#WriteWed The 12 Sexy Heroes of the Dangerous Passions Box Set & Flower Show

Today’s Write Wednesday inspiration is a sneak peek at the heroes of the Dangerous Passions Box set. They’re alpha and in command. Ready to take on the fight and find love along the way!

Dangerous Passions eBook box set is now available and you can get the Dangerous Passions Box Set at the following e-tailers!

Amazon: http://bit.ly/DPAmzUS
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/DPAmzUK
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/DPAmzCA
iBooks: http://bit.ly/166itSE
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1z6xv1g

You can click here if you can’t see the Sexy Heroes video below!

And now for something kinder and gentler! LOL! I mentioned I was going to the Philadelphia Flower Show yesterday and we had a blast. The theme was Hollywood and in particular, movies from Disney, Pixar and their related companies. The show was lovely this year and here are some photos for you. You can click here if you cannot see the Philadelphia Flower Show photos below.

#WriteWed Dangerous Curves by Nina Bruhns

Day 9: Dangerous Curves by Nina Bruhn

Welcome back readers! Today we’ll be hitting the road today with Nina Bruhn’s spec ops transporter thrill ride, “Dangerous Curves”

Help us spread the word by sharing this tweet!

He will have to be careful how he steers himself around her “Dangerous Curves” Dangerous Passions http://bit.ly/DPAmzUS #DPBoxSet

Blurb

Careful around her curves…

A spec ops transporter for STORM Corps takes on drones, bad guys, and car chases on the coast of Italy—and falls for a beautiful scientist whose curves are far more dangerous than the road!

Dangerous Passions eBook box set releases March 3rd for the special price of $0.99! Preorder today!!

Amazon: http://bit.ly/DPAmzUS
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/DPAmzUK
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/DPAmzCA
iBooks: http://bit.ly/166itSE
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1z6xv1g

Teaser

With as much dignity as she could muster, Linnea lowered herself into the passenger seat of the sports car.

 It wasn’t easy. The thing was as low-slung as a damned dachshund. She wasn’t super tall, but she felt like a giraffe folding herself into the deep, luxurious seat. Once there, it felt really nice, though. And it smelled good, too. Like a new car.

It smelled even better when Darryl slid gracefully into the driver’s seat—good grief, how did he even fit?—after tucking her carry-on into the front trunk of the car. She recognized the expensive European men’s fragrance he wore, though she couldn’t put a name to it. She’d forever associate the scent with the elegant men in the hushed paneled elevators of the posh hotels she and her parents had stayed in during that fateful summer vacation ten years ago.

 Surprisingly, the scent triggered only good memories. She’d been just sixteen then, shyly budding into her womanhood, and the European men they’d encountered at every turn had been charming and flattering, directing an undercurrent of sexual interest toward her that had been both flustering and flattering. Not to mention highly arousing to a young girl with dreams of being swept off by an honest-to-goodness prince charming. It happened in the movies all the time, so why not to her, too?

 In the end, she would much rather have been rescued by a genuine hero than a useless prince.

 A lot of her childish fantasies had been crushed to dust that summer.

 But the smell of that sexy cologne took her body back to before that all happened. Against her better judgment, it got her juices flowing and her foolish imagination creeping into the kind of fairytale territory far better left slumbering in its stone tower high above the grey clouds of reality.

She’d learned years ago there were no such things as princes…or heroes. A girl just had to learn to do the rescuing herself.

She turned to Darryl and forced a smile. “Sorry I snapped at you, Mr. Bachmann. I was—” Worried about her life’s work? Freaked out by being in Italy again? Mortified by being so turned on by him and the scent of his damned cologne? “It was a long flight,” she finally managed.

He pushed a button and the engine roared to life as he returned a smile that actually seemed sincere. “No worries, doc. And if we’re going to be hanging around together for the next two weeks, you better call me Darryl.”

She blinked. Momentarily distracted from him calling her doc again.

Wait.

“T-two weeks? You a-and me?” she stammered in disbelief.

No. That was not possible. She’d be a hot mess if she had to share space with that ridiculous body and that impossible cologne for more than a few hours.

 “Sure. Buckle up, ma’am. Safety first.” He looked at her expectantly.

 She stared back at him. “W-why would we be hanging around together?”

 His brows flickered, and when she still didn’t move, he calmly leaned across her and reached for the seatbelt himself. As he grasped it, he said, “Didn’t they tell you?”

