* Time to Pretend * by Michele Zurlo

Happy release day to my friend Michele Zurlo! TIME TO PRETEND has all the elements I love in a story - Erotic Romance, Contemporary, May-December, Menage a Trois/Quatre... Michele is sharing some excerpts today. Enjoy!


Word Count: 99,369
Heat Level: SEXTREME
Published By: Siren-Bookstrand, Inc.

One glimpse of Daniel DiMarco sets Alaina Miles’s hormones into overdrive, but she cannot act on her feelings. Not only is he ten years younger than her, he’s a notorious womanizer. When the tension between them escalates into one night of passion, Alaina takes it in stride. It’s a dream come true, but it’s only one night.



When a leak in her roof forces her to hire a contractor, Evan Carrico, Daniel’s best friend and secret lover, is the man for the job. It doesn’t take long for Alaina to realize that her attraction to Evan is much more serious than it should be.


As she falls in love with them and they fall for her, Alaina discovers their secret, but she wants to wait for them to build enough trust in their relationship to tell her themselves. When she stumbles upon them locked in a passionate embrace only hours after a tragic event, will the explosion destroy everything they’ve built?


Available at Bookstrand:
http://www.bookstrand.com/time-to-pretend


Story Excerpt:


Waving her closer, he lifted the spoon and blew on the small puddle of sauce. “Taste this. Tell me what you think.”


Flavors exploded on her tongue. Alaina couldn’t have identified them all if she tried. Her awareness of Daniel was temporarily diverted. “Wow. You really can cook.”


He lifted a brow and set the spoon on the counter. “I’ve cooked for you before, Lainie. You still doubt me?”


She shook her head. All doubt about his abilities in the kitchen fled. Daniel was a man of many layers. Part of her wanted to peel them back and get to know him in ways no one else ever had. The rest of her was divided between being afraid he would reject her once he knew the truth about her relationship with Evan and the fear of losing Evan.


Words stuck in her throat. There were so many, and yet none were appropriate. Tears burned behind her eyes. This was all too much to handle.


Confidence fled from Daniel’s stance. He pulled her close, surrounding her with his arms. Alaina lost her fight with the tears, and they leaked from her eyes. She gripped at his biceps, worrying them with desperate clenches.


“Hey, Lainie, don’t cry. Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I never meant to make you cry.” Daniel pressed urgent kisses to her forehead. He tried to tilt her face up, but she wouldn’t move away from where she buried her face in his shirt.


She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault. She knew he had been teasing. Their fight over their misunderstandings had been resolved before they parted ways two mornings ago. She wasn’t the kind of person who carried groundless grudges.


When she lifted her head to tell him those things, he captured her lips in a tender kiss that only brought more tears gushing from her eyes. This one simple act communicated his feelings so clearly, just as Evan’s kiss had done two nights ago.


She was trapped in a hopeless, helpless situation.


Gentle hands trailed along her hips. Heat seared her back as those hands traveled upward and moved her braid out of the way. When a second set of lips seared her neck, she realized Evan was behind her, kissing her neck while Daniel claimed her lips.


With a startled gasp, she jerked away from both of them. Her actions bordered a little on the violent side, but she didn’t care if one or both of them suffered bruised lips.


Anger made her body and her voice shake. She pointed an accusatory finger at both men. “You did this on purpose!”


Daniel held his hands up in a supplicating gesture that managed to also be condescending. “Lainie, there’s no need to get upset.”


“No need? You lied to me!” Her gaze bounced between Daniel and Evan. “You both lied to me. You used me, and you lied to me.”


Evan took one step forward, but he checked himself when she took another step backward. “Alaina, honey, we didn’t use you. We aren’t using you, and we didn’t lie to you, not really.”


“Not any more than you lied to us.” Daniel turned off the sauce boiling on the stove and crossed his arms over his chest. The popping sounds from the boiling concoction slowed and stopped.


Alaina’s sharp intake of breath should have been warning enough, but Evan shot Daniel a warning look just the same.


Daniel ignored them both. “Lainie, we wanted you to get to know us separately before you had us together.”


Her wildest dreams were coming true, but she was too angry to take solace in that fact. “Did it ever occur to you to let me in on your little plan beforehand, Daniel? You go on and on about hating women who play head games, yet this is exactly the kind of thing you bitch about.”


He took a step toward her, but she backed around the island counter. He stopped, letting her have something between them. “This is different, Lainie. We’re both in love with you. We both want a relationship with you, and I think you want a relationship with both of us, too. Why don’t you just calm down now?”


The world exploded in red as Alaina’s fists came down on the counter. She wasn’t the kind of person who yelled, but she definitely had the lung capacity when she needed the volume. “Calm down? Damn it, Daniel! You both used me for a one-night stand, and then you both came back for another night. I’ve been out of my mind, confused by the fact I was falling for both of you and afraid of hurting either of you and afraid of damaging your friendship, and you expect me to calm down when I find out you planned this all along? I’m a woman, not a blow-up doll!”


Daniel’s face had taken on that ruddy undertone it got whenever he lost his temper with her. Curiously, Evan seemed completely unaffected by their angry outbursts.


Planting his hands firmly on the counter opposite Alaina, Daniel leaned closer. “So we went about this the wrong way. It’s not like we’ve ever done something like this before. Cut us some slack.” He glanced at Evan before focusing his gaze back on Alaina. “Or at least cut me some slack. You don’t seem pissed at Evan.”


