Guest blogger Mindi Ferrari!

Hello, and please help me welcome Mindi Ferrari! She's a multi-published author, and has graciously agreed to do an interview and reveal a little excerpt from Wicked Games with us.

Please enjoy!

Please tell the readers a little about yourself:

Let’s see, I am paranormal & contemporary romance author. I have been writing full time for about 5 years now and love every minute of it. I like to admit that I am not normal, nor have I ever been. I am as crazy as they come. I have a brain that turns like a hamster wheel, and body that somehow has adopted some form of ADHD. And my attention is like a dog always on to something else, new, and fun. Raised in Las Vegas, Nevada I have always had a passion for reading and writing. Since I was 10 years old I dreamed of writing horror novels. That dream quickly ended with the realization that boys and girls were supposed to not only get along with one another, but they were so supposed to fall in love and live happily ever after. I have taken just about every course college had to offer, majoring in criminal justice, with minor in elementary education & working as a substitute teacher.

How about your latest release? 

My latest release is a paranormal romance that has just about everything you could want in a supernatural book. Wicked Games was a such a fun book for me to write, and I researched so much information on angels and the apocalypse and even the bible that after I was finished I couldn’t believe all the information I hadn’t known. I will post an excerpt of wicked games here:

Sorrow's reaping skills go above and beyond any other Reaper that has lived, yet she fights with the memory of her father’s death and tries desperately to search for his killer. Signing over her soul to do the otherworld’s dirty work she runs into a man who tries to reassure her that he was not the one who killed her father.

Vengeance is a trained assassin that falls in love with the one woman he was supposed to kill decades ago and searches for her most of his life until the two meet from what they thought was a chance encounter and was really a set-up. Vengeance is unable to let go of the one woman he has searched for centuries. He is completely driven by need to ravish Sorrow and will at any expense.

Four Horsemen being the only ones cast down to earth too fight the apocalypse that’s nearing. Each Angel has a skill and each character tested beyond measures, will the fate of humanity be left in the hands of the underworld, or will Vengeance and Sorrow find a way to save them all.

What was your primary inspiration for this book? 

Honestly, with this book I started off writing about vampires, which is my main subgenre I write. Before I knew it Sorrow's character was screaming in my head and she was a reaper. Everything in this book came out of nowhere. What once was a vampire romance turned into Angles, Demons, Reapers, Vampires, and humans. A no holds bar fight for humanity. The came these four horseman who I ended up falling totally in love with and realized they all needed their own book.

Do you have any muses? 

It's strange but one of my muses is a character from Midnight Assassins, a vampire romance, if you have read the book then I'm sure you are very familiar with Jude. My other muse is my husband. He's a very sexy, muscly man that yes, ladies drives me wild and is a huge fantasy of mine still do this day.

Do you control your characters or do they flog you into shape?

I control them to a point. I'm sure many authors will agree that sometimes characters can be stubborn and refuse to tell you what happens next, or they simple don’t agree on something you add to the story and it becomes a big back and forth argument on what's best for their story.

When you write, is there a special routine you follow? 

NO. And God do I wish there was. I can only write when the characters let me.. There are times where I can go days because nothing up there is happening and it drives me nuts. There are times where it just flows from me, but I never force it. I want the story to come out naturally and for it to be a well written book.

If you could be one animal, person, or at a place for a day what/who/where would it be?

I would be one of my kids, I would trade places and see what is is like in my house and to see how they feel and act when they are in trouble or when they are happy. Since I am always wondering what is going through their mind and why they do the things they do, this would be a perfect opportunity. But never for more than one day.

Five random facts about you:

I love routine every day, I am very picky with my stuff, I chew ice like a maniac, to me my behavior is normal ( I laugh saying that), And I hate stickers, hate them so much that I will run..

Are you working on any new releases later this year? 

Right now I have three other books in the works, but I'm mainly working on Jude's book, part two to Midnight Assassin’s. I’m hoping to get started on a horror story pretty soon, with NO romance..

Anything else you’d like to say? 

GO buy Wicked Games and Midnight Assassin you will love these books, they are filled with everything from steamy romance, to action, gore, sadness, and characters to die for. You can go to my website and check out al my books and even email me for an excerpt and a great sneak peek.

Contact info:

www.mindiferrari.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001597815212

http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=83

http://www.rebelinkpress.com/

Guest Cassandre Dayne!

Hey, folks! Today, I have the privilege of interviewing Cassandre Dayne, author of the upcoming Raging Shadows and Red Fire Surrender in addition to a slew of backlist titles. Enjoy!

*CAUTION: The excerpt below is X-Rated and steamy*

One more thing: One lucky commenter can win one of these e-books, so don't forget to leave some love!

