BLOGOVERSARY: GIVEAWAY and GUESTPOST with author Angela Steed!

Welcome everyone! This week, Novel Addiction is celebrating its SECOND BLOGOVERSARY! I'm also celebrating my birthday, so it's a super fun week! Today is the last day, but there's still fun content. Today, I'm lucky to offer you a guest post from Angela Steed, author of "1080 Kiss", and "Betrayal: The Awakening"! And Angela has kindly provided an ecopy of her book "1080 Kiss" to giveaway - there will be ONE winners! See below for details.
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Birthdays and Gift Giving
by: Angela Steed

I've always loved gift giving.  Whether it's for Christmas, a wedding, anniversary, or a birthday, I get excited about shopping for the perfect gift.  I've never really been that great at picking gifts out, but I've always been told it's the thought that counts.  (Tell that to the girl that I gave my old pink fuzzy sweater to. )

I was only seven years old at the time.  I had no money to buy anything.  But I knew I had to give my friend something for her birthday!  She definitely looked like she could use a warm fuzzy turtle-neck sweater.  So I wrapped the garment up in some Christmas paper that I found in my mother's closet then gave it to her at her birthday party.   I wonder why she never invited me to any more parties after that?

All crappy gifts aside, have you ever received a gift so wonderful that you wonder what you did to deserve such a thing?  I suppose I've received a few things that made me feel all squishy inside, like the guitar and amp my parents gave me on my sixteenth birthday.  Then there was the tornado lamp that my boyfriend bought me for Christmas one year.  I loved that thing.  But there was one present that stood out above any other, one present that meant so much to me that it actually made me cry, and that was my first published novel 1080 Kiss.

1080 Kiss just happened to come out on my birthday.  Talk about an amazing feeling!  To hold something that I worked hard for in my hands was a special kind of gift that I'll never forget.

Now here I am at Novel Addiction during a birthday bash and anniversary.  I'm so excited that I get to celebrate with everyone that I feel the need to give.  I don't own any pink fuzzy sweaters to give away or any used twirling tornado laps (the thing broke after a year of continuous use).  But I do have an e-copy of 1080 Kiss to give away to someone in hopes it'll brighten their day.

Thanks for inviting me Amanda!  Happy Birthday and anniversary!  

Be sure to check out Angela's website!
          

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Angela is offering ONE ecopy of her book "1080 Kiss," so there will be ONE lucky winner!

RULES and GUIDELINES:
~ Fill out the form below to enter. Comments do not count as an entry.
~ There will be ONE winner.
~ Contest ENDS Sunday, July 17th at 7 PM EST. Winners will be announced Monday, July 18th.
~ Open INTERNATIONALLY.
~ You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
~ Novel Addiction is not responsible for items lost in the mail, or authors/publishers failing to deliver prizes.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
+1 For following Novel Addiction.
+1 For commenting on the Guest Post.



Be sure to check out Day 1 of my Blogoversary! Lisa Beth Darling, author of "The Heart of War," stopped to talk about anniversaries, and offers up an ecopy of her book to one lucky winner! Go HERE to enter. 

Check out Day 2, author Jessica McHugh stops by to talk about the ending of her epic fantasy series, and is offering a LIMITED EDITION PRINT copy of "Rabbits in the Garden!" Go HERE to check it out.

Day 3, author Alison Holt visits to talk about realistic cops in fiction, and is offering THREE winners their choice of her ebooks! Go HERE To read the post and enter the contest.

Day 4, author Sonnet O'Dell stops by to talk about how little things can help with characterization. Be sure to visit HERE and read the post!

And don't forget my giveaway for THREE print books by Lori Foster. One winner will get all THREE of Lori's new releases! Visit THIS POST to read the rules and enter!

Want to get me a present for my birthday? *Wink wink* Here's my RAK Wishlist! 

Happy Reading! And thank you to everyone that helped me celebrate my Blogoversary and Birthday!! 
~!~ Amanda ~!~

BLOGOVERSARY: GUESTPOST by author Sonnet O'Dell!

