering chicken stock.  (Note: Do not add cold liquid to the risotto, as it will ruin the texture.) 

The main steps of the recipe involve a lot of mixing, so get your muscles ready!

In the large pot, add butter and chopped onions.  When the onions are transparent, add rice, and mix it up.  It should turn from a dull colour to a brighter white.  Then add ½ - 2/3 cup of simmering wine and a pinch of saffron.  Keep mixing while waiting for the liquid to dissolve.  When it’s dissolved, add 1 cup of the simmering chicken stock to the pot with the rice.  Mix until dissolved.  Repeat, adding 1 more cup of chicken stock each time, stirring until it dissolved, until the texture is as desired.  It should be very creamy but a bit al dente (firm but not hard) in the middle

When it’s done, stir in the rest of the ingredients (pine nuts, mint leaves, cheeses, and a little extra butter) and add the lamb sauce. 

Time to eat:

The risotto can be paired with the rest of the wine you used for cooking, if you’re looking to finish it off, or it goes well with a nice Italian red, such as a chianti.

Hope you enjoy!  Feel free to stop by and say hi at LenaLoneson.com or on Facebook or Twitter.

Lena

God of Ecstasy

Jaime Leighton has had some pretty unremarkable sex in her lifetime. So when she rubs a bottle of wine and a hot, half-naked tattooed man appears in her bathtub, offering three fantasies, he’s pretty hard to resist. Dionysus claims to be the Greek god of ecstasy, wine and madness—and he can breathe underwater. Thus begins the best three nights of Jaime’s life.

They also turn out to be the most dangerous, when the evil djinn who cursed her new sex partner attacks. Now Jaime must come to terms with her growing feelings for the god and break the magic spell inked into his arms before the djinn snatches away both her love and her life. 

Release Day is Here!!!

I interrupt my usual Foodie Friday fare to celebrate the release of Stone-Hard Passion, book two in my Unveiled Seductions series and the second of my Pricked series releases! If you really, really MUST have a blog today from me concerning food, may I suggest visiting the lovely Dawn Montgomery’s blog where, in June, I got to talk about food and writing and, of course, Stone-Hard Passion…

No, there really is no escape from it today. I’m too excited!

It hasn’t been that long since I got word the book was accepted for publication, but sometimes I feel as though it’s been forever. Especially since it’s been up for pre-order at Ellora’s Cave for ages. I’ve caught myself about to blurt out a plot point or two as though everyone’s already got a chance to read it and had to bite my tongue. Thank goodness that part of the wait is almost over!

I’m hopping all over the blog-o-sphere today, so I hope you’ll come visit me either at Sidney Bristol’s blog where I’m talking about troll redemption, or at Cristal Ryder’s where I ask, “What makes a hero sexy?” I’m also at the Beyond the Veil blog doing my monthly post and talking about the movies I saw this month, including my take on the good and bad of Magic Mike. Strangely enough, there I only mention Stone-Hard Passion in passing…go figure! Tomorrow I’ll be at Jayne Kingston’s blog too, talking about my birthday plans, which may just involve a tattoo! Stop at one, or two, or all of them and say hello.

As a wonderful extra boost to my week, the cherry on the sundae so to speak, yesterday I found out my book Beyond Prudence was a recommended read on All Romance e-books! Lady Rhyleigh had some lovely things to say, such as, "This book was an awesome and amazing visualization of steampunk erotica." WOW! I'm humbled and elated, all at once. Happy Birthday to me! :) 

Jayne Kingston in the house!

Today I'm so pleased to welcome another of the Pricked authors, the marvelous Jayne Kingston whose book Ink Lust was released yesterday. Does it ever sound good... Take it away, Jayne!

Thank you for having me on your blog today, Anya! I hope you’re having as much fun as I’ve been having with all the tattooed hotness happening over at Ellora’s Cave this month.

I’ve made a sort of unofficial observation throughout my years of getting tattooed. (I have five that I’ve gotten over the span of ten years or so.) Women seem to prefer having someone with them when they sit in the chair while men usually go it alone.

I think for us women it’s similar to going to the bathroom in pairs or groups. We don’t need someone to go with us, of course. It’s just more fun with friends. Going to the bathroom together gives us a chance to gossip amongst ourselves, snark about the skinny girl who’s skirt is way too short even though she’s really hot and we’re just jealous, and borrow or share lipstick or a piece of gum if one of us left ours at home.

