Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Claire and Andre in The Circle 2

More from The Circle 2!  Wish me luck getting a contract for The Circle (the first book in this series). It's out on submission (again).  I am going to find a home for these vampires and it is going to be an awesome one!

***

“Angel, talk to me.” Andre sat close beside me on the mattress on the floor. I’d taken refuge in my room when we’d arrived at our Knightsbridge flat. For months I’d meant to decorate the room – at least get a bed frame, but since I slept with Andre in his room, I hadn't gotten around to it. Since the night the circles had appeared around our Circle marks, we’d been inseparable. Mostly we’d made love. We should have been working on how to control my powers, but we’d had so much lost time to make up.
Regret and shame tasted sour on my tongue and I buried my face in my drawn up knees. I couldn't get the image of Ursula’s petrified expression as she’d been stabbed out of my head. God, if only I could scrub my eyes with a wire brush the way I could the kitchen sink when it got dirty.Both of us stank of old blood. We needed baths and clean clothes.
“Does she have a scar?” Over and over I saw the knife plunge into Ursula’s back. Jesus, that had to have hurt like hell. She wore backless gowns, but I couldn't remember seeing a scar. Why was there no scar? “From the knife when she was stabbed?”
“No. When you Turn, all your scars heal,” Andre reminded me.
“But you knew she was a prostitute before she was Turned?” My voice was muffled by the blood-red sheets that shrouded my knees. They smelled stale. I only used this room as a glorified closet. I hadn't spared a thought for washing the sheets in ages.
“Oliver told me before he let me Turn her. Asked if it made a difference to me. With my past indiscretions, I could hardly have objected. She volunteered that information exactly one time, ten years later. I never said a word to anybody. Of course, she also mentioned it to Parker, who did tell everyone. By the time he told you, it was old news, although I suppose Neal didn't know. But it’s a sore spot with her.” Andre made sure to keep his body in contact with mine, but he made no move to embrace me. If he had, I would have pushed him away because I didn't deserve comfort. But his touch was the only thing that kept me anchored. I was one breath away from howling. I hated myself. Ursula was a bitch, but I’d had no fucking right to expose her the way I had. 

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - The Circle 2 - Oliver, Claire and Andre

More from my vampire novel, Circle 2.  Still have fingers crossed the first one will sell!

Today we pick up with Oliver expressing his...disappointment to Claire and Andre

***


What a disappointment you are, Claire. I was told you bonded with your trigger, but that red circle says otherwise.” Oliver turned from the window to pin me with his awful gaze. Exposed, I could only stare back and hope like hell my goddamn game face was in place.

“Oliver, we both felt the bond snap into place. The circles prove something happened. You said we’d know when our bond formed, and we did.” Andre’s game face was perfect. His tone was not precisely argumentative, but Oliver’s mouth tightened and a spurt of fear licked down my spine.

I’d felt something that night when Andre and I had made love after three months of keeping each other at arm’s length. Months of misunderstanding and reproach. But even then I hadn't truly known we’d bonded. Andre told me we had and I’d accepted that when I’d seen our altered marks. But why was mine red and his black?  What did that mean?

“I can tell by your expression, my dear, that you know precisely what I’m talking about.” Oliver’s voice was a silken threat. For a second, Andre’s game face slipped, and he looked scared and vulnerable. Betrayed. My temples pounded and I resisted the urge to rub them and give away the fact my head hurt.

“What you did tonight was an abomination.” Oliver didn't need to strike me physically. I reeled from the force of his tone just as I would have from his fist. “Sharing memories without consent is rape, Claire. I do not ever want it to happen again.”

My vision blurred. Shit. Was I going to faint?  Panic, bright and huge, blinded me, but there was nowhere to run. Pain walloped me between the eyes and I tasted the blood a split second before I felt the warmth of it on my lip. My nose was bleeding. A roaring noise blotted out what Oliver said next. I only saw his lips move and then he thrust a linen handkerchief at me and my clogged senses became crystal clear once more. My heartbeat was so damn loud, I was sure Oliver and Andre were deafened by it. 

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Vampires and the Circle 2

After a couple of weeks of disappearing into the woodwork to play in Las Vegas and write a novel about gargoyles, I'm back with six more paragraphs from the Circle 2

When we left off, Oliver, the vampire Circle Master, had ordered Claire and her master, Andre into his office to "discuss" the fact she could share memories. Oliver wanted to see her Circle mark..