Welcome everyone! This week, Novel Addiction is celebrating its SECOND BLOGOVERSARY! I'm also celebrating my birthday, so it's a super fun week! Be sure to check back every day for more great, fun content - go HERE to check out the schedule. Today, I'm lucky to offer you a guest post from Sonnet O'Dell, author of The Cassandra Farbanks series!!!
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Happy Birthday Mr. Scott

What has the title got to do with this guest blog? Very little actually, except that July 14^th is the birthday of the Montgomery Edward Scott (Star Trek – engineer).

The point is to talk about birthdays for fictional characters. I believe that when creating a fictional character assigning them a birthday can have an important impact of who they are. Once you’ve picked a date there is a wealth of information out there that can be used to piece together a personality – numerology, astrology etc. Once you have the date in mind, you can add interesting quirks to a character say if something important happened on that date in history or if they share the birthday with a famous person.

For instance in my books, the Cassandra Farbanks Series, her birthday is March 23^rd. This makes her an Aries which is a cardinal fire sign. Aries people are supposed to be full of energy, excitement but can sometimes be impatient, impulsive and irritable. They have drive and a powerful intoxicating energy. All of which are qualities instilled in Cassandra, especially with her affinity for fire magic.

Birthdays can also play a key role in the history and future of a character. Many works feature characters whom come of age to inherit great wealth or power and then the story storm ahead with what they do after that – for instance when Harry Potter turns twelve he discovers he’s a wizard.

In a historical context there is the impact of a certain birthday on a character – say at age six there was an incident involving a clown, a balloon animal and an ice cream cake… which we will not talk about further here…that can lead to characters developing Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) or Cryophobia (fear of ice cream.) I’m not inclined to really believe that anyone could be scared of ice cream, because no matter what it’s done to me (whether it be the fat thighs or butt) I keep coming back for more.

I am guilty of a ménage with my two favorite men – mainly Ben & Jerry. Lol.

The point I was going to make (and I promise you there is one in here…somewhere) that our celebrating of our birth, can be an important factor in character development. Whether the character is young – excited about getting older or more mature – who has been telling her friends for the last five years she’s twenty nine, it impacts the kind of person they are.

          

Find Sonnet O'Dell at her website.
Purchase the books here!

What's up next for Sonnet:
Triton Rising (Adult Novella) - 07/09/11
The Morning Afterlife (Young Adult Novella) - 07/11/11
And the next Cassandra Farbanks novel - Inhuman Heritage - 07/02/12  (I'm really looking forward to this one!!)

A big thanks to Sonnet for visiting!!
Don't miss the previous Blogoversary/Birthday celebration posts!

Day 1, author Lisa Beth Darling stops by to talk about anniversaries, and is offering a copy of her ebook "The Heart of War"!! Go HERE to read her touching guest post and enter the contest!

Day 2, author Jessica McHugh stops by to talk about the end of her epic fantasy series, and is offering a LIMITED EDITION PRINT copy of "Rabbits in the Garden!" Go HERE to check it out!

Day 3, author Alison Holt stops by to talk about realistic cops in fiction, and is offering THREE winners their choice of her ebooks! Go HERE to read the post and enter the contest!

And don't forget my giveaway for three print books by Lori Foster! One winner will get all THREE of Lori's new releases! Visit this post to read the rules and enter!

Want to get me a present for my birthday *wink wink* Here's my RAK Wishlist.

Happy Reading! And be sure to stop by tomorrow for more fun and celebration!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

BLOGOVERSARY: GIVEAWAY and GUESTPOST with author Alison Holt

Welcome everyone! This week, Novel Addiction is celebrating its SECOND BLOGOVERSARY! I'm also celebrating my birthday, so it's a super fun week! Be sure to check back every day for more great, fun content - go HERE to check out the schedule. Today, I'm lucky to offer you a guest post from Alison Holt, author of The Alex Wolfe mysteries, and "The Door at the Top of the Stairs"!!! And Alison has kindly provided Ecopies of her books to giveaway - there will be THREE winners! See below for details.
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How often have you read a crime thriller and wondered, "Is that how a cop would really act in that situation?" Plenty, I'm sure, and as a retired police lieutenant and an author, I can tell you that the thought process is magnified a thousand times over for police officers. Most officers I know, and I know quite a few, don't even watch police shows because of the persistent eye fatigue they get from rolling their eyes so often. They're even more particular about which authors’ works they'll read. Over the years I've had a wonderful time collecting Police Pet Peeves from cops who aren't shy about telling me exactly what drives them crazy about fictional police officers in murder mysteries and suspense novels.

