‘Tis the Season for Vampires!

THE CALLING Vampire Novels‘Tis the season for vampires, but not in the way that you think!

For me, the start of the fall season always gets me into vampire mode and today I’m going to try to share 13 reasons why, although I may digress with some news…

1. It’s dark when I head to the office.
2. It’s dark when I leave the office.
3. There’s a chill in the air, kind of like the temperature of a vampire’s undead skin.
4. Graveyard dampness in the mornings.
5. Fog. Today in particular, big, fat patches of it hugging the ground. Swallowing you up.
6. The leaves are getting wet and stuff is growing, giving the air that faint hint of death and decay.
7. Halloween. What better time for a vamp to go out and party?
8. Harvest moons. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see one of these, I get a chill up and down my spine.

9. The skitter and rustle of animals in the brush. Maybe it’s just a squirrel getting ready for the winter, but heck, I’m such a scaredy cat.

10. This is where I may digress. I’m writing the next Diana and Ryder book.

11. Yes, you read that right. Diana and Ryder from THE CALLING vampire novels will be back in late 2012 because…

12. I’ve signed a contract with Entangled Publishing to relaunch the series with my original vision for THE CALLING vampire novels! Woo Hoo!

13. The revamped series (BIG pun intended) will be called the REBORN series and Diana and Ryder’s first book is BORN TO SERVE.

I’m soooo excited! You may be wondering, why Entangled Publishing? Well, I’ve been hearing lots of good things about them and the books will be released in both print and e-book at the same time. I know many of you love your print books, much like I do, so I wanted to be able to go with a publisher who would do that for you!

I want to thank you all for the many years of supporting THE CALLING vampire novel series and for asking about Diana and Ryder. They are characters of my heart and I am so happy to be writing about them again. It’s wonderful to explore where their relationship is now and where it’s going to go bit by bit as they face a number of momentous life choices. I don’t want to say too much now and spoil it though!

For those who haven’t read THE CALLING vampire novels, there’s a great e-book collection with the first 6 books and the DESIRE CALLS novella. At just over $10, it’s a steal.

Thank you all for stopping by to share this Thursday 13 with me and the joy in my heart over Diana and Ryder. To visit more Thursday 13 participants, you can click here!

Demons, Merlin, and Kick-Ass Heroines!

I want to welcome fellow paranormal romance author Rosalie Lario who is here to share with us her latest release from Entangled Publishing! Like me, Rosalie is a lawyer who decided writing novels might be a fun change from writing contracts.

Mark of the Sylph is Book Two in Rosalie’s Demons of Infernum series and here is a little taste of what the novel is about:

Half-demon Taeg is desperate to free his pregnant sister-in-law, who is spellbound to an indestructible book that will create an army of the undead. He is convinced that an ancient sword can destroy the book and the spell forever, but this relic has been hidden for a millennia by a powerful glamour. The clock begins to run out on his search when an old rival goes after the book and Taeg’s family in his quest for revenge.
Librarian Maya Flores has a secret: she’s immune to magic and is well aware of the supernatural beings prowling the streets of New York City. Haunted by a brutal demon attack that took her family, she is on a one-woman mission to destroy the evil demons who did it—and any others who get in her way.

Maya is Taeg’s best hope for uncovering the sword. Unfortunately, she wants nothing more than to kill him. As he fights for her trust and to save his family, she is forced to face the truth that not all demons are evil. And the worst part? She might be falling in love with one, too.

Here to tell us a little more about Mark of the Sylph is Rosalie!

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I admit, I’m a huge fan of mythology. Whether it’s Greek, Egyptian, or Welsh, I love reading the myths of other cultures. In fact, one of my undergraduate majors was Classical Studies, i.e. the study of Ancient Greece and Rome. So when I started writing my paranormal romance series, I knew I had to throw a little bit of mythology in there. Just cause it’s fun. 🙂

The DEMONS OF INFERNUM features four half-demon brothers who work as interdimensional bounty hunters. My latest release, Mark of the Sylph (#2 in the series), follows Taeg, the second oldest brother. He’s on a mission to find an object that will destroy The Book of the Dead, an ancient book made of indestructible material which contains a spell for resurrection of the dead. His pregnant sister-in-law is bound to the Book, which puts her life in danger from those who seek to wield its power. So when Taeg discovers that Excalibur, the sword of Merlin, not only exists, but also has the power to destroy any object, he can’t wait to get his hands on it. The problem is the sword is hidden by a glamour rendering it invisible. Lucky for him, he’s discovered a rare human who is immune to all forms of magic. But as he’s about to find out, she’s not too fond of demons. He’ll have a hell of a time convincing her to help him find the sword.

Here’s an excerpt, which takes place after Taeg learns about Maya’s ability and tracks her down. Suffice it to say, she’s not happy to see him 🙂 :

Taeg tightened his hold on her wrist until she dropped the dagger. He grabbed her other wrist and pinned it back. “Look at me.”

Yeah, apparently she wasn’t in an accommodating mood. Because instead of listening she jerked her knee up, catching him square in the junk.

“Ooof.” That freaking hurt.

He let go, hands automatically lowering to protect his goods, and she shoved hard on his chest. As he staggered several feet back, she spun and delivered a stunning roundhouse kick that almost had him admiring her form, right before it caught him in the side and sent him sprawling.

“What’s the deal, lady?”

She grabbed the knife and flew at him faster than he would’ve expected from a human.
Taeg shoved off the ground and sidestepped her attack, and recaptured her wrist. He yanked her arm up behind her as he maneuvered behind her back.

“Shit,” Maya cried. The knife clanged to the ground, and he loosened his hold a fraction.

“Stop. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Yeah. Right.” Her tone made it clear what she thought of that.

