Thursday, May 23, 2013

Guest Author Featuring Sweet Cravings by Eva Lefoy


Please help me welcome author Eva Lefoy here today to talk about the two bet topics...food and sex! Happy Reading!

Welcome, Eva!


Food and sex. 

Food is such an integral part of our lives that we don’t always stop to think about what a sensuous experience it can be. The buttery taste of chocolate, or your favorite merlot. The rich creaminess of whipped cream frosting or the sexy meltability of cheese. Your favorite sweet dessert. Maybe even the fizzy goodness of a soft drink!

Almost our entire existence is spent going through the routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner, many days with eating more of a hassle or a duty than a pleasure. But that’s so wrong. It’s easy and quite pleasurable to bring a little more fun our daily food experiences. When I want some fun food, I go for the bacon!

Yeah, seriously. Nothing better than a bacon and gouda sandwich at Starbucks to start the day if I feel the need for a mood lifter. It’s warm. It fits in my hand. It’s got bacon! Not that I don’t nosh on chocolate first thing when needed, but the warmth of the bacon and the melted cheese snuggles right into my psyche and pushes my happy buttons. And sometimes, first thing in the morning at work, I really need that!

In Sweet Cravings, the main character Violet Cunningham is a sweet fanatic. She feels bad about it, almost like it’s a secret she has to keep – especially from her mother, who bugs her about her weight. But cream filling and raspberry sauce really push her buttons. Make her wanton and ready for action. Here’s an excerpt about her relating food and sex:

Pastry on hold, I stared at the man. Broad shoulders and a solid stance. A strong jaw under generous lips made for kissing. Skin a natural tan amaretto and walnut-brown eyes. My knees weakened. On top of that, he exuded a patient confidence, a trait I found enormously sexy. I wanted to lick him from the tip of his swarthy black head to his toes to see if he tasted as good as he looked. 

In a daze, my gaze traveled to the cream puff and back to the sexy chef. Cream puff. Sexy chef. I licked my lips as my breath came faster. All the sudden, I wasn’t sure which one attracted me more: man or dessert. It was normally a cut-and-dried decision. Pastry always won, hands down.

But the shape of the soft, delectable dessert on my plate and the chef’s Guy Fieri-esque, thick-and-meaty outline were yummily similar. And for a moment in my mind’s eye, the image of the puff itself was superimposed over the one of the chef’s naked body slathered with raspberry syrup for my licking and nibbling pleasure. The two images merged into one sizzling-hot fantasy. A puff-chef combo that was hard in all the right places and soft in all the right places. Man and dessert, joined in one perfect union. My jaw dropped. Holy shit. I want them both. 

Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve been with a man and to be honest, I’ve never equated food with sex on such blatant terms before, but a pleasant vibe of rightness rushed through me at the thought. Why the hell shouldn’t sex and dessert go together? I mentally shook my head at my own slowness and stupidity. Way to smarten up, Vi.

So Violet finds her perfect man in a pastry chef. I supposed I’d find mine in a … bacon chef?
To find out more about Violet and her chef Max, check out the links below. 

Thanks for reading!
Eva 

Here’s the blurb for Sweet Cravings:

Riding the waves of a sugar high, Violet Cunningham seduces the town’s newest pastry chef, slathering him with whipped cream in his secret kitchen. But all that is made of sugar melts, and her brazenness vanishes along with it, leaving her alone once again with her insecurities. Deciding to avoid temptation, she’s mortified when her boss sends her back to sexy chef Max’s kitchen to ask him to cater a company dinner.
After he turns the tables and seduces her, Max disappears the next morning. Violet blames herself but is it true or her old fears talking? When stray pastries show up at work, there’s only one man that could be responsible… and this time she refuses be distracted by creamy temptation. Well… maybe just a little…

Purchase at: Decadent Publishing  | Amazon


“You hungry, sweetheart?” His hot gaze left a trail on my skin and heated through more than one layer of fabric. The innuendo in his voice was unmistakable. He tucked a stray hair behind my ear with a super-warm finger whose touch promised tingling satisfaction. I held my breath and nodded. “For what?” he whispered. 

