Thursday, November 27, 2014

WRITERS WRITE... WRITING PARTNERS FEUD Thanksgiving - Eat, drink, and be thankful.



(Another typical work day would have happened if it weren't for the need to eat turkey and watch football games... so the blog was actually about the Wednesday before)

A:  (Ang arrives, wearing a three wise snowman sweater inside out... the tag revealed that)  Heard this on the radio.  If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?  ...  Pilgrims!  Get it?

Z:  Sweater.  (The one word was all that was needed to have her notice)

A:  (She stripped the sweater over her head, showing that she also forgot to wear, of all things, a bra... quickly seeing she was exposed pulled the sweater right back down)  I intended it to be on this way... ok!  It allows me to get an extra day out of it before I have to wash it.

Z:  What?  (He had not been looking... and if he had known she had flashed him with him not seeing it... would have been P.O.ed) 

A:  (Adds a dazzling turkey pin to her sweater which is now on backwards but she likes the look)  Why do turkeys gobble?  ... Because they never learned table manners!

Z:  What?  (He thinks she is even more bizarre than usual, too much apple cider?)

A:  Yea... what are you doing?  (Attaches a paper wattle to her chin and shakes her head back and forth to make certain it stays put)

Z:  (Decides Ang has finally fallen off the deep end of insanity) Putting a joke on our website.  What do you think?  (Says his words softly as if drawing her back toward the world of normal)

 

Tommy and Billy were discussing their latest turkey shoot. Tommy did not look happy and said emphatically, "I am never going to take my wife, Laura, shooting with me ever again, Billy!"

"That bad, eh?" enquired Billy smiling.

"Yeah, Laura did everything wrong, got nothing right.  She chattered too much, constantly disturbed the undergrowth, loaded the wrong gauge shot in the gun, used the wrong luring whistles and worst of all," bellowed Tommy, "And she shot more turkeys than me!"

 

A:  Poor guy should have worn his brass jockstrap.  (Looks sympathetic)

Z:  You having me over for dinner, big turkey?  (Stomach growls so loudly the dogs' ears all perk up or maybe it was the thought of turkey....in Zi's world, dogs do think like that)

A:  Yes.

Z:  I plan on watching football.

A:  (Ang wrote and uploaded a blog entry)

 

A professional NFL team, the great and powerful Philadelphia Eagles, had just finished their daily practice session when a large turkey came strutting onto the field.  While the players gazed in amazement, the turkey walked up to the head coach and demanded to be given a chance to play at tight end.

Everyone stared in silence as the turkey caught pass after pass and ran right through the defensive line. When the turkey returned to the sidelines, the coach shouted, "You're superb. Sign up for the season, and I'll see to it that you get a huge bonus."

"Forget the bonus," replied the turkey, "What I want to know is, does your season go past Thanksgiving Day?"

 

Z:  Nice end twist.  What kind of pie are you having?

A:  Pumpkin.  (Points to the large pumpkin she left on a nearby desk.  It wore an Eagle's helmet and had a picture of Zi beneath the face plate)

Z:  Not apple?

A:  No.

Z:  I'll bring the pie.

A:  I got your pie...

Z:  (Interrupts) Don't go there!

 

Steel Embrace Excerpt

 

Knowing this, he kept himself in tight control around the club thralls, but this girl got to him. At first glance, she appeared average, not very tall, but not short either. She had an average build, an average look. It didn’t fool him; beauty resided under that unpretentious adornment. A slight frame accentuated large, firm breasts while her waist didn’t seem thick enough to hold up such an expansive chest. Slight hips eased away into shapely legs, not stick-thin like many girls, but with the right amount of trim,

smooth flesh, at least from what he could make out of her legs beneath the oversized skirt.

 

While her body possessed sensual appeal, her countenance was that of a girl younger than her professed years. She didn’t have the lush mouth associated with sensuality in today’s fashion world, but instead she presented a subtle pout sculptured into a kissable bow. The timid nose was lightly freckled, just a sprinkling like cinnamon on Christmas cookies. Large, luminous, amber-sweet eyes peered up from under uneven bangs and dark, mascara-ed lashes while a layered cascade of silken locks slipped past her shoulders.

