Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

My special guest today is Brinda Berry. I met Brinda online last year and now read her blog on a regular basis. She writes the most informative posts on social media and other promo type things that are helpful for all writers. Today Brinda, who writes young adult fiction, is talking about young love. Over to Brinda! 

Young adult (YA) fiction has become very popular with adult readers in the past few years.  I became interested in young adult romance when I read the Twilight series.  To be honest, I inhaled those books. They were fun to read and reminded me of high school, youth, and first love. I then moved on to discover an entire genre of exciting books I had never considered reading as an adult.

What makes the genre so appealing to the adult reader?  I’d like to focus on the aspect of first love as a theme I see in many YA books.  In my opinion, first love is different from the love one experiences later in life.  There is a hot brilliance to the emotions because it’s so new.

Let me share with you Exhibit A from my own first love. The stack of letters you see came from my first love when I was eighteen years old. For one year, I received these love letters. It was a long distance relationship before email and cell phones with unlimited  text messaging.

I dug the letters out of the closet where I could take a picture just for you. Then I began to read through some of them. Whew *fanning self*.  Were we that in much in love? It was a long time ago. I guess I had forgotten. The declarations of love and longing are stamped into each word.

The letters were written by a young man I later married. Twenty-six years later, we still are.  Things change a lot as you become an adult and collect lots of life experience.  It’s nice to look back at the letters and remember what it’s like to be eighteen and in love.  Reading in the YA genre is another way to experience it again through some great characters.  So, go on, have some fun. Fall in love again for the first time.

Do you read in the YA genre? Do you remember your first love?

The Waiting Booth Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/xIBrZWsJ3Ls

BUY LINKS: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, All Romance eBooks, Borders online

MARK IT ON: Goodreads

FIND BRINDA:  WEB  FACEBOOK  TWITTER

BLURB:  The Waiting Booth

A missing boy, government agents, an interdimensional portal…Mia has one goal for her senior year at Whispering Woods High—find her missing older brother. But when her science project reveals a portal into another dimension, she learns that travelers are moving in and out of her woods in the most alarming way and government agents Regulus and Arizona are policing their immigration. Mia’s drawn to the mysterious, aloof Regulus, but it’s no time for a crush. She needs to find out what they know about her brother, while the agents fight to save the world from viral contamination. But when Regulus reveals that he knows Mia’s secrets, she begins to wonder if there’s more going on than she thought…and if she was wrong to trust him…

BIO: Brinda lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She’s terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality.

CONTEST: I won a copy of Brinda’s The Waiting Booth and enjoyed it very much. I’d like to pass on that opportunity to another reader, so I’m going to give away an ebook version of The Waiting Booth to one person who answers Brinda’s question above.

Note – I’ll be gifting The Waiting Booth from either Amazon or All Romance ebooks, and the winner will be announced 5 Feb, late Sunday night, here at my blog.

Tori St. Claire, the author of Stripped is visiting today. Tori grew up writing. Hobby quickly turned into passion, and when she discovered the world of romance as a teen, poems and short stories gave way to full length novels with sexy heroes and heroines waiting to be swept off their feet. She wrote her first romance novel at seventeen.

www.toristclaire.com
www.claireashgrove.com
Twitter: @claireashgrove

1. Give us an elevator pitch for your book, Stripped.

Eeegads! That’s what I have an agent for. (Laughing). So now that I’ve fallen over in shock over condensing my book into a handful of words… let’s give this a whirl: (Be careful what you ask for, you have no idea how truly bad I am at this.)

A dark, edgy, romantic thriller with a splash of 007 action, a healthy helping of twisting intrigue, and a hotbed of erotic encounters. STRIPPED takes risks, breeches accepted boundaries, and blends sin, danger, and pleasure.

Thirty-five words – short enough? Did I pass?

2. Where did the idea for your book come from, and did you originally envisage more than one book in a loosely connected series? Do you intend to write more Black Opal stories?

At the core of what it is, Stripped came from my deep love of on-the-edge characters, men and women you aren’t sure whether or not you should root for. I find it fascinating when I can fall in love with a character whose moral compass is so drastically different than mine, and yet, I want them to succeed. The other fascination I have is with characters who are portrayed as operatives. People like Diva on NCIS. Or Sayid from LOST. They are fulfilling a “good” role, but their backgrounds are dark. They’ve done things that would make us normal folks have nightmares. Blend those loves together and Natalya, my heroine in STRIPPED, took form. The rest of the story fell to simple plotting.

