Welcome to the world of the Jaguar People!

Welcome to the world of the Jaguar People, a secret society of shifters protected by a lethal group of assassins who deal with any and all who threaten to reveal their presence to humans. This series sprang from the idea that everyone, even the bravest, scariest warrior is vulnerable in some way. It’s what makes them vulnerable that fascinates and spurs those “what if” questions that lead me to stumble to my computer at all hours of the day and night.

What if an assassin that has pledged his life to protecting the Jaguar People needed to depend on someone whose very existence endangers them, but is also his only chance of truly protecting them?

I’ve never been able to resist a reluctant hero or a heroine who doesn’t realize how strong she is until she’s tested. Throw in a steamy jungle, a forbidden attraction, unrelenting danger and of course some steamy sex and this story had me happily banging away at my keyboard until I could type The End.

After having my rights to the story reverted, I realized that my writing had changed over the years so I’m self-publishing a slightly revised version of the original. Not that much has changed; a little language here and there, a description or two. What's new? My beautiful new cover designed by Lex Valentine of Winterheart Designs! 

Blurb:

A desperate shifter, a lethal assassin and a deadly prophecy…

Her only crime was being born. Kira is the key to a secret that the Jaguar Council will kill to keep and their sworn enemy, the Brotherhood will kill to possess. Looking for a place to belong, Kira, a half-human jaguar shifter treks to the Guatemalan jungle, desperate to find a culture she suspects might exist and relief from the desire she’s been afraid to unleash upon any human.

What she finds is danger, death and Sebastian, a lethal Jaguar Assassin who rescues her from the rogues he’s been tracking, only to find that she’s more dangerous. Halflings have been forbidden for centuries and killing her should have been easy but nothing has prepared Sebastian for his visceral need to protect Kira. Caught in a treacherous web of danger and deceit, the lovers battle a growing list of enemies to uncover a secret that might save them both and protect the Jaguar People.

Approximately 62k words

Excerpt: PG13

“What is a halfling?”

He clenched his jaw so tightly that she wondered how he managed to say, “You are mixed blood. You are not Jaguar People.”

For one blinding second she almost let the panic overtake her. She hadn’t found her own kind, only another place she didn’t belong. Unease, like dozens of tiny pinpricks, skittered over her, raising the fine hair on the back of her neck. “What do you mean, Jaguar People?”

“There isn’t time to explain. Now, can you swim or would you rather I carried you out of here before Fontaine’s tracker, Diego figures out he’s been following a false trail since dawn?”

“They’re following me?” His anger made more sense now. “You could probably move faster if you changed and just pointed me in the right direction.”

Three angry strides brought him up against her, his gaze dark and glittering. “Actually, they’re following me. I’m guessing that you don’t have the energy to change or the gash in your side would have healed by now. Rescuing you made you my responsibility, so I’m going to ask you one more time. Can–you–swim?”

She’d come over a thousand miles to find others like herself, someone to answer all her questions. He might, once they were safe. It wasn’t as if she had a lot of choices right now.

“I can swim,” she said, then mumbled, “sort of,” under her breath as he turned away and slipped through the waterfall.

Her “sort of” was a very clumsy, fast-as-she-could-manage dog paddle. He was still frowning and rigid with anger when he pulled her, naked, from the water. He yanked up one arm, nearly tipping her over. The poultice was gone but the long pink line along her ribs wasn’t.

She shivered, feeling his strength and his anger as he slid his hands up her arms and flicked away the specks of water. Blood sizzled through her at the touch of his fingers trailing down her arms possessively. As if he didn’t want to give up touching her but at the same time looked as if he might regret it.

He stepped away abruptly, motioning her to follow. With the wind at their backs, the air currents carried his scent—warm earth, human, the musky, familiar hint of jaguar. She wanted them all wrapped around her like a protective mantle. She wanted him pounding into her again, driving away the loneliness. Not even his anger dampened her desire to be held again. She was pitiful.

Half an hour later they reached the tree where she’d left her clothes tucked into the black plastic garbage bag with her other meager possessions. He’d tracked her from here. The knowledge sent a shiver through her and she didn’t honestly know whether it was from excitement or fear.

She quickly dug past two pairs of frayed shorts, a dingy thermal long-sleeved shirt and a small straw doll that she carefully re-wrapped in its threadbare flannel blanket. Finding what she wanted, she pulled the tattered khaki tank top over her head before tugging a pair of loose, army surplus fatigues over her bare hips.

“If it’s not a deep, dark secret, I’d like to know a little bit more about this halfling business.” She was trying to ignore the fact that he was still naked. His smirk told her he wasn’t bothered a bit. “Could you at least tell me where we’re going?”

“Sangre de Luna,” he said, tensing as he sniffed the air.

Before she could ask how much farther Sangre de Luna was, a jaguar’s cry ripped through the jungle. He lost his smirk, reached down and grabbed her bag.

“Run.”

Self-publishing is an exciting new venue for me and I hope you enjoy the new cover and the first book of my Jaguar Assassin’s series.  Watch for Book 2, Assassin's Vow, coming in January 2017. Book 1, Assassin’s Kiss is available now at these outlets…

Amazon: https://goo.gl/FuZe2P

iTunes: https://goo.gl/2p9e8s

B&N: http://goo.gl/wbZCu2

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/assassin-s-kiss-5

Until next month,

Happy Reading!

