#WisdomWednesday – Take the First Step

It’s hard to think about taking that first step into the unknown. Whether it’s a new relationship, a new book, or even revisiting something old that you’ve been trying to forget, it takes courage. But taking that first step is a necessary part of a journey that could be truly rewarding. So as hard as it is, take that first step.

#TeaserTuesday Ensnared by Charisma Knight

EnsnaredI’m lucky to have with me today fellow author Charisma Knight! Charisma is a multi-published author and cover artist, living in the Maryland area with her daughter and husband. You’ll discover her stories are a mixture of erotica and erotic romance containing a wild edge with a little fantasy sprinkled throughout. If you’re an avid reader of Charisma’s stories, don’t be shy—she loves to receive e-mails from readers. You may contact her via her website at www.charismaknight.com.

Charisma is here today to tell us about her latest release, ENSNARED! So without further ado, here’s more about this sexy sci fi fantasy novel!

Blurb

Naturally feisty Charlie Marine plans for an extended vacation on Mars in spite of all the abductions in her area. When she misses her shuttle, a strange Xuldarian man claiming to be a pilot approaches her. Against her better judgment and eager to start her vacation, she takes him up on his offer and discovers she’s been abducted and to be delivered to a Vaakulsian Commander–Rhyker Aluhira.

Rhyker knew from the first time he laid eyes on the tall, dark, and beautiful Earth goddess that he was in for the long haul–only, he didn’t know just how much of a fight she’d put up to preserve her identity. Unlike submissive Xuldarian and Vaakulsian women, Charlie is brave and defiant. Rhyker fears her outspoken ways will soon place her in danger. Can Rhyker and Charlie meet each other half way or will they continue to butt heads in a world where women are expected to be subservient?

Excerpt

Vaakulsia, 2230

Rhyker’s chest tightened as he carefully walked around the bodies of Vaakulsians littering the streets. Crystalline buildings now lay in shattered ruins and a heavy cloud of smoke lingered in the once-beautiful skies of Vaakulsia. Bombs had been dropped, causing large sinkholes to open in the earth. Soot covered his body from the war Earthlings had initiated when he and his leaders refused to allow them to colonize and mine Vaakulsia’s valuable resources.

Choking back tears threatening to fall, he tightened his mouth and continued his search for his wife and child, despite the skull-splitting pain he’d experienced due to the poisons lingering in the air. Planet Vaakulsia was no more, thanks to the war that had raged for the better half of a year. When the war erupted six months ago between the Vaakulsians and the Earthlings, Rhyker and his brother Rhogwaar, along with one hundred and fifty of his men, took to the stars. With the assistance of his Xuldarian friend, Jader, they made an effort to fight the invaders from Earth.

They would have won the war if the humans hadn’t taken things a step further. No one knew exactly just how low they would sink to win not just the battles, but the war. The Agency sunk to biological warfare to end it all after successfully managing to shield Earth from any type of invasion.

Only yesterday, the humans decided to bring out their biggest weapon; the virus they created to hopefully infect and rid the great dragons from their coveted home. No one saw it coming, not even his allies, the Xuldarians. His skin still itched from whatever it was they’d dropped on the planet. His eyes watered and his throat burned and he was sure he didn’t have long to live, but he needed closure—needed to find Mira and Kalen.

More on the Author

You can find out more about Charisma and her books here:

Website: http://charismaknight.com

Blog: http://charismaknight.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharismaKnight

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charisma.knight.9

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/charismaknight/

Design Site: http://designsbycharisma.yolasite.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Charisma_Knight_Fantasy_World/join

To purchase ENSNARED and other books by Charisma, check out these retailers:

Sugar and Spice Press

ENSNARED at Amazon
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charisma-Knights-Author-Page/178731968894065?ref=hl

Other books at Amazon

Barnes & Noble

All Romance E-books

Itunes

#FreebieFriday NOW AND ALWAYS Free Download

NowandAlways Amazon GR SWAs I mentioned, in September it will be 15 years since the release of my first book, NOW AND ALWAYS. This novel will always be special to me since it was my first! To celebrate that anniversary, it’s available for free on various vendors (see below).