Did I envision more than one book? Yes and no. I always write with an option for “what could I do with this.” But where it began, and where it ended – with the Black Opals – are two different things. Natalya was just a covert agent, in the initial design. It wasn’t until I signed the contract with Berkley that the Black Opals popped up and her specialization took shape. And that just was one of those things that hit me out of the blue, I put into an editing pass, and it stuck with my editor as well.

More Black Opal stories – you betcha! In fact, the second in the series, LIE TO ME, is slated to come out in July of 2012.

3. Some of the action in Stripped takes place in the famed club Fantasia. Describe the club and tell us some of the sights, sounds and scents we might experience if we were to step into the club.

Mm. Fantasia. You’d find opulence – crystal chandeliers, red velvet, dark supple leather, and polished brass. Your nose is teased with the scent of cigars, expensive colognes, and money. It’s a show house, a little more burlesque than come in, take off your clothes, and prance around the stage. The dancers are the elite of the elite, their acts even more so. And it is truly an act, not a dance, though dance is obviously part of the routine. Each act tells a story of seduction. Each seduction plays to the fantasies of the wealthy clientele.

4. How do you go about developing your characters? Do you normally start with a character or the plot?

I plot heavily, but where I begin varies book to book. Sometimes a character jumps out at me and the plot has to be crafted around him/her. Sometimes the plot is there and I just need the players. But whichever the case, nine times out of ten the character presents intact. Personality, appearance, what he/she’s hiding, his/her goal – it comes as a package deal in my head. Which also means sometimes I have to set the character aside and wait for his or her story to strike.

5. Is there any part of the writing process that you find particularly challenging and why?

I despise synopsis writing. I think that’s somewhat of a given with a lot of authors, but I truly detest the process. I hate condensing, I hate picking out “the important stuff”, and sticking it all into a boring, monotonous read. And I can’t stand revealing plot secrets when I’m crafting intricacies like are what involved with STRIPPED and the Black Opal series. I simply don’t want to spoil the reaction, not even for my editor.

6. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

My favorite author is Steve Berry. I love the level of complicity that he puts into his writing. Just when you think you understand – eh, not so much. There’s always a surprise, always a twist, and the way he merges historical fact with fiction makes me weak at the knees.

Now Tori has a question for you – What do you expect from an erotic romantic suspense?

CONTEST: Everyone who comments on this post will go into a draw to win a $25 Amazon GC. To increase your chances of winning follow Tori St. Claire’s blog tour!

Body of secrets…

As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss. His business is trafficking vulnerable Las Vegas strippers overseas for twisted sex games. Natalya’s business is to blow the ring wide open and bring down Dmitri and his American contacts. But the stakes are raised when she learns that the next target is her own sister Kate, a dancer in the famed club Fantasia. Only now does Natalya realize how personal her mission has become, and how far she’s willing to go to complete it.

Body of lies…

The manager of Fantasia is Brandon Moretti, an undercover detective who keeps a close eye on his girls, and an even closer one on his sinfully sensual hire. For Natalya, working the club could be the break she’s been waiting for. But for Moretti, Natalya is a possible link to a killer. Only he never counted on her being so lethally seductive or so dangerous to get close to. As every forbidden pleasure between them is stripped away, his own secrets threaten their security, but it’s Natalya’s that could destroy them both.

Purchase Stripped

This interview with Amanda was scheduled for posting last week, but was delayed due to my website problems.

Today I’d like to welcome Amanda Arista. Amanda is the author of Diaries of an Urban Panther, which I loved, and I’m thrilled to have her visit and talk about the followup story Claws and Effect.

She spends her weekends writing at coffee shops, practicing for the day that caffeine intake becomes an Olympic sport, and plotting character demises with fellow writers Wolvarez, Killer Cupcake and Keith (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent).

1. Give us an elevator pitch for your book Claws and Effect.

After taking down the Primo of the city, Violet thought life was going to get better. After four assassination attempts, she’s thinking not so much. The old Pride wants her dead. Her boyfriend wants a traditional relationship. A pack of lost mongrels want a leader. And a new panther comes prowling into town new to the shift needs a teacher. So how does a girl manage a real job, a relationship with a non-shifter and a Legacy that burns like hellfire within her?

