Spotlight & Excerpt - Spicy With A Side Of Cranberry Sauce by Rachell Nichole.

Blurb from the author ~

Amy Easton is hell-bent on making this Thanksgiving holiday perfect for Dad, and herself. But when she arrives at Martha’s house, she quickly realizes she is in way over her head. She has no idea how to run a holiday, especially one in someone else’s home. What will Dad’s new girlfriend think when Amy screws it all up?

Mason Rider is blindsided by the woman in the grocery store headed for the last can of cranberry sauce. He lets her charm him right out of it and leaves with a non-committal maybe that she’ll call him next week. He should be more focused on helping mom through her first post-divorce Thanksgiving, but he can’t help but lust after the Kindergarten teacher with a hard edge.

When he comes home to find the sexy cranberry-stealing blonde and her father in Mom’s house, his holiday hook up plans burn to cinders. Will he be able to resist Amy’s temper and spontaneous nature, or will his desire force him to break a promise he made to his mother? 

Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Romance
Format: ebook
Release date: December 18, 2013
Buying Links:  Barnes & Noble   Loose ID   Amazon

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About the Author:

Rachell Nichole is saucy mama who writes Sizzling Romantic Entanglements. She is the author of "An Affair Across Times Square", "Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce", and "A Marietta Wedding". Rachell lives in New York with a mountain of books, a loving family, and an evil cat named Godiva that she adores.

Website / Blog / Facebook

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Excerpt

Where the hell was the cranberry sauce? 

Amy Easton turned down the aisle of baking goods, searching for the last item Martha needed her to get. She had to find the damned can. This holiday would be perfect if it fucking killed her. The chain on her boots jangled as she hunted. The gallon of milk and box of stick butter froze her hands, but they’d been out of carts and Martha needed them both for first thing in the morning. 

She dodged an older lady pushing a heavy cart as she careened around the corner at the end of the aisle. She still didn’t spot the display. The stock boy had told her it was on aisle six, and here she stood at the end of aisle six, empty handed. Sighing, Amy turned and headed up the aisle again, her eyes roving left and right. She forced herself to slow down, fearing she’d miss the display. 

Martha had said the same thing earlier that evening when she’d sent Amy to the store. The woman was a Domestic Goddess. The way Mom used to be, the way Amy would never be. So when Martha had panicked after being unable to get in touch with her son on his way from the airport, Amy had volunteered to go get it. She’d be useless in the kitchen tomorrow, so it was the least she could do. Besides, it got her out of the house and away from the smooching her dad and Martha kept doing when they thought she wasn’t looking. 

It was sweet, really. And Amy couldn’t be happier with the way Dad was slowly coming back to life under Martha’s tutelage, but she could do without seeing her dad making out. She wanted to throw up her hands or punch something. 

Where the hell was that damn can?

There! 

She spotted the display across the end of aisle six. One lonely can of cranberry sauce sat on the shelf, as if it had waited just for her. She hadn’t thought Martha would be the kind of person to leave the shopping till the last minute, but apparently a few things had slipped her mind this year. With Amy and her dad down visiting, she wouldn’t be surprised if Martha had been a little worried about how things would go. 

A tall man with reddish brown curls was coming down the aisle diagonal to her. Heading for that damned can. She didn’t know where else to go around here to find one. She had to get to that can first. She picked up the pace and just as he turned the corner, she body checked his cart, flying back on her ass and dropping the milk and butter, just as the can of cranberry sauce flew off the shelf toward her.

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Check out the book trailer ~

The Werewolf - From Gentleman to Beast, A Guest Post by Laura Lee Nutt & A Giveaway

 

Let me begin by first thanking Bea, Jax, and Liz for having me on your blog today. I appreciate it immensely. And thank you to your readers for stopping by and staying to talk a little of werewolves. (We love werewolves here! It's how the three of us met. ~ Bea)

Contrary to what might seem logical, many of the earliest versions of werewolves in literature were gentlemen. Only over time did prominent werewolves become more grotesque, mindless, and bestial.

Perhaps the most well known of these early tales, one you may have been forced to read in English class, is Marie de France’s 12th century lai, Bisclavret. While Marie de France mentions the existence of savage versions in the first stanza, her story focuses on a noble baron of Brittany who just so happens to be a werewolf married to a conniving wife.

The werewolf in Bisclavret must shed his clothes to become the wolf, and he resumes his man’s form by donning them again. When his wife learns of his secret, she steals his clothes so he is forced to remain a wolf and takes off with a knight who has long been in love with her.

The king later discovered Bisclavret as a wolf and is so impressed with his gentleness and nobility that he takes him home. Later, when Bisclavret sees the knight his wife ran off with, he attacks the man. Then, when Bisclavret sees his wife, he rips off her nose. After, the wife confesses, and Bisclavret is returned his clothes, lands, and normal life.

