OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! *deep breath* OMGOMGOMG! Where’s my brown paper bag when I need it?!? Thirty days. Thirty days from today, FAERIE FATE will be tossed out into the world. While I don’t have a preorder link, the book is now on the COMING SOON pages at Wild Rose, and I’m now officially listed with the authors. You can click on the Author button, scroll down and find me! But, most importantly, if you click on the COMING SOON button, THIS APPEARS! If you click on the book cover, you’ll be transferred to the correct page. It’s not “live” yet so you can’t pre-order the book. When you can, there will also be the ability to order the paperback version.
And on that note, I think another snippet is in order, yes? How about the first time Ciaran laid eyes on Becca?
Niall slid from his horse and strode to the huddled figure half-hidden in the shadow of an ancient oak. He knelt down and peered at the lump. The creature was probably female, but with her battered face and snarled hair, Niall wouldn’t wager a guess on her age. He stared at the battered hands clutching the thin mantle covering her wretched body. A shadow flickered behind him and he looked up. Ciaran stared down from his stallion.
“I’ll take her to Siobhan,” Niall offered. He bent over and scooped the unresisting body into his arms. Before he could take a breath, cold steel bit into his neck. In one fluid motion, Ciaran had dismounted, pulled his dagger, and threatened his second-in-command. Niall stared, confused by the actions of the man he would follow through the gates of hell. Ciaran’s face resembled a stone mask.
The female in Niall’s arms stirred and as he held her, he could actually feel the spasm of pain in her as it built traveling from her midsection and radiating outward. The pitiful thing opened her mouth but she was so exhausted, no sound escaped. The knife slid away from his throat.
Ciaran knelt on the ground, holding his hands to his head, rocking in time to the spasms of pain shuddering through the woman. “I can’t take her pain any longer, Niall.” He groaned. Slowly, he picked up his dagger, moving his hand and arm in an upward arc, his intent plain. Ciaran meant to kill the woman.
Her eyes flickered open and they shone silver in the pale moonlight. “Please,” her lips whispered. “Help me.” She stared up into dark, stormy eyes. “Where am I? Who are you?” She sighed. Her long, dark lashes fluttered down to shutter her eyes.
Niall exchanged a look with Ciaran. “What language was that, Taoiseac?”
Ciaran stared at the woman lying between them. “I dunno’, Niall. I understood naught of her words, but I know in my heart she asked for my help. Honor demands I give it.”
“Please, Ciaran, let me take her to Siobhan,” the older man pleaded.
Ciaran bristled. “Nay, Niall, no other man will touch her.” Snarling, he whipped off his mantle and wrapped it around the shivering girl. He scooped her into his arms and strode to his horse. Holding her in one arm, Ciaran stepped up into the saddle and cradled her across his hard, muscular thighs. “Ride, Niall, and bring your woman.” Ciaran wheeled his stallion, shouting to his men to bring the peasants to the castle. He galloped off, leaving the others in the dust cloud his horse’s hooves kicked up.
Mea culpa. I’m remiss! After binging on books for a couple of weeks, I now find that I haven’t finished a book to talk about today. Shall I tell you a story? Last week, I had a lot of hype about Shiloh Walker’s new book. I’d read all her snippets and was truly excited about this book and preordered it for Kin. Release day arrived, the file magically appeared on my list, and I dove right in. Only…this didn’t read like Shiloh’s book. There were vampires and vampire hunters and vampire schoolgirls in London. B’huh? See, Kindle files don’t open at the first page the book or the title page. They open at the beginning of the story. After going round and round with Amazon, after discovering the book I was reading was by some author I’d never heard of and this was book 6 of some series I didn’t know…well, in the course of a few days, the book disappeared from Kin, I was issued a refund, and then told BROKEN was available now. Only, the link said not available in the US. B’huh? Then later that day, it did become available, I ordered it again, plus a copy for limecello, the winner of the contest. Unfortunately, RL hasn’t really cooperated so I’m barely into BROKEN but very definitely hooked! So, next week, I’ll let you know wassup with Quinn and Sarah.
In the meantime, wassup with y’all? Instead of me making recommendations, it’s your turn. What are you reading that you just can’t put down? What book or author has you panting for the next page? Any great reads you want to tell us about? Or…have you read a real wallbanger and want to save us all from the misery? Now’s your chance to speak up. Is there a book not-yet-released that has you bouncing up and down in anticipation? Share!
