RavenVampireClub

Raven Vampire Nightclub Blog has Moved!

2007-03-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Raven Vampire Nightclub Blog has Moved!

Raven Blog - Raven’s got a brand new look, and a new location! We’ll be adding some great features to this, so stay tuned. Mondays are still Guest Blogger Days.

Please change your bookmarks and join us at our new location! While your at it, check out M&Ms new blogs as well!

Mandy’s New Blog

Michelle’s New Blog

***AND THE VERY HIP NEW FORUMS***
That’s right, for those of you who aren’t big fans of Yahoo Groups, we’ve created forums for you to come and play!

Raven Vampire Nightclub Forum

Michelle Pillow’s Book Forum - Discussion of all things books welcome. You don’t just have to talk about me.

MandyRoth's New Forum - Brand Spankin' New, With Extra Spank!

Ancient beliefs

2007-03-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

by Donna Grant

Ancient beliefs. Where did they come from? How did they start? And why are they still around?

There might never be answers to some of those questions. However, we can hazard a guess as to why those beliefs are still around. Some say its because mankind needs something to hold onto, some look for something that’s different than their normal lives.

I believe its because deep down, we know some of those beliefs are real. When I decided to write a series on Druids, I had already done a wealth of research. What I found was extremely interesting. There are conflicting reports on just what everyone thought Druids were. Some thought they were merely priests and priestesses who worshiped nature. Others thought they were nothing more than vicious murderers who served their needs with sacrifices. Still others believed that they had a special connection to Otherworld beings commonly known as sidhe or Fae.

No one really knows the answer thanks to Caesar erasing nearly all the Druid and Celtic history. Yet, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to determine the truth. Would the truth have changed the way we see things? Could that be the reason Caesar decided to write his own version of the Celts and Druids? Maybe we weren’t meant to know the truth. Maybe we aren’t ready to know exactly what the Druids did, what their purpose and possible connections were.

Because of all the conflicting reports, I took certain liberties with my series. My Druids are closely connected to the Fae, so close that the Fae give them special powers to control fire, wind and water - natural elements.

I tried to tie in both the natural beliefs of Druids with those of the unnatural beliefs. It worked for my story, and I get a sense that the Druids were most probably close to what I wrote about.

For all the information I discovered on Druids, it was nothing compared to what I unearthed about the Fae. They have other names. Sidhe and Otherworld beings being two of the most popular besides Fae. From the beginning of time and throughout different cultures there have been tales of these Otherworld beings.

Today, when you hear “fairy” you most likely think of Tinkerbell or something similar. Yet, for something as powerful as a Fae, surely it had to be something of more substantial size. Those little fairies are truly pixies - tiny creatures that can wreck havoc in a household. The Fae were much more powerful, more glorious and more…royal. It is said that the Fae once inhabited Earth.

Could that be why paranormal and fantasy stories hold a reader so enthralled? Do we sense what once roamed our lands, the magic that once filled the air? The next time Samhain comes around, October 31st, one of the most powerful nights of the sidhe, go outside. Legend holds that this is the night when the veil between the worlds runs thin, and the Fae has license to visit our world. Maybe you just might encounter a Fae for yourself.

About the Author:

Donna Grant is a multi-published award winning author for New Concepts Publishing. To find out more about her and her books, visit the links below.

Website: www.donnagrant.com

Blog: www.donnagrant.blogspot.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/donnagrant

Newsletter: www.donnagrant.com/newsletter

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Marketing with Mandy - A New Blog Series worth looking at

2007-03-16T06:36:00.001-07:00

Mandy Roth on her Nocturnal Journal Blog has started a new series on Marketing geared toward aspiring and published authors. I think it's great, esp considering she has a degree in marketing. I highly recommend bookmarking her blog and checking back as new posts come up.

The first topic she has up is:
Marketing with Mandy: Websites—Getting Started

Have a wonderful day everyone, and make sure you comment and post questions over there (or here and I'll pass them along) letting her know what marketing topics you'd like her to cover!

~ Michelle

Raven's First Thursday Thirteen - All About Raven

2007-03-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

Thirteen Things about Raven Vampire Nightclub

This is our first Thursday Thirteen
Michelle M Pillow and Mandy M Roth are co-owners of the Raven, readers nicknamed us the M&Ms
It's a free story - http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven.htm
It's this blog - http://ravenvampireclub.blogspot.com/
It's a podcast - http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven_podcasts.htm
It's a myspace - http://www.myspace.com/ravenhappyhour
It's free promo for authors
It's a yahoo chat group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Raven_Vampire_Nightclub/join
We love all thing paranormal, supernatural, coffee, smelly good, fantasy, romance, gothic, Mandy wanted to write science but Michelle said no, cause she's not a big lover of science so much as history. In fact, Michelle wants to be a princess in a big historical fairytale castle. So we love all things history...*ouch*
Mandy just slapped Michelle
It wasn't the first time
Michelle and Mandy are not arguing the correct way to spell faery vs fairy vs fae vs *ouch* (another slap)
We're always seeking new minions

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. PJ
2. Stephanie
3. Anni
4. Kim Rees / Kim Knox
5. Raggedy
6. Jenny
7. Denise Patrick

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Mark Your Calenders! New Hunt Coming in May!

2007-03-13T07:19:00.001-07:00

***MARK YOUR CALENDARS***

COMING IN MAY 2007

The New Pillow Scavenger Hunt!

Featuring these great authors and a lot of cool prizes, including autographed books!

Amy Knupp, Barbara White Daille, The History Hoydens, Jaycee Clark, Jenna Black, Jordan Summers, Joey W. Hill, Jory Strong, Kalen Hughes, Kate Austin, Kelley St. John, Lacey Alexander, Lauren Dane, Mackenzie McKade, Mandy Roth, Maya Banks, N.J. Walters, Nicola Marsh, Patricia Sargeant, Portia Da Costa, Raven Vampire Nightclub (M Pillow and M Roth Joint), Rowena Cherry, Samantha Storm, Shelley Munro, Shiloh Walker, & TJ Michaels &MORE!

Check back for details!

Dances with Ghosts

2007-03-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

by Lisa Logan

Anyone seeking proof that the recently departed don’t always depart need look only as far as their local hospital. Night shift is even better. As someone who has walked–and worked–those darkened halls for sixteen years, I can tell you without hesitation that ghosts are real. While not all who reach the clearing at the end of their path in that place swirl around in a nether fog, some who suffer unexpected departures will, on occasion, take a while to find their beacon of light.

My most recent ghost stalked me for two days before finding his way onward. It was about a year ago, and I was jotting medication notes in the middle of a long hallway. As I bent over the notebook in front of me, my peripheral vision picked up the sight of someone moving up the hall. The "someone" stopped directly behind me, then leaned over my shoulder as if curious about what I was writing. The feeling was close and unmistakably male.

In little mood that day for breaches in space bubble protocol, I snapped my head around to confront whichever staff member had decided to be cute by playing Rubbernecker.

The hall was empty.

I shrugged it off and went about other tasks, though still having that "being watched" sensation. When dinner called, I wandered alone into the staff kitchen to warm up my food. I was making tea at the counter when I realized I’d left the sugar on the table behind me. Without warning I spun around, preparing to make a quick lunge for it....

...then never got there, as I smacked into someone hard. The automatic apology tumbled out. "Oh! Sorry."

But I was alone. The only reply was a disturbing cold stab of somethingness, which pushed its way through my midsection and out the kitchen door.

It was later that evening when I overheard the drama that had unfolded in the Intensive Care Unit next door. Something went wrong during what should have been a simple surgical procedure, and the man was rushed to the ICU in dire distress. Doctors worked feverishly to save his life...and failed.

A sudden and unexpected death, maybe fifty feet away from the hallway where I’d encountered Mr. Rubbernecker...right around the time of the surgical patient’s death.

Nodding, I figured I had an answer to my ghostly stalker. Then my shift was over, and it was time to put another work day behind. While it might seem this was a tale that would follow me home, it wasn’t the first time I–nor anyone else on the critical floor–had encountered such things. By the time I returned the next day, I’d forgotten all about it.

Until I ventured alone to the back supply room. I entered the code and pushed open the heavy, self-closing door. I wandered to the supply cart, half-awaiting the sound of the door clicking shut behind me. Instead, the door was nearing ground zero when it swung open again, carrying a whoosh of frigid air. Frowning, I peeked outside. No one was present.

It was then that I remembered my ghost stalker from the day before. Hadn’t the poor man found his way yet?

Probably because I’ve watched one horror movie too many, I turned to humor. "Um," I said to the supply room, "I’m flattered that you keep following me, but as you can see my job really isn’t all that interesting. Besides, I think there’s somewhere else you’re supposed to be now. It’s okay. It’s okay for you to go."

I stood and waited. Nothing. No swinging doors, rubbernecking, or bumps against my middle. After a long moment I grabbed my supplies and left. He never followed. I hope he found his way.

Lisa Logan

Writing in My Wildest Dreams at http://lisalogan.net

Author of VISIONS, a psychic romance/mystery available from Amazon, Borders, and other sellers

Editor, MysteryAuthors.com

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Cool Contest Finds - Win stuff, Help fight against Breast Cancer

2007-03-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Check this out for a chance to win

"Microsoft Vista Ultimate operating system , Microsoft Office professional 2007 or a couple of groovy mice...[and a] fabulous package of books that come with a cool book bag"
-- from the .ponderings of an innocent babe blog

GET DETAILS-CLICK HERE

Love Book Videos? Check out the Award Show!

2007-03-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

This is a mid-week, guest blog post. The topic isn't really on the paranormal, but this was such a fun idea, we thought we'd invite Dawn from http://www.theromancegalleria.com to come by and tell us a little about the new Award Show for Book Trailers! I hope all of you will head over and check it out.

CAMEO AWARDS
Blog Post Provided by Dawn

We're going to be breaking from tradition a bit here in this post (no worries, we got the okay from the powers that be, lol) as we detour a bit from the paranormal to talk about book videos. A few years ago, if you mentioned the word "trailer" everyone automatically assumed you were talking about a movie trailer, but in recent years "trailers" have become a wildly popular form of book promotion. Pioneered by Circle of Seven Productions, who coined and trademarked the phrase "book trailer," they have paved the way for the evolution of the promotional video not only as a valid marketing tool but as a source of great artistic value and entertainment.

At the Romance Galleria, one of our biggest draws (outside of our popular author chats) is our 3D theater. We've found that readers not only stop by the theater to watch the assortment of trailers featured there, they come back again and again to watch their favorites. This got us to thinking about how theses videos have far surpassed their marketing stereotype to become a featured item in their own right. We decided it was high time to give this special art form the recognition it deserved. After hosting a hugely successful ceremony for the CAPA Awards inside the Galleria, we thought what a perfect way to showcase these works of art and acknowledge the accomplishments of these video. Thus, the Cameo Award was born.

The Cameo Awards celebrate excellence in romantic book video promotion.

Awarded annually by The Romance Galleria, it recognizes merit in many aspects of romantic trailer production and promotion such as art direction, scripting and marketing potential. The Cameos were developed to honor and showcase the artistic vision and effort in romantic trailer development.

Winners of the 1st Annual Cameo Awards will be announced at the Cameo Film Festival in the Galleria on May 5th, 2007. If you'd like more information about these awards or to find out more about our 3D world please visit us at http://www.theromancegalleria.com

Why Romantic Fantasy?

2007-03-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

by Nikki Watson

My two favorite genres to dabble in have always been romance and fantasy. Has anybody ever noticed how there isn't a great deal of believable fantasy set without the background of a castle and medieval guards? Or romantic overtones between a human and a creature of another kind? Laurell K. Hamilton offers us her vampire hunter books, set within the comfortable background of St. Louis, and there are also L. J. Smith's Night World series for younger readers, but for the larger adult community, what is there?

I've decided to come back into fantasy reading and writing lately, because I've come to realize that you don't necessarily need to create a world of 'fantasy' for your novel to be considered 'a fantasy novel'. Our world works quite fine. We have an unlimited number of vampires and witches and general beasties that can be brought in from the realms of Stoker and Shelley straight to our real world in order to make a fantastical story.

This seems to level the playing field, a little bit, between fantasy and romance. Suddenly, the world building is just a writing up the world that we ourselves already live in. Most of us have lived in this world all our lives; so how hard can that be? Now, instead of a jealous ex-wife getting in the way of the hero and heroine in the story, perhaps it is the secret of witch blood that the hero has tried to hide in his blood line.

I personally read a lot of both romance and fantasy, and due to my love of both, a story really grips me when both genres happen to be meshed together nicely. If anyone wants me to recommend a writer who I think does this really fantastically, I would point out that Anne Rice has definitely been known to blur the distinctions between erotica and fantasy over the course of her writing.

Still, this brings us back to the role of vampires in romantic fantasy fiction. What is it that we find so sexy about vampires sucking the gooey, sticky, clotted blood out of our soon to be dead bodies? In both Hamilton and Rice novels, the vampires are the key standing feature for the fantasy, with werewolves and witches coming in at the sidelines. Vampires are constantly being reinvented, which is great, as it keeps everything new, but eventually, all the different options for reincarnations of the same old vampires are all going to be taken, and the old school done to death beasties are going to just be old, old, old. We as writers should be challenged to create creatures, where the only restraints placed upon us are only our own imaginations, and readers should ache to see that done.

I'm not saying the genre blend between romance and fantasy is for everyone. The loudest complaint I've seen between readers of fantasy and romance is the different formulas. While a fantasy reader would have no problem in following several different love interests on their travels to the end of a series, a romance reader would be much more likely to have an interest only in the two key characters who are going to get through their trials to declare their undying love for one another at the end. Genre blending certainly isn't for everyone, but it is a gentle alternative for people who already like both of the genres involved, and there's a definite niche in romantic fantasy waiting to be filled.

**
About the author:
Myspace: www.myspace.com/nikkiwatsonauthor
Livejournal: http://unity-of-hours.livejournal.com/profile
Link for Spiral: http://www.aphroditesapples.com/spiral.htm

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Making Podcasts Out of Nothing at All…

2007-03-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

Too Much Coffee and going nowhere, time budgeting, commitments, balancing RL and Writing Life, the Upcoming RT conferences, and Cloning the M & Ms.

Come listen to the newest podcast!

Want to be interviewed?
Have a question of topic you'd like M&M to discuss?
Going to be at RT this year and want to arrange a shout out/interview?

Either post it here, or email us privately at:
Mandy - mandy (at) mandyroth.com
Michelle- enchant (at) cox.net

Raven Podcasts

Give it a listen!

Making Podcasts Out of Nothing at All…

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mandy!

2007-03-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we’re a day early, but I never get dates right and she’ll just have to forgive me!

In honor of this special day, *running and unlocking Mandy’s dungeon door* Lycans and Vamps for everyone!!!!!

For her birthday, I’ve prepared a little song *clearing throat* Uh-hem, memmemememmememememmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…. *struggling as grabbed from behind, dragged to storage closet and locked in* What do you mean this is YOUR present to Mandy, Mike? How is locking me up during my song a present? She can’t hear me in here!!! MANDY!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mandy! Here’s to another long, loooong, loooooooong year putting up with me as your friend.

Michelle

New Raven Happy Hour Chapter - Secrets Revealed!

2007-03-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Didn’t think you’d be getting another one so soon, did you? *wink* We’d continue to brag, but we’d only jinx ourselves….

So without further ado, come over to the Raven where secrets will be revealed!
http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven.htm

Also, if you haven’t heard the latest Raven Podcast! Take a listen!

Thanks!
M&M

Mandy Rules!

2007-02-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

I’m so posting this for Mandy, even though she didn’t ask me to and will probably throw more stuff at my head, lol….

Did everyone see? Mandy is Dominating the Best Selling eBooks and Bestselling Author Chart with Immortal Ops!

http://www.fictionwise.com/topstories.htm

You GO GIRL!

We also have new Ebooks listed there (cause I forgot to post when they came out—oops)

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/MandyMRotheBooks.htm - Mandy

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/MichelleMPilloweBooks.htm -Michelle

Cool Contest Finds - Kalen Hughes

2007-02-27T12:36:00.001-08:00

About the Contest:

To celebrate the publication of LORD SIN, Kalen Hughes is giving away a
period piece of jewelry! It's a paste lace pin, c. 1800, such as
might have been worn by the heroine of LORD SIN to hold her fichu in
place.

This tiny pin is made up of clear pastes surrounding a larger teal
paste (paste was a very popular "stone" for Georgian jewelry, and
was not meant to fool people into thinking it was a precious or
semiprecious stone the way a modern cubic zirconia is). The clasp
works, and it's very wearable.

All you have to do to be eligible for the drawing is join her
quarterly mailing list before LORD SIN hits the shelves (1 May
2007).

Enter to win a period piece of jewelry!
http://kalenhughes.com/_wsn/page4.html

Read the first chapter of LORD SIN
http://kalenhughes.com/_wsn/page3.html

What Lies Ahead

2007-02-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

By Penelope Marzec

Sometimes my mother knew what would happen in the future--but only the immediate future--and only for those near and dear to her. All her episodes of ESP involved those she loved, but she never related her prescience until after the event--which made some family members skeptical. However, I believed her. Still, there were times when I wished she would let everyone in on her foreknowledge of events. For instance, when I decided to take my younger sister skiing, why couldn’t she have warned me not to go? If she had maybe my sister would not have wound up with a broken leg. My mother was convinced that if she told me I would not have paid any attention to her warning.

Maybe. Maybe not. But I thought it was worth a try. After all, what good are warnings if you don’t act upon them?

It wasn’t until I was all grown up with children of my own that I would occasionally experience some sort of message and I began to understand why my mother always kept her foreknowledge to herself, because she was right, nobody does pay any attention to a warning.

Once, I helped to convince my sister that she should stop dating a guy--he was such a loser and she deserved better. After she dropped him, she was miserable--and I became very concerned. What if she did not find someone else? What if I was instrumental in ruining all her chances for happiness? I felt awful.

Sometime afterwards, I received a message that my sister would get married. The message came to me clearly--not in the form of words, but as a sort of knowing. I had never experienced something like that until that point. It was not simply my own thought--it was given to me.

Naturally, it took time before my sister found the wonderful man she would marry. All I could say to her in the interim was that I knew she would get married. It sounded rather lame. But at least, I was right.

I have experienced a few other messages since then. I cannot turn my clairvoyance on or off--and just like my mother, my foreknowledge of events only concerns those close to me. Once, both my daughter and I experienced the same message at the same time--and we did try to tell everyone, but no one believed us.

But we were warned. And maybe that’s the whole point. We cannot change what lies ahead, but we can be more emotionally prepared for it.

By Penelope Marzec

http://www.penelopemarzec.com
http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/happywriter

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Winners of Book Dedications by M&M’s

2007-02-25T15:14:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much for playing along with us! We love the podcast questions you've all posted and emailed to us. Please be sure to keep making suggestions for topics and emailing/posting questions you'd like us to answer. We'll be pulling winners at random from those who do and awarding PDF downloads, signed bookmarks and whatever else strikes our fancy. Also, those of you who have emailed/posted your questions/topics for us, don't worry, you're still entered to win other prizes as well! Thanks for playing!

Drum roll please….

Winners of book dedications are…

Robin Snodgrass for a Mandy M. Roth book (TBA)

Anicz for a Michelle M. Pillow book (TBA)

If either of you have any special way you'd like your named listed (full name, first name, nickname) please email us and let us know! CONGRATS!

*disclaimer from contest post*

Books may appear in both ebook and print.

UPDATE: You can option to just have your first name in the dedication or a nickname. We'll put it in as you give it to us, so no worries if you're a closet reader ;) Authors are welcome to enter, you have just as good a chance as everyone else to win

Contest is open to those 18 years and older. Winner will be randomly drawn from names of entrants.

Cool Contest Finds - M&M Surfing the Net

2007-02-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

FROM JENNA--
I have created a tri-fold brochure for Secrets in the Shadows. Inside that brochure is an excerpt from the book and instructions for finding my Secrets Quiz question. Find the Secrets Quiz and answer the question correctly, and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice. Please note that for logistical reasons, this bookstore must be located in the US and accept phone or Internet gift certificate orders.

Big news! Rendezvous, The Romance Bookstore, in Melbourne, Australia has donated a new prize! The first prize winner will receive their choice of a $100 (Australian) voucher for use at Rendezvous, or the $50 gift certificate announced above. Rendezvous has an amazing selection of books--and carries books printed in the U.S. as soon as those books are released--and will ship anywhere in the world. The second prize winner will receive the remaining prize.

I will be sending brochures to upcoming writers' conferences and will be including them in mailings to bookstores. For those of you coming to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, I will also have brochures available there. In addition, if you send me a self-addressed stamped envelope, I will mail you a brochure. For non-US residents, you would need to send a self-addressed envelope and IRCs. Send your self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Jenna Black
P.O. Box 5071
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5001

The winner will be announced on May 15, 2007. All entries must be received by midnight EDT May 14, 2007.

Raven Reader Bash - WIN STUFF!

2007-02-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

Join us tomorrow for the Raven Reader Bash! Listed below are just some of the authors expected to join us for a day filled of excerpts and prizes! Come Post to Win!! (authors are welcome to sign up-see end of this email for link to info)

TO JOIN THE FUN: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Raven_Vampire_Nightclub/

			*Raven Bash Feb 22, 2007*
Ann Cory	http://www.anncory.com	Secrets in the Annex		download - winner's choice of "now available" books
Ciar Cullen	http://www.ciarcullen.com	Wizard of Time, Ellora's Cave		download of backlist book
Donna Grant	http://www.donnagrant.com	A Kind of Magic		PDF of my backlist - winner's choice - signed bookmarks and other promo items
Gia Dawn	www.giadawn.com	Lord Demon's Delight		free download
Jacki Bentley	www.jackibentley.com	Blood Bond		download pdf of this book
Kate Hill	http://www.kate-hill.com	Knights of the Ruby Order: Blaze		download (winner's choice of title)
Lacey Diamond	http://www.laceydiamond.net	Stranger In The Night		PDF download of Stranger In The Night
Mandy M. Roth	www.mandyroth.com	Goddess of the Grove		PDF download from backlist winner's choice/ signed magnets/ signed bookmarks/pens
Marie Harte	www.marieharte.com	Firebreather		download of Firebreather
Mary Winter	http://www.marywinter.com/	Elemental Elves 1: Horse Play (Changeling Press)		download of backlist
Michelle M Pillow	www.michellepillow.com	Bit by the Bug		PDF download from backlist winner's choice/ signed magnets/ signed bookmarks/pens
N.J. Walters	http://www.njwalters.com	Craving Candy		Download of any book from my backlist
Rayne Forrest	http://www.rayneforrest	Beyond the Night		.pdf download off my list
Ruby Storm	www.rubystorm.net	Perfecting Pearl		Download of this book
Shannon Stacey	http://shannonstacey.com	On The Edge		Download from available titles
Sherrill Quinn	www.sherrillquinn.com	Dragonfire		download of this book
Sydney Somers	www.sydneysomers.com	Call Me Cupid		PDFor HTML download from my backlist
TJ Michaels	www.tjmichaels.com	CARINIAN'S SEEKER		Choice of download from backlist

Here is the link for authors interested in participating –
http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven_faq's.htm#Reader%20Bash%20Days

The Night Goddess ~ Raven Reader Opens New Store!

2007-02-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of our readers over at The Raven Yahoo Group had opened a brand new, online store called The Night Goddess . So, if you get a second, pop on over there and check it out! Good Luck and Congrats!!! I'll see if I can't get Crystal over here to tell you a little more about it!

http://www.thenightgoddess.com/

(Mandy and Michelle aren't affiliated with it so don't give us credit We're just super excited for Crystal in her new endeavor!)

I never was much into the realm of the paranormal

2007-02-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

By
Nancy Henderson

I never was much into the realm of the paranormal. Sure I believed in ghosts, UFOs, Loch Ness all that stuff that couldn’t be explained but was just spotted too often to scoff at. Raised with a traditional-religious background, I knew there was life after death. I believed in ghosts, I read and listened to ghost story specials on television. I even dressed as a ghost one Halloween when I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted to be and my mom had to whip up a costume at the last minute. Then I saw one.

And everything changed.