Interestingly, though I never once learned this in a literature class, amputation of the nose was a common practice for adultery. So rather than exhibiting primal brutality, Bisclavret punishes his wife in the manner common in his time.

Similar versions to Bisclavret appear throughout the period, and while there seems to be some acknowledgement of the more bestial werewolf, they rarely take center stage. Yet over time, the werewolves featured in literature became more and more evil and monstrous. I could go into much more depth on this, but it would make this post far too long. What we think of more as the traditional werewolf really developed in the early modern centuries and into the twentieth century.

Yet at the end of the twentieth century and into our current time, the werewolf took another shift. Rather than continue to allow the impulses of the moon to blind him with demonic rage, he has reacquired some of his gentlemanly manner. In truth, the werewolf of our time often straddles the divide between gentleman and beast in a compelling balance. Stories like Weathering Rock by Mae Clair or Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey, both of which feature a werewolf trapped in a mindless, destructive state, are the exception.

In my book, Red and the Wolf, I embraced a concept of lycanthropy where the instincts of the beast reign. However, in homage to Marie de France’s concept of the werewolf, which I also find compelling, the human can dominate the wolf and compel it to docility. . . at least to a certain extent. In fact, it is that struggle between instinct and culture, that battle between the wild and the civilized that I imbued in my shifters. To me, the conflict is one of the major reasons werewolves are so fascinating. Let them be a bit of a gentleman and a bit of the beast.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: Commenters on today’s post, March 22, will be entered in a drawing to win an e-copy of my new release, Red and the Wolf, in either epub, mobi, or pdf, whichever they choose. I will announce the winner in the comments on this post on Saturday, March 23.

In addition, check out my March Giveaway on my blog (running March 11-31) for a variety of prizes including a lovely copy of Andersen and Grimms’ fairy tales and Little Red Riding Hood’s basket complete with an assortment of goodies to brighten anyone’s day, even a grandmother whose house has just been burgled by a werewolf. For more details and how to earn points, visit my website. To earn your first point, comment on today’s post. (Comments will count in both giveaways if made on March 22. If made after, comments will only be added for a chance to win in the March giveaway.)

Do you prefer your werewolves be more gentlemanly or beastly? Who is your favorite werewolf in literature? I like my werewolves a little bit of both but leaning slightly more toward the beastly. My favorite werewolf is Adam Hauptman from Patricia Briggs’s Mercedes Thompson series. (One of my favorite UF series! ~ Bea)

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Thank you Laura! I learned some new things about werewolf history; learning new information is fun. :)

In elementary school, Laura Lee Nutt checked out every fairy tale in the library so often, if she picked something else, it was cause for curiosity. Even into adulthood, she nurtured her imagination with stories of fairies, true love, monsters, especially werewolves, and the fantastic, but she wondered what happened after “happily ever after.” 

This curiosity and catching an illness one chill winter day brought her before a blank computer screen, desperately desiring to write something new. Heinrich, Blanchette, and Karl swiftly spun the tale you just read. Laura feverishly typed, barely fast enough to keep up. 

Once Red and the Wolf was born, other stories coalesced in Laura’s mind, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, all asking the same questions: What might happen if the end of these tales wasn’t really the end? What were these characters’  lives really like after the harrowing events of the fairy tale? What if achieving true love and happiness required something extra? Thus came the idea for this series, Embracing Ever After, where achieving true love requires something special and happily ever after isn’t really the end.

Find Laura online:

Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

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Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
Format: ebook
Length: 318 KB, 160 pages
Release Date: March 4, 2013
Buying Links: Lyrical Press Barnes and Noble  iTunes  Amazon

So, how do YOU like your werewolves?

Excerpt from In My Sights by LJ Garland & Debbie Gould

Today I have an excerpt from a new erotic romantic suspense, "In My Sights". It sounds very good and since it's  1 Night Stand title from Decadent Publishing, you know there will be some hot sex scenes.

Though born and raised in the south, L.J. Garland has lived on both the east and west coasts. She adores traveling, the latest adventures added to her Bucket List: Machu Pichu and Australia’s Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef.

Married to her best friend for over twenty years, she spends her time home schooling three rambunctious boys, editing in the epub industry, and writing stories that she hopes catches her readers’ imaginations as much as the characters and plotlines captivate her. In her spare time (what there is of it LOL), she has a multitude of hobbies, including building archery equipment from scratch and creating stained glass. She has a passion for anything that goes Boom! …from fireworks to high-powered combat rifles…it’s all good. She and her husband are both rated helicopter pilots and spent their 10^thanniversary flying cross-country from east to west coast…an adventure she highly recommends. 

A member of RWA, she has several published books, including Cadence Interrupted, On the Fringes, Dreamspell Revenge Anthology, and MechMan, she’s now teamed up with Debbie Gould. Having completed one manuscript, Sins of the Mind, they are hard at work, brainstorming and writing the creative new Sentinel Series. 

Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of two Debbie and her mother moved to New Jersey, spending many happy years on her grandparents' horse farm. You'll sometimes find this setting as a backdrop in her work. 

