Behind Closed Doors (Blog) – Page 13

#Oh My! @tiffcarmouche Gives Us a Sneak Peek into the World of Her Alaska Trilogy #romance #suspense

Instead of dreading Mondays, I decided to take them back and make the day into something fun. What better way than to invite fellow authors to share sneak peeks at their latest WIP or new releases. This week for Oh My! Monday, I’m excited to have with us romantic suspense author Tiffany Carmouche and the second book in her Alaska Trilogy.

The first book The Impostor, introduces us to Nicole, a young single mother, who escapes an abusive ex-boyfriend and leaves behind the broken dreams of becoming an artist. She travels to Alaska, a place she knows little about, on a journey of self-discovery.

Nicole is scared of getting hurt again, but Dylan’s chiseled body, chocolate-brown eyes and charm captivate her. She begins to fall in love. In Alaska, she discovers the power of friendship and true love and starts to let down her guard. But is her security a facade?

Soon Nicole’s innocent beauty taunts a sinister man, and she is caught in a web of deception and danger. Someone evil is stalking her. Someone she had trusted. Will she be saved? Or will she be hunted?

The second book in the trilogy, Obsession and Sacrifice, promises even more suspense and intrigue.When Nichole wakes up in the hospital room from a coma, she has no memory of who she is or how she got there. Only the scars on her body reveal some horrific event took place and she is lucky to be alive…alive…but could she still be in danger?

Her only hope to rediscover her past and avoid a killer’s obsession lies in the hands of two men: sexy Dylan, her boyfriend, who used to captivate her and now prays she will remember how much they cared for one another, and Bradley, her charming best friend, who has secretly loved her all along. She feels safe around both men, but to her, they are strangers. Nicole must decide who to trust, not only with her heart, but with her life.

They are rivals–both men want to win her love. But they are allies as well. The two vow to give her a second chance at life and both will sacrifice everything to make sure she survives.

Wow! Those covers alone grabbed my attention. How about you? Do you want to learn more? Here’s a little teaser excerpt from Obsession and Sacrifice that promises to pique more than just your interest. 😉

…He laid her down on top of the covers so he could see her every curve, her every breath, her every desire. He wanted her, wanted her so badly.

He watched her gently pant as she lie waiting for him to take her. She was his. A mixture of the lustful passion and the genuine love he felt for her made the adrenaline race through his veins like a raging river. He wanted to cherish every moment, every inch of her body, every kiss because it could be their last.

“My body has craved your body.” He leaned over, brushing his hand over her hair so he could look in to her eyes as their lips met. “Every minute,” he gently kissed her again. “Of every day,” his kisses grew even more passionate and he pulled away almost teasing her, “since you last made love to me.”

He lowered himself to her, whispering in between kisses. “You. Are. Simply. Delicious.”

He caressed her breast and his tongue obeyed each nipple’s cry to be tasted. His warm mouth covered them, and they melted to his tongue like cotton candy. As he gently sucked her nipples, her body stirred as he teased. Sighing with obsession, she ran her fingers through his hair again.

As he traveled her body with his tongue, he continued down her tight abdomen, gently nibbling on the sides of her little waist. Tickling her and awakening all of her senses, he arrived again at the lace covering her essence. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils as his fingers slid beneath the fabric feeling the juices of her passion. As his fingers slid over her clitoris, she jumped. Her body trembled and she swallowed hard.

He tenderly slid her panties down her thighs and off her body, spreading her legs as his tongue slowly entered her again, gently sucking her clitoris. She squirmed in delight, clenching onto the covers below her. The tip of her toes curled as she shivered. Goosebumps traveled up her body. “Aaa,” she softly sighed, as he stimulated her again…

If you want more of these books, you’ll have to pick up your own copies. They’re available on Amazon right now. Tiffany will also be visiting my sister blog Sassy Vixen Publishing on Saturday March 30th for an author spotlight. Let’s see if we can tease a bit more out of her about her books!

Fan Created YouTube Video for The Impostor

About the Author

When Tiffany Carmouché is not writing romance novels, you can find her sculpting, traveling, teaching, singing, dancing, escaping in music or enjoying her family.

From skydiving in Alaska to scuba diving in Hawaii, Carmouché has traveled the worls seeking adventure. These include riding camels in Africa, swimming under the stars in Puerto Rico, dancing salsa in Ecuador, and walking the cobblestone roads of Assisi, Italy. She has also found fulfillment working with the disabled and orphans in Argentina and Mexico. Her most cherished moments, however, have been watching her two beautiful daughters grow and strive to accomplish their own dreams.