She growled, a snarling sound she’d never made. “He didn’t even know me when you invited him into my bed. At least he fell for me honestly. He treated me with dignity and respect. I’m sure this wasn’t his idea.”


Evan’s shadow fell between them, diverting the flow of anger that seemed to amplify between Alaina and Daniel. Needing to know his place in all of this, she lifted her face to meet his gaze.


“It wasn’t my idea, Alaina, but I wasn’t against it. After I met you, I was all in. I’ve never shared a woman with anyone, not even Danny, yet the idea of the three of us together just seems so right.” His blue eyes searched hers for something. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. Maybe we went about this the wrong way. We’re sorry we hurt you. But we’d like to ask you to put that aside for now and seriously consider having the both of us in your life.”


“You made me feel like a slut.” Hurt suffused her quiet words. Alaina no longer had enough anger to power her lungs.


Daniel’s aggressive stance relaxed. “Don’t say that, Lainie. It’s not your fault. We’re just irresistible.”


Alaina sighed at Danny’s attempted levity. Her gaze fixed on her hands still curled into fists on the countertop. “I’ve never had casual sex, not once in my entire life before I met you.”


Evan rested his hand over her fist. She didn’t unfurl it, and he didn’t force the issue. “What you have with us isn’t casual.”


Just like that, a switch was thrown in her head. She understood what they had done and what they were offering. This was her dream. This was what she wanted. It didn’t seem quite real, not yet.


Adult Excerpt


Alaina thought she was going to die. White-hot heat seared paths around her clit. Two fingers pumped into her hole. Evan’s mouth tortured one nipple while his fingers rolled the other, sending sharp pulses of pleasure to her core. Unable to stay still, she writhed under the dual onslaught.


She had imagined this a hundred times over the course of the past week, but she was still unprepared for the havoc two lovers created. Though they had very different styles, each of her men was a fantastic lover in his own right. Together, they were incredible, and they hadn’t even come to the good part yet.


“Don’t stop.” She was so close. Daniel’s lips closed around her clit and sucked hard. Tingling heat concentrated at her core. Her hips rose from the bed, and she cried out as she came.


Her lovers shifted. Strength returned to Alaina. That had been a starter orgasm, one to prepare her body for the pleasure to come. She jabbed her elbows into the mattress and lifted her upper body to watch Daniel and Evan undress.


The show she caught was even more erotic than she could anticipate. Evan watched as Daniel dropped his pants. The hungry look in his eye betrayed something Alaina had never guessed. Her heart went out to Evan for a brief second, and then she noticed the way Daniel paused to display his body.


Daniel not only knew Evan found him attractive, he reveled in it.


Alaina wanted to continue her observations to see if Daniel would stare at Evan the same way, but she yielded to some instinct telling her they didn’t want her to know yet. She hoped for “yet” because she didn’t know how long they could keep it a secret before their reasons for doing so blew up in their faces. The fallout would destroy their perfect little threesome.


Mindful of sudden movements, she let her head sink back to the mattress and closed her eyes. How long had Daniel and Evan had feelings for one another? Were they already lovers?


What were they doing with her? She didn’t doubt that both Daniel and Evan found her attractive. She might not understand it, but she didn’t doubt it. She didn’t understand why they hadn’t shared their involvement—she still wasn’t sure she could assume involvement—when she had given them the chance. Unwilling to confront them now, she refrained from doing anything that might indicate she had noticed more than they wanted her to see.


The mattress dipped on either side of her. Alaina opened her eyes and smiled up at her lovers, favoring each of them individually. She banished the worries from her mind. Given the way they were both looking at her, they were there because they wanted to make love to her. Thank goodness she wasn’t an elaborate beard. Her heart was involved, and this meant a great deal to her. Though she wasn’t ready to admit it to either Daniel or Evan, she was in love with them both. She couldn’t say exactly when or how it happened, but things like that didn’t matter now.


Evan’s rough fingers traced a path down her arm, leaving gooseflesh everywhere they touched and expectant skin everywhere he didn’t. “How are you, Alaina? Do you think you can get up on your hands and knees?”


She wanted to see them kiss, right there above her. Less than two feet separated their lips. Cream rushed to her already wet pussy, leaking down her crack to lubricate her ass. She was sure one of them would want to fuck her there. She wanted them both together, but she wasn’t sure she could handle it. They were both so much larger than her. Daniel’s cock was long, and while it was thick, Evan’s was even thicker. She’d never seen one so wide before.


Shoving that erotic picture away, she sat up and turned so that her bottom rested on her heels. “I’m game for anything you guys want to do.” Even as her hands encircled their hard cocks, she flashed them her best wicked grin.


Daniel sat up. He threaded his fingers through her hair, which had come loose, and held her still for a kiss. His mouth opened, and he devoured her, dazzling her with his skill and finesse. The taste and scent of her climax lingered on his lips and tongue, creating a hunger that would soon need sating.


When he broke the kiss, Alaina looked into his face to find him similarly affected. He blinked at her through half-closed bedroom eyes, and he offered no smile. All amusement had vanished, leaving only a focused, serious man behind.


He scooted back to lie down, his head resting on a pillow and his long, muscular body filling half of the space. Evan had moved behind her. One hand on her ass urged her closer to Danny.