I adore this commercial. I just can’t help myself.
I have no words for this next one, except to say, “Blame it on Teresa Medeiros.” She tweeted the link to this Johnny Depp mashup. (I think this fixed it…*crosses fingers*
Most importantly, today is Janet’s birthday! Happy birthday, girlfriend! I’ll be sending some of the hunks your way for a private party.
I’ve been down in bed and mostly sleeping for the past few days so once again I’m late. I asked for volunteers and these guys raised their…hands. Enjoy and I hope to be back in the pink of health soon.
Hope everyone finds something to sample today. See everyone on the other side of the coughing. *koffhackspickkoffcoughbreathecough*
Sorry to be later than normal in posting today. I had a slight relapse of this stupid bronchitis and spent yesterday away from the computer. But, hey, better late than never, right? Let’s play a little “What if?”
If you could go back, do it over again, would you take a chance to find true love? What if you had no choice?
On her fiftieth birthday, the faerie send Rebecca Miller a thousand years into the past to find her happily ever after with Ciaran MacDermot, Chief of Clann MacDermot and the last Fenian warrior in his line. In the twenty-first century, Becca is old enough to be Ciaran’s mother. In the tenth, she’s young enough to be his bride.
This is how I see Becca in her current life, though I couldn’t find a picture with her hair the right color. Picture her will dull gray hair, as she sees herself below.
Rebecca tossed her head from side to side on her pillow. She clamped her lips shut, trapping the groan welling up to join the tears spilling down her cheeks. Crying didn’t help. She’d never found solace in them yet she couldn’t stop. Today was March 21st, her fiftieth birthday. Half a century and half of that had already passed her by. Her body felt a hundred. Her mind begged to feel twenty-five again, to be young enough, fit enough, to experience the passion and pangs of first love. Twenty-five years ago to the day, she’d been turned into an old woman overnight.
She leaned against the lavatory, panting as she stared at the face in the mirror. Somewhere in there had to be the twenty-five-year-old who had been so full of life. Her dull gray hair no longer glistened with gold and silver highlights. Skin once softly kissed by the sun now looked like crumpled parchment. The lines etched across her forehead and around her mouth, spoke of the pain she’d endured. Scars crisscrossed her chest and arms, as they did her whole body. She’d been an athlete and fought back, willing her body to regain the muscle tone it once enjoyed. As strong as her will was, the pain was stronger. Year after year, it beat her down.
Becca, in her present life, had been a talented equestrian. After being sent back to her past life (and discovering she was 25 again and looked like she did before her accident), she was more than happy to resume riding. She first met Riordan, Ciaran’s cousin and lieutenant, down at the stables. Rory had a young stallion he was attempting to break and Becca was there to meet Eachan, the horse master, to see about a horse of her own. In this excerpt, she’s watching Rory work the horse.
“Why does he approach from the front?” Becca wondered aloud. “He should come from the side where the horse can see him.”
“And why would that be, cailín?” Eachan asked.
Becca gave him a look that implied he was dense. “A horse can’t see straight ahead,” she explained. “If he can, you don’t want him because he’s too narrow between the eyes. You have to come up on his side, where he can see you, so you don’t spook him. Waving your arms about like he’s doing, why that’s utter nonsense.”
The man stared at her, his eyes narrowed in speculation. She refused to acknowledge what his leer suggested.
Glancing at his audience, the man in the pen noticed the wisp of a cailín standing with the horse master. Tall and well made, her hair was spun gold in the sunshine, and her eyes were as blue as the water in Galway Bay. Her appearance created a familiar tightening in his trews. He’d been gone for over a month, away when the ard fhias came. Niall had sent him out to survey the outlying farms and fields, looking for likely candidates to train as soldiers and more importantly, to find the best horses. Riordan had just returned and, chafing at having missed the ard fhias, he planned on breaking several horses while he waited for Ciaran and the troops to return. Now, as he looked the cailín up and down, he considered a ride of another sort, glad for the opportunity.
“Nonsense is it?” the man in the pen growled. “And I suppose a mere slip of a cailín like you can break a horse better?” He stomped toward them, angry. The girl dared mock him and the horse was getting the better of him in front of her.
“I suppose I can,” Becca retorted, “because I don’t intend to break him, but gentle him.”
“Then do it,” he snarled. Frustrated, he flung the halter at her.
