An Interview with Cupid from Arcanus Amator @ElyzabethVaLey #newrelease @evernightpub #ROTG

Oh, do I have a treat for you today. If you're wondering why there is no Friday Flash today... well, please forgive me, but I'm just not up to doing one this week. Normal service will resume next week, I promise. Instead I have Cupid on my blog. Oh yes, you heard right. The awesome Elyzabeth has interviewed him for us.

Let's see what the God of Love has to say, shall we?


****

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to be here today with none other than the God of Love, Cupid!

*Cupid tilts his head in acknowledgment, his locks gleaming under the sunlight like sparks of gold beneath a river bed. He smiles at me from the other side of the garden table.*

Cupid: I am pleased to be here and thankful to you for retelling my child’s story. There are some valuable lessons in Arcanus Amator.

Elyzabeth: For instance?

Cupid: Not all that glitters is gold. There is light in darkness. We can be blind to that which lies in front of us.

*He bursts out laughing. His blue eyes twinkle.*

Cupid: I recommend readers pick up the book and discover them themselves.

Elyzabeth: Of course, but I would interview you if that’s all right.

Cupid: Certainly.

Elyzabeth: Can you tell us how it is to be in charge of the world’s most important emotion?

Cupid: It’s a very big responsibility, Elyzabeth. That’s why I have my children to help me.

Elyzabeth: Ah, yes, the Arcánús. They’re also your guard, no?

Cupid: Not my guards. They are the guardians of love. They’re the ones that help me bestow love upon others.

Elyzabeth: But they’re also deadly.

Cupid: If the need arises…

Elyzabeth: Like with Ariadna.

*Cupid frowns. He folds his hands over the table and stares into the distance for a few seconds.*

Cupid: Yes, as it happened the witch Ariadna proved to be a curse.

Elyzabeth: Figuratively and literally.

*Cupid says nothing. His long fingers wrap around his tall glass of water and he takes another sip of water. As he sets his glass down, he looks at me.*

Cupid: Yes. She cursed the Arcanus because she was blind to love.

Elyzabeth: Blind to love? Are you sure that it wasn’t simply that the Gods of love neglected her.

*Cupid leans forward. The friendly gleam in his eyes has vanished and is replaced by a silent power I can’t help but feel uneasy.*

Cupid: Love is there for everyone to grasp, Elyzabeth. However, sometimes we are blind to it. *He raises his hand to silence me.*

It can be because we’re too busy working or because we’re pursuing other interests. At times it can happen as quickly as lightening falls from the sky and at other times it can take years, but it is there. We neglect no one.

Elyzabeth: All right, all right. But Ariadne--

*Cupid laughs*

Cupid: Doomed herself and—

Elyzabeth: Arcánús Amator spell?

Cupid: Was a little something I concocted, but I do not have much more time to spare, Elyzabeth.

*I stand with Cupid as he pulls his chair back from the table.*

Know this, love, like life, is a complicated game, but it is better to have loved one night than to not love forever.

*Cupid places his hands over his heart as he speaks. I follow his gaze as he stares up at the bright blue sky. When I look at him again, he’s gone.*

Elyzabeth: Thank you, Cupid and thank you readers. I hope you enjoyed this brief, yet I think intense interview with the God of Love.

Arcanus Amator

As an Arcánús, one of Cupid’s blessed children, Amandus’s mission in life was to aid his father in bestowing love upon others.Unfortunately, when he found his own soul mate he was incapable of making her perceive their connection. Furthermore, she doomed their love forever. Amandus’s only hope is a spell concocted by Cupid: The Arcánús Amator: Spell of the Secret Lovers.

Hailey is desperate for love. She’s so desperate that when she finds a spell on the internet that promises to connect soul mates, she decides she must try it. Convincing her friend Hannah to help her, the girls embark on a one-night craze that will produce life-changing results and bring to life what was thought to be only a myth.

Excerpt:
She frowned. “What the hell’s happened?” She was quite sure this was not how the spell worked. Granted, she hadn’t exactly read the entire information sheet on the website.
“No one does,” she whined, bouncing on the balls of her feet while staring at the flickering flame of the candle. The thing was more than 20 pages long. It was like reading one of those software agreements. No one read the damn thing. She’d read the instructions and the first page with all the warnings and that was more than enough. Taking a deep breath, she managed to settle her nerves a little. Everyone thought she was the ditsy blonde obsessed with the occult, but she wasn’t. She was a hard worker, impatient when things didn’t go as expected. It was partially the reason why she’d filed through so many relationships. Why stay with a guy when he clearly had nothing to offer? Some of her friends argued that she didn’t give them a chance. She begged to differ. She’d given them a chance, they just hadn’t taken it. 
True, her impatience sometimes got her into some trouble but it also saved her from a lot of it. That, however, wasn’t the case now. Annoyed that the spell had gone awry, she brushed back her bangs impatiently. Whatever had happened was not important. The priority was getting Hannah back home. Scanning the room for her discarded laptop, she did a double take.
Obstructing the exit to the living room stood the most gorgeous man she had laid eyes on. He was massive. His head almost brushed the top of the doorframe. His heavily muscled arms were crossed in front of him, his chest bare except for the intricate design of a red-inked tattoo that started around his left nipple and descended across his side to his hip. Low on his hips, he wore a long black skirt made out of what looked like leather.
Hailey hesitated a moment before finally glancing fully at his face. Her breath stilled as their eyes locked. A clear shade of violet, they were not from this world. Swallowing, she took a step backwards without breaking her stare. The stranger’s eyes glittered with curiosity and amusement.  
“Careful with the center of the star,” he warned.
Hailey stumbled and froze. His voice was deep and commanding and had a familiar ring to it that sent her senses reeling. Shaking her head slightly, she continued moving away from him.
“Watch—”
Breath exploded from her lungs as she crashed into a shelf, a few ornaments she and Hannah kept, crashing to the floor.
“—out. Are you all right?”
Hailey winced, the back of the shelf digging into her skin, but she nodded anyway. The stranger flashed her a grin that made her knees weak. Hailey swallowed. The urge to see him smile again clawed at her insides like a desperate hunger.
Ignoring her, he glanced down at the pentagram, his silky dark curls framing his strong jaw and straight nose.
“You don’t look like you knew what you were getting into.”
Hailey held on to the bookcase behind her. She was afraid that if she moved the whole thing would topple over her head and she’d wake up, realizing that the man in the center of the room was nothing more than a dream.
“Read the first page of the instructions and didn’t bother to read the rest, huh?”
His eyes lifted to hers with a sassy smirk that lit up his violet eyes. Hailey stared speechless, the urge to touch the man making her palms itch as if she’d stepped into poison ivy.
“Yeah, you never did care what you got into, Ariadne.”
 Goose bumps sprouted over her flesh and she released the shelf, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm her suddenly chilled skin. Ariadne. The name rang in her ears like a long forgotten memory always running at the edge of her vision, just a breadth away from her grasp.
“I—”
No words came out as he carefully watched her face, almost as if saving every detail of her features into his memory. Her mouth felt parched, her tongue too large, as she searched for words that wouldn’t come.
 “Yes?”
Butterflies danced in the pit of her stomach and her chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. Fear mingled with a strange sense of joy. Names, places, and moments in time danced in the edge of her vision, taunting her to remember them, taunting her to say them aloud but fleeing before she could take hold of them.
“My name isn’t…”
The man raised his dark eyebrows, the shadow of a smile lifting the edge of his full lips.
“I know.”
“Oh.”