Having a friend sit with you while you’re getting tattooed is almost a necessary distraction because, let’s face it, getting tattooed hurts like crazy. Even if you have a high threshold for pain like I do, it freakin’ stings, right?

I had a friend for all three of my first tattoos, and she was a godsend. She checked in with me every so often to make sure I was all right. She kept me talking to keep my mind off the needle. She got me something to drink when nerves kicked in and my mouth dried up like the desert. She drove me home afterward when I felt a little shaky.

I’ve gone to several appointments alone as well, and while my artists have all been extremely interesting to talk to, there’s still nothing like having a girlfriend there for moral support as well.

Are you tattooed? Did you have a friend or family member to keep you company? Have you/could you/did you go it alone?

 Ink Lust Blurb:

Leni Brewster should have been disappointed when her twin sister had to bail on holding her hand during her first tattoo, but going to her appointment solo means time alone with the sexy-as-hell tattoo artist who falls into the Do Not Touch category two-fold.

Only Jamie Rodriguez isn’t as off-limits as Leni thinks. Privately single for months, Jamie finds himself more than looking forward to having the hot little librarian in his chair. And when she accidentally reveals a naughty secret about herself, he can’t get his hands on her fast enough—he has to know what else she’s hiding under that buttoned-up exterior of hers.

What he discovers sets his blood to boiling, igniting a burning determination to test every single one of the boundaries, both personal and physical, she’s set for herself.

Excerpt:

“No sister to hold your hand?” he asked, moving around the tattoo chair standing at an angle in the middle of the compact room. He reached between his legs and centered his rolling stool under himself as he sat.

“Frankie came down with a cold, and Jo didn’t want to leave her,” Leni said, meaning her eight-month-old niece and twin sister, as she turned in a little circle and reacquainted herself with his room.

She liked Jamie’s space, with its dark blue walls and lush spider plants hanging in front of the small, frosted glass windows set high up on the wall. His black lacquered bookcases were filled with all sorts of odd statues, knickknacks, and an amazing array of books that ranged from glossy picture books of all kinds to odd curiosities that were fun to flip through. The walls were covered in framed photographs of him with various celebrities he’d met and/or tattooed mixed with small paintings of his.

“Poor little critter.” He made a sympathetic face as he pulled on a pair of black nitrile gloves. “You sure you want to do this without her?”

It was Leni’s turn to get the matching trio of tiger lilies, one orange, one pink and one red, she and Jo had decided to get both in honor of their mother and their bond as sisters. Their mother had raised them on her own without help from their father, his family or hers from the time they were infants, and the three of them had always been extremely close and fiercely protective of each other as a result.

The orange lily was for their mother. The field behind the house she’d raised her girls in was full of them. Her father—Leni and Jo’s grandfather—used to cut them out of the ditch in front of her childhood home and burn them every year, calling them weeds. It broke their mother’s heart, so when she had a place of her own, she filled her yard with them and let them run wild.

When she had her girls, she planted huge amounts of pink and red lilies to the field—pink for Leni, her quiet, happy girl and red for Jo, her little spitfire.

“It takes forever to get back on your books if I cancel.”

Not that he didn’t already know that. Jamie was one of the best tattoo artists in the area, and in high demand. His books were filled months in advance year round.

“She insisted I come without her,” she added. She put her purse on the small chair in the corner of the room and tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

“I’d have cleared my schedule for you,” he told her, his gaze steady on hers.

She pressed a hand to her stomach as it dipped dangerously at the look in his eyes.

“Any day, any time.” His eyes never left hers, even as he stepped on a peddle under the chair. A motor hummed to life and the back and leg rests started to lay flat, making it look more like a flat table than a dentist’s chair. “Any way, anyhow,” he added, so serious he left no question about whether he was messing with her or not.

The heat rising in her stomach burst and spread in a molten wave through her.

“Good to know,” she breathed, crossing her arms to hide that her nipples had come quite fully to attention. “Are you ready for me?”

His answering smile was positively wicked.

Available here:

Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10125-ink-lust.aspx

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ink-Lust-ebook/dp/B00851VY6K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337742418&sr=8-2

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ink-lust-jayne-kingston/1111341695?ean=9781419940798

Jayne Kingston is a fledgling erotic romance author. She loves telling stories about people with a lust for life in pursuit of love hereafter. You can find her all over the internet, starting with her website: www.jaynekingston.com. See you there!