I wanted to whimper. Wanted to melt right there on my kitchen floor. I’m good at bravado—up to a certain point—but being interrogated, even by a hottie, or especially by a hottie, turns me shy real quick. And Max’s stare-right-through-me intensity made me very shy, very quick. Made it hard to say that one little word…the one I so badly wanted to say: You. I opened my mouth but he’d started talking again. 

“You see, I know all about hungers. About appetites.” He circled me slowly. Like a tiger using its steamy breath to tenderize its next meal. “And how to satisfy them.” 

Maybe so. But surely I must come off as a rather odd case? I mean, I practically raped a pastry chef at a chamber of commerce event! Was there even help for people like me? Concern and embarrassment had me chewing my lower lip. I wanted badly to look away from his gaze—look anywhere but into his chocolate-drizzled eyes. But as if he could read my thoughts, he placed a finger under my chin and held me captive with that simple touch. 

“All people have appetites,” he stated. “Your appetites, I know how to feed.” He smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “I will enjoy feeding them. If you will let me.” 

I tried to hide a gulp. He sounded sincere. But how could it be? No man had ever made me such an outrageous offer. I had half a mind to put up a hand and stop him right there. But wasn’t this what I truly wanted? Or would I rather stay within the safe bounds of the pastry goal lines forever and watch my waistband expand? Alone? God. I could hear my mother’s voice…. You’ll never get married with those eating habits, Violet. No man will ever want you. Besides, bigger women can’t get pregnant very easily. 

As if he could hear my thoughts, he said, “Even if you think some of your hungers are bad…or wrong.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of my nose. “I assure you they are not. They are perfectly normal.” His arm slid around my back and pulled me close, hip to hip. My sex clenched in anticipation. “All of them.” 



Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She’s also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she’ll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she’s writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.







Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Braeden & Janne Blog Tour ~ Series Spotlight &Giveaway With Kathryn Quick




CYNTHIA AND CONSTANTINE
Beyond Camelot – Brother Knights, Book 1

Available at :  Amazon

Back of the book:
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has the man she is to marry, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leyborne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William - including Cynthia.
Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that William has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first freeing Cynthia and driving Simon and his soldiers from the land.
Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives.


BRAEDEN AND JANNE 
Beyond Camelot – Brother Knights, Book 2

Available at:  Amazon | B&N

Back of the book:
Duty and desire clash to save a new Camelot from the sons of Mordred.
After his brother is made king by a dying Arthur, Braeden hopes to help rebuild Camelot and carry on Arthur's vision for the kingdom. Together with the new queen, and her companion Janne, a new era begins.
Although the ways of Merlin and Morganna are banned from court, Janne holds to the goddess. She finds the mind overrules the heart as passion explodes each time she and Braeden are together. 
With the sons of Mordred, plotting the ultimate revenge…brother versus brother…there is no peace to be had in Camelot. When Janne is exposed as a Druidess, she and Braeden must find a way to expose the plot to take down Camelot while maintaining the ideals the majestic realm was built upon.



About the Author:
Born long ago in a place not so far away, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, Kathryn Quick has been writing since
the Sisters in St. Casmir’s Grammar School gave her the ruled yellow paper and a number two pencil.  She writes contemporary and career romances, romantic comedies, historical romances as well as urban fantasy.

She has been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1990 and considers it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001.  She is one of the founding members of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a multi-genre writers’ organizations dedicated to furthering the craft of writing and helping aspiring writers move onto publication.

Kathye originally wanted to be President of the United States or an Organic Chemist, but somehow life got in the way and she got married right out of high school and had a set of twins two years later.  The Presidency seemed out of reach and night school to get her Ph.D. to create new molecule that would ultimately result in the betterment of humankind seemed a little time consuming while trying to raise twins, so she decided to write instead.

In her "other" life, Kathye is married to her real-life hero Donald and has three grown sons all having adventures of their own and three “bonus” grandchildren.  She is a die-hard New Jersey Devils fan and works for Somerset County government (as close as she could get to the White House) and is plotting a novel about a new molecule that will ultimately result in the betterment of humankind.

