Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Guest: Author Cynthia Arsuaga



Thanks for having me here today Tricia.

I wanted to share my latest release, Born Again in Dreams. This is the third book in the Born Vampire Series. I got the inspiration for this particular one by researching being a savant after watching a program on television. I expanded the idea to be a part of the vampire stories I was writing at the time. With some brainstorming, I came up with the final product. I hope you enjoy the excerpts!

BLURB:
The Master of His Domain
Sorin Bochinsky, Master and Commander of the Eastern European Blood Family, controls everyone and everything around him, except the woman of his dreams with the face of an angel prevents his needed rest. She’s the light to his dark and pained existence. The search begins to find the mysterious woman of his nightmares before he goes insane.

An Angel Awakens
Merliah Travers suffered more than serious injuries from a car accident over four years ago. She awakens in a place where the pain and scars have hidden her away from the world. A fantasy lover leads her out of the darkness and into the light, then discovers a special ability acquired during the coma has put her in danger.

Two lost, scarred souls battle their inner demons and a fanatic killer to unite as one, to never be alone, and be born again in dreams, forever.

ADULT EXCERPT:
He stood up and pulled her to her feet at the same time. Merliah’s gaze dropped to the waistband of his black trousers, and then to the bulge at his groin, and with her eyes burning with intensity, he realized her highly aroused state. He didn’t need to use his vampire skills. Their times together in the dreams made him keenly aware of her preferences and desires. His stomach knotted with instant need with the knowledge, causing his cock to press harder on the zipper of his trousers, causing some discomfort. He enjoyed the new pleasure of reading her body instead of using his senses as a vampire to recognize them. His heart raced in anticipation of discovering the nuances of her body from this new perspective. Like exploring virgin territory.
“Do you think anyone will see us?”
“No, I believe the trees are thick enough where we are. We should be hidden. I can barely see the light on the other side.” His tongue slid along a full bottom lip. “Now, let me undress you.”
As he steadied her, he reached around her back and slowly drew down the zipper. He smiled as the dress slipped from her shoulders and down her body, landing in a puddle on the ground. She stood before him in matching black bra and panties. “I want to see every inch of your skin, to touch you all over. Experience you like this is our first time.” Then he slipped one digit under the strap of her bra and gently nudged it off her shoulder. Reaching around, he unclipped the fastener and the delicate lacy fabric fell to the ground. Cupping the lush flesh of her breasts, he kneaded the generous orbs until she leaned forward against him.
“Oh, don’t stop, Sorin,” she pleaded softly.
His fingers gently traced the contours of her brow, her cheek, her jaw, slowly moving toward the curve of her throat. Bending his head forward, he brushed his mouth across the tingling skin, trailing tiny kisses down her neck.
“Oh yes, I want that too. Please…” Her voice trailed off.
Sorin’s grin widened. “But first, I want to taste you.” He dropped to his knees between her legs and brushed his hand across the skin of her thigh. “Spread your legs for me, angel.”
Without hesitation, she did as he demanded. Using one finger, he hooked it around the elastic and tugged the slight slip of lacy fabric down over her hips, then tore them away from her body, growling his pleasure.
“Hey, those were my nicest pair.”
“I’ll get you another.” One hand held her hip and the other palmed her mound. He glanced up at her and licked his lips, then slipped his tongue between her tender folds, tasting her with a groan of what sounded like relief.
She threw her head back with a hiss, “Oh God yes!”
He sucked and licked, urged on as her cries and pants got more urgent. Pressing closer and teasing her pussy with his tongue, he then slipped a finger into her heat and groaned as he flicked more forcefully. She squirmed under his ministrations and arched her body into his mouth as she opened wider for him. He spread the swollen lips and ran his tongue from the bottom to the top but stopped just short of touching her clit. She moaned and whimpered, seeming to want to be licked senselessly. Taking the suggestion with determination, he licked and tugged all around the sensitive nubbin, resisting the little nudges she kept making to push him to the point of pleasure.
Finally, she grabbed his hair. “You’re teasing me. Touch me there,” she demanded.
A soft growl vibrated in the back of his throat and he chuckled inwardly. His angel was taking control and he’d have none of that. Bringing her to submission was his primary goal and he’d provide the incentive for her to succumb to his dominance. The more his lips touched hers, the more he insinuated his control over her. As soon as she let go of his hair, he sucked the waiting clit inside his mouth and flicked his tongue over and over until she screamed.
“Shh, angel. You’ll draw attention to us.” He stopped and waited for her to catch her breath then started licking and sucking again. Just when he sensed she was about to climax again, he stopped and stood up.
“On your hands and knees, angel.” As she complied with his demand, he divested the remainder of his clothing. He dropped to his knees and positioned his long and thick cock at her entrance. “You’re so wet and ready for me.” Then he ran his cockhead along her swollen folds, lubricating the tip with her juices, and with one thrust he pushed inside her hot sheath. She groaned and pushed back against him until he entered her just a few inches. He stopped and pulled out and repeated again. The soft mewing noises she made indicated her need for more, and still he stopped just short of fully entering her. He wanted her begging and he didn’t have to wait long. His angel was a quick learner.
“Please,” Merliah cried.
“Please what?”
“Make love to me. I can’t stand it anymore. I need you inside, Sorin.”
Obliged to please, he plunged his rock-hard cock deep into her moist heat. As her wet sheath gripped him, he roared his pleasure, which echoed through the forest of her creation. Her internal muscles contracted around his shaft, wringing another moan from both of them. She met his rhythm, urging him on. The need to feel her milk him to completion pulsed through his body. “So tight and wet.” He leaned over and growled into her ear.
Merliah tilted her head to the side, exposing the smooth, pale skin of her throat. The desire to bite her burned inside him, but his fangs did not descend. The beast within didn’t claw at his chest.