I shouldn’t say I saw one, per se. I ‘felt’ one. I had an apparition, a messenger, if you will. It was six years ago. My friend, Jud, spent winters in Florida every year. It was February 6th. I woke up at 2 am, just out of the blue, instantly awake, I mean wide awake, the I-had-six-cups-of-espresso awake. And anyone who knows me knows that once I fall asleep, I’m out for the night. There’s no waking me up. So for me to wake up at 2 am, was really bizarre in itself.

I sat up in bed, looked at the clock, then I felt as if I wasn’t alone. My dog, Katie, was sleeping at the foot of my bed. She was as wide awake as I was (she requires an act of God to wake her up too.) She was looking at something at the foot of my bed. There was nothing there, but there was something. I didn’t see it. I felt it. A presence.

Katie began to wag her tail.

And then I knew. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just knew. Jud was dead. I heard it loud and clear in my head. And I had the strangest feeling of peace come over me, and I’ve never felt anything so intense since.

Jud had always loved Katie. He’d loved all dogs, but he was especially fond of Kate. And Katie knew. Don’t ask me how, but she knew. Then, just as quickly as he’d come, he was gone. Katie stopped wagging her tail, dropped her head to her paws, and went to sleep. Sleep didn’t come to me again that night.

I phoned Jud in Florida the next morning. No answer. I phoned all week, as a matter of fact. Nothing. A few weeks later, I got in touch with his son, whom I didn’t have a phone number for. (He was out of the country, so it was rather difficult to track down.)

Jud had suffered a massive heart attack February 6th at approximately 6 pm, killing him instantly.

So there is another realm, be it ghosts, the paranormal, spirits, whatever you choose to call them. Sometimes there not all scary. Sometimes they just have a message to give us.

Nancy Henderson is the author of paranormal, contemporary, and historical romances. Visit her website at: www.nancyhenderson.com or her blog at: www.nancyhenderson.blogspot.com

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Spike vs Angel - Who do you love?

2007-02-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this knowing full and well Mandy is going to make fun of me for a really REALLY REALLY long time. I don't care, lol. I love Spike after having gotten into the Buffy sitcom later in the series, and more recently have come to love Angel (though Spike still wins, lol, cause he was first and I have a soft spot for those your good, your bad, your good, your bad, your crazy type characters) Mr JW, if you're out there---um, can I have a job writing on your next show?

Plus, I really like this song too. :)

So, who is your fave Buffy/Angel world character? And is anyone planning on getting the graphic novels?

Closer

About the Burning Times

2007-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

By Gia Dawn

During medieval times, fear of devilry and witchcraft ran rampant. If a cow sickened and refused to give milk…obviously it had been cursed by the local hag. Too much rain? Not enough? Crop failure was also laid at the women’s doorsteps.

Not that the local populace needed any encouragement. Priests urged neighbor to turn against neighbor. If the accused was convicted of witchcraft, their lands were forfeit with half going to the church, and half going to their accuser. It was a most profitable business for all concerned—except for those that were put on trial.

The determination was simple in many cases. The accused was bound and tied and thrown into the nearest river. If they somehow managed not to drown, the river did not accept them—a sure sign they were true witches—and then they were burned at the stake. Not much of a choice, if you ask me.

Entire towns were nearly wiped out, with women being far more likely to die than their male counterparts. And it wasn’t just the old who were accused. Any young girl who had the audacity to refuse to sleep with the local clergy or nobility was threatened to be charged with heresy and put on trial before the town.

But were there really witches who rode brooms and danced with the devil beneath a full moon’s light? Was magic alive and well and thriving? And why are we so fascinated with magic today? What calls us to write and read stories of charms and spells and whispered incantations?

On some basic level, we need the power of myth. We need to believe there are still things out there that cannot be explained, that urge us to delve into the mystery of the past and explore the dark and forgotten realms. We need to wonder. We need to dream. We need to imagine.

So on the next full moon night, spend a few moments calling on the magic—the magic of your creativity, the magic of your life. Speak your deepest desires aloud. There is power in the telling, and you never know, someone might still be listening.

Gia Dawn
www.giadawn.com
Lord Demon's Delight, Samhain Publishing--January, 2007

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Friend the M&M Myspaces

2007-02-10T15:10:00.001-08:00

**NEW** Raven Happy Hour Myspace Page

Other M&M Myspace Pages
Michelle Pillow
Mandy Roth
Express Yourself Contest

First Raven Podcast - Now Live!!!

2007-02-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Oh, yeah, now you have to listen to us too!

Before download, be sure you have your speakers turned on and if you're using headsets, be sure they aren't the kind with one ear piece only.

Podcasts Mp3's

Want to be a guest on a RAVEN PODCAST?

Email us to see what spots are open and please have a topic to recommend for your time. Also, you will need to have SKYPE installed on your computer along with a decent microphone. Skype is a free program.

By agreeing to be a guest you give us permission to record you, and post for public as we see fit.

Listen to podcasts here:

http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven_podcasts.htm

http://ravenpodcasts.podomatic.com/

CONTEST: Raven Podcasts - Coming Soon!

2007-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Mandy and Michelle are currently setting up to begin Raven Podcasts. Yeah, you have to listen to us now too! LOL

Anyway, in honor of the setting up process, we're holding a contest. Submit reader questions or topics we can use in our podcasts that you'd like to hear us talk about and be entered for a chance to win your name in a book dedication! There will be two winners, one in a Michelle book and one in a Mandy book (of our choice)

UPDATE: You can option to just have your first name in the dedication or a nickname. We'll put it in as you give it to us, so no worries if you're a closet reader ;) Authors are welcome to enter, you have just as good a chance as everyone else to win

Contest is open to those 18 years and older. Winner will be randomly drawn from names of entrants.

To enter:
Simply post your topic as a comment to this post. You can enter more than once. More than one winner may be drawn for the same dedication if there are several entries.

Books may appear in both ebook and print. By entering the contest you are agreeing to 1. have your name in the dedication and related material whether print or electronic--for example on my and the publisher website or in a podcast. 2. allow Mandy and Michelle to use your topic in a Raven podcast, in whole or in part, as they see fit. No other compensation will be given.

When Voyeurism is Good

2007-02-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

By
Candice Gilmer

They say that voyeurism is a bad thing. That's what they tell us.

But...

There comes a time when voyeurism is a good thing.

Like when writing a good sex scene.

Most writers have a hard time writing a good sex scene or a good erotic tale. Their difficulty could lie in many areas, anything from feeling unable to communicate the intensity of the scene, to feeling just generally that the work was too naughty to do it.

When writing speculative fiction, the author has to deal with a whole new layer of complications beyond the typical who-touched-who-how element.

They have to deal with alternate body chemistries; alternate as in not human body make-ups.

This can present a completely different angle all together. And as such, certain aspects need to be taken into consideration.

This is where knowing your characters is very important, knowing how their bodies function, how they respond to sexual stimulation, what the results of said stimulation can do to their body's responses.

In my book Unified Souls, Devin Cartell's species of humanoid are plagued by a condition known as Body Fire. The stronger the adrenalin, the stronger the Body Fire, and therefore, the stronger his sexual needs become when in such a state. Most of Devin's species are pacifists, and therefore can control this Body Fire without much effort, since rarely do they generate the needed adrenalin and other components to ignite it.

Devin, however, lives a very action-packed life, and in the book, he becomes plagued by this fire, seducing Jasmine Storm in one of the heated moments. It takes great control on his part to step away, to stop, before he's consumed by his Body Fire, and is unable to free himself of his desire.

Knowing that Cartell lives with such a burning intensity in his veins makes him very fun to write, because he can get so lost inside this Body Fire, he forgets all of the world around him, and what he should be doing, rather than what he craves.

This kind of intimate knowledge of Cartell's body chemistry helps me write about his needs in sex scenes. What satisfies someone who literally burns with desire and intensity? What kind of sex would that be? Would it be slow, quiet, and gentle? Highly unlikely. When such passion lives within someone, it's hard to squelch that desire when it takes over.

This is where being a voyeur is a good thing. You can see, through the eyes of the characters, what's going on in the room; how the characters react, how they move, how they express their emotions.

How does that help your writing of sex scenes?

If you can visualize the intimate moments, you can actually understand what the characters see—if one of your main characters is, say a feline type race, you can see exactly how she moves, how she climbs over her pray and, maybe licks a trail up his torso.

Or what if your character has wings, like a fairy of some kind? Would their wings flutter and spasm against their back as they reached climax? Would an animalistic character like a werewolf start changing, mid climax, if only for a few seconds, during sex?

These are all things that you need to ask yourself when writing sex scenes within your speculative romance. As you ask these questions, you'll find new answers, and with any luck, creative ones at that. Also, this will present even more questions, which will create more answers and a better understanding of your character.

While you watch through the window of your character's eyes at a sex scene, you also will feel what they feel, and see what they see. Since dealing with speculative characters, the importance of knowing things like skin texture, differences in body design or variance are important as well.

And you may not see those differences with the character's clothes on.

Going back to Devin Cartell, he has a minor variation in his body from "standard" human forms. Down his shoulders, across his back, and down to a point toward his bottom is a trail of dark freckles. Not a terribly big deal, but on people of Devin's race, those freckles change colors, depending on mood. In the Body Fire, they're dark red, and hot to the touch. When Jasmine Storm touches them for the first time, she's shocked at the warmth in them, something that startles her (very briefly) during their intimate moments.

I never would have "saw" or "felt" how his skin reacted unless I let myself watch what was going on.

It is amazing what you can do when you focus on your work, open your eyes, and participate a bit of mental voyeurism. Your characters can show you amazing things, and no matter what they show you, you can write about it. These are your characters. They're reacting in your world. Allowing yourself to take a look at those things will teach you incredible things about your characters.

And also, those characters won't do anything you can't write about, after all, they're your characters.

So watch them.

You might be surprised.

Ain't voyeurism great?

About the Author:

Web page: http://www.swtats.com/candice

Blog: http://candicegilmer.blogspot.com

Link for Unified Souls: http://www.aphroditesapples.com/unified_souls.htm

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

JAN WINNERS! Express Yourself Contest

2007-02-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

JAN WINNERS!!
1. Jan - Winner $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate
2. Amy Smith - Winner Choice PDF -- One from Mandy's backlist of ebooks, One from Michelle's backlist of ebooks

Please email us off list to claim your prizes. EMAIL: michelle_pillow (at) yahoo.com

Since everyone seemed to have a fun time with this contest, we're keeping it going! New winners will be drawn next month. Remember, you don't have to do a fan book video to be a part of it! So have fun creating!

Contest Link - http://www.mandyroth.com/express_yourself_contest_page.htm

Thanks!
M & Ms

Michelle M Pillow
www.michellepillow.com

Mandy M Roth
www.mandyroth.com

**PRIZES-If you win a prize and do not claim it within 30 days, its void. Sorry to do this but we clear my records each month and need this for our sanity.

What About The Paranormal in the Paranormal Romance

2007-01-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

By
Lorraine Kennedy

The clock strikes midnight, you are alone in a dark house. Down the hall you hear a door creak and the dogs begin to bark furiously, sensing an intruder that you cannot see. What could it be? Your thoughts turn to the paranormal and you begin to wonder if it just might be possible?

As an author of Paranormal Romance, I have spent years researching many different aspects of the paranormal. I have found this to be a fascinating area of research and along the way discovered some interesting things.

The subject matter of the paranormal is expansive and this is reflected in the stories I write. My formal education includes Criminal Investigations, which provided the analytical skills required to research the paranormal as well as Anthropology/Archeology. This area gave be invaluable insight into different cultures and clues hidden in ancient history.

When I first began investigating the paranormal, I was surprised at just how much evidence there was to back up some ghost stories, UFO reports, alternate dimensions, etc. Of course this evidence is not the hard evidence that science will accept. To be accepted by the scientific community a theory has to be repeatedly tested in a controlled environment. The very nature of the paranormal makes this impossible, though quantum physics theories do allow for up to 8 extra dimensions that are part of our reality but undetectable under normal circumstances.

Stories of phantoms and things that go bump in the night have been a part of our culture throughout recorded history, but it has just been in the last couple of decades that investigators have had the equipment to actually detect these invisible entities.

There have been reports of ghosts that are described as misty apparitions, but there have also been many reports of entities that have a very real and solid form, such as the pirate ghost that haunts the heroine in my latest release, The Pirate’s Dark Revenge. In addition to being haunted by a ghost, the heroine in this story finds herself traveling back in time. Incredibly, there have also been reports of people finding themselves in a different time and place.

One such story took place in 1979. Two British couples were traveling through the North of France when they come across an Inn where they decided to stay. This Inn was primitive by modern standards, no windows only shutters etc. The people they met were all dressed in clothing of another era. Though these people thought it odd, they assumed it to be the theme of the Inn. When they left the next morning their bill was only 19 francs. Some days later they were on there way back and decided to stay at the same Inn, but it had vanished. Other landmarks they remembered were there, but the Inn was gone.

Sure, this could be chalked up to coincidence and losing there way, but what if it wasn’t?

Another area that I find particularly fascinating is the Sumerian story of creation. The Sumerians built the first civilization on earth and much of the Book of Genesis derives from ancient Sumerian writings, but Genesis left out a great deal of information. According the Sumerian story of creation, mankind was created by means of genetic manipulation by an ancient God race that came down from the heavens. The Sumerian Gods were called the Annunaki, which literally translates into those who came from heaven to earth.

This is the backdrop for my book, Song of the Annunaki where the heroine finds herself confronting a prince of this God race and dealing with the classic alien abduction scenario as well as many other surprises.

The paranormal may be hard to accept for some people, unless they have experienced it for themselves, but it is a definite possibility that there is more to heaven and earth than meets the eye.

About the Author:

Lorraine Kennedy

Paranormal Romance Author

www.lorrainekennedy.com

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

The Dirt About Graveyards!

2007-01-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

By
N.J. Walters

Cemetery…graveyard…the mere words conjure up all sorts of images of dark foggy nights, full moons, headstones, vampires and ghosts. But they can also be places of calm, contemplation an even romance.

How do I know?

Simple. I lived in one!

I can hear you all screaming that no one lives in a graveyard, but I did and so did the caretaker and his family. It was actually in my younger years and I was boarding there while I was going to school. It was a homey, two-story home that faced the road on the front side, but was surrounded by headstones on the other three. The view from my window was gently rolling hills dotted with white stones.

Every day I’d trundle down through the twisting paths and exit the iron gate on the far side of the graveyard to catch the bus. And every evening I’d trudge back through it in the dark, winding my way past the familiar headstones after a long day at school. I always remember my great aunt telling me that it wasn’t the dead that one had to worry about, but the living. I can honestly say that this particular graveyard was a settled one. It almost felt welcoming, as if the departed didn’t mind me wandering my way past them every day, as if they didn’t mind the company.

Some of the graves were quite old and had sad stories to tell. I remember one that had several members of the same family buried in the large plot within a few days of one another. Obviously an epidemic of some sort, probably curable now, but not so in the 1800’s. Others were of men lost at sea or taken during the first and second world wars. Then there was the occasional one of a child or of someone who’d lived until their ninety-first year. Each stone had a story all its own.

Okay, so I can all hear you asking yourself that all-important question—how can a graveyard by romantic?

Well, I happened to be living there when I met the man who would later become my husband. At the time we were both still in our late teens and neither of us had a car. So, when he brought me home from our first date, where do you think we went? That’s right, the graveyard. It was peaceful and quiet and it’s where we shared out first real kiss after our first date.

Is it any wonder I love to write paranormal romance? The dark, the forbidden, the lure of what is beyond death is what drives authors to delve into the realms of the paranormal. There, the boundaries are blurred and anything is possible. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts and things that go bump in the night. There are a million tales to tell and some of them will come from me.

But then what else can you expect from a woman who lived in a graveyard?

About the Author:
Check out my erotic vampire series at:
http://www.ellorascave.com/Series.asp?Category=Dalakis%20Passion

If you want to know more about me, just check out my website at http://www.njwalters.com and my blog at http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com .

Or you can join my newsletter at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awakeningdesires/ .

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow. (Want to be a guest blogger?)

Video Entries To Date for EXPRESS contest

2007-01-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, we’ve been trying to get all the vids that have been entered loaded onto the hosting sites. Yes, we know we’re still missing some and we PROMISE to get them up soon. The darn hosting places tend to lag and take forever. Oh and myspace has decided to eat every third or forth upload we do. *snicker* Nice of them…huh.

Anyway…

The ones we have posted can be found here (they are in no particular order)

http://mandyroth.com/contest_vids_page_one.htm

The contest rules and info can be found here

http://mandyroth.com/express_yourself_contest_page.htm

We’ll be uploading more videos today through the weekend (we’re actually hoping to have all the ones submitted to date up by tonight). If you want to play along, you still have plenty of time! This contest will be going on for a few months. We’ll be drawing winners each month and you stay in the hopper for the following month (s) as well. AND…you can enter as many times as you want. Each one gets your name put into the bowl we force my sons to draw names from (child labor at its finest folks…snort) Ooo…please email me or Michelle prior to sending the video via email, so we can be ready. Our poor lil’ inboxes have threatened to runaway if we don’t start treating them better. We’re also planning to get a separate video email going soon to help stop the issues we’ve had getting them in.

Also, if you’re interested in making the vids but aren’t sure you can, we have some helpful hints on our contest page and here is another helpful link

http://www.apeekatromance.blogspot.com/

Everyone, if you get the chance, please stop by and take a look at the vids entered to date. People have put a lot of effort and heart into them and we want them to know we MORE than appreciate it! Plus, some are downright funny (no, we’re not being mean…they were aiming at being funny) and others are so sexy they could melt your socks off (is that even possible?), some are so dead on that we’re thinking of asking these people to outline the books for us for notes for use later. LOL.

Mandy M. Roth & Michelle M. Pillow

Talons - Online and In Stores

2007-01-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Talons
NOW IN PRINT!

Buy from MBaM - http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/product_info.php?products_id=403

Read An Excerpt Online - http://samhainpublishing.com/print/talons
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Red Hots!

ISBN: 1-59998-348-6

TALONS—a compelling assortment of five stories, soaring to new heights of passion with shape shifting birds of prey.

Take flight with a king who must take a mate in order to save his people, finding her in the unlikeliest of places; a princess whose destined mate is a falcon commander she’s previously tormented; a man locked in a cage for fifty years now hunting revenge; a legendary firebird a Collector seeks for his private collection; and a raven shifter who delivers death with the simplest touch.

No feat is too high for these lovers contending with both enemies and their own hearts, in the end waging the most dangerous battle of all—the battle of love.

Express Yourself Contest WIN PRIZES

2007-01-16T16:17:00.001-08:00

This video makes me giggle, lol

CONTEST LINK - http://www.mandyroth.com/express_yourself_contest_page.htm

The Paradox of Ghost Stories in the Modern World

2007-01-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

By Charlene Teglia

What is it about a ghost story, that chill that runs up your spine and makes your hair stand on end? That thrill of the unexpected, the unexplained, the uncanny? It’s fascinating. And mysterious.

Do ghosts exist? Are houses haunted? Is there a reality beyond what we see with our eyes and experience with our everyday senses? These questions have been with me from childhood, from family ghost stories and tales told by firesides. The supernatural is a subject I don’t get tired of.

I love hearing about haunted houses, apparitions, unexplained odors and noises. Ghost lights, those spheres of light that appear and no scientific explanation has been found for. (Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, just that it hasn’t yet been discovered. Putting this phenomenon in the mysterious realm of the unexplained.) From the benign house ghost to the alarming and destructive poltergeist, the range of supernatural experiences reported is interesting in itself.

I’m not alone in this fascination. I think there’s a reason why Dean Koontz’s most popular character is Odd Thomas, the man who sees ghosts. And Stephen King’s spooky subject matter has struck a chord with an awful lot of readers. Well, why not? The 2003 Harris Poll determined that 51% of the general population believe in ghosts.

Whatever the reason for the appeal, the supernatural and the spooky makes my spine shiver and sparks my imagination and that makes it a rich subject to explore in fiction. I’ve written witches, werewolves, reincarnation, vampires, time travel, all exploring the realm of magic and mystery. I don’t believe I’ve even begun to scratch the surface.

I do think that fantasy enriches our reality, that it keeps our minds open to “what if?” and for that reason alone, it’s valuable. It’s good to question, to imagine. And it’s good to keep alive the sense of wonder we have in the world as children. Studies have shown that as we lose that childhood belief in magic, the high creativity most children have diminishes by the age of 7 and is nearly entirely lost in adults.

Oddly enough, today’s reality tells us that we need creativity more than ever. Business and industry call for creative solutions, innovations, new ways of seeing and doing things. So at a time when our world is more scientific, technical and logical than ever, our need for fantasy and
the creative thinking it fosters is at an all-time high. Ghost stories help us keep that childhood spark alive.

About the Author
Charlene Teglia is an award-winning erotic romance author for Ellora's Cave, Samhain, and St. Martin's Press, and a columnist for Romancing the Blog.
Visit her on the web at www.charleneteglia.com.

Disclaimer, cause we have to: The opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mandy M Roth and Michelle M Pillow.

How to be A Raven Guest Blogger

2007-01-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Authors, Fans and Paranormal Experts welcome to blog!

Guest Blogs are posted every Monday at the Raven Vampire Nightclub Blog on what is called "Manic Monday with Michelle and Mandy". If you would like to have your article included, please follow the submission guidelines below. Mandy and Michelle reserve the right to decline any blog topic without explanation (but don't let that scare you, we're not meanies).

HOW TO GET A GUEST SPOT!

1. Subject MUST be on the PARANORMAL!
Topics can be anything paranormal or fantasy--from Real Life to myths, history or just your thoughts on a subject. Author byline with links will be included and we ask that you stop by to comment when your blog goes live. Also, feel free to advertise your blog with us. If you would like the above graphic to use, email us.

2. Articles can be anywhere from 200-1000 words.

3. No fan fiction or short stories. No poetry.
If you would like to post a paranormal short story or poem, please contact us for special arrangements. These will be very selective and not be done on guest blogger days.

4. First come, First serve
The order your blog will be posted is in the order we receive the completed, ready to go blog entry. The only exception is if the topic you are writing about was recently done, or if you have recently done a blog and there are others who haven't waiting for a chance. We reserve the right to post them as we see fit. Email notifications will be send out when your blog posts, not before.

5. We DO NOT reserve dates
Please don't ask. We're too busy and we will forget.

6. Yes, you can do it more than once.
At this time there is no limit.

7. TO SUBMIT

Send email to Michelle - enchant @ cox.net or michelle_pillow @ yahoo.com (no spaces)
Or send email to Mandy - mandy @ mandyroth.com
Subject - Raven Guest Blog
Body of Email- Your blog article READY TO GO, including the byline at the end and the link titles and links you want added to the blog clearly marked.
We DO NOT edit, so make sure it's how you want it.

Hopefully those didn't scare you off. ;)

Thanks!

Michelle M Pillow

www.michellepillow.com

Mandy M Roth

www.mandyroth.com

Express Yourself Contest!

2006-12-31T09:53:00.000-08:00

Express Yourself Contest!

We've been at this a while now and it never ceases to amaze us just how many creative people are out there. We'd like to take a moment to celebrate that creativity and give an outlet for it. Our contest, which will run for a few months and if it goes over well, longer, revolves around just how creative you can be. NO--this is NOT a talent contest for who can do the best. It's for who can put the most heart into it. There is also more than one way to express yourself so we want to be sure to include them all.

Here are just some of the prizes we'll be offering. $20.00 gift certificates to Amazon.com, signed print copies of our books, PDF downloads of our books, bookmarks and more.

How can you be entered? That's easy--EXPRESS YOURSELF!

The way we'd like to see (but you're not limited to this) is for readers to make fan-based book videos of our books. Some of the programs for this are free to download and use. One is Microsoft Movie Maker--it's free and available through Microsoft's website. If you can click and drag--you can do it. It really is that easy. Since we're not expecting Spielberg, anyone is free to play along and try their hand. We really think these videos will, if nothing else, open a new avenue to get the word out about our books. We'd love to share the spreading of the news with you, our readers. We do have a few minor rules for the videos though...

Please, no Debbie Does Dallas Porn (most free hosting sites will yank these anyway).

You MUST label (in title) ALL entries clearly that this is "FAN-BASED video/artwork/etc".

Also, no book spoilers--these won't be entered into the contest. If you're unsure what might be a spoiler, play off the blurb of the book. That is a safe bet.

These can ONLY have OUR books as the focus.