I’ll also be specially pricing the South Beach Sizzles Collection, which includes NOW AND ALWAYS and the sequel FAITH IN YOU, for .99 from September 1 to September 30 as part of the 15th Anniversary celebration.

I hope you enjoy Connie and Victor’s story!

Get it free here!

Amazon
Itunes
Kobo

Reviews

Romantic Times: 4 Stars “Pineiro “ignites her own brand of Miami heat in this sexy and humorous romance.”

Rendezvous: “. . . a fast-paced, well-developed plot . . . anxiously await other books by this gifted author!”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “. . . a compelling love story. . . beautifully imbued with details of everyday life in Miami….”

Teaser

Connie Gonzalez is a driven, ambitious woman who is one of the FBI’s best agents and determined to prove herself in a man’s world. Assigned to the Miami Bureau, Connie soon finds herself going undercover in Miami’s glamorous South Beach area. An injury throws her together with the very rich and tempting Dr. Victor Cienfuegos. Victor is everything Connie should avoid, but despite the risks of her work and allowing any distractions, Connie cannot deny the attraction between herself and the sexy physician. Will danger keep them apart or is their love strong enough to survive for now and always?

Behind the Scenes

Photos from the South Beach Area

Excerpt

If you can’t see the excerpt below, you can click here to read it.

Now and Always Contemporary #Romance by Caridad Pineiro

#WriteWed What to do next? & #HumpDay #ManWars

STRONGER THAN SIN Romantic SuspenseI have a dilemma. I just got the rights back to SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN.

For those of you who read the books, you may recall that these were more romantic suspense with paranormal elements than paranormal with romantic suspense.

Because they didn’t really fit into the paranormal genre, my editors asked me to ramp up that part of the story line and the Sin Hunters were born in THE LOST and THE CLAIMED.

Now here’s my dilemma: I was plotting out the next book in the series – THE SHATTERED. It was really leaning toward paranormal sci fi with the introduction of Hunters from an alternate universe.

Now that I have these rights back, I’ve been toying with the idea of directing the books and the Hunters back toward being more romantic suspense. My idea was to have humans discovering more about the Hunters and somehow posing a threat to the existence of the Hunter clans. I’d also still have to deal with Christopher’s psycho father, but that could be handled as part of the romantic suspense.

So what do you think? Alternate universe and heavy on the paranormal elements or romantic suspense with lighter paranormal elements.

This is your chance to decide how the series will continue and I’d love to have your thoughts on it!

While you’re pondering my dilemma, how about some #ManWars to help you past #Humpday. For those of you who don’t use Facebook, just leave a comment here for a chance to win the print copy of IMMORTAL TEMPTATION.

#FreebieFri #FridayRead Lots of things to read!

It’s Freebie Friday and/or Friday Read depending on which hashtag you follow! Regardless, I’ve put together a sampler of free reads from my 2013 and some of my 2014 releases for your reading pleasure.

This sampler includes free reads and bonus content from the following novels:

    Now and Always
    Faith in You
    The Perfect Mix
    The Prince’s Gamble
    To Catch a Princess
    For Love and Vengeance
    To Love and Serve
    Born to Love
    Die for Love

I hope you enjoy them and have a great weekend!

If you cannot see the excerpt of the Free Read Sampler below, you can click here to read it and/or download it as a PDF file.

Caridad Pineiro Free Read Sampler

Chicken Cacciatore Thanks to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers

I’m still a little behind, so today I’m offering up a recipe from my friends Lois Winston and Caroline Mickelson. So click here to visit the fabulous Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog for a very tasty recipe for Chicken Cacciatore!

Did you know “cacciatore’ is Italian for hunter? This style of meal was prepared hunter-style with whatever vegetables and meats were at hand.

Also, please take a moment to visit with me at Paranormal Dimensions! I’m sharing some behind the scenes details on my latest release in THE REBORN vampire novel series.

Guest Blog with Lynn Rush!

