Monday, November 9, 2009

Light My World by Aasiyah Qamar



Light My World

Life's good until it throws you the one curve you never wanted or expected

When vivacious Diya chose life in the fast track, giving in to her mother's antiquated morals was never a choice. Hearth, home and children weren't a part of her plan for the short-term, even if she’d love to find her Mr. Right.

Widower Trent Garrison has already been there and done that, and has no plan to go down that road again. He has to ride the straight and steady for the sake of his sons, and nothing will divert him.

Neither can afford a U-turn. But they can't dodge it either.

Diya is of Indo-Mauritian origin, a third generation Indian when you consider how Indians came to the island under British rule between 1838 and the late 1880s to work in cane fields as indentured labor after the abolition of slavery. To this day, the Indian descendants keep their traditions and ties to their roots alive, all while their identity has evolved to include the Mauritian identity too. Yet, in this era of the 21st century, identity often means something else for the youth – it means being part of the globalised culture where roots and tradition are shackles of the past. But for this same youth, how can you shed this identity that’s been your kind’s for more than a century, and become part of something that is only now in its hatching stage?
This is the dilemma Diya faces, and the story treats this in light of a universal ‘problem’ and issue for young women of today – finding love and Mr. Right.
This Mr. Right, Trent, when Diya meets him, is Mr. Absolutely Wrong, and for Trent too, Diya not at all Miss. Perfect – she is more like Miss. Pain-in-the-neck.
On this backdrop of the perception of the ‘perfect someone’ for each one of us, Light My World takes the reader on the chaotic ups and downs of the lives of this unlikely pair.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shiela Stewart Shares Consuming the Darkness


Blurb: 
Title:  Consuming the Darkness: bk 7 in the Darkness series. Release Date: October 16th
He needs your heart to live.

In Jacob’s Cove, where death is as common as apple pie, a serial murderer is a first. Lieutenant Sienna Storm, the town’s newly minted homicide detective, is eager to prove she’s up to the job of tracking down the demon who rips out his victims’ still-beating hearts. Even if it means using her innate ability to connect with him through his blood.

Detective Nathan Powers lost his partner to the aptly named Heartless Killer, and the trail of bodies leads him straight to Jacob’s Cove. However, this is no typical small town. It’s a strange world populated with bloodthirsty demons and run by a vampire. Still, the leggy blonde Sienna is a pleasant distraction. Until he discovers she’s after the same killer—and she’s not sharing.

Minds clash as the hunt intensifies, but the more they run into each other, the harder it is to stay apart. Together they discover not only clues, but a searing need that rises higher by the day.

That need may be their downfall when Nathan becomes the killer’s next target, and Sienna must risk everything to get him back.

Excerpt:

“Behind you! Get down.”
The gun came up in his hand, aimed at her head. She felt the presence of the vampire as he jumped out from behind the dumpster. As she spun around to take him down, the gun fired, hitting the vamp in the right shoulder. He jerked back, screeching like a banshee.
“What the hell are you doing?” she yelled at the man with the gun as she ran to the vamp. “Daisy, stay!” Daisy sat as she’d been instructed while Sienna knelt down beside the screaming vamp. She pressed her knee to the vamp’s bleeding shoulder to ensure that he wouldn’t move. “You are under arrest for breaking the laws of human and vampire and will be detained in the local jail while awaiting trial.”
“You’re a cop?” the guy behind her responded.
            “Yeah, I’m a cop. Oh, stop your screaming already,” she yelled at the vamp, then flipped him onto his belly and pulled his arms to his back, pinning them in one hand while she searched for her handcuffs. “Damn it, why don’t I have my cuffs on me. Wanna tell me why you were about to attack me?”
“I wasn’t…honest…I was only…out for a walk. Yeah, I was walking. I’m going to sue the cops for harassment. I was minding my own. Fuck, my shoulder is killing me. Police brutality!”
“Shut the hell up. No one gives a damn.”
“Here.”
Sienna glanced up to see a set of shiny silver handcuffs dangling down before her. Glancing up, she took a moment to survey the gentleman and noticed he wasn’t bad on the eyes. His dark brown hair was messed up but somehow looked natural. And wow! The guy had a hell of a body. Broad shoulders, wide chest, and narrow waist. His face was pretty decent to look at, even with that thin line of hair over his upper lip that ran down the sides of his mouth to cover his chin. He had nice eyes, dark, round, with long lashes. “I’d prefer a regulation set rather than your bondage toys.”
“These are regulation. I’m a detective. Nathan Powers,” he introduced in a deep, throaty voice that sounded as if he’d had one too many cigarettes.
The vamp squirming beneath her, she took the cuffs. Before slapping them on the vamp’s wrists she made sure they were regulation. Flipping him onto his back, Sienna pinned him with her knee as she had before. “Don’t try anything stupid.”
“Bitch!” the vamp spat.
“What the hell’s with the yellow contacts and fake fangs?”
Sienna glanced over her shoulder as she responded to the detective. “What? You’ve never seen a vampire before?”
“A what?”
“A vampire.”
“I heard you. I thought I’d seen it all, but I guess not. Now we’ve got junkies playing vampire,” The detective chuckled with a shake of his head.
One look at the guy told her he was serious. “Oh jeez, he’s a virgin.” She rolled her eyes. “I told you to shut up.” She yanked the screaming vamp to his feet. “This is a vampire, not a fake, the real deal and if you plan on being in Jacob’s Cove for any amount of time you might want to be on the lookout for them. Some of them refuse to abide by the new laws. Isn’t that right, screamer?”
“Seriously though, he’s a vampire like the blood-sucking kind?”
“Don’t know any other kind.”
“Shouldn’t you like…you know, jam a wooden stake through his heart? I can’t believe I just said that.” He laughed boldly.
Was he for real?
 She didn’t care for the sarcasm in his voice. “Neither can I. We prefer to rehabilitate them rather than turning them to dust.” Holding the vamp in one hand, she pulled her cell phone out with the other and dialed the station. “Lieutenant Storm here. I have a rogue vamp I need brought in.”
“I wasn’t doing anything, you stupid bitch.”
She clamped onto the squirming vamp a little tighter as she gave her location. She slipped her phone back into her shirt pocket when she was through and gave the vamp a hard shove against the dumpster. “Right, you were only skulking in the dark because you needed a smoke, right?”
“It’s a free world last time I looked.”
“Sure, except when you’re attempting to drink someone dry. Save it for the judge; I’m done listening.”
“You can’t prove anything. I’m innocent.”
“Do you know what I am?” she asked as she leaned in real close. “I’m a Tejakkan which means I have precog abilities. I saw you moments before you jumped out and I saw just what you’d planned to do so save your ‘I’m innocent’ act for someone who gives a damn.”
“Bitch!”
“That’s right and remember it.” She shoved him good and hard against the dumpster.
“You’ve got a cute dog there, and obedient,” Detective Powers remarked as he crouched down to pet Daisy.
“Thanks.” And because Daisy was sitting so obediently and waiting for her, Sienna decided she deserved a treat later. “You in town for a job, Detective?”
“No. I’m on vacation.”
She laughed, keeping the vamp pinned to the dumpster with no effort whatsoever as she turned to the detective. “Why the hell would you want to vacation in Jacob’s Cove?”
“Actually, I’m passing through. What happened to this place?” He scratched Daisy between the ears which of course, the dog was loving.
“A war between the good and the bad, and if you knew nothing of vampires beforehand, me telling you what really went down will blow your mind. But I don’t have time to go into it right now.” With her free hand, she waved at the patrol car as it inched into the alley.
“You’re serious about this vampire thing?”
Still holding the vamp against the dumpster, doing her best to ignore his whining about police brutality, Sienna responded as calmly as possible. “No, I’m pulling your leg.”
“I thought so. I mean, shit, vampires,” he laughed with a deep hardiness, running a hand across his stubble-lined face. “I knew he had to be some druggy who decided to play vampire or something with the teeth.”
If he was a real detective she would eat her badge. “Let me see some ID.”
“What for?”
“You’re too stupid to be a cop.” This time his eyes narrowed. He slid his hand into his jean jacket and she whipped out her stunner. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
“I thought you wanted to see my ID?” he remarked snidely.
Her jaw tightened. “Nice and slow, and trust me, I’ll know before you pull something stupid. You’ll be lying on the ground writhing in agony before you have a chance to blink. Take him off my hands, Officer,” she added to the cop who stepped up, then passed the vamp on to him. She eyeballed the supposed detective while he slid his hand under his jacket. When she didn’t get a flash forward of the situation, she deduced he wasn’t going to do her harm.
The detective pulled out his wallet and flipped it open to reveal his badge.
“Huh, I’ll be damned!” He really was a detective. “You’re a long way from home, Detective.” In the background she could hear the vamp still screaming about his rights and about police brutality. He could scream all he liked; it would do him no good.
“Like I said, I’m on vacation.” He tucked the badge back into his jacket.
“I’d suggest you get yourself on the road and away from here before you get hurt. Come on, Daisy, I’ve gotta take you back home, then head into the cop shop.” She walked off, Daisy on her heels looking back at the detective as they headed home.
He must have passed the detective’s exam because of his looks.