2. Where did the idea for your book come from, and did you originally envisage more than one book in a series? Do you intend to write more Violet Jordan stories?

The original Idea for the first book came from a simple question: what would you do if you (a normal person) were trapped in the back alley with a monster? Violet’s initial reaction was what I would have done: thrown my shoe and run like hell. I knew that Violet’s story wasn’t over after the first book. She’d come into her power, but she’d done some damage in the process, to herself, to the city, to her new boyfriend. Hence the second book. What happen in the aftermath of her triumph? Even after this book, I don’t think all of Violet’s questions are answered, so yes, I can see even more Diaries in the future.

3. Describe the sights, sounds and scents we might experience if we were to visit Violet when she’s with other shifters during a normal day.

Violet practically lives at her coffee shop, so there is always the ambient smell of coffee around. She tends to sit in a front window, curled up in the sunlight with her magical borders at half mast, half way down to show off and halfway up just in case she needs to hide. When another shifter comes around, it’s like a brush of fur or feathers up her neck. Her awareness rises and she’s got them on her radar. If one of her pack members joins her, they greet her with a brush of energy which to Violet smells different, feels different for each person. Her best friend Jessa feels like cool raindrops and smells like roses. Her mentor Iris feels like cashmere and smells like dust. Her pack members smell like new born puppies and chewed rawhide.

4. How do you go about developing your characters? Do you normally start with a character or the plot?

I always start with character. For me, the character drives the plot. Without a well-formed character, how are you are the writer supposed to know what obstacles to put in their way? How are you going to know what they can survive or what would test them the most? The plot just can’t be hard to survive, it has to be hard for the character to survive.

Violet Jordan was pretty welled formed when I met her. I knew her family background, her schooling, what her vice was and what her soft spot was. She was damaged and hilarious, but it wasn’t until I really started to test her that her fierceness came out and I knew who she was. That’s when I knew what she could handle, how she would handle it, and what would be her ultimate betrayal.

5. Is there any part of the writing process that you find particularly challenging and why?

Editing is always challenging. I tend to write the novel really fast and then go back and word-smith it all. However, I change and change and change and get taken in all different directions and sometimes I get a little confused as to which version of the story I’m actually going with. I had to reread the first book before I went into the second book because I’d changed so much from the original story, but in the end, I’m always glad that I worked hard to get her in the best shape that I could.

6. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Neil Gaiman is my favorite author. I love his world building. American Gods blew me away. He just takes one normal thing and then takes it a million steps in a direction and goes for it. His characters are empathetic even though sometimes its Lucifer himself. I LOVE HIM and if I ever get the chance to meet him I will be so tongue tied that I won’t be able to say it.

Now here’s a question for you from Amanda – What would you do in a dark alley if you were faced with a monster?

Thanks for having me at Adventure into Romance. Feel free to comment or leave a question.

Violet Jordan Rule #2 of being a superhero: Find reliable sidekicks

Dear Diary,

Once I took down Haverty, the Primo of the city, I thought life was going to get better. After four assassination attempts, I’m thinking not so much. Haverty’s pack needs a new leader and I’ve just about run out of reasons why I’m not right for the job. Besides, having loyal followers would definitely help me fight off whoever’s out for my blood. Especially since my boyfriend is always busy playing White Hat to every Wanderer except me.

So now I just need to figure out how to mentor new shifters, run a pack, keep my “real” job, and have some sort of personal life. I guess it’s all in a day’s work for this writer-by-day / panther-by-night.

Purchase Claws and Effect

Purchase Diaries of an Urban Panther

To learn more about Amanda and her books, visit her website at www.amandaarista.com. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter @pantherista

I’d like to welcome Janine Ashbless to my blog today. Janine is a multi-published author of erotic romance and erotica. Her first book was published in 2000 by Black Lace and she currently writes for Samhain and Ellora’s Cave among others. She’s always used elements of fantasy, mythology and folklore in her writing, with occasional forays into horror.

Janine lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two rescued greyhounds, and is trying hard to overcome her addiction to semicolons.

1. Give us an elevator pitch for your book, Heart of Flame.

“The Adventures of Sinbad with hot romance. And extra djinnis.”