We're Partying Today!

The Pricked authors are ganging up to bring fun, hilarity, prizes and an all-round good time to not one but TWO loops today! We'll be at the Coffee Time loop and the Ellora's Cave chat loop too! Make sure to stop by and say hi, meet the authors, play some games, hear some stories and maybe even get the chance to interact with some of their characters!
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Stone-Hard Passion Excerpt

A short, hot excerpt from Stone-Hard Passion which will be released on July 27th. Enjoy!

Giving in to impulse, she cupped his ass with one hand, her fingers finding the hollow at the side, splaying out to cover as much of his flesh as she could. A glance in the mirror told her he was hard again—wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“You won’t lose my friendship, Vidar.” She spoke slowly, raised her other hand to caress up the front of his thigh until the tips of her fingers touched the springy thatch of hair at his groin. “Let me prove it to you.”

The shudder that went through him was violent, exciting, but she stayed where she was, giving him the chance to step away or voice any other objections he could come up with. His face had tightened, grown almost ferocious, and his breath grated in and out of his throat.

“Let me prove it.” She whispered it, tremors starting in her belly and rippling out into every inch of her body. Putting pressure into her touch, she urged him around to face her. After the briefest of hesitations, he gave in and she almost gave a shout of triumph.

Jasmina licked suddenly dry lips as she surveyed his massive cock. It truly was the most amazing she’d ever seen. The skin was like satin, stretched tight over the hard, vein-defined core. It was capped with a perfectly shaped head, darker in color, that only served to emphasize his arousal.

With a little moan of pleasure, Jasmina licked from base to tip, holding tight to his ass just in case Vidar changed his mind.

You’re not getting away from me now!

Monday morning comes too soon

This weekend has flown past, and I'm unhappy about that. There were a bunch of things I wanted to achieve but didn't...ah, well, I'm know for overscheduling myself anyway! The coming week will be fairly quiet around here, except for reminders of where I'll be otherwise on the net.


Tomorrow will find me being interviewed at SJ Drum's site. She's one of my fellow Pricked authors and her book, Sinful Southern Ink, has gotten some really nice buzz around the internet. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should!


Wednesday I'm at the inimitable Cassandra Carr's blog, talking about mixing genres and the dastardly Plot Monkeys taking over my life. (Ooooo, Wednesday is also the day the amazing and awesome Cynthia Sax's Pricked novel, Tattooed Tryst is released! I'll remind you, if you forget and just wanted to say, "Go, Cynthia!!")


Thursday I'll be posting an exclusive excerpt (short, but I promise hot!) from Stone-Hard Passion, just because I'm so freaking excited that it's less than two weeks before release day! And I'm a tease, what can I say? :D


Not sure what's in store for Foodie Friday, but you can be sure there'll be something. I've had quite a bit of interest in it, and have a couple more authors interested in guest blogging, as well as some ideas of my own.


So, hope to see you all around the web this week, and hope every day is a good one!

Monday already???

This will be a fairly quiet blogging week for me, outside of whatever happens here. The most exciting event scheduled at the blog is that Lynne Silver is stopping by for Foodie Friday! I’m looking forward to seeing what she cooks up, so to speak…

Things are jumping at EDJ#1. It’s the busiest time of the real estate year and although this has been a sort of strange year, with a lot of action earlier because of a nice, mild spring, we’re still hopping. EDJ#2 is just being its usual self, and I’m actually hoping they neglected to schedule me for more than one shift this week. My writing mojo has been low, and I’d love an extra day this week to try and get it back!

On Tuesday I’ll talk about a book I read last week and really enjoyed. I like the idea of boosting other authors, so if I read something and enjoy it, I’ll post something about why I did. No ratings or anything like that and, since I tend not to read a lot when I’m writing, this will be a fairly sporadic feature of the blog. I’ll save ‘em up when I go on my reading marathons and spread them out. Unless they’re trad pubbed, they’ll still be available if anyone wants to check them out, so no need to rush!

Saturday I’ll be over at the Silken Sheets and Seductions blog, where I’m talking about what makes a hero sexy. Hope you’ll stop by and say hi!

Have a great week everyone, and don't forget to check out Fleeing Fate and the other Pricked books that released last week, Nick at Night by Eileen Ann Brennan and Sinful Southern Ink by S.J. Drum. There are more coming out this week, so save your pennies...there's a lot of hot, tattooed action waiting for you at EC!