Please tell the readers a little about yourself: I am a writer using three pseudonyms. Cassandre is the wicked girl who writes very erotic pieces including everything from BDSM to ménage, group sex to toys and het sex and same sex pieces. I also try and infuse some paranormal and thriller type situations for the readers to enjoy.

How about your latest release? Well there are two including Red Fire – Surrender and Raging Shadows – they are both paranormal in that they have vampires but both have a sexy twist. In Red Fire – it’s a trilogy about a human cop and a Russian vampire who not only have to work together to solve some horrific crimes but the cop is beginning to understand the power of his wants and they include BDSM in a relationship. Now of course there’s a sexy back story about the future and how these two creatures are required to interact. In Raging Shadows – take a Ouija Board, a woman who not only believes in but sees and experiences ghosts and two sexy male vampire lovers who own a BDSM club catering to all things kinky and human and you have a heated story with a not so Happy Ever After ending.

What was your primary inspiration for this book? I’ve always loved creatures of the night since I was a kid watching Dark Shadows. I love vampires and wanted to create a twist.

Do you have any muses? Other than my dogs – not really.

Do you control your characters or do they flog you into shape? Depends – I dream in color and I dream about them many times and about their lives. That’s how I develop the majority of my stories.

When you write, is there a special routine you follow? Other than getting the routine of business done including blogs, guest blogs, postings, marketing, tweeting etc done – no. I can write anywhere during anything. I do love to write to head banging music.

If you could be one animal, person, or at a place for a day what/who/where would it be? I would love to be behind the lives of a Golden Retriever for one wild adventure.

Five random facts about you: I love the color red to a fault and most dresses I own are red. I love Goth and heavy metal music. I am allergic to chocolate but could eat cheese until I pass out. I have comedies and prefer action and adventure. I love men of all shapes and flavors.

Are you working on any new releases later this year? Yes – about seven. I have two others coming out with Naughty Nights and one in an anthology collection IF I can get that finished – Forged Fantasies and Mr. Mistletoe. With Rebel Ink Press I have Sinful By Design and St. Nick’s Night of Xstasy and Shattered – a very grueling piece m/m piece as Cassandre and one with my other pseudo as well.

Anything else you’d like to say? I love writing and in truth couldn’t do any of this without the love and care of both Gina from Naughty Nights Press and “E” from Rebel Ink Press.

Contact info:

http://www.cassandredayne.com

http://cassandredayne.wordpress.com/

Email:  cassandre@cassandredayne.com

http://twitter.com/bethanyhalle

http://kindlegraph.com/authors/bethanyhalle

Excerpt from Red Fire Surrender (Available October 30th):

BLURB

Jax Steele was a haunted man. A Detective by trade, damning visions of a wretched event had taken not only his soul but also the family he loved dearly. Living a shadowed life, he accepted every wretched case given with a vengeance, determined to right the wrongs of his horrible past. When young men began showing up slaughtered like animals, the nightmares began all over again pulling him into his own private hell. All clues led to an elusive erotic artist of Russian decent who enjoyed the dark arts of BDSM and Jax believed he’d found his killer, yet intense hungers buried deep within were awakened and he wanted nothing more than to become Aleks’ student.

Aleksandr Vasiliev carried dark secrets of his own. A monster to some, the vampire had forsaken his past and the family regime in search of a new life away from murdering humans. Unfortunately his previous subjects turned up gutted and he was the only suspect. As Jax and Aleks forged a bond to try and find the murderer, each suspected something that neither could control. As the power of domination and control swirled around their relationship, Jax was forced to face not only his ugly past but also hungers that burned deep in his soul. Betrayed, Aleks was determined to save Jax, his true mate but powerful vampires from his past threatened not only his lover but the entire human race. In a race against time, few would survive.

EXCERPT

     Aleks sighed, enjoying the boy’s timid touch, languishing in the feel of his deft fingers as they explored. “Perhaps you’re hungry yourself, boy. I can tell you’re hungry for my thick cock pumping inside that hot mouth of yours.”

     Matt moaned as he slid his fingers further inside Aleksanr’s pants, hitting the blood engorged tip.

     “That’s it, touch me.” Pushing Matt to his knees, Aleks unfastened his linen pants, unzipping slowly as he gazed down into the boy’s glassy eyes. There was a spark of need, a wanton desire that Aleks knew Matt would never admit, yet as the boy licked his lips in anticipation of the prize that dangled in front of his face, Aleks could clearly see that the boy wanted to feast.

     A single cry of longing rushed past the boy’s swollen lips at Matt reached out, taking Aleks’ throbbing thick cock into his hands. Caressing, he began shaking as Aleks inched forward.

     “Take me boy and suck me before I ravage your sweet little body.”

     Matt crawled closer and darted his tongue out tasting Aleksandr’s cock for the first time. His actions tentative, he licked slowly, his tongue sliding across the sensitive slit.