Title: Surviving the Darkness: Bk 8 in the Darkness series: Release date: October 30th
buylink or link to more info if you have it: www.breathlesspress.com

Blurb:

When death is on your trail, the only thing you can do is run.
Heading home to Jacob’s Cove after her abductor is released from jail, concert pianist, Deborah Carmichael just wants to find some peace. What she finds is a town run by monsters, and a kind night club owner willing to help her get her self-confidence back. Problem is, he’s a shape shifter and his bar is frequented by demons.
Owner of the Demon’s Lair, Zachary Adams has had to deal with all sorts of evil. Hearing about Deborah’s horrifying ordeal, breaks his heart and he is determined to help her overcome it as best he can. But as the two grow closer, someone is lurking in the shadows.  When Deborah is abducted again, Zach is willing to do anything to get her back.
Will he be able to save her before it’s too late?

Excerpt

She was shivering. It wasn’t cold, yet her body was acting as if she were chilled. Even her teeth were chattering. She could hear him moving around in her apartment and wished to God he would leave. But that would be too easy.
Her body went to stone the instant he stepped into the room.
“I’ve locked the door and the balcony, closed up the curtains and now we’re ready to go.” He walked to her bedroom window and pulling the shades, turned back to her with a sly grin on his face. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Debbie.”
The whimper that escaped her taped mouth didn’t seem to have come from her. The fear was lodged so tightly in her chest that she couldn’t muster anything more than a whimper.
“How is it you don’t own a pair of scissors? I searched the entire apartment but came up empty. I guess this will have to do.”
Her heart sped up as he held one of the butcher block knives in the air. The overhead light glinted off the steel blade as he turned it over.
“I should have undressed you before tying you up but I didn’t want to take the chance of having you escape.” He sat on the edge of the bed and her body began to shake even more.
Her body quivered, her teeth chattered. She tried tugging her hands free but the ropes cut into her wrists, scorching her skin.  The cloth in her mouth was wet with saliva and the tape over her lips was beginning to irritate her skin. Dear God, wouldn’t someone save her?
“Now, let’s get you out of those clothes.”
She whimpered and when he lifted the large steel knife she felt her blood drain.
“Now now, this doesn’t have to be unpleasant.” Sliding the blade under her pant leg, he began to slice along the seam. “As long as you stay still.”
As the cold steel touched her skin, she flinched. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it would bruise her ribs. And as he slid the blade up her leg the tears drenched her face.
“Brown isn’t your color. I think I’ve told you that before. You should wear yellows and reds. You have the complexion for those colors. Brown makes you looked washed out.”
She cringed when the blade slid along her other leg and when he angled the blade over her crotch and sliced the fabric up her belly, her whimpers turned to sobs.
“Now now, no need for hysterics.”
Her body shook as he slid the blade along her blouse, tearing open the fabric. He parted the center and sat back staring down at her. The bile stung her chest but she swallowed it back. Then his fingers slipped beneath the center of her bra. She whimpered again but he kept going. He slipped the blade of the knife beneath the fabric and as he tipped it up to cut the fabric, it clipped the inside of her breast, scorching the flesh.
She began to sob.
“Oops, sorry about that.” Parting the cups, his fingers skimmed her breasts making the bile rise a little higher. Then to her horror, he bent over and slid his tongue out and over the cut. “You’re very tasty. I can’t wait to have more. And I just knew you would have great breasts.”
Placing the blade between his teeth, leaving both hands free, he cupped each breast firmly. With a hiss between his teeth, he fondled her.
Why was this happening to her? She tried not to think about his hands on her breasts but she couldn’t. She felt everything, the scrape of his callused palms, how his fingers gripped on and squeezed tightly.
God, just let this be over.
He took he knife from between his teeth and sucked in a breath. “Yes indeed. You are mighty fine. Let’s see what the rest of you looks like.”
She could feel her body shaking and could do nothing as he slid her pants away. When the tip of the blade touched her hip she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and prayed. She heard the fabric tearing, then felt the cloth parting.
She was completely bare now.
“Oh my…you are sweet. I love a woman who keeps her feminine area bare.”
She jumped when his fingers touched her and began to sob.
“Jesus, you are nice. Yes indeed.” His fingers slid over her, tugging the dry flesh. When his finger penetrated her she began to sob so hard, her body shook the bed.
 “Stop crying!”
But she just couldn’t stop the tears or the way her body shook with them. He was going to rape her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“I said stop crying,” he demanded, holding the scissors to her chin.
She yelped when the blade came down between her breasts.
“Stop crying or I’ll give you a reason to cry.”
She couldn’t help herself and let her fear show. She balled like a baby, flipping her head back and forth, bucking to get him off of her. When the tip of the blade sliced into her chest, she screamed through the cloth.
“I said stop crying!” The fire erupted as the blade slid between her breasts and down to her belly.




Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Today's Guest in Author's Corner is Michael Pennington


Here is a blurb from Michael's Novel ZHENA which is now available:


Susan was content with her ordinary life. As ordinary as it can be when you're married to an officer in the submarine force.  For the past twenty years she has wanted nothing more than to help her husband Bill succeed in his career and raise her children.  Then one day the phone rang.  After this mysterious call, nothing was the same.  Suddenly, she is able to analyze situations and people more rapidly than she thought humanly possible.  Anything or anyone that is out of place is immediately noted and its threat level determined.  She has fighting and weapons skills, despite having never even held a gun.  And most concerning and disconcerting is the strange voice in her head telling her what to do in any given situation, as though her life is one big mission - a mission she knows nothing about.  And why do strangers keep speaking to her in a language she shouldn’t understand but does.
Now for the first time she is questioning everything she has ever believed about herself and her entire life.  Looking for those answers opens the gate to unimaginable danger not only for herself but for what is most precious to her, her children.  She will have to dig into something she never considered important before, her past.  It will result in an incredible journey involving cold war spies, Russian intelligence, and old friends some of which she remembers, and others she doesn’t.  As time works against her she must solve the mystery before her husband reaches port.  All the while trying to protect her children and friends not to mention herself.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Margie Church and her thrilling new book: Avenging Allaire



The exciting love story of Allaire West and Devon Mercer continues in the thriller, “Avenging Allaire.” The couple plans to marry and live happily ever after but everyone from Devon’s father to their pistol-packing nanny, Lucy, is conspiring against them.

Lucy plots, with the help of her lover, to take advantage of Allaire’s psychotic relapses. She’s eager to turn Allie into a mush-brained lunatic and steal Devon for herself.

Devon’s father calls in his million dollar ransom loan and Devon is forced to return to his father’s firm to repay it. It doesn’t take long for Devon to become suspicious about the revolving door of investors, brokers, and missing information.

In a shocking turn of events, Allaire’s life is in jeopardy again and Devon learns the truth behind Allaire’s kidnapping, the suspicious murders, and the business secrets. Who will survive and who will pay as Devon desperately tries to avenge Allaire. Packed with murder, white collar crime, and plenty of spice, “Avenging Allaire” lives up to the author’s penchant for SASS: Suspense, Angst, Seductive Sizzle.

