Copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Note: this is a semi-rough draft.
Monica and Daniel chatted in the servers’ station. Daniel kept sending Elizabeth appraising looks, but she pretended not to notice. Instead, she pulled out a restaurant supply catalogue, leafing through it for alternate tablecloths to compliment the décor.
Half an hour later, two young women entered Our Daily Bread. Relieved, Elizabeth greeted them with her brightest smile. She seated them in a booth, handing each a menu.
Monica hurried over to them and filled their coffee cups, and Elizabeth returned to the hostess station. She knelt, returning the catalogue to its place amongst the order pads, mints and the phone book. Straightening, she turned to find Daniel looking at her. Startled, her sharp intake of breath might as well have been a cyclone passing through.
“Sorry,” he said, a wry grin on his face. “I thought you heard me tap on the counter to get your attention.”
“No—no, I didn’t.” She noticed the tiny silver scar at the corner of his mouth and how it only made his smile even sexier. I can’t go on like this, she thought. Every time he looks at me or comes near me my heart feels like it’s going to fly right out of my chest. “I was…was looking through a supply catalogue for a few odds and ends we still need for the restaurant.” Finally, she took a calming breath, her voice settling into a more even tone.
“You always did seem to have a head for business,” he said.
Was that admiration she heard in his voice. “Well, between Grams taking a chance on some stock and my degree in business, we finally made our dream come true.”
“Not many people can say that, you know?”
She nodded, wondering what he was leading up to and hoping it wasn’t what she suspected.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
Aw, jeez. Here it comes. She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice, her pulse pounding in her ears. “What about?”
“Well, for starters, I’d like to know what happened between us.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” She gripped the edge of the hostess counter, her fingers biting into the Formica. If she didn’t hang on tightly, she might faint. Breathe, stupid! Breathe! I can’t let him get to me.
“Really?” He tipped his head to one side, his gaze curious, appraising. “Nothing at all? Lizzy, ever since you left, I’ve wondered what happened, what went wrong. Don’t I don’t deserve an explanation?”
Calling me Lizzy is so unfair. He was the only one who had every given her a special endearment. It brought back memories of whispered promises in her ear, her name tumbling from his lips as he trailed kisses across her fevered skin…
“Come on, talk to me.” Daniel reached for one of her hands, but she stepped away.
“I think I’ll see if Grams needs anything,” she said, refusing to look at him.
Elizabeth walked away. She smoothed her blouse and skirt, feeling sick. Guilt consumed her, but she knew it was a feeling that would haunt her as long as she and Daniel were in the same town, so she might as well deal with it.
Pushing through the doors, she found Sarah rolling out dough.
Her grandmother looked up. “What’s up?” she asked. “By the look on your face I’d say Daniel just rattled your cage.”
Elizabeth paused at the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. “No thanks to you.”
“What did I do?”
“He’s here today, isn’t he?” Before her legs gave out under her, she sat down on stool.
“You have to face him sometime, child.” Sarah set the rolling pin aside and turned a pie pan upside down on the smooth dough. “I accepted his offer of help because we’re desperate.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, Elizabeth—and regardless, we already had this argument today.” She paused long enough to flip over two chicken filets sizzling on the grill. “You’re disappointed about the lack of interest in our new business and that’s only natural. I know Daniel makes you a nervous wreck and that’s understandable too, but don’t you dare take your frustrations out on me. We’re on the same team. Just you remember that.”
Tears threatened to claim Elizabeth. She left her cup on the counter and returned to the dining room. The two women in the booth sipped their coffees and talked quietly. Daniel stood on the middle rung of a ladder he’d retrieved from the storage closet.
He removed the florescent bulb that had been flickering near the hall to the restrooms.
“It's been a while since we’ve chatted, hasn't it?” someone said at Elizabeth’s side. “Mind if I sit down over here?”
Quickly, she blinked back the last of her tears. She turned, noting with surprise that the little man she’d seen across the street was indeed the fellow from New York City.
“Sure,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Would you bring me a cup of coffee?” he asked softly, offering her a bright smile, a smile that Elizabeth noted somehow calmed her nerves.
She picked up a fresh pot of coffee and followed him to his table of choice.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth,” Monica gushed as she passed her with a clean ashtray. “I honestly didn’t see him come in.”
“It’s okay, Monica,” she replied. She paused at a little side table the man had chosen and waited for him to turn over his coffee cup. “What are you doing in Barnesville?” she asked him.
“I travel everywhere,” he answered, his smile growing wider, his teeth perfect and white. “I have folks I care about who live all over the country. I’m on my way to visit someone in Idaho, but felt compelled to take a route off the beaten path. These Appalachian foothills are a sight to behold.”
She returned his smile, once more marveling at the startling blue of his eyes. “I take it you have a big family scattered throughout the States?” Elizabeth nodded. “One of my girlfriends in New York has such a family. They have a reunion twice a year to keep in touch.” She met his gaze. The man’s snow-white hair, mustache and goatee made his eyes even more startling. Elizabeth tried to guesstimate his age, but he could be anywhere between forty and sixty-five.
“Yes, my family is very large, indeed.” He scooted his chair closer to the table, placing his arms on either side of his cup and saucer, his gaze riveted on Elizabeth. “How have things been for you since we last saw one another?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Things have gone well until recently.”
Elizabeth glanced over at Daniel. He folded up the ladder. Its hinges squealed in protest, and he shot her and apologetic look, their gazes connecting.
The thrill pulsed through Elizabeth like quicksilver.
“You’re pouring coffee on the table.” The man’s voice brought her back to reality.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Elizabeth yanked a hand towel from her apron pocket and sopped up the mess.
“You’re in for a bit of a rough patch, but it will all be worth it in the end,” the man stated, his expression benevolent.
“I’m not so sure about that.” Elizabeth’s gaze drifted back to Daniel. He returned the ladder to the storage closet and shut the door.
The white-haired fellow sipped at his hot coffee. He laid a five on the table, stood, and offered her another one of his glorious smiles.
“You worry too much, Elizabeth,” he said and ambled toward the door.
Speechless, Elizabeth watched him leave. She realized she’d never told him her name. For that matter, she didn’t know his. If she bumped into him again, she must remember to ask him his name and if he lived in their apartment complex. A chill rippled through her. Both times she had met the white-haired, blue-eyed man he had made similar predictions and both times, his esoteric words had come true.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Royalties go to Charity
An author with a difference...
Today I'm on a mission. There is another QUITS pdf giveaway starting today.
I don't keep my royalties. WCP are holding them for me until I make a certain sum of money. I want to donate them to the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).
What I'm proposing needs your help! I'd like you to get the html code for the video trailer below HERE, and paste it into your blogs, complete with my reasons for wanting sales on this and any of my books. Once you've blogged my trailer, please let me know on my blog (www.meellis.blogspot.com by quoting QUITS IS BLOGGED in your comment, or via email, MichelleEEllis@blogspot.com, and you will be entered into a draw for a free pdf copy of QUITS. I will also honour a promise - that when QUITS goes into print, I will send you a copy of it. The same will apply with the print release of Pervalism, due soon (there will be a seperate book trailer to blog for that one).
Please help me raise some money for these kids. Yes, I could do with my royalties, but my kids are fed and watered, kept warm and dry, and are loved.
MANY CHILDREN AREN'T.
This competition will run until September 30th 2006.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Two Great Reviews for Beyond the Maze!
I googled and found the following two reviews for my bites ebook, Beyond the Maze today!
FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS bestowed 4 Angels to Beyond the Maze.
Beyond the Maze is a tale of the power of passion being stronger than the winds of time. In only twenty pages, Canice Brown-Porter manages to convey a bundle of emotion and creates trust between her characters. While a longer length certainly would have added more depth to this story, I was moved at the capacity for love that her characters showed in this brief, but very engaging tale. Well-written and engaging, Beyond the Maze by Canice Brown-Porter earns Four Angels!
Reviewed by: Michelle, FAR Reviewer
For the full review, please visit http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/2006/Aug...yondTheMaze.htm
* * *
EURO-REVIEWS gives 4 out of 5 to Beyond the Maze
Beyond the Maze is a beautiful and romantic story with an attractive cover. The story is filled with romance when a young woman somehow unwillingly takes a jump back in time. There she meets the man of her dreams, only it takes her some time to realize. Canice Brown-Porter has written a short story that will be loved by the romantic souls among us, but of course also by others.
Reviewed by: Annick, Euro-Reviews Reviewer
For the full review, please visit http://euroreviews.eu.funpic.de/bookdetails.php?book_id=735
###
Just another reason to Google your pen name!
FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS bestowed 4 Angels to Beyond the Maze.
Beyond the Maze is a tale of the power of passion being stronger than the winds of time. In only twenty pages, Canice Brown-Porter manages to convey a bundle of emotion and creates trust between her characters. While a longer length certainly would have added more depth to this story, I was moved at the capacity for love that her characters showed in this brief, but very engaging tale. Well-written and engaging, Beyond the Maze by Canice Brown-Porter earns Four Angels!
Reviewed by: Michelle, FAR Reviewer
For the full review, please visit http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/2006/Aug...yondTheMaze.htm
* * *
EURO-REVIEWS gives 4 out of 5 to Beyond the Maze
Beyond the Maze is a beautiful and romantic story with an attractive cover. The story is filled with romance when a young woman somehow unwillingly takes a jump back in time. There she meets the man of her dreams, only it takes her some time to realize. Canice Brown-Porter has written a short story that will be loved by the romantic souls among us, but of course also by others.
Reviewed by: Annick, Euro-Reviews Reviewer
For the full review, please visit http://euroreviews.eu.funpic.de/bookdetails.php?book_id=735
###
Just another reason to Google your pen name!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
FB authors nominated for "Best e-Book of the Summer"
Ciar Cullen is running a poll on her blog. Vote for the "Best E-book of the Summer."
Lots of FB titles were nominated:
Debbie Mumford's Sorcha's Heart and Glass Magic
Bebe Thomas' Aurora's Passion
and of course, my own She's Got Legs
And Loribelle Hunt was nominated for another one of her books.
So get over there and vote!
http://ciarcullen.blogspot.com/
Lots of FB titles were nominated:
Debbie Mumford's Sorcha's Heart and Glass Magic
Bebe Thomas' Aurora's Passion
and of course, my own She's Got Legs
And Loribelle Hunt was nominated for another one of her books.
So get over there and vote!
http://ciarcullen.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 27, 2006
A new review site I just opened
If you are a writer of bdsm stories (any length) I wanted to let you know I have now opened a review blog on blogspot. It was really difficult for me to find a site specific to bdsm. Therefore, I decided just to open my own. I've been published through Freya's Bower, therefore, it would not be wise of me to do reviews for anyone published through them. However, if you find a regular Joe Shmoe not affiliated with Freya's Bower, I will happily post the review. I don't really care if it was your best friend, although I think of us would appreciate a "real" readers review.
That said, if you know of anyone through other publishers who writes bdsm let them know that http://bdsmreviews.blogspot.com is out there and I'll be more than willing to help where I can.
Otherwise, thanks for letting me babble. :)
That said, if you know of anyone through other publishers who writes bdsm let them know that http://bdsmreviews.blogspot.com is out there and I'll be more than willing to help where I can.
Otherwise, thanks for letting me babble. :)
Friday, August 25, 2006
A Conversation With... Amanda Brice
Want the scoop on a fabulous new author?
Read all about She's Got Legs author, Amanda Brice, at my new blog, Conversations With Almost Famous Writers.
Read all about She's Got Legs author, Amanda Brice, at my new blog, Conversations With Almost Famous Writers.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Charade Competition!
Congrats to Rhonda and Bebe Thomas, they both won a copy of Charade!
CHARADE COMPETITION!
Ok, so we may as well start this game today if you’re all up for it. Charade is being released on Sunday, so for your chance to win a free copy of this zany novella, we have a picture hunt to get going on!
Ok, so we may as well start this game today if you’re all up for it. Charade is being released on Sunday, so for your chance to win a free copy of this zany novella, we have a picture hunt to get going on!
Quits had the ugliest pyjamas…Charade has the weirdest, wackiest, nastiest HAIRSTYLE!
Please run forth and find a hairstyle that you would NOT sport. It could be dirty, greasy hair, a crazy style, colour, whatever you like, or don't like... I’ll put all entries up on my blog on Saturday so you can vote for the worst, and the winner will be announced Sunday.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Another Great Review for "Sorcha's Heart"
4 ½ Lips from Frost
Reviewer at Two Lips Reviews
She says:
What an exciting short story Sorcha’s Heart by Debbie Mumford proved to be! Sorcha goes through an incredible number of transformations, both physical and emotional. She finds true love, nearly loses it, and finds it again. Both the human and dragon races are enlightened through her determination to pursue her destiny and to find her life purpose. I highly recommend Sorcha’s Heart for lovers of fantasy or shapeshifters, and for any reader desiring a love story with philosophical overtones, racing toward a happy ending!
Read the entire review here.
Buy Sorcha's Heart here.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
OMG My first review is in for The Insubordinate
Ok, I don't know what I did with my last post. So ummm here we go again. Great big thanks to Michelle Ellis for doing this for me:
I offered to review this book for Miranda. As it includes bdsm, she was finding it difficult to get reviews on it.
I haven’t been exposed to this kind of thing before, so started this story with an open mind, and told myself if it became too much for me to read, I would stop.
However, I completed the story and find it a huge shame that people may shy away from this type of book. Though the whole Master and Sub theme is alien to me, and I would find it a strange practise (for me personally) to play these games, this book did show me another world.
Of course I have heard about such goings on in the bedroom, but I know I am naïve in this kind of thing, as I recall, when doing a search for pictures for the cover of this book, me and Mr Coverman looked at one another several times in a state of shock!
Though the 'games' are alien to me, this story was written very tastefully, in my opinion. It could have gone the other way. There was plenty of scope here to be pretty damn gross but Miranda handled this subject extremely well, I feel. Especially for a ‘newbie’ like me, to this type of story, it didn’t make me feel sick nor make me want to stop reading. Well done there!
A strangely fascinating read, one I couldn't put down, one that taught me something too! If I finish a book having more new information than I had before I started, I consider the reading time well spent. For this reason, I gave this book a 5—for the insight into another place.
The score is also high because it was very well written, the subject was handled wonderfully, and the images I saw were crystal clear.
Forgive me if this review isn’t of my usual crazy standard, but I am still reeling! Truly, this book stunned me in many ways. This has given me much to think about (no, I don’t think I could go down the bdsm road) and it has given me an understanding of other people’s needs and wants—I now don’t feel so strange towards people who practise this kind of sexual activity, as this book showed me that if two people consent, then it really isn’t gross or bad or weird.
Thank you Miranda, for showing me, for broadening my mind. I appreciate any author that can bring me fresh insight into things that were previously a mystery.