Buy Links
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 All Romance Ebooks

Author Bio:

Defined as weird since she was about eight, Elyzabeth honors the title by making up songs about her chores, doodling stars and flowers on any blank sheet of paper and talking to her dog whenever he feigns interest.

Losing the battle to the voices in her head is her favorite pastime after annoying her younger sister with her singing. Writing stories full of passion and emotion where love conquers all is her happy pill and she'll forgo sleep to make her readers live the dream.

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Hot bod alert! Being Luca's @RavenMcAllan #newrelease @evernightpub #rotg

It's officially Raven week on my blog, as the lovely Raven is back  today with another new release, and lucky woman that I am I've had Luca all to myself for a bit.

*swoons*

Well, just look at him!

Raven here. I sent Luca to chat to Doris about his new book, Being Luca's.

Leigh, my heroine told me that was cruel because he could tie any woman up in knots in seconds, and not in a Shibari way either. Because as Leigh told me… "Sheesh that voice, with its sexy Italian accent and the hint of all things naughty does delicious things to my insides. And my outsides as well. It's darned hard trying to concentrate on anything…"

I wonder if Doris will feel the same?

Over to her and Luca…

L So, Raven tells me you are a friend Doris? Will you be my friend as well?

Laughs, I hope you will, because any friend of Raven should be a friend of mine. After all Raven gave Leigh and I an opportunity for a second change to be together again, and I never thought it would happen. We're both stubborn creatures, who don't give in easily, so it was inevitable sparks would fly.

Our story could so easily have finished before it really got started. Because I'm in the public eye, certain people think you're fair game for any sort of crap they want to throw at you, or write about you, and you should sit back and take it.

Shrug

Not so. Why should total rubbish be written about me, and I'm not able to answer back? The problem was, it wasn't my story to explain, but it cost me dearly. Anyway, with Raven's help, Leigh and I at least talked again. Did we sort out our problems?

Smiles…Winks. You'll need to read the book to find out eh?

But now, let's have some fun eh?

D looks worried

L No nothing awful. I say a word or three, you say the first thing that comes into your head. Si?

D nods.

L so… here we go… Racing

D Driver  

L ice cream

D Chocolate

L Flame retardant underwear wink

D *snort* too much hassle to get off

L  love al fresco

D perfect

L Chocolate

D Cadburys

L Completion

D Bliss

L looks at his watch Ahh, I have to go. My lovely Leigh is cooking something special she says… wink I wonder what it will involve… I'll leave Raven and Doris to give you the blurb and excerpt.

BLURB:

What is a marriage without trust?

When damning newspaper reports point to the seeming infidelity of her husband, Formula One Racing Championship driver Luca Corrieri, Leigh runs without waiting for his explanations.

After all, the pictures don't lie. He has been cheating on her with her best friend.

Luca is devastated at the ease with which Leigh abandons what they have. Surely their marriage deserves more, but how do you convince someone of your innocence when they are not prepared to listen?

When the truth finally comes out, is their love strong enough to save their marriage? 

And a wee tease…

Leigh heard the front door close with a thud. It sounded like the death knell, and she closed her eyes. What had she done? Why on earth was she so sodding determined not to listen?

Because he ripped my heart out. But when did I become so unforgiving. Since when have I thought there were no shades of grey? I liked Angie and I trusted Luca. Would they really have betrayed me like that bloody tabloid said? But if they didn't why didn't they explain? Because I wouldn't let them?

 Leigh looked at herself, and decided she didn't much like what she'd become. Slowly she began to think back over what she'd been told about that weekend a few months earlier.

The phone call saying Luca's mum was in hospital in Glasgow had come just as qualifying got under way. Luca been beside himself with worry until Leigh had said, don't worry I'll go.

Erich had arranged transport and Leigh had reluctantly left her husband on the eve of the race that could bring him his first World Championship.

When she got to Glasgow all had seemed well. Elena had been on her way to the airport to fly out and join them for the race when she'd slipped and fallen. Now kept in hospital overnight for observation, a phone call from Luca to say he had qualified in pole position, had put them all in a happy frame of mind.

The following day, half way through watching the race on TV Elena Corrieri had given a strange gasp and half fallen out of her bed.