2. Where did the idea for your book come from? Did you need to do much research?

It’s a setting I’ve wanted to write about for years. When an editor asked me to come up with a romantic fantasy novel, the Arabian Nights was what jumped straight into my head. Heart of Flame ended up going to a different editor and a bigger publisher, in the end, but that’s how I started.

This is the first of my 5 published novels with anything like a real historical background, so I did a load of research, starting with the unexpurgated version of the One Thousand and One Nights. I borrowed a duffle-bag full of books on Middle Eastern history from a friend, and of course I used the internet. Honestly, how did writers ever manage before? Did you know you can Google Earth Iraq and look for the route to the ruined city of Ctesiphon? How awesome is that!

Also, I actually spent a few days in Damascus during the time I was writing Heart of Flame. That was a happy coincidence really, but it certainly didn’t hurt!

3. What does your writing space look like, and do you have a view?

I write sitting up in bed with my laptop. I have two large rescued greyhounds to keep me company with their strange doggy sleep-noises (and, um, smells). I have a big window, but from that angle all I can see is the sky and the top of a tree. Which suits me fine –the fewer distractions the better. I can’t work with TV or music on, for example.

4. What advice would you give an aspiring writer just starting on their writing journey?

Don’t do it for money – you aren’t going to be rich. Don’t do it for fame – you will never be a household name. Do it because you love to write. Do it because you want tell a story, and because you’re the only escape route this story will ever have out into the big wide world. And remember Calvin Coolidge’s advice:

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

5. Describe your hero. Tell us about one of his strengths and one of his vulnerabilities. From where did you draw the inspiration for your hero?

Rafiq is a real Sinbad type character: a merchant-master who accompanies his trade caravans all over the Middle East. He’s smart, restless and fair-minded. Looks-wise – well, I’ve no complaints about the model on the cover! That’s a pretty good likeness :-)

A strength? Well, in a culture where everyone is defined by their social position, Rafiq is unusually open-minded and non-judgmental. His wife died several years ago, and he learned a hard lesson then about how everyone has their own story and their own individual viewpoint on life. He doesn’t have a down on the heroine Taqla because she’s a woman, or because she’s a sorceress. (He has a down on her because she lied to him. But he gets over that.)

A weakness? He’s got a terminal case of itchy feet. When he was married he was an absent husband, never at home for more than a few weeks. He loves to travel, and cannot settle. This makes it very difficult for him to really love someone because, in his culture, where’s he going to find a woman who can share his travelling life? Heh.

6. And now a question from Janine for you all to answer:

What’s your favourite movie from your childhood, and what is it you remember about it? Mine was Jason and the Argonauts, even though (or maybe because) the bronze giant scared the pants off me!

Book Blurb:

And on the One-Thousand-and-Second night, Scheherazade told this story…

By day, Taqla uses her forbidden sorcery to move freely about the city of Damascus in the guise of an old sage. Her true identity known only by her faithful servant woman, Taqla is content with the comfortable, if restrictive, life that keeps her safe from the control of any man. Until she lays eyes on a handsome merchant-traveler. Suddenly her magical disguise doesn’t rest so easily on her shoulders.

When long-time widower, Rafiq, hears that the Amir’s beautiful daughter has been kidnapped by a scheming djinni—and that she will be given in marriage to her rescuer—he seeks the help of “Umar the Wise” to ensure he will be that man. Yet as he and the disguised Taqla set off, he senses that his prickly male companion is hiding something.

In a moment of dire peril, all of Taqla’s secrets are stripped bare—her fears, her sorcery and, worst of all, her love for Rafiq. Yet the princess’s life hangs in the balance, and there is no running away or turning back. Even though passion may yet betray them all…

Warning: Scary monsters and creepy ruins in the desert—check. Pagan gods that demand blood-sacrifices—double check. A handsome hero who looks good in a robe and even better out of it—oh yeah. Check, check and check. That’s worth a heroine dropping a veil or two.

Purchase Heart of Flame

To learn more about Janine visit her website or blog. You can also find her on Facebook.

CONTEST: Janine will be giving away a PDF copy of her previous fantasy/erotic romance novella, “The King’s Viper” to one randomly drawn commenter. All you need to do to go into the draw is to answer Janine’s movie question above or ask her a question about her book. It’s that easy.

Happy New Year!

Here’s wishing you all a happy and safe 2012, filled with writing and good books.