Despite all of these amazing experiences, she has survived many struggles. There was a time she felt defeated, but now she is recommitted to savoring experiences both in the novels she writes and in the life she lives each day. Her secret hope is that anyone who is struggling will realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel and no matter how hard the fight, no matter how many times they have been knocked down, it is always worth staggering up to their feet and learning to breathe again.

Where to Find Tiffany

Using My Poetry as an Outline for Another Series

Released February 22, 2013 — Available from Smashwords and Amazon

With the release of The Courtship of the Vampyre a few weeks ago, I’ve got to enjoy the ride at the top of the Amazon hot new release lists for epic poetry all this time. It’s been a fantastic experience and the little book is still in the top 100 in the epic poetry category for sales. Now that may not mean much to many of you out there, but it’s a big pat on the back for this author. It means people are actually taking a look at my work. Based on the feedback so far, they like it too. Double bonus!

While writing this group of poems, I found myself drawn to the characters and the story lines that will make up my new series called The Kayne Legacy. At first I wanted to just tell the tale of how the first vampires came to be, and how in my world there are actually two different kinds. One group called the Guardians of the Night are the Vampyre Elite and are charged with protecting the essence of the Tree of Life which courses through their veins. They are direct descendants of the First Born, Cain. The second group are the ones actually cursed to walk the night and are lead by the seventh son of Adam who I call Malachi. He is the one who receives the curse he felt should have been put on Cain for killing Abel. In my world, Abel’s death was indeed an accident and Abel was not all that innocent in the whole thing. Think of the favorite child in the family who could never do anything wrong in the eyes of his parents, but in actuality caused a lot of strive with his siblings. That would be Abel.

If you read the poems in this book, you will see the basic story of these creatures but it will be in the novels where you will get to meet them all, love or hate them as you choose, and of course root for the side you hope wins out in the end.

Updated cover for my first book of poetry

Now with the first book of poetry Follow Me: Poetry from the Heart and Soul I wrote about my own journey through life trying to find myself after being torn apart from heartache and betrayal. I didn’t realize it at the time, but a few of those poems are now serving as guides to other books I’ll write as Lia Michaels. One of the poems was actually the wedding vows for the couple in For the Love of Quinn. This all had me thinking about compiling another book of poems to go along with “The Vixen, the Witch, and the Daemon” to help tell the tales that will be in The Songs of Fate series. With witches, fae, shape shifters, and other magical creatures, there is so much material to organize. What better way than with my poetry? It’s worked for me twice now. LOL! Might as well stick with what’s working. If it ain’t broke… 😉

As always, thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Without your support, I wouldn’t be where I am today and surely wouldn’t be enjoying it as much!

~Tammy

Two Special Guests for Our Last #ThursdsayThirteen! @LynnTylerBooks @kendallmckenna

Hello everyone! Today at Behind Closed Doors I have two very special author friends sharing the first thirteen lines or sentences of one of their new releases. Fellow Siren author Lynn Tyler will be sharing a snippet from her book Their Rebel Mate which is available for pre-order now. Author Kendall McKenna is here to share from her soon to be released Nights in Canaan. Both books promise some smokin’ hot love scenes between the characters. You won’t want to miss either one of them! Now let’s get the party started, shall we? Oh, and make sure you read all the way to the end. Kendall is offering a way for you to win a free ebook.

First up is the Lynn with the second book in her Helan Universe series. In this one, human females are being asked to mate with males from another world. Let me just share the blurb with you so you can get an idea of what obstacles the Helan males face convincing the human females to have sex with their hunky selves. Sorry…just had a brief hot flash with my day dreaming!

Chief of Communications Kerek and his mate, Ambassador Thantos are tasked with educating humans on Helan culture. It’s not an easy job considering there is a movement dedicated to making sure that no female mates with Helan males.

Kim McManus is determined to keep as many human women from being forced to mate the Helan males as possible. So what if the Helans have made mating with them voluntary? The Helans history of telling half truths makes them suspicious in her books. Suspicious enough that she hijacks a television signal to plead her case.

When she’s given a chance to stay on the Helan star ship for a month to learn about their culture, she grabs it with both hands. But what happens when she ends up bonded with Thantos and Kerek, two of the very males she’s been campaigning so hard against?