:o)
I offered to review this book for Miranda. As it includes bdsm, she was finding it difficult to get reviews on it.
I haven’t been exposed to this kind of thing before, so started this story with an open mind, and told myself if it became too much for me to read, I would stop.
However, I completed the story and find it a huge shame that people may shy away from this type of book. Though the whole Master and Sub theme is alien to me, and I would find it a strange practise (for me personally) to play these games, this book did show me another world.
Of course I have heard about such goings on in the bedroom, but I know I am naïve in this kind of thing, as I recall, when doing a search for pictures for the cover of this book, me and Mr Coverman looked at one another several times in a state of shock!
Though the 'games' are alien to me, this story was written very tastefully, in my opinion. It could have gone the other way. There was plenty of scope here to be pretty damn gross but Miranda handled this subject extremely well, I feel. Especially for a ‘newbie’ like me, to this type of story, it didn’t make me feel sick nor make me want to stop reading. Well done there!
A strangely fascinating read, one I couldn't put down, one that taught me something too! If I finish a book having more new information than I had before I started, I consider the reading time well spent. For this reason, I gave this book a 5—for the insight into another place.
The score is also high because it was very well written, the subject was handled wonderfully, and the images I saw were crystal clear.
Forgive me if this review isn’t of my usual crazy standard, but I am still reeling! Truly, this book stunned me in many ways. This has given me much to think about (no, I don’t think I could go down the bdsm road) and it has given me an understanding of other people’s needs and wants—I now don’t feel so strange towards people who practise this kind of sexual activity, as this book showed me that if two people consent, then it really isn’t gross or bad or weird.
Thank you Miranda, for showing me, for broadening my mind. I appreciate any author that can bring me fresh insight into things that were previously a mystery.
:o)
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Chatting at Romance Studio
Hi Everyone!
We are chatting at Romance Studio right now. Come join us!
You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.
Marci
We are chatting at Romance Studio right now. Come join us!
You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.
Marci
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Debbie's chat starts in five!
http://www.freyasbower.com/chat
Well, we're getting ready to start chatting. Come and join us. Debbie plans to give away an ebook (maybe two). She's the author of Glass Magic and also of Sorcha's Heart. I've a wee excerpt from Sorcha's Heart here. I'm planning to nag Debbie to put one up somewhere for Glass Magic. Visit the chat to see the web address for that. :D
-----------------------
Well, we're getting ready to start chatting. Come and join us. Debbie plans to give away an ebook (maybe two). She's the author of Glass Magic and also of Sorcha's Heart. I've a wee excerpt from Sorcha's Heart here. I'm planning to nag Debbie to put one up somewhere for Glass Magic. Visit the chat to see the web address for that. :D
-----------------------
Chat contest
For those of you who attended the chat, here is the latest on the contest. You know what you are looking for. Read the excerpts, answer the question asked at the chat and email me at Freya's Bower with "Chat contest" in the subject line. The contest closes at 3 pm Sunday, August 13th.
Here are the other blogs to check for excerpts:
http://hafowler.blogspot.com/, http://meellis.blogspot.com/, http://samanthabyrne.blogspot.com/
Good luck!
Marci
Here are the other blogs to check for excerpts:
http://hafowler.blogspot.com/, http://meellis.blogspot.com/, http://samanthabyrne.blogspot.com/
Good luck!
Marci
Friday, August 11, 2006
Short Excerpt from You Again
A tall shadow separated itself from the wall outside the door, and moved toward Cherry.
“Well hello, Cerise,” Mac drawled.
“What does it take to get rid of you?” Her heart jack hammered as he drew closer. God, he looks good enough to eat. Her face flushed, and she realized she was licking her lips. Don’t go there, Cherry. Not with this one.
“You can’t get rid of me.” Resting his hands on the arms of her chair, he leaned down until his face was inches from her own. “I want you, Cerise.” His voice was rough, catching on his words as though he wasn’t sure he should say them. His eyes caught hers for a moment, and then his lips were on hers. He was tender, caressing her lips with his, tasting her with the tip of his tongue. He smelled like soap and the outdoors, and he tasted a little like coffee. Her lips were eager. She cursed them as traitors, but that was the last flotsam of thought as his tongue pressed gently into her mouth, and she was cast adrift on a sea of sensation.
“Well hello, Cerise,” Mac drawled.
“What does it take to get rid of you?” Her heart jack hammered as he drew closer. God, he looks good enough to eat. Her face flushed, and she realized she was licking her lips. Don’t go there, Cherry. Not with this one.
“You can’t get rid of me.” Resting his hands on the arms of her chair, he leaned down until his face was inches from her own. “I want you, Cerise.” His voice was rough, catching on his words as though he wasn’t sure he should say them. His eyes caught hers for a moment, and then his lips were on hers. He was tender, caressing her lips with his, tasting her with the tip of his tongue. He smelled like soap and the outdoors, and he tasted a little like coffee. Her lips were eager. She cursed them as traitors, but that was the last flotsam of thought as his tongue pressed gently into her mouth, and she was cast adrift on a sea of sensation.
An Excerpt from Beyond the Maze by Canice Brown-Porter
“What the hell do you think you’re doing bursting into my room?”
His fingers wrapped around her upper arm, and he yanked her closer until they stood toe-to-toe. “This is my room, in my house, and I will burst into any room whenever I damn well please!”
“Well, I beg to differ,” she said, her chin raised, her gaze melded to his. Her voice sounded relaxed and confident to her own ears, but her insides jiggled like Jell-O. “No gentleman would enter a lady’s bed chamber uninvited.”
She watched Keane’s eyes travel down between them. Perspiration beaded across his forehead and upper lip before he exhaled a heated breath that feathered over her bare shoulders.
He swung his eyes back to meet hers. She inhaled sharply. The thin white petticoat did little to shield her aroused nipples from his open gaze. He smelled of leather. His gaze drifted along the curve of her chin to her mouth. Feathery gasps escaped from her lips. The tip of her tongue slipped across her lower lip.
Smoldering heat ignited in the pit of her stomach, radiating outwards to consume her body. Her skin flushed from her cheeks to her toes.
She gulped a jagged breath when her body met the hard wall of his chest, and his lips crushed hers. His tongue licked along her lower lip. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples hardened into turgid little beads. She struggled to free herself. His tongue swept into her mouth and sent sparks of desire skipping down her spine.
Delicious excitement built in the pit of her stomach. She whimpered, relaxing into him. Her hands, once flattened against his chest to push him away, now grasped his shirt. Aubrianna leaned into his kiss, deepening it. Passion licked every nerve, setting her on fire at the thought of Keane’s naked body against hers.
Their tongues tangled. Desire spiraled and exploded into molten heat that raced through her veins at breakneck speed. He reached for her hair and twisted it into a ball around his fist, holding her to him. She molded her slender figure to his large frame in perfect unity. His hard cock pressed against her belly, and a guttural groan escaped from the depths of his chest.
He released her, stepping away. Her lashes fluttered, and her eyes focused on his. Passion raged in his dark gaze. He stared transfixed, and she watched while reality began its slow descent. His body trembled. Or, was it her own?
His fingers wrapped around her upper arm, and he yanked her closer until they stood toe-to-toe. “This is my room, in my house, and I will burst into any room whenever I damn well please!”
“Well, I beg to differ,” she said, her chin raised, her gaze melded to his. Her voice sounded relaxed and confident to her own ears, but her insides jiggled like Jell-O. “No gentleman would enter a lady’s bed chamber uninvited.”
She watched Keane’s eyes travel down between them. Perspiration beaded across his forehead and upper lip before he exhaled a heated breath that feathered over her bare shoulders.
He swung his eyes back to meet hers. She inhaled sharply. The thin white petticoat did little to shield her aroused nipples from his open gaze. He smelled of leather. His gaze drifted along the curve of her chin to her mouth. Feathery gasps escaped from her lips. The tip of her tongue slipped across her lower lip.
Smoldering heat ignited in the pit of her stomach, radiating outwards to consume her body. Her skin flushed from her cheeks to her toes.
She gulped a jagged breath when her body met the hard wall of his chest, and his lips crushed hers. His tongue licked along her lower lip. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples hardened into turgid little beads. She struggled to free herself. His tongue swept into her mouth and sent sparks of desire skipping down her spine.
Delicious excitement built in the pit of her stomach. She whimpered, relaxing into him. Her hands, once flattened against his chest to push him away, now grasped his shirt. Aubrianna leaned into his kiss, deepening it. Passion licked every nerve, setting her on fire at the thought of Keane’s naked body against hers.
Their tongues tangled. Desire spiraled and exploded into molten heat that raced through her veins at breakneck speed. He reached for her hair and twisted it into a ball around his fist, holding her to him. She molded her slender figure to his large frame in perfect unity. His hard cock pressed against her belly, and a guttural groan escaped from the depths of his chest.
He released her, stepping away. Her lashes fluttered, and her eyes focused on his. Passion raged in his dark gaze. He stared transfixed, and she watched while reality began its slow descent. His body trembled. Or, was it her own?
An Excerpt from Aurora's Passion by Bebe Thomas
Kris awoke to his warm touch as he gently caressed her back in a slow rhythmic circular motion.
“Mmmm,” she emitted a deep throaty growl.
“You're awake,” he said. “Good.” He kneaded her neck and shoulders, his warm hands loosening up every muscle.
"Ahh."
He rubbed down her back, relaxing her, tracing her spine with his thumb. When he reached her
butt, he massaged her cheeks, working the tight muscles with the heel of his hands. His touch incited conflicting sensations. She was relaxed, but also ravenous for more than just a massage.
He slowly moved his hand to her torso and rolled her tight against him. Feeling his cock against
her ass sent a rush of wetness to her core. He nibbled on her neck as he caressed her breasts through her silk negligee and rubbed her nipples until they were hard pebbles. She pressed harder into his length. She rolled onto her back and lifted slightly as he removed her lingerie. He leaned into her, longing and lust filling his green eyes. Leisurely, he traced her lips - a challenge, Kris thought. She drew his finger into her mouth, making him gasp.
She sighed with pleasure when he took his moist finger from her mouth and used it to strum her clit. He nipped her lower lip and then thrust his tongue into her mouth, plunging his fingers between her nether lips. Kris bucked against his hand.
“Do you like it, Ann Kristine?” he growled.
She managed a moan. Did she like it? She'd never felt this way before.
“Mmmm,” she emitted a deep throaty growl.
“You're awake,” he said. “Good.” He kneaded her neck and shoulders, his warm hands loosening up every muscle.
"Ahh."
He rubbed down her back, relaxing her, tracing her spine with his thumb. When he reached her
butt, he massaged her cheeks, working the tight muscles with the heel of his hands. His touch incited conflicting sensations. She was relaxed, but also ravenous for more than just a massage.
He slowly moved his hand to her torso and rolled her tight against him. Feeling his cock against
her ass sent a rush of wetness to her core. He nibbled on her neck as he caressed her breasts through her silk negligee and rubbed her nipples until they were hard pebbles. She pressed harder into his length. She rolled onto her back and lifted slightly as he removed her lingerie. He leaned into her, longing and lust filling his green eyes. Leisurely, he traced her lips - a challenge, Kris thought. She drew his finger into her mouth, making him gasp.
She sighed with pleasure when he took his moist finger from her mouth and used it to strum her clit. He nipped her lower lip and then thrust his tongue into her mouth, plunging his fingers between her nether lips. Kris bucked against his hand.
“Do you like it, Ann Kristine?” he growled.
She managed a moan. Did she like it? She'd never felt this way before.
Excerpt Honeysuckle and Wild Roses
copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Roahre gathered their food and empty wine skin. He shook the dirt and leaves from his outer tunic, but stuffed it into the saddlebag since it was saturated with wine from their romp across the leaves.
Watching her husband, Honey stood nearby, her nether regions still tingling and throbbing from their passionate lovemaking. He turned, offering her a pleased smile.
“Freya has left a gift here for you,” he said.
“Oh?” Honey wasn’t sure whether she should be wary or pleased that the goddess had deemed her worthy of a gift, but as Roahre’s grin widened, she soon relaxed. “Well? Where is it?” she asked as a bud of anticipation bloomed within her.
“Go around to the other side of that tree. There’s a hole at the base of it.” He tied the flaps on the leather bags and turned, crossing his arms over his chest. Mischief danced in his eyes as he added, “The goddess was certain you’d choose a life with me and my people, and to prove to me that she was right, she put something special in the tree for you.” He nodded, indicating that she should go look. “Go on, my love. See what Freya has bestowed upon you.”
Honey walked through the thick layer of leaves and climbed over the monstrous roots protruding from the soft earth. On the other side of the ancient tree, a large hole resided between two roots. Upon hands and knees, Honey peered cautiously inside. She saw something tan and furry. At first, she thought that an animal was looking back at her, but as her eyes adjusted to the dimness inside the hole, she realized it was actually a fur-wrapped package.
Gingerly, she pulled it free from its hiding place and brushed small twigs and leaf fragments from it. Cradling it in her arms, she rose and made her way back to the horses where her husband waited. She stood next to Roahre and pulled the strings of meadow grass free, unwrapping the gift to find a dress fit for a queen—for her.
Yards of material the color of a spring sky fell to her feet. Honey gasped in delight. A pair of matching slippers tumbled out and landed in the leaves. In bright embroidery, Freya’s symbols adorned the slipper’s toes, the threads sparkling in the dim lighting. Roahre picked them up, holding them for her so that she could examine the dress. Honey looked back and forth between him and the dress.
“I’ve never seen material like this before,” she said softly, fearing that if she spoke too loudly the dress would poof into magic sparkles and disappear upon a forest breeze. “It’s the purest of sky blues, but it has…” She held it up, allowing the light to dance across its silken fibers. “There are rainbow colors dancing upon it when the light is just right. And it’s so soft! It’s almost as if the garment isn’t even there!”
“The Goddess had the womenfolk of the Dwarves spin its fibers. A little of Freya’s magic went into the color, and the Elven women sewed it together.” He smiled. “Do you like it?”
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”
“It is your queenly gown. The gown you shall hold court in and for when you meet your new people.”
“How will I ever thank Freya?” Honey asked, feeling overwhelmed; her legs even shook beneath her.
“Rule as a queen should,” Roahre replied.
Roahre gathered their food and empty wine skin. He shook the dirt and leaves from his outer tunic, but stuffed it into the saddlebag since it was saturated with wine from their romp across the leaves.
Watching her husband, Honey stood nearby, her nether regions still tingling and throbbing from their passionate lovemaking. He turned, offering her a pleased smile.
“Freya has left a gift here for you,” he said.
“Oh?” Honey wasn’t sure whether she should be wary or pleased that the goddess had deemed her worthy of a gift, but as Roahre’s grin widened, she soon relaxed. “Well? Where is it?” she asked as a bud of anticipation bloomed within her.