Connect with Kathryn:




Kathryn Quicks's Braeden & Janne Blog Tour Schedule:
**********
May 13 - 31

5/13- United by Books (series spotlight)
http://unitedbybooks.blogspot.com/

5/14- Deal Sharing Aunt (interview & series spotlight)
http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/

5/15-Curse of the Bibliophile (guest post & review)
http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/

5/16- Riverina Romantics (guest post)
http://riverinaromantics.blogspot.com/

5/17- Romantic Crush Junkies  (guest post)
http://rcjrezine.com/

5/18- Romance Junkies  (interview)
http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

5/19- Book Monster Reviews (guest post)
http://www.bookmonsterreviews.com/

5/20- Mad Hatter Reads  (guest post)
http://madhatterreads.blogspot.com/

5/23- Bookin' It Reviews  (series spotlight)
http://www.bookinitreviews.com/

5/24- Book Lovin' Mamas  (interview)
http://booklovinmamas.blogspot.com//

5/25- Fandom Fanatic  (series spotlight)
http://fandomfanatic.blogspot.com/

5/26- Offbeat Vagabond (interview)
http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/

5/27- Sassy Book Lovers  (series spotlight & excerpt)
http://sassybooklovers.blogspot.com/


5/28- Froggarita's Bookcase  (interview & series spotlight)
http://www.froggaritasbookcase.com/

5/30- Toot's Book Reviews  (series spotlight)
http://tootsbookreviews.blogspot.com/

5/31- The Reading Cafe  (guest post & series spotlight)
http://thereadingcafe.com/


Kathye is giving away the following prizes on her tour:

Grand Prize:   Kobo mini E-reader (US ONLY).  International winner will get a gift card

5 Runners-Up:  $10.00 gift card to Amazon or B&N


a Rafflecopter giveaway





Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Felicity Heaton's UNLEASH Blog Barrage Tour & Giveaway


CLICK TO FOLLOW ALONG ON THIS BOOK TOUR!

Unleash, the sixth book in Felicity Heaton’s Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series is now available. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a fantastic giveaway at her website and she’s also offering the first book in the series, Covet, for FREE at selected Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books and Apple iBooks Stores.

You can find all the links for the Covet special offer (and two other free paranormal romance ebooks) at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php

GIVEAWAY TIME!
Find out how to enter the Unleash international giveaway (ends May 26th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 5 chapter sample of the novel: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Unleash



Here’s more about Unleash, including an excerpt from this long vampire romance novel.


Unleash
(Vampire Erotic Theatre 
Romance Series Book 6)

Felicity Heaton
A powerful vampire lost deep in his bloodlust, Snow is a savage animal, mindless with rage and a thirst for violence, and trapped with no hope of awakening from an endless nightmare… until a song draws him up from the abyss, restoring his sanity but leaving him haunted by the sweet feminine scent of lilies and snow, and fragmented familiar lyrics.
When the mysterious and beautiful songstress reappears in Snow’s room at Vampirerotique, she awakens a fierce protective streak and stirs dark desires that drive him to claim her as his female, even when he knows his touch will destroy her innocence.
A single forbidden taste is all it takes to unleash emotions in Aurora that she shouldn’t possess, tearing her between duty and desire, and luring her into surrendering to her wildfire passion and embracing hungers that burn so hotly they threaten to consume them both.
One act of kindness can lead to one thousand acts of sin though, each a black mark against the bearer’s soul and another grain of sand that slips through an hourglass. The clock is ticking and time is almost up. Can beauty save the beast?


Unleash is available from these and many other ebook stores:




Snow ducked his head under the hot spray of water and closed his eyes as it soaked through his hair, washing away the shampoo.

He braced his hands against the black tiles in front of him in the double-width shower stall and hung his head forwards, letting the water hit his nape and cascade over his back. The heat soothed the last remnants of tightness from his muscles.

He had worked out in his apartment after Antoine had gone, putting his body through its paces to try to bring himself back to full strength, and had needed this shower. It completed the therapeutic and almost ritualistic process of putting the past three weeks out of his mind by erasing the evidence stamped on his body—the weakness, the bloodstains, and the fatigue. He always felt better afterwards. Almost normal.

Snow opened his pale blue eyes and stared at his feet. Rivulets streamed from the tips of his white hair and his chin and nose, catching the light and sparkling as they fell to the tray far below.