“Touch Daniel, sweetheart. I want to watch you suck him while I fuck you from behind.” He caressed up and down her spine with his fingertips, sending waves of electricity straight to her nipples. “Are you okay with that?”


She leaned back so that his arms cradled her, and he planted a string of kisses on her neck. “Anything, Evan.”


He rested his cheek on the top of her head. “You can ask for things, too, Alaina.”


She laughed lightly. Daniel closed his hand around his erection and pumped it slowly. Her breath caught. “For now, just being with both of you is what I want.”


Daniel’s hand froze. He impaled her with a hard stare. “For now?”


She crawled across the narrow expanse of bed separating them. Using one fingernail, she grazed a path along his inner thigh. “For now, Danny. Later, I’m sure I’ll have a lot of requests. You know how demanding I am.” Steel was softer than her tone. She didn’t like the fact they weren’t telling her they were both bisexual and in love with each other. Not wanting to ruin the mood, she favored him with a soft smile to make up for it. “For now, I’m content with letting you call the shots.”


Visit The Steam Room at: http://www.michelezurlo.com
Visit my blog at: http://www.deboraryan.wordpress.com

The Awakenings Series: Letting Go, Hanging On, Two Masters for Samantha
Coming in March 31: Time to Pretend (Awakenings #4)
Paranormal Titles: Irrepressible Force
Daughters of Circe Trilogy: Torment
Coming in June: Desiree (Daughters of Circe #2)
Coming in July: Riley (Daughters of Circe #3)
Writing as Debora Ryan: Tomorrow Cries, Crimes of the Heart

L.M. Brown and Benji Richards talk about Ghostly Stuff

Welcome L.M. Brown, author of TOUCH OF A GHOST and Benji Richards (a real ghost)

Here's a bit of his story to whet your appetite:

Andy Jessop wants a life without ghosts. He doesn’t want to see, hear, or talk to them. Ignoring them should be relatively simple.

But Andy soon finds that Benji Richards, an eternally gorgeous ghost from the fifties, is not so easy to ignore.

Halloween night is approaching and both Andy and Benji know what it could mean for them. From sunset to sunrise, it is the one night of the year when a mortal can feel the touch of a ghost.

Available from Silver Publishing

http://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/glbt-paranormal-c-53_56/touch-of-a-ghost-p-97


Now meet Benjamin “Benji” Richards from Touch of a Ghost

L.M. Brown: This interview takes place part way through Touch of a Ghost and will contain some small spoilers for that story.


You might wonder at how I came to be interviewing a ghost, they being somewhat elusive by nature. Well, let me first explain how this came about.


I work as a trainee reporter for a local newspaper, which is where I first met Andy Jessop. He’s a photographer for the same paper and the source of a great deal of gossip around the water cooler.


Naturally, and much to the disappointment of the females in the office, he turned out to be gay. There’s a painting of his boyfriend on his desk, which was my first clue that there might be a story here. A photographer who doesn’t have a photograph of his boyfriend?

Being the curious type I decided to do a little investigating and find out who the young man in the painting was. My prying didn’t go unnoticed and resulted in a personal visit from the ghost in question.


“I hear you’ve been asking about me?”


I jumped, startled by the presence when I’d thought myself alone. I recognised the man sitting across from me immediately. His face was the one in the painting Andy had on his desk.


“Yes, I was curious to know why Andy had a painting of you on his desk instead of a photograph.”


If I thought I’d been surprised at the appearance of him in front of me, it was nothing compared to his reaction at my response.


“Well, I’ll be damned.”


“Sorry?”


“So, you can see and hear me.”

“Of course I can. Is there any reason why I wouldn’t? How did you get in here anyway? I thought Andy left over an hour ago.”

“He did. He’s photographing babies over at the community centre.”


I didn’t fail to notice how the two more important questions had been left unanswered. Questions about how he got in without a pass were put to one side. The other question I was far more curious about. “Why did you think I wouldn’t be able to see or hear you?”


He shot me an amused look. “Not many people can, darling. I’m something like the invisible man. Andy and his family can see me, but there aren’t many others around who do. Do you have any psychics in your family?”


What an odd question. I shook my head. Every family had the odd relative who was a little strange, but I was fairly sure that no one in mine had actually claimed to be psychic.


“Must be just you then. Aren’t you the lucky one?”


“How so?”


“Well, if you weren’t psychic you wouldn’t be able to see or hear me.”

Goosebumps broke out over my arms and a chill went down my spine. Suddenly I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be alone with this man. “Why not?” My question came out as a whisper.

“Can’t you guess? Come on, you’re a reporter, aren’t you? What do your reporter instincts tell you?”


It sounded ridiculous in my head, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation. “You’re a ghost?” Out loud it sounded even worse, but the man grinned and slowly clapped his hands together in applause.


“Got it in one. Are you sure there’re no psychics in your family?”


“Pretty sure. Maybe I’m just more open minded than everyone else?”


“That or so nosy nothing will stop you from getting your story.” The grin took the edge off the words and I had to admit he had a point.


“I didn’t really think of tracking you down for a story.”


“Liar.”


He had me on that one. “So, what’s your name?”


“Benjamin Richards. Or at least it was. Most people call me Benji, and don’t you dare suggest I was named after that bloody dog. It was my name first.”