 

A few members wouldn’t look beyond the body, others wouldn’t consider her the most beautiful girl here, but would recognize the innocent appeal, would yearn to use her like gluttons at the feast, thought Steel. The words in his head surprising him. And then she would no longer exist, at least, not as the person she was now. They wouldn’t know enough to shape her, mold her, and bring out her true self, not the image of what they wanted. Steel wouldn’t like that, and he refused to be responsible for it. At that moment he knew she had utterly captivated him.

***
We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog Dawn - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.



Angelica Hart and Zi ~ Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
www.champagnebooks.com - www.carnalpassions.com - angelicahartandzi.com








Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Check out Entangled Publishings HUGE Sale!

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Book Spotlight~ Susan Smith Alvis's Mystical Christmas

What if everything you wanted was all within your reach but not yours for the taking?

Klaus and Stefan are tearing through the South collecting hybrids and leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them. Unable to reach Stefan any other way, Elena devises a holiday plan to lure Stefan back home.

Damon thinks Elena is wasting her time and fears the worst. He and Stefan no longer celebrate Christmas, but if Klaus approves Elena’s request, Damon will support her by giving her what she wants—a traditional Christmas.

What Elena wants and what she gets are two different vampires altogether. Elena approaches Klaus and asks for Stefan’s release, even if it’s only for one Christmas weekend. Klaus agrees, but his terms and conditions are nonnegotiable.

Soon, Elena is holed up in a snow-covered chalet with the Salvatore brothers and Klaus, an original vampire with an unusual agenda. And he’s gone to great lengths to find out who Elena really loves. 

Excerpt One

Dear Diary,

I used to love mystery and danger. Like other teenage girls, I’d often imagined what it might be like to find myself in the middle of a catastrophe, stuck between two great forces—like good and evil—only far more dramatic.
At that time, Stefan and Damon Salvatore didn’t exist in my world. The world—at least the one I lived in—was less complicated. My days then were in black and white, with an occasional burst of color and flare, compliments of Caroline. 
Then the Salvatore brothers entered my life and everything changed. I soon learned there wasn’t a line of division down the middle with these two. And after I met Damon and Stefan, my former life faded to black and now the past seems surreal.
I look down at the Salvatore driveway, now lined with packed snow and jagged tracks and wonder how I could’ve been so naïve. Who was that young girl who compartmentalized thoughts, people, places and things?  Why didn’t she take the time to see the bigger picture with more multidimensional aspects, more depth?
As I think about the coming hours with a mix of dread and a dash of excitement, I now know a well-rounded life takes a triangle’s shape. Life isn’t clean and tidy with a circular rotation driven by nature to lead us all back to where we started. It’s not boxed up all nice and neat with defined planes and specific instructions to make our days easier. How boring would that be? Then again, after barely surviving these last few months, boring sounds like a little slice of heaven. 
It’s the most wonderful time of year or it is for those who believe in the two-sided world, the world beyond this window, the one where others grade their mere existence by good or evil.
But there is a third entity or force. And he’s standing right behind me. 



Excerpt Two

“You promised to release him while we’re in Tennessee.”
“And I will,” Klaus assured her. “Once we’re settled in and before the sun goes down.”
“Is there a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”
“All right, Elena, you win. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” His demeanor changed then. “You can’t play with fate or run from it, love. Katerina tried and as you saw for yourself, she failed on numerous occasions. She also loved two brothers as you love two brothers.”
“I never said—”
Klaus held up his hand. “Let me finish. Damon gives you what you need, what you must have at any cost. Stefan, on the other hand, gives you what you want—the ability to stay committed to your high moral standards. The Stefan you know gives you a normal relationship, an acceptable bond. Your friends like him. Your teachers accept him.” 
“What about the Stefan you know?”
“The Stefan I know would rip your pretty little neck apart if I so much as compelled him to do so.”
She swallowed, processing. Klaus wanted to hurt her. He wanted to watch how she interacted with the Salvatore brothers. He would then later use what he learned against her. “You made Stefan into something he’s not.”
“On the contrary,” Klaus said. “We’re vampires. That makes us hunters or predators by nature. We’re only killers by choice.”