After that all thoughts of Formula One, championships and who was winning what went out of Leigh's mind. She spent the best part of the day and night holding her mother in law's hand over a bed in intensive care.

When she was finally taken off the danger list and Leigh slipped out to stretch her legs and to call Luca, the first thing she'd seen were the headlines.

The next thing was the TV and the final straw was when she tried to go home for clean clothes and seen the reporters camped outside.

Leigh had driven on without stopping. Cleared out her bank account, cut her hair with a pair of nail scissors, stripped out the blonde color she'd been for years and returned to her natural red. After that, she booked into a Bed and Breakfast in the middle of nowhere, using her maiden name.

Then and only then she'd read the papers, scoured the Internet, and the following day found a solicitor.

With hindsight she accepted she was in shock and in fact in no fit state to make decisions like that. However by then it was too late. The balls were in motion, and she refused to talk to Luca. He was too late. He hadn't defended his actions, and in Leigh's mind, 'no comment' was as bad as holding a banner up saying "naughty me, I've been caught."

 Now though she wondered. Why was she such a bitch over it all?

*****

Buy it from: Evernight Amazon UK  Amazon  Bookstrand  ARe

Happy reading,

 Love R x

Well what can I say?

I'm growing old disgracefully and loving it.

Dh and I live on the edge of a Scottish forest, and rattle around in a house much too big for us.

Our kids have grown up and flown the nest, but roll back up when they want to take a deep breath and smell the daisies so to speak.

I write in my study, which overlooks the garden and the lane. I'm often seen procrastinating, by checking out the wild life, looking—only looking—at the ironing basket and assuring tourists that indeed, I'm not the bed and breakfast. That would mean cooking fried eggs without breaking the yolks, and disturbing the dust bunnies as they procreate under the beds. Not to be thought of.

Being able to do what I love, and knowing people get pleasure from my writing is fantastic. Long may it last.

www.ravenmcallan.com
Sensuous stories to seduce your soul

#MWTease from Secrets Uncovered (Diomhair, 2) @RavenMcAllan #bdsm @Totally_Bound

These Wednesdays sure come round fast, don't they? Today, it gives me great pleasure to give my blog over to the awesome Raven McAllan. She's here to tease you from one of her many new releases.

Psst, she's back here tomorrow with another one.  For now I give you Secrets Uncovered.

Here's your tease:

“Boy have I enjoyed myself, but, ohh, now my feet ache, and I’m dying for a cuppa. You should see what I’ve bought.” Kath kicked her shoes off and dropped several carrier bags on the floor. “That new shop is enough to set any woman drooling, pregnant or not. And I got some kick ass flats like you said. Though I have earmarked some fuck me heels for after Bump arrives, and you should see…” Her voice trailed off as he stood with his arms folded and grinned at her. “I distrust that grin, Jeff Sutherland. What have you been up to?”

“Is that anyway to great your Master, pet?”

Her eyes widened as she took in what they called his Dom attire. The soft leather trousers she stroked like they were alive and his tight back T-shirt she almost drooled over. He’d deliberately left them in the wardrobe of late, feeling it would be unfair to remind both of them what they couldn’t have. Now in his new mindset—partly due, he admitted, to a strong talking to from David, but more from a need and a desire to reassert their way of life—Jeff realised how much he wanted to wear them and see her reaction once more. Kath had said her response to those clothes was almost Pavlovian. He wore. She drooled. He said jump, she said how high? They were, she admitted, her trigger. Now, her grin almost split her face before she dipped her head.

“No, Sir.”                                                           

“Exactly, pet. I’ve been somewhat remiss lately, and I have to remedy that. I don’t want my pet to think I’ve forgotten her.” He slid back into their dynamic like a knife through softened butter. It seemed so right, and so perfect. Now all he had to do was convince Kath to be happy with the changes he’d decided on. “I’ve thought things over, and we’re going to rewrite some of our protocols. Remember, you can traffic light me, but for now I’m going to ask you to listen to what I want before you comment. All right?” Jeff held his breath. If it wasn’t, there was no way he could force anything on her. Force in any form had never formed part of their dynamics, not even in role-play. It wasn’t them, and never would be.

Kath looked from him to the cushioned chair he’d added to the room. He'd placed it in front of the chair he himself preferred to sit in, right over the spot Kath usually liked to curl up on and cuddle his legs. Then she looked across the room to where he’d put a new sofa. Jeff didn’t dare think of the strings he’d pulled or the favours he now owed so he could have it in place and waiting for Kath’s return.

“Yes, Sir. Green, Sir.” She grinned, then looked down in a hurry.

“That’s my good pet. Now as you get less…” He chuckled. “I’m not sure how to put this any way subtly, so I’ll just say, less svelte-like and more uncomfortable, it wouldn’t be practical to kneel as we have done before. So our new protocol involves this chair.” He took her arm and helped her sit. A soft smile played over Kath’s face, but she didn’t say a word. When they did play like this, she always waited to speak. “Instead of kneeling, pet, you’ll sit on here and face me. Then I’d like…” He hesitated. This could be sticky. He didn’t want Kath to think she mattered less than their baby. “I’d like for you to accept me touching our child. To feel the swell of your stomach, the flutters and kicks as you get bigger, and rest my head on you so I can engage with you both, I guess is the best way to put it. However, your greeting to me will be equally as important. I want, while it’s still comfortable, for you to dip your head and accept my kiss on your neck. Then, eventually, once it’s time, we’ll move on to our normal greetings. The new sofa is for our evening together. We’ll have none of the sitting at my feet. I don’t think either of us would find it a turn on if I had to haul you up like…”

“Using a JCB?” Kath giggled. “No, Sir. I’d be honoured to sit next to you.  Oh, sorry. Mind engaged and mouth opened.” She wriggled her butt, in a way he well knew meant ‘spank me’.