Becca caught the halter in midair and slipped through the rails on the pen before either man could react. She waited until the stranger perched on the top rail to watch, gloating at her. Becca harrumphed under her breath. She caught Eachan’s low chuckle and took it for disdain. Well, I’ll just show them, she vowed.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched toward the nervous horse. Halfway to him, she stopped, keeping her hands by her sides.
“Aye, and what a wild boy, you are,” she whispered to him. The horse pricked his ears and tossed his head. Becca stepped nearer, making sure she held his attention. “That nasty man doesn’t have a clue, now does he,” she crooned. “We know that you and I are going to be friends.” The horse nickered and stretched his nose toward her. She reached for his shoulder and placed a gentle hand on the hard muscle there. The horse blew softly, nibbling at the sleeve of her gown with velvet lips. “Aye, just like a male, all soft lips and loving, aren’t you?” she whispered in his ear. She carefully rubbed the rope halter against his shoulder, then his neck, and then down his cheek. She let him sniff the rope before she slipped it over the end of his nose and up behind his ears. He tossed his head, but didn’t try to pull away from her. She patted his neck still murmuring sweet nothings to him.
“Tell me, Eachan,” she called over her shoulder, her voice still calm and soothing. “What do you prize most when you’re breeding?” Her hands ran over the horse’s neck and chest.
The man on the fence choked, and Eachan pounded him on the back. “Easy, Riordan.” The older man chortled. “’Tis no ordinary cailín you’re dealing with here,” he explained to Ciaran’s lieutenant. “What do you mean, cailín?” the horse master called to Becca.
“Beauty or spirit?” she asked.
“Why both, cailín,” the big man replied. “But if I can’t have both, then ’tis spirit I want.”
“Does that include bad temperament?” she asked.
“Nay, cailín,” Eachan answered. “I’ll not abide an ill-tempered horse.”
“Just so we’re in agreement,” Becca told him. “Have you a bridle and saddle?”
This is just a brief introduction to Becca. The picture below shows her and her hunter-jumper, Arien, at a competition. As we get closer to release day, we’ll revisit Becca and Ciaran to get a glimpse of them in more…intimate moments.
In the meantime, I have winners to announce! First, the winner of my birthday giveaway from Monday is PAULA R. Congrats, Paula. I’ll email you the details about the Celebrity Cruise notebook and pen.
We have another winner to announce, too. From Wednesday’s Meet the Author: Shiloh Walker, the winner of a copy of BROKEN, Shiloh’s new release, is SHILOH WALKER! LOLOL! Seriously. She was commenter #18 and that’s what came up in the Random Number Generator. Shiloh, if you’d like something other than your own book, you can pick from a FAERIE FATE totebag, notebook, or coffee mug. Since I promised one commenter a copy of Shiloh’s book, I spun the wheel again and that winner is #8 LIMECELLO. Congrats and I’ll email you for details.
Don’t forget tomorrow is Saturday and we all know what that means, right? Brunch! Not sure what intriguing men will show up on the menu, but I bet y’all when enjoy them.
Oh, the uncertainty of the English language! I’ve caught myself writing some pretty silly scenarios but when Lawyer Guy sent these to me, I knew I had to share. Beverage alert…just sayin’!
****
Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and family values.
Stu said, ‘I didn’t sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?’
Leroy replied, ‘I’m not sure, what was her maiden name?’
———————————————————
A little boy went up to his father and asked: ‘Dad, where did my intelligence come from?’
The father replied. ‘Well, son, you must have got it from your mother, cause I still have mine.’
——————————————————–
‘Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully,’ the divorce Court Judge said, ‘And I’ve decided to give your wife $775 a week.’
‘That’s very fair, your honor,’ the husband said. ‘And every now and then I’ll try to send her a few bucks myself.’
———————————————————
A doctor examining a woman who had been rushed to the Emergency Room, took the husband aside, and said, ‘I don’t like the looks of your wife at all.’
‘Me neither doc,’ said the husband. ‘But she’s a great cook and really good with the kids.’
———————————————————–
An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has been living with for the last 40 years.
The Wizard says, ‘Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that
were used to put the curse on you.’
The old man says without hesitation, ‘I now pronounce you man and wife.’
———————————————————-
Two Reasons Why It’s So Hard To Solve A Redneck Murder:
1. The DNA all matches..
2. There are no dental records.
———————————————————-
A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, ‘Can you tell me how long it’ll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City?’
The agent replies, ‘Just a minute.’