Beta Readers' "Favorite Lines from The Vampire Diaries" Mystical Christmas
(Kindle Worlds Novella) [Kindle Edition]


1. Her mind’s eyes flickered with newspaper clippings about a rampant killing spree, a murderous binge controlled by Klaus and executed by Stefan.

2. “On the contrary,” Klaus said. “We’re vampires. That makes us hunters or predators by nature. We’re only killers by choice.”

3. "Stefan’s weapons are embedded in his gums. No one hands him anything. He takes what he wants.”

4. "You and Damon probably weren’t supposed to spend Christmas together. You aren’t exactly an ideal mistletoe-seeking pair.”

5. "At the end of the day, you’re nothing more than a bleeding vein to him, Elena.”

6. Their love washed over her like a high tide racing toward shore in the middle of a devastating storm, a volatile gale that would temporarily calm before striking with brutal force in the desolate hours of a quiet holiday night. 

7. “Proximity is a real bitch when you’re the only one with a beating heart in a houseful of vampires.” 

8. “You can make a deal with the devil but it doesn’t mean you have to follow him back to hell.” 

9. "Far be it for me to break the news here, but we’re both dead, brother.” Stefan lifted his glass. “I thought you knew.”

10. "I can’t pretend I don’t have feelings for you when every single time I look at you, I only see an extension of me.” 

11. “It’s hard to choose a side when your heart draws its sword for one cause while your head supports another.”  






About the Author: Susan Smith Alvis has been a career author for over a decade. With over 300 titles to her credit, her pseudonyms have been award-winning authors with international bestsellers in most genres. To find out more, visit her book page at Amazon. To sign up for updates and future release date announcements, email her at susansmithalvis@gmail.com

Release Blitz for Christmas in the Cotswolds

Christmas in the Cotswolds by Jenny Kane (@JennyKaneAuthor)

A seasonal easy read romance, Christmas in the Cotswolds is Jenny Kane’s festive sequel to Another Cup of Christmas. (It can also be read as a stand alone story.)
Blurb
Izzie Spencer-Harris, owner of the Cotswold Art and Crafts Centre, is due to host the prestigious Cotswold Choir’s annual Christmas carol concert in her beautiful converted church. Or at least she was, until a storm smashed a hole right through the chancel roof.
Days from Christmas, Izzie suddenly finds herself up to her neck in DIY, with her last dodgy workman having walked off the job. She does the only thing she can … calls in her best friend Megan to help.
Leaving Peggy and Scott to run Pickwicks Café in her absence, Megan heads to the Cotswolds for Christmas. Within minutes of her arrival, she finds herself hunting down anyone willing to take on extra work so close to Christmas. It seems the only person available to help is Joseph Parker – a carpenter who, while admittedly gorgeous, seems to have ulterior motives for everything he does …
With Izzie’s bossy mother, Lady Spencer-Harris, causing her problems at every turn, an accident at work causing yet more delays, and the date for the concert drawing ever nearer, it’s going to take a lot more than Mrs Vickers’ powerful mulled wine to make sure everything is all right on the night …
Extract
Izzie closed her eyes and counted to ten as the door of the Cotswold Arts Centre slammed shut.
There was no point in panicking. She simply didn’t have time for such luxuries if her converted church was going to be ready to host a Christmas carol concert by the renowned Cotswold Choir in nine days’ time.
Bored of being propositioned by men who weren’t remotely interested in her until they discovered she was a daughter of the gentry, Izzie had ejected the carpenter through her front door before he’d quite had time to work out just how insulting her rejection of his latest lurid suggestion was.