Paris Brandon

http://parisbrandon.com

http://twitter.com/#!/ParisBrandon

https://www.facebook.com/paris.brandon.author

Wishing on a Blue Star

Normally, I don't promo in place of blogging. I like to actually blog and say something to people. But yesterday I had a release that is worthy of a little time and attention. This release is a FREE ebook. If you want it in print, it will cost you a mere $7.

It's an anthology and more. It's the story of a man's journey with a deadly disease. Author Patric Michael had a rare form of cancer, one with a low survivability rate. At the time that this book came together, Patric's prognosis was poor and our contributions reflected our fears. Today, Patric is in remission and happily enjoying this release as I hope all of you will.

The stories within this book are meant to inspire you. They are also meant to remind you of the fragility of life and the need to make your minutes, hours, days and more count. They should also stand as a reminder of what we can do if only we set our minds and hearts on it...you can come together to create an awesome literary work and you can beat an illness no one expects you to beat. The power of the human spirit is an amazing thing. Read this book and you'll see why.

A Special Project by Dreamspinner Press & ManLoveRomance Press. Edited by Kris Jacen.

How much impact can someone have on your life if you’ve never met them face to face?

In this electronic age of E-mails, electronic publishing, and social networks, quite a lot.

Through his emails, stories and blog, author Patric Michael has touched numerous hearts, minds and lives from the start of his career and further as he now takes us along on his journey to battle cancer.

Along the way, Patric shows us a side of life that not many truly see-- how we are all a part of something larger than just ourselves, and how we are each touched by others for the betterment of all.

Now, those that have been touched by Patric and his words have joined together to give something back, to him and to us all through something he values highly – words.

In this compilation, gay short stories, poems, and anecdotes combined with excerpts from Patric's blog and a few entertaining, educational group posts reveal, and celebrate, the man who has touched so many hearts and minds.

This collection, sometimes erotic, sometimes irreverent, and always poignant, is a gift from all our hearts to celebrate Patric and give strength (and a little levity) to others. The price reflects this; no one is receiving royalties or payment from the sales. Use it to celebrate life, celebrate words, and possibly inspire someone who needs it.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK FOR FREE HERE.

Jessewave reviewed the anthology and talks about some of the stories inside including my story In the Light. I nearly cried to see that she had singled me out along with my lunch buddy Z.A. Maxfield, the great Victor J. Banis, Mary Calmes, and Amy Lane. You can read the review HERE.

Even better than Wave mentioning In the Light in her review... she got it. The story isn't a romance. It's a dark tale with a bit of a moral and more than a nod to an ode to friendship. And Wave got it.

Okay, I cried a little. I didn't expect that anyone besides Patric and our editor Kris would even understand this little Tale from the Five Dark Realms. But Wave did. Maybe you will too. Go download this book and get out your hankie. And celebrate life and the human spirit. If you wish on a blue star...you never know what might come true.

Happy Wednesday my lovelies.

Series Addiction

I have series addiction. I freely admit it. I have difficulty writing a single stand alone book. Other characters besides the hero and heroine begin clamoring for their stories as I write and plot bunnies multiply in my head until I find myself stopping in the middle of a book to jot down plots and characters for what will later become a sequel or part of a series.

Little did I know back in early December 2008 that my little Christmas freebie Christmas Hookup would be a popular download. And I certainly never realized that a year later I would feel the urge to return to the fictional town of Heil, California for a pair of sequels. Once I'd done the sequels though, I knew I'd do another and another. Somehow I'd expand the world of Riley and Elle and Forbes Ranch in order to create a Christmas love story every year. The key elements: a cowboy or cowgirl with some sort of tie to Riley, Elle, and Forbes Ranch and a Christmas Eve HEA. This year's book was released last week and a kernel of an idea came to me for next year's. I had to re-read Christmas Catch to get the kernel but it's there now and I'll nurture it to fruition come next December.

I suppose you could say that my problem lies in the fact that I vest myself in my characters, even the secondary ones. I know them. I know their motivations. Even the secondaries have depth. And that's why it's hard for me to let them go. I've already put time and thought into who they are and why they are. Why waste that? Besides, readers seem to like series an awful lot. I know I've received fan email regarding characters in books.

After Hot Water came out, I received fan mail about Corey Green who got his own story Sunstroked this year. When Sunstroked came out, I got email about Wilson North. (Yes, I'm working on Will's story now.) When Where There's Smoke came out, I had email asking about the world of the Vashon clans and the cobra shifters. And everyone wants more Holden Antaeus and Garret Renquist from Fire Season (which they'll get in Fire Storm.) Probably my biggest request is for Sean Antaeus though. The head of the black dragon Antaeus family is equal parts hero and asshole, but he intrigues a lot of readers of the Tales series. And my newest requests are for more stories from the fictional town of Forza, California, the setting of Afterburner, my DADT novella in the Honorable Silence anthology.

Something about Forza and it's history, even though it's bare bones, must have appealed to readers. And their suggestions that Afterburner's hero Sebastian Marchetti had plenty of quirky family members to fuel other stories struck home with me. Could it be that creating those memorable characters - whether secondary or not - and creating a memorable setting be the fuel, the catalyst, for not only my own imagination but that of the people who read these books? Are they just as addicted as I am?