***

My head hurt. Both temples throbbed with bursts of sharp pain.
My gown was strapless, black and blue sequined tiers to my ankles. A simple tug at the zipper in back and it fell to the floor in a whisper of lace. I wore nothing underneath. I swiveled to present my back and Oliver moved toward me. I braced myself for a blow, but merely felt the trace of his fingertip as he touched the red circle around the black X. Gebo, the X, was a Nordic rune. Oliver’s Circle mark. We all had one in the same spot on left-hand side of our lower backs. Mine was now enhanced with a red circle. Andre had a matching circle, only his was black.
“Red.” The word was an accusation. “Yours, Andre?”
“Black, sir,” said my master. He moved his fingers to the buttons on his shirt. “Shall I show you?”
“No need.” Oliver moved toward the breathtaking view of London’s wharves from the floor to ceiling warehouse windows by his desk. “Her powers are growing. You, as her trigger, need to get a handle on them or she will destroy my Circle.”  He contemplated the view, his handsome profile thrown into sharp relief by the lights.
I desperately wanted to put my dress back on, but he had not given me leave. The office was chilly and I shivered as I looked out at the black water of the icy Thames. February in London was such an unforgiving, dirty month. 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Jennifer Lowery Talks Murphy's Law and So Do I!

Today I've got the lovely Jennifer Lowery visiting.  She's got a hot new contemporary romance, Murphy's Law, out available from Lyrical Press.  Here's a bit about the book to whet your appetites.  Don't forget to read my review at the very end!  How many stars did I give Murphy's Law?



Murphy’s Law/Contemporary Romance

Blurb:
Tag: Nowhere to go. No place to hide.
Home is the last place Jon Murphy can go. After being held captive in Tazbekistan, he returns to the States only to find he can’t face his mom and sisters with what he did while he was a prisoner, so he retreats to the mountains.
Widow Sara Sheldon has made a lifetime of mistakes and is now running scared from her husband’s powerful family, who are determined to take her daughter away from her. When her little girl goes missing in the Rockies, Sara enlists the only help she can find: a gruff recluse with tracking skills to admire and a body to covet.
A storm strands Sara and her daughter at Murphy’s cabin, leaving her no choice but to hope her in-laws don’t catch up while she plans where to run next. Murphy resents the invasion of his privacy, but can’t seem to keep his mind--or his hands--off Sara. How can she stand to look at him, with all his scars? He’s not nearly as honorable as she might think…only enough to make sure she’s safe, and then he’ll go back to being alone, the way he should be.
CONTENT WARNING: Sexual content
A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance

Excerpt:
Copyright 2013, Jennifer Lowery
All rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.
Murphy sat at the kitchen table, half in the shadows created by the soft light glowing above the stove, hair tousled from sleep. Naked to the waist. A bottle of amber liquid sat in front of him, an empty glass in his hand. Her gaze landed on his muscled shoulders and trailed across his tanned chest. So much for getting him out of her mind. Now she had the real thing to dream about. Looking at the dark hairs that veed down his chest and disappeared behind the table, she decided he’d been right. He was a dangerous man.

She tore her gaze away from temptation and looked at the granite lines of his face. Beneath the hardness of his expression, something haunting lingered. Drawn, she circled the table to the opposite end.

Murphy met her eyes with coldness that should have sent her running for the safety of her room, but she remained standing in place. He wanted to chase her away. This time she wasn't running.

“Mind if I join you?” She grabbed a glass and from the cupboard and reached over his shoulder for the bottle.

His hand snaked out and wrapped around hers, preventing her from pouring a drink.

“I mind,” he growled.

“Well, get over it. I need a drink.”

Scowling, he let go of her hand and allowed her to pour a glass for herself. She refilled his glass next, set the bottle on the table, moved to the chair beside him and sat, lifting her glass.

“Cheers.” She brought the glass to her lips. His gaze as she drained the glass made her fight the urge to cough as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. Seconds later she felt the familiar warming sensation as it numbed her insides. Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away and reached for the bottle.

Murphy held it away from her. “What are you doing?”

“Having a drink. I’m not in the mood for warm milk tonight.”

His eyes darkened and narrowed. “You don’t strike me as the drinking type.”

She wasn't  but tonight it sounded good. Maybe it would soothe away her problems and make her forget how screwed-up her life was. Talking about Kent earlier had brought back painful memories. She didn't want to feel that misery anymore.

“Maybe you don’t know my type,” she said.

He studied her closely for a moment before rubbing a hand over his face. “Go back to bed, Sara. Sleep it off.”

“I don’t want to sleep it off. I’m tired of thinking about it.”

Maybe it was the whisky, or his naked chest, or the part of her that had been dormant for six years coming back to life. More than anything she wanted to discover it with Murphy, her strong, scarred hero.
She rose to her feet. He watched warily as she stepped in front of him and positioned herself between him and the table. He leaned back in his chair and sent her a thunderous look.

“You and I are alike in many ways, Murphy,” she said softly. “ We've both lost pieces of ourselves we can’t ever get back and it has forced us into a life of loneliness and solitude. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being alone.”

He pinned her with a hard glare. “I’m not what you want. Go back to your room before I do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”

His harshly spoken words sent little electrical shocks through her body.

“I’m tired of people telling me what I want.”

Author Bio:
Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer.  Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side. 
Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn't be happier to share her passion with her readers.  She loves everything there is about romance.  Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines.  She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.  
 Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children.  When she isn't writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. 