Please no WRITTEN fan-fiction. Sorry, but these won't be included. And as always, book ideas, manuscripts and anything of the like will not be read and will be deleted promptly. Sorry..damn lawyers and their damn policies. Oy.

You may enter as often as you like with new works each time. There is NO limit to how many entries you can do. You'll be entered into the drawing each time for each entry.

Helpful tips: Microsoft Movie Maker is free. It's a drag and drop program and is easy to use. ALL of our covers can be found on our website (Michelle M. Pillow & Mandy M. Roth) along with information about each title. Be creative! Youtube and Myspace are just two of the places who offer FREE video hosting. Once your fan-based video is made, put it up and send Michelle and I the link. We'll check it out and get it linked with the others for display.

You do NOT have to use your real name for this (well, you do have to give it to Michelle and I in the event you win but we'll keep that between us if you're rather have a nick or something for public).

If you cannot figure out how to host the video Michelle and I will open a spot JUST for fan based videos. You can contact us about this further if you have questions. We're happy to help. We want everyone to have fun and access to these.

~~~~By submitting the work(s), you acknowledge that you are giving us permission to post them and use them in a manner we see fit. Must be 18 years and older to play. Must label all uploads/posts "fan-based video/artwork/etc". Michelle M. Pillow and Mandy M. Roth assume NO responsibility for content/copyright of works submitted for contest, and ask that the work be original/submitted in good faith.~~~~

Make a book video? What, are they smoking the good shit again (you might be asking yourselves) *snicker* If this just isn't your thing but you'd still like to enter the contest, we'd love to see other ways you can express your "love" (know that Michelle just slapped me for writing that) for us.

Here are some other ideas. You're not limited to them though.

Fan artwork. It can be uploaded to yahoo album on Mandy or Michelle's yahoo groups (both if you want). Same rules apply as video.

Digital picture of you holding one of our print books or a pic of one of our ebooks pulled up on your computer/reading device. (same rules apply)

Macaroni frame of our names--just kidding unless you REALLY wanted to. But the point is, EXPRESS YOURSELF. Do you want to sculpt a shrine to us out of your mashed potatoes? (Michelle makes the request you do hers out of chocolate and send directly to her...thanks...SNORT) Do you want to build a statue of us out of M&Ms? Do you want to send us handmade artwork from your neck of the woods? Whatever you want to do...DO IT! The easiest way for us to see this stuff is via the web and uploading pics to the yahoo group pics section. MAKE sure to tell us you did and its up. If it's handmade artwork you want to send--you can send it to Mandy M. Roth PO Box 305, Huron, OH 44839 (Michelle's can come to my PO Box as well. I'll be sure she gets them.)

Want to start a tribute fan web page for our books? A fan club? A cult (ouch...? What? I want minions dammit...Michelle let me have minions...you know you want them. *big grin* )

Want to start a rock band named after us? Pfft, only if you let us be lead signers. Wait, I've heard her sing, she should be a backup dancer or something. *grin* Watch your toes people...watch your toes!

If you have not a lick of creative juice in your body but still want to play along, don't worry. We've got other ideas too. Amazon allows readers to post reviews of our books. If you'd liked to be entered in the contest--EXPRESS YOURSELF there. Same rules apply as with the others. Also, you do NOT have to love the book. We want you to be honest. If you loved it, that's fine too. LOL

We just want this to be a fun, rocking contest that lets everyone EXPRESS themselves!

Thanks,

Mandy M. Roth

www.mandyroth.com

Michelle M. Pillow

www.michellepillow.com

TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE: CLICK HERE

Helpful Links

Microsoft Movie Maker(free movie maker program by Microsoft that is very easy to use)

How to Use Movie Maker

Youtubeand Myspace(two FREE video hosting sites. All you need to do is sign up for a free account and then you can upload videos to it)

Mandy's yahoo group where you can upload fan artwork/photos.

Michelle's yahoo group where you can upload fan artwork/photos.

Mandy M. Roth (webpage)
www.mandyroth.com

&

Michelle M. Pillow (webpage)
www.michellepillow.com

Email Questions

Mandy

Michelle

BIG contest coming soon!!!

2006-12-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Mandy Roth and I are currently cooking up a new contest starting in January. I won't go into the details now, but hopefully it will be TONS of fun! It's different than other contests we've ran, but we're hoping it will be fun for everyone. Plus, we're giving away LOTS and LOTS of prizes to all our wonderful fans!!

So, check back for details!!!

Aids Awareness - Light to Unite Campaign

2006-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

I thought this was interesting and worth passing on...

Bristol-Myers Squibb is donating a dollar to AIDS every time someone
goes to their website and moves the match to the candle and lights it.

It only takes a second and is for an excellent cause. Be sure to pass
this message on.

https://www.lighttounite.org/

Scavenger Hunt WINNER LIST

2006-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.michellepillow.com/rj_nov_scavenger_hunt.htm

WINNER LIST! Congrats to all the winners and thank you all for playing!

Winners will be notified by email by the authors. Please give them a few days because of the holiday madness!

Thanks,

Michelle M Pillow

www.michellepillow.com

New M&M Books in Print

2006-12-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

NEW PRINT BOOKS:

Phoenix Rising I by Morgana de Winter, Marie Harte, Michelle M. Pillow, Sherrill Quinn, Alicia Sparks (Erotic Romance) To celebrate NCP's tenth anniversary, we've brought together five of our bestselling authors in Phoenix Rising I to write steamy novellas in all our reader's favorite genres... Sensuality: CARNAL http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/phoenixrising1.htm

Phoenix Rising II by Angelique Anjou, Elizabeth Batten-Carew, Jaycee Clark, Donna Grant, Mandy M. Roth (Erotic Romance) And, because this is our TENTH anniversary, five more of NCP's bestselling authors are featured in Phoenix Rising II with smoldering romance novellas in all of your favorite genres... Sensuality: CARNAL http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/phoenixrising2.htm

The Bound Prince by Michelle M. Pillow (Futuristic Romance) Captain Samantha Dorsey and her crew are on a mission to complete a Galactic Scavenger Hunt. They only have one thing left to get--a wild beast. Drunk and feeling like some fun, Sam and her crew fly to Qurilixen to finish their collection by snagging a white tiger. The next morning, Sam realizes they got more than they bargained for--they've kidnapped a warrior Prince.... Sensuality: SPICY http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/theboundprince.htm

Online Scavenger Hunt ~ Chance to Win over 60 prizes!

2006-11-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've put together an online scavenger hunt hosted by Romance Junkies. Click the link below for a chance to win over 60 prizes from just as many wonderful authors!

Click here to Play!

Talons Series, NOW IN EBOOK

2006-10-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

Talons: Seize the Hunter by
Michelle M. Pillow

Genre: Romance/Red Hot!/Futuristic

Publication Date: October 31st, 2006

Buy From MBaM!

Fate is giving her the one man she'd never want for her very own.

Princess Ari of the planet Falconia knows it’s her time to marry and has picked out several suitable men in her mind—none of which are Falcoan Army Commander, Rurik of the Fifth. The man tormented her as a child, causing her untold humiliations. But there is really no need to worry about such a match. Shifters cannot rule and Rurik is a natural born falcon shifter.

Trusting destiny, Ari sips from the Marriage Chalice, sealing her future. But things don’t go as planned. It would seem fate is giving her to the man she despises. How can she find happiness with the one man she could never want for her very own?

Talons: King of Prey by Mandy M. Roth

Genre: Romance/Dark Fantasy

Publication Date: October 10th, 2006

Buy From MBaM!

In a place where realms combine and portals open passages to the unknown, a prophecy speaks of fertility being restored to his people through the taking of King Kabril’s mate.

The prophecy neglects to mention she lacks something vital to his kind—wings. Kabril, King of the Buteos Regalis has no interest in taking a human mate. His kind believes humans are dirty, vile creatures who rely on machines to lift them into the air. The last place he wants to go in search of his mate is Earth, but he’s left no choice.

Never did he expect to find love on a planet with one moon, people who lack wings and a stubborn vixen who makes his heart soar. When he does, he fears the truth about who and what he truly is will steal it away. Little does he know his enemies fully intend on doing the taking.

Happy Halloween CONTEST!

2006-10-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

ENTER THE HALLOWEEN CONTESTS!!!

Go around the haunted house, click on objects for a chance to win prizes.
If you can't find all the links in the scroll bar on the side, go here

Michelle and Mandy ~ Three new books in PRINT! JUST RELEASED

2006-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Playful Prince by Michelle M. Pillow (Futuristic Romance)

Prince Quinn isn't looking for a serious relationship. In fact, he's never even considered it. However, when Dr. Tori Elliot is sent to the palace to test for biological weapons, he can't seem to stay away from her.

To play…

Prince Quinn, royal Ambassador, isn't looking for a serious relationship. In fact, he's never even considered it. Hopping from lover to lover, he's content to enjoy himself, never taking anything but his work seriously. However, when Dr. Tori Elliot is sent to the palace to test for biological weapons, he can't seem to stay away from her.

Or not to play…

Tori Elliot has just finished her last assignment and is on her way to a much needed vacation. But when the Human Intelligence Agency stops her ship and demands she heads up a team on some remote planet, she knows it in her best interest not to refuse. Ever serious, she knows she's there to do a job and no matter what, she's going to act like a professional.

Meeting Prince Quinn, his body pressed against another woman in the palace halls, she knows he's not the man for her. Too bad he's the Ambassador and too sexy for his own good. Fighting her desire, Tori must try to do her job while not succumbing to the playful Var prince.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simmering Seductions by Mandy M. Roth (Contemporary Romance)

When a sexy blast from the past literally falls into his lap, Kurt refuses to retreat--seizing the moment, and Devan’s heart, becomes his ultimate passion.

Devan Seward is in the process of starting over—moving to the big city and doing her best to move on from an ugly past. When she waylays “Mr. Right” in the stairwell of her new apartment building, she feels an instant connection to him. There is something about the tall, dark and handsome man that leaves her feeling as if she’s known him all her life. Devan no longer trusts blindly, a hard lesson learned, but can’t seem to stop herself from confessing things better left behind.

Chef Kurt Holland is like a rock god in the culinary world. Cooking is his passion. His restaurant, E&E, caters only to the rich and famous. When a sexy blast from the past literally falls into his lap, he refuses to retreat like he did last time. No. Seizing the moment and Devan’s heart becomes his ultimate passion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lords of the Abyss: The Mighty Hunter by Michelle M. Pillow (Paranormal Romance)

He rescued her from death, and with a deliciously hot body and all the right moves, Caderyn is a walking seduction that’s too hard to resist. There’s only one problem. Caderyn claims they’re in the Abyss, living on a cursed island along the deep ocean floor. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he says he’s a merman.

Scientist Bridget Dutton has no time for traditional love. Her heart belongs to her work. Even though taking chemical readings of ocean water isn’t her thing, she’s willing to put in her time for her chance at exploring the Abyss. When her boat is attacked from below, Bridget’s dream just might come true sooner than planned.

Caderyn the Hunter, the sexiest--and perhaps craziest--man she’s ever laid eyes on may have rescued her from death, but who’s going to rescue her from him? With a deliciously hot body and all the right moves, the man is a walking seduction that’s too hard to resist. There’s only one problem. Caderyn claims they’re in the Abyss, living on a cursed island along the deep ocean floor. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he says he’s a merman.

Sparks fly. Desires heat. But can Caderyn convince the logical Bridget there’s room for more than one love in her heart?

Winner from M&M Paranormal Theme Day

2006-10-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

MM Paranormal Theme Day Official Winner's List
Thank you all for joining us and playing!!! Winners: Authors should be contacting you shortly with your prize information! Please be patient, as I have to notify all the authors. To learn more about any of the participating authors, please visit thier website listed below. THANKS! Michelle and Mandy www.michellepillow.com www.mandyroth.com

Author	website	newest release	prize(s)	THEME DAY WINNER!!
Annmarie McKenna	www.annmariemckenna.com	Seeing Eye Mate	Seeing Eye Mate download	Crystal Stone
Denyse Bridger	http://www.denysebridger.com	DESCENT INTO DARKNESS	Prize will be a copy of this novel, in PDF or LIT,	Liz D (lzz25)
Ally Blue	http://www.allyblue.com/	Oleander House	One copy of any one of my e-books, winner's choice!	Elizabeth Corbett (emc_reviewing)
Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain	http://www.dragonsdisciple.com	"Blood Brothers"	"Moon Child" DVD	anita (anitakhh)
Bianca D'Arc	http://biancadarc.com	Ladies of the Lair	A free download of one of my current ebooks - winner's choice!	tara gibbs (taradawn72inak)
Brenda Williamson	http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com/authors/Brenda_Williamson.shtml	The Witch Stone	1 pdf copy of Wolverton Blood	aliciaeflores1
Cassandra Kane	www.cassandrakane.com	What Elves Eat	A copy of any current release!	amysmith98
Charlene Teglia	www.charleneteglia.com	Night Music (Samhain), releasing Oct. 31	a download of Wolf In Shining Armor (EC) and one of Night Music (Samhain)	1. Mich chelby800 2. Elaine Breault
Debbie Wallace	www.angelfire.com/me5/dawallace	Someone to Love Me	Copy of Someone to Love Me	Jennifer Ray (nashjar)
Donna Grant	http://www.donnagrant.com	Prince of Desire (Phoenix Rising II antho) - NCP	chocolate cat from Godiva	Jennifer C. (Luv_JM69)
Elaine Corvidae	http://www.onecrow.net	Prince of Ash	A copy of any of my current ebooks - winner's choice	debchin13
Heather Kundert	http://mystikguardians.com	Mystik Guardians: His Wildest Desires	prize pack which will be a download of each of the first 4 Mystik Guardians books to one winner	jaycee_clark
Jacki Bentley	www.jackibentley.com	Blood Bond	download of my current book, Angel and the Flying Warhorses	Christina Laska
Jaycee Clark	www.jayceeclark.com	FIREBIRDS	PDF of FIREBIRDS	Daun Ann Korty
Jenna Black	www.JennaBlack.com	Watchers in the Night, coming October 31, 2006	Watchers in the Night mousepad	caity_mack
Joely Skye	http://joely.wordpress.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/joelyskye/	Monster	a copy of my novella _Monster_ first in the Minders series	Chell (chell69dh)
Joey W. Hill	www.storywitch.com	THREADS OF FAITH	ONE COPY (READER'S CHOICE) OF ANY OF MY TITLES. ANY AVAILABLE FORMAT, DIGITAL OR PRINT	faerytubemaven
Jude Mason	http://www.my-haven2001.com	Freeing the Beast Within	1 free download of either 'And There Were Beasts' or 'Freeing the Beast Within'	bluevalkerie
Kate Davies	http://www.kate-davies.com/	Ritual Love, Beginnings: A Samhain Anthology	e-copy of Ritual Love	VICKI SMITH (fnkechkn2)
Kate Hill	http://www.kate-hill.com	Handsome Bastard	a download of one of my ebooks (winner's choice of title	lisaw7455
Lauren Dane	http://www.laurendane.com	Cascadia Wolves: Tri Mates	ARC of Tri Mates	sherrig36
Lorraine Kennedy	www.lorrainekennedy.com	Song of the Annunaki	a copy of my backlist book. Wolf Dance	Jenny (gryffindoreanbrat)
Mackenzie McKade	http://www.samhainpublishing.com/fallensrevenge.shtml	A WARRIOR..S WITCH	an e-book download of THE CHARADE and one of A Warrior's Witch	1. hotcandy39560 2. Tara (mizztuts)
Mandy Roth	www.mandyroth.com	King of Prey ~ Samhain Publishing	1 from Michelle, 1 from Mandy -- PDF Download of choice from backlist	BOTH Mandy and Michelle Winners---1 "pamk258" 2 Debbie Ellison 3 ~~Kris ~~ 4 Valerie Bongards 5 Heather Riley 6 Jen Mah
Marie Harte	www.marieharte.com	Aftershocks, Storm Lords Book Four	small giftbasket	littlelamblst
Mary Winter	http://www.marywinter.com/	Revealing Photos (Ellora's Cave)	download of one of my Galaxy Rogues novels	tamar.bains
Maya Banks	http://www.mayabanks.com	Colters' Woman	Copy of Seducing Simon in choice of format. Copy of Colters' Woman in choice of format	1. penniemo@aol.com 2. ciarcullen1
Mechele Armstrong	http://www.mechelearmstrong.com	The Collector 1: Magical Chances	copy of Dinah's Dark Desire (choice of format)	downsideuk Shirley
Meg Allison	http://www.samhainpublishing.com/secretsandshadows.shtml	Secrets and Shadows	large tote bag featuring the cover for Secrets and Shadows.	Mina Gerhart
Melany Logen	http://melanylogen.com/	Torc..s Salvation	A copy of Torc's Salvation in winner's choice of format.	If I want you to know, Ill tell you.
Michelle M Pillow	www.michellepillow.com	Realm Immortal: Faery Queen	1 from Michelle, 1 from Mandy -- PDF Download of choice from backlist	BOTH Mandy and Michelle Winners---1 "pamk258" 2 Debbie Ellison 3 ~~Kris ~~ 4 Valerie Bongards 5 Heather Riley 6 Jen Mah
Monica Burns	www.monicaburns.com	Obsession	ARC of Bluestocking Christmas (paranormal historical erotic romance)	Pauline Rogers
Myla Jackson	http://www.mylajackson.com/Mylahome.htm	Witch..s Curse	download of choice of a past EC release	strawbehrryshortcake
Myra Nour	www.myranour.com	To Tame a Werewolf	Copy of the story printed by author & bound, with signed cover.	greeneyez2340 (Joy)
N.J. Walters	http://www.njwalters.com	Lucian..s Delight	free download from my backlist	ingrid (tybokit)
Penelope Marzec	http://www.penelopemarzec.com	KISS OF BLARNEY	Halloween candle holder with candle	Heidi (alufa1)
Ruby Storm	http://www.rubystorm.net	CRACKED: PRELUDE TO PASSION	Free download of Cracked: Prelude to Passion	Carol Meyer (advan_nurse2000)
SA Martin	http://www.shirleymartin.net/	ONE MORE TOMORROW	Goody bag with posters, bookmarks, and a disk of my fantasy romance, NIGHT SECRETS	TehyaTalaMosi
Sally Painter	http://www.sallypainter.com	Last Resort - Vampire	$10 gift cert winner's choice B&N or Amazon	Anna Lisa (Topsail246)
Samantha Storm	http://www.samanthastorm.com/	Eye of The Storm	Two winners get a download of Eye of the Storm and a bag of French Chocolate Truffles	1."tina@rbrunelle 2. Soccerfam
Sherrill Quinn	www.sherrillquinn.com	The Wolf of Cnoc Meadha (Phoenix Rising I)	tote bag and 1 free download from backlist	glenna day
Silvia Violet	http://violet.chaosnet.org	Shifter's Station 4: Eye of the Tigress	Magic in the Blood magnet	Renee (sexysecy)
Sydney Somers	http://www.sydneysomers.com	Talons: Caged Desire	Downloads of Watchtowers: Air and Say You're Mine	"Robin" RECS5664
Sylvie Kurtz	www.sylviekurtz.com	Pull of the Moon	copy of my previous Gothic, A Rose at Midnight	Leanne Ford (leebell_17)
TJ Michaels	www.tjmichaels.com	JAGUAR..S RULE	a download of any Dynamic Three (TJ Michaels, Lauren Dane and Shelly Munro) download from Ellora's Cave	Klaudia ~*~ candygirl_love69
Tilly Greene	www.tillygreene.com	'Call Me Lucifer'	cool Frankenstein candle and goodie bag	Julie Scharff (birdygirl47)
savannah black	http://savannahblack-erotic-author.com	VIXEN OF THE NIGHT	copy of my book Vixen of the Night	Linda (readingissomuchfun)

MM Paranormal Theme Day Official Winner's List

2006-10-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

MM Paranormal Theme Day Official Winner's List
Thank you all for joining us and playing!!! Winners: Authors should be contacting you shortly with your prize information! Please be patient, as I have to notify all the authors. To learn more about any of the participating authors, please visit thier website listed below. THANKS! Michelle and Mandy www.michellepillow.com www.mandyroth.com

Author	website	newest release	prize(s)	THEME DAY WINNER!!
Annmarie McKenna	www.annmariemckenna.com	Seeing Eye Mate	Seeing Eye Mate download	Crystal Stone
Denyse Bridger	http://www.denysebridger.com	DESCENT INTO DARKNESS	Prize will be a copy of this novel, in PDF or LIT,	Liz D (lzz25)
Ally Blue	http://www.allyblue.com/	Oleander House	One copy of any one of my e-books, winner's choice!	Elizabeth Corbett (emc_reviewing)
Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain	http://www.dragonsdisciple.com	"Blood Brothers"	"Moon Child" DVD	anita (anitakhh)
Bianca D'Arc	http://biancadarc.com	Ladies of the Lair	A free download of one of my current ebooks - winner's choice!	tara gibbs (taradawn72inak)
Brenda Williamson	http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com/authors/Brenda_Williamson.shtml	The Witch Stone	1 pdf copy of Wolverton Blood	aliciaeflores1
Cassandra Kane	www.cassandrakane.com	What Elves Eat	A copy of any current release!	amysmith98
Charlene Teglia	www.charleneteglia.com	Night Music (Samhain), releasing Oct. 31	a download of Wolf In Shining Armor (EC) and one of Night Music (Samhain)	1. Mich chelby800 2. Elaine Breault
Debbie Wallace	www.angelfire.com/me5/dawallace	Someone to Love Me	Copy of Someone to Love Me	Jennifer Ray (nashjar)
Donna Grant	http://www.donnagrant.com	Prince of Desire (Phoenix Rising II antho) - NCP	chocolate cat from Godiva	Jennifer C. (Luv_JM69)
Elaine Corvidae	http://www.onecrow.net	Prince of Ash	A copy of any of my current ebooks - winner's choice	debchin13
Heather Kundert	http://mystikguardians.com	Mystik Guardians: His Wildest Desires	prize pack which will be a download of each of the first 4 Mystik Guardians books to one winner	jaycee_clark
Jacki Bentley	www.jackibentley.com	Blood Bond	download of my current book, Angel and the Flying Warhorses	Christina Laska
Jaycee Clark	www.jayceeclark.com	FIREBIRDS	PDF of FIREBIRDS	Daun Ann Korty
Jenna Black	www.JennaBlack.com	Watchers in the Night, coming October 31, 2006	Watchers in the Night mousepad	caity_mack
Joely Skye	http://joely.wordpress.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/joelyskye/	Monster	a copy of my novella _Monster_ first in the Minders series	Chell (chell69dh)
Joey W. Hill	www.storywitch.com	THREADS OF FAITH	ONE COPY (READER'S CHOICE) OF ANY OF MY TITLES. ANY AVAILABLE FORMAT, DIGITAL OR PRINT	faerytubemaven
Jude Mason	http://www.my-haven2001.com	Freeing the Beast Within	1 free download of either 'And There Were Beasts' or 'Freeing the Beast Within'	bluevalkerie
Kate Davies	http://www.kate-davies.com/	Ritual Love, Beginnings: A Samhain Anthology	e-copy of Ritual Love	VICKI SMITH (fnkechkn2)
Kate Hill	http://www.kate-hill.com	Handsome Bastard	a download of one of my ebooks (winner's choice of title	lisaw7455
Lauren Dane	http://www.laurendane.com	Cascadia Wolves: Tri Mates	ARC of Tri Mates	sherrig36
Lorraine Kennedy	www.lorrainekennedy.com	Song of the Annunaki	a copy of my backlist book. Wolf Dance	Jenny (gryffindoreanbrat)
Mackenzie McKade	http://www.samhainpublishing.com/fallensrevenge.shtml	A WARRIOR’S WITCH	an e-book download of THE CHARADE and one of A Warrior's Witch	1. hotcandy39560 2. Tara (mizztuts)
Mandy Roth	www.mandyroth.com	King of Prey ~ Samhain Publishing	1 from Michelle, 1 from Mandy -- PDF Download of choice from backlist	BOTH Mandy and Michelle Winners---1 "pamk258" 2 Debbie Ellison 3 ~~Kris ~~ 4 Valerie Bongards 5 Heather Riley 6 Jen Mah
Marie Harte	www.marieharte.com	Aftershocks, Storm Lords Book Four	small giftbasket	littlelamblst
Mary Winter	http://www.marywinter.com/	Revealing Photos (Ellora's Cave)	download of one of my Galaxy Rogues novels	tamar.bains
Maya Banks	http://www.mayabanks.com	Colters' Woman	Copy of Seducing Simon in choice of format. Copy of Colters' Woman in choice of format	1. penniemo@aol.com 2. ciarcullen1
Mechele Armstrong	http://www.mechelearmstrong.com	The Collector 1: Magical Chances	copy of Dinah's Dark Desire (choice of format)	downsideuk Shirley
Meg Allison	http://www.samhainpublishing.com/secretsandshadows.shtml	Secrets and Shadows	large tote bag featuring the cover for Secrets and Shadows.	Mina Gerhart
Melany Logen	http://melanylogen.com/	Torc’s Salvation	A copy of Torc's Salvation in winner's choice of format.	If I want you to know, Ill tell you.
Michelle M Pillow	www.michellepillow.com	Realm Immortal: Faery Queen	1 from Michelle, 1 from Mandy -- PDF Download of choice from backlist	BOTH Mandy and Michelle Winners---1 "pamk258" 2 Debbie Ellison 3 ~~Kris ~~ 4 Valerie Bongards 5 Heather Riley 6 Jen Mah
Monica Burns	www.monicaburns.com	Obsession	ARC of Bluestocking Christmas (paranormal historical erotic romance)	Pauline Rogers
Myla Jackson	http://www.mylajackson.com/Mylahome.htm	Witch’s Curse	download of choice of a past EC release	strawbehrryshortcake
Myra Nour	www.myranour.com	To Tame a Werewolf	Copy of the story printed by author & bound, with signed cover.	greeneyez2340 (Joy)
N.J. Walters	http://www.njwalters.com	Lucian’s Delight	free download from my backlist	ingrid (tybokit)
Penelope Marzec	http://www.penelopemarzec.com	KISS OF BLARNEY	Halloween candle holder with candle	Heidi (alufa1)
Ruby Storm	http://www.rubystorm.net	CRACKED: PRELUDE TO PASSION	Free download of Cracked: Prelude to Passion	Carol Meyer (advan_nurse2000)
SA Martin	http://www.shirleymartin.net/	ONE MORE TOMORROW	Goody bag with posters, bookmarks, and a disk of my fantasy romance, NIGHT SECRETS	TehyaTalaMosi
Sally Painter	http://www.sallypainter.com	Last Resort - Vampire	$10 gift cert winner's choice B&N or Amazon	Anna Lisa (Topsail246)
Samantha Storm	http://www.samanthastorm.com/	Eye of The Storm	Two winners get a download of Eye of the Storm and a bag of French Chocolate Truffles	1."tina@rbrunelle 2. Soccerfam
Sherrill Quinn	www.sherrillquinn.com	The Wolf of Cnoc Meadha (Phoenix Rising I)	tote bag and 1 free download from backlist	glenna day
Silvia Violet	http://violet.chaosnet.org	Shifter's Station 4: Eye of the Tigress	Magic in the Blood magnet	Renee (sexysecy)
Sydney Somers	http://www.sydneysomers.com	Talons: Caged Desire	Downloads of Watchtowers: Air and Say You're Mine	"Robin" RECS5664
Sylvie Kurtz	www.sylviekurtz.com	Pull of the Moon	copy of my previous Gothic, A Rose at Midnight	Leanne Ford (leebell_17)
TJ Michaels	www.tjmichaels.com	JAGUAR’S RULE	a download of any Dynamic Three (TJ Michaels, Lauren Dane and Shelly Munro) download from Ellora's Cave	Klaudia ~*~ candygirl_love69
Tilly Greene	www.tillygreene.com	'Call Me Lucifer'	cool Frankenstein candle and goodie bag	Julie Scharff (birdygirl47)
savannah black	http://savannahblack-erotic-author.com	VIXEN OF THE NIGHT	copy of my book Vixen of the Night	Linda (readingissomuchfun)

Interview: Scott from Ghostly Talk

2006-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Interview: Scott from Ghostly Talk

Ghostly Talk Rules!!!

1. Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, what, in the field of

paranormal, do you do and how long have you been doing it?

"My name is Scott L. I am a co-host of Ghostly Talk, the worlds premier

