Wicked Wednesday – Guest Blog & Contest

TEMPTATION CALLS vampire romanceOur Danger Women Writing Guest Blogs and Contests continue today with my wonderful editor, Stacy Boyd! Stacy will be chatting about the Harlequin Desire line and one lucky commenter will win copies of some of the books in THE CALLING VAMPIRE novels that Stacy and I have worked on together, namely, DANGER CALLS, TEMPTATION CALLS and FURY CALLS!

Please stop by and say hello to Stacy, but before you go, here’s a little known piece of trivia about the cover for TEMPTATION CALLS. A decision was made for the heroine to have a tattoo on the cover even though I made no mention of it in the book. When asked what would be the most likely tattoo she would have, it occurred to me that since the heroine – Samantha Turner – runs a home for abused women called the Artemis Shelter, the tattoo should be a representation of the goddess Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology – yes like Diana Reyes). Artemis was the Goddess of the Hunt and often depicted with a bow and arrow and so voila – the tattoo on the heroine’s leg is that of a female archer.

Wicked Wednesday – TEMPTATION CALLS

TEMPTATION CALLS by Caridad PineiroThis Wicked Wednesday is a blast from the past, but one of my favorites – TEMPTATION CALLS. It’s also the story that launched several other novels, namely, DEVOTION CALLS, BLOOD CALLS and FURY CALLS. All the characters in those novels first appeared in TEMPTATION CALLS.

TEMPTATION CALLS is the story of Samantha Turner, the child of a former slave and store owner, who has suffered unspeakable violence at the hands of men and of the vampire who turned her. Because of that, Samantha is devoting her undead life to helping women escape from domestic violence.

Samantha also knows Ryder Latimer from her past life and there are some scenes in the novel where you find out what is the connection between her and Ryder. I won’t spill those secrets, however.

There are many special things for me about this book. The first is the relationship which develops with Samantha and NYPD Detective Peter Daly. Although Peter is used to violence, he is a gentle man who will demonstrate to Samantha that not all men hurt women. The second is that this book began to populate THE CALLING vampire series with unique characters and also introduced to the bar competing with Ryder’s club — The Blood Bank. Lots of action takes place in The Blood Bank mainly because it is the favorite hangout for many of the vampires in New York City. Last, but not least, we learn more about Ryder’s history and how he got to be a vampire. That history will be one that surprises you!

Today’s excerpt is the opening scene in the novel where you first meet Samantha and also, Ricardo — the santero from DEVOTION CALLS. I hope you enjoy the scene and today’s Wicked Wednesday!

If you cannot see the excerpt below, you can click on this link or cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32368336/Temptation-Calls-by-Caridad-Pineiro-THE-CALLING-Vampire-Novels

If you’re pressed for time, use the download option to read it later or on your mobile device!

Temptation Calls by Caridad Pineiro – THE CALLING Vampire Novels

Wicked Wednesday – Kaye Manro, a Guest Blog and Contest!

I am so excited to have my friend and fellow author Kaye Manro here to tell us a little about her latest release. Plus, we’ve got a contest for you since I’m also doing a guest blog over with my friend JoJo to help her celebrate her birthday! So, if you leave a comment at JoJo’s blog, you have a chance to win an ARC of STRONGER THAN SIN, my November release, a copy of SINS OF THE FLESH, the first book in the SINS series as well as a T-shirt! Double your chances to win by leaving a comment here and also, if you’re selected at JoJo’s site and leave a comment here, you will also win a copy of your choice of either FURY CALLS or SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS!

So without further ado, here’s my buddy Kaye!

*****

FORBIDDEN LOVE by Kaye ManroThanks to the lovely Caridad Pineiro for inviting me, a new author, as a guest on her blog today! I’m so excited to be here, and to share my short ebook, FORBIDDEN LOVE, which is not a paranormal, but a science fiction romance!

Readers may not know exactly how sci-fi relates to the romance genre. So let me show you. In the subgenre of science fiction romance, authors use technology and not magic. Rather than fantasy characters such as shape shifters, the characters are alien or human. The settings are anywhere, but it is common to see stories taking place on alien worlds or on advanced spaceships. For an author, this genre, called SFR can be very exciting and fun to explore. I have to say it was for me.

Forbidden Love released at Red Rose Publishing on May 13, and has consistently stayed on the bestseller lists. Here’s a little of what you’ll find in the story:

Forbidden Love is a futuristic sci-fi romance. There is space travel at FTL (faster than light). But there is also lots of sensual exploring between the hero T’Kon and the heroine Maya, who hail from different galaxies and evolutionary paths. Rules on T’Kon’s planet forbid interspecies mating. Yet when he crashes his spacecraft on Maya’s world close to her desert home, what else is he to do but let this audacious alien tend his injuries?

For those who are new to this exciting genre, I have included a Science Fiction Lexicon on my Website. You can find phrases that may be unfamiliar to you there. The terms relate directly to those used in Forbidden Love.

For example, FTL is the ability a spacecraft has to travel in deep space far exceeding the speed of light. While in FTL, your ship could essentially reach billions of miles per second or more.

Now back to Forbidden Love, which is first and foremost a romance even though the subplot is science fiction. Here’s an excerpt so you can get a feel for the Forbidden Love romantic elements:

…She was upon him so near he could feel her breath, sense her warmth. She reached out and ran a hand through the air, searching the length of him.

“Maya,” he blew her name on a sigh.

“Take me with you,” she implored, as tears filled her astounding tawny eyes. “I want to be with you, T’Kon.” She melded her body against his invisible one.

“You know nothing of me or my world.”

“Teach me, show me everything.”

He felt her heat burning inside him, yet the absurdity of her request burned brighter. “What you ask is not possible.”

“Will you please become visible so I can look at you?” She asked. “We need to talk about this before you go flying off into the universe.”

He unshielded his body so she could see him. “I cannot take you.”

“Why not? You can’t say it was coincidence that you happened to crash land in my back yard.”

No, an unfortunate accident. The truthful certainty traced across his mind. Yet his arms enclosed her and he lifted her up. Her legs straddled his waist, and he held her close against his body. A fit so right he could not deny it.

“I wish it were not so, but it is,” he whispered, breathing in her pungent scent. “You would not survive on my world.” He dropped his head to taste her lips before she had a chance to counter his words. “Just one last kiss.” Her mouth opened to allow his tongue entry and he explored the soft moistness, losing himself in her tang.

The stars help him. He did not want to leave her.

Without warning, a sudden and dangerous noise yanked T’Kon from his enamored stupor. He sensed peril approaching. In a rapid-fire move, he raised his palm. A copper arch flashed and shimmered before them revealing the entryway to his concealed spacecraft. He dragged her inside. Tapping a pad the opening closed leaving them hidden behind an undetectable shield.

* * ***

I hope you enjoy reading Forbidden love as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Kaye’s Bio: As a romance author, I lean toward the adventuresome in my writing. I love science fiction and all the enticing quantum theories surrounding it. Where characters rush through outer space at FTL, or teleport into another time, and even slipstream into an alternate reality. I like creating sizzling love scenes too with sexy heroes, and captivating heroines. It just seemed natural to combine all these elements together in my stories.

Kaye Manro

You can purchase FORBIDDEN LOVE by clicking here or visiting this page:
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=772

For more information on Kaye, please visit her Website at http://www.sfr.kayemanro.com or Kaye’s blog at http://kayemanro.blogspot.com/.

Thanks so much!

Wicked Wednesday – FURY CALLS

First of all, congrats to PC Cast for winning the RT Best Nocturne of 2009! It was an honor to have FURY CALLS nominated with her novel and those of my other Nocturne buddies.

FURY CALLS is a book of my heart and on its way to being out-of-print. I wanted to share this excerpt with you from the novel, which was selected by CATAROMANCE as the Best Nocturne of 2009.

In this scene we meet the villain of the piece, a wicked vampire by the name of Sun-Tze Lee. For over a century he has been controlling Foley, the apparent owner of The Blood Bank, that dark and dangerous hangout in The Calling Vampire novels. I loved crafting such an awful villain and I mean truly truly awful. I know the violence was a little too much for some, but I thought it essential for the story since I wanted to show to readers how both Blake and Foley survive situations that would break lesser men (or should I say vamps?)

I hope you enjoy this excerpt from FURY CALLS! If you cannot see the excerpt below, you can also click on this link to read the excerpt and/or download the excerpt to your computer and/or Iphone, PDA, smartphone, etc.

You can also cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/full/30928222?access_key=key-1ktd0stobpao5e9dslde

FURY CALLS Excerpt by Caridad Pineiro

Fun Friday – A Guest Visit and Freebies!

This Fun Friday we’ve got two things going on! The first is another Tax Day Freebie, but this one runs all the way to May! If you’re near Charlie Brown’s check out their three course special deal via this link.

I had the special dinner last night after getting home an hour late thanks to NJ Transit. Another of their ungodly messes. When they announced a 25% fair hike yesterday, I guess they decided to add to the pain we were all feeling by having no service out of Penn Station. But the updside to the debacle was the Charlie Brown’s dinner courtesy of the coupon. Totally worth it!

The next Fun Friday thing is a guest blog with Lisa Pietsch. Drop by there today and leave a comment at Lisa’s blog for a chance to win a STRONGER THAN SIN T-shirt and a copy of FURY CALLS! The contest ends at midnight EST today, April 16th!

I hope you all have a marvelous weekend!

Fun Friday – Contest Winner!

I want to thank all of you who dropped by on Wednesday to wish Rene Colato good luck with his wonderful children’s book! It was much appreciated.

Also – many many thanks for all the b’day wishes! I had a great day that weekend as well as last weekend when we had our first ever Liberty States Fiction Writers conference. I had a wonderful time and met so many nice people.

As for the b’day wishes, I’d like to announce the winner of my b’day contest!

Sherry is the lucky winner of a $25 Godiva Gift Card, copy of FURY CALLS and a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag. Congratulations, Sherry. Please e-mail your postal address to cpsromance at att dot net .

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Here in the NY/NJ Metro area we are getting a glimpse of our first taste of Spring! Bulbs are coming up, crocuses are in bloom and we’re supposed to have weather in the 60s. I so can’t wait!!

Guilty Pleasure Monday – Curtis Stone

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Trotz from Atlanta, GA, United StatesWith little on the telly last night, I found myself surfing the channels until I came across the intro to CELEBRITY APPRENTICE and this delicious man snared my attention – Chef Curtis Stone. I had not known of him before and I found myself sucked into watching the entire premiere (and it so sucks that the women lost!)

Anyway, Curtis is an Aussie with that wonderful Aussie accent. Curtis has been a chef at a number of restaurants, made numerous television appearances and is the author of several cookbooks. His latest is Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood which was released in April 2009.

Don’t you think Curtis would be the perfect Blake? I think there is a strong similarity to the sexy vamp on the cover of FURY CALLS.