“Go around to the other side of that tree. There’s a hole at the base of it.” He tied the flaps on the leather bags and turned, crossing his arms over his chest. Mischief danced in his eyes as he added, “The goddess was certain you’d choose a life with me and my people, and to prove to me that she was right, she put something special in the tree for you.” He nodded, indicating that she should go look. “Go on, my love. See what Freya has bestowed upon you.”
Honey walked through the thick layer of leaves and climbed over the monstrous roots protruding from the soft earth. On the other side of the ancient tree, a large hole resided between two roots. Upon hands and knees, Honey peered cautiously inside. She saw something tan and furry. At first, she thought that an animal was looking back at her, but as her eyes adjusted to the dimness inside the hole, she realized it was actually a fur-wrapped package.
Gingerly, she pulled it free from its hiding place and brushed small twigs and leaf fragments from it. Cradling it in her arms, she rose and made her way back to the horses where her husband waited. She stood next to Roahre and pulled the strings of meadow grass free, unwrapping the gift to find a dress fit for a queen—for her.
Yards of material the color of a spring sky fell to her feet. Honey gasped in delight. A pair of matching slippers tumbled out and landed in the leaves. In bright embroidery, Freya’s symbols adorned the slipper’s toes, the threads sparkling in the dim lighting. Roahre picked them up, holding them for her so that she could examine the dress. Honey looked back and forth between him and the dress.
“I’ve never seen material like this before,” she said softly, fearing that if she spoke too loudly the dress would poof into magic sparkles and disappear upon a forest breeze. “It’s the purest of sky blues, but it has…” She held it up, allowing the light to dance across its silken fibers. “There are rainbow colors dancing upon it when the light is just right. And it’s so soft! It’s almost as if the garment isn’t even there!”
“The Goddess had the womenfolk of the Dwarves spin its fibers. A little of Freya’s magic went into the color, and the Elven women sewed it together.” He smiled. “Do you like it?”
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”
“It is your queenly gown. The gown you shall hold court in and for when you meet your new people.”
“How will I ever thank Freya?” Honey asked, feeling overwhelmed; her legs even shook beneath her.
“Rule as a queen should,” Roahre replied.
Excerpt from Glass Magic by Debbie Mumford
Sean backed away, stumbled over his forgotten toolbox and landed hard on his butt on the floor’s plywood subsurface.
Maureen McBride loomed above him, green eyes flashing, red hair pulling free of its tightly bound knot. “I’ll report this,” she said, the words barely escaping through clenched jaws. “Sexual harassment is a crime in this state.”
Sean jumped to his feet and closed the distance between them. “I didn’t do anything except keep you from falling.” He noted with pleasure that she had to look up to meet his eyes. “It’s not my fault you’re so starved for physical attention that you intentionally stumble into men’s arms.”
Her face flushed scarlet, and she opened luscious red lips to scorch him with a rebuttal.
The floor heaved again. They fell into each other’s arms, and Sean’s tongue dove into her open mouth.
He wanted to struggle, wanted to get the hell away from this aggravating female, but the molten silk of her mouth tasted of honey… and her tongue! It twisted coyly away from his and then pushed daringly past his teeth into his mouth. Oh, the soft, sensual pleasure of that dance of tongues.
Soft. Sensual. His hands finally reported their location to his brain, and he groaned into her mouth. His senses rapidly overloading, he moved his hands down her back and filled them with the ripe, firm, fullness of her buttocks. His erection leapt and demanded a closer inspection of the cleft pressed so tantalizingly near.
And then it ended, as quickly as it had begun.
She pulled away from his clutching fingers and backed up until she hit the far wall. Cold air shocked his senses, and he longed for her velvet warmth; all of it. No impeding cloth. Just skin caressing skin, and more. Oh, so much more!
Maureen McBride loomed above him, green eyes flashing, red hair pulling free of its tightly bound knot. “I’ll report this,” she said, the words barely escaping through clenched jaws. “Sexual harassment is a crime in this state.”
Sean jumped to his feet and closed the distance between them. “I didn’t do anything except keep you from falling.” He noted with pleasure that she had to look up to meet his eyes. “It’s not my fault you’re so starved for physical attention that you intentionally stumble into men’s arms.”
Her face flushed scarlet, and she opened luscious red lips to scorch him with a rebuttal.
The floor heaved again. They fell into each other’s arms, and Sean’s tongue dove into her open mouth.
He wanted to struggle, wanted to get the hell away from this aggravating female, but the molten silk of her mouth tasted of honey… and her tongue! It twisted coyly away from his and then pushed daringly past his teeth into his mouth. Oh, the soft, sensual pleasure of that dance of tongues.
Soft. Sensual. His hands finally reported their location to his brain, and he groaned into her mouth. His senses rapidly overloading, he moved his hands down her back and filled them with the ripe, firm, fullness of her buttocks. His erection leapt and demanded a closer inspection of the cleft pressed so tantalizingly near.
And then it ended, as quickly as it had begun.
She pulled away from his clutching fingers and backed up until she hit the far wall. Cold air shocked his senses, and he longed for her velvet warmth; all of it. No impeding cloth. Just skin caressing skin, and more. Oh, so much more!
Last Chance excerpt by Kit Wylde
Max's gaze dropped to follow the path of her tongue, fascinated with its progress. His eyelids drooped at half-mast as his breath quickened. His eyes told her that he was about to reach for her. Her mind screamed, “Hussy!” even as her body cried for his touch. She didn’t care. Hussy or not, she wanted to taste him. Just one taste and she would forget him.
Their lips connected, the temperature of their passion easily surpassing the heat rising from the pavement. Damp clothes clung to their bodies. Beneath Max’s shirt, Susan felt the hard ridge of muscles, intensifying her desire. Further down, another hard ridge pressed against the juncture between her thighs. She moaned with the knowledge she had done this to him.
His tongue dipped into her mouth, tentatively at first, then with more force as she pressed closer to him, demanding more. He matched the rhythm of his tongue with the push of his hips. Tension built until she felt like she would explode. Frantically, she pulled his shirt out of his jeans, needing to feel his bare skin under her hands. Soft hair met her questing hands. She purred, a thrill shooting through her. She loved hair on a man’s chest. It screamed virility.
The shock of warm, rough hands caressing the underside of her breasts brought sanity rushing in. She pushed Max away, shaking her head. She couldn’t do this. A flush of embarrassment poured through her, and she stepped back, bumping up against the door of her truck. Her desperate need to have him inside of her scared her, killing any desire.
"Perhaps you better move so I can get to the tire," he told her, his voice rough with need, although he didn’t protest her withdrawal. He adjusted his jeans, wincing, but said nothing.
"Oh! Of course. I..." her voice trailed off, and she abruptly moved out of his way, her gaze assessing the erection in his jeans, remembering how it felt pressed against her. He was obviously turned on. That he respected her decision rekindled the ache within her all over again.
He grabbed the spare and began putting it on the truck. "You should stop by a station and buy a new tire, or have this one repaired before you go home tonight," he stated as if nothing had happened between them.
She barely heard him. Her attention was fixed on his denim shirt and how it stretched across the expanse of his broad shoulders and muscular back. Her stomach jerked in reaction. Clenching her hand, she stepped back and turned to look somewhere else, but her gaze strayed back to him.
Their lips connected, the temperature of their passion easily surpassing the heat rising from the pavement. Damp clothes clung to their bodies. Beneath Max’s shirt, Susan felt the hard ridge of muscles, intensifying her desire. Further down, another hard ridge pressed against the juncture between her thighs. She moaned with the knowledge she had done this to him.
His tongue dipped into her mouth, tentatively at first, then with more force as she pressed closer to him, demanding more. He matched the rhythm of his tongue with the push of his hips. Tension built until she felt like she would explode. Frantically, she pulled his shirt out of his jeans, needing to feel his bare skin under her hands. Soft hair met her questing hands. She purred, a thrill shooting through her. She loved hair on a man’s chest. It screamed virility.
The shock of warm, rough hands caressing the underside of her breasts brought sanity rushing in. She pushed Max away, shaking her head. She couldn’t do this. A flush of embarrassment poured through her, and she stepped back, bumping up against the door of her truck. Her desperate need to have him inside of her scared her, killing any desire.
"Perhaps you better move so I can get to the tire," he told her, his voice rough with need, although he didn’t protest her withdrawal. He adjusted his jeans, wincing, but said nothing.
"Oh! Of course. I..." her voice trailed off, and she abruptly moved out of his way, her gaze assessing the erection in his jeans, remembering how it felt pressed against her. He was obviously turned on. That he respected her decision rekindled the ache within her all over again.
He grabbed the spare and began putting it on the truck. "You should stop by a station and buy a new tire, or have this one repaired before you go home tonight," he stated as if nothing had happened between them.
She barely heard him. Her attention was fixed on his denim shirt and how it stretched across the expanse of his broad shoulders and muscular back. Her stomach jerked in reaction. Clenching her hand, she stepped back and turned to look somewhere else, but her gaze strayed back to him.
Woman of Unknown Origins excerpt 2
copyright 2006 Faith Bicknell-Brown
Publisher Freya's Bower
exerpt from FURY HOLLOW
She watched him light a cigarette; the match’s flame cast an eerie glow over his handsome features. “Do you live close by?” asked Hannah
He scooted closer to her, the moss-covered log to their backs. “Close enough. I’m visiting a friend. Her husband disappeared about six months ago.”
She nodded. “You mean Jed Fasher.”
“He vanished in this hollow coming home from work one night.” The moonlight illuminated Vengey’s eyes, prompting an odd flash of scarlet. “Doesn’t it frighten you to walk through here after dark?”
“No,” she whispered. Her heart thumped from a strange anticipation. “I’ve lived in this area my entire life.”
He was so close she could smell him, a curious combination of dry leaves and wood smoke. Quickly, he moved against her, invading her personal space, but Hannah didn’t mind; it excited her. Vengey caressed her cheek, his breath stirring the tendrils of hair framing her face.
The stranger kissed her deeply, causing her to go weak and her insides to flame with eager warmth. Briefly, Hannah wondered how he had managed to remove her clothes, and realized she didn’t remember Vengey shedding his own. He kneaded her breasts; kissing and touching her in ways she only dreamed of during lonely nights watching clouds cross the sky from her bedroom window. Sometimes she imagined a beautiful lover in those fleeting clouds. It appeared that her lover was no longer a dream.
He entered her and there was a brief, ripping pain, then the world exploded around her. Hannah screamed and bucked, her pleasure bordering on insanity and it seemed to her that the ground trembled and the trees overhead burned. She felt as though she was on fire as well. The sweat dripped unheeded from her body and she bled profusely, but Vengey continued to ride her, his sounds of delectation animal-like as they moved together in a hard, hurried rhythm amongst a thick pool of blood.
Then dawn arrived, the bloody sky mirroring the ground.
Vengey rolled off her and sat back against a tree, his body streaked and spattered with gore. He regarded Hannah with unmitigated satisfaction.
“You were delicious,” he remarked. “I believe I shall keep you.”
A low, keening howl echoed down from the top of the hill by Mammy’s house. Hannah looked up to see Josephine hurrying down the path behind her grandmother.
As she pounded across the meadow, Mammy’s black hair streamed behind her like a banner. The St. Bernard stayed close on her heels.
She fell at Hannah’s side, sobbing.
“Oh, child! What have you done?”
Trying to pull her blouse over her sticky, crimson form, Hannah realized something was horribly wrong.
Publisher Freya's Bower
exerpt from FURY HOLLOW
She watched him light a cigarette; the match’s flame cast an eerie glow over his handsome features. “Do you live close by?” asked Hannah
He scooted closer to her, the moss-covered log to their backs. “Close enough. I’m visiting a friend. Her husband disappeared about six months ago.”
She nodded. “You mean Jed Fasher.”
“He vanished in this hollow coming home from work one night.” The moonlight illuminated Vengey’s eyes, prompting an odd flash of scarlet. “Doesn’t it frighten you to walk through here after dark?”
“No,” she whispered. Her heart thumped from a strange anticipation. “I’ve lived in this area my entire life.”
He was so close she could smell him, a curious combination of dry leaves and wood smoke. Quickly, he moved against her, invading her personal space, but Hannah didn’t mind; it excited her. Vengey caressed her cheek, his breath stirring the tendrils of hair framing her face.
The stranger kissed her deeply, causing her to go weak and her insides to flame with eager warmth. Briefly, Hannah wondered how he had managed to remove her clothes, and realized she didn’t remember Vengey shedding his own. He kneaded her breasts; kissing and touching her in ways she only dreamed of during lonely nights watching clouds cross the sky from her bedroom window. Sometimes she imagined a beautiful lover in those fleeting clouds. It appeared that her lover was no longer a dream.
He entered her and there was a brief, ripping pain, then the world exploded around her. Hannah screamed and bucked, her pleasure bordering on insanity and it seemed to her that the ground trembled and the trees overhead burned. She felt as though she was on fire as well. The sweat dripped unheeded from her body and she bled profusely, but Vengey continued to ride her, his sounds of delectation animal-like as they moved together in a hard, hurried rhythm amongst a thick pool of blood.
Then dawn arrived, the bloody sky mirroring the ground.
Vengey rolled off her and sat back against a tree, his body streaked and spattered with gore. He regarded Hannah with unmitigated satisfaction.
“You were delicious,” he remarked. “I believe I shall keep you.”
A low, keening howl echoed down from the top of the hill by Mammy’s house. Hannah looked up to see Josephine hurrying down the path behind her grandmother.
As she pounded across the meadow, Mammy’s black hair streamed behind her like a banner. The St. Bernard stayed close on her heels.
She fell at Hannah’s side, sobbing.
“Oh, child! What have you done?”
Trying to pull her blouse over her sticky, crimson form, Hannah realized something was horribly wrong.
Excerpt #5 Freya's Bower
Woman of Unknown Origins
copyright 2006 Faith Bicknell-Brown
Publisher Freya's Bower
“Here’s a clean towel.” She placed it on the tub’s edge. “I’d like to take a walk and admire the evening sky. It’s a clear night. I’ll get you a beer to take with you.”
He smiled sleepily. “Sure, babe. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
Malachi joined her outside on the porch. The night sky held an infinite number of bright denizens. A light breeze caressed their bodies.
He cocked his head to one side, frowning quizzically at the pie and milk on the stoop. “What’s with the royal treatment, Deirdre?”
“I have a secret to share with you.”
He held out a hand for the beer. “Another romp here on the porch step, perhaps?”
She smiled. “Maybe another time.”
They passed through the vegetable garden, the scent of tomato vines pungent as they brushed against the leaves. Crickets hushed their chirring when they entered the unruly grass of the farthest lawn. Somewhere along the encroaching tree line, a whippoorwill voiced its melancholy cry.