STORY EXCERPT:
After four years wandering in the darkness of her mind, ready to succumb to the grim pain, Merliah experienced such desperation, depression and fatigue, she wanted to scream and find a way to end the misery. The strong survival instinct brought her out of the coma initially years ago, but her strength to fight remained hanging by a thread. This wasn’t living, awake and aware but unable to communicate in any form was like death. When the pitch-blackness first happened, she tried repeatedly to call out, but her voice couldn’t be heard. Relentless, she tried over and over, to move a toe, a finger, and she even cried to draw attention. The nurse, who witnessed the one tear, all those years ago, dismissed the physical plea.
Merliah’s parents had her moved from the hospital to another facility. She understood the distant voices calling the new place, Berger Institute. The first reaction was of shock. Ohmigod, I’ve been put in an institution with crazy people. Am I insane? She refused to believe Robbie abandoned her, but after leaving the hospital, she never heard his sweet voice again. The man she loved gave up and left her without saying good-bye and her imprisonment became more painful and lonely. Her parents’ voices faded as well. Time ceased for her and she slipped deeper and deeper into the gloomy abyss, existing on a different plane of consciousness. She could hear and feel on the outside, but remained in the darkness of her mind unable to communicate to her loved ones. Time seemed to cease to exist. She’d occasionally hear the staff celebrating a holiday, but after a few coming and going, Merliah stopped counting. The instinctive will to survive faded.
One more cry out into the emptiness before she resigned to death’s call was made as a last resort, and to her surprise and elation, a voice answered. First, faintly, then it grew louder. A deep, melodic, and velvety voice broke through the darkness reaching toward her. It was a man, with a beautiful deep tone. His voice consoled her, wrapped around her and pulled her toward the light. She cried tears of joy and then a slight fear overtook her thoughts. Am I dead? Is he the Angel of Death from the stories I’ve read?
Up to that point, everything that made sense in her black world evaporated. Minutes, hours, days, months slipped by slowly and now someone reached out to her. How long she wandered aimlessly in her mind, often time curled up in a ball in the depths of the bottomless pit, she didn’t know. Time meant nothing without any reference point. The sweet-sounding, shadow man had found her, and brought her into the light. Who was he and how did he find her when no one else could? She didn’t know and didn’t care about the details. He had found her, the only thing that mattered.
From the murky shadows, arms outstretched to clasp on to reality. She jolted when his cold hand touched hers, swiftly pulling her toward the light with his commanding voice guiding the way. Feeling the strong power moving her forward, she feared he was the Dark Angel of Death and not salvation to the world she had known before the blackness became her present life. She pulled back from the stranger, frightened more than relieved. As she battled with the fear, she glanced up but was unable to view his face, only sense the touch which set her skin afire.
Several seconds ticked by, and a little more of the self-control eroded away. His dominant presence began to put her at ease, and with one foot in front of the other, he guided her through the prison of hopelessness.
“Come with me, you’ll be okay. I won’t hurt you.” The voice spoke softly, a low, lyrical, and heavily accented one. Where is he from?
The power he exuded surrounded her again and his efforts to save her worked as she fell under his spell and into the tight embrace. Fear, anger and desperation had driven her to this desperate position. She either had to trust him to lead her home or believe he was Death, or allow him to eliminate the misery of her present existence. Either way, the hellish nightmare would end. Could she leave the nightmare and be born again in dreams? Apprehension still held her back because he could be nothing more than wishful thinking on her part.
“You scare me. I called out for a long time and you’re the first person to answer my cries. Am I dead?” The words were tentative, barely above a whisper.
“I don’t sense you are. Blood runs strong through your veins. Your skin is warm and your eyes are bright. You are definitely alive,” the shadow man’s velvety voice soothed her.
Ohmigod, this man’s voice could melt icebergs. He certainly did a good job of bringing life back into her desolate reality. Merliah’s senses screamed as if she were freefalling over a cliff, becoming light-headed and the wind knocked out of her lungs. Between his seductive words and the sensuous touch, the hunger of desire clawed her insides to be released. The arousal continued with thin fingers tickling up and down her spine. The light touches lit nerve endings on fire and caused her pussy to contract. Her clit ached for attention, a simple caress to ease the need she had not felt in God only knows how long.
The world she once remembered swirled in heat and desire. She swallowed hard and tried to stifle the passion down building in her core. The power of his presence shoved right back. Merliah stumbled backward and gasped as the energy surged upward when gazing into the glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness. The stare was one of a predator, a carnal stare which stole her breath and sent her head spinning. She tried to breathe through the fire consuming her.