‘Thank you,’ the blonde says, and hangs up.
———————————————————
Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez. ‘How was he killed?’ asked one detective.
‘With a golf gun,’ the other detective replied.
‘A golf gun! What is a golf gun?’
‘I don’t know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.’
———————————————————–
Moe: ‘My wife got me to believe in religion.’
Joe: ‘Really?’
Moe: ‘Yeah. Until I married her I didn’t believe in Hell.’
———————————————————-
A man is recovering from surgery when the Surgical Nurse appears and asks
him how he is feeling.
‘I’m OK but I didn’t like the four letter-words the doctor used in surgery,’ he answered.
‘What did he say,’ asked the nurse.
‘Oops!’
————————————————————
While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and I passed a display of
bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had
even considered buying a bathing suit, so sought my husband’s advice.
‘What do you think?’ I asked. ‘Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?’
‘Better get a bikini,’ he replied. ‘You’d never get it all in one.’
He’s still in intensive care.
…………………………………………………………….
The graveside service just barely finished when there was massive clap of thunder followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance.
The little old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, ‘Well, she’s there.’
Yesterday’s blog was all about Shiloh Walker’s new book BROKEN. Today, I thought y’all might like the chance to learn a little bit about Shiloh. She graciously answered some nosey questions for me. Enjoy!
1. What was the most fun scene in your book to write? The most difficult?
Hmmmm…. the most fun? The scene where Sara runs into Quinn as he’s pulling up on his bike, found here. That scene, and the one that follows it, at the mall, kind of shows a side of Quinn I don’t think he even knew he had, a little playful, a lot nervous. It was, well, fun.
The most difficult was the scene at the hotel where Sara and Quinn have a confrontation, when she realizes that he’s been handed a missing persons case. And she’s the so-called missing person.
2. Do you have a muse, good luck charm, or a writing vice? Or all three?
I’m museless-kind of like it that way, too. Leaves me in control. No good luck charm, but I do have a pair of gloves I wear-they are for carpal tunnel, but I’m so used to them, when I don’t have them, I wig out. A vice? Salsa. Sometimes, I really, really need salsa when I’m writing.
3. Describe your personality with five adjectives that would make your 5th grade English teacher proud.
Stubborn, flexible, strong, imaginative, weird.
4. Do you have a favorite food or drink that gets your creative juices flowing?
*G* I mentioned my salsa vice, right?
)
To celebrate my birthday week, guess what?!? I’m going to give away a copy of BROKEN to one lucky (and random) commenter. Your pick of paper or Kindle (or other ebook) version. Tell me what your favorite Shiloh Walker book is, or answer one of the above questions about yourself. Check back on Friday to see who won and meet Becca, the heroine of my upcoming release, FAERIE FATE. Happy Hump Day!
How many of you swore they’d tear those paper books out of your cold, dying hands? *raises hand* Me, too. Until I received my Kindle for Christmas. I knew I’d get an eReader eventually, but upon Ev’s recommendation, I was leaning toward the Sony. I’m not a huge fan of Amazon and wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being tied to them for my reading pleasure. I also have 70+ paperbacks (and a couple of hardbacks) on my TBR shelves. Then B&N came out with the Nook and I dithered some more. The decision was taken out of my hands when the Kindle arrived as a Christmas present. You know all those paper books on my TBR shelf? I’m seriously considering buying “new” to go in the Kindle. Yes. I’m converted. The ease of reading is astounding! As I get older, holding open paperbacks gets harder and harder.
With the Kindle edition I have, I’m not strictly tied to Amazon. Allegedly. Kin reads .pdf files so I can buy that format from other publishers, download to my computer, email the .pdf to my Kindle account and it appears on Kin. In theory, anyway. I haven’t actually attempted this technological wonder, nor have I downloaded the Kindle app to my iPhone. I should do that, so I don’t drag Kin around with me, though he’s easy to carry in my bag.
The one author/series I always buy in hard back is JD Robb’s In Death. Imagine my dismay when I went to order both the hardback and the Kindle edition that the ebook wouldn’t be available until August. ARGH! I deleted that buy. I’ll read the hardback, even though I find myself reluctant to do so. How sad is this? A series I love and have been known to set aside my current read when the new book arrives now languishes on the TBR shelf because I’d rather read it on Kin. EDIT: I bought the Kindle edition last night, as it is now available. Yay!