His lips parted and he sighed. Working out had felt good but a shower was always the best medicine after an extended period of captivity. It revitalised him, leaving him feeling alive and awake, and at peace.

He had already scrubbed himself from head to toe twice over, paying close attention to his wrists and ankles.

Snow straightened, the water beating on his broad bare chest, and removed one hand from the wall. He turned his palm upwards and stared down at his scarred wrist.

The marks would fade in time, his preternatural healing taking care of them and leaving smooth skin behind. They were always chafed though, permanent evidence that he had to spend his days wearing leather-lined steel cuffs attached to inch-thick chains that were secured to the industrial grade steel posts at the corners of his bed.

When they had first moved to the theatre, he had forced Antoine to purchase the strongest, thickest metal posts he could find and make a bed out of them for him. Antoine had protested but had done as he had asked in the end, arranging for the restraints at the same time.

His younger brother had told him countless times that he didn’t need to chain himself each day, and Snow had always countered that it was necessary and he did not mind it.

He did. He hated it.

That was beside the point though.

It was necessary, and ever since that fateful night centuries ago, he had always done whatever was necessary to protect others from himself.

Snow heaved a sigh, his chest expanding with it, powerful muscles straining, and ran his hand down his face.

It would have been so much easier if Antoine had agreed to do as Snow had asked that same night and destroyed him.

He deserved to be put down like the rabid beast he was.

Antoine was nothing if not stubborn though. He had been bleeding profusely from the savage wounds Snow had inflicted upon him, carving up his chest and arms so badly that Antoine had scarred rather than healed completely. Snow had thought he would seek revenge for himself and their family, or perhaps take his head as an act of mercy. He had dared to hope his brother would do what was right.

Antoine had refused to kill him and had even pressed him to promise that he would never kill himself either. Snow had agreed and regretted it the moment it had left his lips.

The past few centuries had been hell. Seeing Antoine every night and knowing what he had done to him, the fact he had almost killed the brother he loved with all of his black heart. Seeing Antoine and knowing that he had stolen everything from his brother in one night of madness. Seeing his brother and knowing that he had butchered their entire family.

Seeing Antoine’s face and seeing their mother’s pale blue eyes and their father’s dark brown hair.

It was enough to drive a man insane.

It was a good job he was already crazy.

Snow switched off the shower, ran his hands over his hair to squeeze the water out, and slid the glass cubicle door open. He stepped out onto the black tiles and grabbed a thick white towel. A very impractical colour, but he liked the touch of purity and lightness it brought into his dark world.

He scrubbed the towel over his hair and then dried himself off with one hand. He swiped his free palm across the clouded mirror, clearing enough to reveal his reflection and the main room of his apartment through the open door behind him.

He never liked to look at himself, normally hated seeing his reflection and seeing his mother’s eyes and hair, knowing what he had done to her, but he sometimes felt the need to look and remind himself of what he had done.

A twisted form of punishment.

He dropped the damp towel, pressed both palms against the edge of the black counter, and leaned forwards over the sink, staring hard at his reflection.

A face his mother had often called angelic.

The face of a cold-blooded murderer.

Snow growled and slammed his right fist into his face in the mirror, splintering the glass. Fire seared his knuckles and blood instantly ran down the shards of mirror. He pulled his fist back and plucked a sliver of glass from the soft flesh between his index and middle finger, and dropped it into the sink.

The scent of blood compelled him to taste it, stirring the darkness that constantly lurked within him, stalking just beneath the surface, barely restrained.

He rinsed his bloodied knuckles off in the black oval sink and then inspected them. Two of the cuts were deep. He lifted his hand to his face and sucked those two, drawing more blood to the surface. It tasted foul.

His stomach cramped and he spat the blood into the sink and then swiped his tongue across his knuckles to seal the wounds. The bleeding was already slowing. Within a few minutes, his flesh would begin to knit itself back together and heal.

He took a small towel and wrapped it around his hand, and then strolled naked into his bedroom. The bed loomed directly in front of him. He had promised Antoine that he would sleep and he meant to keep that promise.

He wanted to be sane enough to head down to the party even if it was only for a few minutes. Everyone was depending on him and he didn’t want to let all of them down. They had held off on celebrating the arrival of the twins so he could share in the joy of the event. He needed to be there.