As a teenager, she and her mother found a new home in Vermont, where she currently resides. With a daughter in the Air Force (along with Debbie's six-year-old grandson), and two sons working for the family Well Drilling business, Debbie now shuffles her time between a full time job as a nurse and her writing career.  
 
About seven years ago, while looking at over three hundred treasured books lining her shelves, she realized there was a multitude of stories of her own clamoring for release. Since then, she's seriously persevered in keeping the keyboard in constant motion. 

 With three published books complete, Mountain's Echo and Infidelity, and November Rain, Debbie is now working with a partner, L.J. Garland. Together, they have finished one manuscript, Sins Of the Mind, and are now working on their Sentinel Series.

Debbie has been a member of KOD, FTHRW, ELEMENTS and RWA Online.

They can be tracked down at http://www.garland-and-gould.blogspot.com/ where they blog, chat about stuff, and interview other authors. 
- L.J. can be caught at www.lj-garland.com and emailed at mail@lj-garland.com You can also tweet her at @LJ_Garland1
- Debbie can be found at http://www.authordebbiegould.com/ and emailed at mountecho2006@yahoo.com. 
- They love hearing from people who have enjoyed their stories!

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Siobhan entered the large suite and glanced around. She’d used every ounce of strength she possessed to walk through the front doors of the hotel and into the dining room. But with Bobby standing behind her, the fine hairs on the back of her neck that had irritated her all evening, eased.

She strode through the room, flipping on lights, checking the bathroom. When she slid the shower curtain back, she stopped herself. What the hell am I doing?

Turning, she caught her reflection in the mirror, the scar on her temple a permanent reminder of everything she’d lost. The sniper had taken so much from her. But did that mean she had to lose her future, too?

By talking her into contacting Madame Eve, her friends had given her a second chance at getting some semblance of control again. And what am I doing? Looking over my shoulder, watching the balcony for shooters, and checking the bathtub for the damn bogeyman while a hot-blooded, gorgeous man is waiting in the bedroom.

And damn it, she wanted to quit hiding in the shadows. If she could survive that day six months ago, then she was damn well done cowering in fear. Hadn’t the bastard taken enough from her? In the past, she’d never shied away from her sexual side. She’d embraced it.

The past six months had been damn lonely. Time to take control again. Starting with the sexy Bobby Martin.

She turned to leave the bathroom and came smack up against a hard male body. He reached out to steady her as she stumbled.

“You okay?”

She pressed her palms on his chest in an attempt to recover her equilibrium—and what a chest. All hard, sculpted muscle. “Uh, yeah, I was just––”

“Looking for the bad guy?” He chuckled.

Heat rushed up her neck and claimed her face. “That obvious, huh?”

Taking her hands in his, he led her into the bedroom. “It’s what I do. If I can’t recognize someone clearing a room, I have no business in Special Ops.”

He tugged her against him, and she had to stop herself from swooning. The men she used to date were nothing close to Bobby. Sure, they’d been fit, but not like this man. He radiated strength and unadulterated male. Something that couldn’t be bottled if you tried. Pure down-and-dirty sex—she tilted her head and eyed him—yet something more.

He gave the impression he actually cared. After listening to her story downstairs, he’d understood immediately how uncomfortable she’d been, sitting in the open dining room, and had gotten her the heck out of there.

She could get used to a man like him. Except tonight would be a one-night stand—something she intended to take full advantage of. Slipping her hands under his shirt, she let her fingers glide up the rock hard abs and sculpted chest until her fingers brushed over his nipples.

His grip tightened on her arms, and his gaze darkened with lust. “Damn.”

A thrill shot through her at the reaction she’d produced, and as she stared up at him, desire coiled low in her body.

“Look, I’m not gonna lie to you.” He loosened his hold on her while he perused her face, settling on her mouth. “I wasn’t sure about this one-night thing to start with, but after seeing you…well, I can definitely follow through. No problem.” He shifted his attention to her eyes, the naked heat swirling in his baby blues causing her breath to catch. “But after what all you told me, I want you to know I get it. We can play this thing any way you want. Fast. Slow. Or I can just hold you.” He trailed his fingers up and down her arms, sending delicious tingles along her skin. “Though I’ll admit, that’s not my first choice.”

She stared at him. God, he was such a gentleman. Without hesitating, she lifted onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, crushed her mouth against his, and…holy crap, what a kiss! Her pulse jumped, her head spun. A fire sparked deep inside her, and her breath caught at the passion winding through her. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting exactly, but not anything like this.

Before she melted into a puddle at his feet, she broke the kiss and gazed up at him. “Does that answer your question?”

A sexy grin curved his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

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Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Genre: Erotica, Romance, Suspense

Format: ebook

Length: 16,000 words

Release Date: December 18th, 2012

Buying Links: Decadent Pub  ARe  Smashwords  Amazon / Barnes & Noble