I thought today would be a perfect opportunity to share some of those irritating peccadilloes with my fellow murder mystery aficionados. For example, one police sergeant, whose hair pretty much turned a dashing shade of grey during my rookie year, can't stand it “when the idiot officer, empty handed, approaches the suspect and talks him out of the gun he's been pointing at the officer's head." Whoa, big no no. Rule number one, never go to a gunfight empty handed. Rule number two, bad guy points gun at cop, bad guy dies. The moral of the story is if you want your protagonist to look brave by walking up empty handed to a loaded gun pointing at his or her chest, realize that, in this case, brave equals stupid.

Our second scenario comes to us courtesy of a woman who worked as a patrol officer for her entire twenty-two year career. Her biggest complaint is that most detectives in murder mysteries lead the way on a high-risk building entry. Although it does make it more exciting for your main character to lead the way by kicking in the door and rushing into a hail of bullets, the truth of the matter is quite different: one, it's darn hard to kick in a door, and two, if they work for a large enough department, SWAT will usually make the high-risk entries. If time is of the essence or if the entry is in the jurisdiction of a small town cop, then patrol officers will make the entry. Sure, sometimes, if the detective gets to the scene in time, and if he can find a vest, and if he can locate his gun in the trunk, he might be able to sneak onto the entry team. (Just kidding guys. I used to be a detective, and I love to jerk their chains.)

Finally, equipment issues. To any cops reading this, need I say more? For you authors, in your novel, does your main police character ever experience dangerous and often embarrassing moments in the patrol car? These examples came from a friend of mine with somewhere around thirty years of police work under his belt. "Ever had a cop in a murder mystery where either the radio just wouldn’t work or there was an oversaturation of airtime and he can't get on the air? I was in a chase once and couldn’t tell anyone. One time I was going Code 3 (lights and siren) while leaning out the window and banging on the light bar to keep it working. Another time a cab driver stopped traffic so I could get out of the 4th Avenue tunnel on a Code 3 run when all my equipment quit. Another time I was about to stop a drug car for MANTIS (Metropolitan Area Narcotics Trafficking Interdiction Squad) and my car died every time I hit the lights." If you want realism, write the most ridiculous equipment failure you can think of. I guarantee that some cop somewhere will read it and say, "Hey! That happened to me!"

Thanks for letting me bend your ear. Oh, and by the way, yes, the cops in some of my books often act "uncoplike" simply because it's more fun to write them that way. I would have loved to be able to act like my main character in Credo's Hope, Book One of my Alex Wolfe Mysteries, but the reality is I would have lasted all of about one month before I was hauled up in front of a board of inquiry and fired. In other books I've written, such as The Door at the Top of the Stairs, my characters are spot on in their reactions and personalities. The difference is essential because one of the books is a lighthearted, humorous look at police work while the other is deadly serious. With the one, feel free to take liberties with your character, with the other, you'd better know exactly how real officers will react in certain situations. Hopefully, this little blurb will help you on your road to writing your next great detective novel.

 If you'd like to read more Police Pet Peeves, or if you'd like to peruse one of my books, you can find them at http://www.Alisonholtbooks.com.

             

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Alison is offering up THREE Ecopies of her books, so there will be THREE lucky winners! See the rules and form below to enter!

RULES and GUIDELINES:
~ Fill out the form below to enter. Comments do not count as an entry.
~ There will be THREE winners.
~ Contest ENDS Sunday, July 17th, at 7 PM EST. Winners will be announced Monday, July 18th.
~ Open INTERNATIONALLY (prizes are Ebooks).
~ You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
~ Novel Addiction is not responsible for items lost in the mail or authors/publishers failing to deliver prizes.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
+1 for following Novel Addiction
+1 for commenting on the guest post!



Be sure to check out Day 1 of my Blogoversary Celebration! Lisa Beth Darling, author "The Heart of War," stopped by to talk about anniversaries, and offers up a copy of her book to one lucky winner! Go HERE to enter.
Then head over to Day 2. Jessica McHugh, author of "The Sky: The World," "Rabbits in the Garden," and more stopped by to chat about the end of her epic fantasy series. She's offered up a LIMITED EDITION print copy of "Rabbits in the Garden" to one lucky duck! Go HERE to enter!
And be sure to enter my giveaway for three print books by Lori Foster! One winner will receive Lori's three newest releases! Go HERE to check that out.