“Behave. The punishment won’t be physical, not now. Maybe I need a book? To write your misbehaviour in.” She nodded eagerly, and Jeff had to laugh. Kath in this mood was incorrigible and nigh on irresistible. “Colour?”

“Green and green. And may I say the day I can start touching you in our greeting again can’t come soon enough, Sir.”

She’s up to something. The look on Kath’s face was so innocent he distrusted it.

“That’s a maybe. However it isn’t yet. Not until we pass the three months. So behave.” He lifted her chin in a light grip. “Understand, pet?”

She sighed. “Only too well, Sir. By God you’re infrangible when you want to be.”

“I’m a Dom. It goes with the territory.”

Convincing a Dom that pregnancy doesn’t mean the end of all play can take some doing. Kath is horny and determined, but what does Jeff think?

Pregnancy should be the happiest time of your life. What’s a sub to do, however, when her Dom won’t touch her? Kath can’t understand why Jeff is being so difficult. After all, she’s pregnant, not ill, and she’ll combust with sexual frustration if she can’t seduce Jeff into play.

Jeff can’t help but worry over Kath’s health. It doesn’t matter what anyone, including the doctor, says about sex being okay, his mind tells him otherwise. It’s his duty to protect his sub, even if he’s giving himself blue balls in the process. He’ll do anything to keep her and their baby safe.

With the two of them at an impasse, tension runs high, especially when the future of Diomhair is threatened by an unknown enemy.

As they pull together to secure their home, and their workplace, can they also resolve their personal problems, or does pregnancy spell the end of their Dom/sub relationship?

You can buy Secrets Uncovered here…

https://www.totallybound.com/secrets-uncovered

****

Thanks for sharing Raven. I just love this series of yours! As ever thanks to our awesome hostess Sandra Bunino for putting together the Mid Week Tease. Do make sure you check out the other teasers.

D x

#AuthorInterview with Amy J. Hawthorn @sirenbookstrand Sunlight's Kiss #demon

Happy Monday, folks.

Please give a warm welcome to my guest Amy J. Hawthorn. She's in my hot seat today, so grab a cuppa and learn some more about her

*****

Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

A. I’m a mother, wife and work as an x-ray/CT tech in the real world. I’m hoping to eventually be able to support my family with my writing. I’m a dark chocolate and sugar addicted girl who loves things that go bump in the night and think they deserve to find their happily-ever-afters just as much as we mere mortals do.

Q. What made you write ‘this’ story?

A. ….I fell in love with Cyril in Azrael’s Light and couldn’t wait to dig deeper into his world. To do that he needed to tell his own story and I was thrilled when his heroine, Calysta appeared. She’s sweet but has a backbone of steel and she’s totally worthy of Cyril’s devotion.

Q. Tell us about your cover.

A. …..In the past I have always had trouble deciding what I wanted for my covers. This was the first time where I had a very clear picture of what I wanted. I wanted Cyril who spends what little free time he has in the wilds of Alaska to be shown standing in a snowy landscape. He’s a loner who lives and works a harsh life. Calysta, standing in the summery light is the “sunlight” that brightens his world and melts the ice in his heart. The cover is not exactly as I pictured in my head, but obviously no one can see inside my head. I think Harris did a great job with my cover design.

Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us

A. ….Ugh. I’m not sure I have a typical day. I work nightshift 3 nights a week and my schedule varies from week to week.  Basically if I have alone time, I’m sitting in front of my computer writing. Often that’s in the wee hours of the morning when I can’t sleep. There’s no telling what will come spilling out of my head then.

Q. What inspires you?

A. ….I don’t know. My brain never really shuts off. Reading or writing are really the only ways to settle it. I can somewhat choose what I want to think about or create, but there is really no turning off my imagination so I choose a subject I like and then let it fly.

Q. If you weren’t a writer what would you be?

A. ….I currently have the hospital job, but I think I’d like to be a real estate agent, but probably don’t have the organization skills needed. I’m a mess. Or maybe go to school and move on to management in the hospital, but I don’t think that would make me a happy person. Writing makes me happy.

Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?

A. ….Always. I have a rough idea where the story is going but the characters lead the way and tell their own stories. I make an outline as I go to keep things organized but almost daily they surprise me. It’s one of the things I enjoy best about writing.

Q. What could not do without when you’re writing?

A. ….Uhm… Well I can write almost anywhere, at any time as long as I have my laptop or even pen and paper with me. I do have the bad habit of snacking when I write and I love salty/sweet snacks and my staple diet vanilla coke. I’m trying to cut back on that, but it’s not going too well, lol.

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors out there?

A. ….Do not give up and keep pushing until you make it to the end of your book. I still fight the urge to go back and rewrite the beginning over and over again until it feels perfect. If I gave in to the urge I might not ever make it to the end. Push forward then go back and polish. Talk to other authors. Study craft and take workshops. There have been a few that were immensely helpful to me.

Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?

A. ….Hopefully I’ll be a fulltime stay at home author. My kids will be grown and I should have a little more time to myself. Eventually I’d like to have a mass market book and maybe even hit the NYT bestsellers list. If you’re going to dream, dream big, right?

Q. Do you have a favourite quote?

A. ….I wish I did, but no, not really. I’ve seen many that I can identify with, but I read them and with my short attention span I smile and move on to the next shiny object.

Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

A. ….A little bit from time to time. I try to move on and work on another section of the story or another one altogether if I have to.  Sometimes I’ll open up a blank document and just start typing. A couple of my favorite scenes have come to me when I thought there wasn’t going to be anything exciting happening. But it’s always possible that I haven’t been writing seriously long enough for that to happen yet. Never say never, you know?

Q. What other books can your readers look forward to?

A. ….I’m about 2/3’s of the way finished writing the second book in my MFM ménage series about the lingerie store Crave. I’m really liking this story. Of course, I love them all. Then after that will probably be Dullahan’s story. You’ll meet him in Sunlight’s Kiss.