“What’s that?” Malachi grabbed his wife’s arm and pointed.
“That’s what I want to show you.” Deirdre smiled, her beautiful white teeth stark in the deepening twilight. She pulled free from him and continued toward the object.
The last traces of the sunset faded. Fireflies winked in the tall grass. On a neighboring ridge, a cow bawled.
“What is that thing?” Malachi slurped the last drops of beer from the can and crumpled it.
Deirdre held her arms over her head, palms up, fingers slightly curled. “Let me make some light.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He dropped the can in the grass.
Deirdre ignored him and whispered:
“In the dark form a sphere,
shine within my hands.
Banish a small part of night,
there is no fear in the light.”
Fireflies all around the field gathered in her hands. Within seconds, a large glowing orb of lightning bugs lit up the immediate area with their green-gold illumination.
She dropped her arms to her sides. “Just one of the easy charms that Mamaw Pearl taught me,” Deirdre said upon noticing her husband’s stunned expression.
Malachi’s gaze moved to the rectangular object. “Is that the weird trunk your grandmother left you?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose you had a charm that helped you drag it out here too?”
She shrugged.
“Why is it here?”
“It’s part of the secret I’m going to share with you.”
“Look, babe, you’ve given me a nice evening, and I appreciate it, but what’s going on?” Irritation tinged Malachi’s voice.
The pain inside Deirdre bubbled up from the recesses of her soul. Magic stirred there, a power that she had not been fully aware of until her hands touched her grandmother’s spell books earlier that day.
“I love you, Malachi.”
He smiled. “I know you do.”
“I’m pregnant.”
The smile that stretched his mouth died before it reached his eyes.
“Pregnant?”
“Something wrong?”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” she unlatched the trunk, which stood on one end, “I am pregnant. Pregnant with pain. Pain that grows within me. Pregnant with mistrust for a man with a wandering heart. I gestate hate for the woman who carries your seed and I germinate the lies that you both have professed as the truth.”
From her dress, she withdrew a pocketknife and cut a shallow wound in the palm of her right hand. “Tonight I give birth to the pain you have created within me.” She slapped Malachi hard across the face, leaving a faint red smudge upon his cheek, then smacked her hand down on the roughly-hewn trunk.
“Hey!” Malachi grabbed her. “What’s got into you, Deirdre? Have you gone crazy?”
“Do it! Say the words! They are balm for your heart and doom for his!”
He whirled at the sinister voices hissing out of the tall grass. Several pairs of luminous eyes watched them.
“You’re practicing witchcraft on me?” His terrified gaze raked her face before darting back to the glowing eyes in the grass. “All the tales about your grandmother were true! She didn’t practice harmless charms! She performed black magic!”
The trunk’s two sides spread like a thick book. A hiss drifted out of it.
“Deirdre, you’re my wife!” He took a step back, uncertain which way to flee, eyes peering at him from every direction. “I love you!”
“Yes, you love me and every other woman you come in contact with! I wonder how Sally will feel when she realizes that you have left her nothing but pain as well.”
“Do it! Say the words! Free your pain!” The frightening voices grew impatient.
“I give birth to the pain that you have given me, Malachi Dempsey!” Deirdre moved away to stand at the outskirts of the green-gold illumination.
The trunk began to grow. Its rough willow timber took on the form of the tree it had originated from years ago. Branches sprouted from various angles and roots punctured the earth.
Malachi uttered an unintelligible cry. He stumbled backward, but the willow’s draping limbs snared him and drew him inside its trunk.
“Deirdre don’t do this!”
copyright 2006 Faith Bicknell-Brown
Publisher Freya's Bower
“Here’s a clean towel.” She placed it on the tub’s edge. “I’d like to take a walk and admire the evening sky. It’s a clear night. I’ll get you a beer to take with you.”
He smiled sleepily. “Sure, babe. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
Malachi joined her outside on the porch. The night sky held an infinite number of bright denizens. A light breeze caressed their bodies.
He cocked his head to one side, frowning quizzically at the pie and milk on the stoop. “What’s with the royal treatment, Deirdre?”
“I have a secret to share with you.”
He held out a hand for the beer. “Another romp here on the porch step, perhaps?”
She smiled. “Maybe another time.”
They passed through the vegetable garden, the scent of tomato vines pungent as they brushed against the leaves. Crickets hushed their chirring when they entered the unruly grass of the farthest lawn. Somewhere along the encroaching tree line, a whippoorwill voiced its melancholy cry.
“What’s that?” Malachi grabbed his wife’s arm and pointed.
“That’s what I want to show you.” Deirdre smiled, her beautiful white teeth stark in the deepening twilight. She pulled free from him and continued toward the object.
The last traces of the sunset faded. Fireflies winked in the tall grass. On a neighboring ridge, a cow bawled.
“What is that thing?” Malachi slurped the last drops of beer from the can and crumpled it.
Deirdre held her arms over her head, palms up, fingers slightly curled. “Let me make some light.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He dropped the can in the grass.
Deirdre ignored him and whispered:
“In the dark form a sphere,
shine within my hands.
Banish a small part of night,
there is no fear in the light.”
Fireflies all around the field gathered in her hands. Within seconds, a large glowing orb of lightning bugs lit up the immediate area with their green-gold illumination.
She dropped her arms to her sides. “Just one of the easy charms that Mamaw Pearl taught me,” Deirdre said upon noticing her husband’s stunned expression.
Malachi’s gaze moved to the rectangular object. “Is that the weird trunk your grandmother left you?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose you had a charm that helped you drag it out here too?”
She shrugged.
“Why is it here?”
“It’s part of the secret I’m going to share with you.”
“Look, babe, you’ve given me a nice evening, and I appreciate it, but what’s going on?” Irritation tinged Malachi’s voice.
The pain inside Deirdre bubbled up from the recesses of her soul. Magic stirred there, a power that she had not been fully aware of until her hands touched her grandmother’s spell books earlier that day.
“I love you, Malachi.”
He smiled. “I know you do.”
“I’m pregnant.”
The smile that stretched his mouth died before it reached his eyes.
“Pregnant?”
“Something wrong?”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” she unlatched the trunk, which stood on one end, “I am pregnant. Pregnant with pain. Pain that grows within me. Pregnant with mistrust for a man with a wandering heart. I gestate hate for the woman who carries your seed and I germinate the lies that you both have professed as the truth.”
From her dress, she withdrew a pocketknife and cut a shallow wound in the palm of her right hand. “Tonight I give birth to the pain you have created within me.” She slapped Malachi hard across the face, leaving a faint red smudge upon his cheek, then smacked her hand down on the roughly-hewn trunk.
“Hey!” Malachi grabbed her. “What’s got into you, Deirdre? Have you gone crazy?”
“Do it! Say the words! They are balm for your heart and doom for his!”
He whirled at the sinister voices hissing out of the tall grass. Several pairs of luminous eyes watched them.
“You’re practicing witchcraft on me?” His terrified gaze raked her face before darting back to the glowing eyes in the grass. “All the tales about your grandmother were true! She didn’t practice harmless charms! She performed black magic!”
The trunk’s two sides spread like a thick book. A hiss drifted out of it.
“Deirdre, you’re my wife!” He took a step back, uncertain which way to flee, eyes peering at him from every direction. “I love you!”
“Yes, you love me and every other woman you come in contact with! I wonder how Sally will feel when she realizes that you have left her nothing but pain as well.”
“Do it! Say the words! Free your pain!” The frightening voices grew impatient.
“I give birth to the pain that you have given me, Malachi Dempsey!” Deirdre moved away to stand at the outskirts of the green-gold illumination.
The trunk began to grow. Its rough willow timber took on the form of the tree it had originated from years ago. Branches sprouted from various angles and roots punctured the earth.
Malachi uttered an unintelligible cry. He stumbled backward, but the willow’s draping limbs snared him and drew him inside its trunk.
“Deirdre don’t do this!”
Excerpt #4 Freya's Bower
The Science of Magic
copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Publisher Freya's Bower
The same receptionist sat at the desk that had been working the day before. Upon noticing Garnet, the woman rose and motioned for her to follow. They traversed halfway down the long, white corridor. The secretary stopped and opened a door to a sapphire blue room. The walls, ceiling and floor gleamed with the rich color, and for a moment, Garnet was almost convinced she was deep below the ocean’s surface. In the center of the room, a chaise covered in indigo velvet sat in a large circular indention. Strange illumination added to the chamber’s deep ocean effect.
“The sorceress will be with you shortly,” the receptionist said and gestured toward the chaise. She turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Please sit,” a young feminine voice said.
Garnet gasped and stumbled back, her high heels screeching on the polished floor. She hadn’t noticed the adolescent enter the chamber. Her legs shaking under her, Garnet sat down on the lounger, the velvet rough against her hands. She crossed her legs, the dim light catching the neon colors on the tips of her clear stilettos, and watched as the attendant placed a gold coin on the tip of a thin post. Light shot from the floor to the ceiling, encircling the chaise and nearly blinding Garnet.
A grand banquet hall stretched before Garnet. In one corner, musicians played lutes, pipes, harps and lyres, their sweet melody drifting over the room like dandelion fluff. Rich tapestries of warriors in battle hung upon the stone walls. Reeds, straw, pillows and naked bodies littered the floor. Twosomes, threesomes, and many in writhing, groping masses uttered sounds of pleasure and climax. Garnet realized her mouth hung open and shut it firmly. Why would the sorceress want her to see a palace orgy?
On a pile of embroidered pillows, two well-built men caressed one another. She couldn’t help but admire their tight asses and muscular bodies. A man with a dark beard and hair acted as the dominate one over the other with long, raven-black locks. Why are the good-looking ones always gay, Garnet mused. The bearded one rolled his partner over, revealing the other man’s face. A startled cry slipped from Garnet’s lips, and her hand flew to her mouth.
Tom!
copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Publisher Freya's Bower
The same receptionist sat at the desk that had been working the day before. Upon noticing Garnet, the woman rose and motioned for her to follow. They traversed halfway down the long, white corridor. The secretary stopped and opened a door to a sapphire blue room. The walls, ceiling and floor gleamed with the rich color, and for a moment, Garnet was almost convinced she was deep below the ocean’s surface. In the center of the room, a chaise covered in indigo velvet sat in a large circular indention. Strange illumination added to the chamber’s deep ocean effect.
“The sorceress will be with you shortly,” the receptionist said and gestured toward the chaise. She turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Please sit,” a young feminine voice said.
Garnet gasped and stumbled back, her high heels screeching on the polished floor. She hadn’t noticed the adolescent enter the chamber. Her legs shaking under her, Garnet sat down on the lounger, the velvet rough against her hands. She crossed her legs, the dim light catching the neon colors on the tips of her clear stilettos, and watched as the attendant placed a gold coin on the tip of a thin post. Light shot from the floor to the ceiling, encircling the chaise and nearly blinding Garnet.
A grand banquet hall stretched before Garnet. In one corner, musicians played lutes, pipes, harps and lyres, their sweet melody drifting over the room like dandelion fluff. Rich tapestries of warriors in battle hung upon the stone walls. Reeds, straw, pillows and naked bodies littered the floor. Twosomes, threesomes, and many in writhing, groping masses uttered sounds of pleasure and climax. Garnet realized her mouth hung open and shut it firmly. Why would the sorceress want her to see a palace orgy?
On a pile of embroidered pillows, two well-built men caressed one another. She couldn’t help but admire their tight asses and muscular bodies. A man with a dark beard and hair acted as the dominate one over the other with long, raven-black locks. Why are the good-looking ones always gay, Garnet mused. The bearded one rolled his partner over, revealing the other man’s face. A startled cry slipped from Garnet’s lips, and her hand flew to her mouth.
Tom!
Excerpt from Sorcha's Heart
Copyright Debbie Mumford 2006
Publisher Freya's Bower
Pain accompanied Sorcha’s return to consciousness. Muscles she didn’t know she possessed screamed their displeasure. Sand grated against the soft skin of cheek and neck, urging her to rise, but lethargy kept her grounded. The slightest movement caused a cascade of agony throughout her system. She’d never been beaten, but she couldn’t imagine that a victim of mob violence would ache more than she did. She should open her eyes and orient herself in time and space, but the task felt too strenuous to attempt. She’d find a less active way to gather information.
Allowing her eyes to remain safely closed, Sorcha turned her attention from her body’s tortured protests to the world surrounding her. She heard the roar of distant breakers and the soft susurrus of the breeze on the lagoon’s sheltered beach. Yes, the lagoon, the beach. That explained the sand under her cheek. Above those soothing natural sounds, she heard an insistent thrumming, the deepened and magnified purring of a thousand cats. The dragon maintained his vigil.
Gods and goddesses, the dragon!
She focused her attention on her enemy’s terrifying presence and discovered a strand of unknown power brushing the edge of her mind. Cat-like, it twisted and slipped away when she tried to grab it, but came willingly when she quieted her mind and ignored it. The connection it formed expanded her mind, altering its landscape forever.
Dragons whispered through this tunnel. She heard them—and understood. What’s more, she felt their pain and embarrassment as her thoughts exploded into the conversational stream.
“Softly, little one,” Caedyrn whispered. “Restrain yourself.”
Sorcha pulled back, away from the vile, alien presence. She huddled on the sand, feeling violated beyond her ability to endure. Her body ached in a thousand places, and her mind… The sanctity of her mind had been breached. Her thoughts were no longer her own. An alien species, hostile and unknown, prowled in the depths. She couldn’t live this way.
She wouldn’t live this way!
With grim determination, Sorcha put aside her fear and confusion and searched her memory for an appropriate spell. An incantation bubbled to the surface of her mind and she tested its suitability for ousting the alien presence. She’d never attempted a working of this magnitude on herself before. Yes, she’d healed minor cuts and abrasions, but this problem required an application of magic she’d never studied. No matter; she had no choice.
“Perhaps you were right, Mother,” she thought, examining each element of the spell one more time. “The price may have been too high, especially if I don’t live to use the Heart of Fire.” She sought her well of magic, always so comforting in its accessibility.
“No!” Caedyrn cried, distress tingeing his thoughts. “You must not use human magic against the flight.” His thoughts echoed through every recess of her mind. “You’ll destroy yourself and the Heart of Fire with you!”
She struggled to shield her thoughts from this unwelcome intruder, but a new terror sapped her remaining strength and caused her to ignore the dragon’s presence—she couldn’t touch her reserve of power! She could feel it, resting languidly just below the surface of her mind, but she couldn’t reach it. Never before had her magic failed her, not since its awakening in early childhood. She retreated to a corner of her mind to search for nonexistent options.
The dragon called to her, quietly, soothingly. “You’ve nothing to fear,” he crooned, directing her attention to the bright, pulsing strand that warmed the edges of her mind. “You’re linked to the flight now. Push right there to broadcast to our species as a whole. Pull back here and touch an individual, or blank out all intrusions like this, for privacy and peaceful meditation.”