weekly independent talk show about the paranormal. We are going on our

5th year of broadcasting Ghostly Talk. I have been a life-long researcher

of the paranormal, and mainly nowadays exeriment with EVP and ITC in the

field of Ghost Hunting."

2. Was there a seminal moment when you decided this was what you wanted

to do?

"About 6 years ago, I received an email fro ma co-worker containing a

bunch of spirit photos captured from all over the world. I sat and looked

at them and just gushed with excitement. Like I said, I have been a

life-long researcher of the paranormal, but with college and trying to

make a living I had to push it to the side for a bit to focus on my

studies and career. I had just graduated from college when I received

this email and that is when I thought to myself, "You have the time now,

get to work on it!" :)"

3. What topic within the realm of paranormal interests you most? Have

you dealt with this on your show?

"ITC and EVP, we have talked to numerous people on Ghoslty Talk concerning

this subject."

4. Is there a favorite time or experience revolving around either the

discussion of the paranormal or a personal experience you'd like to

share with us?

Yes! EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT FROM 6 - 9 P.M. EST. That is when Ghostly Talk

broadcasts! :)

5. How can our readers find you?

http://www.ghostlytalk.com

http://www.myspace.com/ghostlytalk

Tribes of the Vampire 3 ETERNALLY BOUND by Michelle M Pillow

2006-10-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Tribes of the Vampire

ETERNALLY BOUND

Michelle M. Pillow

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/eternallybound.htm

Chapter One

Eastwich Manor, England, Spring 1896

Tatiana Sinclair smiled dreamily at the stars as she fitted her gloved hand into that of a groom’s. The scent of wildflowers was thick on the air, perfuming the night with their intoxicating fragrance. The wind rustled gently over the land, perfectly cool to the warmth of the late hour. It stirred heavily against the higher limbs of trees until the sound of the crashing leaves sang out. It was a perfect night.

The servant, Thomas, was dressed in the full livery of the Eastwich Manor staff. He lifted the back of his hand to help her down from her family’s brougham. The carriage shifted ever so slightly as she stepped onto the cobblestone drive. Tatiana barely paid the towheaded man any mind.

Thomas tried to smile at her, murmuring a greeting in his low youthful voice. “Welcome home, Miss Tatiana. How was your evening?”

Tatiana glanced briefly at him, frowned in his direction and waved him away. Thomas was two years older than her, but she still thought of him as a boy. He was handsome and polite, but that did not give him the right to address her. She would just have to speak to her father about having him replaced. It wouldn’t do for the servants to be seen addressing her so familiarly, as if they did it every day. Such a faux pas could kill her chances at a good marriage.

Well, Tatiana thought, feeling benevolent in her good mood. Her chin was proud, if not a little haughty, as her lips curled in contemplation. Perhaps, I should be lenient with him and only have him reprimanded. We did grow up together after all and tonight was such a lovely evening.

Tatiana’s pale green gown of expensive silk and Brussels lace tangled in the breeze. Her face again turned to the wide expanse of stars twinkling brilliantly in the dark blue of the night sky. The heavy weight of her white petticoats rippled ever so slightly, showing the toes of her dainty slippers. Her black curls were pinned up with the utmost care, adorned with green silk flowers. She was at the height of her youth, dressed in the height of fashion. She was beautiful, rich and knew it. She had many suitors vying for hand. Everything was perfect. Her life was going according to plan.

Thinking of it, Tatiana smiled to herself. If she managed it right, she could be married within a year’s time--or at the very least engaged. Suddenly, she noticed that her chaperone, a servant girl from the household, stood next to her waiting. Tatiana merely waved her to go along without her. The servant, whose dark eyes gave away the fact that she was exhausted, curtsied and rushed up the front steps to find her bed. Tatiana ignored her.

Lightly, she hiccupped. It had been a delightful evening of dinner à la russe. Tatiana blushed to remember how much of Lady Cottley’s ‘special’ punch she’dconsumed. Surely, if her father discovered the excess, she would be forbidden from ever going back.

Sighing as the carriage was led down the long drive to the distant stables, she made the short walk up the front stairs of her home. Eastwich Manor was a modest home compared to the large renovated castles and estates of the local nobility. Nevertheless, the estate was very well maintained.

The square corners of the manor’s stone walls were smooth, dotted with just the right amount of shrubs and flowers to make it stately and elegant without being overdone. Tall windows lifted up the sidewalls with dark blue draperies showing from the inside. Most were drawn closed, but a little crack of light shone out from one onto the front expanse of steps. It was a very fine home indeed. Whereas, her father wasn’t titled, his income was quite sufficient as to cause much envy with the neighbors and to earn her their respect.

Tatiana smiled a secretive smile. If she had anything to do with it, she would be titled soon enough. It was rumored that an Italian Count had let the old Glastonbury Castle not far from her very home. As a young girl, she’d been fascinated by the rundown pile of rocks surrounding the castle and had climbed over them often. The castle itself was in decent repair, though it desperately needed the care only a rich owner could give.

Lady Cottley had been aflutter with the news of it, claiming to have met the ‘young and altogether too handsome’ nobleman the other night. Their carriages had crossed a narrow pass in the country roads. She said that he was very well spoken, for a foreigner, and very dashing as he leaned out the carriage window to answer her greeting.

When Tatiana asked her to describe what the Count looked like, Lady Cottley couldn’t quite remember, except for the impression he was handsome enough to leave her lightheaded. The good lady was, however, sure the Count was in England searching for a wife. For, according to that same lady, there were a shortage of suitably marriageable women in Italy.

“Tatiana! Wait!”

Tatiana instantly froze on the bottom step leading to the front door. The very sound of her name expressed in such a way made her nervous. Recognizing the voice, she shivered, turning round to face her eldest and only sibling. Henry had not been available to escort her to the dinner service so she was dependent on a servant to be her chaperone. He’d claimed he was too ill to attend. It irked her that he would be out in such a condition, but Tatiana knew it was more than likely that he lied to get out of taking her.

The crack of light shining through the long front windows was dim so she couldn’t see him too clearly, except from the vague impression of his features and the shadowed outline of his slender body. She gasped, immediately forgetting her irritation with him. His dark blue frock coat was covered with splatters of thick mud. Stepping back down the steps, she made as if to go to him. Henry stumbled forward, jarring her as he impatiently grabbed her arm.

“Ow, Henry, stop,” Tatiana cried, trying to shake off the desperate clutch of his fingers. She swatted him lightly with her gloved hand. “You’re hurting me!”

Henry’s grip only tightened as she tried to escape, bruising her skin with its fierceness. She stumbled, slow to react, her mind numbed with liquor from the punch. Her brother’s dark eyes narrowed and he struggled for breath. Tatiana saw that the same strange substance also splattered the pale skin of his features. Up close, it did not appear to be mud. Curious, Tatiana lifted her fingers to his check, plucking a bit of matter off him with her white gloves. Whatever it was, it was hard.

“Whatever are you covered in, Henry?” Tatiana asked. He mumbled breathless, incoherent sentences. She couldn’t make out his words. Ignoring the pain he inflicted on her arm, she raised her gloved fingers to where the moonlight shone brightest to examine them. Her mouth fell open. It was blood.

Henry, seeing her impending look of horror, grasped her other arm in his palm, pulling her to him. Tatiana shivered as his fingers seized over her mouth, shushing her startled scream. She could smell the coppery scent of blood on his hand, felt the drying stickiness against her skin where he touched her face. Blood marred his jacket, streaking onto her pale green gown, hitting against her arms, as he held her tight to keep her quiet.

Gasping into her ear, he croaked in a low, hoarse tone that she’d never heard from him, “She’s dead.”

She! Tatiana’s renewed scream was muffled by his strong fingers. He pressed hard, cutting her teeth onto her inner lips. She tasted blood on her mouth and moaned weakly. She tried to answer him. Her wide desperate eyes studied his panicked face. She moaned in louder protest and he jerked her to an abrupt, rough silence.

“It’s not my fault!” Henry insisted with a hiss, almost wildly. He shook her harder in his desperation to convince her. His words turned to a plea. “Do you hear me, Tatiana? She refused me. It’s not my fault. She had no right, no right at all. I didn’t hurt her. She fell. She was a bloody strumpet giving it out to every man. She was nobody. I will not be ruined for this!”

“Henry.” Her voice was muffled through his parted fingers. Tatiana gasped, trying to peel her lips from his bloodied hand. She slowly shook loose of his tight hold to catch her breath and steady her racing heart. The strange, almost foreign smell of human blood--so curious and strong--slipped on her skin as she moved against him. It made her nauseous. A dark cloud threatened her already drunken brain and all she could think about was how this might ruin her chance at meeting the Italian Count, of gaining her title, of getting out of England and seeing the rest of the world.

As soon as she heard the words Italian and Count coming from Lady Cottley’s lips, she’d formed the perfect plan. The Count wanted a wife and she would make a perfect wife. Henry got to go away on a grand tour like the rest of the gentlemen with whom she’d grown up. She was expected to stay home, in England, forever. She wanted to travel, to see things, to meet people. She wanted to touch ancient ruins. In all her eighteen years, she never wanted anything more. Now, in Henry, she saw her dreams plummeting to the ground.

Tears entered her eyes. Now no one would ever want her after this. She was sister to a murderer! She would spend the rest of her days at Eastwich Manor as an unloved, unwanted spinster. Glancing at the stone walls of Eastwich, they did not seem so lovely to her anymore, or the house so large and welcoming and fine. It now looked like a prison.

“Tatiana!” Henry hissed, shaking her. “Are you listening to me?”

Tatiana blinked. She hadn’t been listening. Her mind had been racing frantically until she felt dizzy. Seeing she wasn’t going to scream, Henry dropped his hand from her face, leaving her cheek cold as the breeze hit the blood. With an insistent tug, he pulled her away from the front steps.

“Hurry!” Henry ordered, keeping her arm tight as he ran her around the side of the house. “We can’t let Thomas see us! If he knew what we did to his sister--”

“Alice?” Tatiana looked at Henry with renewed horror. She tried to stop, but his hand wouldn’t let her. The matter and blood covering him was her maid, Alice? Alice with the golden ringlet curls so like her brother Thomas? Alice with the laughing blue eyes who always teased her awake in the morning? Alice who had played with her endlessly on this very lawn since they were children?

“We can’t let him find out what we have done,” Henry insisted, running faster now that they were on the side lawn. “You know Thomas has a violent temper.”

“We?” Tatiana squeaked, her voice unable to come any louder. Her world spun and crashed with each surreal step he forced her to take.

Her legs stretched over the thick cushioned lawn, nearing the limits of her gown. The petticoats became heavier, tangling in her legs. Her corset was too unyielding against her lungs, making breathing hard. Her heart raced as she was yanked through the night. A slipper fell from her foot, but they did not stop. The full three courses of dinner, plus the entremets and dessert, waged a vicious war in her tight stomach. She would’ve fainted, if not for Henry’s insistent pull making her continue on.

“Henry,” she begged, her voice hoarse as she gulped for air. Her narrow eyes tried to see through the shadows. The moon wasn’t full and bright, so it offered little help.

Hearing her plea, Henry slowed, leading her into the shade of a large oak on the far side of the property.

“I … can … not … breathe,” she gasped. She dropped her hand, clutching at her stomach, trying to pull her corset to loosen it by small degrees. It didn’t do any good. The gown was fitted too tight. “Ladies … do not … run.”

Henry said nothing. He looked into the distance, standing silent and still. His hand trembled. Suddenly, she realized how scared her brother really was.

After a moment had passed with only her heavy breathing sounding between them, she again straightened and threw back her shoulders. Turning wide eyes up to her brother, she saw that he didn’t even look at her. Fearful, she demanded, “Please tell me this is a prank, Henry. Please, tell me you didn’t hurt Alice. Where is she? Is she hiding in the trees? Is she to jump out and scare me? Is that why we wait?”

Henry looked stunned at her words. Slowly, he looked down the front of his frock coat and flicked wearily at a chuck that clung to him. Tatiana flinched as it landed unintentionally on her gown. Looking herself over, she saw that the dress was ruined.

“We must go,” Henry stated, sniffing. He again reached for her, grabbing her arm.

“Where are you taking me?” Tatiana whimpered, scared of her brother. She never knew him capable of hurting anyone. Though, if truth be told, she didn’t really know him at all. They’d been closer as young children, but he’d been away for so long, first to school at Cambridge and then his grand tour. Now she hardly ever spoke to him, except in dutiful letters her father made her write. “What’s happening?”

“I need you to take care of it,” Henry said, matter-of-factly, like a lord directing his servants.

“Take care of what, Henry?” she asked in horror. Tears filled her eyes and the long line of her mouth stretched back, pulling against her teeth.

“I need you to clean it. You’re a woman, surely you know how,” Henry stated. He dragged her through the shrubs. The thorns tore at her skin, scratching her, ripping her delicate evening gown beyond repair. “No one can find out about this.”

“I’m not a servant--” she began, only to be cut off by his vicious jerk and hard glare.

“You will do as I say if you value your station in life!” His wild eyes grew all the more desperate. “Would you see our family ruined for the sake of a maid? Would you see me imprisoned? Father so shamed he’d be forced to do himself in? You abandoned, turned out in the streets to fend for yourself as an unfortunate?”

“But I did not do anything … that,” Tatiana protested, her voice growing somewhat louder. Henry growled, raising his fist as if to hit her. He hesitated and she knew he couldn’t strike. Lowering his trembling hand, he gathered her forward into his embrace and lovingly kissed her forehead.

“Please, help me, Tatiana,” Henry whispered into her dark hair. He rubbed his cheek reverently over her silky locks, dislodging the flowers adorning them. “It’s too late to take back. I don’t know what to do. I need you. You were always the practical one, so smart. Please, Tatiana, don’t abandon me now when I need you most!”

Something snapped in Tatiana’s brain at his plea for help. The shaking in her limbs subsided and her heart slowed. She swallowed. Her world became a dazed dream. Lightly, she blinked, steadying her swirling vision. She ignored the smell of blood filling her nose, as she knew that her brother was right. She had to protect her family.

Taking a deep, calm breath, she silently nodded. Henry was honorable most days and this indiscretion was just an unfortunately bad day. It was too late to take it back. She wouldn’t see her family ruined by the death of a mere servant girl. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t going to do anything wrong--not really. She was just helping her brother clean up a mess, a minor indiscretion. All fine gentlemen were allowed their little indiscretions.

“Show me, Henry,” she answered, her tone flat, dutiful. “Let me see what it is you have done.”

THE ENCHANTRESS by Mandy Roth

2006-10-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Gwyneth Stevens Book II:

THE ENCHANTRESS

Mandy M. Roth

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/theenchantress.htm

Chapter 1

I stared at the giant hole in the ground and stood silent. I’m not sure there is a good word to use when you think that someone’s fallen off the deep edge--in an ‘in love’ kind of way. Pointing it out almost seems cruel, especially when you’re who they’re in love with.

I couldn’t believe I’d let Caleb talk me into this. We’d been dating for a couple of months now. It felt more like a lifetime, after all this wasn’t my first go round with him. I’d been betrothed to him over two hundred years ago. Yeah, I know, that definitely takes the prize for the world’s longest engagement.

Standing on the edge of the missing earth, I peered into the hole. It was huge. You could easily park at least two cars in it. "I thought you said you were making a tiny Koi pond," I said, looking down at Caleb. He stood in the bottom of the hole holding a yellow-handled shovel, pitching dirt up and over his head. His muscles hardened with each movement he made, and his back seemed to ripple as the sun glistened off his sweat. This was being done strictly for my benefit and I wasn’t about to start complaining. Although, I would’ve preferred to have those muscles sweaty and taut above me. He could have dug the hole without any physical labor on his part whatsoever.

Caleb and I are both faeries. I don’t mean faeries in the little pixie way with wings that grant wishes and hang with boys from Never-Never Land--I mean faeries as in tall, or at least Caleb was tall, slender, long haired, and pale skinned.

If Caleb really wanted to, he could have used his magical power to remove the soil from the ground and be done in a matter of minutes. No, he’d insisted on taking the hard way. He’d been digging the darn hole now for the last two weeks. I knew he wouldn’t dare risk someone seeing him use magic, even though we were in the middle of nowhere. Not one single deer on the property would notice a little shift in the wind, or care, but Caleb wasn’t one to take chances. He was conservative by nature and it suited him.

Someone had to balance us out.

Standing shoulder deep in a hole with a shovel in his hand made Caleb feel as though he had a purpose. His chosen profession was bounty hunter to the supernatural. If any sort of spook, undead, or out of the ordinary criminal was on the loose, Caleb was the man they called. Bounty hunting is extremely dangerous, but pays well. He loved his job and had been forced to cut his hours back to stick around and baby-sit me.

There had been several attempts on my life a little over two months ago. Vicious and smelly trolls had attacked me a couple of times. One of the nasty varmints managed to sink its ragged, rotted teeth into my shoulder. Apparently, a troll’s bite is venomous and packs a hell of punch. It would have killed me if Caleb hadn’t shown up when he did. I still wanted to launch a campaign to get trolls listed as one of the world’s most deadly creatures, but that would mean exposing humans to the reality of their existence--no thanks.

The day we became reacquainted, Caleb had been tracking the trolls into this realm. He was curious as to why they were coming here at all. They weren’t known for leaving their rat infested swamplands often. When he saw them attacking me he figured it out real quick. They’d been sent to kill me. The acting head of Si, (pronounced shee) Sorcha, had ordered my death.

Hey, I could be as much of a pain in the butt as the next gal but wanting me dead seemed a bit extreme. I am biased, I know, but still….

Turns out Sorcha had her reasons. One of which was to kill me before her son and I could meet--again. As far as Sorcha knew, I was just a reborn faerie out to trap her son in a loveless marriage.

Yeah, reborn, I know, crazy life, huh! It was a huge shocker for me too. It was still a little hard for me to deal with and I’d found out about two months ago. From what they tell me, I once lived for over a hundred years on this earth, never looking a day over twenty, and now I was back. The only major difference, physically speaking, was that my eyes had been violet before and now they were navy blue. But that was neither here nor there, and since my other life was close to two hundred years ago, I saw little point in dwelling on it.

Being hunted down by Sorcha’s henchmen threw me for a loop. I had no idea that she even existed, let alone had it in for me. Did I forget to mention that Sorcha is Caleb’s mother? Oops! Sorcha hated me from the day I was betrothed to Caleb, in my previous life. Hating someone for close to four hundred years was a long time to hold a grudge. I had to hand it to her, she was persistent. Bottling up all that hate for so many centuries could not be healthy.

I looked down at Caleb digging in the hole and was unable to figure out how I’d been so lucky to get him. He was a vision of beauty--his six foot four frame was well defined, thin, but not too thin, and his long shiny-blond hair hung to his waist. It was smooth and straight. I was so envious of his hair. I had to laugh at the fact that my boyfriend had better hair than me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d been blessed all right, but I unfortunately didn’t get to be a blonde bombshell. Genetics dealt me long wavy hair that was black as night.

Yeah, Caleb was beautiful, a little too beautiful. It didn’t matter--every bit of him was man, you can trust me on that. I know this because we had sex the first day we met. No, I don’t normally run around having sex with strangers, but he wasn’t a stranger. We’d been together for a hundred years once, so that had to qualify for something.

Sometimes, I even confuse myself.

"Are you going to be doing that all day?" I asked, missing his touch. He’d been consumed with getting the old farmhouse fixed up. It was his new mission. He was one of those people that always needed to be doing something constructive or they’d go mad. I was the complete opposite. I could sit for hours on a rock, observing the wonders that nature had to offer, and never once feel guilty about it.

Caleb glanced up at me with dirt smeared on his forehead and cheek. I snickered as he wiped his dirt stained hand across his cheek effectively blackening out the side of his face. "I’m sorry. I just want to get this filled with cement, before the weather gets too bad. I’m pushing it enough as it is doing it this late in the year. I want you to have this, Gwen. Let me do this for you, then we can sit out here, listen to the water roll over the rocks and maybe," he wagged his eyebrows and gave me a half-cocked smile, "we could do a little something else out here as well."

How could I argue with that? Caleb’s forest green eyes looked at me with such love, I wanted to jump down into the hole and kiss him, but getting out would be an issue for me. Standing at only five foot five made it hard to get in and out of there without the aid of a ladder. He was making it seven feet deep, because the Koi needed it deep to survive the harsh winter. I personally think he did it just to tease me about how short I am.

When Caleb decided to help me fix up the farmhouse, we’d picked up a bunch of remodeling books and magazines. We sat together, cuddled in our bed flipping through the pages, picking things out that we liked. I’d stopped at a picture of an attractive white home, with a large man-made water garden in front of it. The magnificently colored pond lilies and large multi-colored fish caught my eye. It looked so peaceful, so serene. The next day I woke to find Caleb missing from the bed. I went searching for him, and found him out behind the house digging a hole in the ground. He had the magazine opened to the page with the water garden. My heart melted.

"Well, baby, do you at least want some lunch?" He hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was pushing two o’clock. I didn’t want him to get run down. He had to work this weekend. I hated the idea of Caleb leaving me to head off to wherever it was he went. His job was dangerous and I worried sick about him the entire time he was gone.

"Gwen, I’m fine, a ghrá, don’t worry about me. I’m just about done for the day." He tossed more dirt over his head. I hated this. I knew that he was doing this for me, but I wanted to see him. I wanted to spend time with him before he had to leave.

We’d only been "back" together for two months, but already I felt attached to him. My body ached when he was away from me. I missed his smell--he always smelled so fresh and clean, like the morning air after a rainfall. I had often wondered if they could bottle the smell of him and mass-produce it. Women would dig it--I’m sure.

The wind around us picked up. It sent dried leaves scattering about the yard. Caleb didn’t seem to notice or care about the weather cooling down, he still ran around with no shirt on and a pair of jeans most of the time. It was forever summer to him. I often wondered if he was running a core body temperature that was twenty degrees hotter than most. He had that California beach-babe thing going and I couldn’t help but love it.

I, on the other hand, had packed my shorts away for the season and pulled out my winter clothes. I was always cold lately. I pulled the sleeves of my Cappuccino-colored acrylic sweater down and over my hands. I had a knit shirt underneath it, but I was still chilly. Great, I hoped I wasn’t getting a cold. I hadn’t really ever had one before, but I’d seen my friends and coworkers fighting them off. All the phlegm, hacking, and headaches, no thanks I’d pass.

Caleb glanced up at me. "Gwen?"

He was always so concerned about me. He was convinced that his mother would never stop trying to sabotage our relationship. I didn’t worry about that too much. I figured my father would look out for us. He was, after all, the King--and no Caleb and I are not related. Sorcha, Caleb’s mother only stepped in to lead the Dark Realm in the absence of my father.

Under normal circumstances, Sorcha was just the head sorceress for my father. He took her on for this duty when he saw that she had a young son, Caleb. Instantly, my father arranged a marriage between the two of us. I was only days old and he’d only seen me once. Not a good way to start out I know, but things had changed this time around, they were better--he was better.

Caleb gave me another questioning look.

"I’m fine. I swallowed some dust or something, really," I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to stay home with me. Caleb enjoyed his job and I didn’t want to take that from him. Besides, James and Caradoc were coming up to stay with me for the weekend. It would be great. They’d turned into two of my closest friends in a relatively short period of time. They were both vampires, but that didn’t faze me a bit.