Want to get me a present for my birthday? *Wink wink* Check out my RAK wishlist!

Happy Reading! And be sure to come back tomorrow for more fun tomorrow!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

BLOGOVERSARY: GIVEAWAY and GUESTPOST with author Jessica McHugh!

Welcome everyone! This week, Novel Addiction is celebrating its SECOND BLOGOVERSARY! I'm also celebrating my birthday, so it's a super fun week! Be sure to check back every day for more great, fun content - go HERE to check out the schedule. Today, I'm lucky to offer you a guest post from Jessica McHugh, author of "Rabbits in the Garden," "The Sky: The World" and more!!! And Jessica has kindly provided a limited edition copy of "Rabbits in the Garden" to giveaway! See below for details.
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Alamyntal, Shir Mil ( A Farewell to Old Friends )
by Jessica McHugh

It's the end of an era I never intended to begin. Now, in the last month of writing my fantasy series "The Tales of Dominhydor", I find myself a veritable forest of feelings. Unfortunately, there are no helpful Care Bear Cousins to sing a song that reconciles my varied emotions.


I can’t believe it’s almost over. =)
I can’t believe it’s almost over. =(

Almost ten years ago, I started writing a story called "Maladrid" with no intention of it being the first book in a series. At that point, I had no intentions for my writing at all outside of using it to get through my eleven hour shift selling perfume from a mall kiosk. In hindsight, my logic about "Maladrid" being a stand-alone novel was pretty illogical. I spent months designing the world of Dominhydor. I invented a language, created original races of creatures, and wrote countless origin stories dating back to the very beginning of the world's existence---and for what? One book? One book that clearly states at the start that the entire story is a dream? Where's the logic in that?

Then again, what do you really know about logic when you're 19? Or writing, for that matter? (Or anything?) Nearly ten years and four Dominhydor installments later, I'm still learning how to best craft a story, but this month, I learn how to say goodbye.

Having written thirteen books, nine of which have been published since 2008, I've seen characters come and go pretty quickly. I've seen them simply walk out and I've seen them crash and burn. I’ve seen them die as innocents and die getting exactly what was coming to them. But of every character I've conceived, the denizens of Dominhydor have stuck with me the longest. They've been there for the best and worst of me, and it's going to be tough to let go. I am planning on writing the "Book of Dominh" in the future, which will include all of those origin stories I mentioned, but that's a ways off, and if I write a prequel, it won't actually be set in Dominhydor. And no, you can't have any more info than that. ;)

But these characters: Maladrid, Yven, Palaplia, Telinhe, etc...I probably won't ever write for them again. As much as I've complained about the massive revisions and rewrites that accompanied getting this series ready for publication, these books started my crazy adventure of becoming an author. It's been a long, tumultuous road. I've had to set aside a lot of projects I was passionate about to work on the Dominhydor books, but I don't regret taking the time to improve upon the stories and better develop the characters.

I had to go through the world of Dominhydor to discover the McHughniverse in which I now live. I’m grateful for the journey we embarked upon together, but I’m also grateful that it’s coming to a close. I have so many more worlds I'd like to explore, so many characters to meet and different writing styles with which to experiment. The Tales of Dominhydor truly was just the beginning of my writing career and there's no end in sight.

Now, cue the Care Bears finale music…
No?
Well, it was worth a shot. Then again, what isn’t?

Find Jessica on the web!
Jessica McHugh's facebook.

About Jessica:

Jessica McHugh is an author of speculative fiction that spans the genre from horror and alternate history to epic fantasy. A prolific writer, she has devoted herself to novels, short stories, novellas, and even playwriting. She has had nine books published in three years, including "Song of Eidolons", "The Sky: The World" and the first three installments in her "Tales of Dominhydor" series.

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Jessica is offering a limited edition PRINT copy of "Rabbits in the Garden" to ONE lucky winner! See the rules and form below to enter!