When he finished, he nudged her toward the strand. “Try, little one,” he cajoled. “I’ll withdraw. Call me back.”
Sorcha, bereft of her gift and unable to think of another option, gingerly checked the limits of her mind. The connection pulsed with eager vibration, but it awaited her touch. She exhaled a long groaning sigh, savored the privacy she’d always assumed inviolate, and remembered the overtone of concern she’d detected in Caedyrn’s thoughts.
Could the dragon be worried about her? Ridiculous. If she’d detected concern, it had been for the Heart of Fire, not for her. Still, he offered assistance that she sorely needed.
“Caedyrn?”
The link responded to her tentative touch. His presence bloomed in her mind; calm, reassuring, protective.
“I am here, little one.”
“How do I know your name?” Her mind-voice felt brittle, fragile as the sea-mist bubble that had surrounded the Heart of Fire.
“I sang it into the link as you slept. Your courage demanded my respect.”
“Courage? I don’t understand.”
His mind-voice rang through her very soul. “Open your eyes, little one. Raise your head and accept your destiny.”
Caedyrn’s words bewildered and annoyed Sorcha. What did this dragon know about her, or her destiny? She tried to push her annoyance away; clear thinking was required. Everything had changed. Her adversary seemed to admire her and now offered support. She needed to throw off her lassitude, face the physical pain and discover what had transformed her enemy into a would-be guardian.
Consciously holding her pain in check, Sorcha opened her eyes. The world looked wrong. Details too distant for human sight snapped into focus, while items close by dissolved in red haze. She lifted her head and swung it around, searching for Caedyrn. Her first glimpse of him wavered in that bloody fog, then her head came into alignment and his features snapped into precise focus. She wanted to shake her head. Instead, she blinked several times in rapid succession. Halfway through pushing herself up—hands planted in the sand, head oriented on Caedyrn—she froze. Information assailed her: focused sight required her snout be pointed forward; her lower lid flew up when she blinked; claws flexed in the sand at the end of her arms…
She opened her maw and screamed at Caedyrn, “What am I?”
Her words rumbled in an avalanche whose overtones assaulted her sensitive ears. Worst of all, the act of speaking agitated a strange little lump on the roof of her mouth and flame scorched the air as her scream hiccupped into silence. Cautiously, she explored the bump with her tongue, amazed that the flame hadn’t burned her mouth. A slightly acrid taste remained, but seemed to be the only after-effect. She sniffed delicately, and detected a faint sulfur odor. Her human intellect catalogued the smell, but her dragon senses found it comforting rather than frightening.
A thought intruded on her inner confusion. “Speak to me here, little one. Human speech, as we produce it, pains our ears, and as you’ve seen, it can trigger fire if not carefully controlled.” Caedyrn’s words poured across her fear in soothing waves. “But to answer your question, you are a dragon. The Heart of Fire transformed you.”
His words snapped her attention back to the larger issue. “That’s impossible,” she cried, forcing herself to use the link instead of her voice. “I can’t be a dragon!”
“Rise, little one. Unfurl your wings. Feel the power at your command.”
*******************
Just released. Visit Freya's Bower for your copy!
Publisher Freya's Bower
Pain accompanied Sorcha’s return to consciousness. Muscles she didn’t know she possessed screamed their displeasure. Sand grated against the soft skin of cheek and neck, urging her to rise, but lethargy kept her grounded. The slightest movement caused a cascade of agony throughout her system. She’d never been beaten, but she couldn’t imagine that a victim of mob violence would ache more than she did. She should open her eyes and orient herself in time and space, but the task felt too strenuous to attempt. She’d find a less active way to gather information.
Allowing her eyes to remain safely closed, Sorcha turned her attention from her body’s tortured protests to the world surrounding her. She heard the roar of distant breakers and the soft susurrus of the breeze on the lagoon’s sheltered beach. Yes, the lagoon, the beach. That explained the sand under her cheek. Above those soothing natural sounds, she heard an insistent thrumming, the deepened and magnified purring of a thousand cats. The dragon maintained his vigil.
Gods and goddesses, the dragon!
She focused her attention on her enemy’s terrifying presence and discovered a strand of unknown power brushing the edge of her mind. Cat-like, it twisted and slipped away when she tried to grab it, but came willingly when she quieted her mind and ignored it. The connection it formed expanded her mind, altering its landscape forever.
Dragons whispered through this tunnel. She heard them—and understood. What’s more, she felt their pain and embarrassment as her thoughts exploded into the conversational stream.
“Softly, little one,” Caedyrn whispered. “Restrain yourself.”
Sorcha pulled back, away from the vile, alien presence. She huddled on the sand, feeling violated beyond her ability to endure. Her body ached in a thousand places, and her mind… The sanctity of her mind had been breached. Her thoughts were no longer her own. An alien species, hostile and unknown, prowled in the depths. She couldn’t live this way.
She wouldn’t live this way!
With grim determination, Sorcha put aside her fear and confusion and searched her memory for an appropriate spell. An incantation bubbled to the surface of her mind and she tested its suitability for ousting the alien presence. She’d never attempted a working of this magnitude on herself before. Yes, she’d healed minor cuts and abrasions, but this problem required an application of magic she’d never studied. No matter; she had no choice.
“Perhaps you were right, Mother,” she thought, examining each element of the spell one more time. “The price may have been too high, especially if I don’t live to use the Heart of Fire.” She sought her well of magic, always so comforting in its accessibility.
“No!” Caedyrn cried, distress tingeing his thoughts. “You must not use human magic against the flight.” His thoughts echoed through every recess of her mind. “You’ll destroy yourself and the Heart of Fire with you!”
She struggled to shield her thoughts from this unwelcome intruder, but a new terror sapped her remaining strength and caused her to ignore the dragon’s presence—she couldn’t touch her reserve of power! She could feel it, resting languidly just below the surface of her mind, but she couldn’t reach it. Never before had her magic failed her, not since its awakening in early childhood. She retreated to a corner of her mind to search for nonexistent options.
The dragon called to her, quietly, soothingly. “You’ve nothing to fear,” he crooned, directing her attention to the bright, pulsing strand that warmed the edges of her mind. “You’re linked to the flight now. Push right there to broadcast to our species as a whole. Pull back here and touch an individual, or blank out all intrusions like this, for privacy and peaceful meditation.”
When he finished, he nudged her toward the strand. “Try, little one,” he cajoled. “I’ll withdraw. Call me back.”
Sorcha, bereft of her gift and unable to think of another option, gingerly checked the limits of her mind. The connection pulsed with eager vibration, but it awaited her touch. She exhaled a long groaning sigh, savored the privacy she’d always assumed inviolate, and remembered the overtone of concern she’d detected in Caedyrn’s thoughts.
Could the dragon be worried about her? Ridiculous. If she’d detected concern, it had been for the Heart of Fire, not for her. Still, he offered assistance that she sorely needed.
“Caedyrn?”
The link responded to her tentative touch. His presence bloomed in her mind; calm, reassuring, protective.
“I am here, little one.”
“How do I know your name?” Her mind-voice felt brittle, fragile as the sea-mist bubble that had surrounded the Heart of Fire.
“I sang it into the link as you slept. Your courage demanded my respect.”
“Courage? I don’t understand.”
His mind-voice rang through her very soul. “Open your eyes, little one. Raise your head and accept your destiny.”
Caedyrn’s words bewildered and annoyed Sorcha. What did this dragon know about her, or her destiny? She tried to push her annoyance away; clear thinking was required. Everything had changed. Her adversary seemed to admire her and now offered support. She needed to throw off her lassitude, face the physical pain and discover what had transformed her enemy into a would-be guardian.
Consciously holding her pain in check, Sorcha opened her eyes. The world looked wrong. Details too distant for human sight snapped into focus, while items close by dissolved in red haze. She lifted her head and swung it around, searching for Caedyrn. Her first glimpse of him wavered in that bloody fog, then her head came into alignment and his features snapped into precise focus. She wanted to shake her head. Instead, she blinked several times in rapid succession. Halfway through pushing herself up—hands planted in the sand, head oriented on Caedyrn—she froze. Information assailed her: focused sight required her snout be pointed forward; her lower lid flew up when she blinked; claws flexed in the sand at the end of her arms…
She opened her maw and screamed at Caedyrn, “What am I?”
Her words rumbled in an avalanche whose overtones assaulted her sensitive ears. Worst of all, the act of speaking agitated a strange little lump on the roof of her mouth and flame scorched the air as her scream hiccupped into silence. Cautiously, she explored the bump with her tongue, amazed that the flame hadn’t burned her mouth. A slightly acrid taste remained, but seemed to be the only after-effect. She sniffed delicately, and detected a faint sulfur odor. Her human intellect catalogued the smell, but her dragon senses found it comforting rather than frightening.
A thought intruded on her inner confusion. “Speak to me here, little one. Human speech, as we produce it, pains our ears, and as you’ve seen, it can trigger fire if not carefully controlled.” Caedyrn’s words poured across her fear in soothing waves. “But to answer your question, you are a dragon. The Heart of Fire transformed you.”
His words snapped her attention back to the larger issue. “That’s impossible,” she cried, forcing herself to use the link instead of her voice. “I can’t be a dragon!”
“Rise, little one. Unfurl your wings. Feel the power at your command.”
*******************
Just released. Visit Freya's Bower for your copy!
Excerpt from The Whispering House due in October
“You are not alone. You are never alone,” a man’s voice whispered.
She spun around, her heart skittering. Who said that? Her gaze scanned the interior of her kitchen. Nothing. Standing, she walked into the living room. It was empty too. She moved into the bedroom and shivered as cold air swirled around her. Strange. There’d never been a draft before. Something wavered in her peripheral vision. Her head jerked toward the movement; her breath caught in her throat. The window was wide open, and the curtains fluttered in the encroaching fog.
Eleanor couldn’t move, her feet unwilling to step toward the window. Her unease came speeding back like an avalanche down a steep ravine. Someone had been in her house. Someone had broken in.
“Get a grip, Eleanor.”
Who would want to break into her house? But what other explanation was there? Gathering her courage, she walked to the window and yanked it shut, securing the lock. She looked out the window and down at the flowerbed beneath it. Nothing was disturbed, not even a footprint in the dirt or the tall grass that passed for her lawn. Nor was there anyone to be seen anywhere, but she hadn’t expected to see someone, not with the fog already creeping in.
Pulling the curtains shut, she stepped away from the window and rubbed her arms. She began to shiver uncontrollably. Her legs collapsed, dropping her to the floor, and her back collided with the side of the bed. Wave upon wave of grief consumed her. She gasped for air as the reality of her situation descended upon her. Great rasping sobs shook her body. She shuddered and cried, memories of her parents that she’d locked away rushed over her. And she knew that if anything happened to her out here, no one would know. No one would care. No matter what that whisper claimed, she was truly alone.
She spun around, her heart skittering. Who said that? Her gaze scanned the interior of her kitchen. Nothing. Standing, she walked into the living room. It was empty too. She moved into the bedroom and shivered as cold air swirled around her. Strange. There’d never been a draft before. Something wavered in her peripheral vision. Her head jerked toward the movement; her breath caught in her throat. The window was wide open, and the curtains fluttered in the encroaching fog.
Eleanor couldn’t move, her feet unwilling to step toward the window. Her unease came speeding back like an avalanche down a steep ravine. Someone had been in her house. Someone had broken in.
“Get a grip, Eleanor.”
Who would want to break into her house? But what other explanation was there? Gathering her courage, she walked to the window and yanked it shut, securing the lock. She looked out the window and down at the flowerbed beneath it. Nothing was disturbed, not even a footprint in the dirt or the tall grass that passed for her lawn. Nor was there anyone to be seen anywhere, but she hadn’t expected to see someone, not with the fog already creeping in.
Pulling the curtains shut, she stepped away from the window and rubbed her arms. She began to shiver uncontrollably. Her legs collapsed, dropping her to the floor, and her back collided with the side of the bed. Wave upon wave of grief consumed her. She gasped for air as the reality of her situation descended upon her. Great rasping sobs shook her body. She shuddered and cried, memories of her parents that she’d locked away rushed over her. And she knew that if anything happened to her out here, no one would know. No one would care. No matter what that whisper claimed, she was truly alone.
Excerpt #2 Freya's Bower
The Sexual Science of Witchery
Copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Publisher Freya's Bower
The receptionist finally stopped at one of the numerous doors lining the corridor and ushered them into a chamber, its walls, floor and ceiling done in vivid crimson. Off to one side, an adolescent girl waited, her expression neutral. A tall, elegant woman stood in the middle of the room. She wore only a white silk robe that fell to her feet, creating a striking image against a blood red backdrop. The garment hung open, showing her naked, willowy form and large pert breasts.
Tom gaped at her. What an incredible woman! He studied the crescents of her creamy breasts and her long midnight hair, wishing he could bury his fingers in that thick, silky mane while he thrust deep and hard between her legs. His gaze met her startling blue one, and she offered him a knowing smile. Breath quickening, he wondered if could get her off to the side to schedule a little rendezvous.
“Hello,” she said, her voice soft and yet powerful. “I am your VisionPast sorceress."
“What do you have for us?” Garnet asked.
Turning to an ornate chest, the witch-woman motioned for them to join her. She lifted the lid and scooped up a handful of gold coins before allowing them to cascade through her fingers.
“These are ancient,” the sorceress said. “Choose one, and perhaps you will find a piece of an ancestor’s past.” Shrugging, she added, “Perhaps you may discover someone else’s.”
Tom didn’t believe in sorcery, but he still experienced a bud of curiosity. “Where do the coins come from?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just know that they are very old.” The sorceress smiled and indicated that everyone should select a coin. “You should be more concerned with what vision you receive, so choose wisely.”
Copyright 2006 Zinnia Hope
Publisher Freya's Bower
The receptionist finally stopped at one of the numerous doors lining the corridor and ushered them into a chamber, its walls, floor and ceiling done in vivid crimson. Off to one side, an adolescent girl waited, her expression neutral. A tall, elegant woman stood in the middle of the room. She wore only a white silk robe that fell to her feet, creating a striking image against a blood red backdrop. The garment hung open, showing her naked, willowy form and large pert breasts.
Tom gaped at her. What an incredible woman! He studied the crescents of her creamy breasts and her long midnight hair, wishing he could bury his fingers in that thick, silky mane while he thrust deep and hard between her legs. His gaze met her startling blue one, and she offered him a knowing smile. Breath quickening, he wondered if could get her off to the side to schedule a little rendezvous.
“Hello,” she said, her voice soft and yet powerful. “I am your VisionPast sorceress."
“What do you have for us?” Garnet asked.