I’d slept with their Master, Pallo, about two months ago. Yep, same time I began seeing Caleb. Walking in and meeting Pallo had changed my life forever. He had been what jogged my memory of my life before. I had been in love with him hundreds of years ago when he was still human. I’d even left Caleb for him, well not for him but for another vampire. Yeah, I know, I was totally screwed up in the head. What do you expect? I am, after all, the daughter of the King of the Dark Realm. I’m bound to have some hang-ups. Okay, maybe a lot of hang-ups!

The phone rang and I headed into the house to grab it. I ran through the kitchen door, almost knocking a can of paint over. It seemed like Caleb was tackling a project in every room of the house. He was now in the process of putting another coat of white paint on the kitchen cabinets. I had to admit, they looked great, like they were brand new. I just wished that he’d finish one project before moving on to the next.

Men.

I snatched the phone off the wall. "Hello?" I said, a little out of breath.

"Gwen? Are you all right?"

"Ken!" I was happy to hear his voice. Ken was my boss, and my ex-fiancé. There was a time not long ago, when the sound of his voice made me nauseous--that was when I was still operating under the assumption he’d cheated on me. I had gotten over that, now I just missed him. He’d been distancing himself from me. I could hardly blame him. Things in my life were pretty screwed up right now. "Yeah, I’m good. How about you? How are you doing?"

"Good, I’m doing good. I finally got all moved into my new place. It’s nice, I like it," he said, his voice low. He was keeping his emotions out of this, I could tell. I also noticed how Ken didn’t offer to show me his new place. I knew his new little sweetie, Beth, had been the Realtor who helped him find it. I’d had issues with Beth from the moment he told me about her. She was the Realtor who’d taken us house hunting when we were engaged. How convenient for her that Ken’s apartment had been destroyed by hellhounds and that his fiancée had left him.

"Sounds nice ... how is Beth doing?" I hit myself on the forehead. Why in the world did I bring her into this? Ken had every right to be dating other people, I was, but it didn’t lessen the pain any.

I pictured his athletic body wrapped around hers and it made me sick. I could see Beth running her fingers through Ken’s dark blond hair. Last time I’d seen him he had finally let it grow out from the tight cut he had always worn. It looked good on him. I bet Beth really liked it too.

"Beth’s fine, but that’s not what I called about," he said, voice flat.

"Well, what did you call about, Ken? It’s obvious you really don’t want to be speaking to me, so what gives?"

"I just needed to call you and let you know, that you don’t need to come back in." He was getting at something I was sure I wouldn’t like.

"I told you I’d be back in on Monday." I’d been his personal assistant for two years. I was his right-hand girl. He never did anything without my knowledge. I knew that my taking personal time, and telecommuting from home had put a burden on him, but everything was still getting done.

"No, Gwen, I don’t think that’s a good idea."

I stood there playing with the phone cord and my stomach tightened. "Ken, are you letting me go?"

"Yes," he said, his voice void of any emotion.

My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t hurt. I was pissed. "Well, thanks for having the balls to tell me over the phone instead of in person. I really appreciate hearing it this way. You should have sent me a letter so you wouldn’t have had to speak to me at all. But, I’m probably not worth the price of a stamp, so…" I was furious with him. I didn’t care about the job, that wasn’t it at all, and I didn’t need the money. I’d saved enough over the last few years to get by. I cared about how hard he was pushing me away.

"Gwen, don’t be…."

I cut him off. "What don’t be what? Don’t be mad that someone I care about hates me, or don’t be mad that I still care about you?" I put my hand over my mouth. Did I really just tell him that I still cared for him? What the hell was I thinking? I had Caleb now and Ken had Beth.

Ken fell silent on the other end. I didn’t really expect him to say anything, although, a just kidding, you’re not fired would have been nice. Seconds ticked by before I gave into the impulse to hang up. There wasn’t really anything left for me to offer that would be considered polite, so it was better this way.

If you can’t say anything nice….

Walking over to the fridge, I took out the pitcher of lemonade. I wanted a glass of wine but the lemonade would have to do. I set the pitcher on the counter and grabbed two glasses down from the shelf. As I walked back towards the freezer to get ice the phone rang again. I knew it was Ken calling me back. I didn’t want to talk to him. The machine could get it. I grabbed a handful of ice out of the icebox and dropped it into the glasses. The plunking sound was a nice distraction from the nagging feeling of loss threatening to consume me.

The phone had just stopped ringing when Caleb walked in the back door. My voice greeted the caller, from the answering machine in the hallway. When the machine beeped, I looked up at Caleb. Suddenly, I wanted him to be digging out in his hole again. Not in here listening to Ken’s call.

I heard Ken’s voice on the machine and cringed. "Gwen, don’t do this. I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time with everything still. I just need some time. You’re not fired, I’m sorry, I just thought ... I don’t know what I thought, pick up please ... I know you’re there, Gwen? I still have feelings for you, too ... Maybe you should take a few more weeks off ... I can’t do this right now. I love you too much to watch you with someone…" The machine beeped and stopped recording.

Caleb stood very still. I never really got the expression about hearing a pin drop until that moment. The anger on his face was evident. "What the hell was that about?"

I tried to avoid eye contact with him. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I didn’t want to lie to him either. "I love you," was the best I could come up with.

Reaching out, he took my hand in his. His hand was rough from all of the manual labor he’d been doing. It didn’t matter to me that he wasn’t as smooth as he’d once been, I’d take him anyway, so long as he was with me.

"Gwen, don’t do this, please," he said, his hand tightened around mine. I looked up at his face. The moment I saw his green eyes, I couldn’t help myself--I cried.

Prior to finding out about my past, I was normal--well as normal as a faerie living among humans could get. I didn’t have multiple men at one time. I hadn’t even had sex for six months before I met Caleb. Ken had been the last man I’d been with and we’d been engaged. Since I began to remember bits and snippets of my past I began to have uncontrollable desires and I didn’t like the new me one bit.

Caleb pulled me close to him. His body was sweaty but still smelled wonderful. I took a deep breath in and let his scent calm me as he held me tight against his chest. He was warm and lately I’d been cold all the time. I let my head rest against him and he stroked the back of my head gently.

"Marry me, Gwen, marry me and this will all stop, I promise."

I kept my head buried in his chest. How could he be so sure, how could he know that I wouldn’t leave him again for another man? That’s exactly what I’d done to him my last time on this earth. I couldn’t even think about committing to him, then destroying him like that again. I had a hard enough time liking myself lately. Doing that to Caleb would kill me, I was sure of that.

"I can’t," I said, between sobs. His hands tightened in my hair--he was just this side of pulling it.

"You mean you won’t." The hurt in his voice was evident. I wanted to comfort him, but I was crying too hard. I wasn’t going to be much good in the consoling department when I was sobbing like a baby. I tried to pull away but Caleb held me tight. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you all upset. I’m sorry."

"I love you, Caleb. I love you so much, but I can’t hurt you again! This is all so fast ... too fast." I yearned for reassurance that he wasn’t mad and that everything would be all right. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He had become everything to me, my friend, my lover, my life. I wondered if we’d been this way before, and if so why did I leave him? I wasn’t sure I’d ever know the answer to that.

He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, too, Gwen. I love you, too."

Sliding my arms around his back, I hugged him tight. He was so warm, so loving, so different from any other man I’d ever had in my life. He touched my forehead lightly with the back of his hand. "Gwen, you’re ice cold. Are you all right?"

I smiled and the tears began to dry on my face. It was a little like having one of those facial masks drying on you only without the luxury of being able to peel it off, and as far as I know any exfoliating qualities. I did my best to wipe my cheeks before pulling Caleb’s face down to mine to kiss his lips. The salt from my tears pressed into both of our mouths. I pushed my tongue in, diving, digging for his. When I found it, it was warm and wrapped itself smoothly around mine.

My body burned to be with him, to have him hold my naked body in his arms. I knew he had to get cleaned up and get ready to go, but that didn’t change the fact that I still wanted to lie with him before he left. I loved him so much and didn’t want to think about the possibility of the last time we talked ending in a fight. His job was dangerous and there was always a very real chance he wouldn’t come home. I’d thought I’d lost him once already and that was more than enough not to want to go through it again.

"Gwen, I’m calling Mark, I can’t go in with you like this." He walked around me and headed out in the hall to use the phone. Mark was his partner. I’d never actually met him. I’d heard Caleb talk about him a few times but that was it. I asked about him once, but Caleb just told me that in their line of work, the less people knew about them the better. I wasn’t sure I agreed with that. I mean, he was putting his life in this guy’s hands. Didn’t I have the right to at least meet him? Caleb didn’t seem to agree with me on that one.

I didn’t want Caleb to stay home on account of me. He loved what he did. I could always see a spark in his eye when he returned home after hunting down some crazy creature. He loved to tell me all about his adventures. I usually sat there with an aching pit at the bottom of my stomach every time he went into detail about being in danger, but I kept a smile on my face all the same. Caleb was a thrill seeker--that much was plain to see.

"Caleb!" I called after him. He turned around and looked at me. "Hey, I’m fine, you go. Besides you’ll ruin my weekend movie marathon."

James would be stopping at the video store before he and Caradoc came. James and I had taken to watching movies. We’d become our own two man critiquing team. Two fangs up or down. It wasn’t the best rating system, but it worked. Besides, James may be the only person more jaded than me. I couldn’t be sure, but maybe. Last week’s marathon had been an ode to the eighties. We’d spent the weekend watching teen flicks that dealt with serious issues, like paying your paper carrier on time, turning sixteen, and spending a weekend in detention.

It was very stimulating.

Caradoc, one of the most serious vamps I’d ever met, refused to sit with us and stare aimlessly at the television screen. He always wandered off into the woods or brought a few books to read. I’m sure he thought James and I were childish. Even though I’d just turned twenty-five, Caradoc still had me by about three hundred years or so, give or take a little.

James, on the other hand, was a "smidge" younger than him. He kept his hair cut short, and bleached it blond. I had to laugh every time I saw him spreading hair gel through it to spike it up. I think, no I know, he owns every black t-shirt ever made, and he rarely incorporates color.

Caleb walked over to me and touched my head with the back of his hand again. "Gwen, you’re really cool, what’s going on? Are you still taking your pills?"

The pills he referred to were my birth control pills that a Si doctor, Dr. Brown, had prescribed for me. The word Si, means elf, faerie, or magical creature. I had to hunt around for a doctor who specialized in this. Going to a normal doctor would have been too risky. Ordinary everyday people didn’t know that faeries, vampires, and other creatures of the night were real, and it had to stay that way.

I had no idea what was in the pills, but they were the equivalent of taking three normal birth control pills at one time. I had to take them twice a day because I was a Si and was in the reproductive prime of my life. No one knew how long I would remain fertile, it could be hundreds of years, or it could just be a few weeks. It could end tomorrow and revisit me again in a hundred years. There was no rhyme or reason to it all and it made it hard to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Caleb and I had agreed not to have a baby right now. I could have already been swollen with child right now if I didn’t take the pills religiously. We were perfect matches, and in the life of a faerie, you only got a few of those--if you were lucky. A match, or life-mate, was someone whose essence was complementary to you, thus possibly producing a healthy offspring. My female Si body would be very selective on whom it would allow to impregnate me. I never actually got a list of prerequisites for the guy to possess, so I wasn’t sure who all fit the bill. Two possibilities existed so far, Caleb was the only sure thing. He wanted to marry me and have a family, I knew that, but he also respected me enough not to push it, most of the time.

"Yeah, I’m still taking the pills, so no, I’m not pregnant."

Staring down at my stomach, he looked disappointed. My gestation rate was a bit more accelerated than a human’s was, so if I were to become pregnant I would show in a matter of weeks. I’d still have to carry the baby for almost a year, allowing it to soak up magical powers from me, but I’d be huge by four months. I felt bad for letting him down, but this was my body, and right now, I did not want to have a baby.

He glanced up at me and knew I’d caught him fixating on my stomach. A slight smile played across his face. "I was just…."

"You were just hoping I decided to surprise you. Well I didn’t, sorry." I hated being like this with him. "Look, I’m sorry, but do you really think I want to get pregnant, watch you head out that door hunting some lethal demon, only to never come back through it? Do you think I want to raise our baby by myself? Is that it? God, Caleb, get real, you can’t expect me to do that, you can’t expect me to say, hey let’s do it, gee we’ve only been a couple for two months but let’s start a family anyways. Oh, then after I have a perfect little version of you I can sit around and spend the rest of my life mourning the man I loved and lost every time I look into his eyes." I was rambling and I knew it. "I’m not cut out to be a mother. Take a good look at me, Caleb! I can’t even take care of myself. I’m a mess and you know it!"

My temper flared. I had a nasty one and he knew it. He was always saying how much like my father I was. I wouldn’t really know since the man didn’t raise me. Two wonderfully loving humans raised me, not the King of the Dark Realm. I’d have to take Caleb’s word on issues involving my father.

Caleb reached out to touch me. I pulled away from him. "Gwen, I didn’t mean that, and if you don’t like what I do why didn’t you just say something? I’ll stop, I’ll quit right now if it will make you feel better about us. I’ll do anything you want. You just have to tell me what the hell it is you want. I’m not like some ‘people’ we know, I don’t read minds."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed, feeling extremely defeated. I didn’t want him to quit his job. He loved what he did and I’d never ask him to give it up. In truth, I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I just knew that I didn’t want to fight about this again. "Forget it, I’m fine. Go, you need to get cleaned up."

"Just this once, I’ll make an exception about magic." Warm air surrounded us both. It wrapped itself around me and I closed my eyes just for a moment to bask in the felling of Caleb’s power. When I opened them again, he was clean.

He reached out and grabbed me around my waist. Before I could protest, he’d picked me up in his arms, and I grinned from ear to ear. He could always make me smile no matter what. It was a gift few possessed. He carried me up the stairs and to our bedroom. We had taken over the master bedroom and he was in the middle of tearing down the wallpaper. The walls looked like something had been clawing at them, shreds of paper hung loosely to the floor. I laughed at the state of the room as he tossed me down on the bed gently.

Sliding his hands up and under my sweater, he traced his fingers lightly over my silk bra. My nipples hardened under the weight of his gentle touch. Moaning, I rubbed my body against his, needing to feel every inch of him. Quickly, he removed my pants and underwear before sliding back over me.

EXCERPT: Oleander House by Ally Blue

2006-10-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Blurb:

Sam Raintree has never been quite normal. All his life, he's experienced things
he can't
explain. Things that have colored his view of the world and of himself. So
taking a job as a
paranormal investigator seems like a perfect fit. His new co-workers, he
figures, don't
have to know that he's gay.

From the moment Sam arrives at Oleander House, the site of his first assignment
with Bay
City Paranormal Investigations, nothing is what he expected. The repetitive yet
exciting
work, the unusual and violent history of the house, the intensely erotic and
terrifying
dreams which plague his sleep. But the most unexpected thing is Dr. Bo
Broussard, the
group's leader. From the moment they meet, Sam is strongly attracted to his
intelligent,
alluring boss. It doesn't take Sam long to figure out that although Bo has led
a
heterosexual life, he is very much in the closet, and wants Sam as badly as Sam
wants him.

As the investigation of Oleander House progresses and paranormal events in the
house
escalate, Sam and Bo circle warily around their mutual attraction, until a
single night of
bloodshed and revelation changes their lives forever.

Excerpt ( *denotes italics):

One turkey-and-Swiss sandwich and a plate of pasta salad later, Sam and Bo
gathered
their equipment and headed out back to explore the old outdoor kitchen. The heat
smacked Sam in the face like a damp, sticky hand the minute he left the relative
coolness
of the back porch. Insects droned in the pines that clustered behind the
outbuildings.

"Jesus, David wasn't just kidding about it being hot out here." Sam squinted up
at the deep
blue sky. The sun's disc seemed to waver in the heat-shimmer. "Is it always like
this down
here?"

"In the summer? Pretty much, yeah." Bo gave him a sidelong smile. "The upside is
that the
winters are relatively mild most years."

"You mean there's no snow?"

"Rarely."

"Good. Fucking hate snow."

Bo gave him a startled look, then burst out laughing. Sam laughed too. It felt
good. He had
to remind himself that it didn't mean anything. Just two guys having a laugh.

The outdoor kitchen, a long, low brick building with massive chimneys on each
end, was
dim inside and wonderfully cool. Grimy windows broke the sunlight into a soft
haze that
failed to illuminate more than a few feet of the earth floor. Here and there,
broken panes
let in a single ray of fierce molten gold, all the brighter for the otherwise
unrelieved
gloom.

Sam switched on his flashlight and swept the beam around the room. Dust and
cobwebs
lay thick on every surface. In the far corner, something squeaked and scuttled
across the
floor.

"Mice," Bo said, unnecessarily, as he turned the EMF detector on.

Switching the flashlight to his left hand, Sam thumbed on the video camera and
started the
tape rolling. "Why's it such a mess in here? Didn't Mr. Gentry open the
outbuildings for
tours?"

"No. He had plans to at some point, but as you can see, they'd need a lot of
work before it
would be safe to let the public in. He hadn't gotten that far yet when he had to
close the
house."

"Hm." Sam panned around the room, stopping when Bo's face came into frame.
"What're
you getting on the EMF?"

"It's a little lower than it is in the house. I've got one point two right now,
pretty steady."
Bo glanced at the thermometer he held in his other hand. "Temp's seventy-two
degrees."

"And that's nice and cool compared to outside. Damn."

"Yep. It's probably pushing a hundred out there." Bo started walking slowly
around the
perimeter of the room, his gaze fixed on the EMF detector. "Are you feeling
anything,
Sam?"

*Nothing you want to know about.* Sam licked his dry lips and tried not to stare
at Bo's
ass. "Not like last night. I assume that's what you meant."

Bo glanced at Sam, the corners of his mouth curling up in a slight smile. His
eyes flicked
down and back up, glittering in the gloom, and suddenly Sam couldn't breathe. If
he'd
gotten that look in a bar, he'd have turned on the charm and bought the man a
drink.
He squashed the bright flare of hope before it could burn out of control. It's
your
imagination, idiot, he scolded himself. This isn't a pick-up joint, and Bo isn't
gay.

"Hm. That's odd," Bo said.

Sam swallowed and forced himself to focus. Bo was walking in a small, slow
circle,
frowning at the EMF detector. "What's odd?"

For a moment, Bo didn't answer. Then he sighed and looked up. "The EMF spiked
for just a
second. But it's gone back down now. Did you get anything on the camera?"

"No. And before you ask, I didn't feel anything unusual either."

Bo grinned. "You're already reading my mind, Sam. That's scary."

Sam laughed. "I've been working on my psychic powers."

"Oh, really?" Bo took a step closer, smiling into the camera. "So what am I
thinking now?"

Sam gulped, keeping the camera up to hide his reaction. If he didn't know
better, he'd
have sworn Bo was flirting with him. But that, he knew, was impossible. *Maybe
that's just
how he is with everyone. You don't know him at all, really. Don't start reading
into things.*

"Let's see," Sam said, lowering the camera and hoping Bo couldn't see him
blushing in the
dimness. "You're thinking that we should note exactly where the EMF spike
occurred, and
after we finish sweeping the room, we should see if we can make it spike again.
Then, we
should search this room and the surrounding area outside to see if there's
anything
electronic that could've caused it. That right?"

Bo smiled. "Close enough. Let's get to work."

Oleander House by Ally Blue
© Copyright 2006 Ally Blue
Available Now from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
http://samhainpublishing.com/oleanderhouse.shtml

-----------------
Ally
http://www.allyblue.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loveisblue/

Interview - Psychic Investigator

2006-10-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

INTERVIEW:

What is it you do?

I am the Psychic Investigator / trance medium for the New England Ghost Project.

What is the The New England Ghost Project and how are you involved?

The N.E.G.P. is comprised of a group of individuals who volunteer their time to verify the existence of paranormal activity. Or, more importantly, assist those in need of a resolution to repetitive paranormal occurrences.

Group members:

Ron Kolek (Founder of the N.E.G.P.) - Handles the Electro Magnetic Field Monitor (EMF). A sudden change / appearance in the EMF where there once was none is generally a sign that paranormal activity is occurring.

Leo Monfet - Our ace photographer, captures paranormal activity on film.

Karen Mossey - EVP specialist, uses her digital recorder to capture voices of the dead. These voices are comprised of energy of the deceased manipulating the white noise of a recorder to leave messages from beyond. Karen's recordings have been heard in the movie "White Noise" and most recently during last years, fall episode of "Ghost Whisperer."

Ron Jr. - Runs the video and base camp. Base camp is where our investigation is monitored: temperature gages, infrared satellite recordings etc. that are reported to the group through a walkie talkie.

Myself - I assist the group by sensing the environment and locating spiritual activity (better known as bait). Once we encounter an entity we attempt to communicate. This happens through a series of ways: spiritual dowsing, medium ship or trance medium ship abilities. I listen to what they have to say and depending on the situation and energy we are encountering, I make the conscious decision to allow them to speak through me. It's my belief that allowing an entity to channel through me, I give them the opportunity to release / change their vibration. Similar to a living person having a bad day, once they vent their frustrations they begin to feel better, lighter even.

At what age/point in your life did you become aware of your gifts/abilities?

When I was three I had a near death experience., meningitis. I hovered above my body and looked on as a doctor placed a large needle in my back and listened with curiosity as a priest administered last rites. I then floated out the double doors of the operating room and found my mother and father in tears. I remember the overwhelming need to hug them. Suddenly I felt myself sucked back into my body and was instantly jolted by the magnitude of pain shooting up my spine as I returned.

Was a there an influential event in your life that lead you to do what you do now— professional psychic medium?

I guess it's because of my desire to help. I know it sounds corny. . . but it's true. When I was young I would hear whisperings of my relatives talking to my mother. I was evil, a freak etc. My mother never listened to them. Rather, she gave me holy water and told me there was nothing wrong with me. That I was normal! (It had been in the family for years)

I've seen the deceased ever since I could remember. However, I remember when I was about twelve years of age and began having prophetic visions. They occurred while having momentary blackouts during the day and during the evening while I slept I began to see horrible events taking place. One such event prompted my mother to call a midwest town's task force. A young child had gone missing. I had seen the boy in my dreams for weeks. After calling and reporting the details they demanded I come down for questioning. Long story short the boy was never found. Even before we made the phone call I knew the boy would never be found. That he'd been killed and I would not see him again. It was then I prayed to God that if this was evil to take it away, and if it wasn't and I was meant to do something with it, then I would do the best I could. Well, suffice it to say, it only got stronger. And, here I am working with the N.E.G.P.

Can you share a little bit about your most unique paranormal experiences?

There are so many of them it's hard to choose.

I can tell you there is a haunted mansion in the Berkshires that has given be both unbelievable joy and horror!

The Haunted Houghton Mansion in North Adams Ma.

History has it that three deaths within a period of a week or so took place. The Houghton's chauffeur, John Widder, was driving the family car when he hit a soft shoulder and the vehicle rolled. The accident killed Mary, one of the Houghton daughters. The following day, Widder brought a gun to one of the buildings behind Houghton Mansion and committed suicide. Albert Houghton himself died only seven days later, apparently succumbing to grief.