See the awesome new trailer for this hot hot book at:






This is one really cool book that I think men will like as well as women. I hope you like it...November 1 from Class Act Books. Cover art was done by BJ Haynes.

Margie


 

Romance with SASS: Suspense, Angst, Seductive Sizzle
"Awakening Allaire" My sexy thriller NOW AVAILABLE
"Avenging Allaire" the thrilling sequel coming in November from:
www.classactbooks.com 
Awakening Allaire's newest review: http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2009/08/review-of-awakening-allaire.html
The video trailer: Blazing Trailers: www.Adult.blazingtrailers.com/show.php?title=507
My website: http://site.romancewithsass.com
My blog: http://blog.romancewithsass.com
Catch up with me at Mistress Bella's Interviews:  http://www.mistressbellainterviews.blogspot.com/?zx=102ba9acc8c6a7bb
 

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Haunting of Amelia Pritchart


Coming September 20th, 2009 from The Wild Rose Press....

The Haunting of Amelia Pritchart
by
Sandra Sookoo

Amelia Pritchart's life is a mess. Her house is crumbling down around her, she's got a  bad case of writer's block and divorce papers await her signature.  The trouble is, she still loves her husband.

And if that's not bad enough, she comes face to face with a ghost - who has problems of her own.  The restless spirit demands amelia help her tormented soul so she can finally rest. Intrigued, Amelia sets out to grant the wish, but soon finds there's much more to the ghost than just being dead.

When her estranged husband turns up on her doorstep on Halloween, Amelia must face two pasts, both  full of pain.  Can she help the ghost without becoming eternally haunted? And can she face her own fears and insecurities about her marriage
in order to grasp the second chance at happiness that her huband offers.

Email Sandra at sandrasookoo@yahoo.com or visit her website at http://www.sandrasookoo.com/

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Catch Me in Castile by Kimberley Troutte


Title: CATCH ME IN CASTILE
Author: Kimberley Troutte
ISBN: 1-60504-652-3
ISBN13: 978-1-60504-652-5
Length: Novel, 79k words
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense
Publication Date: August 25, 2009

Tagline:

Seeing dead people is bad enough. Loving him could make her one of them.

Blurb
:

When the mother of all panic attacks prompts Erin Carter’s boss to pass her over for promotion, her mind doesn’t just crack. It explodes like an egg in a microwave, shattering her career along with the company car she crashes into the office building.

The death grip she’s kept on her sanity slipping, she takes a friend’s advice and flees to Spain. There she finds comfort in the healing arms of surgeon Santiago Botello—until a fifteenth-century ghost warns her that being with Santiago is dangerous, possibly even lethal.

Santiago has his hands full protecting his sister from a dark curse and his family from a very modern-day psychotic killer. The last thing he needs added to his plate is a neurotic American. Yet something about Erin tugs at his heart so hard he wants to wrap her in his arms and never let go. No matter the risk.

Erin’s attraction to Santiago makes her the killer’s next target. Survival means she must face her greatest fear, solve an ancient murder mystery—and hang on tight to the one man she’s fallen crazy in love with.


Comparative titles by other authors:
Moonshadows by Melinda Hammond
Scent of Roses by Kat Martin
Angels Fall by Nora Roberts

Leave comments for your chance to win a free ebook copy of Catch me in Castile or Soul Stealer (winner's choice) The contest will run until July 22. The winner will be announced on July 23.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thistle Dew by Alee Drake


Sage Winters has struggled to make Thistle Dew Inn the best writer's retreat in the Adirondacks. The Inn, her late husband Eric's dream, is finally becoming known as a place of comfort, good food, and discreet staff. But all is not as it seems at the Inn. The brush of a ghostly presence lingers on. A sullen handyman is sometimes disturbing. An attractive and attentive writer is bringing back feelings Sage thought had dies with Eric. And on a walk back from a party at the pond, Sage's four year old daughter, Pia, disappears into thin air.

Visit Alee Drake's Blog

Buy Thistle Dew