Now here’s her Thirteen Sentences

Gods, the humidity on this planet sucked the energy right out of him. Thantos breathed in another lungful of the sticky, heavy air and lifted his long hair off the nape of his neck. He really disliked the sweat that was rolling down his spine.

Disliked. That was ambassador speak for hated. At least that’s what Kerek, his mate, said.
But really, this humidity was disgusting. Every inch of him was damp and drooping, including the inches currently hanging left and limp between his legs.

Of course, he wasn’t the only thing that was limp. Even the trees were flagging. The grass had withered away to brown, straggly strands that would probably turn to dust at the slightest touch.

The scent of exhaust was stifling and burned his nostrils.
The house the United States Government had offered to put them up in loomed in the distance. It was a beautiful old building, the white paint seeming to shimmer in the heat.

More about Lynn and her books

Adult Excerpt for Their Rebel Mate featured at Sassy Vixen Publishing Blog

Saturday Spotlight at The House of Taboo March 2nd

And now for our second guest, Kendall McKenna who writes M/M erotic romances. Do you see why I paired these fabulous authors today for my very last Thursday Thirteen feature? What better to pair up with a MMF menage than a M/M? I knew you’d all see it my way, plus these ladies do NOT disappoint! So let me share the blurb from Nights in Canaan so you can get a little bit of a teaser before the opening lines.

Love and hate. Good and evil. Life and death. The universe requires balance, whatever the cost. An ancient vampire rises, time after time, threatening the survival of the human race. An ancient warrior is reborn, again and again, with the singular purpose of halting the vampire’s bloody rampage. With each encounter throughout time, their passions burn and their emotions deepen. The vampire shares his body and the warrior shares his blood. When they are no longer able to cause one another harm, the lovers hesitate to fulfill their destinies. Will the ancient warrior sacrifice the whole of the human race, in exchange for eternity in the arms of the vampire he loves?

Oooooo…she had you at vampire didn’t she? Then toss in an ancient male warrior who comes back lifetime after lifetime in order keep humanity safe from the blood drinker and you have me hooked. Top that off with the two of them falling for each other…OMG!

Here’s the opening lines from this amazing tale.

The night was moonless and warm. Jesse folded the edges of his bisht more snugly about himself. A short, bronze sword hung from his waist. A sword of considerable length was strapped to his back, his wings folded tightly over it. The sword was forged from a metal humans would not smelt for thousands of years.

Jesse pulled the end of his keffiyeh over his face as he strode between the dwellings constructed of mud brick and wood. His footsteps kicked up the dust and dirt that covered most of the pathways. Gina was a city in its infancy, still more village than metropolis, and had few paths paved with cobbles.

To the east, shouts of anger and aggression rose up and were carried to Jesse on the wind. That same wind held the scents of unwashed humans, penned livestock, and the waste products of both. Jesse hated when the mission for which he had been reborn pulled him from the desert and into a city. In the desert, the humans did not live so tightly clustered, wallowing in their own filth.

Now a word from Kendall about Knights of Canaan…

And that’s my first thirteen! I hope it gets your attention and makes you want to check out the entire story. It’s hard to get the full picture from just thirteen lines. Especially with this story, because it’s about two immortal beings who keep finding each other throughout all eternity. The story shows the Ancient Warrior and the Ancient Vampire at three different, distinct times in history, and the decisions they have to make in the face of their destinies and their love.

This isn’t your typical vampire love story. Like with my werewolves, I tried to write something different, out of the ordinary, not like all the other stories out there. I think I succeeded. So far, I’ve made two editors cry. If a writer’s job is to evoke emotion in their readers, I’m on the right track.

More about Kendall and where to find her book

Kendall McKenna’s first work of fiction was written at the worldly age of nine, and was a transformative work that expanded on the story told in a popular song of the time.
She tried her hand at vampire and cowboy fiction, winning high school poetry and short story contests along the way. It wasn’t until she discovered the world of m/m erotic fiction and found her stride with cops, Marines and muscle cars, that she felt inspired to share her stories with readers who enjoy the same things.

Putting herself through college by working in a newly-created HIV testing clinic in her local Department of Health, introduced Kendall to the gay and lesbian community. Understanding and empathy has made her a lifetime advocate of GLBT issues.

A brief bout of unemployment gave Kendall the time and focus she needed to finally produce a novel worth submitting for publication. Her first novel, Brothers In Arms, introduced the world to her authentic military stories and characters.

Kendall was born and raised in Southern California, where she still lives and works. A non-conventional relationship has kept her happy for the last decade. Her four dogs enjoy it when she writes, as she sits still long enough for them to curl up around her.