It is my personal belief that Mary, and John Widder loved each other greatly. During one of our visits to the mansion, and with the help of everyone present we were able to reunite Mary and John in the afterlife. At the time this took place I was channeling Mary and could see John coming up over what looked like a bridge, arms stretched out wide he reached for me. Within moments the energy was so loving, so overwhelming beautiful it felt like like a magnet of love had just snapped together within me. To all present it literally felt like a wedding had just taken place. We knew in our hearts that something wonderful had transpired.

Unfortunately, Mr. Houghton, (Mary's deceased father) was furious. I began to feel his anger. We left the mansion only to return another day and face his wrath. Mary came to me again. Only this time she channeled for a moment and tried to worn us. She wanted us to leave quickly. Within seconds, and the only way I can describe the feeling is that of the metaphor of taking a tiger by the tail. Psychically open while I channeled Mary, Mr. Houghton jumped inside me and pushed her out. I then began to spout curses, screaming and gurgling sounds came out of me. (or so I've been told) It took four people to pull me free from the chair and break his hold over me. I spent the next ten minutes or so on the floor unconscious. (Ron was horrified! He didn't know what to do? It's not as if he could call 911 and tell him I had a spirit in me!)

With the help of some friends who gave me energy I made it back. While I was on the floor I remember hearing everyone around me, from a distance. All I could see was complete darkness. Through it all I knew I would be okay. We had done a good thing helping Mary and John and Mr. Houghton would have to deal with it.

I prayed, asked for strength and guidance and struggled through what felt like sludge and pulled my energetic form back into my body. I was back! Unfortunately I spent the next week or so wearing crystals around my heart to repair the whole in my auric field and around my heart chakra. If I hadn't known better I would have sworn I was having a heart attack. (Mr. Houghton, through his anger did try to hurt me. Attempting to steal my life force. (heart energy). Well, I'm still here today and have since visited the mansion and made some peace with Mr. Houghton! Mary and John, from what I can tell are still present at the mansion for fear of losing each other again!!!

What do you have to say to non-believers? Why do you think not everyone can communicate with the dead?

There's an anonymous saying:

For those who believe no further information is necessary

For those who don't, none will suffice.

Let's just say that I am not out to convince the world of paranormal existence. I know the truth, as do others that have experienced paranormal activity.

As far as everyone speaking or, not speaking with the dead: We all have some level of psychic ability. It depends upon ones willingness, intent, believability, fortitude and above all, ones ability to trust in the process. Also, if a person is afraid of facing their own mortality it can hinder them in communicating with what lies beyond this physical plane.

What thoughts do you have on Hollywood’s portrayal of psychics/sensitive?

I enjoy watching both the "Medium" and "Ghost Whisperer". Although it's Hollywood, each has their good points.

The Medium - I can relate to Alison's family environment. The difficulties that can arise and interrupt what would be considered a "normal" (finger quotes) family. The Medium receives her information primarily through dream state. (quite common among psychics). Also, both Alison from the "Medium" and Melinda from the "Ghost Whisperer" keep the fact they can communicate to the dead to a select group of individuals. I would say the Ghost Whisperer has been adapted for Hollywood more than the "Medium" however, I enjoy them both.

Is there one you feel is more accurate than the rest? One you wish you could throw your shoe at?

The Medium. And no, I wouldn't throw a shoe at any show. I take what I watch for what it is. . . fiction. Also, I understand the need for the media to make it entertaining and minimize the terrifying aspects of what communicating with the dead can reveal. If I don't like it. I don't watch it. :-)

Can you tell us a little more about yourself?

For a day time job I'm a technical instructor for medical company. I instruct engineers on how to install and repair digital mammography equipment. I have two wonderful children and a loving and supportive husband. I enjoy writing and painting. . . (in my free time). And my quest, although not totally understood by some. . . is to help both the living and the dead find the peace of heart mind and soul that they rightfully deserve! :-)

How about I just include my bio:

I am a fifth generation Psychic / Trance-medium. For as far back as I can remember I've communicated with the deceased. At the age of fifteen I was introduced to a woman who studied with Laurie Cabot (official Witch of Salem, Ma). It was she who took me under her wing and guided me in ways to not only understand but control my gifts. Soon after and until the age of nineteen I began acting as a medium for adult seances. I have practiced, studied and instructed Metaphysical studies for more than twenty-five years.

The N.E.G.P. has been featured in:

Television appearances include, WHDH Channel 7 Boston, WMUR Channel 9 Manchester, WNDS Channel 50,My TV Prime, CNN8, ATT3, Kabel 1 Germany, and several local cable channels.

Radio appearances include WZID, WQLL, WCCM, WBOQ, WHJY, WNUV, and The Frugal Yankee Radio Hour.

Newspaper articles in: The Boston Globe, South China Morning Post, The Lawrence Eagle Tribune,The Lowell Sun, The Salem Observer, The Manchester Union Leader, The Andover Townsman, The Nashua Telegraph, The Advocate, Windham Life, The Wire, The Portsmouth Herald, The North Adams Transcript, Bidderford Tribune Journal, and of course the Stateline Review.

Magazines include Woman's World and Brutarian

Currently I am the co-host to Ghost Chronicles radio show which airs live each Friday evening on WCCM, channel 1490 AM from 5-6 PM. You can also catch a new series of Ghost Chronicles pod-casted from http://www.ghostvillage.com.

Soon to air:

The American Builder episode featuring NEGP at the New London Ledge Lighthouse will premiere on CN8 October 30th at 6:30pm, then replay October 31st at 6:30 am & pm and November 1st at 6:30 am.

Please check out the N.E.G.P.'s website at:

http://www.neghostproject.com

Interview with Kevin, ParaTalk Radio Host

2006-10-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

KEVIN's QUESTIONS

At what age/point in your life did you become interested in investigating the paranormal?

I have been interested in investigating the paranormal since the age of 9. At that time, I had an undeniable experience that set me on the course I have been following ever since. Of course I was too young to begin investigating at that point, but I read everything I could get my hands on and studied until I turned 18 and started going on actual investigations.

Do you believe, or have you found evidence, that the paranormal really do exist? What kinds?

I absolutely do believe in the paranormal, based solely on personal experiences, it is undeniable to me. I also beleive that 99.9% of what people believe to be paranormal, is explainable with a little knowledge and work. I wish I had hard core evidence that I could show to the world, but I dont believe that evidence exists anywhere. My feeling are just this, either you believe in the paranormal or you don't, until you are lucky enough to have an experience that changes your view on the world.

Have you ever debunked fraudulent paranormal activity? Can you tell us about it?

Absolutely! This is what I do when i investigate. I have debunked everything from anomalies in pictures that turned out to be reflections from mirrors and picture frames reflected on the wall, to voices thought to be disembodied which turned out to be simply carried through heat ducts from another unit in an apartment complex, to people who just wanted attention in a storage facility who actually hid a friend of theirs in a unit to make noises in an attempt to get attention.

Has there ever been an investigation you couldn't disprove?

I have been on a couple that I couldnt disprove. A couple that pop to mind are the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA, alot of strange things go on on that ship. Another was a residence in Apple Valley, CA. This house was a strange one because we thought we had figured it out but we couldnt have been more wrong. One of the daughters was being badgered by something, but on our first trip in we found out that she had some minor psychological problems which she was being medicated for. We found no evidence initially so we assumed it was a psych problem. We went back a couple times, and things were getting worse. Scratches, objects moved, the whole gamut was occuring. The residents ended up having a minister "cleanse" the house, whic only made the activity worse. I didnt have any contact with them after that, but talk about being completely off base, we were really wrong on that one.

What thoughts do you have on Hollywood..s portrayal of the paranormal? Is there one you feel is more accurate than the rest? One you wish you could throw your shoe at?

Well Hollywood banks on one thing, entertainment. I enjoy their movies and shows, but none of them are completely accurate in my mind, with the exception of Ghost Hunters on Sci Fi. That is a more accurate depiction of paranormal investigations. If Hollywood focused on accuracy in this field they would make no money. We do alot of sitting around and observing, you cant sell that to an ADD public. If I had to complain about one depiction of the paranormal in Hollywood, it would be the Amityville Horror "remake." Talk about a bastardization of a bastardization. George Lutz himself said the original was nothing like what actually occured, and the remake wasnt even anything like the original, absolutely terrible. Oh and dont even get me started on "Most Haunted" and Derek Acorah. I dont think any other group of people with the exception of the IGHS has done more to hurt this field than those clowns.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself and what you do?

I am 27 years old, a business owner and a full time student. Currently I am working on a second college degree, and co-host a paranormal talk radio show. I am a skeptic believer who had been investigating for a decade now. The only thing I have learned is that NO ONE out there knows anything about the paranormal. We are all struggling to find something tangible to use as a jumping off point to start real research. I feel there needs to be more educated people in this field as well. Many of the folks involved just follow in the footsteps of other folks who didnt know what they were doing either, and the community goes in circles instead of moving forward. This is a science, go out and learn. God bless the hobbyists, but understand that spouting your postulations as fact is not only ignorant, but does nothing to further paranormal research. Accept that none of us KNOW anything about what we have experienced, get studying, and lets all move forward together!

We would like to thank you for taking time out to talk with us. Is there a place our readers can find you? A website? Email?

I would love to talk to your readers and anyone else with an interest in the unexplained. It is always a pleasure to hear different viewpoints. I can be found at www.paratalkradio.com or co.ghostinvestigations.com, and can also be emailed at madidus303@gmail.com

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A Touch of Magic by Cassandra Kane

2006-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

A Touch of Magic

Author: Cassandra Kane

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Genre: Futuristic Romance

Publication Date: 31 October 2006

Blurb:

Captain Tirana Albasta leads the last scouting mission to mystery planet Samhain, which has already swallowed two previous missions and a starship full of New Wiccan colonists, Lalith's People.

Determined to keep the planet from UA Special Forces' harsh military control, Tirana finds much more than she expected. For the descendants of Lalith's People have split into to separate societies - the anti-magic Priests and the magical True People - and she has just been caught in the crossfire.

Complicating matters is her attraction to Loren, the broodingly handsome True People witch who ignites passions she has never experienced before, and who just might make leaving Samhain impossible in more ways than one ...

Excerpt:

Tirana was dragged down into a vortex of cold water, spun and twisted, dragged downwards to the bottom of the pool. Her chest burned as she expelled her last breath and a freezing cold wrapped itself around her. She flailed her arms, mouth open in a silent scream, trying to hold on to anything that would keep her from the relentless pull of the current.

Something hard gripped her wrist, hauled her up through the water. She broke the surface with a desperate gasp, drawing the air deep into her burning lungs. An arm caught her around the chest as she gulped in air, drew her to the edge of the pool, pulled her out. On all fours, she vomited a lungful of water into the sand as Loren smoothed back her hair.

She spluttered, wiping water from her face, looked up at him. “Thank you.”

“If I had known you found me so distasteful you would rather risk death than my arms, we could have bathed safely in the pool.”

Tirana flinched at the coldness of his tone, the edge of anger on every careful word. She had meant to get away from the intensity of her own feelings, had almost killed herself by that childish and foolish reflex. And she had hurt him, when he had done nothing. Nothing but desire her.

“I’m sorry.” She touched his arm. He drew away, the look in his eyes distant and dismissing, and rose to his feet.

“We’ll go to Laliata now.” He reached for her comms suit from the pile of clothing, threw it so it landed beside her in the sand.

“No.” Panic made her voice harsh as she stumbled to her feet and faced him. He ignored her, crouching as he gathered up his boots and sifted through the pile for his trousers. “You haven’t shown me the hekarten-jal yet.”

“There will be no hekarten-jal.” Loren lifted his trousers and shook off the sand.

A piercing scream filled the cave. She saw deLoren hopping from foot to foot in a dance of anger on the rocks above the waterfall. Loren winced. Then his face set hard as he flicked a hand at deLoren. The creature toppled backwards onto the rock.

“Loren!” Tirana stared at him in shock. Somehow Loren had made deLoren fall, she was sure of it. A lash of anger that should have been directed at her.

In a temper, she tore the trousers from his grasp. “I said I’m sorry. What more do you want?”

“My clothes.” His face was impassive, eyes hooded.

Furious, she cupped the back of his neck and dragged his head down to her. Her lips burrowed into his cold mouth, prodded at an unresponsive tongue. She growled in frustration, catching his fleshy lower lip in her teeth, pulling and nipping. She glared at him, saw the flash of anger in his eyes, lowered both hands and gripped his cock. It jumped to stiff attention in her grasp.

Loren shoved her back. Then his hand clamped over her wrist. He turned on his heel, storming off into the darkness at the far side of the pool.

“Loren!” Her feet skidded in the sand as she tried to tug her arm free from his iron grip. Darkness enveloped them, and a moment later they were in another warm passage. Here the rock glowed red around them. There was a low round entrance at the end, so small Loren had to bend his head to enter. She barely had time to duck under the rock as he dragged her after him

“Here!” Loren pushed her into the cave before him.

She stumbled and fell. Her hands landed on a soft, cushiony substance the texture of cotton candy. A soft cloud of fibers stretched over the floor of a small cave, warm and snug like a cocoon. Or the pulsing red insides of a womb, for the walls were covered in glittering red lichen.

Loren fell to his knees behind her, hooked her legs apart, and slipped his stiff member between her thighs, resting the hard shaft on the slit of her sex. He hauled her up and slid his hands around to cup her breasts, squeezing them. She gasped at the pleasure/pain as Loren lowered his mouth to her ear.

“This is the hekarten-jal,” he growled, his hot breath fanning her face. “The mating place.”

Heat spurted at her core as he said the words. Mating. This was what he’d wanted all along. What she’d wanted since she’d set eyes on him back at the stone circle but had been too cowardly to even admit to herself. Until now.

If Wishes Came True by Cassandra Kane

2006-10-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

If Wishes Came True

Author: Cassandra Kane

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Genre: Paranormal/Contemporary

Publication Date: September 2006

Blurb:

Maddy Langton has been in lust with fellow undercover detective, Rafe West, for two years. Although they enjoyed a brief sexual encounter during an undercover surveillance, Maddy ran from Rafe before her lust for him jeopardized her career…and because bad boy Rafe loves his women blonde and gorgeous--everything she’s not.

When Maddy helps a couple of Buddhist monks, the grateful monks give Maddy a ring and ask her to make a wish. Maddy wishes to be the blonde with Rafe. And when she puts on the ring, that’s what she suddenly becomes.

Willing to do anything to spend a night with him, Maddy lets Rafe believe she’s his beautiful companion. But does Rafe really want her or the beautiful blonde she’s become?

Excerpt:

As she waited for the bartender to pour their drinks, Maddy caught sight of herself in the mirror behind the bar, sitting next to Rafe as he swapped a joke with the bartender.

And then it hit her. She was now the blonde with Rafe. She was what she’d always wanted to be. The girl who got to put her hand on his arm and lean seductively into his chest. The girl who got to nibble on those firm, well-defined lips and have his hand rest on the curve of her hip. The girl without the “I’m a cop and we’re colleagues” hang-up that had kept her in agony for the last three months since The Encounter.

Just for now, she wasn’t a cop. She was a beautiful blonde on a date with the gorgeous guy she’d lusted after for years. Maddy let the realization sink into her being and felt a giddy sense of relief wash over her.

“So.” Rafe turned to face her as he tipped his glass to hers.

“So.” Maddy raised her glass, took a sip of her gin and tonic, and crossed her legs.

Rafe’s gaze wandered over them, then he flicked the strap at her ankle. “Pretty shoes.”

“Are you sure it’s the shoes you like?”

Maddy was amazed at her new boldness. She was not Maddy Langton anymore and she could do as she liked. Rafe seemed to like it too. His expression registered a moment of surprise before his lips twitched into a smile.

“I like the whole package.” He let his finger run up the length of her leg and nestle in the soft spot at the back of her knee. “You know that.”

Maddy wondered whether Rafe had known the blonde before tonight. If not, their short encounter had been disarmingly direct. For a moment, jealousy stung her at the thought of Rafe seducing another woman only ten minutes before. Yet, now, she was that woman.

Relax, Maddy, she told herself, firmly quashing her misgivings. Just enjoy the moment. Don’t expect anything more.

Maddy shook her blonde hair and the last of her uneasiness aside. She was a new woman, and to prove it she had to act like one. No more worrying about whether she was doing the right thing, no more second-guessing her own or Rafe’s actions and reactions, no more holding on to her inhibitions. Tonight, all bets were off.

She touched the back of his hand that rested on her leg. His thumb was running gentle circles around the inside of her knee. Her legs tingled as though he had exposed a nerve, and a slow heat started at her groin. The dampness between her thighs bore witness to the fact she wasn’t wearing any underwear. The soft silk of the camisole heightened the sensation of her nipples, and the leather of the skirt cupped her hips. Even the straps wrapped around her legs served only to draw attention to the sensation there, where Rafe’s hands were working miracles.

“Are you sure you’re enjoying this?” His warm breath brushed across her lips, tinged with the scent of good scotch.

She nodded and bit her lip. Then she trailed her fingers up his arm to his shoulder. His tie was done up in a perfect knot. A little too perfect. She slowly loosened the tie and opened the top button on his shirt, smiling as he looked at her quizzically.

“I like my men a little rough and ready.” She glanced at him from under her lashes. “Perfection is not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Rafe caught her wrists and drew her to his chest. “I guess you’ve got the right guy then.” His lips swooped down to capture hers.

Read More or Buy Here: http://www.samhainpublishing.com/ifwishescametrue.shtml

Excerpt from Seducing Simon by Maya Banks

2006-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from Seducing Simon

Maya Banks
http://www.mayabanks.com http://samhainpublishing.com/seducingsimon.shtml

Prize: One signed copy of Seducing Simon in print

Blurb and Excerpt:

One fateful night, Toni Langston seduces her best
friend, the guy she’s been in love with forever.
Two problems—he doesn’t remember a thing that happened and now she’s pregnant.

Toni Langston has been in love with Simon, her
best friend, for years. The night Simon breaks
up with his long time girlfriend, he and Toni
make love. Toni is devastated and humiliated
when, in the heat of the moment, he calls her by
his girlfriend’s name. The next morning, Simon
remembers nothing of the previous night and Toni
is only too relieved not to remind him.

Two months later, she discovers she’s
pregnant. She wants Simon to love her, apart
from any obligation he might feel because of the
baby. So she embarks on a quest to seduce her
best friend, to make him see her as more than a
little sister, to make him love her as much as
she loves him. It works. Maybe too well. Now
when things are perfect, she faces telling him of the secret she’s kept.

Excerpt:

The living room erupted in cheers as the wide
receiver ran into the endzone. Toni Langston
watched as her brother and their two roommates,
A.J. Spinelli and Simon Andrews began high fiving.

“Toni, why don’t you come sit down. You’re
missing the game,” Matt called out to his sister.

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine right
where I am.” She continued to watch from her
perch on a barstool from the kitchen bar. The
kitchen opened up into the living room, and from
where she sat, she could just see over the three heads on the sofa.

The three were embroiled in the game as it wound
down to half-time. Matt lounged back in the sofa,
his brown hair, the exact color as hers, flopping
around his ears, screaming for a haircut. A.J.,
Mr. Greek God, the golden one, was busy stuffing
popcorn into his mouth. His sun-streaked blond
hair was spiked on top, hinting at the amount of
mousse that went into his styling. And Simon the
Serious sat forward on the sofa watching the TV
intently as play resumed. His dark hair, not
brown, but not quite black fell lazily across his
forehead. He turned and saw her watching, and
winked at her, his leaf-green eyes twinkling.

Sighing, she looked back down at the pad of paper
she was writing on and chewed her lip in
consternation. Beside the pad, was the rental
section of the classified ads. She fiddled with
the pen she’d circled a few ads with, her heart
not really into choosing which apartment suited her best.

The fact was she didn’t want to move out of the
home she’d shared with the guys for three years
at all, and she couldn’t really afford to. But she had to. And soon.

She shoved the paper under the nearby phone book
when the guys got up and headed into the kitchen.

“The Texans blew a fourteen point lead,” Simon
said in disgust as he walked toward the guys’ bathroom.

“Hey, Toni, you care if I use your bathroom?”
A.J. asked as he ambled over. “Simon’s got ours tied up.”

She shook her head, and he flashed her a sunny grin.

“Whatcha doing, sis?” Matt asked as he took
another beer from the fridge. “Want one?”

She controlled the urge to puke and waved him
off. He shrugged and popped his open, taking a long swig from it.

He came back over to stand by her and ruffled her
hair. “You’ve been quiet today. Not interested in
the game? You’re usually over there screaming
louder than anyone. Something bothering you?”

She took a deep breath, knowing she had to
confront him sooner or later, and she’d rather do
it when Simon and A.J weren’t staring at her as well. “I’m going to move out.”

He wouldn’t have reacted more violently if she’d
knocked him in the head. His brown eyes popped
open and his mouth dropped. He set his beer down
with a resounding thud. “You can’t be serious. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s happened,” she said
quietly. “It’s just time for me to get my own
place.” She immediately regretted bringing up the
topic. She’d expected resistance, but she hadn’t
bargained for Matt’s vehemence. “Can we talk about it later?”

He stared hard, studying her. “Something is up,”
he said, ignoring her request. “You aren’t
telling me everything. I thought you were happy
here. We decided together to let Simon and A.J
move in when mom and dad died and left us the
place. Do you regret doing it now?”

She closed her eyes. This was going to be more
difficult than she thought. “You know I love you
guys. I don’t regret letting them room with us,
but it’s time that I got my own place. Spread my
wings a bit. Time to prove I don’t need you guys
taking care of me all the time.”

“Is that what this is about? Do you think we’re
overbearing? Because I can talk to the guys. We can lay off.”

She smiled and laid a hand over his. “Yes, you’re
overbearing. You all are, and I love you for it.
This isn’t about you or the others. I just think
it’s time for me to get out on my own.”

“I don’t like it.” He crossed his arms over his
chest and set his lips in a firm line. “And you
aren’t telling me everything. I can see it in your eyes.”

“What’s this about you moving out?” Simon asked as he approached the bar.

Guiltily, she raised her eyes to see his
concerned expression. She flushed and wished the
floor could swallow her up about now. Of all
people, she hadn’t wanted him to know yet.

“She just told me she’s moving out,” Matt said in disbelief.

“Is that true?” Simon asked softly, boring into
her with his intense green eyes. Eyes that left
her feeling like she had no clothing on.

Another flush crept up her neck as she envisioned
him naked, over her body, her hands gliding over
his broad chest, and bulging arms.

She nodded, unable to speak or meet his gaze.

“Why?”

She fidgeted on the stool, twisting her fingers
in her long curls. “I think it’s time I got my own place.”

“You’ve said that already,” Matt replied. “In
fact, so far, that’s the only reason you’ve
given. Why is it so important that you have your own place?”

“Don’t badger her,” Simon reprimanded. “I’m sure
she has a good reason.” He turned back and looked
expectantly at her. “We’d just like to hear it.”

Think Toni, think. What could she say? Certainly
not the truth. World War III would pale in
comparison. She’d rather suffer through an entire
hour’s worth of lecturing from the three of them
rather than tell them why she had to move out.

Because of her own stupidity, her relationship
with the three people she cared most about was
going to be forfeit. They’d lived together for
three years. But they had been friends for a lot longer.

It seemed logical to invite Simon and A.J. to
move in when her parents had died. The four had
been inseparable ever since the guys were in high
school. The guys had gone on to become
firefighters and work in the small town of
Cypress Texas they’d all grown up in.