Regardless of my addiction (and any reader addiction), at some point a series has to end. Take the Tales series for example. This is a ten book series that I've already stretched a little by adding a 6.5 book, a sequel to Sunstroked because of reader (and my editor's) comments about Wilson North. When the series does end upon the release of Sean Antaeus's book Force Majeure, what the heck do I do then? This publisher has an option for all things Darkworld and I'm not sure that with book ten I'll be ready to leave the dragons and other creatures behind. There are a lot of layers to this world. And so, when Tales ends, a new series will begin, but it won't be anything like Tales. In fact, the new series will take readers back into the Darkworld's dragon history and begin anew with a dragon warrior who discovers she's a princess.

Don't ask me for details. Don't ask me for names or titles. I've got a long way to go to finish Tales. When it's done, or close to done, I'll reveal this new Darkworld series. I'm nurturing this idea and bringing it along slowly, incorporating the ideas from the original Dark Realms stories I wrote more than twenty years ago. But if you like fantasy, well, the new series may well be your thing. It will still have romance and explicit sex, but it's more of a traditional fantasy world with swords and sorcery.

You see? My addiction knows no bounds. When it comes to ideas, I'm like a dog with a bone, gnawing at it, chewing on it, unable to leave it alone until I've found my way to the sweet marrow. For me, it means a lot more work. For the readers, it means more books and more books in worlds they already know from prior books. I have a couple of stand alone stories to bring you hopefully in the next year, but other than those, my work is all series related. From a trilogy to a series that stretches to ten books, you'll find that my addiction is a key ingredient to the drive that keeps me turning out books for you.

I don't know about you, but to me, this addiction doesn't seem to be such a bad thing.

Seasonal Gifting

Tis the season for gift giving and my daughter Nikki and I devised a way for me to give away my entire backlist. Yep, that's right, the ENTIRE backlist. In addition, since I didn't have enough books to give away a book a day during December, I asked some friends to help me out. Now, I'm giving away books every day for 30 days. THIRTY. Starting today, the day after Thanksgiving and going through all the way to Christmas Day when I'll give away the entire series (to date) of Christmas Cowboys short stories.

See, Nikki and I thought about all the nice fan mail I get and the comments on blogs and in chats and on loops. People are usually pretty nice to me. They don't have to be. They can just read my stuff and move on. No one has to go out of their way to speak up and tell an author that they loved their book. But people DO. And in this age of instant gratification and out of sight out of mindness, I appreciate the time and effort it takes for someone to tell me they liked my work. Now, it's my turn to tell all of YOU that I appreciate you.

My way of appreciating readers is to give you more to read. And give you things to read that don't cost you anything except a few minutes to read a blog post and post a comment. Think of it as my way of participating in seasonal gifting. I'll be gifting 30 people with books that are the effort of my hard work as well as the hard work of some very talented authors who appreciate their readers just as much as I do.

This is also a neat way of introducing my readers to authors who may be new to them. Maybe someone has heard of Jennifer Leeland but never read one of her BDSM themed books. Maybe they want to, but never got around to getting one. Or maybe they never thought about picking up one of Selena Illyria's IR books. Or something M/M by Z.A. Maxfield. Or one of Regina Carlysle's shifters. These books span the genres from romance to spooky dark tales, from M/F to M/M, from contemporary to paranormal, from sweet to erotic. There's something here for everyone.

And it is all my gift to you this holiday season. With a little help from my friends. :)

My daughter thought it would be a neat tradition for me to do this every year now. Businesses send out holiday cards. Families and friends exchange gifts. I am going to give readers an escape from holiday stress. The chance to escape into a book. I like the idea of making the 30 Days of Christmas into a Lex Valentine tradition. It makes me feel warm and happy inside to be able to join together with my friends and give something back to readers.

Now, I'd like to see all of you take this idea and run with it. Oh, not give away books (don't want anyone to be a pirate!), but maybe get together with some friends and pool your talent, time and/or money and do something nice for someone who isn't expecting it. Working together to make something happen can be its own reward sometimes. The satisfaction you receive will make you feel as if you're the one who has been given a gift.

I know that I am excited to do this and not one of the 30 posts I'll have to prepare will be a chore. I cannot wait to read the happy exclamations of the winners. I think I'm as excited as a five-year old on Christmas Eve. And I can totally relate to the old adage that it is better to give than to receive.

So come on by the Lex Valentine blog over the next 30 days and maybe you can win a book. I know I will be more than happy to give you one should I draw your name from the comments.

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons.

Interview of Author Lex Valentine

Today it's my pleasure to present an interview of romance author Lex Valentine...and to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Latest Book: Sunstroked, Tales of the Darkworld Book 6
Buy Link: http://pinkpetalbooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=119

BIO:
Lex has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil. When she posted snippets of work on her personal blog Sunlight Sucks, other authors encouraged her to submit her writing to publishers. Now, she is an award winning, best selling author. Born and raised in Salinas, California, Lex now lives in Orange County with her daughter Nikki and Rott, her long haired tattooed DH. She loves loud music, builds her own computers, and has a propensity for having very weird vivid dreams about Nikki Sixx. Lex works full-time at a cemetery as the network administrator and has a love of all things techie.