Today I’m blogging over at Not Your Usual Suspects about the book I read as a child that sent me on the path of adventure, crime and suspense. Strictly fictional, of course!

I’m frolicking (visiting) at Sweet ‘N Sexy Divas today and talking about romance writers. Pop over to say hello and comment on my post – you know you’re a romance writer when…

And why am I frolicking here?

Because I’m hard at work on a historical romance where there is currently much frolicking. It’s rubbed off on me, hence the topic for my TT this week.

Thirteen Synonyms For FROLIC

1. Caper

2. Prance

3. Scamper

4. Tomfoolery

5. Skylark

6. Curvet

7. Dally

8. Carouse

9. Romp

10. Disport

11. Gambol

12. Cavort

13. Revel

I’m off to continue with my historical frolicking. Tell me – do you have any exciting plans to celebrate the arrival of the New Year? Will you be frolicking?

I’d like to welcome author Tina Donahue today. I’ll hand you straight over since she has some big news!

Did you get what you wanted for the holidays??

I certainly did! A contract for the next installment of my Outlawed Realm series with Samhain Publishing. Book 2 is due out September 2012. Woot!!

For those of you who don’t know me, here’s my official bio and links:

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work; she has reached finals and/or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Three of her erotic novels were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic romance, was chosen Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category) at the French review site, Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights; and Deep, Dark, Delicious (erotic romance) recently received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011). She’s featured in the 2012 Novel and Writer’s Market. Before turning to fiction, she was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com
Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

For those of you who haven’t yet read Unending Desire, Book One in my Outlawed Realm
series, here’s the cover art, the blurb and an excerpt. Enjoy!

Blurb:

His hunger for one woman will make him a traitor to his world…
Outlawed Realm, Book 1

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimensions of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to keep her mind on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect him. Even if it means risking body, blood and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

_______________________________________

Product Warnings
Contains a repressed scientist who likes to look, and the woman who delights in unleashing his inner caveman. And sex hot enough to burn a hole in all three dimensions…and maybe create a whole new one.

Excerpt:

Within seconds, she sensed it again…someone watching.

Anticipation made her look up; life experience made her wary. Peering right and left, Regina noted that no one glanced in her direction. Conversations continued. Patrons consumed their food and drinks.

Disconcerted, she glanced behind herself, seeing nothing different. No one acknowledged or even noticed her.

Heat continued to travel to her pussy, lingering there. It climbed to her throat and cheeks. A picture scrolled across her mind of large hands on either side of her face, gentle and caressing, lips brushing her skin, the rush of warm breath tickling her cheek, her lids closing on a lusty moan, her body sagging against hard male flesh scented with musk.

Where are you? Regina’s mind asked before she knew it would.

At the establishment’s street entrance a knot of people stood in the open doorway, shaking water from their umbrellas, brushing beads of moisture from their coats.

The edge of her napkin fluttered in the dank breeze. The patron closest to her, a young guy in a beautifully tailored suit, called out, “Hey, close the door. You’re letting in the cold.”

Regina experienced only building warmth. She rested her fingertips on the top of her table, noting how cool the polished wood was to her touch.

Her attention swung from the baristas behind the serving area to the individual facing it. A man who must have arrived shortly before those who’d left the door open. Tall, with a powerful build, muscled yet lean, he wore a black crewneck sweater, jacket and a dark blue topcoat. The ends fluttered above his similarly colored pants. Combed away from his forehead, his thick raven hair was wavy and worn longish in the back. Strong masculine features, ruggedly handsome, complemented his olive complexion.

Regina knew she was staring openly but couldn’t help herself. She guessed him to be in his mid-thirties and of foreign descent, possibly Greek or Middle Eastern ancestry.

Did he work in this building? Where? What floor? Who was he? Why hadn’t she ever noticed him?

He certainly wasn’t a man a woman could ignore.

The barista who’d waited on Regina delivered his order with a suggestive smile, clearly interested in him. He seemed not to notice her flirting as he handed over a twenty. Regarding him closely, Regina saw that the shoulders of his coat weren’t damp from the rain. Neither was his hair. Had he bought the coffee to take on his drive home? Did a wife and children await him in one of Seattle’s countless suburbs?

Chewing her lower lip, Regina checked out his large hands and long fingers. Naked. No ring.