BUY LINK:
CONTACT ME:
Cynthia Arsuaga
Erotic Romance Author



About the Author
Cynthia resides in Orlando, Florida, the land of magic, surrounded by the treasured gems in her life, a caring, loving husband, dutiful and loyal daughter, and precious, delightful granddaughter. Oh and not to forget her mischievous Yorkshire terrier, Thumper.
Cynthia was a “Navy Brat” calling a different port home every couple of years—from Southern California, to Boston, to Virginia, to Florida. She developed wandering feet and diverse interests, and passionately incorporates those experiences into her stories, bringing characters to life, and eloquently sharing the vivid images of her mind with her audience.
Cynthia’s debut release, Born to Be Wild, came available January 12, 2011 and can be purchased at www.store.secretcravingspublishing.com. The list of releases available by her has grown. Born Again in Dreams is her twelfth release with Secret Cravings Publishing and more are on the schedule for release in 2012 and 2013.

Other Books by Cynthia
Born to Be Wild
Born to Play
Top Dog
Love and Death in the Big Easy
A Gift of Love
Texas Heat
The Cougar and Her Vampire
Vampire in Paris
Echoes in Eternity
Nightfall: Fantasies Fulfilled
Christmas with a Stranger (Free)
Five Hearts Anthology




Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Guest: Author Jennifer James



Is there someone that you had a crush on growing up, someone that if you saw walking down the street you’d be transported back in time to the teenager you used to be? All those old feelings surging to the surface, the smooth adult manners and flirtation you’d learned swept right under the rug?

In LONG TIME COMING, the hero Rob has had a crush on Joey since the first time he met her when he was only fifteen. Even though he’s now a grown man, an attorney in fact, the sight of her in a bikini nearly does him in.

I had so much fun watching the interplay between these two characters, and the way that the hero (who is well-educated and well versed in “intimate relations” *giggle*) found himself reduced to the teenage boy he used to be around Joey.

I think there’s someone out there for pretty much everyone that you might run into in a casual circumstance and find yourself stuttering like a fool or blushing uncontrollably. Rob gets himself under control when he realizes that Joey wants him right back and seeing his confidence grow with every encounter was great fun.

So, who’s your teenage crush? The one guy or gal you’d turn into a stuttering, embarrassed kid again around if you saw them at the grocery store or library or post office?

Blurb:
One scorching weekend of no-strings sex? Or the first two days of something special…Going home for his older sister’s wedding has been a real pain. Unable to get a room at a local hotel, he's stuck in his parents’ spare bedroom, in a twin bed too short for his six-four frame, with nothing to do but fantasize about his sister’s maid of honor and her little purple bikini. Joey Sanchez: the woman he’s had a crush on for the last ten years. All grown up in all the right places. And it just so happens she’s had a crush on him too.

Lucky for him, Joey knows what she wants. In the pool, in the movie theater, with some very hot text messages, she quenches his desire and demands no promises. She’s married to her career, and that’s the way she likes it. But with the weekend winding down, Rob realizes she’s only left him wanting more. And he doesn’t want to spend the next ten years without her…

Buy Links:


Author Bio:
Multi-published author are not three words that Jennifer James ever thought she would be associated with. Author of erotica and erotic romance, what she likes best are happy endings – whatever that might mean for the characters. Wife, mother of two Tiny Divas, college student, and office drone, when not writing Jenn enjoys the outdoors, adventures of all sorts, horror movies, and the occasional comic book.

Links:

Friday, September 7, 2012

News Reporter: it's a great gig

I'm pleased to have Lyndi Alexander visiting my blog today! And what a story!
 
One of the best periods of my writing career was spent in several years as a daily news reporter at the South Dade News Leader (http://www.southdadenewsleader.com/)  in Homestead, Florida. The job opened doors to me I’d never have expected.

With thanks to Alan Cleaver
I interviewed senators, doctors, astronauts, hurricane specialists and more. I could pick up the phone and ask for a tour of just about anything and got a warm welcome. I got to fly a F-14 jet flight simulator. (Good thing it wasn’t real—took me less than seven minutes to totally destroy a $6 million machine… oy.)