“You’ve been around a while then?”


“Yeah. I’d be an old man now if I hadn’t died young.”


Died young was right. No way was this ghost older than twenty. He looked like a teenager who had stepped right out of the fifties. Live fast, die young. Probably a motorbike crash whilst racing someone else. Or maybe drugs.


Curiosity won out and I had to ask. “How did you die?”


“You want the truth or something more exciting and dramatic?”


“The truth of course.”


“Got myself run over.”


“Oh.”


“You were expecting something more interesting?”


“Well, yeah.”


“Most people’s deaths aren’t interesting at all. I was upset about something and wasn’t looking where I was going. It was my own fault and I have to live with that… or die with that if you like.”


“Are you cold?” I blurted out the random question without thinking.


“Why does everyone always ask that question?” Benji rolled his eyes. “Yes, though I don’t know how you all know to ask this. I feel cold all the time, but apparently I’m not cool to the touch.”


“Can I touch you?”


“Not today.”


“Why not?”


“I’m a ghost and we’re about four months gone past Halloween, which is the only night I can be touched.”


“Oh. Is that the same for all ghosts?”


“Yeah. It’s a real pain in the arse, not to mention other areas, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”


Benji shifted in his seat and I couldn’t help but glance down at his lap. Uncomfortable was right. Perhaps a change of subject was in order.


“What was it like to die?”


“To be honest, I don’t remember much about it. Ma told me it was pretty quick and I guess it must have been.”


“Your mum’s psychic?”


“No, she’s dead now too. I stuck around to make sure she was okay and missed my chance to move on. Then when she died, she was so busy berating me for not passing over she missed her own chance. So we just haunt our old block of flats and wait for another chance.”


“You think you’ll get another opportunity to move on?”


“I think so. I saw someone else do it once about twenty years ago. She was a ghost waiting for her lover to die, and when he did she moved on with him. I’ll do the same when Andy passes.”


Suddenly I realised something I should have known before. Even though I was sure I already knew the answer I had to ask. “Are you and Andy an item?”


“Why else do you think he has a painting of me on his desk?”


I shrugged, unable to come up with an answer, only more questions. “Why a painting anyway?”


“Because I can’t be photographed and he wanted a picture of me. He’s pretty talented, isn’t he?”


“Andy did the painting himself?”


Benji nodded and grinned. “His father’s an artist as well, but Andy wanted to paint me himself. He’s done some others too, but they’re not really suitable for hanging in the office, or any other room where visitors can see for that matter.”


I was blushing again and didn’t need Benji to elaborate further as to what sort of paintings he was talking about. I had sudden visions of Andy and Benji in the roles of Jack and Rose from Titanic. Even clothed I could tell that Benji would make a stunning subject and I wondered how I might persuade Andy to let me see the other paintings.


“He won’t let anyone else see them,” Benji warned me, causing me to speculate if perhaps the ability to read minds materialised when you were dead.


“Go on, ask the question,” Benji prompted me.


“Can you read minds?”


“Oh. I thought you were going to ask something else. No, I can’t read minds, though it would be a handy thing if I could.”


“What did you think I was going to ask?”


“I thought you were going to ask something impertinent about our sex life.”


I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up in my chest. Whilst I was a little curious I wasn’t quite prepared to ask something so personal. “I wasn’t going to ask about ghost sex,” I finally managed to choke out.


“It’s not so different from mortal sex anyway. Just limited to one night a year.”


“You’re kidding? Only once a year?”


“No body, remember? We manage to make it work though.”


“How? You can find a way to touch at other times?”


“We wish. No, but there are ways we can get off. Think of it like a long distance relationship and you’ll probably be close.”


“Phone sex?”


“But without the actual phones. And let’s just say that a certain sex shop just off the high street has had a new regular customer the last few months.”


Benji was joking about the difficulties, but somehow it seemed a little forced. He was finding the relationship hard, I could tell. “I think I’d be going crazy if it were me. I’d want to touch you all the time.”


“So does Andy, but we take what we can get.”


“Why not let Andy find himself a boyfriend who’s still alive?”


Benji scowled and turned to look out the window. “Now you sound like his parents. They seem to think he’s giving up his life by being with me.”


“Do you think that?”


“Sometimes I wonder if he’d be happier with a mortal. But I love him too much to give him up. I wish I’d met him when I was still alive.”


“You said something about Andy’s parents. I thought it was just him and his dad?”


“He has a sister as well. And his mum decided to stay around instead of moving on as well.”


“Andy’s mum’s a ghost?”


“Didn’t I just say that? Yeah. She visits sometimes with his dad. Neither of them are too happy about our relationship, but Andy is as stubborn as a mule.”


“You noticed that too?” Andy’s stubbornness had been noticed around the office within a few weeks of his starting work there.


“You have no idea. It was a challenge just to get him to talk to me. But I don’t mind him digging his heels in when he’s fighting for the two of us to stay together. Not that his parents could stop us anyway.”


“What if Andy decided he wanted something more with someone still alive?”


“He won’t.”


“You can’t be sure of that.”


“He loves me.”


“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”


“Love is always enough when it’s real love.”


“You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?”


“So’s Andy, which makes us perfect for each other.”


“For now, but what about when Andy gets older?”


Benji’s face clouded over and he looked away again.


“What is it?”