Q. And finally can you share the blurb and excerpt with us?

A. When a man of ice meets a lady of Light…

Like a common criminal, the good girl librarian is thrust into the harsh realm of Limbo with nothing more than the clothes on her back. Alone with no knowledge of why she’s been banished, Calysta has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. She wants nothing more than answers and peace until a gruff, sexy as sin, male gives her a taste of the real world.

Cyril, loner and demon hunter, is sent to track and detain an unknown misfit. Filled with suspicion, the last thing he expects to find is an amber-eyed beauty tattered and unconscious. There’s no denying when he discovers her true nature that she sparks a desire like he’s never known. And how much trouble could one sweet, sexy librarian cause?

When danger haunts Calysta, Cyril will stop at nothing to keep her safe. But what’ll happen when his only ally is a sworn enemy?

Excerpt –

“I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. You’re wearing a plastic smile. You might as well be pouting. You’re unhappy. Tell me what’s wrong.” He wanted her to tell him so he could fix it. Yep, there was more of that stuff those dreams were made of.

“I am pouting. I’m bored. I’m stressed. I have no idea what’s going on or how long whatever it is will continue. Comfort-wise this island is a million steps above Limbo. I have excellent company and every luxury I could ask for. You’ve shown me pleasures I’d given up hope of ever experiencing. I have everything except answers. I’m still in Limbo.”

“If you could go anywhere or do anything right now, what would you do?” He came to stand at her back and trailed a fingertip up the curve of her upper arm. A soft nuzzle brushed the back of her ear. His efforts at soothing her weren’t working.

She let out a broken laugh. “I’d love nothing more than to simply experience life. As long as I can remember I’ve been the good girl and done nothing except what I’ve been told. And now that I’m away from home, I can’t enjoy it.

“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this. You’ve done nothing but go out of your way to take care of me. You’ve tried to make this bearable and all I’ve done is complain and dump on you. You must be tired of it, of me, by now.” A perfectly balmy breezed blew a strand of hair into her face. She tucked it behind her ear when really she felt like taking handfuls of the stuff and yanking it out.

“No. You’re wrong, very wrong. This is the easiest and most pleasurable job I’ve ever had.” He kissed the curve of her shoulder, but that didn’t take the sting out of his words. She tried to make herself thankful that he’d said it. She needed another reminder that’s all she was to him, a job. She wasn’t much more than one of the rogues he tracked. Sure, she was prettier, but that was the only thing she had going for her. She couldn’t let herself forget what she was.

She pulled away and paced. He followed and waited where the path met the sand.

“That’s my point exactly. I’m nothing but a burden or a job or a troublemaker. I just want to be me!” She turned and flung her hand. Equal parts pain and pleasure began in her heart, swelled, and raced through her shoulder and down her arm. Amber light shot from her palm and struck the base of a palm tree. With a thunderous boom, the base exploded into a storm of splinters. Frozen by shock, she stood and stared as the top half came crashing down directly over Cyril’s head.

“No!” In a panic, she put both hands out in a stopping motion. The tree’s remains stopped midair.

Cyril seemed as stunned as she felt. He just stood there, staring.

“Move!” Dear gods make him move. She didn’t know what she was doing. She hadn’t known she could levitate objects, let alone how long she could hold something so big. She’d die if she hurt Cyril.

Cyril blinked, shook his head as if clearing a haze from his mind, and then disappeared. Then he stood directly behind her, with his front touching her back. She was so rattled her teeth chattered and not even the reassuring warmth of his touch settled her.

“It’s okay. You did good. I’m okay. Let’s see if we can set this down”—with a loud crash the tree dropped like a stone on the lounge chairs, smashing them both—“gently.”

With her pulse racing and her muscles quaking, she threw herself into the only safe place she had, his arms. Then she burst into tears.

“What am I?”

“Not what. Who. You are Calysta, you’re my Caly. We’ll get this figured out soon. Okay?” Firm, steady strokes rubbed up and down her back in a soothing rhythm.

“No, I’m your charge, your duty. I’m a task to be marked off your list at the earliest convenience.”

“Bullshit. You are so much more than anyone has ever given you credit for. This is your opportunity to prove it. Baby, you can set the worlds on fire. This is your chance to blow your mother away and show her you are so much more than an obedient little daughter. As for me? I’m not your warden, I’m your slave. I–I’d do anything for you.”

“Then let me go. You said I can’t jump realms with the anklos on, right?”

“Ah. Yeah, I said that b—”

“Then remove it. Let me go.”

“I wish I could, but it’s not safe. I won’t release you to an unknown danger. Something is hunting you.”

“You’ll keep me safe just so I can wither away in a pretty prison? How can I set the worlds on fire in a fucking prison? Please don’t make me beg.” What did it matter? She had no pride. She had nothing that wasn’t given to her. A tight ball of frustration gathered and fisted beneath her sternum.

She flattened her palms on his chest and pushed with all her might and stumbled, almost falling into his lap. What the hell?

He’d landed on his ass in the sand. What was going on? This was Cyril. He was a brick wall. He was an immortal, a Runner for gods’ sake, and she’d knocked him on his ass?

****

Sunlight’s Kiss is the second book in my Demon Runners of Unearth series. It released May 14 at bookstrand.

http://www.bookstrand.com/sunlights-kiss

http://www.amyjhawthorn.com

FB https://www.facebook.com/aj.hawthorn.7

Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your time with me and thank you.

Thanks for coming to share, Amy :-)

#MWTease Primal Surrender #newrelease and #contest @LoriKingBooks

For my Mid Week Tease today I'm handing over to the awesome Lori King, with an equally awesome giveaway and another fantastic story. So read on, be teased, and enjoy!

*****

The Surrender Trilogy is complete!