RULES and GUIDELINES:
~ Fill out the form below to enter, Comment does not count as an entry.
~ There will be ONE winner.
~ Contest ENDS Sunday, July 17th, at 7pm EST. Winners will be announced Monday, July 18th.
~ Open to US ONLY.
~ You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
~ Novel Addiction is not responsible for items lost in the mail or authors/publishers failing to deliver prizes.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
+1 for following Novel Addiction.
+1 for commenting on the guest post!



Be sure to check out Day 1 of my Blogoversary celebration! Lisa Beth Darling, author of "The Heart of War," stops by to talk about anniversaries, and offers up a copy of her book to one lucky winner! Go HERE to check it out.
And also, don't forget to enter to win three print books by Lori Foster. One lucky duck will get all three new releases! Go HERE to enter!
Want to get me something for my birthday? *Wink wink* Visit my RAK Wishlist!

Happy Reading! And be sure to come back tomorrow for more fun!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

BLOGOVERSARY: GIVEAWAY and GUESTPOST with author Lisa Beth Darling

Welcome everyone! This week, Novel Addiction is celebrating its SECOND BLOGOVERSARY! I'm also celebrating my birthday, so it's a super fun week! Be sure to check back every day for more great, fun content - go HERE to check out the schedule. Today, I'm lucky to offer you a guest post from Lisa Beth Darling, author of "The Heart of War"!!! And Lisa has kindly provided a copy of "The Heart of War" to giveaway! See below for details!
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My Special Day
by Lisa Beth Darling

I'm very happy to be here today to help celebrate this occasion with our wonderful hostess, Amanda! In the spirit of the day, I was asked to write an essay on a special birthday or anniversary in my own life. Like most others, I suppose, my 16th birthday popped into my head immediately. Then a little voice reminded me that there was a more important day in my life.

When I was younger than I am today I had two birthdays. Yep, two. How lucky can you get, right? I had my regular birthday-October 4th and then we had my Anniversary, which was December 13th. My birthday was always celebrated as any child's birthday would be; balloons, games, cake made by Mom, good food and good friends. While my birthday parties were always fun and something I always looked forward to it was my Anniversary that meant the most to me, after all, everyone has a birthday but not everyone has a special day outside of that. My Anniversary was a day just for my parents and me to be together and celebrate the day we became a family.

Confused yet? At this point, I should probably tell you that I'm adopted.

December 13, 1968 was the day the adoption became final and we were officially a family. Although most people do not believe me, I remember the day with near crystal clarity—especially for a 2 year-old. We drove up to Hartford from New London in a sky blue Pontiac Catalina. Back then there was no such thing as car seats or even seat belts, as such, I sat on my mother's lap the whole ride up and the whole ride back. They bought me a special new coat just for the occasion; it was an azure blue with real fur buttons and matching bonnet with real fur tassels. I loved that coat! I was terribly upset when I outgrew it and my parents gave it away.

My parents were there, of course, and my social workers was there-Miss Leavenworth, I still remember her quite well too. Everyone kept telling me not to be nervous just to stand up and tell the Judge what I wanted. We walked into a rather large and stately room, it was yellow with thick wood trim and wooden benches. Dad sat me on his lap while Mom smoothed out my hair—I had a terrible cowlick back then!

I remember being scared; what if the Judge didn't like me? Worst of all, what if he said I couldn't stay in my new family and I had to go away?

The most experience I'd ever had with Judges was on a TV show called "Laugh-In" and when the Judge entered the Courtroom, I remember singing the little ditty from the show; "Here come de judge, here come de judge." My parents laughed, the Judge laughed, and so did I. I believe I even asked him if he knew where the 'Fickle Finger of Fate' may be. (You really have to be 40 or over to understand those jokes! Sorry!)

The Judge looked at me, asked me if I knew who Edwin Darling was. I said; "That's my grandpa!" The Judge said, yes it was. He asked me if I knew who the people with me were. I said: "My new mom and dad." The Judge again said yes they were. Then he asked me if I liked them and if I wanted to stay with them. Were they nice to me? I said: "YES!" The Judge smiled, banged his gavel, and declared us a family in the eyes of the Great State of Connecticut. He also told me to say "Say hello to Grandpa." Years later I found out the Judge and my grandpa had been friends in their much younger days.