“Toni?” Simon’s voice filtered into her thoughts.

She peeked up at him to see his concerned expression concentrated on her.

Clearing her throat, she said, “I want to get my own place. Nothing personal.”

“I don’t see how we can’t take it personally,” he
began. “It seems as if you want to get away from
us. Have we done something to piss you off?”

With an inward groan, she buried her face in her
hands. “Surely, you didn’t think we’d live
together forever. I mean you guys will want to
get married and have a family. I’ll want the same.”

“Oh.”

Her head came up at Simon’s uttered Oh.

“I think I see what this is about.”

“Well do enlighten me,” Matt complained. “Because I’m in the dark over here.”

“I think what Toni is trying to say is she’s
ready to start looking for a serious
relationship. Maybe get married and start a
family. I guess it’s pretty hard for her to do
that with us three breathing down the neck of any guy she brings home.”

“Is that true, Toni?” Matt asked.

“Uhm, well, yes, I suppose. I mean, I don’t plan
on getting married tomorrow, but I suppose I’ll
want to in the not so distant future.” Never mind
that she couldn’t have the one man she wanted.

Matt didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say
anything more. Simon continued to study her until
she was ready to fidget completely off her seat.
Why did she get the impression he could see
straight through her flimsily muttered excuses?

“Is there anything we can do to help?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Uh, no, not really. Well, I suppose you could
help me move when the time comes.” She flashed
him her best smile in an attempt to squelch the nervousness she felt.

“You know we’ll help.”

“Yes, I know,” she whispered.

She heard A.J shuffle back into the kitchen, and
she turned in relief, thankful he was
interrupting the tension. Her heart sank when she
met with his expression. It was odd. He looked
like he’d just eaten her attempt at meatloaf.

He stared at her with a deer-in-the-headlights
look. Something akin to horror and confusion.

“What’s your problem, A.J.?” Matt called out.

He continued to stare at Toni as he walked slowly
over. He held his hand out, and Toni’s stomach
lurched, her heart jumping into her throat.

In his outstretched palm lay the EPT she’d taken
the day before. The two lines were faded, but
still very indicative of a positive result.

“What is this, Toni?” he finally asked.

Toni froze, but anger quickly surfaced in an
effort to cover her dismay. “What the hell were
you doing going through my trashcan?” She
snatched the stick from him and clenched it in her fist.

A.J. blinked in surprise. “I wasn’t digging in
it. I dropped my watch and had to fish it out. I
couldn’t help but see the test.”

Matt whose mouth was permanently rounded in an O
of shock finally snapped his jaw shut. “Holy
shit, Toni. Are you...are you pregnant?”

Simon took her hand in his much larger one and
gently pried the test from her fingers. Matt and
A.J. crowded around him as he examined it.

“What does two lines mean?” Matt demanded.

“It means she’s pregnant,” Simon said quietly, leveling a stare at Toni.

“Jesus! Why didn’t you tell us, Toni?” Matt asked.

“Is this why you’re moving out?” Simon asked,
lifting her chin with his fingers in a gentle
gesture that nearly had her in tears.

She nodded miserably.

“What the hell are you talking about?” A.J. demanded. “Who’s moving out?”

“No one is,” Matt growled.

“Who the hell knocked you up, Toni?” A.J asked.
“Tell me so I can go kick his ass.”

“Was it that geek who took you out a couple of months ago?” Matt asked.

Toni looked in bewilderment as the questions came
from all directions. Then she did the only thing
she knew would shut them up. She burst into tears.

Warm, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled
her against the solid wall of a well-muscled
chest. “You guys shut the hell up,” Simon
ordered. “You’re upsetting her. We won’t ever get
any answers if you continue to interrogate her.”

“Jesus, Matt, you made her cry,” A.J. said in disgust.

“Me? I wasn’t the one asking who knocked her up.”

“Quiet!” Simon roared.

Toni closed her eyes and inhaled the comforting
scent of Simon’s t-shirt. God, he was strong, and
everything that was wonderful about a man. She
said a silent prayer he wouldn’t let her go. Not just yet.

A gentle hand stroked her hair which caused her
tears to flow even harder. “Come here,
sweetheart,” Simon said, easing her off the stool
and toward the living room. He settled her on the
couch and enfolded her in his arms. “Now, suppose you tell us what’s going on.”

She hiccupped and looked down. Matt and A.J
crowded around the couch, looks of concern and
confusion marring their handsome faces.

“You don’t have to say who it is,” he prompted.

“The hell she doesn’t,” A.J. began.

Simon silenced him with a look and turned back to
Toni. “How about you start with why you want to
move out, and why you didn’t want to tell us.”

“I wanted to move out because I didn’t want you to know,” she murmured.

“Why not?”

She looked at him in astonishment. “Why, so you
could all badger me about who the father is? I’d
rather forget the whole thing if you don’t mind.”

His expression became hard. “Did he hurt you, Toni?”

She gulped. This was not a conversation she
wanted to be having. She glanced up at Matt and
A.J. who looked like they were ready to go out and commit murder.

“Look. I made a mistake. I’d really rather not discuss it.”

“Fair enough, but I don’t think it’s a good idea
to move out.” He cupped her chin and rubbed his
thumb over her cheek. “You need us more now than
ever. Moving into a place by yourself doesn’t
make sense. We’d all worry about you, and while
it may be annoying, we all want to take care of you.”

“Toni, I’m sorry I found the test. Well, I’m not
sorry I found it. I just wish you would have told us,” A.J. said.

“Have you been to the doctor yet?” Matt asked.

“No. I only found out yesterday.”

“How far along are you, do you know?” A.J. asked.

Oh she knew exactly how far along she was. But
she wasn’t about to tell them that or how she
knew. “I don’t know exactly, but I figure maybe
two months or so. Look guys, I’m not in the mood
to do this right now. I have a headache.”

“Take some Tylenol,” Matt advised. “Oh, wait, you
can’t. Or can you?” He suddenly slapped his hand
to his forehead. Shit! I offered you a beer while ago.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, she
laughed. “But I didn’t accept it, silly. Listen.
The best thing you can do for me is to chill out
and quit acting like I sprouted a third head.
This isn’t at all how I wanted this to go down.”

“No, you didn’t intend to tell us at all,” Simon spoke up beside her.

She turned her head to him, surprised to see a
hint of hurt in his eyes. “That isn’t true.”

“It’s what you said.”

“Yes, but I wanted time to adjust to things on my
own. Obviously I wouldn’t have been able to keep
it from you forever. I was just...scared.”

Once again she found herself enfolded in his
embrace. “We’ve looked out for you since you were
a little kid, Toni. We all care a lot about you. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“He’s right,” A.J. said with a nod.

“So what’s next?” Simon asked, stroking her hair comfortingly.

She sighed and pulled slightly away. “I suppose I
need to make an appointment to see the doctor.
Get a blood test. I mean there is a small possibility the first test is wrong.”

“Do you want one of us to go with you?” A.J. asked.

She smiled. “No, I think I can handle it. Besides
you guys start a twenty-four tomorrow.”

“But you’ll come by the station and let us know,” Simon prompted.

“Yes, if you want me to, that is.”

They all gave her a look that suggested she was crazy.

“Okay, okay. I’ll come by as soon as I get out of
the doctor’s office. That is if I can even get an appointment that soon.”

“Are you staying?” A.J. asked. His question hung
in the air and Simon and Matt looked intently at her.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I hadn’t thought beyond my initial panic.”

“You don’t need to worry about it now,” Simon
said firmly. Besides, if anyone moves, it will be
me and A.J. This is your house.”

“No!” she exclaimed. “I wouldn’t hear of it. I
mean you guys have been here forever.”

“We feel the same way about you moving,” A.J. said softly.

“Thanks,” she said warmly. “I love you guys.”

Simon squeezed her to him. She got up awkwardly,
and headed back to the kitchen. “You guys are
missing the second half. Go ahead and watch. I
think I am going to go lie down for awhile.”

“You okay?” Simon asked in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a lot of thinking to
do.” She ignored the worry in their eyes and
walked to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She leaned heavily on the door, her knees sagging
underneath her. What a complete mess. She had the
urge to dive under her covers and stay there for
a week. Yeah, sure, she couldn’t hide her
pregnancy forever, but she’d hoped to buy some
time to get her life in order before she told them about the baby.

Baby. She smoothed her hands over her still flat
stomach. Tears welled in her eyes. She loved it
already. Almost as much as she loved its father.
But telling Simon she loved him, much less that
he was the father of her baby, was out of the question.

Tribes of the Vampire 2: THE JADED HUNTER by Michelle M Pillow

2006-10-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Tribes of the Vampire 2: THE JADED HUNTER
Paranormal Romance

Tribes of the Vampire Book 2:

THE JADED HUNTER

Michelle M. Pillow

Trade Paperback ISBN 1-58608-716-9

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/thejadedhunter.htm

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Dedication:

To Leah, for all the wonderful translations you do for me. To all the readers who support my work. To the editors, proofers, family, and friends who help that work see print. Thank you.

Prologue

New Orleans, Louisiana, May

"Ye dinna understand, lass!"

The cryptic call pierced through the night. A frown creased Jaden MacNaughton’s features as she concentrated on establishing the position of the voice. When she lowered herself to the rain soaked concrete, her hand slipped over the grainy texture. Irritated, she steadied herself.

Luckily, the sky had stopped its midnight torrent long enough for her to track her prey into the old graveyard. Narrowing her eyes, Jaden peered around the crumbling stone pillar at the entrance. Her gaze darted over the grounds, moving towards the dirty crypt the vampire apparently called home.

"Lass?"

The vampire’s Scottish accent fell thick through the dark night. Jaden had an eerie feeling something was off. Duncan was of Scottish descent, but according to her file he was human-born in the American old west. His accent shouldn’t have been so strong. Shrugging off her suspicions, she focused her feelings. Her logical assessment had been off before when she hunted. She needed to trust her instincts now--and her file. Tonight was just another night in her life. No matter how much Duncan protested, one of them wouldn’t be leaving the graveyard walking.

The moonless sky made it hard to see, and the street lamps didn’t shine on this part of the old city. She couldn’t detect more than the stretches of shadows cast by weathered tombstones and mausoleums. Scowling, Jaden pulled back. It wouldn’t do for her target to see her before she was ready to strike. Vampire eyes didn’t need the benefit of light, but unfortunately hers did.

Why couldn’t it have been, Jaden, the poltergeist stalker? I’ll rid your family crypt of pesky, ethereal relatives or your money back! Jaden grimaced, trying not to get distracted by the sarcasm invading her thoughts. Unable to resist, she added, At least I would get paid in cash for my services, and a damned ghost would be like fighting a gust of wind instead of being swallowed whole by a walking, immortal snake.

"We know what you’ve done, Duncan. Last week you tried to change a woman in labor. Even your beloved tribal council has rules. Besides, you’ve been killing innocent people," Jaden said in disgust. She refused to think too deeply about it. It had been her job to terminate the life of the child and mother. The infant had been in too much pain to try to save. Besides, once the vampiric disease was in your veins, there was no turning back. There was no cure. Dispassionately, she said, "Care to come over here and read what happened to the mother in my file? Care to hear what happened to her baby?"

"But that is what I’ve been tryin’ to tell ye, lass. I’m not this Duncan," the vampire returned. His voice was nearer. The nightstalker had drawn close to her hiding place. Vagueness stirred in her senses, a remembrance she couldn’t place. Ignoring the déjà vu, she swept her lashes low over her eyes in concentration.

"And I dinna care what ye wish to be called, laddie," Jaden growled under her breath, mimicking his soft burr. She knew the vampire could hear her as if she shouted, just as she could detect his whispering chuckle at her defiance. His arrogance was no surprise. Immortality tended to convince the vampiric beings that they were Gods upon the earth. And like the ancient Gods, they wielded their power with pleasure and contempt.

Closing her eyes, Jaden reached out her senses to feel for him. With the help of her uncle she had tracked the vampire from New York. Her uncle was methodical in his business. He wouldn’t have made a mistake. Not in something like this. It was too important to her. She needed to avenge his victims.

The father of the baby came to her mind--his face contorted in grief and pain, his limbs flying in desperation as he ran helplessly through the alleyway next to the hospital. The poor guy was lost without his wife, with no evidence to bury, no idea what happened to them. And he would never be told the truth. Besides, what could she tell him? Hi, I assassinated your vampiric wife and baby? Want to go get coffee?

"Which one of the bloodstalkers are ye, lass?" the vampire asked calmly, breaking into her thoughts. He wasn’t afraid. Jaden could feel his emotions swirling thickly with her own. It was her gift and her curse. It was the reason she could track. It was the reason she was alone. She was a dhampir, daughter of a mortal woman, daughter of an undead father.

"I just want you dead," she muttered darkly, without compassion. She found the mother and infant in an alleyway where they were left to writhe in pain. Duncan had left them. She put it from her mind. Emotion always distracted her. That is why she never let herself feel anything for those she stalked or hunted. She couldn’t afford to be weak. One mistake and she could end up dead, or much worse--she could end up a vampire.

Jaden slowly ran her hand over the leather satchel at her waist, clutching a wooden stake. The light weight felt comfortable in her palm as if it had been carved to fit there, when in fact it was her hand that had grown around it. She’d held her first stake when she was two years old. What a game it had been to her then, striking the weapon into a feather pillow to see how high the feathers would flutter. She had danced in them like snowflakes. Now, her target was much harder and instead of dancing, she was bathed in warm blood. The stake wouldn’t kill any but the youngest of vampires, but it would slow this old one down so she could capture him. She bounced the wood thoughtfully in her palm.

Reacting on instinct more than sight, Jaden spun up from the ground, twisting around the stone post to strike the vampire in the center of his chest. Her muscles moved with the ease of frequent use. The vampire hesitated. Jaden could feel him holding back. Duncan stopped his counter-strike to let her come at him. It was as if he waited for her to hit him.

Jaden had little time to wonder at the creature’s hesitancy. In an instant, she could feel that the vampire was powerful, that he could’ve easily put up a fight, and yet he held back. Unable to stop her motions, she felt the wood meet with the unforgiving steel of undead muscle. Her palm brushed next to a cold chest as she let go.

Duncan gasped in surprise. Jaden didn’t falter, not seeing his face as she whipped around to punch his jaw. Once he was away from her, she could better sense him. If she had made a mistake in her tracking there was still time to right it. The vampire’s head snapped back and he fell to the ground. Instantly, two men clad in ninja black were at her side, one carrying a claymore. The weapon’s large blade gleamed dangerously in the moonlight.

Jaden turned to the men, automatically knowing they were mortal. Without thought, she kicked her foot through the air, hitting the unarmed one in the chest. The man deflected the power of her blow before returning one of his own. His fist snapped across her jaw, bouncing off to leave a trail of blood on her lips.

Jaden fumed, but she hid it beneath a hard smile. A red trail trickled down her pale chin. She didn’t bother to wipe it away as she returned upon the man with the full force of a fanatical demon, slashing the air until she pummeled him to the ground.

Spinning, arms held before her, she confronted the man with the blade. His sword lifted over his head, coming through the air to hack off the vampire’s head. Jaden stopped him with a whirling kick to the abdomen. His sword barely missed her arm as it whizzed past. The man stumbled before whirling to face her. He jerked the mask off. His short brown hair matted around his irritated face.

"Damn it, Jade! What’d you do to Tom?" the man asked in breathless anger, ignoring his own injury while motioning to the man on the ground.

"This is my job, Rick," Jaden returned angrily. "I warned you if you came on my turf again, I’d beat the living--"

"Damn it, Jade! Mack sent us!" Tom growled from the ground, cradling his arm as he stood. He too had pulled the mask from his sharp features. His expression fell into a sulk but his chin lifted proudly. Jaden pressed her lips together in irritation and ignored him.

Directing her stare at Rick, she said, "So you’re the one that’s been following me for the last two nights. I should’ve known."

"We were following orders," Tom said, coming to stand beside Jaden. She continued to ignore him, concentrating on Rick. Rick’s look was just as harsh. They clashed in a silent battle of will, neither backing down. Most women would’ve been intimidated by Rick’s handsomeness and cool, militant demeanor. Jaden wasn’t a normal woman.

"Why would my uncle send you?" Jaden questioned in disbelief. "It’s been a simple enough track. The cocky bastard didn’t even run."

"I don’t know," Tom spat, still angling to get his say in. "We’re just following orders."

"How many times do I have to tell you? This is not the military." Jaden scowled. Finally, she drew her eyes away to glance impatiently at Tom. When she looked back at Rick his stance had relaxed but he was still angry. "I work alone. I can’t be responsible for your lives. This was my capture. I’ll handle it."

Rick stepped forward. Lowering his voice so no one else could hear, he whispered hotly into her ear, "No one is asking you to be responsible for us, Jade. You’re not the only one out here fighting the good fight. And no matter how much you want to be alone in this, you’re not."

"I work alone," she said bitterly. She wasn’t as discreet as Rick, leaving her voice audible. "You didn’t even give me time to sense him."

"What is there to sense? He’s a demon," Tom hissed from behind. Jaden turned to him, ready to begin fighting anew. Rick grabbed her elbow to keep her from pummeling the man. Duncan gave a slight moan, reaching for the stake protruding from his chest next to his heart. Their attention turned briefly to the ground, distracting them from another skirmish.

Jaden didn’t have an answer for Tom’s question. He was right, of course. Nightstalkers were all demons and she should’ve been killing the vampiric scum as indiscriminately as they killed humans. Perhaps it was her father’s blood that drove her to be sure, to sense their crimes for herself before finishing them off. And maybe it was her punishment, her need for self-torment that forced her to feel the victim’s pain, to remind her what vampire blood was capable of.

Lifting a walkie-talkie to his mouth, Rick kept his eyes trained steadily on the slender woman before him, as he ordered, "Send in the sunlight. We’ve got clean up."

"What are you doing?" Jaden rotated back to Rick. Placing her hands on her hips, she glowered at him. Rick latched the radio back to his waist. Jaden snorted in disgust. She didn’t carry anything but her phone and a few simple tools--a stake, a knife or sword, her wits, and on rare occasions a rope. The militant ninjas that her uncle employed brought an arsenal of uselessness out with them--their electronic files, two-ways, swords, blades, vehicles done up like tanks, artificial lighting, backup. Seeing the handgun at Rick’s waist, she grimaced.

"Mack ordered this one done to death immediately," Rick acknowledged. He knew better than to test his luck against a dhampir. "We all heard what this creature did and we know what you were forced to do. You’re too emotionally involved. It only takes one mistake and you’re dead."

Jaden’s jaw dropped. To her thinking that was the overstatement of the century. She couldn’t afford to be ‘emotionally involved’ in anything. Rick should have known that little detail better than anyone.

Duncan began to sit up. Blood pooled around the wound in his chest, running down his sides and staining his cotton shirt a dark red. Rick kicked him absently in the chest to knock him down. The vampire wheezed, showing pointed fangs. His eyes filled with blood as his body fought to survive.

Turning, Rick motioned his men to bring forward the large circular light. They stumbled under its cumbersome weight. The light only imitated the sun. Its rays were not as powerful against a vampire unless he was completely drained of energy and blood, like Duncan on the ground before them.

Jaden seethed. Something was definitely not right. Mack had never sent his boys to help her out before. Not on a routine slay. She walked over to the fallen body. Looking at the creature fully for the first time, she froze.

"Jade," the cold, blue lips began to mouth with a rasp. His red hair was slicked back from his pale features. The vampire’s deadened gaze glanced over her shoulder in warning.

Jaden spun into action, her arm coming across her shoulder to strike out as she turned. It was too late. Tom anticipated her move before she even made it. Her arm met with the hard crash of metal. The man held a riot shield. She winced violently, shrieking in pain. Her shoulder popped out of joint with the force of her blow. Instantly one of the faceless men who dragged the light was next to her, shooting her side with a tazer. The metal hooks bit into her flesh and the heavy electric shock brought her instantly to her knees.

"No," Rick hollered. His cry came too late. The man had already brought Jaden low to the ground with his assault. "She’s one of us, fool!"

Tom stood defiantly over Jaden, smirking at her helpless form as she shivered. The other man dropped his tazer, yanking the hooks from her skin. He glanced around in confusion. Rick glared at the both of them, waving his hand back. The men obeyed the silent order, disappearing into the graveyard the way they’d come.

Jaden groaned, recovering quickly from the attack. She panted for air, unable to breathe, unable to speak. Her lungs felt as if they’d been crushed by a wrecking ball. Her arm hung limp at her side as she pulled up on her one good hand and knees. She looked to the fallen vampire, really seeing him for the first time. The old eyes stared back at her. A bright light flashed behind them, mimicking the rays of the sun. The face began to wither before her, its lips opening slightly as if to scream her name.

"Bhaltair?" Jaden whispered weakly in disbelief. It wasn’t Duncan. She had tracked the wrong vampire. Yelling at the men, she ordered hoarsely, "No, stop! Don’t!"

Jaden’s head reeled from the pain shooting in her shoulder. She dropped faintly to lie on the ground. Her mind swam in threatening blackness. The vampire shrieked, turning slowly to ash.

Jaden coughed, breathing in the grave dust of vampiric death as it swirled up gently in the night breeze. It fell over her, blanketing her body like the tender falling of feathery snow. It was too late. The vampire was dead.

SIMMERING SEDUCTIONS by Mandy Roth

2006-10-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

SIMMERING SEDUCTIONS

Mandy M. Roth

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/simmeringseductions.htm

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

“You’re going to need to move that sexy ass or I’m going to toss it onto this sofa and carry it up four floors before having my way with it.”

Turning, I saw only the green leaves of the oversized fern plant I carried. Unfortunately, I knew the voice and knew its owner, Jake, would actually do exactly what he threatened to do. “Let me go first so I don’t have to play ‘follow dink and dork’ up the stairs.”

“I’m dork,” Jake called out, chuckling from his end of the sofa. “Your brother can be dink.”

“What’s a dink?” Gideon, my brother, asked.

Jake and I laughed. I did my best to find the door handle. Although covering my eyes and finding a needle in a haystack might have been more productive. “Nothing. It’s a good thing, really.”

“Uh-huh. Why am I not believing you?”

Jake snorted. “Probably because you’ve known her for over thirty years. Now, as for you, Devan, you need to get your ass up those stairs. This thing isn’t getting any lighter. I’ve already lifted more things in one morning than I have in ten years.”

“Hey, be nice or I’ll do it.”

Gideon groaned. “If she breaks into song again I’m kicking your ass, Jake. Then I’m leaving. I thought she stopped all that. Now, I’m afraid to turn my television on for fear of seeing her dancing and singing with some guy in black leather.”

“Hey, your little sister is a gem. Back off,” Jake said, laughing. “But if you do leave, can I keep her?”

“I’d like to see you try,” I said, rushing through the door. I broke out into an interesting rendition of Do Wah Diddy replacing the she’s with he’s and hurried through the door. I knew the staircase was directly in front of the door so I lifted the fern high in the air to watch for the first step and began to jog up them.

“Watch where you’re--”

“Nope. Not stopping until you both sing along and tell me that you will miss me horribly when you leave. Next up on the jukebox is an eighties song. I’m feeling very Madonnaish. Consider yourselves warned.” I went right back into Do Wah Diddy.

I made it up about six steps before I slammed into something that felt like the equivalent of a brick wall. I went backwards instantly. When two large arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me forward instead of back, I realized the brick wall was actually a person.

Before I knew it, I was being twisted around and suddenly on said person’s lap and we ended up sitting on the stairs. The massive fern blocked my view of him but if the size of the arms were any indication--the person was male, definitely. I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.

Parting the fern, I peeked through to find a pair of emerald green eyes staring back at me. The squared face they were set in made my breath catch. This was no ordinary man. No. This man was amazing. He had a pronounced jaw and forehead, giving him that dark brooding look I liked so much. His black hair was cut in one of those stylishly messy ways. It stood about two inches off the top of his head but was cut close on the sides and back.

Taking a deep breath in, I caught the familiar scent of figwood and fruits. It was something I hadn’t smelled in years and the memories it brought back made my insides flutter. Sighing was an option I was more than willing to take. As my gaze traveled over his thick, corded neck I laughed harder. “Only I would make an ass of myself in front of a living god. I am so sorry. Are you hurt?”