Primal Surrender

is available now, so to celebrate I’m giving away a Kindle Paperwhite to one lucky reader!!!

Read on to find out how you can win!

First: The Blurb!

The Surrender Trilogy III: Brothers Mack and Ryker Thompson know the pain of failure intimately having recently fallen from the heights of success. One a former football star, and the other a master at his artistic craft, they couldn’t be more different from each other. Mack hides behind anonymity in order to cover up his pain, while Ryker figures it doesn’t matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty as long as there’s a bartender refilling it all will be well. Broken and haunted by the mistakes of their past, neither expected to find a ray of sunshine in the clouds of their pity party.

Claudia Schmidt, is the only daughter of a real estate tycoon that has a plan for turning the small town of Stone River into a suburb of Austin, Texas. When she is sent in to replace the project manager, and convince the town of the necessity of the project, she finds herself falling in love with the town, and the Thompson brothers.

Although ménage relationships aren’t foreign to Mack and Ryker, neither one intends on living one, so how can they decide who gets the girl? And what if the girl wants all or nothing? Welcome back to Stone River…

For all buy links visit the Primal Surrender page on my website: http://lorikingbooks.wordpress.com/books-available-now/the-surrender-trilogy/primal-surrender/

Then the excerpt…

She paused before opening the car door and turned to face Mack.  In the dark shadows of night he seemed more raw and dangerous, and her heart fluttered a little in her chest. 

“I wish—”

“I’m sorry—”

They both started to speak at the same time, and broke off with a laugh.  Mack shook his head, “If you’re going to try to apologize again, you may as well keep quiet.  This wasn’t your fault in any way.  It’s been coming for a long time.”

She nodded and stared at the button in the center of his wide chest in silence.  His hands came up to wrap around each of her elbows and he rubbed up and down as though trying to warm her.  If he only knew how hot she already was for him. 

“I was going to say I wish this night had gone differently, Claudia.  I will make it up to you on our second date.”  His warm breathe caressed her cheek as he dipped his head down, and instinctively she lifted her face. 

“There you go again, assuming there will be a second date.”  She drew back, but her voice was so breathless he just grinned.  Even in the dim moonlight she could see the deep groove of his dimples and the white flash of his teeth.  The man had a killer smile to go with his sex God body. 

“There will be.”

Three words, and her knees nearly collapsed.  The confidence and command in those three words sent goosebumps skittering across her skin and she struggled to maintain her dignity.  What would he think if she begged him to touch her right now?

“Sweetheart, I’m going to give you give you five seconds to get in your car and shut the door, because if you don’t I’m going to kiss you, and once I kiss you I have a feeling there will be no going back for us.”

She let out a gasp of indignation and then her breath caught.  He was serious.  Torn between the desperate desire to taste finally taste him and her own instinct for self-preservation, she swayed on her feet.  Only his hands on her biceps kept her from toppling. 

“Five…four…”

She jerked backwards and both of her hands landed on the center of his chest.  Just the physical connection made her pussy throb and her skin burn. 

“Three…two…”

Her mind was spinning as she pressed on hand to his chest, “Wait a second.  Don’t I get a say in this?  Who says I even want you to kiss me?”

“You’re still standing here.”

Lightning struck the moment their lips touched.  Fire sizzled through her veins, and pooled directly between her thighs.  She gasped on impact and he took it as an invitation to invade her mouth.  That’s exactly what it was, and invasion.  Her senses were completely overwhelmed and she melted into him, her arms sliding up around his neck as he braced himself on the car behind her with one hand and tugged her body tightly to him with the other. 

Somewhere in the recesses of her brain she heard a tiny voice warning her about getting involved when there were so many hurdles between them, but in that moment she couldn’t hold on to it.  There was no gap too wide or mountain too high when his mouth and hands were on her body.  Instead, she felt as though she had finally found a home.  A safe place where she could revel in this one man’s desire and need for her. 

For all buy links visit the Primal Surrender page on my website: http://lorikingbooks.wordpress.com/books-available-now/the-surrender-trilogy/primal-surrender/

Now that you’ve had a taste, be sure to check out the first two books in The Surrender Trilogy by Lori King:

Weekend Surrender & Flawless Surrender

Contest information!

Visit each blog stop on the tour and leave a comment and your email address to be entered for a

Kindle Paperwhite!

For every stop on the tour that you comment on, you’ll be entered into the drawing!

If you don’t want to leave an email address, email the word:

Leather

to LoriKingAuthor@gmail.com to be entered for this stop!

For a complete schedule of stops, visit: http://lorikingbooks.wordpress.com/primalsurrenderblogtour/

The winner will be announced on my blog May 24^th!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Happy reading!

Lori

http://www.facebook.com/LoriKingBooks  

https://twitter.com/LoriKingBooks

http://www.pinterest.com/lorikingauthor/  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLCe1GPVq6npPKEebL8d9gw

Thanks so much, Lori, this sounds fab!

As ever thanks to the awesome Sandra Bunino for hosting the Mid Week Tease. Do check out the other fab authors. I always have such fun reading through their teases.

D x

Interview with Mackenzie Williams @sirenbookstrand #bdsm The Orchard:Save Me

Hope you're having a great weekend, folks. I've snared the lovely Mackenzie Williams for you. She's in my hot seat, answering my nosy questions and telling us all about her story, The Orchard: Save me, which is now available from Amazon.

So, grab a cuppa, settle down, and give Mackenzie a warm welcome!

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

A. ….. I am a small town girl from the Midwest. I grew up in a large family with four younger brothers. After high school, I went to college and studied Education. I found my future husband there and we were married soon after graduation.

I started writing in the Erotic Romance genre because these are the types of stories I like to read myself. They are exciting and emotional. When I'm not writing, I like to turn my brain off and listen to music or watch movies.