I wanted to bring a piece of that experience to my latest novel, Love Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, released this month by Hydra Publications, when I created Sara Woods, the young woman who comes to the Ralston Courier, a small paper in Ohio, to begin her life again after a nasty divorce. She isn’t new at the business; she’d worked as a reporter in a much bigger paper in Pittsburgh. But what she’s about to find is a bigger story than she’d ever encountered before—one that could actually take her life.

Small towns are a world unto themselves, with a lot of secrets hidden behind common doors that aren’t open to outsiders. It’s easy to see how someone new to town might miss some obvious clues, or some alliances that seem innocent, at least to begin with. I know it took me a long time to cultivate the right sources of information to help me sort through what was true and what was not.

But then I had all the time in the world. Sara doesn’t.

Young women are dying in this town, perfectly healthy young women, and someone has to find out why and stop the people who are responsible. If the police aren’t doing it, and the doctors can’t figure out why, then who else is left? Circumstances come together to leave Sara in that position. Then the trouble starts.

BLURB:

Running away isn’t necessarily the answer.

    In her mad rush to escape a failed marriage, Sara Woods takes the first job available and lands in the middle of a mystery. Her first assignment as a news reporter for the Ralston Courier is the investigation of a string of deaths, all young women, all her age.
     She becomes a patient at the Goldstone Clinic, a local mecca of healing, to deal with chronic pain from her past. But all is not as it seems at the Goldstone,  its doctors and nurses all the picture of perfect beauty and health. Patients at the clinic first seem to get better, then they deteriorate. Sara enlists the help of Dr. Rick Paulsen, who teaches her how to access her internal power, skills she never knew she had, revealing secrets from her past. Police officer Brendon Zale also takes an interest in Sara, but he acts like a stalker, watching her every move, and he won't leave her alone.
   As she digs deeper into the story, she tries to choose allies wisely, but not till the last confrontation does she discover the identity of her true enemy.
   By then, it’s too late.

EXCERPT:

Gloria kept me on a full round of assignments, though I still didn’t have a regular beat. I interviewed farmers, called state legislators on budget talks, and wrote obituaries. But I found that whenever I asked for time to do further investigation about Lily and the others, Gloria bent over backward to make it happen for me.
             While I was grateful, I thought it was unlike the hard-bitten editor to allow such devotion to a cause that had been shelved by the police and everyone else. She certainly didn’t seem to give others that leeway. After several days, I found myself alone with her by the coffeepot in the hallway between the news and sports departments, a pencil stuck behind one ear, looking very intellectual in the tortoise shell glasses. Her movements were stiff, caused by arthritis, according to newsroom scuttlebutt, but she refused any medication and denied any disability. I asked her about Lily.
            “Gloria, I get the feeling you should be telling me to get over this case and move on. But you don’t.”
            “No.” She poured a tall mug of black coffee.
            I waited for more of an explanation, but she didn’t elaborate. I shoved several quarters in the snack machine for some cheesy crackers. “So you think it’s worthwhile.”
            “Yes.” Gloria stared out the window, jaw set.
            She was as stubborn as I. A little smile inched across my lips. “Because?” I said pointedly.
            She looked up and down the hall, and started to speak, but bit her lip instead. “Come to my office,” she said, and marched away. After a moment of stunned silence, I followed her. She waited till I was inside, then shut the door. She turned on her radio, loud. National Public Radio’s Fresh Air,  and Terry Gross boomed forth, interviewing a movie director about independent film making. Gloria gestured at the chair next to the desk, and I took it, but she sat on the counter under the window, cranked it open so she could smoke.
            She took her time, burning up half the cigarette before she finally turned to me. “I want you to get them.”
            “Them who?”
            “The people who are killing all these women. Because there’s more than four. There’s more than the ones you pulled from O’Neal’s files. By my informal count, there’s at least 17.”
            “What?” My voice, tight with surprise, got almost shrill.
She glanced at the radio, then at the door, then at me.
            “Sorry,” I said, much more softly. “Where does that number come from?”
            “Several people have taken notice of the deaths, the pattern, the statistics. We’ve compared notes and done what we can, but the authorities were less then helpful.”
             “Good thing that’s changed,” I said with a heavy helping of sarcasm.
             She smiled without warmth. “Cops are cops. They’ll never change.” She tossed the cigarette butt out the window. “When you’re ready, I will give you my contacts. Because I want you to nail the bastards. They killed my baby sister.”

BUY LINKS:

Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Love-Me-Kiss-Kill-ebook/dp/B008WCZIZK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346811901&sr=8-5&keywords=lyndi+alexander
Barnes and Noble.com:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-me-kiss-me-kill-me-lyndi-alexander/1112464898?ean=2940014864022