Today I have with me my friend and fellow author Lynn Rush who is here to share her latest release with us! Please welcome Lynn and take a moment to find out more about AWAITED, the second book in her Wasteland series. I hope you enjoy this little teaser and take out a moment to check out Lynn and AWAITED.

The voice is a powerful thing

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Russell Leonard is a centuries-old Guardian who’s lost faith in his purpose. So when he’s charged with procuring the first female Guardian in over two centuries, he can only hope it’s the red-headed beauty who’s been haunting his dreams for months. And if it is, he intends to claim her as his. But when he finds his dream woman, Annabelle is mute and bears no Guardian’s Mark.

He soon realizes she’s been tainted by an ancient evil. Russell must somehow release the secrets trapped within this delicate, mute beauty, to help her tap into the only weapon powerful enough to silence a millennia-old demon—her voice.

Add Awaited to your Goodreads to-read shelf

Excerpt

A couple of weeks ago, we had the great cover reveal, which was an exciting time. But now my publisher has chosen a little excerpt that’ll be on their site.

So, I thought I’d give a little sneak peek!

But first, I wanted to thank Caridad Piñeiro for her kind words about Awaited:

From the first action-packed scene, AWAITED grabs you and doesn’t let go until its awesome conclusion. ~~Caridad Piñeiro, NY Times Best-Selling Author


My feet finally found the water’s floor. I tugged the female from Durk’s grasp and hoisted her up into my arms.

The water had washed away the crimson stains, but left her lips thin and blue. Durk pressed his fingers to her neck. “No pulse.”

“Go. Find wood dry enough to burn. We need fire. I’ll start CPR.”

He bolted to his feet and darted away. I settled her on the damp foliage covered floor and ripped her buttoned blouse apart. I rested my ear to her chest. Nothing. Cheek to her mouth. Nothing.

I clamped my hands together and started counting out compressions. “Please. You can’t die. I just found you.”

Her chest caved beneath my weight with each push I offered to start her heart. Pumping it for her. She looked so cold. So small. So fragile. Darkness tainted her lips. I imagined they’d be full and bright red like in my dreams. Her glowing skin was now dull and lifeless.

Please. Michael.

There must have been a reason for me to be on this plane. This time. This date. This instance. Not to let me find someone I’d dreamt about, then to lose her.

I pinched her nose. With my other hand I cradled her neck and opened her mouth to mine. My lips formed a seal around hers, and I blew. Her chest raised. One more breath.

I turned my head, listening. Nothing.

I repeated it for another cycle. Durk returned holding an armful of branches. He ripped open his pack and pulled out a bag.

“Zip lock?”

“Jessica made an appearance at my room while packing.” He held it up. “I thought she’d lost her mind. Matches, magazine, and tiny foil blanket.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“Told me not to.”

Durk went to work on the fire as I finished the second round of compressions. I leaned down to breathe for her again and paused an inch before contact with her lips. “Please,” I whispered and sealed her mouth with mine.

I breathed into her, then turned and drew in a gulp of air and let it flow into her. A gentle scent of sandalwood and sugar wrapped around me. Coiled me in warmth. The woman flinched beneath me.

Then coughed.

I tilted her to the side and water spewed from her mouth. A tremor rocked her little body. The crackle of a flame, and the scent of burning leaves filled the air. “There you go. Get it out.” I patted her back.

She flopped back and her eyes opened wide.

The same honey irises I’d seen a hundred times in my dreams stared at me. “Can you hear me?”

The lids hung heavy over her dilated eyes, then slid shut.

“No. No. Stay with me.” I patted her shoulder.

Durk joined me, kneeling beside her on the other side. I pressed my finger to her neck.

“She’s got to be in shock. Freezing. Get that fire going.” I peeled my shirt over my head as I stood. “Find all you can to get a small shelter formed around the fire.” I ripped at the belt securing my soggy pants to me. “I’ll warm her up.”

Wasn’t exactly how I’d dreamed I would first lay with a woman, but I’d be damned if I was going to let her die.

She was mine.Â