Turning to an ornate chest, the witch-woman motioned for them to join her. She lifted the lid and scooped up a handful of gold coins before allowing them to cascade through her fingers.
“These are ancient,” the sorceress said. “Choose one, and perhaps you will find a piece of an ancestor’s past.” Shrugging, she added, “Perhaps you may discover someone else’s.”
Tom didn’t believe in sorcery, but he still experienced a bud of curiosity. “Where do the coins come from?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just know that they are very old.” The sorceress smiled and indicated that everyone should select a coin. “You should be more concerned with what vision you receive, so choose wisely.”
Exerpt #1 Freya's Bower
Untitled
Copyright 2006 Phaedre Torres
Publishing Freya's Bower
Summer swelter and I sprawl across perspiration soaked sheets, awaiting the mass of angry clouds on the northern horizon. Weak puffs of ozone-laced breezes filter through the window and I peel my body from the bedding, angling my sticky flesh in their direction, willing the air to stir.
My gaze slides to the chaos gathering against a patch of creamsicle sky. My mind wanders idly through images of you; each as drenched in sensation as I am drenched in sweat. Distant crackles of lightning spark a silent movie in my mind, and I allow my eyes to drift shut, my fingers trailing lightly across my collarbone. You kissed me there, coaxing sweet shimmers up my throat to escape my lips.
The rolling thunder is remote and still whisper quiet – someone coughing politely behind a raised fist; or the soft sounds from the back of your throat as the pleasure became unbearable. I feel your keening now as jolts, causing my muscles to jump with pangs of liquid heat, far and away from the heavy heat in the air.
Here at last, the wind picks up; sighing through the screen, drawing with it the moisture from the air in my room. At once I can breathe again, cool and deep. I see you suckling greedily at my breast…grasping my nipple between your teeth, then flicking the captured flesh with the tip of your tongue…and I held your head to me as my chest swelled to match your hunger. My fingers flutter down to clutch at my breast, frantically kneading. But my hand does you no justice.
I can almost see the steam rising from my body and I’m forced to pull my hand away as the inches of skin on skin between my arm and torso begin to sizzle. I drop my arm across my damp forehead and cover my eyes. I see your tongue trailing down my belly, your intense gaze capturing my own. My abdomen quivers with the memory.
You grasped the button of my jeans between your teeth and released it with a flick of your head. My breath escaped me as your fingers curled around the waistband, thumbs hooked in the belt loops; and you tugged slowly at the denim as you covered the tender skin beneath with your hot breath. A wry smile lit your eyes and you kissed me, full and wet, tongue splayed against my clitoris. Flames shot through my belly, contracting my muscles, yanking my shoulders from the bed. My legs flex and extend, shifting restlessly, wanting you.
My hands have now fallen to the bed, clutching fists full of soggy sheets. You touched me; tentatively at first, just the pad of your thumb, your other arm slung beneath my hips, holding me in position. You lowered your mouth to me, following your thumb, tongue and fingers seeking, invading, conquering. Agonizingly tender. My breath comes in hitches and gasps and my eyes flash open as I marvel over the effect a mere memory can have on the here and now.
I focus on the boiling clouds which are now just above, reminiscent of writhing bodies beneath layers of gauze, and my eyes flutter shut once again. You loomed above me and teased my throat with your lips until I could no longer catch my breath. You dropped your head; watching as you slowly lowered your body to mine. I watched as well, and raised my hips to meet you, my legs circling your waist and hooking in the sway of your back.
Toying with me or yourself, you dabbed at me, watching the head of your erection disappear beneath the wisps of dewy pubic hair, only to draw it back and watch it descend again. A growl tore through my clenched teeth and I pulled you down with all of my might. You chuckled softly and with a thrust of your hips, you were inside me. Mutual sighs of relief hissed between us, accompanied by the sharp slap of our bellies colliding.
Full force, it hits me ...my body rises off the bed, and everything inside me gathers, coils and surges from every pore, almost painfully, until I am hollow and weightless.
I sink into the sheets, roll onto my side and allow the storm’s clean air and white noise to lull me to sleep.
Copyright 2006 Phaedre Torres
Publishing Freya's Bower
Summer swelter and I sprawl across perspiration soaked sheets, awaiting the mass of angry clouds on the northern horizon. Weak puffs of ozone-laced breezes filter through the window and I peel my body from the bedding, angling my sticky flesh in their direction, willing the air to stir.
My gaze slides to the chaos gathering against a patch of creamsicle sky. My mind wanders idly through images of you; each as drenched in sensation as I am drenched in sweat. Distant crackles of lightning spark a silent movie in my mind, and I allow my eyes to drift shut, my fingers trailing lightly across my collarbone. You kissed me there, coaxing sweet shimmers up my throat to escape my lips.
The rolling thunder is remote and still whisper quiet – someone coughing politely behind a raised fist; or the soft sounds from the back of your throat as the pleasure became unbearable. I feel your keening now as jolts, causing my muscles to jump with pangs of liquid heat, far and away from the heavy heat in the air.
Here at last, the wind picks up; sighing through the screen, drawing with it the moisture from the air in my room. At once I can breathe again, cool and deep. I see you suckling greedily at my breast…grasping my nipple between your teeth, then flicking the captured flesh with the tip of your tongue…and I held your head to me as my chest swelled to match your hunger. My fingers flutter down to clutch at my breast, frantically kneading. But my hand does you no justice.
I can almost see the steam rising from my body and I’m forced to pull my hand away as the inches of skin on skin between my arm and torso begin to sizzle. I drop my arm across my damp forehead and cover my eyes. I see your tongue trailing down my belly, your intense gaze capturing my own. My abdomen quivers with the memory.
You grasped the button of my jeans between your teeth and released it with a flick of your head. My breath escaped me as your fingers curled around the waistband, thumbs hooked in the belt loops; and you tugged slowly at the denim as you covered the tender skin beneath with your hot breath. A wry smile lit your eyes and you kissed me, full and wet, tongue splayed against my clitoris. Flames shot through my belly, contracting my muscles, yanking my shoulders from the bed. My legs flex and extend, shifting restlessly, wanting you.
My hands have now fallen to the bed, clutching fists full of soggy sheets. You touched me; tentatively at first, just the pad of your thumb, your other arm slung beneath my hips, holding me in position. You lowered your mouth to me, following your thumb, tongue and fingers seeking, invading, conquering. Agonizingly tender. My breath comes in hitches and gasps and my eyes flash open as I marvel over the effect a mere memory can have on the here and now.
I focus on the boiling clouds which are now just above, reminiscent of writhing bodies beneath layers of gauze, and my eyes flutter shut once again. You loomed above me and teased my throat with your lips until I could no longer catch my breath. You dropped your head; watching as you slowly lowered your body to mine. I watched as well, and raised my hips to meet you, my legs circling your waist and hooking in the sway of your back.
Toying with me or yourself, you dabbed at me, watching the head of your erection disappear beneath the wisps of dewy pubic hair, only to draw it back and watch it descend again. A growl tore through my clenched teeth and I pulled you down with all of my might. You chuckled softly and with a thrust of your hips, you were inside me. Mutual sighs of relief hissed between us, accompanied by the sharp slap of our bellies colliding.
Full force, it hits me ...my body rises off the bed, and everything inside me gathers, coils and surges from every pore, almost painfully, until I am hollow and weightless.
I sink into the sheets, roll onto my side and allow the storm’s clean air and white noise to lull me to sleep.
Quits Review
Rarely do I talk about my work or reviews except on my own blog, but I had to share this one.
http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/1169.html
:o)
http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/1169.html
:o)
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Sensual Summer Chat
Readers: Join us!! You don't want to miss this awesome live chat.Everyone, feel free to repost our chat graphic on your website.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
And the Winner Is ...
Pamela Kinney won the free copy of Sorcha's Heart!
Congrats, Pam! Hope you enjoy getting to know Sorcha and Caedyrn.
---Debbie
Saturday, August 05, 2006
EREC
My essay on e-publishing is now online at Erotic Romance, the blog for the Erotic Romance E-publisher Comparison Site: LINK
The site will offer valuable information for erotic romance writers and aspiring writers. If you write erotic romance and would like to contribute to the blog, visit the site for contact information.
The site will offer valuable information for erotic romance writers and aspiring writers. If you write erotic romance and would like to contribute to the blog, visit the site for contact information.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
4 Plugs for BEYOND THE MAZE
OMG! They haven't even had time to post this to their website! I just got it in my email!!! WOOT!
From The Romance Reader's Connection...
BEYOND THE MAZE
Canice Brown-Porter
Freya's Bower
ISBN: 1-934069-10-8
June 2006
Paranormal Romance (time-travel)
Aubrianna Sheffield has come to the maze - her place of solace - on the grounds of her home, Chadwich Manor Estates after a long day of tours. The weather changes abruptly and she finds that she is no longer where she thought she was.
Lord Keane Hamilton Chadwick IV is walking through his maze when he stumbles across the woman of his recent dreams. How can this be? How could this woman step from the desires of his heart and his dreams, into his arms? He may not know how she got here but he certainly knows he won't be letting her go.
This is a very short story - but a good story indeed. The short format doesn't allow the reader to become emotionally invested in the characters but the storyline is compelling and draws the reader in. It is a delightful tale and it's interesting to see how the characters deal with how Aubrianna traveled back in time.
The author throws in a health scare and how the characters deal with this new twist in enjoyable. The sex scene is well written and descriptive. The characters are enjoyable and believable. Overall a good short story that I would recommend to people who enjoy this format.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Harden
Rating: 4 (4 Plugs Denotes a Book is Excellent)
From The Romance Reader's Connection...
BEYOND THE MAZE
Canice Brown-Porter
Freya's Bower
ISBN: 1-934069-10-8
June 2006
Paranormal Romance (time-travel)
Aubrianna Sheffield has come to the maze - her place of solace - on the grounds of her home, Chadwich Manor Estates after a long day of tours. The weather changes abruptly and she finds that she is no longer where she thought she was.
Lord Keane Hamilton Chadwick IV is walking through his maze when he stumbles across the woman of his recent dreams. How can this be? How could this woman step from the desires of his heart and his dreams, into his arms? He may not know how she got here but he certainly knows he won't be letting her go.
This is a very short story - but a good story indeed. The short format doesn't allow the reader to become emotionally invested in the characters but the storyline is compelling and draws the reader in. It is a delightful tale and it's interesting to see how the characters deal with how Aubrianna traveled back in time.
The author throws in a health scare and how the characters deal with this new twist in enjoyable. The sex scene is well written and descriptive. The characters are enjoyable and believable. Overall a good short story that I would recommend to people who enjoy this format.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Harden
Rating: 4 (4 Plugs Denotes a Book is Excellent)
Last chance to win a beach bag of free books!
You've only got a few more hours left to blog about SHE'S GOT LEGS before I choose the winner of the beach bag full of free books! So act quickly!
But don't worry...I think I'll be running a similar contest again in August. Everyone who entered in July will automatically be entered in August...of course, if you blog a second time, I'll give you more entries (a bonus--I'll give you double the entries for your second blogging).
I'm having issues with uploading images...sorry!
But don't worry...I think I'll be running a similar contest again in August. Everyone who entered in July will automatically be entered in August...of course, if you blog a second time, I'll give you more entries (a bonus--I'll give you double the entries for your second blogging).
I'm having issues with uploading images...sorry!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Let the Games Begin!
Okay, everyone! My "Win a Free Copy of Beyond the Maze" contest has begun! Be sure to post a comment on either today's or yesterday's blog posts. I'll draw the winner's name at 2:30pm Sunday, July 30th! I'll announce the winner's name in the Freya's Bower chat over on Novelspotters. One entry per person, please. My blog addy has changed to:
http://canicebrown-porter.blogspot.com
Be sure to update your records!
http://canicebrown-porter.blogspot.com
Be sure to update your records!
Saturday, July 29, 2006
5 Stars for "Sorcha's Heart"
M.E. Ellis gives Sorcha's Heart 5 stars and says:
"What can I say but a fabulous, and I mean FABULOUS novella. Right from the beginning I was gripped by this tale. I wanted it to be longer; it ended too soon! Thank goodness it is part of a serial! I eagerly await the next book."
And:
"The descriptions are lush and vivid. A very original plot that had me marvelling at the turns it took."
Read the whole review here.
Buy Sorcha's Heart at Freya's Bower starting tomorrow (July 30th)!
An ancient relic of dragon magic; its price? Nothing less than Sorcha’s heart.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Enter for a Chance to Win a Copy of BEYOND THE MAZE!
Hello Everyone! I'm Canice Brown-Porter, author of BEYOND THE MAZE, released by Freya's Bower about 5 weeks ago. I'll be holding a blog contest on Sunday, July 30th and giving away a copy of my Freya's Bower Bites ebook, Beyond the Maze! All you have to do is leave a comment on my post that day promoting my ebook! (The "K.I.S.S." theory at work here!) I'll put everyone's name - who leaves me a comment on Sunday - into a drawing and pull the winner's name at 2:30PM (ET). I'll announce the winner in the Freya's Bower Novelspotter chat which is being held from 10AM - 3PM (EST) that day. You must be a member to enter the chat.http://groups.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there! My blog addy is http://canicebrown-porter.blogspot.com/
Bites are 6,000 to 8,000 words and consists of two short stories that share a common theme.
BLURB
Beyond the Maze
Aubrianna Sheffield strolled through the magnificient centuries-old maze of Chadwick Manor Estates at the end of every day just to unwind. Little did she expect to bump headlong into a gorgeous, masculine bulk on her way back to the manor. Too bad his disposition matched the sudden dark, angry thunder clouds overhead. And, when he demanded an answer as to why she was wandering around his private grounds, she questioned his sanity. Of all the nerve!
The Lord of Chadwick
Lord Keane Hamilton Chadwick IV struggled with the dream-come-to-life, beautiful blonde he held steady in his grasp. Even soaked to the skin in the downpour, she was breathtaking. But that sharp tongue and uncultured speech of hers drove him to the brink of madness. His family had owned Chadwick Manor Estates for over one-hundred-fifty years, and this mere slip of a woman had the audacity to order him to leave. She should be locked away in an asylum!
Rating: Tangy
Warning: Contains graphic language
To read an excerpt or purchase BEYOND THE MAZE, visit: Freya's Bower
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Win a Copy of "Sorcha's Heart"
To celebrate the release of Sorcha's Heart I'm giving a copy away!
It's easy to win - just blog about the release (info below) and then leave me a comment to let me know about it!
If you don't have a blog, go to mine and leave me a comment mentioning this contest!
One of my unbiased family members will pick the winner on Saturday, August 5!
Info to blog by:
Sorcha's Heart by Debbie Mumford
A legendary relic, a dragon-wrought amulet, the Heart of Fire may be the salvation of her people, and Sorcha is willing to pay any price to obtain it, but when she discovers the price is the loss of her humanity, she learns caution too late. Only a hero can save her, and he isn't human.