“Getting older is something that bothers Andy sometimes. He thinks I don’t know, but I can tell it gets to him. He’s not much older than I was when I died, just a few years, but I’ve caught him looking in the mirror, checking for wrinkles would you believe? He’s still young and gorgeous, but he’s already worrying about getting older.”


“Maybe he thinks you’re going to leave him for a younger man?”


“Never gonna happen. He’s it for me.”


“Does he know that?”


“I tell him often enough, but he still doubts me. Nothing except time can ever really prove that his aging won’t make a difference to my feelings for him.”


“It sounds to me like there might be some tough times ahead for you both.”


“Isn’t there for everyone?”


“I suppose so. Are there many ghosts walking amongst us?”


“A fair few. Most hang out in the cemeteries, though I’m sure I don’t know why. Bloody depressing places. Andy insisted on dragging me to the one where I’m buried last month. He’s got some daft idea about putting flowers on my grave on special occasions.”


“That sounds like Andy.”


“Yeah. But if he wants me to have flowers, I’d rather he just bring some home one day. There’s no need to go traipsing up to the cemetery where they’ll just wither and die.”


“If leaving flowers on your graves makes him happy, I don’t see any harm in it.”


“You’re right. That’s why I let him do it instead of pointing out the pointlessness.”


“It’s not pointless if it makes him happy.”


Benji chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Andy should be finishing at the community centre soon. I think I’ll go meet him for lunch.”


“You can eat?”


“No. But I don’t like to think of him sitting on his own eating when everyone else has someone.”


“Considering the number of admirers he has, I doubt he’ll be eating on his own.”


“Which is the other reason I like to meet him for lunch. You could join us if you like, but I think you’d do better writing up this interview while it’s still fresh in your mind.”


I grinned and pointed to the tape recorder I had set playing not long after Benji had appeared. “The wonders of modern technology mean I can pick this up and transcribe it any time I like.”


Benji grinned right back at me. “And the wonders of being a ghost mean you’ll hear only your own voice on the playback.”


“What?” I reached for the recorder and a moment later I discovered he was absolutely right.


“Shit!”


Benji continued to grin for a few seconds. Then he vanished right before my eyes. Any doubts I might have harboured about his claims to be a ghost vanished with him.


I guess I’m skipping lunch today, because this interview is one I want to write down before I forget it, or start to wonder if I imagined it all. Somehow though, I doubt my editor will let it go to press.


Touch of a Ghost by L.M. Brown
A Silver Halloween Treat
Available from Silver Publishing
http://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/glbt-paranormal-c-53_56/touch-of-a-ghost-p-97

Find out more at L.M. Brown's Website:
http://lmbrownauthor.webs.com/

And we have a winner!

Last night was the deadline for my Spring Giveaway. I put all the names in a box and my husband was forced to stay awake until midnight so he could pick the winner. Congrats to DL Thomas! Please send your snail mail address to gale@galestanley.net and I'll send the Nora Roberts Trilogy ASAP.

I'm glad these books won't languish on the shelf or a box in my closet. And I love hearing from other readers, so I'll be doing this again sometime in April. Check back to see what's up for grabs next.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Have a great week and happy reading!

My National Spring Cleaning Week Giveaway

Who knew? We're in the midst of National Spring Cleaning Week.


I was doing my own version of spring cleaning. Hip deep in books, magazines, boxes of research and dust bunnies, I took a surfing break and found out I picked the optimum time to clean.


http://www.springcleaningweek.com/
National Spring Cleaning Week takes place from the 21st to the 27th of March, 2011.


It's a time when we're encouraged to clear out our houses and our minds and start fresh – the first step to a clutter-free and improved environment.

So my first step to a clutter-free house is to have a book giveaway. My shelves, closets, dresser drawers, every nook and cranny, is crammed with books. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic and now that I have a Kindle, I feel justified in parting with some of them. Besides I won't be rereading the majority of my books, so why not pass them on to someone who hasn't read them yet. 

Just leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner midnight EST March 27th. If there's enough interest, than I'll do this periodically.

Up for grabs is Nora Roberts' Circle Trilogy, all three paperback books are in excellent condition. Blurbs below:


Morrigan's Cross

First in the Circle Trilogy. Her name is Lilith. Existing for thousands of years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it. Hoyt Mac Cionaoith is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan—and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance.




Dance of the Gods

Book Two: With one vampire determined to rule the earth, the Circle of Six prepares to battle for their lives—and their hearts.





Valley of Silence

Book Three: The battleground has been chosen for the final showdown between those selected by the gods and the minions of the vampire Lilith. But there is one vampire who dares stand against her. And his love for the scholarly queen of Geall will complete the circle of six—and change the face of eternity.

New Releases at Silver Publishing!

New Books were released today. Check them out at Silver Publishing.

http://www.silverpublishing.info/

 
William's House (Hidden Magic #1) by Amber Kell

BLURB:


Desperate to avoid his matchmaking parents and the sudden influx of zombies, William Stamson leaves his home town of Seattle to find a new place to settle down. As a void, a person who can't perform magic, he doesn't fit in with his powerful family and he longs to move out from beneath their large shadow. When he finds an old Victorian mansion in a quiet small town, he falls in love and, despite it sitting beneath a powerful ley line intersection, snaps it up. Cassius Grant is a magical enforcer who is sent to get rid of the house's interloper. However, one look at William and Cassius knows his life will never be the same.