I have no advice to give on which eReader to grab, if you are in the market. We can certainly open up the floor for discussion. And in the meantime, Shiloh Walker is offering a Nook as a prize to celebrate her upcoming release: BROKEN. Yes, I preordered this book for Kin and it magically appeared today (March 2, it’s release day). In the meantime, here’s a great preview of the book and you can go HERE to learn more about her contest.
Shattered
Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.
Desperate
Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.
Driven to desire…
But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…
EXCERPT
He opened the door—
And stopped dead in his tracks as somebody all but fell into his arms. Somebody…a woman. And not Theresa.
He caught her just above her elbows, automatically steadying her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft and low.
Then she lifted her face and Quinn found himself gazing into the biggest, brownest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Feeling a little dazed, he studied her face while she stammered out another apology.
Quinn barely heard it.
He was too busy staring at her mouth. A very pretty mouth, a cupid’s bow mouth slicked with deep, vibrant red. Under his hands, he could feel silken smooth skin and unable to resist, he stroked a thumb along her inner arm.
Her skin was soft, soft and warm. He was also pretty sure she had the creamiest, most flawless skin imaginable. Her shoulder-length hair was a shade caught between blonde and brown, nondescript, but for some reason, he found himself thinking about tangling his fingers in that hair and holding her head still while he kissed that red-slicked mouth.
When Kate Carlisle’s first book, HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER hit the NY Times list, I wasn’t too surprised. The same goes for her second book, IF BOOKS COULD KILL. Once again, Brooklyn Wainwright is right in the middle of murder and mayhem, this time in Edinborough, Scotland. She has lots of company this trip: her parents and best friend, a hot Scottish cop named Angus, and of course, the mysterious man who makes her blood run hot, Derek Stone. Who happens to be a former commander in the British military. And is a security consultant. Or is he? That question wasn’t answered in the first book, and this second book leaves some enticing questions as well.
Carlisle is a talented story-teller who keeps me glued to the story, turning pages madly, and laughing like mad even as I’m wincing for poor Brooklyn. If ever there was someone prone to bad luck, it’s our girl Brooklyn. From Amazon:
Book restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is attending the world-renowned Book Fair when her ex Kyle shows up with a bombshell. He has an original copy of a scandalous text that could change history-and humiliate the beloved British monarchy.
When Kyle turns up dead, the police are convinced Brooklyn’s the culprit. But with an entire convention of suspects, Brooklyn’s conducting her own investigation to find out if the motive for murder was a 200-year-old secret-or something much more personal.
I bought this book on Kindle and yes, I’ll get a paper version for the keeper shelf. If you read HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER, you must read IF BOOKS COULD KILL. If not, you must read both these books! I mean it. Or else!
And since it’s my birthday…a contest! Today, one random commenter will win a surprise I brought back from the cruise: A Celebrity pen and notebook. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! *deep breath* OMGOMGOMG! Where’s my brown paper bag when I need it?!? Thirty days. Thirty days from today, FAERIE FATE will be tossed out into the world. While I don’t have a preorder link, the book is now on the COMING SOON pages at Wild Rose, and I’m now officially listed with the authors. You can click on the Author button, scroll down and find me! But, most importantly, if you click on the COMING SOON button, THIS APPEARS! If you click on the book cover, you’ll be transferred to the correct page. It’s not “live” yet so you can’t pre-order the book. When you can, there will also be the ability to order the paperback version.
Shall I tell you a story? Last week, I had a lot of hype about Shiloh Walker’s new book. I’d read all her snippets and was truly excited about this book and preordered it for Kin. Release day arrived, the file magically appeared on my list, and I dove right in. Only…this didn’t read like Shiloh’s book. There were vampires and vampire hunters and vampire schoolgirls in London. B’huh? See, Kindle files don’t open at the first page the book or the title page. They open at the beginning of the story. After going round and round with Amazon, after discovering the book I was reading was by some author I’d never heard of and this was book 6 of some series I didn’t know…well, in the course of a few days, the book disappeared from Kin, I was issued a refund, and then told BROKEN was available now. Only, the link said not available in the US. B’huh? Then later that day, it did become available, I ordered it again, plus a copy for limecello, the winner of the contest. Unfortunately, RL hasn’t really cooperated so I’m barely into BROKEN but very definitely hooked! So, next week, I’ll let you know wassup with Quinn and Sarah.
)
Waltzing Matilda 
Entries (RSS)