Pushing her to the nearest wall, Taeg turned her to face him. He kept one hand on her shoulder and the other on her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“Calm down, Maya.” The familiar hum of energy in his ears told him his charm was doing its thing. “I’m not going to hurt you. I only want to ask you a few questions.”

Her scowl softened long enough for him to assume his power had worked. He let her go and backed up a few steps. “How do you know what I am? Can you see the real me?”

Rather than answering, she lifted a knee and slid one of her dainty hands into her boot. When she withdrew it, she clutched another dagger, a match to the one on the ground. Suddenly the reason for her boots became quite clear. The woman was a freakin’ walking arsenal.

“Oh, shit.”

She kicked off the wall and leapt into the air in a flying move that Jackie Chan would have envied, adjusting the grip on her dagger. Hand high in the air, she aimed for his neck. The woman was clearly determined to remove his head from the rest of his body. Taeg dropped his legs out from under him, hitting the ground hard.

Maya’s legs struck his back as she flew over him. He untangled himself and whirled around, but damn she recovered fast. She tossed her dagger to the side to avoid jabbing herself as she tucked and rolled. Then she jumped to her feet and faced him with both fists up. Her face was almost expressionless, her heavy panting the only indicator she was battling to the death. Damned if his interest wasn’t drawn to her ample chest beneath that tight black top.

She smiled, almost as if she were enjoying herself, and came at him with another kick.

He leapt back to avoid being hit. “Damn it, I’m trying to talk to you, lady.”

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Maya sounds like my kind of kick-ass heroine! Thank you so much for sharing this with us today, Rosalie. To find out more about Mark of the Sylph, please visit http://www.entangledpublishing.com/mark-of-the-sylph/or Rosalie’s website at www.rosalielario.com.

Rosalie would love to know, do you enjoy reading stories that contain some sort of mythology within them? Read any good ones lately? 🙂

Guest Blog and Winners!

Time for some winners for all the past blog hops & contests!

Those of you who attended the chat with the wonderful Aimee & David Thurlo, thank you! I’ve written to you to get your contact details and the prizes will be going out shortly!

For the Lisa Renee Jones blog for a chance to win HOT VAMPIRE TOUCH and a copy of Lisa’s December release WICKED WEREWOLF NIGHT in e-book as well as a little goodie bag with fun surprises, the lucky winner is Kelly Mueller.

The winner of a LOST T-shirt and a $10 Gift Card from the Spooktacular Blog hop is Amy Stogner!

Please send me your postal addresses so we can get your contest wins out to you.

For a chance for some more giveaways, visit with me later today at the Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog.

Mishaps & Man Candy

So sorry to have missed you yesterday, but my quiet weekend turned into one without power and with hours of work clearing the assorted branches and tree limbs brought down by an unseasonably early snowfall. Luckily we had little damage, although the Halloween decorations took a major hit. Tree limb came right down and ripped off the scarecrow’s head, smashed the creepy fence and tombstones. Now that the holiday is over, we’ll see what we can salvage.

Amazon Awakening Erotic Paranormal Romance NovellaI didn’t want you to miss our Guilty Pleasures Monday, so here is a belated edition with a little man candy that inspired the hero in Amazon Awakening.

The sexy hero in this erotic paranormal romance novella (yes, you read that – erotic) is Rey Peralta and here’s a little teaser about this December release:

Rey Peralta has been sent to persuade Paola Lopes to return to Brazil and take up her place as Priestess of the Guardians, protectors of the sacred realm hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. He knows Paola is the one they need to ensure their survival—but he doesn’ t expect the instant blast of desire that sparks between them. Her beauty and power call to him, enticing him to merge with her physically and spiritually; a desire that only increases when they give in to their passion and make love. Can he convince Paola to accept her destiny and stay with her people—and by his side?

Visiting with friends again today!

Come by and visit with me and my wonderful friend and fellow author Katie Reus! We are chatting about why we love monsters and Katie is generously offering up an e-book of THE LOST for you. Just click here to visit Katie’s blog and me.

Also visit with me and my friend Ronda. I had the delight of meeting Ronda at a recent conference and we had a delightful time together! Ronda has an interview and giveaway with me today, so just click here to visit her at Queentutt’s World of Escapism.

Thursday 13 – Breaking up is hard to do…

The blog tour continues! Don’t forget to visit The Jeep Diva today to find out what she has to say about THE LOST and for a chance to win a LOST T-shirt or copy of my upcoming e-book, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.

Also, tonight I have Anjanette Delgado with me for a live video event and we’ll be talking about break-ups, fixes for broken hearts and her latest release, THE HEARTBREAK PILL which explores what happens when one woman seems to find a cure for her break-up pain.

So for today’s Thursday 13, I’ve got a list of things you do when you break up!

1. Sing out loud to Gloria Gaynor’s I WILL SURVIVE
2. Get chip-faced like Sandra Bullock in MISS CONGENIALITY
3. Move to Tuscany and start a new life
4. Cry. A lot.
5. Go to the gym and beat the crap out of the boxing bag.
6. Eat chocolate.
7. Drink wine.
8. Find a new guy and hope he isn’t just a rebound guy.
9. Go out with friends and cry some more, drink some more wine.
10. Read a good romance.
11. Watch DIRTY DANCING six or seven times a day (like THE NEW GIRL)
12. Cry some more.
13. Get over it and move on.

Share your break-up remedies by leaving a comment here on the blog or even better, join Anjanette and me tonight as we talk about heartbreak and some remedies!

To visit other Thursday 13 participants, you can click here.

To watch the live video event tonight, you can cut and paste this link into the browser
http://t.wbx.me/f8qgs or click on this widget: