The Appeal of Sexy Beasts!

How many of you remember being advised to write what you knew? I tried that and to be perfectly honest, never felt truly comfortable trying to write the book I thought a publisher might be interested in. However, I clearly remember the day I decided to take the plunge and write what terrified me most, the erotic sex scene.

Choosing a genre wasn't difficult. I'd always loved paranormal romance and it wasn't too long before I started researching jaguars. Oh boy, reclusive loners were right up my alley, all I had to do was build them a world and give them a big old conflict. Did I mention that when I started writing, besides sex scenes, I hated conflict and always tried to resolve it too quickly?

These days, sex scenes and conflict don't terrify me and I still love writing shifters, but ASSASSIN'S KISS will always have a special place in my heart. Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite if you find sexy beasts appealing...

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 hot sex and you have the first book in the Jaguar Assassin’s series, ASSASSIN'S KISS.

  

"Brandon has created a detailed world and provides a well-crafted plot filled with action, danger and great characters..."
–Romantic Times Book Reviews

"...Assassin's Kiss is a must read for fans of suspense, action, shifter and erotic romance genres"
 –Just Erotic Romance Reviews

"... As a rule, I usually enjoy stories of this genre and Ms. Brandon totally brings the idea to the next level"
 –Romance Junkies

Excerpt: Adult

Balancing his front paws on a splayed limb, Sebastian crouched in the notch of a low hanging tree. His growl had netted him a snarl that warned the female was ready to shred his ass. Ungrateful bitch. His vow to protect the innocent trumped his assignment to kill the rogues he’d been tracking for days before her trail had crossed theirs.

He was questioning his sanity as he watched the two young males circle the small female. Sheer determination seemed to be the only thing keeping her on her feet. He smelled her fear, and underneath it, the same pulsing desperation that clawed at his insides and begged to be answered.

He forced a low purr and jumped in front of her, barking a warning when one of them feigned a charge so the other could cut the female from his protection. She flipped around, crouching and hissing, covering his back.

Heat and confusion rippled off her in waves, calling to him as it called to the young rogues. Taking on two heat-crazed males was risky enough. Protecting a wounded female at the same time was asking for trouble he didn’t need. He was counting on ingrained behavior.

Jaguar protocol demanded that the alpha female’s death during a moon ceremony be honored. With Fontaine, the Jaguar Priest, leading them, not even rogues would leave one of their own to rot without full ceremonial rites.

The two males paced but their attention wavered between him, the wounded female at his back, and Fontaine’s demanding snarls, just beyond the clearing. They slunk off, one after the other. He whipped around to hiss a warning but the female lay on the ground, wide-eyed and panting hard, her tawny fur matted with blood, dirt and leaves.

He cursed the vow trumping his mission, clamped down on the loose skin at the back of her neck and started dragging her. They needed to make the river before Fontaine sent the tracker, Diego, after them.

Sebastian shook the female by the scruff of her neck, trying to revive her enough that she realized they were going into the water. She dug her claws into the earth and managed a weak hiss. There was no time to explain that Diego could track a fish through water if he weren’t so afraid of it. He wound himself around her, jerked her free and rolled them into the river.

Water churned over them as he held her, struggling against the current. She was still fighting him when they went under a second time and then she started to convulse, her muscles and bones shifting. She’d drown them both before he could get them to safety inside the cave behind the waterfall. He had no choice but to release her and shift into his human nature while she reformed, sputtering and bobbing in the roiling water.

One sure stroke brought him hard against her naked back and he cursed as she flailed, backhanding him. He snaked one arm around her, cradling her hips with his own, settling her over the ridge of his growing erection. She stilled instantly. Her rumbling purr seeped through his bones and muscles, belly and cock.

Growling, he nipped gently at the side of her neck, nudging her jaw up enough to keep her head above water. She tasted of fear and excitement, heat and death. Primitive, feral desire twisted through him, answering the promise he’d followed for days. She whimpered and burrowed against his chest and belly while he kicked, propelling them backward until he felt rocks beneath his feet. Almost there.

He half crawled, half dragged them both through the falls. The cave was little more than a shallow niche hollowed into the rock lit only by the moonlight filtering through the mist the falls produced. He wasn’t dragging her any farther without knowing who she was and what the hell she’d been doing following Fontaine’s mercenary rogues. Her dark, spiky curls tickled his nose when he scooted them into a reclining position.

He was honest enough to realize that his panting was only partly due to the adrenaline rush of their escape. Even now her scent curled through him, drawing him into a promise he’d followed for days. Who was this naked, shivering woman he might have just imperiled an entire race to save?

 

I love the sparkly new cover by Winterheart Designs. Thank you, Lex Valentine! Assassin’s Kiss, Book 1 of the Jaguar Assassin's series, is available now for $.99 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

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7 Authors – 7 Divas – not by @DarylDevore #RB4U #Romance

I had the pleasure of being asked to join a group of authors to create a box of crash romance stories. Each story starts with a plane crash and ends with a Happily Ever After. Simple, right? Not exactly. More like terrifying. Look at the quality of the authors I'd been selected to be with. I had to put on my big girl panties and get down to work.