     The sensations of pleasure trickled down Aleks’ spine. “Don’t tease me, boy.” Aleks tipped his head back, thrusting his hips forward until Matt took him firmly in one hand, gliding his fingers up and down his thick cock, grazing his balls and raking his nails across the sensitive underside. “Very nice.”

    Matt shuddered and lowered his head, tracing a slow circle around the cock head, his motions wavering and his hands shaky. He inched forward allowing his mouth to engulf the entire tip, using his strong jaw muscles to begin suckling as his tongue continued its lazy path.

     Aleks closed his eyes and allowed the delicious feelings to roar in frantic motions through his body reminding him that he could still enjoy such sinful pleasure, such titillating actions. He pressed his hips forward, forcing his cock deeper into Matt’s mouth as the boy suckled with more verve. Aleks pulled out and held still waiting to see what Matt would do as he glanced down catching a whiff of his personal eye candy. The boy’s startling scent of musky tang awakened every nerve ending.

     Matt snaked his hands around Aleks’ hips, cupping his buttocks and slowly moved forward to engulf half Aleksandr’s cock, suckling and licking faster, drawing him in inch by inch. He squeezed Aleks’ balls and groaned.

     “That’s it, take me. Take all of me down, boy.” Aleks growled and thrashed his head from side to side as his needs grew to a demanding state, desperate to be fed. His patience waning, he thrust his hips forward nearly strangling Matt as he struggled to keep the frantic pace. In and out he plunged, fucking the boy’s mouth, his movements becoming manic, his blood racing.

     Matt sucked and licked allowing his mouth to be fucked harder as Aleks’ cock hit the back of his throat again and again. He whined around the massive shaft as Aleks pressed deeper and harder.

     Aleks growled, the dangerous timbre echoing throughout the dense space, bounding off the thin walls and he gripped the boy’s golden locks, fucking his mouth in a barbaric manner. “Boy, I long to come inside that pretty little mouth of yours but I need more. I must have all of you.” Still, he kept the wild pace thrusting with long powerful strokes, in and out, back in and all the way out until he could stand it no longer. Jerking Matt to his feet he thrust him over the cold steel bench meant for bondage and whipping and pressed his legs as far apart as his body would allow. Aleks palmed his hand down from Matt’s neck to his chiseled shoulders and down further to caress his back, kneading his waist.

     Matt shivered as he gripped the other side of the table and whimpered, arching his back with each touch. He panted and tilted his head as if trying to understand.

     Aleks slid his fingers down the crack of Matt’s ass, guiding his cheeks apart and inching his finger inside the boy’s tight hole.

     “No! I…no…” Whimpering, his voice barely a whisper, Matt struggled as Aleks pressed him further into the table.

     “I won’t hurt you.” He pushed his finger inside, passing the tight muscle ring as the boy squirmed. Pulling out, Aleksandr leaned down and pressed kisses across the heat of his back allowing his fangs to graze over Matt’s tender skin. He licked a line across the boy’s glistening neck as the taste of him frazzled his remaining senses. He was losing control. Aleks slid his finger back in and out, adding a second finger and a third, now thrusting harder with each stroke.

     “Oh…I…” His cries of anguish became moans of passion and with each new plunge of his fingers Matt met his driving hand, trusting his hips back to meet the hungry demand.

     Aleks hissed as the beast rose, driving him to the point of no return. Growling as the manic frustration of who he was and the thirst that ravaged his entire system, he placed his cock to the boy’s ass and pressed forward, sliding in and waiting as Matt’s muscles clenched around the invasion. Aleksandr’s entire system rocketed to a place of sheer ecstasy, a blazing rapture that consumed and stilled his very being. His hunger had to be sated, his need fulfilled. He snarled, his fangs nipping his bottom lip and pushed forward.

     “No…no…no!” The boy’s cries of rapture now becoming frantic, Matt clawed the table as his body shook accepting Aleks’ thick cock.

     Aleks tilted back his head as he plunged the entire length of his shaft deep inside his ass and roared allowing the beast to take him. Pummeling into him, he thrust harder and faster driving into the very heart of the boy. Slam after slam he plunged, his dick swelling inside the boy until the ache that burned his very soul took his remaining sanity, his remaining humanity. As the two needs collided in a shattering reverie of electric current that thrashed through his body and showered the body with powerful jolts, he jerked Matt’s head and lowered his face, slicing his fangs into the side of the boy’s neck.

     The scream was quickly squelched the moment his rich life saving blood flowed into Aleks’ greedy mouth. Matt clawed the table frozen from the intensity of the actions and his body began thrashing up and down in frenetic motions on the table, hitting with echoing thuds.

Tour Stop: Benefits Of Sharing

Hi, folks! Today, I'm pleased to welcome Leslie Lee Sanders, author of Benefits of Sharing. First things first, to follow is a review of this novella and then the author's post on making time to write. Enjoy!