Six Sentence Sunday

I had planned last week to start posting excerpts from my up-coming release, Stone-Hard Passion, but decided instead to give one last snippet from Fleeing Fate, which was released on July 3rd. It's been a great week, as the Pricked series of books launched and I buzzed around other author's blogs promoing and enjoying talking with readers. But this week I'm looking ahead, and want to introduce you to Vidar Jarlsen and Jasmina Elalmadhoun, troll and jinn, respectively. In this snippet, their journey into each other's arms is just about to begin, but only one of them has any clue that's the direction they're heading!

Please make sure to stop by all the other amazing contributors to SSS this week by browsing the list here.

Startled, she automatically fell into step beside him, glancing up at him from the corner of her eye. He was looking straight ahead, as though there was nothing unusual about the fact they were holding hands. This from the man who couldn’t look her in the eye for longer than a couple of seconds when he first came to the Café to inquire about getting his tats.

She suppressed a giggle, amused at her surprise. They’d known each other for two years and she was shocked that he’d actually loosened up enough to hold hands with her…as a friend? Perhaps, if she were patient enough, in another ten she could get him into bed.

Guest--S.J. Drum and Sinful Southern...Potato Salad???

Yes!

In celebration of the release of my book, Sinful Southern Ink, I've decided to share a recipe I learned from a dear friend while living in the sweltering heat of Louisiana.

Take everything you think you know about this summer classic, wad it up, and toss it on your BBQ to be consumed by the cleansing fire. Now, you’re ready to make my Sinful Southern Potato Salad.

It’s all about the details. First, and most importantly, the only acceptable mayo for Potato Salad is Blue Plate brand mayo. If you live in a northern state like I do, you either have to buy it online or have a very awesome southern buddy mail it to you. Yes, I actually receive jars of Blue Plate mayo in a box (usually packed along with some Community brand Coffee from Louisiana) and jump up and down like it’s freaking Christmas morning. It’s that good.

For this recipe, you will need:

1.       Blue Plate Mayo

2.       Yellow Mustard

3.       Dill Pickles

4.       Dill seasoning, fresh or dried

5.       Eggs

6.       Red Potatoes

7.       Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (Tony C’s is available at any supermarket, and is a MUST for this recipe.)

This is where it gets tricky. The instructions for making this recipe are more like Southern driving directions than measured, scientific steps. “A left after the old school house, a right at the big Cypress tree, if you reach New Orleans…you’ve gone too far.”

Step 1: Wash potatoes, chop into cubes, rinse.

Step 2: Boil eggs (however many you want, I like a lot in my potato salad) and boil potatoes until done.

Step 3: Drain potatoes and cool eggs until they can be safely handled, then peel, rinse, and chop the eggs.

Step 4: Add a couple big, heaping spoonfuls of Blue Plate Mayo and a giant squirt of Yellow Mustard to the potato and egg mixture. (See? Clear as mud, right?) Mix it around until it has the color and consistency you want, then taste to make sure you don’t need to add more mustard.

Step 5: Mince some Dill Pickles. Yup, pickles. I use whatever I have in the fridge, whole, sliced, doesn’t matter. How much? Eh… About a quarter cup, less if you’re making a small batch of potato salad. Add this to your potatoes and eggs.

Step 6: Sprinkle fresh or dried dill into the salad mixture. A couple pinches should do it.

Step 7: Shake what looks like an obscene about of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning onto the salad mixture. (Okay, if you’re new to Tony C’s, maybe start with just a dash.) Mix it up. Taste.

*The weird thing about Sinful Southern Potato Salad? It’s a bit spicy and can be served warm or cold. Yeah, you heard me. Warm Potato Salad. Sounds yucky, right? Wrong! Try it warm, it’s dang good!*

Remember, Sinful Southern Potato Salad cannot be made without Blue Plate Brand Mayo and Tony Cachere’s Creole Seasoning. If you attempt to make it without these things, southern ladies around the country will burst into tears. No one wants that.

Check out Sinful Southern Ink, by me, S.J. Drum. A first-in-series about small-town, tattooed heroes and the women who love them…or absolutely hate them, and then eventually love them. Sexy, edgy, funny.

