Cover Reveal Laura Kaye’s TAKEN BY THE VAMPIRE KING

LK_TakenByTheVampireKingA Story of the Vampire Warrior Kings

Earlier Books in Series:

In the Service of the King

Seduced by the Vampire King

Taken by the Vampire King Blurb:

Henrik Magnusson is supposed to be immortal, but a mysterious ailment leaves the vampire king near death, and not even the blood of the Proffered, human virgins trained to serve the elite, can sustain him. Then he rescues a beautiful young woman from his enemies, and is filled with blood lust and desire he hasn’t felt for centuries.

Photographer Kaira Sorenson’s life takes a nightmare turn when she’s attacked by blood-thirsty creatures—and saved by a vampire. She should be afraid of Henrik, but she can’t deny her intense attraction to this regal, enigmatic being—nor the fact that her blood may be his only salvation. Now she must decide if she’s willing to be his forever…

Releases August 1, 2013

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Vampire-Warrior-Kings-ebook/dp/B00BNRIK4W/ref=sr_1_12_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371211246&sr=1-12

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taken-by-the-vampire-king-laura-kaye/1114812016?ean=9781460317891

Optional Excerpt:

Henrik’s back slammed against a brick wall, the darkness of the narrow alley sheltering their trio from the tourists thronging Tromsø’s streets.

Lars stood at the entrance, making sure no one developed an unhealthy curiosity.

Jakob got right up in Henrik’s face, forearm pressing into the king’s chest. “What happened?”

He shook his head, swallowing thickly, his hunger burning so intensely it was almost a living thing within him. “Wanted her,” he rasped. It hadn’t been a decision. There wasn’t anything rational or conscious about it. From the first moment she’d approached him, he was awash in her appealing scent, like the smoky berries of a vintage wine or the rich bite of an aged, dignified whiskey.

“Wanted her how?”

“I wanted her.” He knocked his head against the brick. Even now, he couldn’t shake the image of the vein’s rhythmic dance along her slender neck or of the luscious dip of her cleavage, both displayed so invitingly by her upswept hair. His fangs throbbed with a want and a need he couldn’t remember feeling in ages. Not to mention the aching hard-on between his legs.

“Straight out no-shit bloodlust?” Something like hope sounded in the warrior’s deep voice.

“Ja.” Henrik heaved a deep breath of cold January air as his imagination unhelpfully replayed how it would’ve gone down. Tearing the gown from her trim body. Holding her curves in his hands. Bearing her up against the wall. Sinking his fangs and his cock in deep until every dark, needy part of him was sated.

“I’ll get her.” Jakob turned away.

The king slammed his hand down on his brother’s shoulder and gripped hard. “Nei.”

“You want her. You need her.”

“I’ll kill her.”

Because he wouldn’t be able to stop.

Once he got a taste, something base and instinctual told him he wouldn’t be able to make himself stop. He’d been so close to the edge of his restraint in the gallery. Only the sound of her voice had pulled him back from the brink.

All he’d wanted was a night out of their mountain citadel, away from the looming promise of death. He thought the jovial atmosphere of the festival would distract him from all that was to come. Instead, it had thrown it right in his face. Christ, he was a catastrophe waiting to happen, already more beast than man. He shook his head again. “I’ll fucking kill her,” he rasped.

“You won’t.”

Acid washed through his gut. “You willing to risk an innocent woman’s life—or her soul—to see which of us is right? I’m not.” He shuddered, the danger of becoming like his evil enemies one of his greatest fears. “Leave her be. I’ll not have it any other way.”

About Laura Kaye:

Laura Kaye croppedLaura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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#ManCandyMonday Eric Christian Olsen

I’ve been a fan of NCIS forever and was happy to see the Los Angeles spinoff, especially with two hotties like Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J.

But the guy who caught my eye with his surfer dude kind of charm was Eric Christian Olsen who plays Detective Marty Deeks. There’s just something fun and interesting about Eric and his character!

I hope you’ve liked today’s Man Candy Monday.

eric
Photo Credit: Frantogian @en.wikipedia.com

Fun Friday Funny Cat Videos

These videos run the gamut to fun to scary and if you’ve got the sound on, turn it down! LOL!

I love cats and some of the kittens in this video are really cute.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

If you can’t see the video below, you can click here!

Tyranny begins with small steps. . .