Seven authors can easily have 7 different and delicate egos, but not once was there any serious drama in the group. Everyone was professional and supportive. If someone had a "silly" question, no one mocked them, just helped answer the problem. When asked where everyone wanted to be placed in the lineup – 6 responses were anywhere. Mine was, “I'll go first.” I had an idea how to prep the whole concept with a replica crash report and it needed to go first. People have stepped up in organizing blogs, a Thunderclap campaign, a Facebook event and other promotional items. So this anthology is truly written by seven authors – not a diva in the crowd.

Now, how does this tie into a July theme here on RB4U. Two words – beach scene. Five of the crash romances happen on tropical islands. Which is an interesting story in itself. When D'Ann Lindun and Brenda Dyer came up with the idea of the box set all the stories were supposed to originate from one plane crash. Each author scurried off to their writing gave and dug in to creating their story. Someone asked a question on our Facebook page and it turned out 6 people had 6 different versions of the crash and Jenna moved the crash to England – which I will concede is an island, but not tropical. I had the plane breaking up after crashing on a coral reef, the front end sinks first and the back end sinks in a storm. Another author had the back end sinking right away. Another author…well, you get the idea.

After a moment's panic, our fabulous leader, D'Ann said – pick your location and go. And we did. We wrote these stories over the past winter, which I will say was one of the worst where I live in Ontario. My hero, Guy, even thinks about that.

Guy smiled. Those palm trees along the shoreline looked a lot better than the massive, dirty snow banks back home. And the sea breeze rustling his hair was like a warm embrace, not like a hard slap of the brutal Ontario winds in January.  

But it is the love affairs that bloom as the couples struggle for survival among the palm trees, sea views and long sandy beaches. There is just something about a beach that seems to bring out the romance; even in a difficult situation as a crash.

Seven planes lift off…seven planes crash…seven stories of struggle, passion and love in the barren Canadian Wilderness, the coast of England, or the steamy heat of a tropical island. Romance hangs in the balance between survival and death.

Brace for Impact by Daryl Devoré. What could be simpler than a routine plane trip from Toronto, Canada to Caracas, Venezuela for rookie flight attendant, Lori, and sexy R.C.M.P. officer, Guy Lapierre? But Fate had other intentions.

Crashing into You by Lisa Kumar When Ashlee Trent meets handsome businessman Kaiden West on a plane to Australia, he eases her fears even as he sets her heart ablaze. But after their plane crashes into the ocean and they wash ashore, will the secrets surrounding him send their budding relationship into a nosedive?

Crash and Burn by Melissa Keir Can Rob and Keira's second honeymoon lead to romance, or will it crash and burn? On the verge of a divorce, Rob and Keira Matthews book a second honeymoon at the urging of their counselor. Unable to conceive, they've pushed each other away in an effort to protect their hearts. Will a romantic holiday be the ticket to love or a plane crash in disaster??

Crashing Through Time by Jenna Jaxon The most dangerous thing about time travel is knowledge of the past: does she save him and change history, or let the tragic events play out and lose the love of her life?
More than hearts can be broken when you crash through time. 

Love Comes Crashing In by Brenda Dyer Best friends find love in each other's arms, but can that love survive reality.

Falling Hard by D'Ann Lindun He craves solitude to forget what a woman did to him. She needs one last chance before her career ends. Can a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies show them what really matters?

and A Splash of Romance by Deb Julienne Hannah Parks is a trauma nurse on her way to a symposium at the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. She just started her bucket list and a plane crash definitely isn't on it. Oliver Lawson's divorce is almost final and he's looking to start over. A tropical island, a gorgeous woman, and romance is one thing, getting there as a result of a crash landing...who knew?

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

Print Copy

Action Before Reaction by Janice Seagraves

Action before reaction 

By Janice Seagraves 

Going through edits for the first time was an eye opening experience to my own mistakes.

Have you ever written anything like this?

Example: Megan screamed as a big, ugly boar stuck its head in the tent opening. 

Do you see what's wrong here?

I didn’t.

My editor pointed out that Megan reacts by screaming, before the action. The boar’s head is even in the tent yet, before she's screaming her head off.

 Always, she told me, remember action before reaction.

Correct: A big, ugly boar stuck its head through the tent opening. Megan screamed.

Always put the action first.

Whether you follow up with action, emotion or internal thought, the action (boar) that provoked the reaction (scream) has to come first.

Ah, I got it.

Here’s the scene with the corrections:

Correct: Just as the sky started to lighten, Megan woke to a grunt and a rustling noise just outside her tent. “Who’s there?” She quickly unzipped her tent.

A big, ugly boar stuck its head through the opening. Megan screamed.

“Huh?” grunted the scarred boar. It tried to hook her with its tusk.

“Get out! Get out!” Megan shrieked, scrambling back to reach under her pillow. She heard something ripping as she jerked her head back to the tent opening.

The pig had gotten a tusk stuck in the tent’s door flap. It whipped its head back and forth, trying to get loose.

“Damn wanker,” she yelled. “You’re tearing my tent.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Windswept Shores: http://pinkpetalbooks.com/Windswept-Shores-Janice-Seagraves.html

Also available at Smashwords, Diesel, All Romance and for the kindle at Amazon.

My website: http://janiceseagraves.org/

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XUAMBhl76k