The Life and Times of Delila by Lindsay Klug

BLURB:


Delila has roamed the Earth for over one thousand years with her maker, Alaric. She has everything a vampire could want: beauty, brains, a booming business, and an ability to read human emotions.


When a werewolf makes an imprint in her life, Delila feels she may have finally found the soul mate she has been seeking. But when everything goes terribly wrong Delila finds herself burdened with a young half breed child to protect from the evil forces of her world.

Starfall by Chris Quinton

BLURB:


Ash is looking for his sister, Tria. He's come halfway across the galaxy in search of her and the vital information she had obtained on those who wiped out half their family and a Vyan colony. He refuses to accept she is dead, but he has only partial coordinates for her possible landfall site - a lake somewhere in America's northeast. He has had to hunt and stay undiscovered in an alien, potential hostile environment, as well as keep his differences hidden from the native inhabitants. After a year of searching, he has reached Amassol, Vermont.


Conn and his partner, Faye, are PIs with an uneasy working relationship. Conn is gay but deep in the closet. He is restless, unsettled in his life, a situation not helped by the tension and animosity between him and Faye. They have been assigned to track down Angi, an underage runaway whose parents want her back before she reaches her eighteenth birthday. But Angi is a wild child with a mile-wide streak of stubborn independence and she has no intention of going back to Florida with them. She is involved with the leader of a street gang in Amassol, and though she has discovered Ash's secret, she has become good friends with him.


They all meet up in Amassol, and when Ash and Conn encounter each other, the attraction is immediate and almost overwhelming. And impossible. Ash's mission and Conn's assignment, as well as rival street gangs, make sure of that.

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** SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS ** It's Release Day!

Release day is finally here. SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS, my new contemporary M/M romance is very special to me because it continues the story of Paul and Andy in Silent Knights. I never expected to write a sequel. Actually Silent Knights began life as a story for a holiday anthology and it just kept growing. A reader contacted me on Facebook, told me how much she liked the story and asked for a sequel. She set off a spark in my brain and suddenly I knew there was more to the story. So thank you Lisa, the book is dedicated to you. Today I'm sharing an excerpt. Enjoy!

SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS is available for purchase at Silver Publishing:
http://silverpublishing.info/index/book_authors_id/48/typefilter/book_authors


BLURB:


After falling passionately in love, Andy and Paul are totally committed to each other. But when the two-year itch infects their relationship, Paul becomes distant and refuses to talk about it. Paul is the love of Andy’s life and he’ll do anything to make him happy, even if it means bringing another man into their bed. But is it really the answer? Or will it drive them further apart?


Zach flees to Los Angeles to escape his abusive father. He plans to use his good looks to get into the film industry but catching that big break is harder than he thought. He decides to try his luck in San Francisco. He has no money but if he can find someone to put a roof over his head, he’ll trade sex for security. When two smokin’ hot guys pick him up on the Pacific Coast Highway, he thinks he hit pay dirt. He never expected to actually fall for them.


EXCERPT

North Beach, San Francisco


Never go to sleep angry. His mother’s words resonated in Andy’s head. Cliché? Maybe. But it worked for his parents. They'd been happily married for twenty years before they died in a car accident.


Andy understood the concept only too well. His unresolved conflicts had been festering to the point he woke angrier every morning. It was only a matter of time until he or Paul exploded over some minor offense and destroy their relationship completely.


He stood at the side of the bed and looked down at his lover feigning sleep. How do you fix something when your partner shuts you out? It had been like this for months, Paul claiming exhaustion, going to bed early and pretending to be asleep. They used to go to bed together. Now it seemed like Paul couldn't get away from him fast enough.


Andy never expected things to be easy. Relationships rarely were and he and Paul were polar opposites. He expected their personalities to clash once in awhile, and they did. But despite their totally different upbringings and outlooks they'd somehow made it work. Up until now.


They'd been together almost two years and Andy thanked his lucky stars they'd met at all. He'd been grieving his dead partner, hiding from the world in a hunting cabin in rural Pennsylvania. Paul had been visiting his estranged family after a bad breakup with his lover.


Fate stepped in and Paul, stranded in a major snowstorm, had been forced to wait it out in Andy's cabin. Just like that sparks flew. When Paul went back home to San Francisco, Andy followed, and the rest was history. They hadn't been apart since.


Too much togetherness could be part of the problem. Not wanting to come off as clingy, Andy tried giving Paul time and space for himself. After all they were a couple, not joined at the hip.


Now Andy feared he’d given him too much space. He needed to change his strategy before it was too late. Maybe he could use sex to bridge the gap between them. Their sex life had fizzled out into an occasional perfunctory fuck and he hated it. Making love had always made him feel closer to Paul. He missed the intimacy they had once shared.


Andy slipped into bed and curved his body around Paul's. Just his lover's musky male scent was enough to make his cock twitch with interest. He reached an arm around Paul and rolled a nipple between his fingers. Although it stiffened under his teasing, Paul gave no other sign he wanted more. Tonight Andy refused to turn a blind eye to Paul's icy indifference.


Happy Reading!

Tracy L. Ranson - Secrets to Success

Welcome guest blogger, multi-published author, Tracy L. Ranson. Tracy is sharing an excerpt from her latest release, PRINCE OF DARKNESS and an inside look at her writing process.