Fireworks were suddenly going off in her whole body. He was so close he was practically touching her. Hell, he was touching her. His broad shoulder was brushing hers, and oh, my God, his chest was pressing lightly against her breasts.

No wonder she was feeling fireworks. 

She felt like Marvin the crash dummy. Her body was frozen in place, her muscles unable to move even a millimeter. Not even to answer his question. If it was a question. She wasn’t sure. Because that damned cologne had invaded her senses. And then he turned his head and was looking at her with a weird expression on his handsome face…that was actually more rugged and tan and windswept than classically handsome, which was, naturally, even more attractive in her eyes. And like Marvin, she could clearly see the terrible crash coming right at her, lethal and heart-wrenching and life-altering, but was unable to do a damned thing about it.

Somehow, she managed to pry open her mouth and croak out the words, “Tell me what?”

She felt the seatbelt stretch across her body, but for the life of her she didn’t know how, because he wasn’t moving away. If anything, his body pressed infinitesimally closer into hers. His warmth invaded her, making her shiver, and his breath whispered across her face.

“This is your test vehicle,” he murmured, the dark rumble of his voice penetrating the deepest reaches of her insides. Just the car engine, she told herself, though she knew that was a lie.

“Oh?”

Slowly, his gaze dropped to her lips. Which parted all on their own in horrified delight.

Oh, God.

The seatbelt closed with a deafening snap. Her body jerked, brushing against his just hard enough there was no way he could miss feeling her pebbled nipples.

Her pulse zinged into hyperspace. Ohgod-ohgod-ohgod.

“Yeah. And I,” he said, meeting her desperate gaze again, “am your assigned transporter.”
150303 Quote Card - NinaBruhns-1

#WriteWed Military Heroes Inspire Me

As you might now, I’ve included a number of military heroes in my books from my early romantic suspense novels to my latest releases in the Take a Chance series. That includes both military men and women heroes.

In each of the stories, I try to bring out what it must be like for our military heroes and their families as they cope with being away, being at war and coming home. I’m honored to say that I’ve heard from a number of military people that they felt my portrayals of the issues were accurate and heartfelt. Thank you for that and thank you for your service and sacrifices.

I want to share this video of truly awesome surprise military reunions! Click here to watch the military reunion video if you can’t see it below.

#WriteWed #Military Heroes in the Coast Guard

US-CoastGuard-Seal.svgI’m in the midst of writing ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE which features sexy retired Navy Captain Mark Smith and veteran Army Staff Sergeant Bridget Sullivan. If the Sullivan name is familiar, it’s because you met Bridget’s younger sister Maggie in ONE LAST NIGHT. It’s also familiar because you meet both Mark and Bridget in STAY THE NIGHT, Rafe and Elena’s story.

One thing I always think about while writing one of these novellas is how I can give you a quick intro to some of the characters you might see in a future book. In ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE you’ll get to meet Lieutenant Commander Samantha Whittaker who is now in the Coast Guard and veteran Seabee Zack Rodriguez.

Why the Coast Guard (and I promise you’ll see more about the Seabees in another Write Wednesday post)? Well, I happened to be rescued by a very charming Coast Guard vet when I was stranded on a hotel balcony during an RT Convention in Orlando. To this day we both smile whenever we see each other and recall that very interesting (and embarassing) incident. You see, my friends and I had gone out there to have a glass of wine on a beautiful day. As we powershut a very recalcitrant sliding glass door, the security bar came loose and came down perfectly, trapping us on the balcony.

Luckily our hero walked by and seeing our dilemma, called for hotel security to come free us. He then graciously offered to get us some more wine as well. LOL!

So in his honor and to honor the service of our Coast Guard veterans, I thought it was time to highlight that branch of the military in one of the upcoming TAKE A CHANCE series novellas.

So here’s a little bit more about the Coast Guard, my Write Wednesday inspiration for EMBRACE THE NIGHT (late spring 2015), my story with Samantha and Zack.

Did you know the Coast Guard just celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the act to create the Coast Guard? You can click here to read more about the Coast Guard Act. However, the Coast Guard has been around since 1790. The 1915 Act was really more of a change of name of the service.

During times of peace, the Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security (as of 2003). During times of war, the Coast Guard is part of the Navy. Coast Guard heroes like Douglas Munro, a Medal of Honor winner, have saved countless lives during both peace time and war.

The Coast Guard is one of five military branches. Its motto is “Semper Paratus” in Latin which means “Always Ready.”