Q: If one of your books became a movie, which celebrity would you like to star as one of your hero? Tell us about your hero.
A: I think cover model and actor Julian Fantechi should be Sean Antaeus, the black dragon. Sean is the head of his family and he’s not above Machiavellian maneuvers to ensure his siblings and friends all end up happily mated. He’s ruthless when it comes to business but he’s a sucker for his family. The only problem is that he’s kind of arrogant so he always thinks he knows best which can set him at odds with others. It’s his intense sense of responsibility that gets him in trouble with his siblings and friends. Overall, he’s just fierce when it comes to his emotions and you can’t fault a man for feeling too much. You might sometimes hate Sean but in the end you’ll love him.

Q: What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?
A: I play a horse racing sim game online at DerbyFever.com. I’ve been playing now for about 7 years I think. We breed, train and race sim thoroughbred race horses. The game uses real life sires so you have to study bloodlines and know how to bet, handicap, and what all the race conditions mean…just like a real horse trainer. It’s a challenging game but I love it.

Q: What is your favorite romance book that you’ve read?
A: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. I love Colin Bridgerton. He’s my favorite hero of all time. I liked him so much I named a character Colin after him! Julia Quinn has an amazing way with dialog and I have tremendous admiration for her ability to spit out quips.

Q: You’re on a remote island with a handsome man, a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?
A: Buy a boat load of sex toys and luxury items so he and I can play lots of kinky games! ;)

Q: What genre would you like to try writing in but haven’t yet done so? Why?
A: Sci-fi romance. I have a plot and an outline, but I’ve not done it yet. I suppose I want to do it because I really enjoy sci-fi rom and I always want to write what I like to read. Great authors like Belinda McBride, Jaci Burton, NJ Walters, and Kim Knox get me all wound up with the sci-fi rom and then I get a serious itch to write it myself.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Chats, or Twitter. Which do you like best and why?
A: I love my blog Sunlight Sucks the best. It was my blog before I was a published author its one of the reasons I am a published author. I would post snippets of my writing on the blog and author Jennifer Leeland saw it and encouraged me to submit my work for publication. I did Twitter before it got really popular for authors to do, back before I was an author. I’m a tad burned out on it now. I’ve never been big on MySpace. I just put one up to find old friends. Facebook is becoming a little more my thing than the others in part because I have an author page now.

Tell us where to find you: website(s), publisher’s page(s), blog(s), Facebook page(s), etc. List them all!
Author website: http://lexvalentine.com/
Author blog: http://lexvalentine.com/blog
Personal blog: http://sunlightsucks.com/
Group blog: http://flirtyauthorbitches.com/
Paranormal Worlds: http://fivedarkrealms.com
Fan Forum: http://fivedarkrealms.com/forum
Series Websites: http://talesofthedarkworld.com/ and http://sorcerieandmagia.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cemeterywinter
Twitter: lexvalentine
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/cemeterywinter#%21/pages/Lex-Valentine-Author/144099955621942
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/cemeterywinter
Tales series at Pink Petal Books: http://pinkpetalbooks.com/tales
Author Page at Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-677-lex-valentine.aspx

BLURB:
When wildling Corey Green discovers his mate is Seth Dylan, a tough as nails, dour werewolf from the McCallan clan, he thinks his life is set. However, Seth’s not out and doesn’t know if he wants to be. A pivotal sexual encounter between the men has Seth running scared and leaves Corey broken hearted. The men meet again nearly two years later and this time Seth’s out but Corey’s dark depression is about to send him behind the Veil of the Jewel Box to the fae world. Seth’s determined to make up for running out on Corey, but the wildling’s sunny disposition has gone so dark it may be too late for them to build a life together. With love on his side, Seth sets out return the sunshine to Corey’s soul.

Warning: Contains two hot gay men who love sunshine, sex that makes the plants and trees grow, and a big bad wolf who will do anything to win the man he loves.

EXCERPT:
Corey Green had to be the most beautiful man Seth had ever seen. And his looks weren’t even half his appeal. If the man hadn’t been so incredibly nice on top of his sexiness, Seth wouldn’t have even considered losing his virginity to the guy. But he knew, just as he knew his own innate sexuality, that being with Corey was right. His sense of destiny galloped headlong toward Corey’s bedroom, carrying Seth toward something he wanted with a fierceness that made every muscle in his body tremble.

He wanted what was to come, needed it. The darkness he’d lived in his entire life had brightened the moment Corey had spoken to him, and Seth didn’t want to go back to the dark. He wanted to walk in the sun for the first time, maybe the only time, in his life. Corey represented happiness and pleasure and freedom, all things that had been in short supply throughout Seth’s life. Tomorrow he’d think about whether he should continue to deny his sexuality. Tomorrow he’d figure out what to do for the rest of his life. Tonight, all he wanted was pleasure. The pleasure he and his lover would give each other…

“You’re thinking too much,” Corey murmured and wrapped one hand around the back of Seth’s head, drawing him closer. “You just need to feel. Feel and enjoy.”

Seth let Corey pull him close. His heart pounded so hard he wondered if Corey could hear it. As the wildling’s mouth came down on his, Seth had the sense that the sun had emerged from behind a cloud. Searing heat flushed his body as if the sun beat down on his skin. With a sigh, Seth surrendered to the teasing lick of Corey’s tongue, opening his mouth to invite his lover inside. Their tongues twined and joy shot through Seth. A simple kiss had never felt so good.

When Corey broke off the kiss, Seth moaned in protest. With a chuckle, Corey threaded his fingers with Seth’s and led the way upstairs. The bedroom stood in shadow, the setting sun slanting only a few faint rays through the open window. Corey flicked on the bedside lamp and the room filled with a golden light.

“Tell me what you want.”

Corey’s voice held a softness and caring that sent a shudder through Seth. So few people in his life had cared about him. For this man whom he’d just met to openly show he cared about Seth’s feelings, wants, and desires, sent a wave of nameless emotion through him. Although they’d not done much yet, Seth already teetered on overload. Yet, he welcomed it. His past would be set aside from this moment onward. He would look to the future and look inside himself for the answers, and not look to his pack or his family to supply the blueprint for his life.

“I want it all.”

His stark words were met with a glorious smile. The curving of Corey’s generous, sexy lips made Seth’s mouth water.

“Well, of course you do,” Corey said, brushing his fingers through Seth’s unruly hair. “And I’m perfectly willing to be a sexual smorgasbord, but where do you want to start? What do you want to do first?”

Seth reached up and locked his fingers around Corey’s wrist, feeling the thrum of the wildling’s blood beneath his fingertips. “Have you ever had a virgin before?” he asked, his heart suddenly aching to know where he stood with Corey.

Two hands cupped his face for a brief moment, a fleeting caress meant to soothe.

“No, I haven’t. But you’re special. I sensed it immediately,” Corey replied honestly, his steel blue eyes serious. “I want to show you how wonderful this can be. I want to show you what you feel is not wrong. How can pleasure be wrong? It is no one’s place to sit in judgment on another especially with regard to acts of pleasure between two consenting adults. You’re not a freak, Seth. You’re just a man with healthy desires. Other men will want to be with you. I want to be with you. And there is nothing wrong with that. Let me show you how good it can be.”

Seth pondered Corey’s words for a moment, recognizing the truth in them. The darkness within him lightened. He stretched out a hand and laid it on Corey’s hip.

“I want to touch and be touched.”

A sigh escaped the wildling. Something brilliant glittered in his steel colored eyes for a moment, then he blinked them shut. When they opened, raw hunger blazed at Seth from the handsome face of the man who would be his first real lover. Then Corey spread his arms wide. The teasing smile that Seth had instantly been drawn to lit Corey’s face. Bathed in the smile’s radiance, it almost seemed to Seth as if a door had closed on his past, locking the darkness away where it could no longer reach him. His mouth went dry, his heart pounded to an uneven rhythm driven by lust and a plethora of emotions he couldn’t begin to define.

With shaking but determined hands, Seth pushed up Corey’s polo shirt exposing a broad golden-skinned chest. Moments later, the shirt hit the floor, and Seth’s fingertips found the wildling’s nipples. The flat discs puckered beneath his touch, and Corey groaned. Silently, Seth groaned too. The smooth skin beneath his hands didn’t feel anything like a woman’s. His palms skated over the hard contours of Corey’s torso, and he decided the man’s skin felt like rough silk.

Anything else you’d like to add?
I’d like to invite readers and fans to friend me on Facebook, like my FB author page, and join my fan forum. I’ll be giving away prizes on my forum on occasion, things solely for my forum members! So there are advantages to being part of my “in” crowd! ;)

Creepsters

It's almost Halloween. Every site is doing something appropriately ghoulish. I apparently fit right in with that theme. Halloween is my birthday. I work at a cemetery. I write stories that have ghosts, demons, dragons, werewolves and vampires in them. I am a Creepster. I like creepy things like my Zombies Ate My Brain t-shirt and Skulls and Bones candies. I don't watch horror movies but that's because I don't really have time to and the fake blood makes me yawn anyway. I did like Zombieland but it wasn't really a horror movie.

So for all you creepsters out there who like the macabre, I've got three things for you today. First, if you run over to my Five Dark Realms website and sign up for my forum and participate on the board by posting a few times, you'll be entered into a drawing and could win books! Second, I'm going to invite you all to post your cemetery questions today and I will answer them. Just don't be upset if I can't do it right away. I have to use my lunch hour to do it and I'm on Pacific time. Third, I'm going to give you a taste of my dark tale Ain't Nuthin' But a Hellhound which is in the Weirdly III anthology of creepy dark tales.

Blurb:

Lilah hunts hellhounds because she can. Half demon, she travels the night in search of the hellhounds who steal human souls. Using her powers, she strips the demons of their prey and saves the humans’ souls. But a demon lord, the Lord of the Hellhounds and her former lover, stalks her even while her father, demon royalty, seeks to bring her back to the demon realm. When Lilah saves the soul of a college professor, he teaches her a lesson about power that sets the demon hunter on a collision course with both her father and her former lover.

EXCERPT:

Lilah didn’t give in to her demon side, except for her work. She’d become a demon hunter because her father didn’t believe in her. Aside from her mother, he and one other were the only beings she’d ever loved, and they thought her human side made her weak. They seemed unaware of the fact that she had never felt human and despised human weakness. Still, she knew in her heart that she didn’t belong in the demon realm right now.

The converted warehouse she called home loomed at the end of an industrial cul-de-sac. Before she could reach the huge spell-locked metal door, Lilah realized she was no longer alone. She stopped, her acute hearing picking up the sound of something non-human. Turning, she faced a hellhound.

“You scared my minion. He was new and now you’ve frightened him. He’s afraid to go back out in the field.”

The familiar voice washed over her, bringing with it the sting of desire in her body. Ignoring her rising pulse, Lilah raised one brow. “You should train them better, Xavion,” she replied in an icy tone.

The tall figure of the hellhound emerged from the shadows. He stepped closer to her, deliberately invading her comfort zone. She didn’t step back, although she wanted to. Xavion enjoyed taunting her with his body and the pleasures he could give her.

“I train them well, Lilah. You just keep getting better at deterring them,” he murmured, reaching up to wrap a lock of her hair around his forefinger. “I love it when you show off what I taught you.”

She scowled at him. “My father taught me. I rarely think about the things you showed me.”

Xavion laughed softly. “Even after fifty years, you’re still trying to forget that I took your virginity and gave you such pleasure.”

“Someone had to take it. Might as well have been you,” she muttered, turning her back on him and walking toward her warehouse. “It wasn’t anything special.”

“Oh, ho! So you say, my lovely. I happen to know that it was.” He grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him. “It was special for us both. Why have you kept me at arm’s length?”

Lilah glared at him. “Because I don’t want to be involved with you. You are my father’s heir, a hellhound lord, and my natural enemy, Xavion, not my lover.”

“I’m not your enemy, Lilah, natural or otherwise. When will you get that through your thick skull?” he ground out, pressing his body to hers. “You do this…this soul saving…only to thwart me, to show me that you don’t care for me or your father. But I know better, Lilah. We belong together.”

She shook her head. “No, we don’t. You’re nothing to me except another hellhound I must stop. You take the lost souls. I save them. We have nothing in common, Xavion, so leave me alone!”

He grabbed her chin with hard fingers. If she had been human, his grip would have broken bones or at least bruised her severely. “You’re wrong, Lilah. I can wait until you acknowledge it.”

“You will wait forever then.” Her tone was resolute, giving no quarter, as she stared at him defiantly.

Xavion’s dark head bent, and his beautiful mouth hovered over hers. “It’s a good thing that I have eternity on my side. I will win this battle, my love. I must.”

He kissed her, his lips taking hers, demanding a response. She fought the urge to kiss him back. Her body screamed in protest, wanting to cleave to him, touch him. Her heart recoiled from her physical response to the lord of the hellhounds. She didn’t want him, didn’t want what he represented, didn’t want to be a pawn between him and her father. She grew icy cold, stiffening in his grasp.

Xavion released her and stepped back. His broad chest heaved, and his dark eyes glowed feral red. “Things are changing in the demon realm, Lilah. You would do well to remember what I offer you.”

She glared at him, despite the frisson of warning that snaked down her spine at his mention of changes in the demon realm. “I sampled what you have to offer, Xavion. That was enough for me. I have no use for demons.”

His expression tightened with anger at the insult. “I’m not kidding, Lilah daughter of Desrael. I must have you. And I will.”

Xavion muttered an incantation, and a hole opened in the night, an inky swirl of darkness in the empty space beside him. The shimmering hole in the air was so black and deep it sucked light right into it. The scent of sulfur and dark spices emerged from the blackness giving away the fact that it was a portal to the demon realm “It’s not as bad as you think there, Lilah. It’s no different than any other realm in the universe.”

“It’s Hell, Xavion, and you’re a hellhound, a minion of the darkest forces this universe has to offer. I am not one of you.” She turned and walked away, not waiting to see him use the portal, deliberately ignoring the lure of his body and his world.

I hope you enjoyed this taste of my dark tale. Now, it's time for you to ask me anything you want about the cemetery or my books or my crazy birthday. (Trust me, the cemetery stuff is MUCH more interesting than my birthday.) Tell me what you want to know about the cemetery! Or ask me where to get the cool zombies shirt. ;)

Wishing you a creepy, macabre Halloween!

A Different End

Every author feels a sense of accomplishment when they type two words, "The End." Sometimes they experience relief and sometimes they're let down because the characters they've spent so much time with are now committed to paper and the story is over. Usually, they get over it quickly because the follow up to writing "The End" is edits and then release. There's no author that doesn't enjoy release day, the day we get to share this new work with all our readers.

But there's another kind of ending that some authors have to write and this one is a lot bigger and lot more emotional than the end of a book. The end of a series can have a serious emotional impact on an author and, in turn, on the readers. Recently, I read some of Kate Douglas' thoughts about the end of her popular series "Wolf Tales." Reading her emotional words made me start to think about the end of "Tales of the Darkworld."

On October 7, Sunstroked, Tales of the Darkworld Book 6 releases. This is the second of the M/M stories in this series. It is also a quietly intense romance, almost sweet despite the hot scenes and fiery sexual tension. To me, it also serves as notice that this series is drawing to a close.

Tales of the Darkworld started with two novellas about brothers and sisters. Two vampire siblings who own a cemetery in the Darkworld and two black dragon siblings, one who suffers from unrequited love and the other who feels cast out of her family. From Shifting Winds and Hot Water came the bigger picture of the Tales. Two families, three best friends, and a man with a mission to ensure that all his friends and relatives find their mates. Ten tales of love, lust, betrayal, pain, triumph, redemption, life, death, rebirth, sexuality, and friendship.

The series revolves around the machinations of three Machiavellian best friends, black dragon Sean Antaeus, vampire Marius Granville, and the man with a mission, magia Alfred Stone. Alfred's task is to ensure that his friends and family find their mates. However, the reason for Al's task isn't clear until Book 9 Rain of Tears, Al's own story. At that point, I'll close out the series with the story of the most dominant character across all of the books, black dragon Sean Antaeus.

The release of Sunstroked next month means I'm on the downslope of the series. Each book from this point on is less standalone. Each book will bring me closer to The End. And I'm not sure I'm ready to face that. Sure, I have other ideas and another series in my worlds planned. I know my publisher and editor is rubbing her hands together in anticipatory glee of receiving the next of my Five Dark Realms series. We've had long discussions and conversations about all my ideas for these worlds.

Even so, I feel the emotional pinch of ending the Tales and I know when it's time to write "The End" at the end of Force Majeure (Book 10 Sean's story) I will probably sit and have a long cry. It will be time for me to let go of the Antaeus dragons, the Granville vampires, the Stone magia, the McCallan werewolves, the wildling, and the demons. I'm sure it will be difficult for some of the series fans as well. Letting go of Holden and Garret, Colin and Eden, Emily and Vahid, Sean, Marius, Declan, Alfred, Careen, Corey, and all the others will be emotional at best for them too.

This series launched my career and it will be with profound sadness and a huge sense of accomplishment that I write the final book probably sometime late next year. Between now and then, as I write the last four books, I'll be working to showcase the series as a whole. With each of the last releases, I'll be talking about not just that story, but all of them. Because in the end, when I write "The End", I'll have given my readers one very big love story that encompasses more than just dragons, vampires, werewolves and demons but also includes the relationship between me... and them.

Happy reading!

Characters Come to Life

My DH (Rott) and I watched Inkheart the other night. At first, it didn't capture my attention much. Of course, that could be cause I was drooling over Brendan Fraser. Then the premise of the story began to get to me. The hero of the story (Fraser) is a Silvertongue. When he reads aloud, the characters in the books are brought into the real world. That means the good ones and the bad ones too. And the bad ones that came alive when he read have now imprisoned his wife and kidnapped him and his daughter. Some of the characters just want to go home (back into their book) and others would rather stay in this world because it's more advantageous for them. And in the end, the author of Inkheart gets his wish to be transported into the world he created.

What struck home for me as I watched this movie was that I think the best romance authors DO want to be transported to the worlds they create. Maybe not forever, but for the time it takes to tell the story and put forth the happy ending. Also, some of us want to bring our characters to life. We want them to feel so real that the reader almost expects to run into them on the street one day.

Rott and I laughed a little at what it would be like if the characters in my books were brought into this world by a Silvertongue. I tried to imagine what it would be like to go to work and discover I was at Granville Cemetery with Colin, Marius, and Elysia. I wondered how I would feel staring up at the uber tall Declan Antaeus, gazing at the sinfully handsome Holden Antaeus, or trying to match stares with the forceful Sean Antaeus. I figured I'd laugh my ass off with Max the Pixie Prince and his snarkastic side kick Alexa Harte. I knew that Brenna Thorne's familiar Rambo would look just like my own Rambo. I could sit and eat lobster at Jason Rockham's Rockport restaurant. I'd visit the BDSM club Insolence and drool over Aric Calderwood or go for a motorcyle ride down the coast with Zander and Voth. I know that I'd certainly never feel another lonely or boring moment if my characters lived in my world.

In a very real sense, writers - good writers - deliver this to readers with every release. My Darkworld is meant to suck you in and give you the sense that it's real, that you're there with the characters. I want to rip you from the world that gives you stress and deliver you to a place where the heroes are men you would want to be with and where you can identify with the heroines. I want to make you believe in dragons and vampires as much as love and happy endings. I want the characters to be real. I want to be an Antaeus and know that Sean will do his best to see that I find my mate and spend the rest of my days blissfully happy and sexually replete. And I strive to give that sense to everyone who picks up one of my books.

To say that Inkheart struck a chord within me isn't exactly correct. It wasn't the movie or the hotties (Paul Bettany shirt off with flaming sticks rotating in the air oh baybee) in it. It is what the story itself represents to readers and writers. Finding that story that takes you away from the mundane and serves you up the thing you want most whether it's love, adventure, sex, or happiness.

Now, here's a taste of my latest release. You tell me if Marius and Sair don't invite you to leave this world for theirs...

Tales of the Darkworld Book 5, Common Ground
Pink Petal Books

BUY LINK

BLURB:
Werewolf Sair McCallan escapes the confines of her brother’s pack with the help of a mated werewolf couple who believe in open sexuality and relationships. With Weylyn and Keir Randall, Sair experiences freedom in all things for the first time in her life. When she meets her mate, she’s shocked to find he’s a boring, broody vampire. Uptight Marius Granville has his staid and orderly life completely shattered by the arrival of his bloodmate, a beautiful werewolf who steals his heart and expects him to join in her kinky play with the Randalls. Marius is forced out of his hum drum existence and opens himself to new sexual experiences to please Sair. As her new mate strives to give her everything she needs, Sair battles internal demons that threaten their fragile new relationship.

Warning: This book includes sex on a washing machine, a make out session ala From Here to Eternity, sex between best friends (F/F), double penetration of a female (oh, baby!), and the best blowjob in the world (M/M) all within the confines of the hottest ménage a quatre the Darkworld has ever seen.

EXCERPT:

Sair shoved at him and Marius stumbled back a step. She dropped to the floor and slipped around him, trotting out of the bathroom. He followed her down the stairs and onto the deck at the back of the house. With a graceful leap, she jumped from the deck into the thick grass.

Marius came to an abrupt halt. With the silvery moonlight gilding her skin, naked Sair was a sight to behold. He sucked in a breath, his cock becoming even harder at the erotic tableau of his bloodmate stroking her hands over her moon dappled flesh.

“By the gods, Sair! You’ve no clue what you’re doing to me,” he complained as he stepped down into the grass.

Grinning wickedly, she backed away from him. “Yes, I do.” She laughed softly and darted around a tree as Marius took the shortest path toward her.

“You’re going to make me fuck you out here, aren’t you?”

She laughed again and skipped easily away from him when he tried to catch her arm. “What’s wrong with that? Are you allergic to grass?”

“No.” He stopped in a beam of moonlight, his head turning to watch her cavort naked in the dark, flitting between the trees. “But won’t the moon turn you furry?” he joked. “I don’t think I’d like to find myself coming inside a wolf.”

Momentarily startled, she stopped weaving in and out of the trees and turned to look at him. “You’d best be joking, my biter,” she said sternly. “You don’t see me assumin’ you can turn into a bat or become a pile of ash in the sun. Or, the gods forbid, sparkle.”

Her face scrunched up in an exaggerated grimace and Marius laughed. “I’m teasing about the moon. But you still haven’t shown me your wolf. Does she not wish to meet me?”

The grimace turned to a frown on her beautiful moon gilded features. “Do you ever go to the pet store and play with the puppies?” she asked in a cautious tone.

Shit, Marius thought. I’m caught.

Sair’s brows rose and he knew she’d heard his thoughts. “Yeeeeesss,” he replied, drawing out the single syllable of the word.

“This isn’t the same.”

Her sharply humorous statement hadn’t even faded from his ears before the outlines of her body began to shimmer. Marius had seen dragons shift before, their bodies becoming golden confetti in the air before solidifying. Sair’s shift didn’t take that long. The shimmer of her form took a split second and in the next moment, her human form disappeared, replaced by a grey wolf.

The wolf’s tail wagged and Marius smiled. Sair trotted over and thrust her cold, wet nose into his palm. He stroked her soft head and sank his fingers into her thick coat. Just like her human form, her wolf wasn’t big. Larger than a German Shepherd, but not nearly as large as other wolves he’d seen. She bumped against his legs, pushing him as her tail brushed his ass.

“You are all stuck on my ass tonight, aren’t you?” he teased.

You don’t like me admirin’ that firm masculine flesh?

“I didn’t say that. It’s just that other firm masculine flesh is crying out for attention.” With his free hand he stroked his cock.

You better hope no one sees you like this. Standin’ naked in the moonlight, pettin’ a wolf and strokin’ your dick. You’d get arrested and maybe sent to the psych ward.

Marius laughed and let go of his cock. “You’re right.”

When his fingers loosened on her fur, she dropped down to the ground and rolled to her back, displaying her belly. The fur there was lighter and he knew it would be softer. Kneeling beside her, her rubbed her belly with both hands, knowing that she had put herself in that vulnerable position to show him that she trusted him.

She whined as he stroked her and then shimmered. Instantly, her human form returned and Marius found himself stroking her naked belly, just above her mons. He grinned.

“Now, isn’t this convenient?” he murmured and slipped a hand between her thighs. He found her wet, her delicate folds slippery with arousal. She whimpered as he stroked her lightly.

Fitting his body between her thighs, he rubbed the tip of his erection in her wetness. She moaned, her hips surging toward him. With a hand on her belly, he held her down as she squirmed, trying to take his cock inside her.

“No, I don’t think so, my beautiful wolf.”

She gazed at him wide-eyed and moved urgently beneath his hands. “Yes. I want you. Please, Marius.”

“Oh, you’ll have me, just not like this.”

Deftly, with a swiftness and strength that gave away his preternatural nature, Marius flipped her onto her belly, then pulled her up on her hands and knees. Briefly, his palms caressed her ass cheeks. He pushed them apart and rubbed the head of his cock against the pink pucker of her anus. Her moans grew louder and she thrust her hips backward, silently begging him to take her in the ass.

“Not tonight, little wolf. But soon,” he whispered.

Thanks for coming by!




Author Website: lexvalentine.com
Personal Blog: sunlightsucks.com
Series Website: talesofthedarkworld.com
Twitter: lexvalentine
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