Review:

Cara Matthews is about to turn thirty, and for her, it’s the death of her youth and the beginning of the dull years. Her husband, James, is aware of her sudden grief and surprises her with something that should take her mind off of aging: young Isaac. Maybe Isaac can help Cara create her very own wild and crazy experience to share—in more ways than one—and help her transition smoothly from her twenties to her thirties. Cara is all too eager to finally experience the excitement she’s been desperately craving, but she’s also a little skeptical. Exactly who is Isaac, and why is he so eager to please?


I immediately connected with Cara from the first sentence of the story. Any reformed smoker will understand the anxiety she's feeling as she sucks on the end of a pencil in a vain effort to gain some cathartic puff.


This story is short and sweet, and makes for a smooth afternoon read. The author created a fantastic scenario and played it out in a steady progression. Fair warning: If you're not into the erotic side of romance, you might reconsider this one.


Sanders created several vivid scenes in this, and captured the emotions the character is feeling quite well. I enjoyed the story.


Guest post:

Making Time to Write

It would be great to spit out several novellas and a couple of novels a year like some fiction writers do. I would have something new for readers every month or so. However, I've always been a one-release-a-year type of writer. I just can't find the time to write.

Tending to three daughters, (one of which just turned a year old) a husband, and my job as a home health aide, leaves me with minimal time to write my sexy romances.

When I finally sit down to write, I write slow because I think about what I want to put down before I put it down. And thinking about how I want the story to go takes up a bit of my time.

Then I have to promote my recent release, which means I'm writing blogs and interviews, trying to keep current with my website and stay on the social networking scene as well. It all takes time away from my current WIPs. So as a result I end up releasing a book or two a year.

As a writer, one of the must-have skills is time management. You have to know how to dissect your time so everything gets done and you see progress in all your duties. And although all my duties get attention, it still takes me a long time to finish a novel.

But I'm determined to write. I mean, that's what I do. I write erotic fiction for my own escape and to provide others with an escape. Slow or not, I'll always make time to write.

Author Bio

The author of several books of fiction and fiction with spice, Leslie Lee Sanders spends most of her time writing erotic romances mostly in the MM and MMF categories. She currently has two books available for the late teen readers and several erotic romances published as e-books and in print.

Links

Author Website & Blog: www.leslieleesanders.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeslieLSanders

Free MMF erotic serial Three’s a Crowd online at: http://www.threesacrowd3.com

Backlist Titles & ARe profile: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Leslie+Lee+Sanders

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/leslieleesanders


And, hey! Be sure and stop by the next visit on this tour with CBLS promo at http://reviewsbymolly.com!

As always:

Say Hello To...

Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark, authors of the intriguing novel The Apocalypse Gene. They've generously stopped by for one of the quirkiest interviews I've seen to date, so without further ado:

Please tell the readers a little about yourself:

Carlyle: I am diametrically opposed to myself. What does that mean? I like mixed martial arts, and I like the symphony. I love Jay-Z & Chopin, football and musicals, going to events filled with people but only the ones where the point isn’t to socialize (movies & concerts), talking to myself and answering myself (normally in the voice of our insane cat who is of the species Impus Demonicus).  

Suki: Half the time I have no idea what I’m doing. The other half I’m trying to undo what I did when I didn’t know what I was doing. That leaves, let’s see . . . one more half. That last half is divided into three halves, one for working, one for writing, and one for asking the mother of all rhetorical questions . . . WTF?

How about your latest release?

The Apocalypse Gene takes place in Chicago in the not-too-distant future. With Pandemic ravaging the globe, fifteen-year-old Olivya's psychic Sight compels her to see 

auras riddled with the colors of despair as she and her mother care for the dying in a their home-based hospice. When her mother becomes infected, Olivya turns to Mikah.

Mikah, a boy Olivya has been crushing on in virtual-school, is a powerful Empath who claims the Pandemic is linked to his clan, the Kindred and its leader, the brooding immortal, Ashmodai. With Mikah's aid, Olivya races to unearth Kindred secrets, desperate to find a cure, only to discover the Pandemic is far, far more than a mere disease . . .

What was your primary inspiration for this book?

Carlyle: This is always the tough question because telling what inspired The Apocalypse Gene is a spoiler. By day, Suki is a medical transcriptionist, The inspiration came after a long day typing medical reports and Suki playing the what-if game. What if the world was is in the grips of a Pandemic and the cure had nothing to do with medical science? I came on board because Suki was struggling with the plotting. I thought it was a brilliant idea. In fact, I was jealous I hadn’t thought of it myself, so it was a no brainer for me to team up with her.

Do you have any muses?