Q. What made you write ‘this’ story?

A. ….  This is the second book in my Orchard series.  I started these books because I really like the idea of a BDSM club where things might seem over the top but everyone is safe. 

Q. Tell us about your cover.

A. …..  I wanted a simple but dramatic cover.  It is Master Brad standing with Megan who is tied up holding an apple to represent The Orchard.

Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us

A. ….  I don't get the chance to write everyday but on days I do, I start out with a quick run.  Then after some coffee, I try and write until lunch.  After a long break, I come back to writing before supper.  After that, my brain is usually mush.

Q. What inspires you?

A. ….  I get inspiration from books I've read, movies, or music.

Q. If you weren’t a writer what would you be?

A. ….  I'm not really sure.  I feel like I found writing at just the right time.

Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?

A. ….  Yes.  There have been several times when I think that the story is heading in one direction but the characters seem to take over.  They seem to sometimes have their own thoughts on where the story should go.

Q. What could you not do without when you’re writing?

A. ….  Coffee!

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors out there?

A. ….  I am pretty new to writing but my advice would just be to try and squeeze in as much writing time as you can.  Daydream, take notes, and then work hard at putting the story on paper.

Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?

A. …..  Hopefully, still writing but I would like to stretch out into other genres but never leaving this one completely.

Q. Do you have a favourite quote?

A. ….  I'm not sure I have a favorite but here is one I like and can attest to. 

 "Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."

Dr. Laurence J. Peter quotes

  

Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

A. …  Luckily so far, if I do have a block it is usually just me not being able to decide where things are going.  Talking out the story helps me a lot.  Even if no one is listening.

Q. What other books can your readers look forward to?

A. ….  I am currently working on the third Orchard book.  The new one follows Master Cole and Samantha.

Q. And finally can you share the blurb and excerpt with us?

Blurb:

Megan's first party at The Orchard didn't go well. Her fears caused her to panic and she was told she wasn't ready for the BDSM club. She just couldn't walk away, though. Megan felt that Master Brad was the man she had been looking for. A Master that she could trust and would make her happy.

Master Brad has seen something in Megan that has peaked his interest and decides to give her another chance. The pairing was going well and the Dom was even thinking about giving Megan his apple necklace, a club symbol of ownership.

Things soon get complicated, however, when someone from Megan's past comes back into her life. Her ex, Tate, just won't let her move on. Can she overcome her fears and her past for a future with Master Brad? Can her Dom protect and save her?



Excerpt:

Brad gently pushed Megan’s head down so it was resting on his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head and took a minute to just feel how good she felt in his arms.

“Little one, I have no intention on playing with anyone else anytime soon or letting you fall for someone else.”

Brad could feel his sub relax into his hold. Is this what others feel with their long-term subs?

After a minute of hugs, Brad was leading Megan through the main room with drinks in tow. His sweet had tensed when they first entered the room, presumably because she was still shy about walking around in her underwear. After a few minutes, she had relaxed.

It didn’t take him long to spot Master Jesse and his necklaced sub sitting nearby.

“May we join you?” Brad spoke to his fellow Dom. He noticed right away that Kellie shot her gaze down the minute he had started to speak. Master Jesse had such an obedient one but maybe too boring, Brad thought.

“Of course. Please.” Master Jesse gestured to a neighboring couch.

Brad signaled his sub to take a seat but before he could sit next to her, Master Nathan came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Master Brad, would you please come with me to the office? Security needs to speak with you briefly.”

“Security?” Megan spoke out of turn.

Brad turned and gave his slave a disapproving glare. Megan turned her head to look at the floor. At least she has the courtesy to look guilty, Brad thought. The Dom returned his stare to Master Nathan.

“Certainly.” Brad then turned to his friend. “Master Jesse, will you please keep an eye on my little one for me?”

“Yes, of course.”

Brad gave Megan a reassuring squeeze on the back of her neck. She looked up at him with a little concern in her eyes. Brad managed a small smile and then turned to follow Master Nathan. Truthfully, he was a little concerned as well. What did security want with him?

The two men walked up the back stairs and entered the office. There were two security personnel inside the office. One was sitting at the computer.

“Master Brad, we just wanted to advise you about something we saw earlier in the parking lot,” the man at the computer said.

Confusion spread through Brad. “OK.”



“On camera we have your sub arriving and exiting her car. The thing that concerned us is that she was followed.”




Buy this gem from Amazon and Bookstrand

Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Mackenzie.

Athol is here with a #giveaway. A Dom's Decision #mm #newrelease @RavenMcAllan #bdsm @evernightpub

As the title says. Athol is here! I've been on #TeamAthol ever since we first him in Master, and I'm terribly excited to have the man himself on my blog today. Not only that, he comes with gifts. Read on to find out more about his story, and how you could win an e-book.

So without further ado, I give you Athol from A Dom's Decision. Have at it, Sir.

*****

So Doris very kindly offered Raven a chance to let me loose on her blog. I'm not sure if she's brave or foolhardy. I mean evidently I'm not known for my tact.

howls of laughter .

I'm sure I've no idea why people think that. I'm a pussy cat. Okay maybe not. But just because I don't suffer fools gladly there's no reason to say I can be untactful.

And maybe one of the reason I don't suffer fools is because I was one.

Oh yeah was I ever. And for far too long. The awful thing about it all is, I almost threw away the one thing that means more to me in this world than anything. Edan's love.

Now then, that doesn't mean he wants me, or my love for him does it? After all considering all the crap that's flying around, why should he? But there again, Edan is special and can rise above stuff like that. So…

A Dom's Decision is our story. Okay it's subtitled Athol's Story, but really it about both of us. But as ever there are lots of things you never find out. Edan and I decided to let you know a little bit about ourselves. But we did it a wee bit different. He's telling you five things about me you might not know and I'm dishing the dirt on him snigger

Great fun.