Find Jennifer:

Buy Murphy’s Law:

Jennifer was also gracious enough to submit to one my author interviews.  Here's what she had to say!

Look!  It's Jennifer!  Hi , Jennifer!

Hi Amy and all you fabulous readers out there *waves* Thank you so much for having me today! My contemporary romance, Murphy’s Law, released last month so I’m very excited to be here! Thank you so much for sharing it with me!! 
Q. Where did you come up with the idea to write Murphy’s Law? It’s a great love story with a suspenseful back story that keeps the reader intrigued throughout the novel.
Actually, the story came to me in the form of Murphy. I just had to write his story. Then when I met Sara and Abby I knew I was never going to be the same J I love action, adventure stories so that was a must for me, I just had no idea what kind of roller coaster Murphy and Sara were going to take me on when I started writing! I loved every minute!

Q. If you could have dinner with Jon Murphy, what do you think he’d order?  Would he pay?  Would you? Would you split the bill?
He’s a steak and potatoes man, lol. And, yes, he would so pay. Just like he refused to let Sara worry about paying him back in the story when she was broke and had nowhere to go. And, yes, I would let him pay since he’s going to anyway.

Q. If I could see Sara’s bookshelf, what kinds of books would she have on it? Why?
Shelves and shelves of sketch pads ,books on sign language, children’s books, and probably some books of poems.

Q. Was there a reason you chose to make Sara’s daughter deaf?  It was an interesting plot device. I know I thought it worked out so that she would never hear Sara and Murphy up to any bedroom shenanigans in the small cabin, but I’m sure you had more than that in mind! 
I actually had no idea until I met Abby that she was deaf. She was such an inspiration in the story. Nothing stopped her. And she melted Murphy’s hardened heart from the start J

Q. Why did you make Murphy’s family ranchers? 
I had no idea they were ranchers until I met them, lol. You've probably realized by now that I’m a complete pantser! Yep, I write by the seat of my pants. I have no idea of where my story is going until I get there. I start with a scene or character and just start writing. I love discovering my story. It’s like unwrapping a gift, only better!

Q. What writing projects are you working on right now?  Any new books coming out soon maybe?
Right now I am working on Book #2 in my mercenary series/Onyx Group (the sequel to Hard Core). And I’m almost finished with the first book in my new bodyguard series. Yay! Can’t wait to introduce you to the Wolff brothers!

Thank you for having me today, Amy!! I just want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn't be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support! 
All my best, 
Jennifer

***
Here's the part where I review the book. This is the first review I've done on my blog, so congratulations, Jennifer, you are my guinea pig!  My ratings are as follows:
5 Stars - Fantastic. A book I will reread and cherish (this rating is practically impossible to achieve)
4 Stars - Fabulous. You won't regret reading this one!
3 Stars - Great. I really enjoyed it
2 Stars - Fair. It had issues, but I worked through them.
1 Star - No thank you. Not my cup of tea. At all.

Amy's Take on Murphy's Law

Murphy’s Law is a contemporary romance starring a hunky hero with a secret he wants to keep and an appealing heroine with an adorable daughter.

Jon Murphy is a military man who has hidden out in a remote cabin because he is ashamed of his actions when held prisoner by the enemy. Although he shouldn't have been – in my opinion he didn't do anything wrong, but you know these strong, silent types. Very unforgiving of themselves!

Sara Sheldon made some bad choices when she was younger, including marrying a rich playboy. She never fit into his family and when he died, they threatened to take her young, deaf daughter, Abby, away from her.

Without the resources to fight such a rich family, she fled to the forest.  The same forest where Murphy’s cabin was located.

When Abby goes missing, Sara enlists Murphy’s help to find her and that’s when the story really takes off.
Murphy and Sara are very attracted to each other, but Murphy won’t let her act upon it because he’s so ashamed of himself.  She doesn't understand what he’s done wrong, but circumstances force them to stay together.

My favorite character in this novel was Sara.  She never gave up. I would have walked away from Murphy half a dozen times, but she always stuck by him, convinced he would work his way through his issues and be with her.

I fell in love with her daughter, Abby.  She was another favorite of mine.  The scene where she and Murphy share Oreos is probably my favorite in the whole book.  

I read this book in one sitting over a Saturday afternoon with wine.  I highly recommend you do the same.
My rating:  Fabulous 4 out of 5 stars.


Monday, April 1, 2013

I'm On Blog Radio

Join me tonight as Buy The Book Tour's, Florence Price, interviews me about the Wolf Within series in general and About Face, my latest release, in particular.   Interview begins 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.

There's even a call in number if you want to ask me a question!

Blog Radio Interview



Don't worry if you miss it.  The interview will be available to listen to after it's over too!

So far today has been a great Release Day for About Face!   If you buy directly from Lyrical Press, between now and April 8th, you'll only pay 2.99. That's half off the regular price!

Stanzie says GO FOR IT! 

Murphy says the same thing, but he's talking about Stanzie ripping off his shirt.  ;)