Not with a big bloody coup. It happens with the erosion of our rights in small little pieces, like water dripping on a stone. It happens because we don’t speak out and settle for that erosion for a variety of reasons.

I haven’t posted a Thoughtful Thursday in a while, but recent events have had me really wondering what’s going on in America today. How we have gotten to where various government agencies can infringe on the rights of American citizens with what I consider so little hue and cry from the citizenry.

Or maybe I’m just hyper-sensitive to Big Government because of my background so maybe today’s Thoughtful Thursday should explain why I am that way. Why this immigrant embraces American values so much and why she is bothered by what she sees.

Funny, but our neighbors in Levittown used to say that my mom was more American than they were and I guess this apple didn’t fall far from that tree. My friends say the same of me. I bleed red, white and blue and this is the reason why . . .

Tyranny and my family

Those who visit regularly know I was born in Cuba and left during the Cuban diaspora of the 1960s.

My family’s exodus from Cuba came in little bits, resulting in various separations, but before I get to that, it’s important to know more about how that exodus began.

My mother was a rebel in every sense of the word. A woman who wanted a career before it was the thing to do. A woman who knew what she wanted in life, and from her country, and was willing to give her all for what she wanted.

She was an amazing woman and one day I’ll write her story. Kind of. My first novel was loosely based on her exploits and I hope to one day finish that book and release it.

Life in Cuba during the Batista dictatorship wasn’t easy for some. While those in Havana generally had nice lives, it wasn’t so easy for others out in the fields and smaller villages.

My mother was relatively young when “the Revolution” began. She even supposedly dated Castro once while she was at the University. But when the troubles started, Batista shut down the University to silence the opposition.

There were secret police who would haul away people suspected of assisting the rebels. People would be beaten and killed, their bodies dumped on the streets as a warning to others.

That didn’t stop my mom from raising her voice against it and helping with the local Civic Resistance Movement. She dragged my father into it from what I gather, but together they did all kinds of things to try to make their country better.

Until they realized they had helped make it worse as Castro showed his true colors. That’s when my mom and other people involved in the Resistance started working for change again. Like many in the Resistance, my mom was offered a position with the government, but time and time again she made excuses, not wanting to get more involved with a government that she knew was wrong.

Mind you, she did all that while being pregnant with me and my sis, her “miracle children” but that’s a story for another day.

When the government started forming militias with the young, my parents sent my brother to live with friends in the United States, fearing he’d be brainwashed. That’s part of how it starts: indoctrinate the young. Turn them against their parents’ values and toward those of the government.

My parents were working with others to try and change things when they got a call from a friend: Castro’s police were coming for them shortly. They had to leave Cuba or risk prison and/or execution.

In a matter of days they put their affairs in order and left my sister and me with my grandparents, certain they would send for us in a short time.

But Castro didn’t want that.

When my parents arrived in the U.S., they noticed one of Castro’s people walk by. He smiled and tipped his hat to them as if to say, “Don’t think you’ll get away.”

At Immigration they were detained. Someone had warned the U.S. Government they were communist sympathizers. It took a lot of convincing and hours of interrogation, but my parents were finally granted political asylum.

My sister was six months old at the time. I was a little past two. Imagine as a mother leaving such young children. I don’t know if I would have had the courage my mother had at that moment, but I am thankful that she did have such strength. I would not have the life I have today if not for that selflessness.

That only began my family’s odyssey to the United States.

In Cuba, the government seized our passports to prevent us from leaving the country. Soldiers would regularly come by the house and toss it, telling my grandparents to have my parents return if they ever wanted peace and freedom. My grandmother would stuff us under the bed to keep us safe. I vaguely remember hiding under that bed.

I remember being afraid of people in uniform when I first got to America until my mother explained that the policemen were not soldiers and were there to help us.

This went on for nearly another year, until my parents were able to get us out of the country with the help of some friends in Mexico. But that started another year of flight as we bounced from country to country in Central America and Mexico until we were able to enter the United States as political refugees.

Maybe it’s because of that family history that I fear Big Government. I fear what happens when a small group of people get too much control and try to silence others with differing opinions.

It’s what Orwell wrote about in 1984 and it doesn’t surprise me that there’s been a run on the book in recent days.

Take a moment to think about. Read about it, but even more so, read beyond what’s on the pages. As a writer I know how easy it is to steer you in one direction or another with the right choice of words. A nasty “flip-flop” becomes reasoned “reconsideration” quite easily.