Website/blog

Facebook

Twitter

Email: kendall.mckenna3@gmail.com

MLR Author Link

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure you click on the Rafflecopter link above to take you to Kendall’s giveaway!

Thank you all for celebrating my last Thursday Thirteen on this blog. Special thanks to both Lynn Tyler and Kendall McKenna for sharing their new releases with me today and every time they visit.

Thrilled Beyond Belief! The Courtship of the Vampyre Is Running Up Amazon Rankings!

I am shocked. Literally shocked. I was working on a blog post for Sassy Vixen Publishing and getting a link for one of my guest authors when I decided to check on my books to be sure that all of them made it to my Amazon Author Page. For some reason two of the formats weren’t there last week. I rectified it as soon as I found that mistake and was determined to be sure that it didn’t happen this time with the second book of poetry…and my second self-published book.

What caught my eye right away was my sales ranking at below 130,000. I’ve NEVER been that low for any of my books and sure as heck not on the day it went live on Amazon. My eyes then went a little further to see at that moment in time, The Courtship of the Vampyre was ranked at #20 for epic poetry.

Number TWENTY!!!

Thank you all for supporting me in this and spreading the word. Without you, I would never move up the ranks this quickly. This has just solidified my decision to concentrate on The Kayne Legacy full time once I finish up The Surrender of Julia and get that off to Siren for consideration.

I’m still waiting for Smashwords to finish their review of the book to see if it’s included in the Premium Catalog. Once it’s there, you’ll be able to find it not only on Smashwords, but with Apple, Sony, Barnes and Noble and many other retail outlets. It’s available in print from Createspace AND Amazon as of today too.

Smile on my friends!

~Tammy

New Release! The Courtship of the Vampyre is Now Available #vampires #poetry

I’m thrilled to announce that I finally finalized and uploaded The Courtship of the Vampyre to Smashwords and Amazon. It’s going to take a little time for Amazon to have it live, but right now you can get all ebook formats at Smashwords…go on! You know you want to zip on over there and get your own copy. I’ll wait. 🙂

I still have to wait a few more days to see if it’s been accepted into Smashwords’ Premium Catalog, but it’s worth it. If it’s accepted, then it will be out to Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony and many other outlets within the next week or two.

I decided to make this book only 99 cents. It’s a small collection and a fast read. For those of you who’ve been following my posts, you’ll know these poems are a small outline of the story lines in another series I’m working on about how vampires came to be. The Kayne Legacy is turning out to be a much larger story than I had anticipated. Much like with the Now and Forever series, the secondary characters have absolutely taken over. All of them are demanding their own scenes if not entire books. I swear, they are a spoiled bunch! LOL

I’ve also decided the next poetry book will be inspired by witches and other magical creatures. Well, I sort of started that with The Vixen, the Witch and the Daemon…the poem and the novel. The poem was the outline for the novel and the start of the entire Songs of Fate series that will be written by my alter ego Lia Michaels. I would do it, but that’s another thing that taken another life of its own. There will be multiple menage couplings in that group of books so that’s Lia’s territory. LOL! But so she doesn’t have all the fun, I get to write the poetry book that goes with that series. Look for witches, warlocks, mermaids, elves, and many others to make appearances in those books!

In the meantime, look for me and my books on Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, Barnes and Noble and well, just about anywhere. I’m trying to get my stuff out there!

Thank you all for going on this ride with me.

~Tammy

Second Poetry Book Nearly Finished! #vampires #erotica

I’m celebrating a few things tonight. First of all, I finally purchased the domain name for this site so now I feel like an official website/blog owner and author. Whoohoo! You can find this page now by typing in authortammydenningsmaggy.com Can you believe it? I know that may sound funny to some of you, but it’s just one more step making my dream a reality. I have also purchased sassyvixenpublishing.com . It’s going along with our LLC and soon my husband and I hope to get our little publishing house up and running enough to handle more than just me, Lia and Stephanie. Yes all three Sassy Vixen authors are me, but you got to start somewhere right? LOL

Now for the next surprise I’m celebrating. I had thought that I had a complete set of poems for the new book all set and ready to go. I was wrong. Several more ideas popped into my head over the last few days. What’s a poet to do? Keep going of course! I’m still planning on releasing the book on or before February 28th, but just in case let’s all keep our fingers, toes and any other appendages crossed! I thought I would share another poem from the collection and it’s one of the more sensual ones. Most of them are basically telling the story of the various characters in The Kayne Legacy series, but a few like this one, focus more on individuals. Who knows if they will actually end up as additional players in the series? We shall see.