Jed Weston is a tall, hard country boy with dangerous cowboy charm and piercings in all the right places. As Abigail’s partner in her tattoo and piercing shop, he’s kept things between them on a strictly professional level. Until Abigail’s violent past catches up with her and she seeks his comfort—comfort that leads to an intense emotional and sexual connection neither can ignore. Jed’s jealous ex-girlfriend, a nosy reporter, and a potential father-in-law on death row won’t keep him from the woman who makes him hard at the very sight of her. Nothing will keep Jed Weston from catching—and keeping—the woman he loves.

T Minus 24 Hours

Fleeing Fate is being released tomorrow! I'm so excited about this book, the Pricked series and my own continuing Unveiled Seductions series (I'm sure you're tired of hearing that, but it's TRUE!!). Today I'm just posting the beautiful cover and blurb of Fleeing Fate but you can read an excerpt here, and look for me at Sidney Bristol's blog tomorrow, where I'll be giving away a copy of Fleeing Fate!

Fleeing Fate

Anya Richards

Jakuta Dagbo knows bad weather’s approaching, even though the sky above the faie world is clear. And when Gràinne Bairdie walks into The Midnight Café wanting an arcane tattoo, he realizes the tempest raging into his life has nothing to do with wind and rain. Just one look at her brings his storm god libido, and the protective instincts he no longer trusts, to thundering life.

Gràinne’s a banshee on the run, desperate to claim the emotions she’s sure are rightfully hers and with no time to explore the sparks of need flying between herself and Jakuta. What she’s trying to do will bring the wrath of the Banshee Council down on her head, and she knows they’ll do anything to stop her.

Yet, as Gràinne and Jakuta peel back the layers of their lives, searching for the answers she needs, they can’t ignore the lightning-hot passion searing their blood. And when emotion reaches its apex, demanding complete surrender to the cyclone of desire, neither can resist. Even if it means Gràinne’s banshee wail of release will be her last.

Monday Morning...sort of

I know the calendar says it's Monday, but it doesn't really feel like it, and I'm not complaining! It's still Canada Day...well the official day off for it anyway, so I'm keeping on my PJs a little longer (at least until I take Sable for a walk) and relaxing before I get back to my WIP. The kids will be all here for a BBQ later, but that's the only thing planned. How lovely!

This week marks the release of the Pricked series from Ellora's Cave, and I get to lead off the tattoo hotness with Fleeing Fate! Today I'm blogging at Long and Short Reviews, Wednesday I'll be at the awesome Sidney Bristol's blog and on Friday I welcome S.J. Drum, who'll be guest blogging for Foodie Friday.
I'm really excited about both the Pricked releases and my on-going Unveiled Seductions series. I *squeed* like a pre-pubescent girl last week when the Final-final version of Stone-Hard Passion came in from my editor.
On June 26th we already got a sneak preview of Cynthia Sax's Pricked release, Tattooed Tryst, and over the next few weeks there'll be other authors dropping by to tell us about their up-coming books. It'll be awesome, so make sure to check back!

Promo: Tattooed Tryst, Coming Soon from Cynthia Sax!

Welcome to Cynthia Sax, whose contribution to the Pricked series, Tattooed Tryst will be released on July 18, 2012. It sounds AWESOME, and is now available to pre-order here. Visit Cynthia's website for information on all of her amazing books. Take it away, Cynthia!

While we’re waiting for Anya’s fabulous Fleeing Fate to release (July 4^th – don’t forget, we’ll be setting off fireworks to remind you), I thought we’d talk aliens. Yep, aliens. Anya writes about storm gods and banshees. I write about aliens.

Why?

Because I truly believe we’re not alone. Not only that, but I believe some of these aliens are already here on Earth. Come on. Don’t laugh. You’ve seen them. The hunky guy at the coffee shop putting six sugars in his coffee? Alien. That tiny blonde woman who wears her sunglasses inside buildings, claiming her eyes are ‘sensitive’? Alien. That new co-worker who has no family or friends and never ever talks about herself? Yep, alien.

It isn’t a crazy notion. It is simple math. Look at all of the stars in the night sky. Do you truly believe Earth is the only populated planet? And if these other species have the intelligence to travel through space, you know they must have the intelligence to blend in.

The Orogones in Tattooed Tryst are one such species. They are the chameleons of space. They take the forms of the species they visit, learning the language and customs, becoming one of us.

