My FREE Novella is offically released!

Okay, so, I wrote a short novella featuring a side character from my third book. It's all werewolf, baby, and lots of fun.

So, want it for free? Of course you do. Who doesn't like free stuff?

Just follow the link below and follow the instructions.

It's not hard. I swear. It only costs you a tweet or a facebook share. If you have neither, you can join my mailing list and still get the book. Cause I'm cool like that. The book will open in your browser as a pdf so anyone can read it.

So, tweet me and enjoy the free novella! Click here.

Character Fest!!!

Bitten by Paranormal Romance (an awesome website if you haven't checked it out yet) is hosting CharacterFest through all of October. Each day an author will be interviewing one of their characters from their paranormal romance books.

I'm so excited for this because the first week is Witch Week - and Sage (my Vwitcheress from Destiny Divided) will be there on Sunday, October 2nd. Authors will be available throughout the day to answer questions and interact with readers in the comments.

So come show your support and keep me busy by posting comments on Sunday!

Also check out the site for a list of other authors and support your favorites.

Basically, you should just hang out at the website all month long.

Seriously.

That's all there is to it.

Six Sentence Sunday and New Cover!!!

I have a treat for you. Not only six awesome sentences from Destiny Unchained (book 3, out in December), but also its cover!

I'm not going to blabber on and on about it, only acknowledge my very talented hubby who worked hours on the cover for me. Thank you, honey!

And here are your six sentences (as you can tell, I use the figure 6 loosely):

Cristian rolled his eyes and looked down at both legs surrounded by at least two feet of snow. “I gotta lay off the Chinese food.” He reached his hands toward her. “Help me out.”

Her lips twitched. “What’s the matter? Big, bad alpha stuck in a little snow?” She grasped his hands and started to pull, but when he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip, she realized her mistake. “Don’t you – ”

Her warning was cut off when, with a few swift movements, she was the one in the snow and Cristian stood grinning down at her.

“What’s the matter?” he taunted. “Big, bad assassin stuck in a little snow?”

Slackers!

All right. That's it. You guys asked for it. No one commented on Monday's post. Slackers! Now you get nothing.

Okay, you get something.

But it's my choice.

So there.

Naveen, baby, thank you for joining the column of manliness.

Manly Monday

I need nominations for another Manly Monday post. I already know one person who's going to nominate Shemar Moore again so we'll just put him up now.

Anyone else?

Do I have a second for Naveen Andrews (aka Lost Guy)?

I don't know, this picture is way hot. Anyone wanna just go with Shemar Moore for this week?

Teaser Tuesday

I missed Six Sentence Sunday. Sorry. Was apple picking with the kids. Sidenote: September 10 is too early for apple picking.

So I'm making up for it with a Teaser Tuesday. Here's a short excerpt from Destiny Unchained (which I'm trying to move the release date to early December).

“I just want to be your friend.” He almost looked sad as he stepped closer and put out a hand. “No man is an island.”

She stared at his outstretched hand. “I’m not a man.”

“It’s a figure of speech. It means everyone needs friends. No one should spend a lifetime alone.”

“That’s the werewolf way. Not so for vampires.”

“You have covens.”

“Some.”

“Not you?”

“Not me.”

He grabbed her hand before she could dodge him and held it tight when she tried to pull away. His fingers slid up her bare arm. It tingled. She stared at the goose bumps it left behind.

“Don’t you miss being touched?” His breath whispered across her cheek. “Don’t you miss the gentle feel of skin on yours?” He bent his head, his goatee rubbed against her cheek.

She stopped breathing. He was so warm she could have melted into a puddle on the floor. Her eyes fluttered closed.

“A simple touch from a friend is like water to a drying lotus. It quenches its thirst, imparting fortitude to weather the storms.”

Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him. “That’s bullshit. Where’d you hear that?”

“One of the greatest bearers of wisdom in our day.” He bent down to her ear and after a dramatic pause, he whispered, “Chinese fortune cookie.”

Have a great week everyone!

The Quintessential Alpha Hero

Women love a hot, alpha male in their fantasy stories (me included), am I right? So I've been thinking...what defines an alpha hero?