So without further adieu, here is one of my latest finished just this evening.

Encounters in the Dark

The hours of the day pass ever so slowly
Causing my anxiety to rise.
My heart races at the memory of our coupling
From the night before.
Every touch, every kiss we shared only heightened the experience,
Making me feel even more alive.
The heat between us was more than I’ve ever known
And it’s shaken me to my very core.

Over and over again our bodies come together,
Mouths exploring, limbs completely entwined.
With one last feral thrust, you take me over the edge,
Your fangs at my neck leaving your mark.
When asked why must you always mark me so,
Your eyes flash with renewed lust before you whisper in my ear
“So ALL will know you are forever mine.
And although they’ll heal, my brand is upon you
So you’ll never forget our encounters in the dark.

Exhausted beyond belief and yet I still cling to you,
Unwilling to let you go with the approaching dawn.
You possess my heart and soul with one last kiss
As tender as it is brutal and hard.
Just as quickly as you entered my life,
In a flash you were gone,
Leaving me lost and alone with the fading memory
Of our last encounter in the dark.

©Tammy Dennings Maggy

2/20/13

8:25pm

#OhMyMonday @SloanArcher Shares A Bit of Female Shower Fun from Mercy’s Debt

Welcome to Behind Closed Doors. It’s time for our Oh My! Monday feature where we share adult excerpts from various novels from all ADULT genres. Since I write erotica and erotic romance, there won’t be any books featured here that could be considered for the Young Adult audience. I don’t want to freak anyone or their parents out with the content on these pages. So if you are not at least 18 years of age, please leave this blog now. If you continue to read, you acknowledge you are over 18 years of age and that you’ve been warned that the content in this post and in most of the others on this site could be considered offensive to some people. If you are one of those folks, kindly leave this page. If not, stick around and enjoy!

This week I’m happy to have a new author here with me today. She’s sharing the first book in her paranormal romantic thriller series about those sexy vamps! You know how I love those fanged ones in all genres and heat levels! Anyhoooo…today author Sloan Archer is sharing an excerpt from Mercy’s Debt. Two days ago, she did the House of Taboo Spotlight Interview with my alter ego Lia Michaels. There you’ll find one steamy excerpt. Today you’ll get another between two FEMALE characters.

I thought that would get your attention! LOL

First a bit about the author…

Sloan Archer is a bona fide California native who works full-time as a writer, occasionally in the desert as an archaeologist, and has a ten-year employment history in marketing. She has been penning fiction since childhood; her first stories were spooky mysteries inspired by horror films and the howling coyotes on her family’s farm.

She is a seasoned world traveler whose journeys have taken her from Madagascar to Indonesia, and many countries in-between. In 2007 she founded a jewelry label, VIVI+VIVI, and received international recognition for her creations, her most coveted designs worn by celebrities and carried in trendy boutiques like Fred Segal in Los Angeles. In 2012, she closed her business to focus on her true love, writing.

When Sloan isn’t composing books, she enjoys traveling, running marathons, painting, reading, baking, and spending time at the beach. She is currently working on two novels: Mercy’s Doubt, the second installation of the Montgomery’s Vampires Series, and Lilac Coma.

Now the BLURB

After graduating from the prestigious Dewhurst University, Mercy Montgomery finds herself in a bit of financial trouble: over $108,000 worth of financial trouble, in fact. She can’t find a job to save her life, and with bill collectors constantly at her heels, she has no idea how she will ever come up with the money needed in order to keep her head above water.

Mercy’s monetary worries seem to be over after a chance meeting with mystifyingly pale Michael Graves, who offers her a high-paying job at his company, Dignitary. But there’s a catch; the seemingly harmless Dignitary is an underground organization that offers human chaperones to wealthy bloodsucking clients.

As if congregating with the undead doesn’t make life complicated enough for Mercy, there’s a savage killer on the loose who appears to have a craving for her blood. Soon Mercy is torn between a dark and dangerous underworld of supernatural desire and a simple life of practicality, and business magnate Robert Bramson is the man she blames for her confusion. If he just wasn’t so damn sexy… And dangerous. As the killer closes in, Mercy realizes that she must make a decision. But will she make her choice too late?

And without further adieu, the EXCERPT

Liz stepped into the shower first with her back turned to me, and then I followed.