So Athol on Edan…

He loves Anchovies shudder I make him wash his mouth out after he's eaten them.

Edan was his Primary School shove ha'penny champion.

He can write with a pencil between his toes.

He speaks Esperanto. I know, I mean does anyone else speak that these days?

He has a mole somewhere very interesting…

Oh and one for free. He's the love of my life.

Okay enough now. This is Edan dishing the deets on Athol.

He can't sing in tune. Seriously never go to a karaoke with him, because he so doesn't accept that he sounds like a frog.

He can't grow a beard. It grows in patchy.

Athol loves the smell of tar. We even spent one afternoon just watching some guys tar the road so he could sniff it. I'm sure they thought we were stalkers or something.

His temper was legendary at uni. Talk about flash point central. But it was always short lived. Well until we both spat the dummy out.

He's the most funny, generous person I know.

So here's the blurb for our story.

When is a Dom not a Dom? When it stops him from being with the man he loves…

Athol Donaldson lost many people in his life, his lover, his family, his twin. The latter loss seems hardly worth morning over. Affric caused nothing but trouble when alive, and now, he seems intent on causing trouble from beyond the grave.

It forces Athol to seek out the one man he's never forgotten.

Eden Murdoch has no intention of letting Athol slip through his fingers again. He's lost him once, and as they're forced to pull together to unravel the mystery surrounding the parentage of a teenage girl, their love for each other blossoms.

Surely, being Doms doesn't mean they can't compromise? Will they be able to work out their differences, and find lasting happiness, or will this blast from the past prove to be their final undoing?

And a wee tease…

Edan swallowed as his throat closed up at the sight of Athol playing with his prick. He coughed and Athol looked up and grinned at him. An expression of wicked, evil, and dare you showed in Athol's eyes.

"See? A few hours in your company and Sir Richard is stirring."

"Sir Richard would stir if a gay sparrow twittered at him," Edan said as he put two glasses and a bottle of South African red wine on the coffee table. "Shiraz?"

"Please. And for your information, not a gay sparrow, sweetie. At least a gay cock. Get your bird correct, now."

Edan laughed. Athol had always been able to poke fun at himself. "Bird or bloke?" Edan asked Athol as he twisted the closure off the bottle and poured two glasses.

"Him, her, who knows, and cheers." Athol took a glass and clinked it to Edan's.

"Her?" Edan was dismayed at the dull throb of pain that hit him.

"Now did I say that?' Athol put his glass on the table and stood up until his face touched Edan's. The sweet scent of wine and Athol swirled around Edan, and his own cock perked up.

Athol leaned forward and his tongue stroked across Edan's lips. Edan sighed and opened them, ready to welcome the thrust of Athol's tongue. It didn't happen. With only a couple of gentle touches, Athol pulled back and stared at Edan.

"Well, we could, but who gets first dibs on the fuck fest, and who puts up and shuts up like a good little sub?" Athol's expression was contemplative, almost sad, and Edan sighed again.

"Yeah, we're probably the most unforgiving, most incompatible people, most unlikely couple on the planet, and yet we, well I anyway, want nothing more than to screw you senseless. Why the fuck can't we switch with each other?" Try as he might Edan couldn't inject a positive note into his tone.

"Now Einstein, if we knew how to answer that and sort it, you'd've not disappeared down south to do whatever, and I'd've not spent the last however many years trying to prove I didn't need you." Athol shrugged his shoulders. The movement made every muscle in his torso ripple.

 Argh, pre-cum inducing heat.

"True enough. And it was lecturing in Hong Kong, not disappearing down south." Edan took in Athol's shocked expression. "Didn't you know?"

Athol shook his head. "Nah, I'd got you at some obscure ex-poly in the Midlands. Guess I screwed that line of investigation up good and proper."

Edan sat down on the settee and pulled Athol to sit next to him. "I hid my tracks well, like an animal going away to lick his wounds. What else did you screw," he paused, "up?"

Athol grinned, some of his usual upbeat mood showing. "Up, down, or like a rabbit? Ah, Ede, not much to be honest. Of any shape, form or sex."

Bastard. He always had known how to get Edan riled up. It was no wonder they could never come to terms over who did what to whom, how and when.

****

Interested?

You know we first met Athol in Master?

Anna ignored him. It was up to Linsey to sort all that out. She stalked around her desk and glared at him, as he stood unmoving next to her chair.

"Excuse me." She waited until he took a step back and opened a drawer. Anna handed a sheaf of papers and a pen to him and moved away. "Use my desk," she said. "I won't need it any longer." She looked at Linsey, who gave a faint shrug, as if to say there wasn't anything she could do. Anna didn't believe that for one minute. "Where's Athol?" she asked, as she realized there was nothing else she could say or do to dissuade Caden from his chosen plan. "He's late."

"I'm here, sweet thing." Athol walked across the room and enveloped her in his usual effusive bear hug. "I had to sort out some dickhead who thought I would turn a trick for a tenner. Cheapskate. I told him not for a thousand, I have my standards." He roared with laughter, a deep belly laugh so at odds with his persona. "Oh and who's this?" He looked Cade up and down.

He loves stirring it.

(I do not, it comes to me naturally.)

 So, if you fancy learning more about Athol re The Dom's Decision, or indeed about Dommisimma, here's your chance.

I have an ecopy of either Master, or The Girl on the Bus to give away. But because (according to my kids when they were little) I'm cruel and heartless, I'm going to ask you to answer a question. Well two questions actually.

What country is Dommisimma set in?

What do you like about the cover of A Dom's Decision (Athol's Story)

Ready…Steady…Go…

Giggle

Happy Reading,

Love  R x

www.ravenmcallan.com

 BUY LINKS

Amazon UK  Amazon US  Evernight

Master

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/master-by-raven-mcallan/

The Girl on the Bus

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/the-girl-on-the-bus-by-raven-mcallan/