That was it. I slid into my new pretty coat with the fur buttons and tassels and we drove home. My father didn't stop smiling the entire ride back to New London. He kept glancing over at me on my mother's lap with this huge grin on his face and my mother kept telling him to: "Keep your eyes on the road, Richard! We just got her I want to get her home in one piece!"

From that year onward every December 13th my parents and I did a little something special together; a movie, dinner, maybe roller skating. Right after Halloween and Christmas, December 13th was my favorite day of the entire year.

I'm grown now and my parents are gone, I'm married with adult daughters of my own. No one celebrates my special day any longer but I never forget it. I always look up and say: "Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad, I love you."

See "The Heart of War" trailer!

Blurb:
Meet Ares God of War, the greatest Warrior the world has ever known. He's moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God.


Suspected of killing his Daughter in-Law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares' secluded Greek Isle is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a plucky little Fey washes up on his shore after believing she's been shipwrecked. It's not mere fate that has brought the unlikely couple together yet it may be what tears them apart.

Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from her husband the Great Horned God for 200 years.

When the Olympians discover her presence on Ares' island, they send Apollo to the island while Ares is away with orders to bring her to Olympus. With nowhere to run and strikes a bargain with the God of War--her virginity for his protection.

Ares sees a sweeter deal; her in his bed and himself back in his rightful place on Olympus among the Gods. If it means turning Alena over to Zeus afterward, well that's of no consequence to him...is it?

After Alena proves herself to the God of War in battle and in his bed, the Ares must choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena.

Get lost in this sweeping dark saga of lust, rage, revenge, and redemption. Battle Ancient Gods while falling in love with Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. They share a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors, but will it be enough? Will love triumph, or will revenge and rage win the battle for the Heart of War?

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Lisa is offering an ecopy of "The Heart of War" to ONE lucky winner! I know you all want it, right? See the rules and form below to enter!

RULES and GUIDELINES:
~ Fill out the form to enter. Comment does not count as an entry.
~ There will be ONE winner.
~ Contest ENDS Sunday, July 17th, at 7pm EST. Winner will be announced Monday, July 18th.
~ Open INTERNATIONALLY.
~ You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
~ Novel Addiction is not responsible for items lost in the mail, or authors/publishers failing to deliver prizes.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
+1 for following Novel Addiction
+1 for commenting on the guest post!



Be sure to check out my giveaway for Lori Foster's novels! One lucky duck will win all three of her new releases! Go HERE to enter.
Want to get me something for my birthday? Here's my RAK wishlist. ;)

Happy Reading! And be sure to come back tomorrow for more fun!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

Surprise Sunday GIVEAWAY! THREE print books by Lori Foster!

                                                                                  

You've seen the blurbs, you've seen the reviews.. now win a set of all three books! That's right, one lucky winner will win "When You Dare," "Trace of Fever," and "Savor the Danger"!!

Blurbs:
WHEN YOU DARE by Lori Foster


THE TOUGHER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FALL…

Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he’ll take the mission he’s offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who’d had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare’s tempted to combine work with pleasure.

Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she’s uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…


TRACE OF FEVER by Lori Foster

CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE OF VENGEANCE AND DESIRE

Undercover mercenary Trace Rivers loves the adrenaline rush of a well-planned mission. First he’ll earn the trust of corrupt businessman Murray Coburn, then gather the proof he needs to shut down the man’s dirty smuggling operation. It’s a perfect scheme—until Coburn’s long-lost daughter saunters in with her own deadly plan for revenge.

With a smile like an angel and fire in her eyes, Priscilla Patterson isn’t who she seems to be. But neither is the gorgeous bodyguard who ignites all her senses. Joining forces to plot Coburn’s downfall, Priss and Trace must fight the undeniable heat between them. For one wrong move, one lingering embrace, will expose them to the wrath of a merciless opponent…

SAVOR THE DANGER by Lori Foster

The one woman he couldn't have was the only woman he desired…

She may be aloof, and more pretty than gorgeous, but Alani Rivers is the kind of woman a hot-blooded mercenary can't forget, no matter how hard he tries. So when Jackson Savor wakes up next to the naked, sleeping beauty—with no memory of what happened—he knows he's been drugged… even if Alani doesn't.