Carlyle: Suki, is both my muse and my editor, which causes equal amounts of inspiration, trepidation & perspiration.

Suki: Carlyle’s alter ego, Brain Creature, is my muse. When BC writes, the concepts and prose are brilliant. Motivated by jealousy, I write.

Do you control your characters or do they flog you into shape?

We flog them, they flog us into and out of shape. Our characters insist on being themselves and refuse to act in a particular manner just to make it easier for us, so we bandage up our bleeding whip-wounds and do their bidding.

When you write, is there a special routine you follow?

Suki: Nothing rigid. Carlyle is a mad man when he writes, intrepid, happy to lay it out fast and free, knowing he will go back and fix things, what he calls the “spray and pray” technique. By contrast, I can spend hours tweaking a single sentence. With this wide range of writing styles and complimentary skill sets, The Apocalypse Gene couldn’t have been written this well by either of us alone.

If you could be one animal, person, or at a place for a day what/who/where would it be?

Suki: I’d be a cat so I could finally learn the mysteries of the creation while simultaneously gaining first-hand understanding of the true psychopathic mind.

Carlyle: I’d be a sperm whale because the depths of the ocean are a fantasy world. I’d get to mix-it-up with giant squids and go all Moby Dick on whalers with my big bulgy forehead.

Five random facts about you:

Suki:

I’m a people-person with a low tolerance for people (a frustrating irony).

Cashiers, waitresses and toll booth clerks find it impossible not to tell me their life story.

My super power is asking a question about a TV show and having it be answered precisely one second later IN THE SHOW - an uncanny yet completely useless skill.

I suffer from odd-number phobia. (Note: This is #4.)

I love Sookie Stackhouse even though she both pronounces and spells our name incorrectly.

Carlyle:

I am one of the few people in the world who was literally paid to watch concrete dry.

I caught the Lake record bluegill at Poway Lake, but I ran away without giving my name for the announcement because I was supposed to have been in school at the time.

Our bed once collapsed under my weight alone, long after Suki left it, proving that I can defy physics by weighing more by myself than I do with another adult.

I think I’m funny.

I didn’t do it (no matter what the video shows).

Are you working on any new releases later this year?

Suki: Not this year, but we’re busy drafting the sequel to The Apocalypse Gene.  Also, Carlyle’s noir-meets-thriller novel, The Black Song Inside, is almost complete, and he’s putting the finishing touches on his epic fantasy, The People’s Champion.  I’m working on a YA speculative fiction piece called The Simpleton.  

Anything else you’d like to say?

Thanks to you, Lindsay, for giving us this forum and to your readers for making it through our nonsensical answers and, hopefully, for giving out novel a try. The first chapter is posted at our website. We wish you and your readers peace, love, and wonderful fantasies.

Contact info:

www.theapocalypsegene.com (Primary Website)
 www.facebook.com/TheApocalypseGene (Olivya’s fan page)
www.facebood.com/MichellePlusClark (Co-author FB page)
www.theapocalypsegene.com/cy-chi (Blog)
www.Storymavens/wordpress.org (Author blog)
www.Parker-Publishing.com
www.Twitter.com/@Suki_Michelle

AND, check this out: A giveaway! WOW! Just click on the picture to be taken to the entry form.

You can visit these two at their next stop, http://theawesomemagicattic.blogspot.com. I'll have a review of this one posted on the 22nd of this month, so be sure and drop back by!

Please Welcome...

My special guest today, Shaun. He's the lead character in JoAnn Kenrick's Sweet Irish Kiss, part of Decadent's One Night Stand series, and I think you'll get a giggle and some insight into this incredible man. Enjoy, and be sure to check the end of the interview for all the contact and buy links!

Lindsay: “Thanks for being on the blog, Shaun Bell! Glad to have you on board. Let’s begin, shall we?”

Shaun: “Sure, but ya got til them there doors open for business. I've got a bar to run, so I do!” Shaun ushers Lindsay to sit at his bar. He pours her a Sweet Irish Kiss and waits for her reaction. “Well, what do you think?”

Lindsay's face puckers with the rush of alcohol. “Where are you from? Have you always wanted to be behind a bar?”

Shaun: “Sure, I come from a long line of brewers and pub owners in Belfast. Me family moved here and brought this here bar twenty years ago. My Da passed the license for the place onto me five years ago as a wedding present, just before he moved back to Belfast a few years back. Ha, bet he is glad he didn't just hand the place over as he suggested, because me ex wife would have had claims to the place, otherwise. No doubt she'd have tried dipping her hands in the money pot. But ya can leave that part out of the interview. Sometimes my mouth runs away with me.” Shaun wipes down the bar and checks his watch, seemingly antsy to get the interview done with. “Especially when I'm nervous, and I don't mind admitting I'm nervous about my first date with Rachel.”