He veered right, heading for the ebony chest of drawers that lined the black wall there next to his elegant wardrobe. He pulled out one of the smaller drawers at the top, fished a fresh pair of black boxers out, and shut it again. Someone spoke in the hall. Snow paused and listened. Callum was talking to Payne as they walked along the hall towards Callum’s apartment beyond Snow’s one. Discussing children.

Payne had taken responsibility for the witch’s youngling? Snow had never pictured the young vampire as a father. He had always imagined him to be more of a bachelor forever type because of his incubus blood.

Was everyone going to settle down and produce offspring now?

Snow tugged his boxer shorts on. They were all going to leave him behind. Everyone had a female now, something warm and tender in their lives. They were complete.

Where did that leave Snow?

With a frustrated growl, he pulled his wardrobe doors open, grabbed fresh bed linen from the stack he kept at the bottom, and slammed them shut again. What did he care about females? No female in her right mind would want him, and he certainly did not want a female.

He could never trust himself with something so weak and breakable.

He lumbered across his room, bare feet thumping against the wooden floor, and dumped the black linen beside his bed. He stripped the soiled covers off and focused on replacing them with fresh ones to keep his mind off a topic that had often angered him.

He had warred with himself many times about finding a female, debating the pros and cons of such a mission, and all the possible outcomes. It was highly likely that a female would leave him the moment she discovered the ugly truth about him, his bloodlust, and his horrific past.

He would probably react to her betrayal by losing his head to bloodlust and killing her.

He had a tendency to react violently whenever someone sought to hurt him.

Breaking his heart would cause him the ultimate pain.

Snow shook that thought away and smoothed the edges of his black covers down, neatening them. He grabbed his black robe and slung it on, but didn’t bother to fasten the belt.

Darkness swirled inside him like a rising tide that he was powerless to hold back. He breathed slowly, trying to work past the tightening knot in his breast, hoping to calm down before he lost himself again.

He sat on the bed and lay with his back against the pillows and his head against the steel bars of the headboard. He cast a glance at the restraints that rested on the pillows on either side of him. They were there if he needed them and that gave him back a fraction of his control, but didn’t quell his rising bloodlust.

His heart galloped, refusing to heed his attempts to slow it, and he closed his eyes and focused on positive things. The battle between his darker hungers and his desire to remain sane intensified and he breathed harder, drawing deep and filling his lungs with cool air. The soft scent of lilies and snow lingered in that air and his mind drifted to the lyrics of the song.

Calm swept through him, driving back the darkness for a brief second before it surged forwards again, obliterating the sense of peace.

A breeze washed over his bare flesh.

Snow frowned. There were no windows in his room. The breeze carried the unmistakable scent of snow yet it felt warm, and familiar.

Someone was in his apartment. He felt their presence as a soft caress that reached right down to his tainted soul and chased the black shadows from it.

Snow drew in a deeper breath of lily of the valley and snow, the pure feminine scent stirring his body and soothing the tension from it. He held it in his lungs and slowly opened his eyes, settling them directly on the dark beauty standing at the foot of his bed.

She was stunning, with a fall of glossy raven hair that playfully curled around slender shoulders and contrasted against her milky skin, heart-shaped rosy lips, a button nose, and the most incredible yet familiar eyes. They were turquoise around the outside but faded to a brilliant blue at their centres, around the dark mesmerising chasms of her pupils.

A pure white dress clung to dangerous curves and full breasts that would make any man’s eyes linger on her, evoking images in his head that he shouldn’t entertain but couldn’t keep at bay. He had never seen a female like her.

The white layers of her dress criss-crossed over her torso, forming a zigzagging line downwards from between the swell of her creamy breasts to the point above her navel. They flowed from there, free and untamed, drifting down to caress her ankles and her small bare feet.

Beautiful.

Unleash is available now from all Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, and Apple iBooks Stores. It will soon be available for Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader and also in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 5 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the Unleash giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Unleash



Books in the Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series



About Felicity Heaton:
Felicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her
books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton




Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Guest Author & Giveaway Featuring Dark Flight by Cassie Carver


Today we have author Cassi Carver stopping in with a guest post and great giveaway celebrating the upcoming release of Dark Flight! Get comfy and join us for a bit while we dish about book blogs and a day-in-the life. Fun stuff! 