But they aren’t one of us. They have knowledge and abilities no humans have. Thankfully, they’re here on a peaceful mission, to monitor alien activity on Earth, sending the aliens who have overstayed their welcome home.

Eventually all aliens return home so it’d be foolish to fall in love with an alien. Lori, the heroine of Tattooed Tryst, finds this out the sexy way.  

When a tattooed stranger strides into the diner and gazes at Lori with his flame-infused eyes, she realizes he’s someone special. Something special.


There are tall, gorgeous aliens hidden among us, aliens armed with big guns and burning kisses, aliens taking what they want and whom they want, melting resistance with firm lips and rough, calloused touches. Aliens with fascinating tattoos…


Trake takes one look at the waitress serving up coffee and sultry smiles and knows she’ll be his. With military precision, he begins his passionate assault, using every weapon in his sexual arsenal to seduce Lori. Time is limited. He leaves Earth in nine days and his human mate can’t make the difficult journey. This is his sole chance at the ecstasy of bonding.


He will not fail.

Six Sentence Sunday Fleeing Fate

I can't believe this is already the last Sunday in June! Or that Fleeing Fate, book one in the Unveiled Seductions series and the first of the Pricked series books from Ellora's Cave, will be released in less that two weeks!! I'm so excited I can hardly wait.
This week, a glimpse of Jakuta's heartbreak...

“Your goddess watch over you, sweetness.”

He couldn’t manage any more than that and Gràinne didn’t seem to have anything to say in response. After a brief hesitation, she raised one hand in farewell and disappeared in a swirl of powerful magic.

He’d known, he reminded himself, that if she were once more whole, complete, with all emotions intact, what she felt for him would fade.

The knowledge didn’t ease the agony tearing at his heart. Blind, deafened by the enormity of his loss, Jakuta transported himself away from the Midnight Café, not sure he would ever be able to return.

Thank you for stopping by, and please check out all the other lovely authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday by browsing the list here.

Monday, already???

Wow, I had quite a weekend. I finally got notice to take my citizenship Oath on Canada Day (July 1st, for the uninitiated!), Sable, the new pup, tried to pierce my ear (LOL!) and I struggled with my WIP, where the characters have insisted, vociferously, to NOT follow my original outline. *sigh* But, more important, and exciting, (not than the citizenship part, but the rest) was an invitation to join the Beyond the Veil Blog http://paranormalauthors.blogspot.ca/ where they discuss all kinds of amazing, interesting and timely subjects, with a paranormal slant. I’m so looking forward to working with the amazing authors there.

I’ve also been busy booking guests for the blog, including trying to rope in some of my fellow Pricked series authors to come let us know about their exciting upcoming books. There’s a chat on the EC chat site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ellorascavechat/ on July 21^st to celebrate everything inked. Hope you’ll join us!

With the upcoming releases I’ll be buzzing around the blog-o-sphere too, so I’ll post updates as I know where I’ll be and when. There may be give-aways, naughtiness, and I can almost definitely promise shenanigans…I’m really good at shenanigans :)

Here's a picture of Sable, looking deceptively calm, and my daughter's foot for your viewing pleasure. Have a great week everyone!

Yeah, Sunday, Sunday

I'm so pleased to be back again with the Six Sentence Sunday gang of amazing writers. Please make sure to check out the other author's websites. The list is here. Browse and enjoy!


This month I'm planning to feature snippets from Fleeing Fate, my paranormal romance, which is part of the Pricked, tattoo themed series from Ellora's Cave and also the first book in my Unveiled Seductions series. It's available for pre-order, and I'm soooo excited about the entire series.


In this excerpt, Jakuta, a banished West African storm god, sees Grainne for the first time. He knows nothing about her except that she's trouble with a capital "T". Hope you enjoy it!

She did nothing to call attention to herself. In fact she moved with the milling crowd as though a part of it, skirting the edges of groups, seeming on the verge of joining first one and then another without actually doing so.

Yet somehow he knew she wasn’t there to celebrate with the happy couple. The ribbons of white-hot electricity zapping along his tribal marks, burning across his face, belly and back, told him so. And an insistent rumble of lust in his blood, slowly rising to a booming crescendo as he tracked her path toward Ula’s desk, reinforced it.

The urge to go downstairs immediately, get closer so as to see her face and hear her voice, was overwhelming but he couldn’t seem to make his body move.