The balminess of the air alleviated my headache almost instantly, but it also had the secondary effect of bringing back my buzz.

Liz handed me a bottle of mango scented shower gel and a puff. “Could you wash my back, please?” she asked coyly.

“Oh, you’re really pushing it.”

She bent over slightly, resting her forearms on the wall. I went to work behind her, rubbing the sudsy puff in a circular motion up and down her back.

“That feels incredible,” she cooed.

She lifted her arms, and I scrubbed at the pale skin underneath, moving down the back of her ribs. She took a step back, arching her back slightly, indicating that she wanted me to scrub higher. I pulled the suds under her cleavage, coming close to, but still avoiding, the apex of her chest.

“Don’t be shy,” she purred, turning around to face me. She leaned back against the tiled wall, widening her stance to steady herself. Her dewy folds pulled open, and I caught a quick peek of the rosiness hidden within. She’d shaved her pubic hair in a soft V-shape, which was atypical of her characteristic baldness. The downy pelt contained an auburn hue that complimented the plump pinkness beneath it perfectly.

I ran the puff across her areolas and something stirred inside her. She let out a suggestive whimper, shifting her body so close to mine that our hips touched. Without a second thought, I dropped the puff and went to work on lathering her with my bare hands.

She moaned louder, rubbing her slippery breasts against mine, the warm water cascading down her beautiful figure in a mango-scented stream. She abruptly embraced me. We kissed, then, tasting each other with our tongues, continuing to explore the intimate areas of our bodies.

My foot slipped on a glob of shower gel, and I threw my arm out to my side to maintain balance. Not in the clearest frame of mind, I put all my weight behind my panicked reach and toppled over when my hand plunged through the flimsy shower curtain. My knees cracked as they made contact against the edge of the tub. Liz fell over, too, landing hard on her tailbone.

The stumble had hurt something fierce, but it provided a brief moment of clear-headedness.
I blinked up at Liz, bewildered.

“What in the hell are we doing?” I exhaled.

“I… I don’t know…” she stammered.

“You fell pretty hard on your ass,” I said. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine,” she mumbled awkwardly.

“Okay. That’s good. I’m, uh, just going to get out.”

“K,” she said.

Hmmmm…will Liz and Mercy revisit their attraction again? You’ll have to get the book to find out for yourself! Mercy’s Debt is now available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

To learn more about Sloan and her work check out these links

Thursday Thirteen at Sassy Vixen Publishing 2/21/13

Annette Bower’s Book Tour for Moving On – A Prairie Romance

Welcome to the second stop in Sensuous Promo’s Book Tour for Annette Bower’s, Moving On – A Prairie Romance. She has one fantastic prize she’s offering up on this blog tour. After you read about her book, stop by the bottom of this tour stop to find out how you can win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Regina Beach’s residents know everyone’s business and they are very interested in discovering Anna’s roots while she is enjoying being a mysterious business woman who drove into town. Nick, an injured sergeant in the Canadian Army, helps Anna feel safe and comfortable in her new environment, just as he has always done for his men in strange, dangerous places. Meanwhile, he focuses on preparing for his future physical endurance test to prove that he is capable of active duty.

Anna doesn’t talk about her loss, and Nick doesn’t talk about his future and therefore she is shocked to discover that his greatest wish is to return to active duty. She won’t love a man who may die on the job again. Intellectually, she knows that everything must die, but emotionally, she doesn’t know if she has the strength to support Nick.

Moving On, A Prairie Romance is about when life throws you a curve and the dreams you were dreaming are no longer possible. Anna and Nick both have to grieve their pasts and make a decision to move on toward a different life and different dreams. I believe that this is a universal experience. The parents dream of a child and as the child develops they notice that their child doesn’t react that same as others, they need to decide how to leave one set of dreams and move on to another dream. The same happens when a relationship fails or physical health changes or we lose a job or we realize a fortune we didn’t expect. These events change our view of our present world and we as humans, adapt the very best we can with the support systems we have around us.

This is Anna’s first view of the place she has come to change:

“The windows were dirty and the exterior paint cracked and flaked. This was just the place she needed if as they say, your environment reflects your state of mind. Maybe in this place they would get off her back. She locked the doors to ward off thieves from her black suitcases piled in the car. What was she thinking? The street was empty. Besides, a battered guitar case shared the passenger seat with empty water bottles and take-away food wrappers, so it looked as if someone had already rummaged through her belongings.”