After you enjoy Cassi's post don't forget to leave some author love in the comment section because I know hearing from readers is one of the best experiences for an author. ;) And if you will, leave your email addy to enter for a chance at a digital copy of Dark Flight. Happy Reading!

Welcome to BIR, Cassie! It's great to have you here for a spell!




Hi and thank you for having me on Bookin’ It Reviews today! Do you read a lot of book blogs and have you ever wondered what a typical day in the life of a full-time writer looks like? I do!

Alas, I know quite a few writers, and I’m not sure there is such a thing as a typical day. Sure, some writers are disciplined and some have word count goals. Some write by the seat of their pants and some plot the story points until every key twist and turn is perfectly mapped out. But each writer’s process is as unique as the writer herself.

I know what I want my days to look like. I’d like to wake up every morning and wave goodbye to my four teens as they slip out the door for school—early, of course, with their lunches packed and their perfect essays filed neatly in their backpacks. (Oh—and even better, my oldest son would drive them in the hand-me-down gold minivan I gave him, because heaven knows they wouldn’t all fit in my new two-seater sports car.)

And after the kids were at school, I’d feed my grateful pets then take a long bath that felt like an hour, but surprisingly only took fifteen minutes. I would emerge from said bath and let my hair air-dry to perfection while I ate breakfast and read the morning paper front to back. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I’d jogged five miles before the bath—but then, in this alternate reality, jogging is so easy that it’s easy to forget something like that.

Soon after breakfast, I would slip into my office (Because of course I have a designated office. An elegant one.), and then I’d start to write, adding two thousand words an hour to a manuscript that was sure to be an instant classic, stopping only to jump on Facebook or Twitter to answer fans’ questions about when the next release is due out or giving my stamp of approval to yet another child being named after one of my heroes or heroines.
At the end of that long (yet incredibly delightful) day, my husband would reward my hard work with a delicious home-cooked meal and nice thirty minute massage.

Wouldn’t that be AMAZING???

Well, that’s not exactly how my typical day goes. The kids are usually rushing out the door and I’m chasing them down the street with their forgotten lunch sack. The pets…actually, yes, the pets are super grateful. (I’ve never felt like such a rock-star for throwing down a bowl of kibble.) But the words don’t always surge from my brain onto the keyboard at an astonishing speed.

Still, it works for me. Regardless of what was happening around me—like orthodontic appointments, running kids to sporting events, and general familial chaos—when I wrote book 3 in The Shadow Slayers series, Dark Flight, it felt like everything was exactly how it should be.

Fans of the series have been through a lot with the characters, and I think they are really going to love this book. Writing it wasn’t a chore, but a pleasure. I was as teary-eyed at the end of the novel as I hope readers will be, and completing that Dark Flight taught me something…

I may not have the “perfect” writer’s life, but as long as I can finish books that speak to something deep inside me and I get the chance to share those books with readers—that’s perfectly all right with me.
As a thank you for stopping by, I’d like to give away a digital copy of Dark Flight to someone who comments today. Will you share with us one thing you’d have or do on your perfect day?



Dark Flight
The Shadow Slayers, Book 3
Cassi Carver

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Date of Publication: May 21,2013

ISBN: 978-1-61921-550-4
ASIN: B00B99RJPK

Number of pages: 263 pages
Word Count: 83,000

Cover Artist: Angela Waters

Amazon   BN   Samhain

Book Description:
 
In a world of shadows, a pure heart can be the most dangerous weapon of all.
 
Kara has been training for months to help take down Brakken—the merciless black-wing who is making life hell for the Demiáre. But when Julian discovers a scout has been tracking Kara, he wants her out of the fight—even if it means breaking her heart in the process.
 
Gavin isn’t much better. He’s already lost so much to Brakken and has no intention of allowing the woman he loves to be the next sacrifice. He and Julian have their hands full trying to fight Brakken’s army and keep Kara safe, especially after her recent visit to the mythical white-wings. Since her return, she’s been acting decidedly…strange.
 