Think about the world you want to leave to children and ask yourself, Is this what I really want?

When I think of my mom and all she risked and sacrificed and struggled to achieve, I know what my answer will be. What’s yours?

The Claimed #Paranormal #Romance #FreeRead

THE CLAIMED Paranormal RomanceI’ve been busy re-reading and taking notes from THE CLAIMED as I will shortly be starting the next book in the series, THE SHATTERED.

For those who have been asking, YES the hero and heroine are Sammie and Ryan. I so loved both of them in THE CLAIMED and I hope you will not be disappointed with their story. It’s going to be a very emotional one as Sammie and Ryan deal with all the changes in their lives while getting sucked even deeper into the war between the united Hunter clans led by Adam, Bobbie, Christopher and Victoria, and the Dark Shadow Hunter clan led by Christopher’s father, Alexander.

Plus, there will be some very interesting new Hunters in the mix, from new life for the Hunter leaders and some totally unexpected visitors who bring a warning about how life can be if the Hunters do not end the war between the Light and Dark factions.

So excited! Plus, I’ve heard all of you about the Carrera family and you will be seeing more of Mick, Caterina, Liliana, Jesse as well as younger brother Tony. I’ve missed them also. By the way, if you’re looking for the books from the SINS series on the site, try in the Suspense section. Although they were released as “paranormals”, I always thought of them as suspense books.

Since I’ve been reading THE CLAIMED, here’s a sexy – VERY sexy – excerpt from the book for you. WARNING – 17 and over please for the read.

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

THE CLAIMED #Paranormal #Romance by Caridad Pineiro

Barley Summer Salad

As you know, being healthier has been on my mind a lot as has losing weight. Because of that, I’ve been eliminated some things in my diet, like certain carbs. I’m missing my rice, though. In my house as a kid, we ate rice every night, so it’s a tough habit to break.

I’ve tried quinoa and it’s okay, but the one thing I’ve discovered that satisfies the rice craving and cooks up suprisingly similar is barley. Plus, while you may pay $5 or $6 for a bag of quinoa, you can head to the dried beans aisle and pick up a bag of barley for under $2.

So what is barley? Barley is a healthy high fiber, high protein whole grain whose soluble fibers can help reduce the risk of heart disease. It can also help lower your cholesterol levels and its insoluble fibers can assist with Type 2 diabetes. Also, high fiber can also help lower the risk of colon cancer. Barley is also low in fat. One cup of barley has about 200 calories, but it’s packed with 6 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein!

Today’s recipe is inspired by a classic tabouleh salad and it’s what I call a refrigerator cleaner. Besides those veggies I’ve included in this recipe, add any others you may have around, like carrots and celery. I added some cooked asparagus to the basic recipe and it was delicious.

Barley Summer Salad

    2 cups cooked barley*
    2 Roma tomatoes
    1 medium red onion
    1 medium cucumber (regular or 1/2 English cucumber)
    1/4 cup pecans
    1/4 Craisins
    1 tablespoon capers
    1/2 chopped pimentos
    2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 tablespoon fresh basil
    1 tablespoon fresh parsley
    Salt and pepper to taste

*To cook the barley, use 1 cup of dry barley, rinsed. Boil with 2 cups of water and/or broth. It’ll take about 35 to 40 minutes to cook. If you pre-soak the barley for an hour, it’ll take about 15 minutes to cook.

Put oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Chop all other ingredients into small pieces. Add to bowl and mix. Add barley to bowl and mix.

Done. It’s that simple and it’s a tasty side dish to burgers or any other summer meal!
Barley Summer Salad

#ManCandyMonday Robert Taylor & Bailey Chase from Longmire

I’ve gotten hooked on Longmire. What’s not to like about the gruff steely-eyed sheriff played by Robert Taylor and his young handsome rival, Bailey Chase? Of course, I’ve loved Bailey from the Buffy days when he was the sidekick to Marc Blucas (Riley Finn, Buffy’s Season 4 love interest).

Plus there is the whole cowboy thing with the faded jeans, boots and cowboy hats. Man oh man, what could be hotter? Not to mention the fascinating story lines based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery series.

What’s not to like? If you can’t see the video below, you can click here to watch!

Video Credit= A&E Television