Later when Nick is in this cottage with her they have this conversation:

“She was drawn to the large windows that revealed waves washing onto the shore while his voice rose and fell in the background. She jumped when he spoke from behind her. “Looks like you’ve got a big job to make this old man’s house a place you’d want to live.” He had picked up a ship in a bottle and held it to the light.

She stood with determined confidence. “They say work is good therapy.” She felt a pang of intuitive kinship with him again. She smiled, “Do you ever wonder if they really know what they are talking about?”

Nick raised his hand and gently touched the side of her face, turning it towards him. He looked deep into her eyes as if he was searching for recognition. “Yeah, they’re probably just a bunch of clowns who think up euphemisms to confuse the rest of us.”

Both Anna and Nick have to find their way out of their old dream that won’t work and into a new one. A short except follows with their first community function.

“He handed her the dew-covered glass which she pushed into her lips. He clung to his bottle and tipped it evenly, watching her through half-closed eyes. She was an enigma. Pain and party. Her face had shown shadows of solemnity and joy of life.

He wanted to know her, but at the same time, not know her. Her pain both called to and repelled him. He didn’t want to complicate his life. Everything was fine the way it was. Besides, maybe he would be leaving soon, which wouldn’t be fair, or maybe he’d be the pegged-leg yokel staying in this town.

When he looked around, he saw his neighbors. Laurie had a bandana around her bald head. Hank’s right leg left a ridge in the dance dust on the floor. With a gulp, he reminded himself that a dance does not mean a lifetime commitment. He led her to the community table of singles. Ruth Anne was crooking her finger at him and smiling broadly. He had a job to do.

“Anna, we have a job to do.” She looked at him as if he had two heads.

“All the single unattached residents have to dance with the other singles so that everyone has a good time,” he whispered in her ear.

“Everyone, meet Anna.”

“Anna, everyone.”

Men and women nodded, lifted hands in acknowledgement. She heard, “Hi, Anna.”

“Hello, everyone.”

Before she could put her glass on the table, a round, short man reached up to her, squeezed her hand and led her through the polka. Anna watched out of the blur of fast stepping turns, while Nick held onto a blue-haired woman who smiled up at him.

After everyone at the table seemed to have had a spin with either Nick or Anna, he finally held his hand out to her and led her back to the dance floor. The line was forming as the music began. They positioned themselves behind the line and Nick slowly showed her the sequence of steps. He sensed when her body and the music blended together in movement.

Anna was no stranger to music but she was a stranger to the dance steps. However, the stomps, kicks and grapevines became less complicated with each repetition. She liked moving to the music. She watched the red boots and skirt of the woman in front of her. She saw the added swing of her hips and suggestive dips of her shoulder. Anna added these movements. When she glanced at Nick’s face, he smiled. She smiled back and tried harder to keep up with the line. During the next set, they held onto each other and swung in unison.

When they stopped at the bar this time they each had a glass of ice-cold water. She brushed the back of her sleeve across her mouth, wishing that he would trace the vagrant drops with his thumb.

She laughed. “You seem to be my thirst-quenching hero.”

“Water and hydration is a specialty of mine,” he teased.

He felt his stump which was cradled in his prosthesis throb. “I’m ready to sit out the next set. You?”

“I’d like to watch the moves. I seem to have missed this phase of dance.”

NOW ONTO THE PRIZE AND HOW YOU CAN WIN!!!

To be eligible for to win the $10 Amazon Gift Card, simply leave a message below with your email address and let us know what you think about Annette Bower’s Moving On – A Prairie Romance.

Learn more about Annette and her work:

#TheVixen Has Thrown Down the Gauntlet!

It’s been a busy week around here as of late. I have nearly caught up on ALL of my back log and am putting the finishing touches on the special gift package to one special blog hop winner. My hubby and I are both on the mend with his last round of tests showing NO CANCER!! Now it’s my turn for the round robin of testing. With changing up our health plans at work, I have to break in a new doctor. I’m both nervous and excited about it. I’ll get a new outlook from this doctor and hopefully together we can come up with a plan to get my health at 100%. I promised my husband that I would take care of me now.

Of course, having sent my alter egos Lia and Stephanie on “vacation” for the last week has helped me focus on me and my projects but nothing can stop The Vixen! That part of my personality will not stop working and continues to fight the good fight when it comes to defending erotica and erotic romance. Why is it that so many want to “clean up” this genre? It’s separated from mainstream fiction and romance for a reason. Both showcase very explicit and detailed sex scenes. If a novel or short story doesn’t have this sort of detail, then it belongs in the mainstream categories.