To Write or Not Write---That is the question…



That is the question plaguing all writers with no clear cut answer. All of us in our own ways have hindrances to our writing. Some may be the DREADED DAY JOB while others it could be family, children, issues… etc. Ever wonder how Lori Foster, Nora Roberts and Angela Knight manage to turn out so many great books in a year? I know I did until some gracious authors clued me into their secrets. It’s all about time management and having a game plan. Even if you only have an hour a day to write, you can still use your time effectively and wisely! Here are some tips:


1.) Keep a small notepad handy wherever you are to jot down ideas. This is great and I keep mine with me at all times (and I do mean ALL times) so I can do my own version of shorthand to get the ideas down.


2.) Work up a small outline on this pad to get general ideas of your characters and plot outline and such. It will help during the writing process.


3.) Get to know your characters and give them quirks to add more dimension. Such as this character snaps their fingers when they’re nervous or angry or maybe the heroine bats her eyes when she sees a man etc


4.) This is my secret: I write between 7-9 each night and everyone in the house knows not to bother me unless anything is bleeding or hanging at a funny angle. I know I don’t have children and that isn’t always possible but if you have an understanding spouse/partner, they should understand and help you out.


5.) Write, write, write!!!


In order to make your dreams come true, you must be persistent!! That’s the key. Success is 1% talent and 99% perseverance. You can only improve yourself if you keep writing and learning!


To quote a very successful business man who happens to be working with my husband, I’ll just say: “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t matter”—Dexter Yager.

****

Okay, it’s confession time…How many of you wait patiently for the next book from your favorite author, practically salivating and counting down the days until it comes out? I know I so do…

I used to have quite a few favorite authors but I’ve quickly narrowed them down and for one reason only: I hated the ending! I don’t know about anyone else (I hope I’m not the only goober who does this) but I seriously now read the endings in the store before buying the book. Weeeeeeelll, let me tell you why. I am not going to name the author because she has written some splendid books and they’ve been terrific but this one left me bitterly disappointed. With the awesome blurb on the back and gorgeous cover, I assumed that this book would be a great as her others. Needless to say, I was utterly shocked. Not only did the heroine die at the end but he married her sister the day of the funeral!!!! Okay, how in the hell did THAT get onto a bookshelf? I’m not going to name the title either because this book is long out of print.

I ranted, I raved and I screamed. Here I am, glued to my chair way late to the night, rooting for the hero and heroine to get through all their travails, hoping for a great ending then BOOM! I’m floored.

That is my biggest pet peeve in the world and I try very hard to bring closure and a happy ending to all my books. I get emails all the time telling me how a reader loved the ending. I believe after the obstacles the characters have had to fight along the way, the least they deserve is a happy ending! C’mon people!!!

In all seriousness, I give my readers the same things in I want in a good book: great plot, unforgettable characters and a wonderful ending. A lot of big name authors feel that because of who they are, they can create any story and it will sell. Not true. Romance readers are the best there are and disappoint them once, they’ll feel betrayed. I make it my mission to never disappoint my readers because without them, I’d be nothing.

****

Prince of Darkness

Bloodborn #3

[Siren Classic: Erotic Paranormal Romance, vampires]

Christine McCall decides to investigate the death of her partner on her own and unwittingly takes her life into her hands. Secrets swirl around the erotic BESERKER club and its equally hypnotic Viking looking owner, Drake Haaken. Together, they’ll need to unravel the mystery—before its too late.

Available at Siren-Bookstrand:

http://www.bookstrand.com/prince-of-darkness

EXCERPT

 

“Do I frighten you?”

A smooth, silky male voice broke through her thoughts and sent a bolt of electricity dancing up and down her spine. She snapped her eyes open amid her slightly ragged breath. The handsome stranger stood before her, much taller than she imagined. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Not all at.”

“Good because I do frighten a lot of people.” He swept into a low bow. “Drake Haaken at your service.”

She detected a bit of an accent in his words, but she couldn’t place them. A part-time student of linguistics, she normally could place any lilt, but this one escaped her.

“Thank you, Mr. Haaken, but I really must be going.” Her throat constricted the closer he came, the smell of his musky aftershave overwhelming her no end. Her sex wanted to cream inside of her panties. She’d have to get out of here really fast before anything happened.

He clamped a hand on her arm. “Do you really?”

Bolts of strange desire rumbled up her limbs and stretched out the rest of her body, awakening every inch to his burning touch. She looked down at the strong fingers wrapped around her arm, unhappy with his uninvited clutch. One thing she hated in life was to be touched by people she didn’t know. “Please let go of me.” Quietly, he released her. “I must be going. I have an early day tomorrow.”

The sexy half smile returned, accompanied by a quick jerk of his left eyebrow. “Don’t leave before telling me your name.”

“Christine McCall.” Her open jaw shut. She had inexplicably defied department protocol. She’d never given her real name on any of her assignments, and she wasn’t sure why she did now except a strange feeling compelled her to.

Her nipples puckered beneath the lacy cups of her bra, the hard points pressing hard against the fabric. Thankfully, she’d decided to wear a bra with a slight bit of padding. Otherwise, this stranger could read her desire as easily as he would a book.

“Well, Ms. McCall, it seems as though we’ve got a problem here.”