She was unbelievably pleased, an obviously crazy reaction. It was possible his culture didn’t believe in the men wearing wedding bands. Even if he was single, she didn’t know him. Other than being in this coffeehouse at the same time, their paths would probably never cross again. They would never speak or touch.

To Regina’s surprise, brutal reality didn’t stop her. Fevered and wanting, she considered going up to him and starting a conversation. About what? With lightning speed, her mind considered and rejected numerous topics—the delicious pastry in the display case, the depressing weather, what films currently played. Through it all, persistent warmth engulfed Regina, a curious sensation of desire and well-being that continued to grow and draw her to him.

With his order in hand, he turned, looking directly at her. No one else.

Regina’s body softened with a rush of delight…an invisible connection between them. The psychologist in her knew it was ridiculous to consider such a thing. The woman in her didn’t care. She held his gaze, as dark as his hair, his irises sparkling in the tame lighting.

A whimper of pleasure bubbled in Regina’s throat.

Behind him, a middle-aged woman knocked his arm as she moved past to place her order. His focus remained on Regina, his manner composed yet commanding, his expression unguarded, filled with what appeared to be wonder.

Around them, people laughed and spoke, lights blinked, rain tapped the windows, the sounds resembling drumming fingernails. An instrumental piece flowed from the sound system, a tenor sax wailing sensuously.

Locking her knees, Regina leaned against her table for support.

He didn’t break their unspoken attachment. With an easy stride, he approached her table.

A current of expectation tore through Regina, tightening her nipples. She lifted her face, helpless in his presence.

He smiled.

At its comfort and beauty, her heart turned over.

He gestured toward her table. “Do you mind if I join you?” Regarding the area past her, he added, “It’s very crowded tonight.”

In his smooth, deep baritone, Regina caught the trace of an accent. Not Greek or Middle Eastern as she’d suspected but from some unknown locale. Managing a swallow, she cleared her throat and murmured, “Not at all. Please do.” Really, please.

Again, he focused on her. Only her. As if no one else existed.

Something inside Regina shifted, magnifying her sense of sight and sound, her pressing need to be close. She ached to touch him, wondering if he suspected as much and had noticed how her words caught. She had no doubt he saw her desire.

“Thanks.” He rested his cup on the table.

Unwilling to stop herself, Regina offered her hand, their fingertips nearly touching. “Hi. I’m Regina Page.”

Tell me who you are.

Buy Link: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/unending-desire-p-6491.html

* * * CONTEST * * * CONTEST * * * CONTEST * * *

One lucky commenter on this blog will have her choice of one of my following ebooks**:

1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT
2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
7. Take Me Away – #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books

** Winner chosen at random. Winner chosen January 5.

These are two santas we made out of salt dough. We used gingerbread men cutters and hubby painted them to look like Santa.

I’m visiting Lizzie T Leaf today over at What’s Cookin’ in Lizzie’s World to celebrate Christmas and my latest release, Christmas is Coming. I’m doing a giveaway, so come and say hello!

I’m visiting Tina Donahue’s blog today. I’m talking about Sex in a Public Place and my new release, Christmas is Coming. I’m also doing a giveaway and hope you will stop by to say hello.

Here’s the link: Tina Donaue’s blog

My special guest today is Donna Shields. Donna grew up on romance and scary stories. With her love for suspense and the slightly unusual, she enjoys tying these elements together to create stories full of love, danger, and the paranormal.

Over to Donna!

Do you believe there’s life after death? Do you believe in ghosts? I believe. Completely. I’ve had too many experiences not to. Just like my heroine, Lena Dixon, in The Swan Cove Murders. The difference between Lena and I? I can’t talk to spirits.

I’ve had my share of ‘encounters’ though, and I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you. Kind of like my very own ghost stories, but real. But, I promise not real scary and no blood curdling screams. I’ll take it easy on you. (Besides, I’m not Stephen King. We’ll leave that all to the expert himself.)

I began having weird things happening around the second floor of my parents’ home roughly when I moved from the downstairs bedroom to one upstairs. I was thirteen. The weird happenings were minor, like a door popping open on its own. Then, they graduated to lights turning on and off by themselves (There are no light switches on the walls upstairs, even to this day. You pull on a string to turn the light(s)). A black figured shadow along the hallway floor underneath the door. Yeah, my mom’s house is freakishly haunted.