Available July 30th from Freya's Bower!
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Have fun! And may the best participant win!
---Debbie
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Charly's Fire by Bella Tyler
Charly's Fire
Charly's Fire
All Charly Hanson wants is a night of uninterrupted relaxing. But when her lavender aromatherapy candle catches her house on fire, she ends up with a yard full of fireman. Could one of these men be the one to stir up feelings she thought were long dormant?
Wrong Number
For months, firefighter Charlie Farnsworth has been getting late night phone calls from a charming woman. A woman who gets his blood pumping with the mere sound of her voice. The only problem is... the calls aren't intended for him, but they could be just the thing he needs to refuel his own fire.
Rating: Sweet
Book Length: Bites
Genre: Contemporary
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
An Interview With Samantha Byrne on My Blog
Today I'm profiling Samantha Byrne, author of SPIRIT OF DAWN. So stop by www.amandabrice.blogspot.com and read all about her!
Next Tuesday I'll be featuring an interview with Debbie Mumford, author of GLASS MAGIC and the soon-to-be-released SORCHA'S HEART.
Next Tuesday I'll be featuring an interview with Debbie Mumford, author of GLASS MAGIC and the soon-to-be-released SORCHA'S HEART.
Monday, July 24, 2006
"Sorcha's Heart" by Debbie Mumford
It's official! "Sorcha's Heart" is listed as coming soon on Freya's Bower! (Take a look here.)My fabulous editor pushed me mercilessly (yeah, right!) and the 10,000 word manuscript FB agreed to publish grew to be 21,000 words. And Karen made sure I chose those words carefully! *LOL*
Seriously, I'm very pleased with the finished product, and hope that all of you will read it when it goes live. (More on the release date as soon as I hear it ...)
In the meantime, "Glass Magic" is still available for a quick read on a hot summer night! (Buy it here.)
---Debbie Mumford (who's "an author to watch for" according to Coffee Time Romance. Woo Hoo!)
P.S. - If you're interested in keeping track of my upcoming releases, please join my mailing list.
Special call for Submissions
SPECIAL call for submissions: “Three Voices, One Book”
Length: Three linked novellas (15,000-30,000 words each).
Freya’s Bower is seeking novels composed of three linked novellas, written by a team of three authors.
Writing is such a solitary process, so Freya’s Bower wants to help you work more closely with your fellow writers. “Three Voices, One Book” is a new and exciting line of novels composed of three linked novellas. Each writing team of three authors should choose a concept around which to base three stories (for example, three people at the same job, three brothers/sisters, three generations of the same family, etc.). Each author will write one novella, but should work closely with his/her fellow authors for brainstorming, timeline, and narrative. Each novella should focus on a specific character, but should include the characters from the other novellas.
Each novella should be able to stand on its own, but should also work together to form a longer novel.
We will accept all themes, genres, heat levels (sweet, tangy, spicy, sizzling), and time periods. All three novellas should be in the same heat level, however. We will also accept stories focusing on holidays, with special consideration given to those stories that incorporate pagan holidays as well as mainstream holidays. If querying for a particular holiday, please take into consideration editorial lead-time.
NOTE: this is not for novice writers. Picking up from where another author has left off and continuing on with the idea/series, yet keeping it in a consistent tone is tough to do.
Send queries to submit @ freyasbower . com -- without the spaces -- and include THREE VOICES (TITLE) in your subject line.
Length: Three linked novellas (15,000-30,000 words each).
Freya’s Bower is seeking novels composed of three linked novellas, written by a team of three authors.
Writing is such a solitary process, so Freya’s Bower wants to help you work more closely with your fellow writers. “Three Voices, One Book” is a new and exciting line of novels composed of three linked novellas. Each writing team of three authors should choose a concept around which to base three stories (for example, three people at the same job, three brothers/sisters, three generations of the same family, etc.). Each author will write one novella, but should work closely with his/her fellow authors for brainstorming, timeline, and narrative. Each novella should focus on a specific character, but should include the characters from the other novellas.
Each novella should be able to stand on its own, but should also work together to form a longer novel.
We will accept all themes, genres, heat levels (sweet, tangy, spicy, sizzling), and time periods. All three novellas should be in the same heat level, however. We will also accept stories focusing on holidays, with special consideration given to those stories that incorporate pagan holidays as well as mainstream holidays. If querying for a particular holiday, please take into consideration editorial lead-time.
NOTE: this is not for novice writers. Picking up from where another author has left off and continuing on with the idea/series, yet keeping it in a consistent tone is tough to do.
Send queries to submit @ freyasbower . com -- without the spaces -- and include THREE VOICES (TITLE) in your subject line.
To Be Released This Week!
Wayne Thomas hides a secret, locking it in the depths of his mind. Has kidnapping a young woman proved to him that all females are conniving, treacherous creatures? His childhood has him convinced that women are evil. Can he rid himself of the traumatic events that plagued his younger years or will they continue to haunt him?Befriended by the woman he abducted, Wayne becomes a different person. He embraces happiness, hoping that for once, things won’t go wrong—until a memory triggers the horrors he has locked away and it all comes tumbling out, forcing him to face up to his demons—those inside him and those that still live and breathe.
Coming this week to Wild Child Publishing.com!
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Chatting at CataNetwork-Readers
Hey everyone!
We are chatting at CataNetwork-Readers Yahoo group right now. We will be here until 3 pm EST today. Come by and visit with us.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/catanetwork-readers/
Marci
We are chatting at CataNetwork-Readers Yahoo group right now. We will be here until 3 pm EST today. Come by and visit with us.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/catanetwork-readers/
Marci
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Romance News Raves about Aurora's Passion & Freya's Bower
Ellie McBride from RomanceNews.org says: Aurora's Passion is a quick, sexy, and satisfying read packed with charm and rich description. It will leave you hungry for more of Thomas' work and... Norweigan pastry! "Second Chances" is just a bite, as the promotion promises, but a satisfying one... Like the perfect meal, the pairing of "Aurora's Passion" and "Second Chances" leaves us feeling well-sated. Freya's Bower is on to something! Read the complete review HERE.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Waking the Shadows receives 4.5 Kisses from Romance Divas!
"Freya's Bower has created an interesting concept for storytelling with their Bites series, Two separate stories but still connected. Ms. Drake has written a story that is fast, sexy, packed with action, and suspenseful. Arielle is a gutsy, kickass, brash heroine witch, while Jackson is a hot, sexy vampire. What a combo. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella."Click here to read the full review.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Interview with Elisabeth Drake on my blog
Learn all about WAKING THE SHADOWS author, Elisabeth Drake, in her interview on my blog: www.amandabrice.blogspot.com.
Next week, I'll feature an interview with Samantha Byrne, author of SPIRIT OF DAWN. On August 1, it's Debbie Mumford's turn (GLASS MAGIC), and on August 8, Canice Brown-Porter (BEYOND THE MAZE).
Hey FB authors...I've got plenty of space. I'm only scheduled until August 8, so contact me for your chance to be profiled. I'd love to run this through the fall or beyond! Who will be 8/15???
Next week, I'll feature an interview with Samantha Byrne, author of SPIRIT OF DAWN. On August 1, it's Debbie Mumford's turn (GLASS MAGIC), and on August 8, Canice Brown-Porter (BEYOND THE MAZE).
Hey FB authors...I've got plenty of space. I'm only scheduled until August 8, so contact me for your chance to be profiled. I'd love to run this through the fall or beyond! Who will be 8/15???
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Bebe's Super Fantabulous Newsletter Contest
This month, I'm giving away pamper-me gift sets. Two lucky winners will receive full-size goodies from Bath & Body Works plus a copy of Aurora's Passion. All you have to do to enter is sign up for my newsletter. And even that couldn't be easier, there are three easy ways to sign up!
Click to join bebethomasromance
If you are more of a Google Group person, you can sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/Bebe-Thomas-Romance
Don't want to join a group? Send me an email with Newsletter as the topic, and I'll send the newsletter to your email every month.
The best part of signing up for my newsletter? You are automatically entered into my monthly newsletter contests FOREVER! That's it. Nothing else to do, but sit back and win free stuff.
Click to join bebethomasromance
If you are more of a Google Group person, you can sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/Bebe-Thomas-Romance
Don't want to join a group? Send me an email with Newsletter as the topic, and I'll send the newsletter to your email every month.
The best part of signing up for my newsletter? You are automatically entered into my monthly newsletter contests FOREVER! That's it. Nothing else to do, but sit back and win free stuff.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Romance Divas Chat July 16th
Hey everyone!
It's that crazy editor again. I can't seem to accomplish anything before 1 am, so here I am posting at 1:25 am again. (sigh)
For those of you who missed our chats last weekend, you can come see us this one at Romance Divas... live.
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2006
Location: Romance Divas' chat room
Time: 2 pm - 5 pm
Type: Live chat
Oh, and you must be a member of Romance Divas to participate.
Marci
It's that crazy editor again. I can't seem to accomplish anything before 1 am, so here I am posting at 1:25 am again. (sigh)
For those of you who missed our chats last weekend, you can come see us this one at Romance Divas... live.
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2006
Location: Romance Divas' chat room
Time: 2 pm - 5 pm
Type: Live chat
Oh, and you must be a member of Romance Divas to participate.
Marci
Thursday, July 13, 2006
"Glass Magic" Earns 3 Cups from Coffee Time Romance
I'm so excited!!!
Glass Magic received a wonderful review from Susan White at CoffeeTime Romance! Ms. White says:
"This delightful book really struck my fancy. Red is a wonderfully mischievous faery. I had such fun reading about him. Both stories give readers an idea of Red's personality and charm. Ms. Mumford is an author to watch for in the future. If you enjoy tales of faeries and magic then give this enchanting book a try."
Buy Glass Magic here.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
3 cups
Kayla Finds Her Way received a review from Coffee Time Romance. Jen says: Both of these shorts have interesting plots capable of quickly sweeping readers away. What surprised me most, however, was the depth of some of the issues presented in these tales. Ms. Lee does quite an amazing job of portraying some serious dilemmas that her characters must work through.
Honestly, a part of me wishes I had received more cups. (I'm greedy like that.) I know...it's not about the actual rating. I should be more concerned with what the reviewer had to say. Overall it's a good review. I wanted to achieve a level of realism with my stories, and the review shows that I did. You can read the entire review HERE.
Honestly, a part of me wishes I had received more cups. (I'm greedy like that.) I know...it's not about the actual rating. I should be more concerned with what the reviewer had to say. Overall it's a good review. I wanted to achieve a level of realism with my stories, and the review shows that I did. You can read the entire review HERE.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
FB author profiles on my blog!
Beginning this week, I will be interviewing a different Freya's Bower author every Tuesday. So check my blog (www.amandabrice.blogspot.com) for an interview with Bebe Thomas tomorrow! Next Tuesday, July 18, will be Elisabeth Drake.
Speaking of blogs, I'm running a July blog contest to promote my Bites SHE'S GOT LEGS. You can help me out by posting a blurb or review on your blog or website. Once you do, email me at amandabrice@myway.com and you'll be entered to win a beach bag full of books! It's that simple!
Speaking of blogs, I'm running a July blog contest to promote my Bites SHE'S GOT LEGS. You can help me out by posting a blurb or review on your blog or website. Once you do, email me at amandabrice@myway.com and you'll be entered to win a beach bag full of books! It's that simple!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Chat and more
Are you at the Pink Posse chat? Why not? It's loads of fun. :)
I received another positive review for KAYLA FINDS HER WAY. From the e-zine Estella's Revenge, Andi says:
Kis Lee's erotic material naturally works into the flow of her writing and never comes off as choppy or disjointed. The erotic moments are natural progressions of the larger story and fit the mood of the piece thanks to well-chosen language and atmospheric touches that draw the reader effortlessly into the work.
Read the entire review HERE. Scroll down 3/4 of the way down the page.
I received another positive review for KAYLA FINDS HER WAY. From the e-zine Estella's Revenge, Andi says:
Kis Lee's erotic material naturally works into the flow of her writing and never comes off as choppy or disjointed. The erotic moments are natural progressions of the larger story and fit the mood of the piece thanks to well-chosen language and atmospheric touches that draw the reader effortlessly into the work.
Read the entire review HERE. Scroll down 3/4 of the way down the page.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Pink Posse Chat
Hello everyone!
Come chat with us. We are having great contests and some scintillating (read into the gutter ;)) conversation.
Where: The Pink Posse Yahoo Chat Group -- you must be a member
When: July 7, 2006 All day
Type: Loop Chat
And
Where: The Pink Posse Chat Room
When: July 9, 2006 from 8 pm to 9 pm EST
Type: Live Chat
We look forward to seeing your bright, friendly faces.
Marci BaunEditor-in-Chief
Freya's Bower
Monday, July 03, 2006
SHE'S GOT LEGS on sale now!
Thanks to everyone who entered my contest. Congratulations to Kelley Vitollo for winning the free copy of SHE'S GOT LEGS.
Stay tuned--I'll be running another contest on my blog soon!
Stay tuned--I'll be running another contest on my blog soon!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
SHE'S GOT LEGS available this weekend!
Hey everyone! My name is Amanda Brice and I'm happy to announce that my chick lit Bites SHE'S GOT LEGS will be available this weekend, just in time for 4th of July poolside reading! :)
Here's the blurb:
WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES
Daria Wyatt didn’t want to go to her fifteen-year high school reunion. Although she has blossomed from a wallflower into a powerful Capitol Hill attorney, she knew seeing those girls in person wouldn’t exactly do wonders for her self-esteem. If only her younger sister Kara hadn’t insisted she go. Giving in to shut her sister up, Daria borrows Kara’s high heels in an effort to jumpstart her confidence. But in her rush to get out the door, she picks up the wrong pair, a butt-ugly purple platform creation with bright green sequins…
AFTER MIDNIGHT
Greg McCauley can’t believe his bad luck. He finally meets a beautiful, intelligent, intriguing, confident woman, but she rushes off before he can get her number. He knows he should put her out of his mind, but there’s just something about her. Those lips, those eyes, those legs, those crazy shoes…
A little about myself. I'm a government attorney in the Washington, DC area, working on intellectual property issues. I've been writing since I was a little girl but my dad convinced me to "do something practical with my life" so I went to law school instead. I finally came back to fiction writing as I was engaging in a little procrastination to take me away from having to write a paper on the patentability of indigenous medicinal methods (snore!). I decided that chick lit was much more fun to write than contracts and pleadings, so here I am!
Anyway, I'm running my first-ever contest to celebrate my first-ever release, so send me a quick email to amandabrice@myway.com by 11:59 EST, Friday, June 30 with the subject line "contest entry" for a chance to win a free download of SHE'S GOT LEGS.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Friendly Fire now available!