Now, her hasty tongue having deprived her of a desperately needed pair of tradesman’s hands, Izzie sat with a heavy thump onto the nearest pew. She knew she had to find fresh help, and fast. A task that wouldn’t be easy so close to Christmas.
‘Although,’ Izzie addressed the image of Noah, who smiled benevolently at her from his stained-glass window, as if grateful he hadn’t been smashed to pieces by the tree branch that had come through the top of the chancel and caused so much seasonal inconvenience, ‘I’m damn sure I’m not asking my mother to help out ever again!’
Reaching for the offending package of invitations that had arrived by courier first thing that morning, Izzie emptied it onto the table. The invitations were supposed to have been posted by now. As soon as she’d seen them, Izzie understood why her mother had left them to the last minute.
Unfussy, cost-effective, and with a medieval Christmas flavour in keeping with the spirit of the converted fourteenth-century church where the concert was to be held. That’s what she’d asked for.
What she’d got was decadent Victorian-style gold-edged invitations which weighed so much, Izzie was sure that posting them alone would break the bank. And if that wasn’t bad enough, her mother had done the one thing that she had expressively forbidden. She’d put Izzie’s full name on the invitations.
Lady Perdita Spencer-Harris had been unable to comprehend why her daughter didn’t want to use the family name to help sales. She simply didn’t understand that Izzie wanted people to come to hear the choir for its own sake, or because they wanted to see what she’d done in her art centre; not because she was a young and single female member of the landed gentry.

Miss Isadora Spencer-Harris
cordially invites you to a magical festive evening at
The Cotswold Arts Centre, Chipping Swinton
to hear the renowned Cotswold Choir’s
Christmas Carol Concert
Saturday 21st December
7 p.m. for 7.30 p.m. start
£25 per ticket
Refreshments provided
RSVP by 18th December to Harris Park
Wrapping her stripy woollen scarf more tightly around her neck, Izzie breathed warm air over her cold fingers. Deciding it wasn’t cost effective to heat the church this late at night just for her, she gathered up the invitations, and with one last check that the polythene sheeting would keep the rest of her chancel roof in place overnight, Izzie headed home.

Izzie scooped up three Christmas cards from her doormat. A smile replaced her frown as she opened the first envelope to see a cartoon robin wishing her a Merry Christmas. Inside, beneath the seasonal greeting, her friend Megan had written Must meet up SOON! I’d love to see your new art centre.
‘Should I?’ Izzie was sure her dearest friend from college would help. Megan always helped. Izzie addressed the picture of the robin, ‘But won’t she be hugely busy at Pickwicks café this close to Christmas?’
Switching on her laptop, Izzie started to hunt for a replacement tradesman to help repair her church roof. Half an hour of searching later, and her quest was looking increasingly hopeless by the minute.
It was no good, if she wasn’t going to be forced to ask her parents to bail her out – which was an ‘over her dead body’ situation as far as Izzie was concerned – she needed alternative assistance. Izzie picked up her mobile before guilt at disturbing her friend’s life at Christmas overtook her.
‘Megan, thank goodness you’re there! How can I put this … help!’

Buy links


Bio
With a background in history and archaeology, Jenny Kane should really be sat in a dusty university library translating Medieval Latin criminal records, before writing research documents that hardly anyone would want to read. Instead, tucked away in the South West of England, Jenny Kane writes stories with one hand, while working for a Distance Learning Company with the other.
Jenny spends a large part of her time in the local coffee shops, where she creates her stories, including the novels Romancing Robin Hood (Accent Press, 2014), the best selling contemporary romance Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press, 2013), and the novella length sequels Another Cup of Christmas (Accent Press, 2013) and Christmas in the Cotswolds, (Accent Press, 2014)
Jenny’s next full length novel, Abi’s House, will be published by Accent Press in 2015.
Jenny Kane is also the author of quirky children’s picture books There’s a Cow in the Flat (Hushpuppy, 2014) and Joe’s Letter (Coming soon from Hushpuppy)
Keep your eye on Jenny’s blog at www.jennykane.co.uk for more details.
Twitter - @JennyKaneAuthor
Jenny Kane also writes erotica as Kay Jaybee. (www.kayjaybee.me.uk)


Welcome Holden “Fox” Krause and Andrea Speed today



Please give a warm welcome to Holden Fox Krause  from the Infected series by Andrea Speed today as we sit down and see what makes him tick.

Q: So tell us about yourself. What got you in the crosshairs for your author?
Oh, I wouldn't even try and guess. Have you seen her brain? Little scares me, but that does.