Probably about a year after moving up with my new ‘friends’, my best friend, my niece (she’s two years younger than me), and her best friend all piled into my room after convincing my mom we could all have a sleepover and be quiet (rolling my eyes cause that didn’t quite happen!). My niece’s friend had brought along her Ouija Board. We figured ‘what the heck.’ Let’s see if any of my ghosts would talk to us. And of course we were scared stiff so we closed the bedroom door, but left both the hallway and bedroom lights on. We set it up and after a little goofing got down to business. We asked if any spirits were in the room. Got a yes. Asked what his/her name was? Got Wilkes. Asked was there anyone else? Yes. Who? David. Did you both live here? Yes. No.

And this went on for four or five minutes. Then my niece’s friend had asked something and for the life of me I can’t remember, but it made ‘David’ seriously mad. Simultaneously, the lights all went out and we heard something go flying across the room. Now keep in mind. We were sitting on the floor next to my window. My stand was across the room on the other side of my bed against the wall. After having a severe-near-death-heart-attack, we gathered our brains and I turned the overhead light on in the bedroom. I swear on my children’s lives, that Bible was sitting on that stand before we started. I found it up on my dresser where it knocked my makeup over onto the floor. We went downstairs and I said to my dad, ‘Your lights go out down here?’ He gave me the funniest look as if I lost my marbles. ‘No.’ I was like ‘Seriously???’ His response: ‘No, now shush so I can watch this. (As in TV)’

Well, I guess we didn’t lose power for any reason. It was only the upstairs lights that went out all on their own. And a Bible flying across my room. Needless to say, we never used another Ouija Board in that house ever again. But, we learned that really these ghosts that still occupy the house are truly friendly and enjoy letting you know they are there.

Another freaky story? Sure! I lost one of my brothers in 2004 to a sudden massive heart attack. It nearly killed me (I’m the youngest of nine children. He was 52 and I was 31.). We had talked a few weeks prior and I told him I was going to come up for Christmas since I hadn’t been able to return to CT for a visit since moving to SC in 2003. I trudged my way back to CT for the funeral. Before returning home, my mom gave me a pair of his sneakers he wore quite often. I took them eagerly since I just needed anything to have that connection to him. I arrived home and was greeted by our puppy, Benji, tail waggling so happy to see me and the kids. As I unloaded the car, I placed stuff on the deck and inside the door. The pup would sniff things, but nothing more. The last thing I unloaded was my brother’s sneakers. I set them down by the fireplace. No sooner did my hands leave those shoes, Benji went ballistic. Barking. Growling. Running back and forth from the door to the shoes. I was afraid he would tear them apart. So, I took them and placed them in my closet shutting the door. Benji proceeded to bark and growl at that door for ten minutes and then silence. I went to look and there he was lying down at the door sniffing. Suffice it to say, I believe I brought part of my brother’s essence home with me. It comforts me everyday to know it’s very probably he’s here watching over me.

I could go on and on with stories. So many weird experiences in every home I’ve ever lived in. My thoughts? I believe one or two may have followed me along the way. Even now, something will be pushed off the counter, or the TV will suddenly turn on. Once in a while, I’ll hear a voice (this is new to me still) and I can’t quite make out what is said, but I swear someone calls my name. A shadow or a cold breeze will pass me. Do I get the creeps? Sure, I wouldn’t be human otherwise. But, I know they’re only saying hi and making their presence known. And I’m okay with that.

As for my heroine, Lena Dixon, she’s encounters ghosts on a regular basis. She’s a spirit writer. She ‘hears’ the spirits and writes down what they’ve ‘said’ to her. To read more about her and my hero, Nicholas Hunter, you can find their story The Swan Cove Murders at:

As if the violent murder of Lena Dixon’s fiancé hadn’t been bad enough, now his brother, Nicholas Hunter, is court ordered to live with her for the next thirty days. And to top it off, the murderer’s ghost is asserting his innocence and refuses to leave until Lena and Nicholas prove it.

The skeptic in Nicholas believes Lena has lost her mind until he witnesses some unexplainable events and is forced to believe in her psychic abilities and his heart’s desire.

As their sexual chemistry heats up, so do their guilt levels. Can they make their newfound relationship work, or will it be too late when the real killer comes calling for her?

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