The Coast Guard does have an academy which is located in New London, CT. You can get more facts by clicking here.

And now here’s a look at the Coast Guard in action! If you can’t see the video below, click here to see the Coast Guard in action in Texas!

Coast Guard Emblem Photo Credit: By U.S. Government [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

#WriteWed Meeting You is inspiring!

I’ve just set up a meet and greet with a young lady and fan who I was lucky enough to meet on Facebook. I’m excited about getting time to chat with her.

I was recently in Kansas City for business, but was able to have breakfast with two of my buddies from the reader/writer world.

I love getting to meet you guys! It’s one of the most exciting and fun things about being a writer. I’m hoping that this year we’ll be able to meet up at one of the events I’ll be attending. Here’s a quick list of them so far:

Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference – March 21 and 22, Iselin, NJ

RWA National Conference – July 22-25 New York City, NY

RomCon Conference – September 25-27, Denver, CO – You can purchase a ticket to sit at lunch with me and everyone who sits with me will be mailed a special swag gift worth at least $25 after the convention.

Midwestern Book Lovers Conference – October 22-25, Minneapolis, MN. Excited about this one since I get to stay in the Mall of America. It’s on my bucket list.

Philly Author Fest – November 14, King of Prussia, PA

If you’ll be at any of these conferences, please let me know ahead of time so we can plan some time together!

Here’s a photo of some of my dear friends at RT 2013. We got to see each other and had a lovely time just hanging out.
MelissaShellJoy

#WriteWed Plotting with Friends & Lucy the Elephant

This weekend I got together with some writing friends from the fabulous Liberty States Fiction Writers. If you write genre fiction, you should really check out this organization. They’ve also got a great conference coming up in March with a number of workshops as well as editor/agent appointments.

I’m in the process of writing ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE and wanted to bounce some ideas off my friends. They were awesome in helping me firm up some issues that I had and right now I’m chugging along on the first draft of this novella. I’m loving Bridget who is my kind of girl. Laid back and more comfortable in jeans and work boots than a fancy gown or high heels.

Of course, her first sexy encounter with the hero, retired Navy Captain Mark Smith (who you met in STAY THE NIGHT) will put her out of her element and into those girly clothes she just hates.

Actually, you kind of hear about Bridget in ONE LAST NIGHT and you get to meet her at the end of STAY THE NIGHT.

I’m having fun so far in setting the opening of this story in an Atlantic City casino and researching where I’ll take Bridget and Mark in Margate. I got to stay in Margate once many many years ago and it’s the perfect setting for Mark’s home. If you are ever down in that area, make sure to check out Lucy the Elephant. Lucy is a national history landmark and is one of the last animal-shaped buildings in the world (I believe). It’s been used for several different things such as a restaurant and tavern and it had a nearby hotel. Here’s a photo of it and it’s sure to get a mention in the book.
lucytheelephant

I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my writer inspiration.

#WriteWed Inspiration for ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE

In ONE LAST NIGHT you first hear about Maggie’s older sister Bridget Sullivan who is in the Army. You also get to meet Bridget toward the end of STAY THE NIGHT. You also are introduced to Captain Mark Smith, U.S. Navy, Retired, in STAY THE NIGHT. Mark runs a security company with multiple offices, including one in Atlantic City. The next novella in the Take a Chance series, ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE, will take place in A.C. and will feature Bridget and Mark’s story.

Bridget’s occupation in the story was inspired by the work that I saw happening along the Jersey Shore after the Hurricane Sandy devastation. In addition to the towns rebuilding their boardwalks and streets, the Army Corps of Engineers came in during 2013/2014 to help replenish the beaches and dredge local inlets that had been affected by the storm. Here’s a photo of some of the beach replenishment courtesy of the US Army Corp of Engineers. You can click here to see more photos of the USACE dredges and works on the Jersey Shore.
USACE JerseyShore

In ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE, Bridget was Army Reserves and called into active duty where she served honorably and received a Bronze Star for valor during combat. She’s back home and finishing her college degree. In the mean time, she’s working for a construction company that is assisting the Army Corps of Engineers with additional work along the Jersey Shore. Since she’s become friends with an assortment of ex-military in the Atlantic City area, she’s thrown together with Mark and the sparks fly! I hope you’ll enjoy ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE when it’s available, hopefully in February.

For now, I’ll leave you with some photos of the Jersey Shore after Sandy.