The news media has made it an “in” thing to call something erotica or erotic romance. I wish for once, they would do some actual fact checking before they start with the labels. Because of their erroneous descriptions, readers who don’t like the explicit materials have flocked to Amazon and other ebook outlets in order to get themselves some “erotica like that Fifty Shades.” Unfortunately, when they read what really makes up a good erotic romance, they are often appalled and call it “porn” or “blatant smut.”

It doesn’t help matters when editors, authors and even some publishers try to redefine what makes up an erotic romance. No wonder readers are confused! Quite a few discussions have been going on around the Internet via blogs, Twitter and Facebook about this and a few of my fellow authors and myself have been personally attacked and our work more or less belittled.

Well…I’m not going to sit back and keep quiet about it. I’m going to keep defending my chosen genres until there is no longer any debate about it. I’ve started it off with my Sinfully Sassy Sundays with The Vixen spot on Four Seduced Muses. Having the descriptions of body fluids in a sex scene be called “icky” by an editor was just too much for me. Click on the link and see what I had to say. It’s a bit tongue in cheek, but at the heart of it, I’m ticked off that I have to take up this fight in the first place.

You can’t have it both ways. You don’t allow explicit detailed sex scenes in mainstream romances, then you can’t call the mainstream stuff erotica or erotic romances. Taking our genre name away won’t make us leave. We are here to stay!

#Tempestuous #ThursdayThirteen with #SirenAuthor Nicole Morgan

I’m very happy to have my friend and fellow Seduced Muse Nicole Morgan here Behind Closed Doors today. On January 24th Siren released the second book in her Incessant Passions series and today, Nicole shares the first sentences of Tempestuous with us for Thursday Thirteen. So without further adieu, I’ll turn things over to Nicole.

BLURB

Michelle Englehurst finally has her dream job working in a tropical paradise doing what she loves. A routine day at work proves to be more than what it seemed. Her new client Brad Conrad is charming, handsome, and causes a reaction in her like no other man has.

Brad is on a forced vacation by his father, who claims he’s overworked. Begrudgingly, he takes his sabbatical with no intention of enjoying himself. A chance encounter with a woman he can’t get out of his mind changes Brad’s workaholic ways. He finds himself extending his trip and doing everything in his power to spend more time with her.

For days and then weeks the two of them walk a fine line of casual friendship to lascivious intentions. With time working against the two, they are faced with two choices, take a chance or throw caution to the wind and be…tempestuous.

First Thirteen Sentences

Michelle took several calming breaths, trying to untangle her frazzled nerves before opening the door to the small massage room. His mere presence turned her into a klutz, and she prayed today she would be able to keep her cool. Normally, she was the picture-perfect employee, always professional and cordial with all of her clients, but something about this one kept her feeling like she was constantly trying to walk a tight rope. Despite her occasional mishaps, he always remained kind and never made her feel foolish.

She did, though. In fact, she felt like a goofy teenager with her first crush every time he was near her. While a part of her wished he would request someone else for his daily massage, the other part of her—the woman—didn’t want anything of the sort. Michelle relished her hour-long sessions with Mr. Conrad, regardless of how much they threw her off-balance. Once she relaxed a little, it was hard to not enjoy his company. He was easy to talk to, charming, and sometimes made her laugh so hard that her cheeks hurt from being frozen in such a wide smile.

Mr. Conrad, or Brad as he insisted she call him, had been a distraction from day one. Each day that he came to her little massage room, she became increasingly attracted to him. The pull she felt had been building for the past couple weeks as their casual conversations had become lengthier and more intimate.

Click on the above graphic to take you to excerpts from this fabulous book!

About the Author

Nicole Morgan is a multi-published author of erotic romantic novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with a good old-fashioned whodunit. While she’s written everything from contemporary to paranormal her leading men will more than likely be wearing a uniform of some kind. From military to police officers, she has a love for writing about those who protect and serve. From her very first novel (which turned into a four book series) about Navy SEALs to her more recent releases you will be sure to find a few twists and turns you were not expecting.
In additional to her books, Nicole also has a recurring column called, “Sex and the Single Woman” in BT Showcase’s online eMagazine. Also, she has recently partnered up with three of her author friends and became Four Seduced Muses, a blog dedicated to the steamier side of romance.

Nicole’s Website

Nicole’s Blog

Oh My! Monday on The House of Taboo for Impetuous

Oh My! Monday on Sassy Vixen Publishing for Impetuous