The lucky commenter who won a free copy of Winter Kissed from author Michele Hauf is….
Stacie Mc, who said “I love cuddling up under a big fluffy blanket with a good book and a mug of cocoa. That’s my favorite part of winter.”
Congratulations Stacie! Please email Michele at toastfaery [at] gmail [dot] com with your snail mail address so she can send you your prize.
Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their favorite things about winter!
Michele Hauf has created an entirely unique shapeshifter hero for her novella “A Kiss of Frost” in the Winter Kissed anthology from Silhouette Nocturne. Read on to discover who this special hero is and how you can win a free copy of Winter Kissed!
by Michele Hauf, author of “A Kiss of Frost”, Winter Kissed
I’m familiar with werewolves and werecougars, werejaguars, smoke-men, selkies, and the like. But a hero who is made of frost and can shift to human flesh? That’s a little different.
The idea to write “A Kiss Of Frost” was sort of a no-brainer for me. I’ve lived in Minnesota all my life. I love snow. Seriously. Frost patterns on the windows? That rocks. Snowbanks sparkling in the sunshine? Sigh… So I had to write Jack Frost as a hero. Or Jal, as I call him. But what’s so alpha macho about a dude who creates frost patterns on your windows? Well, my guy is a god/faery who does have a job: he’s an assassin. Actually, Old Man Winter sends Jal after environmental offenders. One touch from my hero’s frost and bye-bye!
What if he touched a woman’s soft, warm skin? Jal can take on human form and flesh if he chooses, and oh man, does he choose to be in a form that will allow him to communicate with the sexy snowflakeologist, Kate Wilson.
But there are very obvious worries when one is dating a frost god. Firstly, if he gets too warm…could he melt? Well, you’ll just have to give it a read and find out. 🙂
I’ll give away an autographed copy to one commenter who tells about their favorite part of the winter season.
Michele
UPDATE: The last day to enter the contest with your comment is MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, so be sure to share your winter pleasures before then for a chance to win! ~Amy
Barbara J. Hancock makes her publishing debut this month with Wilderness, a new ebook novella from Nocturne Bites. Barbara tells us about her story and something she shares with her heroine: conquering fear…
by Barbara J. Hancock, author of Wilderness
Tess Haverty examined the silver bindings that twined once, twice and again around his bare, muscular torso. Considering her plans, it was lame to mentally go down the list of how well he was bound . . . arms to chest (check) . . . wrist to wrist (check) . . . ankles to floorboard (check). She chalked it up to nerves mixed with a hearty dose of survival instinct. She had known this would be dangerous, but somehow knowing and seeing were two very different things.
We’ve all had defining moments in our lives when we had to decide to act or to hide. As the daughter of an alcoholic, I know a little something about fear. For years, I cringed through each day, never knowing if the next moment or the next was going to bring catastrophe in the form of drunken anger or public humiliation. My father quit drinking when I was a teenager.
My cringing didn’t stop.
When you’ve been conditioned to be afraid of each coming moment and what it might bring, it’s hard to break free of that fear.
In Wilderness, Tess Haverty is an uncertain Psychic because she feels as if her powers aren’t reliable. She lost her parents in a car accident she didn’t foresee soon enough to save them. She lost her sister to government authorities who have targeted Psychics and other Supernaturals for research. Tess must face down her fears as she steps forward into a dangerous future no less intimidating because her dreams give her glimpses into it.
Knowing what has to be done and actually doing it are two very different things.
There are probably few people who knew I was afraid as a teen. I was quick to laugh. My smile was the perfect camouflage. A defining moment in my life came when I held my baby son in my arms for the first time and timid was no longer an option. I owed him action. I owed him a fresh new life, free of fear. Sometimes it’s not about knowing what the future will bring, it’s about being not only prepared, but eager to face it, come what may.
Wilderness is a story about a woman embracing her power for the first time. It’s also the story about a man who inspires even as he represents the biggest challenge of all! Colin Masterson is powerful, dangerous and wild. He’s been captured and he’s on his way to a government research lab.
With a deep breath, she dropped to one knee. This was the do-or-die moment. Tess knew the truck was only about fifteen minutes from its destination. It was time to act. She just wished she didn’t have a sudden twist in her gut that redefined the moment as do and die.
Can you imagine the moment? Can you imagine cutting those chains?
Tess has to face her fear of failure. She has to brave the dangers of freeing a werewolf and, not only that, she has to embrace the untamed unknown he represents. This is her call to adventure, the call of the wild, and, for Tess, letting fear control her isn’t an option anymore.