I leaned through the fern more and glanced down. The snug fitting short sleeved Roberto Cavalli shirt he wore drew attention to his steely upper body. I gulped as I looked down at his dirt covered groin. The flat front kakis he had on did little to hide the bulge growing quickly beneath them. “Looks really fine,” I sang softly.

“Your eyes are…”

My gaze went to his as I soaked in the sound of his deep voice. It was the kind of voice I could get used to hearing whispering sweet nothings to me in the wee hours of the night. “Disturbing? Two different colors? Yeah, I know one is blue and one is brown. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He shook his head. “They’re beautiful.”

I blushed and did the only thing I could think of, I laughed. The man’s eyes widened more before he too began to laugh. There was something about him that was so familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Do I know you?”

He stopped laughing and tipped his head a bit, seeming to study me. Something moved over his face that looked to be shock. “You can’t be her.”

“Her who?” I asked between chuckles. “If you say the tooth fairy I will kiss you. I mean, come on, dental hygiene goddesses with wands are the shit. To be perfectly honest, since I’ve already made an absolute fool of myself, you make me think of The Clash. Why is that? You aren’t planning on rocking any Casbah are you?”

His green eyes widened. I fought the urge to trace a line with my thumb over his full lips. It was hard. Somehow, I managed.

“So, should I stay or should I go?” I asked, giving him a smile I hoped appeared to be sexy while I continued my Clash skit.

“Stay.” He shook his head slightly and smiled back. His smile was for sure sexy. “How?”

“How?” I cleared my throat. “How am I me? Or how am I her? Are all sexy New Yorkers this odd? Do you feel like you know me, too?”

The slight, stunned nod was the only answer I got out of him.

“My guess is we’ve crossed paths. You don’t play a professional sport, do you?”

“No,” he said, staring at me with an odd fascination. “Is that a prerequisite?”

Liking the man more than I should, I shook my head. “No. My list of must haves isn’t too long. Not playing a professional sport is at the top.”

Jake snorted. “If you can pick up a phone and order a pizza she’s yours. If you can actually make one yourself, you may never get rid of her. If you’re able to make anything above that you just met your future wife.”

“Why thank you, Jake.” I shot him a dirty look. He grinned like a schoolboy. “I always love it when my friends try to push me off on men who could be married, in a serious relationship, or not ones to pick women over men.”

“If you would spend less time trying not to drool and more time looking at the guy, you’d see he’s staring at you like it’s taking everything in him not to touch you and I don’t see any rings on his fingers.”

I snorted. “Oh, like that means anything. How many times did other women have at you know who?”

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

The man touched my cheek lightly and I drew in a sharp breath as familiar feelings washed over me. Closing my eyes I savored the moment.

“Devan, get off the nice man and move. This thing is heavy,” Gideon said, sounding annoyed.

The man’s eyes lit. “Devan?”

“Right.” I nodded and stood slowly. Lifting the fern off him, I gasped. “Ohmygod, you’re covered in dirt now. I’m so sorry. Here, give me those and I’ll take them to the cleaners.” I set the fern down on the stair and turned to face him. “Wait, umm, I didn’t mean to just ask you to get naked. But I’d honestly be okay with that.”

“Devan,” Gideon growled out. “I get you’re an adult. All I’m asking is to not be reminded of that--ever.”

“Jake, do you still have my wallet?” I glanced at Gideon. “Just so you know, I’m ignoring you.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, what do you need?”

“Five hundred dollars to replace the nice man’s clothing. I’m guessing he doesn’t want to take a check from a lady he just met in the stairwell. The Cavalli alone is three. It’s in this season which tells me the guy pays attention to fashion. I’d get into the jeans but Gideon would demand to have his eyes gouged out and I’d enjoy it too much.”

Gideon coughed, not bothering to hide his shock. “People here wear five hundred dollar outfits? I was with you when you bought a dress for a dollar at a thrift store, Devan.”

“The one that’s brown with obnoxious orange flowers on it?” Jake asked, knowing full well it was that one.

“Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a Betsy Johnson. I saved a few hundred dollars. And how can you think brown and orange is obnoxious, Jake?” I rolled my eyes. “Ooo, I really liked the avocado green sweater I got that day, too.”

Gideon sighed. “What was that? A Lou Reed?”

Flipping him off, I smiled at the sexy man and did my best to avoid touching him. It was hard. “I feel like singing Little Orphan Annie songs. Who’s up for a night of that?”

“Put the sofa down. I’m going to tape her mouth shut and hide her wallet. She does not need to be spending money.”

Jake laughed hard. “Stop being over protective. If the girl wants to hand the man money to replace his clothes then let her, Gideon. Don’t you think she’s had enough issues with having control of her own life? Stop making her out to be on the verge of poverty. She’s worked her ass off to have what she does and I, for one, am damn happy to know that she doesn’t need to worry about money. You know, she still hasn’t accepted a penny of the, umm, other stuff.”

I wanted to throw my shoe at Jake. His code words for alimony were ridiculous. Instead, I glared at my brother, already anticipating the coming argument. “And I’m not going to, Gideon, so don’t try to make me.”

“Milk the bastard dry, Devan. You earned the right.”

“Gideon.”

“Hey, you’re entitled to half. Ask Jake.”

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that.”

Gideon growled. “Fine, whatever.” He nodded towards the stranger before me. “Give the guy the money and get him off the step. This isn’t getting any lighter. Tell me again why I didn’t let movers do this for her?”

“Because you have a guilt complex that won’t quit and the very idea of your baby sister being so far away from you is killing you on the inside. And you keep running various ways to get her to come home, or move your practice up here, through your head.”

I snorted. “Jake, he pushed me through the living room window when I was five. I don’t think that’s it. Try again.”

“I did not push you. You were spinning around pretending to be a princess ballerina and hit my model car,” Gideon bit out. “I just moved you away from it.”

“Yeah, and right through the screen. That bush had so many wasps in it that my ass hurt for weeks. It did get me out of a few annoying recitals. Thanks for that.” I glanced down at the sexy man on the step. “For reference, wasps don’t take kindly to people invading their area.” I rubbed my butt for effect and winked.

He just stared up at me, looking as though he was both shocked and pleased. I hoped he was both. It wasn’t every day that I felt I wowed someone.

Jake laughed so hard he sounded like a seal barking. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“You did,” Gideon said. “Remember the month I refused to come… err… couldn’t come out and play? It was because of that.”

“Mom did not ground you. She didn’t have to. You were a mess. You grounded yourself. Uncle Robert talked to you for like twenty minutes about how you only have one sister.” I put my hand out and started to impersonate my very Italian uncle. “Gideon, look at her. She hurts but is worried about your toy. She is a gift, a dove sent to bring us all joy and happiness. Treat her as such for you do not know when they will ask for her to return home.”

“Holy shit, that’s why you were on your porch crying your eyes out. You were upset you hurt her.” Jake’s laughter wrapped around me and was infectious.

“Worse than that,” I blew Gideon a kiss, “he kept sneaking into my room at night to make sure I wasn’t dead. Uncle Robert convinced him that angels would show up at any minute and snatch me up. Tell him what you did, Gideon.”

“No.”

Jake grinned and gave me a ‘spill it’ look.

“Gideon found a spool of ribbon from one of those overdone dresses mom used to put me in and tied my ankle to my bed. I woke up with it wrapped around me so tight that dad had to cut it off and then point out that if Gideon did it again I could lose my leg. That only made him worse. How he became a doctor is beyond me.”

Jake laughed. “See he loves you. He dedicated his life to understanding how not to kill you.”

Gideon growled again. “I would like to get this to the fourth floor and then beat the living hell out of you, Jake.”

“I’ll sue you,” Jake offered.

“And I’ll fuck up the meds I prescribe you next time you’re sick. How’s a little birth control sound? Having issues with feminine itch? Oh, what? You have flames shooting out of your dick?”

Rolling my eyes, I put my hand out to the sexy man staring at me on the step and offered him a smile. “I’m sorry. This is what happens when you take a doctor and a lawyer too far from home. If you give us a minute to get the sofa upstairs, I’ll get you what you need to replace the outfit and I’ll still have this one cleaned for you.”

He shook his head, taking my hand and standing slowly. Warmth spread up my arm from his touch and my nipples hardened almost instantly. “No. It’s fine.”

Yes, you are.

“Wonderful, can we please get this up the stairs?” Gideon smiled at me and glanced at the sofa. “You would buy this before you moved. Couldn’t you buy it once you got here?”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me but you bought that for me. You and your shadow,” I pointed at Jake, “insisted on it.”

“In our defense, Devan, we did break your other ones,” Jake said, running his hands through his hair.

“The idea of three grown men going at it like school boys had to be a sight to see. And for the record, you three trashed my entire lower level.”

Jake glanced at Gideon nervously. “Yeah, school boys.”

“Gideon, tell me you didn’t go all Bruce Lee on him. You’re thirty-four. You could hurt yourself.” I let out a soft laugh. “You already had Jake helping you out. What more did you need?”

Jake cleared his throat. “Umm, Devan, I was actually trying get Gideon under control. I wasn’t helping beat the crap out of anyone. I didn’t think you wanted to have to visit your brother in prison or see his career get flushed down the shitter. I can get him off of just about any charge. Murder isn’t one of them.”

I glanced at the sexy man. “One second.” I ran down the stairs, kicked my slip-on white tennis shoes off, hopped onto the sofa and walked across it to get to Gideon. Tossing my arms around his thick neck, I hugged him tight as I kissed his cheek. “I love you even though you made my ass hurt for a week.”

As I pulled back, I found his eye glistening. He nodded and kissed my forehead. “Promise you’ll call everyday, Devan. Twice a day even. Maybe I should get you a cell phone that you can leave on all the time. Yeah, that might work.”

Drawing back, I knew he was fighting tears and Gideon was a big guy who didn’t cry. I wagged my brows as I looked him up and down. “Hey, Jake.”

“Yeah.”

“Picture Gideon in a prison uniform. He’d no longer need me to buy all of his clothes so he matches. Plus, he’d land a boyfriend in about two seconds.” I instantly launched into Jailhouse Rock doing my best Elvis. I rotated my hips and curled my lip not caring who saw me do it.

Gideon put his hand over my mouth. I continued to sing into it, sounding muffled and still not caring. He shook his head and laughed. “Jake, get the tape. She’s back with a vengeance. If she starts laughing so hard she can’t breathe I’m going down to the corner bar and grabbing a beer. I might need two. No fear. She’ll still be laughing when I get back.”

My cell phone rang. I put my hand out to Jake who had my phone on his hip. “Devan, that ring means work, so don’t panic. It’s not an emergency.”

“You don’t say. Gee, it’s only my cell phone. The one I programmed the rings into.” I kept shaking my hips as I took the phone from him. I opened it. “Devan Charter.”

Gideon growled. “It’s Devan Seward now.”

“Everyone there knows her as Charter. It’s easier for her to let it stay that way,” Jake said, in a hushed tone.

“Fuck easier. She is divorced. I’ll put it on a billboard for her.”

I pointed at him. He shut up.

“Ah, Devan, I’m glad I caught you.”

The sound of Chas Martins voice made my eyes roll. “Mr. Martins, I didn’t realize we were on a first name basis now.”

Jake poked my arm lightly and smiled. “Is that dickhead? Dev, if it is you have to put the guy on speakerphone. Gideon never believes me when I tell him about the lounge lizard who keeps trying to get you to work for him.” He clasped his hands together and dropped to his knees. “Please, it’s funny as hell. Plus, Gideon never gets to hear you be a bitch for real. The man thinks you have no spine. Show him.”

My eyes bulged as I stared down at Jake. I nodded. “Mr. Martins, I’m currently knee deep in Open to Buy reports so I need to put you on speaker phone.”

“Certainly, I understand how that is.”

I hit the button and held the phone out. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“You can start by calling me Chas. We’ve known one another for over five years. It’s safe to say we can be on a first name basis, Devan. I consider you a friend and friends tend to share many things, including casual conversation.”

Jake grinned.

I bit back a laugh. “I’m well aware of what friends share. What I’m not sure of is the reasoning behind your call. If you are implying this is casual then I should remind you I’m on company time here.” I crossed my fingers and shoved them in Jake’s face. He laughed, planted a tiny kiss on them and stood quickly.

Chas sighed. “You do like to make it difficult for me. That is exactly the attitude I want my consultants to have, Devan.”

“Hmm, calling competitor’s top executives while they are working, to attempt to persuade them to join the team, is the absolute last sort of practice I want the company I’m with participating in. It sort of screams unprofessional. And we are all professionals here, right, Mr. Martins?”

I’d built an empire, being a Jill-of-all-trades in matters of marketing consultations. If someone had a business problem, I generally had a solution. Martins operated the same way. He provided marketing and business consultations, often placing someone in-house with the company in question.

“Call me Chas. And Devan, you’re not thinking clearly right now. This is a trying time for you coming off a messy divorce and I’d like to help ease the burden. I know we started off on the wrong foot and I’d like to correct that. I’ve been told you’re relocating to New York. This would give us the perfect opportunity to get to know one another better. I’d hate for you to be alone. This is a big city. I can more than keep you company. I think you know what I’m talking about.”

I grabbed Jake’s arm and laughed hard without making any noise. It took a second but I got myself together and stood tall. “As kind as that offer is, I’d prefer to go it alone. And when I say go it alone, that covers all areas. I do not currently have a red light above my office door nor do I want one. I would strongly suggest you focus on your client’s needs and not your own. As lovely as our conversations always are, I really must be going. I’m meeting with my lawyer soon. He has some rather weighty issues he’d like to get moved forward.” I winked at Jake.

Chas made a noise that sounded animalistic, like one would make during intercourse. I jerked back and held the phone towards Jake who covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Devan, you are the only woman I know who dares to talk to me the way you do. You know that I’m more than willing to offer you the world. I’m in a position to do it. You just won’t accept it. I am huge.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you think so.” I snickered. “Oh, wait. You were talking size in relevance to your position. Sorry, I got a little confused on where this conversation was headed. It seemed as though it was headed south so naturally I assumed something else. I really need to be going now.”

“Name your price, Devan,” Chas said fast. “Everyone can be bought. Everyone.”

“I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “Well, at least we’ve moved to the point you’re sorry for turning me down.”

I let out a soft laugh. “No, I’m not sorry for that in the least. I’m sorry that somewhere along the line you actually came to believe that to be true. Not everyone has a price. Money isn’t the answer to everything. In fact, in the end, it means nothing. Have a good weekend, Mr. Martins.” I shut my phone and handed it to Jake. “Why do you enjoy hearing that scum bag’s spiel? Does anyone else feel like they need a shower to get his voice off you? I think my phone has been violated. It needs a bath, too.”

Jake looked proud. Gideon looked like he was about to blow. “Devan Jazz Seward, men try to buy you while you’re working? Hell, anytime?”

“I’d hardly call Chas Martins a man,” I said, hopping off the sofa and laughing. “He’s more like a good looking, walking lounge lizard. He makes my skin crawl. But, I will say, he’s a looker. He knows it, too.”

Gideon tried to come for me but the sofa was in the way. “Did this just start?”

“What? Men trying to own me or lounge lizards,” I smiled at Jake letting him know that I loved his name for Chas, “trying to bribe me to ‘work’ for them? Come on, women want to date you all the time. When they find out you’re a doctor they flip out and start talking marriage. Dork,” I pointed at Jake, “has the same problem.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah, Dink. Leave her alone. She’s not given an inch when it comes to this. Trust me, he’s been nipping at her heels from the word go. Hell, she was very married when he started it all.”

“What the hell is a dink?” Gideon asked again.

I smiled as I slipped my shoes back on. “It’s a good thing. Trust me.” Turning, I ran up the stairs and ran directly into the sexy man again. He grabbed me fast to keep me from falling. I held tight to him and stared into his emerald green eyes. “Thanks. You’re really coming in handy.”

“My pleasure.”

I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his green eyes. They were gorgeous and the same exact color as Brody’s. “I know I’m going to sound like a broken record but you look so familiar. This is going to bug me. I’m positive I know you from somewhere.”

Jake went to take his spot at the end of the sofa. “You know, I normally do my best to encourage only half of your insanity but you’re right the guy does look familiar.”

Mr. Sexy smiled. “Would you like some help moving in?”

“No, we’ll be--”

“Yes,” Gideon and Jake said, cutting me off.

The sexy man winked at me and I damn near fell over. “I’ll run up, change and come back to help.” He turned to head up the stairs. “Oh, I almost forgot. I’m Kurt Holland.”

“Hi, Kurt. Nice to dump a plant on you. I’m Devan Seward.”

The grin that spread over his face warmed me. “Well, Devan, it was my pleasure.”

I watched as Kurt jogged up the stairs. A small sigh escaped me. “I could get used to looking at that everyday.”

Gideon began to chuckle. I glanced back at him as he stood in the doorway holding one end of the sofa up while the other lay on the floor. “Didn’t Uncle Robert tell you that when one door closes another opens?”

Before we’d left Ohio, I’d finalized my divorce and said goodbye to my family. They all knew how painful the divorce was for me and my uncle did his best to cheer me up. “Yep, he sure did.”

“Ha, I bet he didn’t think you’d waylay Mr. Right before he even got to the door.”

He and Jake laughed so hard that I knew they’d be at it a while. I gave up and headed up the stairs to my new home.

Mystik Guardians: Vampire's Cross by Heather Kundert

2006-10-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Mystik Guardians: Vampire's Cross by Heather Kundert

Her heart thundered in anticipation and her muscles tensed. A familiar prick in her gums warned of descending fangs. She paused to close her eyes and willed them to retract. This hunt wasn't for the kill, as much as the thought displeased her. Nosferatu-the vampire-and humans didn't mix.. The last time she befriended a human, things had ended very badly. She lived with the consequences of that interaction each and every day of her existence.

With the reaffirmation this wasn't a hunt, her fangs retracted and Alexis opened her eyes. She blew out a deep breath. Cautiously, she placed one foot in front of the other and made her way through the pulsing mob of humans writhing around her. It took all her willpower to control her natural urges. Thankfully, Simon's drinks had helped to sate her hunger, if only on a temporary basis. If she screwed up and revealed her true self to the Slayer too soon, all hope of defeating Diego would die with the large man sitting at the table, unaware he was being stalked.

Damn it! No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the thought of a hunt out of her mind. If she harmed so much as a hair on his head, the Fates would never forgive her and would most likely do something drastic as punishment. Contrary to popular belief, the Nosferatu were not immortal, nor were they invincible. They had just as many weaknesses as the humans did, only her kind were much better at staying clear of those weaknesses-most of the time. Being in the club at the moment was a major weakness for Alexis. She was cycling and the need for sex was far greater than at any other time of the month, though with luck this would be the last night of her cycle. Damn the moon and the foul things it did with a woman's hormones, be her human or not. And damn the Slayer for finding it necessary to boast about his day's kill in a room full of highly sexual beings.

She hoped she wasn't sweating. Dots of blood on her forehead and cheeks at this moment wouldn't be a good thing. Normally, she was quite good at controlling her body's temperature and her thoughts, but the rush of hormones racing through her veins made the normally simple task even harder.. Alexis licked her dry lips and hovered at the edge of the crowded dance floor, waiting for the music to change. She didn't have long to wait.

The new rhythm that filled the air had a Latin feel to it. The pulsing tunes were fast and hard, enveloping her with its invigorating and wildly intoxicating beats. She moved to the very edge of the dance floor and carefully wrapped herself around one of the numerous poles surrounding the smooth, hardwood area. Alexis swirled around before spinning out away from the brass post toward the Slayers' table. She swiveled her hips and tossed her head back and forth, covering her face with the dark curtain of her hair. Her body gyrated and spun in time with the frantic pulse of the music. Completely lost in the dance, she no longer paid any mind to the man sitting at the table.

She returned to the dance floor where a small group of dancers had paused to watch her move. A tall, dark-haired man with a trim build joined her in the semicircle, pulling her close against his body. His heartbeat caused the front of his loose, black silk shirt to jump. The sound thundered and echoed in her ears, even over the loud, consuming music. Alexis closed her eyes and lost herself in the dance once more, trying to drown out the hypnotic beat of his heart.

*****

Dalton sat with his back to the wall, ignoring his men as he watched the room. He didn't trust people, regardless if they were human or not. He didn't get to where he was in life by leaving himself open for an attack, even in a crowded room.

His gaze roved over the crowd, watching for anyone or anything that stood out, as if it didn't belong in this place so full of life. And then he saw her. She danced as if there was no tomorrow and he found himself drawn to her. The black leather outfit she wore clung to her body like a second skin. The laced up bustier pushed her breasts up high and closer together as it left a good section of the creamy, rounded twin peaks exposed to his eyes.

Her hips swayed in time to the music as she dipped and swirled with the rhythm. A man with her on the dance floor placed his hands on those deliciously curved hips. Dalton wanted to rip them away and lay claim to this woman. He paused, noting for the first time he was in the process of standing even though he hadn't realized he'd moved. What had come over him? He narrowed his eyes at the woman across the room. Even from this distance he could tell her skin had a healthy hue to it. Maybe the lack of a bed partner had finally gotten to him.

"Where you going, boss?" Santos chuckled, no doubt laughing at his odd behavior.

"To the dance floor."

"But you don't dance," Adams piped in.

Dalton shrugged. There was a first time for everything. He couldn't deny he very much enjoyed the way her body moved. It sang to him, much like a siren's call and he couldn't wait to get closer, to feel the skin that looked so silky and sweet from across the way.

Each step toward her was painful, his cock growing harder and harder with each sway and shake of her hips. He ran his tongue along the back of his teeth to keep from licking his lips at the thought of that sweet little thing writhing underneath his body in a large, rumpled bed.

He moved right up behind her gyrating body, so close he could smell the aromatic, fruity scent of her hair with a hint of jasmine and lavender surrounding her as well. Drawing in a deep breath, he inhaled her arousing scents into his body, savoring the taste of her on his tongue. Damn, she was hot.

She suddenly turned and bumped into him, gasping at the contact. He smiled and from the uneasy look on her face, assumed it must have been a predatory one. But he wasn't going to hold anything back with this one. He wanted her and he would have her, no matter what it took. If he had to plow over her like a bulldozer, then so be it. But she would be his.

He reached up and traced his finger over her forehead. "Why the long look?" For some strange reason he couldn't explain, she seemed.familiar to him.

"You just startled me, is all..." She titled her head and looked up at him with a sly smile on her lips. "I had hoped you'd decide to join me."

"Is that so?" This was getting more interesting by the minute. He slid his finger down the side of her face, along her jaw and down her neck to the soft swell of her breasts. She shuddered beneath his touch and his smile broadened. Oh, she was ripe for the picking. This one he would savor for the whole night, never mind the fact he hadn't come in here looking for a bed partner. He moved his hands to her hips and jerked her up against him as he lowered his head to her ear. "I want you," he growled.

He felt her body tremble. "I can tell." She lifted her gaze to his, her dark eyes flashing. Then she did something that surprised him. She licked his cheek as she cupped his hardening length in her hand.

"Mmm," she practically purred. "You taste good." She pulled her hand away from his crotch and backed up a step. "Care to dance?"

"I don't dance," he replied.

"Such a pity." She made a pouty face up at him. "It isn't hard. All you have to do is sway with the music." Putting words to action, she demonstrated by spinning around and grinding her ass against his growing cock. "Mmm, so big," she murmured then spun around to face him. "I have a question for you, cowboy."

He shook his head. "I'm no cowboy but ask away.."

"Do you have a place for us to go? Or do you plan to fuck me right here in the middle of the dance floor?"

Available NOW at Triskelion Publishing. http://www.triskelionpublishing.net

Heather Kundert/Elektra Cross/Heather Holland http://mystikguardians.com