After she was kidnapped, Alani swore she'd never trust another man again. Still, something about this strong, sexy hero with the tender touch makes her want to believe him. As Jackson hunts downs a mysterious intruder, he swears he'll move heaven and earth to keep Alani safe. But what really happened that night? And will the truth bring them closer than they ever thought possible—or put Alani squarely in harm's way again?


Excerpt from SAVOR THE DANGER :

A little slack-jawed, Alani watched as Jackson meandered down the hall and disappeared into her home office. His long-legged, rangy walk set her heart to tripping; the thought of him going through her personal files slowed it again.


She snapped her mouth shut.
Had that parting shot of his been mockery, or a sincere statement reflecting what they’d shared, the bond they’d forged last night?

A bond that only she could remember.

Groaning, she put her hands over her face and slumped into her bedroom. She quietly closed the door and dropped back against it.

Being honest with herself, she had to admit that deep inside, she’d been expecting – maybe even hoping – that he’d press the issue of intimacy. He wanted her again. He’d been more than open and upfront about that.

But instead, he chose to honor her wishes, the wishes she knew to be more responsible. More reasonable.

It would be a very long night.

Taking her time, Alani freshened up, tidying her hair, brushing her teeth, giving her make-up a boost. With nothing more to do, she girded herself for Jackson’s impact, both emotional and physical, and went in search of him.

She opened her bedroom door and found him right there in the hallway, leaning on the wall, relaxed, waiting for her.

Before she could apologize for making him wait, he straightened.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

She stepped out, and his warm palm curved to the small of her back.

Alani felt the touch everywhere. But then, even if he hadn’t touched her, she’d have been acutely aware of him beside her. When Jackson was in a room, he occupied everything, the space, the air, the attention.

Knowing they were alone, with the bedrooms at their backs, quickened her breath.

“I parked down around the corner.”

Surprise slowed her steps, but since Jackson kept walking, she did too. It hadn’t occurred to her that his car was missing. If she’d seen it on the street in front of her house or in her driveway, she’d have been forewarned of his visit.

And maybe she would have avoided him.

“You didn’t want me to know you were here?”

“I didn’t want anyone else to know.” His hand slid to her hip, nudged her a little closer to him. “In case I was followed, no way did I want to lead anyone to you.”

Another reminder of the danger they might be in. “Well, you should bring your car up to my driveway now.”

“Maybe later.” He stopped at the entrance to her small living room, where so much drama had already gone down. “For now, how about we take your car?”

“All right.” She didn’t mind that. With all he’d been through, it’d probably be better if he wasn’t driving. Sure, he had to be macho and swear he felt no side-effects from being drugged, but how could that be? If she took cold medicine, it wiped her out, and he’d been given a drug so heavy-duty that it had obliterated his memory.

In the kitchen, she found her purse, keys, and Jackson’s hat. She rejoined him in the foyer.

He took the hat from her, slid it onto his head, and then held out a hand.

One brow raised, Alani looked at him in question.

“Keys?” he prompted.

She slid her purse strap over her shoulder. “That’s okay. I’ll drive.”

A priceless expression fell over his face.

“Oh please.” Alani had to laugh. “It’s not like I asked to carry your gun.”

Heartfelt, he tipped back his hat and scoffed. “I’d say no to that, too.” He scrutinized her. “But you do know how to shoot, don’t you?”

“I know enough.” And after her kidnapping to Tijuana, she’d done plenty of practicing to ensure she could handle a weapon.

He reached for her purse. “You carrying?”

“No!” Alani snatched the bag away. “Of course not.”

Considering that, Jackson declared, “We’ll get you a piece. You shouldn’t be out and about without it.” He gave her small designer purse a look of dislike. “You’ll need to carry something bigger, though.”

She did not want to be armed. “You’re here, so what do I need with a gun? Aren’t you protection enough?”

He went so still, it almost made her laugh again. Until he said, “You suggesting I should stick around 24/7?”

“What?” A rush of heat hit her cheeks. “No, of course I wasn’t.”

Keeping her caught in his gaze for far too long, he studied her, and finally smiled. “Yeah, I’m protection enough. I guess as long as you’re with me, you don’t need anything else.” He snatched the keys out of her lax hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here….”

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