With a terrible battle looming, Kara doesn’t have time to think about her conflicted feelings for Gavin and Julian—or the fact that she’s developed an unnatural taste for Gavin’s blood. But if she thought it was complicated evading mysterious scouts and fending off vicious black-wings, she’s learning that’s nothing compared to loving two strong-willed men.
 
Product Warnings:
 
This book contains angels that aren’t what they seem, a heroine with mad midwifery skills, and a metamorphosis that will change life as we knew it.


Shadow Rising
The Shadow Slayers, Book 2
Cassi Carver

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Date of Publication:
September 25, 2012-digital
August 6, 2013-print

ISBN-10: 1619213648
ISBN-13: 978-1619213647
ASIN: B00B99RJPK

Number of pages: 272 pages, print
Word Count: 82,000

Cover Artist: Angela Waters

Amazon    BN     Samhain   Sony

Book Description:
 
Her lover is back from the dead…but now there’s hell to pay.
 
When Kara Reed learns her bondmate, Julian, is truly dead, and that Gavin has seemingly skipped town, she figures things have hit rock bottom. But soon, a string of bizarre accidents has her doubting those closest to her. And to make matters worse, the demon-king’s brand carved into her best friend Abbey’s stomach is deteriorating by the day.
 
Then a powerful coven of witches issues Kara an ultimatum. Bring them the blood of a true fallen angel—the only thing that will heal Abbey—or die. Kara would do anything to help her friend. Problem is, the only fallen angel she’s seen lately is the disoriented black-wing who attacked her scouts. One who looks suspiciously like Julian. Getting his blood might be easier if he was more interested in kissing her than killing her.
 
Caught between a coven of vengeful witches and a murderous dead lover, Kara must deliver the blood, heal the slow poison of Abbey’s brand, and save Julian from being consumed by the Abyss. But to do this, she may need the help of the one man she swore never to trust again…Gavin.
 
Product Warnings:
 
This book contains an angry demon returning from the dead, a clan lord hiding a terrible secret, and a hunted heroine cracking open a can of whoop-ass. Watch out for creepy kitties, exploding bad guys, and some very sudsy shower sex.


Slayer's Kiss
The Shadow Slayers, Book 1
Cassi Carver

Genre: Erotic Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Date of Publication: Feb 14, 2012-digital, Feb 5, 2013-print

ISBN-10: 1609288947
ISBN-13: 978-1609288945
ASIN: B0061SNX8G

Number of pages: 272
Word Count: 86,000

Cover Artist: Angela Waters

Amazon   BN   Sony     Samhain
  
Book Description: 
 
When the past flies in your face, clip its wings.
 
Slayer's Kiss , The Shadow Slayers, Book 1
 
Kara Reed is a supernatural failure. But where her magic falls short, her fists get the job done. The criminal element doesn’t stand a chance once she hits San Diego’s dark streets. 
 
When two smoking-hot tenants move in next door, she thinks her love life might finally be heating up. Just being near Gavin and Julian is enough to make her want to offer her body on a platter.
 
Gavin and Julian know it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out. They’re fallen angels sent to watch over the king’s daughter, one of the last females of her kind. Trouble is, she doesn’t seem to think she needs watching—unless they’re watching her shimmy out of her clothes.
 
No matter how tempting her guardians, Kara’s not about to let anything stop her from tracking down a sadistic killer who carves into his victims and leaves them for dead. Even when she realizes her target may be the very scourge of heaven from which her angels swore to protect her…
 
Product Warnings:
 
Contains a kick-ass heroine with a foul mouth, a kind heart and a raging libido, and two fallen angel warriors who wouldn’t have her any other way. Watch out for sex in the clouds, a magical island of hedonism and a love triangle that gives new meaning to the term “hot-wings”. 



About the Author:
Cassi Carver lives in sunny Southern California with two dogs, four kids, five chickens, and one hubby who gives great massages. She gets to San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter for research (okay, happy hour) as often as possible. She’s never saved the world, but she keeps sexy boots on hand just in case the opportunity arises.

When Cassi isn’t busy plotting or writing, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, caring for pets, getting outdoors, and watching sappy movies that deliver reliably happy endings.