I’d like to think I would be brave enough to cut Colin Masterson’s chains. (Especially because I know what lies ahead for Tess in reward for her bravery!) I know I am much braver than I used to be. My smile is real and those cringing days are behind me…for the most part.
Whether we could or couldn’t bring ourselves to free a sexy dangerous werewolf, going along with Tess as she does has truly been one of the wildest rides of my life. I hope you’ll enjoy sharing her adventure as much as I did.
But, I do wonder, would you be able to cut those chains?
Note from Amy: To celebrate her new book, Barbara is running a contest on her website http://www.barbarajhancock.com to win a beautiful silver bracelet! Visit her giveaway page for details on how to enter.
Congratulations to Margie for winning copies of The Huntress and The Ultimate Bite, courtesy of Crystal Green!
Margie, please email Crystal at cgreenwrite [at] aol [dot] com with your mailing address to get your books.
Crystal Green has written about sultry vampires for years. Now she’s combining her love of the paranormal with the red-hot romance of Harlequin Blaze! Crystal tells us about her latest book, Good to the Last Bite, and offers a chance to win some free books!
by Crystal Green, author of Good to the Last Bite
Hi! Like Kelly St. John before me, I was invited to pop in here to blog about my newest paranormal—which just happens to be a Harlequin Blaze. GOOD TO THE LAST BITE is a tale about a vampire bent on seeking revenge against the woman (a vampire, too) who stole his humanity and turned him. And the only way he can reclaim that humanity is to destroy her.
Of course, things go wrong for our hero, Edward Marburn. Instead of capturing Gisele, the object of his vengeance, Gisele captures him. However, she’s intent upon taming her wayward progeny, and a battle of wills—and wild, sensual nights—ensues.
Even though Blaze might be the last place you’d look for a vampire love story, I think that a hot relationship and creatures of the night go hand in hand. After all, one of the movies I find to be the sexiest and most romantic of all is BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA. Seriously—how can you beat forbidden love coupled with sultry foreplay that leads to a passionate consummation (which just so happens to be a bite)?
Last year, I wrote a different vampire Blaze that explored this question. The book was called THE UTLIMATE BITE, and it’s a companion piece to GOOD TO THE LAST BITE. In fact, Edward Marburn drives the plot of that book, and the rest of his story is fleshed out in this new installment. When I turned in the manuscript, my editor, Brenda Chin, left a note asking, “So do we get to read Edward’s story next?”
Yup, and I have to tell you that I had a lot of fun pitting Edward and Gisele against one another. There’s a lot you can do with a captive, brooding hero and the vampiress who yearns to change his plans from destruction to acceptance. Also, creating vampire Blazes has been a nice change of pace for me, because I additionally write urban fantasies where the vamps lean more toward horror than romance (although there’s a bit of lurve in those other books, too). My vamp-writing career actually got started with Silhouette, when I wrote a vampire hunter story for the now-defunct Bombshell line. THE HUNTRESS featured a heroine whose boyfriend was taken by a tribe of feral vampires in Transylvania, and I was so enthralled with being able to write this type of tale that I kept doing it. I’m just happy that Blaze has allowed me to continue these stories in yet another line!
Thanks so much for reading, and in appreciation, I’ll be giving away copies of THE ULTIMATE BITE and THE HUNTRESS to someone who leaves a comment before Monday, whether it’s about Blaze paranormals, paranormals in general, or even what kind of vampire you find to be the sexiest!
I look forward to hearing from you. : )
p.s. from Amy: Use the widget above to read an excerpt from Good to the Last Bite! And remember that even if you don’t win, all three books (Good to the Last Bite, The Ultimate Bite, and yes, even The Huntress) are always available at the eHarlequin eBook Store.
Hi again, everyone! I’ve SO enjoyed chatting with all of you and learning about your favorite spooky movies, books and TV shows. And now it’s time to pick a winner. I decided to select comment number 13, since that’s my favorite number 😉 So…Luanne Davis, congratulations! Please send your mailing address to me at kelley@kelleysbooks.com, and I’ll send those autographed copies your way. Thanks again for blogging with me, everyone! I’ve had a ball 🙂 And I hope you’ll all stay in touch — my email is kelley@kelleysbooks.com, and as you know, I love to hear from readers!
Happy Reading!
Kelley
Luanne has won copies of Fire in the Blood, Bed on Arrival and Live and Yearn:
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