Lindsay smiles. “How did you meet Rachel?”

Shaun fidgets in his seat and looks away. “The lass I'm going on a date with tomorrow night? Don't ya laugh now, but I've not met her yet. All I know is her name and that she is really creative, works somewhere in London as a window dresser. Madame Eve, that's the woman who runs the match-making site I used, assures me she is perfect for me and I've heard she rarely if ever gets her matching wrong."

Lindsay: “Why would a stud like you use a match-making site?”

Shaun: “I've barely got time to breath these days, let alone find someone 'nice' I can date. Me ex wife was a shocker, running off with the iron-monger from down the street...with half me life savings. Not sure I want that ta happen again, but I do want to settled down and find someone to love. And I'm useless around women, never tell the gooden's from the badden's."

Lindsay pauses to interpret gooden's and badden's. “How do you get on with Devlin Kinney, your full-time barman? Is he single, still?”

Shaun: “I've no problem with Devlin, just wish he'd watch his crude mouth from time to time, so I do. The times he's got me in trouble with his crass talk. Yes, he's still single. Bit of a ladies man...and the bugger gets all the hot women. Needless to say, he can't hold on to them. Honestly, I hope he finds a good woman to keep him in check soon.” Shaun checks his watch. “Almost time for opening, any last questions before I let in the punters?”

Lindsay: “What’s your favorite animal?”

Shaun: “What blog did ya say this was for again?”

Lindsay: I run a blog for readers with voracious appetites.

Shaun: “So...lots of ladies who read romance are going to be reading this? I wonder if me da will see it? Will ya be sure to post the url to Bell's Irish Pub at the end of the interview? Ya know, just in case? He'll be ever so proud so see his pub getting attention.”

Lindsay: “ Sure. So, what's your favorite food?”

Shaun: “Pint of Beamish and a packet of Cheese and Onion Crisps. I'm pretty useless in the kitchen, but put me behind the bar and ya see my true worth!”

Lindsay: “Type of music?”

Shaun: “Nothing better than live music night in me pub, has me jiggin behind the bar. And I've got tickets to see Mumford & Sons next week. Those lads are entertaining, and it is great to see them making a success of it all. Maybe if me date goes well with Rachel, she can come along and get a taste of me..erm I mean of what I like. If not, I'll take Devlin. Sandra can take care of the bar for me. She's a cracker, like a mum to me. Says she's just a part-timer, but she's more or less here all the time.”

Lindsay: “Authors?”

Shaun laughs. “I own a bar, and struggle to find time for love...what on earth makes you think I've got time to escape in some fan-tangled story? Wait, Sandra's always got a book behind the bar..she loves the paranormal romances. Vampires, shifters...all that crap. Let's see." Shaun rummages under the bar and produces a paperback. "Amoveo legacy? What the heck is that? See, told you, she reads weird stuff.” He puts the novel back in it's rightful place, in Sandra's hiding place under the bar, and checks his watch yet again. “Right that's it. Ya time is up, lady. It's opening time. Hold on to ya knickers, because once those doors open, it can get pretty hard to move in here.”

Sweet Irish Kiss:

Ingredients for a perfect Irish Kiss; Baileys, Kahula, and whipped cream. For a Sweet Irish Kiss...just add Shaun Bell, a divorced workaholic bar-owner in Soho, London. Line up ladies. He's ready to love again.

Rachel Taylor was damaged by Daddy Dearest's play-away from home attitude. She wants to put her best foot forward. Only problem is, she stumbles backward each time she tries.

The 1NightStand match-making site brings this pair together for a night of guilt and commitment free sex. It's a match made in heaven until morning rolls around and Shaun can't bring himself to say goodbye. Can he win her over with his Sweet Irish Kiss, or will Rachel still see the neon "potential cheater" sign above his head?

ARe Bestseller!

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JoAnne Kenrick, an ex-Ghost Tour Guide turned Romance Author, is a Welsh lass who has lived in various countries around the world. She now calls North Carolina her home, where she lives with her husband, two children and a lazy cat. When they aren't demanding her attention, she can most likely be found watching a vampire movie, reading or baking up a British favorite in her N.C. kitchen. That is, when she isn't writing or chatting up a storm on social networking sites. www.joannekenrick.com

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Guest Blogger LeeAnn Burke is Going Pink

Hello, folks! Today, I'm proud to welcome LeeAnn Burke, author of Deadly Secrets. She's making a generous donation to the American Breast cancer Foundation, with $1 of each book sold going to the organization. Let's help save the ta-ta's! Without further ado, here she is:

Please tell the readers a little about yourself:

Well, my name is Leeann and I write romantic suspense books. I currently live in the Ottawa region in Ontario Canada. I have tried different genre of books, but I always seem to kill someone off which is how I discovered that romantic suspense and/or mystery writing is for me.