The weakness in her legs barely kept her standing. “What is that, Mr. Haaken?”

“Music is playing, and we’re not dancing to it.”

Christine vacillated between dancing with him and getting the hell out of Berserker. She didn’t belong here, that much she knew. But dancing with a man who appeared as though he stepped off a romance novel cover definitely did not fit her at all. “I don’t dance.” She spoke the truth. Jason never took her dancing or actually anywhere really. He preferred to sit at home and mentally abuse her.

“You will with me.”

His warm, silky baritone voice provided all the impetus she needed to leave. She didn’t want him to have the chance to be disappointed in her lack of rhythm.

Before she could utter another sentence, a warm blanket of security washed over her. She relaxed her tense muscles a bit, almost as if those very words eradicated every ounce of anxiety out of her.

Mr. Haaken grasped her hand and led her to the dance floor. The music changed to a very low, methodical beat great for slow dancing. Dancers cleared the way for them, parting like the Red Sea.

He guided her to the middle and took her right hand in his left. For a brief moment, she thought he’d take her into an old-fashioned-dance embrace reminiscent of a waltz, but apparently, he possessed other ideas.

His thick arms wound around her and held her to his hard form. She wanted to run away from him, get out from under his touch, but some unbidden force enticed her to stay. His hand slid up her back, his chilly palm spanning the width, almost as if he attempted to keep her from running.

“This feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” she heard herself say in a throaty whisper. Where did that come from? After Jason, she never wanted any man’s touch, but she inexplicably craved this stranger’s.

“I want you to call me Drake,” he whispered into her ear.

Christine trembled against him and laid her head against his chest, closing her eyes. Her better senses told her to run yet being this close to a damned good-looking man felt wonderful. “Drake then.” The silkiness of his white shirt brushed against her face like the softest swan’s down. Tendrils of his blond hair brushed against her cheeks, silky and soft.

Drake’s black leather pants rustled against her miniskirt, the thick bulge poking in her belly unmistakable. She knew what he wanted, what all men wanted eventually.

“You are a beautiful woman, Christine. Why don’t you come with me for a private drink?”

ADULT EXCERPT

Drake touched her inner thigh for a minute and waited for her reaction. He expected her to push him away, but she didn’t. Taking her silence as an invitation, he swept higher up the soft, smooth expanse. Surely, she would make him stop before he went too far. She didn’t.

Damn, she made his cock hard! He went a bit farther and touched the damp crotch of her panties. With his superior senses, he could smell her desire for him, her body pumping out the delicious juice needed to clear the way for him.

He paused at the tight elastic. Still, she didn’t stop him. Good. His prize lay behind the brief expanse of wet fabric.

Hooking one finger through the elastic of her panties, he had them off in a flourish and casually dropped them to the floor. Christine didn’t balk at this either.

Drake slid his hand back up her thigh. Her shaved pussy greeted him like a beacon, soft, smooth, and soaked. He touched the quivering lips and Christine gasped, her hips rocking.

He touched her delicious smelling sex, drawing a finger up the damp crevice. Flesh parted, slick and ready.

“Yes,” she moaned against his mouth and lifted her hips. “Touch me.”

He’d do better than that. He slipped on finger inside of her. Instantly, her cunt slammed down on his finger and held it hostage. He groaned and tucked another finger next to the first one. She widened instantly and sucked him deeply inside. Unable to stand the resistance, he stroked in and out, pumping like a piston. She creamed against his fingers as he thrust.

“Faster,” she begged in a strangled moan.

Never one to shirk a request, he increased his actions. Christine lifted her hips, begging for more. Well, he had something special in mind for her.

Slipping to the floor, he urged onto her back on the couch. He hooked her right leg over his shoulder, the left on the back of the couch. Her desire drifted from between her legs, peppered with a musky, wanton scent. His cock was rock hard, but after several hundred years, he’d learn to control himself.

* * * *

Christine felt so desired and wanted in this moment that she wanted it to last. Drake had been so tender with her and seemed so compassionate that it didn’t feel wrong to be here with him like this.

The rough pad of Drake’s tongue traced up and down both sides of her labia, lapping up all her juice. His giant thumbs held her open, exposing her for his use. Strangely, she liked this situation. Jason had never performed oral sex on her, and he never wanted her to. He said she was lousy at it.

Drake blew a cold breath over her clit, and the blossom stood at attention, swelling not just with blood but lust as well. She shivered and lifted her hips, offering more.

“What a wanton wench you are.”

He chuckled softly and covered her pussy with his mouth. His tongue danced up and down her sex, tasting her dew. He nibbled a bit on her clit, taking the nub gently between his teeth then let go. Flick. Suck. Flick. Suck. She shuddered as the familiar burn of orgasm curled in her belly. Dear Lord, she was ready to come!

Drake caressed her clit with his tongue, the roughness enough to send her to the moon. Her cunt convulsed with each suck and release of her nub. She teetered on the precipice of complete and utter submission, and she didn’t care if she tumbled downward. No man had ever made her come like this before—only her hand or a vibrator did.

The burn turned to a full, roaring flame. Fire licked up her limbs and spread with the quickness of a harsh summer storm. She cried out as her orgasm blew.

Drake tenderly kissed the inside of her thigh. “You were saying something about ground rules?”

Available at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/prince-of-darkness

Tracy's Website:

http://www.tracylranson.com/