Hey y'all! I'm Loribelle Hunt and I write suspense, military, and paranormal erotic romance for the most part. I'm excited to announce that my Bites, Friendly Fire, are now available!
Homecoming
Just home from an overseas deployment, Brad has doubts about his wife’s interest in continuing their marriage. Will a chance encounter with a bullet shell that gives glimpses of the man’s life it took change his mind?
Twice In a Lifetime
Janine has loved two soldiers in her life, but she has kept the first a secret from her new husband. When a bullet shell with visions gives him a crash course in her past love life, will it strengthen or end their young marriage?
I also write for Cobblestone Press and you can find out all about me and my work on my website and blog. ;)
Monday, June 26, 2006
Last Call for Entries - "Glass Magic" Giveaway
There's still time to enter my contest for a free copy of Glass Magic!Simply go to my mailing list and sign up.
One of my CPs will pick the winning name tomorrow night (June 27th)!
Good luck to one and all!
---Debbie
Friday, June 23, 2006
Shameless Plug Ahead! Aurora's Passion is a Recommended Read!
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A new review just in!Jasmina Vallombrosa of TCM says Aurora's Passion is "Definitely a recommended read..."
Check out the complete review HERE!
Check out my website or blog for more information about Aurora's Passion and my upcoming books.
Don't forget! Only 7 days left in my June Blog Contest!
Friday, June 16, 2006
TCM Review
Another review for KAYLA FINDS HER WAY- from TCM
Jasmina Vallombrosa says: The characters come to life as the plot keeps the reader thoroughly entertained. The sexual scenes were quite creative and enticing. Ms. Lee has shown us her talent; now we must anxiously look forward to her next work.
Read the entire review HERE.
Jasmina Vallombrosa says: The characters come to life as the plot keeps the reader thoroughly entertained. The sexual scenes were quite creative and enticing. Ms. Lee has shown us her talent; now we must anxiously look forward to her next work.
Read the entire review HERE.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Bebe's June Blog Contest
To celebrate the release of Aurora's Passion, I'm giving away a Frankie & Johnnie Essentials handbag this month.Enter the contest by sending an email through the contact page on my website or by posting a comment on my blog. The purse would be fabulous with jeans or capris. It comes with a change purse, a folding umbrella and a hard eyeglass case.As an extra bonus, if you blog about Aurora's Passion, you'll also be entered in the Taste of Aurora's Passion giveaway.LOTS of yummy goodness: Norwegian and Swedish chocolate, Anna's Thin cookies, Raspberry Drops, Sparkling Cider. It's a sampling of the best Scandinavian treats! Thanks and good luck!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Blog Q&A
Every Friday I will be holding a Q&A session on my blog: Guilty Pleasures.
Don't be shy. Ask me a question, and I'll post the answers on Monday.
Don't be shy. Ask me a question, and I'll post the answers on Monday.
Glass Magic's 1st Review
Glass Magic's first review is out, and M.E. Ellis awarded 4 stars!! "These stories are both amusing and erotic. I would highly recommend them for a light-hearted read that gives you a sense of happiness that true love can, and does exist."Read the complete review here.
Buy Glass Magic here.
Enter my celebratory contest! All you have to do is sign up on my mailing list to have a chance for a free copy of Glass Magic! One of my wonderful CP's will pick the winner at our weekly writing night on Tuesday, June 27th and I'll announce the winner on my blog!
News: I'll be participating in my first ever Author Chat on Sunday, June 11th on the Ebooklove chat list. Join several of your favorite Freya's Bower authors for lots of fun and great giveaways!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Shout out to other Bites authors
Hi everyone. I just thought I'd share this link: Romance Junkies Book Club.
They have over 1,200 members, and they do promote erotica authors. Subscribe to the group and contact Dorine, their book club coordinator, for more information.
If you come across any other links, do share!
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Edited to add:
Got my first review! Michele Ellis says: Gems. That’s what these stories are. Very enjoyable, and so well written. Top marks to Kis Lee.
Read the entire review HERE.
They have over 1,200 members, and they do promote erotica authors. Subscribe to the group and contact Dorine, their book club coordinator, for more information.
If you come across any other links, do share!
*
Edited to add:
Got my first review! Michele Ellis says: Gems. That’s what these stories are. Very enjoyable, and so well written. Top marks to Kis Lee.
Read the entire review HERE.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Aurora's Passion Gets 4 Stars from Romance-Central
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My first review is up on the net. Yay! Aurora's Passion got 4 stars.
Rene at Romance-Central says "It seems rare for an erotic story to have such a sweet feel to it... A charming story, Aurora's Passion is a quick and pleasant read...
...Ms. Thomas is a true romantic at heart."
Can you tell I'm thrilled? Stop by Romance-Central to read the complete text.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
SWORD OF REGRET - Steamy Vampire Fun!
Greetings, everybody! I'm Heather, aka H.A. Fowler, writer of paranormal romance, dark fantasy, erotica and horror, and I'm proud to announce the release of my Freya's Bower Bites, called SWORD OF REGRET!
What if there was a weapon that could rekindle the conscience of a killer? When a vicious vampire and a ruthless vampire hunter touch just such an artifact in these two dark erotic tales, the relationships between humans and immortals could be changed... forever.
M.E. Ellis says "I could see everything that was described, and, let me tell you, some of it nearly scorched my eyes! Phew! Hot stuff!"
Don't miss it!
I also write an ongoing dark fantasy serial for Inara Press, called THE VEIL -- it's the story of an odd couple -- hard-boiled vampire cop Devon Harrigan, and pampered human priestess Helene DuSolaire, and their quest to save the world from being overrun by monsters from another dimension. Called "A Unique Combination of Fantasy, Adventure and Romance" by Wantz Upon a Time Reviews, THE VEIL is the cure for the "Oh, great, another paranormal..." blues!
To find out more about my work, stop by my website: http://www.hafowler.com and join the mailing list!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Kayla Finds Her Way - coming soon
Hello, everyone! I'm Kis Lee, and my Bites book will be released on June 12th. (I know my blurb is early, but I'm excited.) My book is a collection of erotic stories with Western flavor. My writing leans more towards "erotic" than "romance," so be prepared for some sizzling words.Sneak preview:
Love and War in Lost River: 1873 – In a small cabin near Lost River, California, Jim and Lois Campbell prepare for the upcoming war against the Modoc tribe. Jim will soon join his militia company in a surprise attack against the neighboring warriors. As the conflict grows closer, Lois tries to convince her husband to quit the militia.
Kayla Finds Her Way: Twenty-year-old Kayla feels trapped in the dusty, sleepy town of Alturas, California. Stuck in a dead end job cleaning motel rooms, she daydreams about leaving Alturas behind. Then, she meets John Blacksmith, the handsome new owner of her motel. Tall, sexy John might be the cure for Kayla’s restlessness.
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Stop by and say hello on my blog. Write on...
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Aurora's Passion by Bebe Thomas
Hi everyone! I'm Bebe Thomas, and Aurora's Passion is my Bites e-book from Freya's Bower.
Kris Anderssen is having a bad week. She lost her dream job and her lover on the same day and is in danger of losing her swanky New York apartment. She's regrouping by spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Aurora, her hometown. It's anything but relaxing. Her grandmother won't stop talking about the Northern Lights, the goddess Freya, and Norwegian folklore. Plus, Kris is more conflicted than ever, finding herself caught in a love triangle between her hot former boyfriend and her sexy best friend. She has feelings for each man; how can she possibly choose between them?
Want to read more? Click here for a excerpt. Or here to buy the book. It will be the best $2.00 you spend all day!
And please feel free to stop by my blog or website. My new contest starts tomorrow. You won't want to miss this one!
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Kris Anderssen is having a bad week. She lost her dream job and her lover on the same day and is in danger of losing her swanky New York apartment. She's regrouping by spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Aurora, her hometown. It's anything but relaxing. Her grandmother won't stop talking about the Northern Lights, the goddess Freya, and Norwegian folklore. Plus, Kris is more conflicted than ever, finding herself caught in a love triangle between her hot former boyfriend and her sexy best friend. She has feelings for each man; how can she possibly choose between them?
Want to read more? Click here for a excerpt. Or here to buy the book. It will be the best $2.00 you spend all day!
And please feel free to stop by my blog or website. My new contest starts tomorrow. You won't want to miss this one!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Glass Magic, by Debbie Mumford
Hello, World! My name is Debbie Mumford and my "Bites" offering, Glass Magic, has just gone live on Freya's Bower.
I'm very excited to be here, and hope that you will enjoy reading about Red and his escapades.
Here's a taste of each story:
The Ghost in the Glass -
Interior Designer Maureen McBride never expected to get a faery when she ordered antique Irish glass for the windows of the mansion she’s decorating, but if he doesn’t kill her first, the trickster’s games may just give her the greatest gift of her life.
Excerpt:
Red’s spirits lifted and he pressed his nose against his glass prison and stared hungrily across the room. Yes! The snooty female stood mere feet from him, making notes with a black stylus on a small tablet. Oh, she would do nicely. Tall for a female, she possessed delectable curves and flaming red hair. The hair settled his malicious intent. She wore it pulled back in a severe knot, but escaping tendrils confirmed his impression of long, riotous curls. The perfect scapegoat.
Now, he needed a man. He flowed to the right edge of his prison and inspected the fingers carefully pushing his glass into place. This one had felt Red’s flame when his unprotected flesh touched the surface of Red’s prison. He sniffed. Ah, of course, Celtic blood -- and a connection already established. Red rolled across his glass in a series of exuberant somersaults, glad to be alive for the first time in ages.
Red's Bower -
Famed violinist Raymond O’Connor came to Flynn’s Bed and Breakfast seeking sanctuary to prepare for an important concert, but a night in Red’s Bower leads to the biggest decision of his life.
Excerpt:
“Wait,” said the woman. She turned to face Ray, and he saw that her eyes were bright with an emotion he couldn’t identify. “I really think you should have this gentleman move your things upstairs to the room Maureen prepared for you.” She took a step closer to Ray, glanced toward the deck, and lowered her voice. “This room has a, well, um, a reputation. They say it’s haunted.”
Ray stared at her for a moment, but failed to see the expected glint of laughter in her eyes. He glanced around the room and said, “Ridiculous. This is a perfectly lovely room and I have no intention of racing up and down stairs all day.” He paid the cab driver and sent him on his way.
You Again?
We, the authors at Freya's Bower, have been given the opportunity to post here and tell people a little about ourselves, and about our writing. And I think we're all afraid to go first. Well, I've been feeling a little fatalistic the last couple days, so I'm stepping up first. 
My name is Dayna Hart, and I have a bite out with Freya's Bower, called You Again. The title is from a saying that I use fairly regularly, with inflection in different places to suit my mood. When my kids come to ask for yet another snack. "Not you again," when they come for kisses: "You again?". It's fitting, not just for the stories, but personally.
These are 'sweet' bites, which means my Mom can read them without me worrying that she's going to start giving me 'that look'. The first story is about a musical industry wildchild named Cherry giving grief to a reporter. Cherry was a lot of fun to write about.
In the second story, the MC is great, but the hero-- I'm hoping to use him in another story somehow. He's a cowboy/psychiatrist. See? You are intrigued!
I'll be following up my bite with a couple of novellas, one of which is geared to debut the Valkyrie line. (Oh, no pressure, Dayna, no worries. Psh!) I hope to be able to post an excerpt soon, but since neither Marci or Faith have seen any of it yet...it would be a little presumptuous to do it today. :)
My bio...well, I'm 29 years old, and I have three children. All boys. When I'm not writing, I'm either renovating my 150 year old farmhouse (or adding lists to the hubby's to-do list) or I'm working one of a hundred different craft projects that I've started, but not finished. I love to garden, and when mosquito season is over (sometime this winter) I'll enjoy looking at the photos I've taken of my garden from behind the protection of a screen door.
That's all for now. It wasn't so scary...really.
My name is Dayna Hart, and I have a bite out with Freya's Bower, called You Again. The title is from a saying that I use fairly regularly, with inflection in different places to suit my mood. When my kids come to ask for yet another snack. "Not you again," when they come for kisses: "You again?". It's fitting, not just for the stories, but personally.
These are 'sweet' bites, which means my Mom can read them without me worrying that she's going to start giving me 'that look'. The first story is about a musical industry wildchild named Cherry giving grief to a reporter. Cherry was a lot of fun to write about.
In the second story, the MC is great, but the hero-- I'm hoping to use him in another story somehow. He's a cowboy/psychiatrist. See? You are intrigued!
I'll be following up my bite with a couple of novellas, one of which is geared to debut the Valkyrie line. (Oh, no pressure, Dayna, no worries. Psh!) I hope to be able to post an excerpt soon, but since neither Marci or Faith have seen any of it yet...it would be a little presumptuous to do it today. :)
My bio...well, I'm 29 years old, and I have three children. All boys. When I'm not writing, I'm either renovating my 150 year old farmhouse (or adding lists to the hubby's to-do list) or I'm working one of a hundred different craft projects that I've started, but not finished. I love to garden, and when mosquito season is over (sometime this winter) I'll enjoy looking at the photos I've taken of my garden from behind the protection of a screen door.
That's all for now. It wasn't so scary...really.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
New Release! Our First Bites Author!
Ashkii's wife and infant son died of smallpox, leaving him bereft, yet he must carry out his duties as eldest male of his Navajo clan. Jack Conover has lost faith in love and has resigned himself to a life alone on the ranch. In Spirit of Dawn and Angel of Dawn, each man is comforted by a mystical woman he discovers on the frontier. Who is she? Neither know, but she eases each man's heartache, allowing him to move forward with life.
Rating: Sweet
Book Length: Bites
Price: $2.00
BUY IT HERE!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Monthly Contest
Just a reminder that Freya's Bower hosts a monthly contest. All you have to do is submit your email to admin@freyasbower.com with "Contest" in the subject line to enter. This month's featured ebook is Last Chance by Kit Wylde.
In other news, we have several Bites, short erotic ebooks of no more than 8,000 words, soon to be released. Our first one is due out in the next two weeks to be followed by at least 14 others. The Bites are written by authors of diverse backgrounds, which makes this very exciting. Well, it's exciting anyway, but the diversity of where everyone is from (US, Germany, Australia, England, etc) heightens the feeling of reaching around the world.
We will post the first cover here, so be sure to check back with us.
Marci
In other news, we have several Bites, short erotic ebooks of no more than 8,000 words, soon to be released. Our first one is due out in the next two weeks to be followed by at least 14 others. The Bites are written by authors of diverse backgrounds, which makes this very exciting. Well, it's exciting anyway, but the diversity of where everyone is from (US, Germany, Australia, England, etc) heightens the feeling of reaching around the world.
We will post the first cover here, so be sure to check back with us.
Marci
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