Let's see, what can I tell you about myself? My dad's an evangelist, and he fathered me and probably my sister with our mother, a junkie in one of his outreach programs, while married to another woman. When our mother died of an overdose, he let my sister get dumped into the foster care system, but as I was an infant, arranged to adopt me to show what Christian charity he had, while never acknowledging he was my biological father. And when he found out I was gay, he threw me out of the house, and I became a hooker to survive. I'm still really bitter about it, can you tell? At least, if he does believe a smidgen of that religious bullshit he shovels and I say he probably doesn't and it exists, at least he'll burn in hell for being the worst kind of hypocrite. Have I mentioned I hate the fucker?

On the street I got the nickname Fox, not 'cause I'm so foxy although, of course I am but because I could think my way out of almost everything. Crazy and smart as a fox. It's a name to wear with pride.

Perhaps I should point out that I'm no longer an escort. Well, technically. I'm trying to give this detective thing a try. Roan somehow blackmailed me into it. It's super boring, but on the plus side, I don't have to pop Viagra like candy.


Q: What was it that drew you to your mate?
Scott? Have you seen him? Boy's fucking hot. I mean, hockey players usually have busted ass faces, but their bodies holy shit. All that skating makes a body hard and sculpted like marble. He could make a shit ton of money as an escort. And, you know, his face isn't bad. Especially for a hockey player. He's like a god of beauty compared to most players. Like me, he doesn't mind keeping things open and casual. I really don't do realationships, and I still have no idea how I ended up in one.


Q: A little naughty fun, where was the wildest place you seduced your partner(s)? 
Oh. He's no fun. Probably 'cause he's still in the closet about his bisexuality. But I once fucked a client in the bathroom of a shitty biker bar. A straight biker bar. He had a thing about it.


Q: Boxers, briefs or Commando on a man? 
I know for a fact boxer-briefs are the sexiest underwear. Well, on most. There's some guys who can't be helped. No matter how pretty the wrapping, the package is just pathetic. Sometimes, there just ain't enough glitter and stickers in the world to make that a gift worth unwrapping. That's not true of Scott, though. He's good in that department too, the bastard. Some guys get all the good genes.


Q: If your partner wants to seduce you, what's one sure fire trick they can do to seduce you? 
Gin. Lots of gin. Maybe some pot if I'm in the mood for it.

Q: What is the one place on your partner's body that you know will drive them wild-in and out of bed?  
There's a spot just below his belly button, almost half way down the treasure trail. All I have to do is breathe on that spot or tickle it, and he's laughing and ready to go.

Q: What was one of the most embarrassing things your author did to you in Infected: Lesser Evils? 
Well, she just had to document a couple of stupid ass corrupt cops beating the shit out of me, huh? I take solace in knowing Roan fucked them up but good. I'm pretty sure they're still in therapy over that.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Although I can't really say it in mixed company Johnny Law and all that I really do like being called a hooker vigilante. I really wish I could use that on resumes and business cards, but since both things are technically illegal, that's one of those things I need to keep under wraps.

Thank you, Fox, for joining us on 'Meet the Character' day here at Dawns Reading Nook Blog. You can find all of Andrea Speeds books at Dreamspinner Press and Amazon .

Infected: Undertow
Sequel to Infected: Lesser Evils
Dreamspinner Press
Paranormal M/M, Shifter, Mystery/Suspense
Available in e-book & Print
In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds. Now Roan is locked in a coma as the struggle between his human and werecat sides reaches a new extreme. All Dylan can do is sit, wait, and think. 
Meanwhile, Roan’s assistant, Holden, wants to shed his old street life and his relationship with Scott, but he can’t seem to do either. Holden doesn’t want a relationship with Scott but finds himself drawn to him all the same, even if he can never fully reveal his past. 
With Roan out of commission, Holden looks into the murder of an old friend. At the same time, Fiona takes on a case about underground death matches between infecteds —one with connections to the Church of the Divine Transformation. 
Finally Roan wakes only to discover that his shifts have new consequences. His lion’s strength is growing, and he can’t hide from it any longer….
 

Behind the Scenes with Kelli Wilkins: Loving a Wild Stranger

  Behind the Scenes: Loving a Wild Stranger (A Historical Romance) By Kelli A. Wilkins www.KelliWilkins.com     This “Behind the ...