How about your latest release?

DEADLY SECRETS (ISBN 1897370695) takes place in Montreal and Shawinigan Quebec. It’s Philippe and Roxanne’s story. Philippe, a well known writer’s life is thrown upside down when the grandfather he never knew existed, dies. He investigates the reason and learns that his mother has kept secrets from him. Deep, ugly secrets. A killer is murdering the men in his family.  Roxanne St-Clair is left to manage a restaurant when her foster parent and mentor, is murdered. Together they put their lives on hold to find his killer and bring him to justice. Time is ticking because the next victim has been selected and it’s Philippe. Roxanne is determined not to let another person she loves be taken from her, but will she be too late.

What was your primary inspiration for this book?

I have to confess DEADLY SECRETS is the third version of this book. The only things I have kept are the locations and the names. Everything else changed. I wanted to keep Shawinigan in the book because it held a special place in my heart. I grew up there for 8 wonderful years.

Do you have any muses?

Not really.

Do you control your characters or do they flog you into shape?

I have absolutely no control over any of my characters. They come to me full of attitudes and problems. I get the pleasure of putting them to paper.

When you write, is there a special routine you follow?

I used to write every day. However since I bought Lachesis Publishing with partners my schedule has completely changed. I try and write a few times a week, but that doesn’t always work because as far as I’m concerned my authors and the publishing house come first.

If you could be one animal, person, or at a place for a day what/who/where would it be?

If I could be someone different for one day I’d want to be Anne of Green Gable. I loved that character when I read the books and watched the movies. She always seemed to have it together.

Five random facts about you:

Well let’s see

1 It took me 22 years to get published

2 I am an avid reader and have over 1,500 books in my to be read pile

3 I own part of Lachesis Publishing now

4 I strongly believe in giving to others and charities. I haven’t always had money to give to charities so I used to give my time instead. I still do. Breast Cancer is one I hold close to heart because when I was 15 my mother found lumps in her breast thankfully they weren’t cancerous, but I have lost two dear friends to the disease. That’s why I am donating all of my royalties to breast cancer research.

5 I a huge cookie fanatic – one of my nickname growing up was cookie monster.

Are you working on any new releases later this year?

Not at the moment. I am currently working on the sequel to DEADLY SECRETS.

Anything else you’d like to say?

In honor of Breast Cancer month my publisher has discounted the ebook price for DEADLY SECRETS to $2.99, but the best part is that they will be donating an extra $1 from each copy sold to the American Breast Cancer Foundation (www.abcf.org). Please pass on the word. The more copies we sell the bigger donation we can offer to the ABCF. http://lachesispublishing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DeadlySecrets

Contact info:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/leeann.burke

Twitter @leeannburke

Website www.leeannburke.com

A little about Deadly Secrets:

Philippe Lafrance is a well-known reclusive writer whose life is suddenly thrown upside down when the grandfather he never knew existed, dies. He investigates the reason and learns that his family has kept secrets from him. Deep, ugly secrets. Worse, a killer is murdering the men in his family. He discovers that his father, then his grandfather, were murdered by someone desperate to keep secrets buried.

Bereft, Roxanne St-Clair is left to manage a restaurant when the only person who ever mattered to her, her foster parent and mentor, is murdered. She puts her life on hold to find his killer and bring him to justice.

Thrown together by circumstance and a mutual goal, Philippe and Roxanne fight their attraction and team up to find the killer, bring him to justice and unearth the truth. To stay alive, they must keep one step ahead of the assassin in order to prevent him from killing his next target, Philippe.

Will they succeed in bringing to justice this killer before Philippe becomes his next victim? Will they be able to deal with the truth behind the deadly secrets?

And about the author:

At the age of 12 Leeann put pen to paper and created stories. She finished her first and only short story within weeks. She kept on writing through high school, university and her first few dead end jobs. To this day she still has a pen and paper handy.

After 22 years of writing she finally got “the call”. The owner of LBF Books called to let me know she wanted to purchase DEADLY SECRETS. Her dream was finally coming true. She decided to give her dream more purpose by donating funds to the American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) and to a Canadian organization that does Breast Cancer Research. DEADLY SECRETS is also a proud sponsor for ABCF. THE BOOK

Thanks for dropping by, LeeAnn!

Blog Tour: Up A Dry Creek

Welcome to another tour from Coffee Beans and Love Scenes! This one is for Up A Dry Creek, by Avery Flynn. I'll be posting a review below, and an interview from the author. Enjoy!

Up A Dry Creek:

Claire Layton expects the usual busy Saturday night at Harvest Bistro to be killer on her stilletto shod feet. She never imagines there’d be an actual murderer on the loose at her restaurant in rural Dry Creek, Nebraska. But when she discovers a customer dead in a dumpster, the killer demands she find the victim’s phone and flash drive or face fatal consequences.


Jake Warrick, a cocky and mind-numbingly hot private investigator, becomes Claire's unlikely ally in the search. Jake just wants to solve the case and get out of this hick town, but the diminuitive and curvaceous Claire turns his plan upside down as they uncover a more complex crime than they ever imagined. The two bicker and banter like Tracy and Hepburn caught in a whirlwind of intense sexual attraction as they try to find the killer before it's too late.

Review:

From the first line, this book had me hooked. Flynn wastes no time in getting straight to the story, opening with a scene in Claire’s restaurant followed directly by the discovery of a dead girl in her dumpster out back.

When Jake was first introduced, I didn’t like him. Because Claire came in so strong and fierce, I immediately identified with her, and when they had their initial exchange I seethed. But as we get to know him, Jake isn’t such a bad guy after all.

Flynn executes this story with grace and ease, and the plot flows nicely. The only beef I had is how frustrated I became waiting for Claire and Jake to consummate their relationship. But, in the end the wait was worth it.

I often read romance novels written in a sappy sweet voice with a happy ever after that no one can really expect to have. But this novel was played out with humor and enough tension to keep you turning the pages, and the ending is plausible. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and will definitely be reading Flynn’s work again.

Interview:

Please tell the readers a little about yourself: Well there’s two of me. I’m author Avery Flynn, which is the real me - she with the three kids, one husband, two arthritic dogs and an addiction-worthy love of strong, black coffee. Then there’s blue hair Avery Flynn, my alter ego who is part astrophysicist and part femme fatal. She dances the tango, stays at the Ice Hotel in Iceland and bar hops with the wild and crazy. Tim Gunn is her best friend. Why the two? The simple truth is that Avery Flynn is my pen name. The real reason? Who wouldn’t want to invent a badass alter ego?

How about your latest release? Up a Dry Creek is a fun and steamy romantic suspense about two hard-headed alphas and the murder of a spoiled rich girl at a private liberal arts college in small town Dry Creek, Nebraska. I hope readers will fall in love with Claire (a spitfire if there ever was one) and Jake (yummy is all I can say about him) as much as I did while writing Up a Dry Creek. But a word of warning: This is not the book for you if you like slow, plodding books that lack a sense of humor and sexual chemistry. If that is the type of book you enjoy, perhaps I could recommend my old organic chemistry textbook? :)

What was your primary inspiration for this book? Every romantic suspense novel I’ve ever read. I love reading fun, fast-paced novels that make my stomach fizz with the hero and heroine fall in love and get my heart pounding whenever the bad guy approaches. So that’s the kind of book I wanted to write and voila Up a Dry Creek was born.

Do you have any muses? Nope, no muses. Just me and my weirdly-wired brain making up stories.

Do you control your characters or do they flog you into shape?  Flog, what a great word. :) I don’t control my characters they have stubborn little minds of their own. Their kind of like children that way. I can coax and threaten, but in the end if they want to throw a temper tantrum like a three year old until they get their way, they will.

When you write, is there a special routine you follow? There must be coffee. That’s rule No. 1. Also, I’m a plotter, so I need to know where the story is going, even if it’s only a vague idea. Next, comes quiet. The only time I listen to music is when I’m writing sex scenes.

If you could be one animal, person, or at a place for a day what/who/where would it be? Don’t let the two Averys fool you, I really like being me so I’d have to make it a place. When I was in college I studied for a semester in Ireland and we traveled to the Aran Islands. That place is breathtakingly beautiful with sheer cliffs and the ocean pounding below. We stayed at a B&B and sang American Pie in the pub with the locals. What a lovely time that was, I’d love to go back.

Five random facts about you: I love hot yoga. Bridget Jones Diary is my favorite romantic movie, with a close second going to Down With Love. I cannot pass a bookstore without going in. I despise talking on the telephone. If you walk into a room and someone is laughing really loudly, it’s probably me.

Are you working on any new releases later this year? Yes! A Dry Creek Bed, the second in my Dry Creek series, will be going to the publisher by the end of September. Fingers crossed, they’ll love it as much as I do.

Anything else you’d like to say? Just my favorite quote from the great movie, Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell: Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.

Contact info:

Website: www.averyflynn.com

Blog: http://www.averyflynn.com/Avery_Flynn/Lets_Chat/Lets_Chat.html

Twitter: @averyflynn

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Avery-Flynn/177161972329973

Thanks for being here, Avery!

 

The next stop on this tour will be at Everyone Loves A Sinner, so have a look!

Buy Links

Evernight Publishing:

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Up-a-Dry-Creek-by-Avery-Flynn.html

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Up-Dry-Creek-ebook/dp/B0055UZ9UG

B&N:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/up-a-dry-creek-avery-flynn/1103948714

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66844