Common qualities I've seen in romance novels are; arrogant, dominating, overbearing, overprotective, and possessive.

Some good things, some not-so-good, right?

My first two book heroes fit this stereotypical "alpha male" to a T (whatever that means. Seriously, is it tee, or T, or "t" or what?). Especially my most recent book, Destiny United. Marcelo is alpha to the core, complete with giant ego and giant...well...other things.

But with my third book, I'm shaking things up a bit.

Cristian is an alpha - literally, the alpha of a werewolf pack. And he's got that strong, masculine vibe but....

it's just a little different from most heroes. Or at least my from last two. He's not arrogant, he's confident. He recognizes his weaknesses and wishes others would too. He doesn't like being put on a pedestal, even though it comes with the job.

He isn't controlling. He isn't overbearing or bossy. He can take control if he needs to - handy around groups of sometimes unruly werewolves. But he governs with fairness and compassion even when he has to be harsh.

But the biggest difference is that he trusts the heroine, Natalia, to make her own decisions. He is willing to share the leading role and recognizes when she might know more than him about a particular topic. And she recognizes the same in him. They are truly a partnership. And all fantasy aside, that's what a good marriage is built on.

Okay, so I won't try to play therapist any longer.

So what ultimately makes an alpha?

Self-confidence is important. Knowing who he is, strengths and weaknesses, and having a healthy view of them. And it comes down to leadership. A good leader uplifts those around him. He earns their respect and trust instead of demanding it. He rallies supporters, he doesn't bully them. He takes care of those under his care, putting their welfare above his own. He can mete out judgement and swift punishment ruthlessly as well as gentle kisses to those he loves.

So what part of original alpha list did I keep in Cristian?

The possessiveness and protectiveness of course! That's the good part of an alpha, right ladies? You want your man to want you, and only you! You want him to stand up for you at any cost. And even if you're capable of kicking some ass on your own (yeah, I had a green belt in Tae Kwon Do, I get it), you still want your man to want to kick some ass for you!

It's been interesting writing this different brand of alpha hero, but I'm starting to really like it.

Anyway, just for fun, here's my list of favorite PNR heroes. (I only picked the big names so you'd be more likely to know them.)

1. Jericho Barrons (though he pushes the boundaries a little for me)
2. Bones
3. Curran (Cristian is a little like him)
4. Any Lychan from Kresley Cole's IAD - especially Bowen!
5. And I have to mention my all-time favorite even though it's technically not a PNR - Jamie Fraser from The Outlander series

Now your turn. What makes a good alpha hero for you? Would you like to see some qualities redefined? Are there any alpha traits you truly hate? I want the whole scoop.

Six Sentence Sunday

I'm copying my cool author friends (check out their blogs here. Casea and Jenna) and doing a six sentence Sunday.

This is from Destiny Unchained, my next PNR novel coming out January 2012, featuring Natalia (Marcelo's wife from when he was human) from book 2, Destiny United.

Destiny Unchained - a cold-hearted vampire assassin takes on werewolf pack alpha

"You’re in my territory,” he said.

What was with werewolves and their damned territory? “For fuck’s sake,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “You must have missed a spot when you pissed around the border. I didn’t realize you owned the whole damned state.”

One large stride and he was inches from her face, his palm spanning the width of her lower back. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, “I do. And I own Montana too. So if you’re thinking about following The Silver Slayer north, get used to seeing me. I have no intention of giving up just because a cocky, reckless vampire is scared of a little teamwork.”

 Are you intrigued? I hope so because I am loving writing this book and I'm so excited to release it! I think you'll love my Ice Queen and her counterpart, who's just the coolest, most laid-back hero I've written yet.

Which brings me to my next point. My next post will be about Alpha heroes (come on, you know you love 'em). I know I said that, like, a week ago but I've been on vacation. But this week I'll get to it so stay tuned. I need your feedback.

And don't forget about the Indie Book Blowout sale all weekend. Books priced at $0.99. There's some really great ones (including mine) so tell your friends and shop away! 

http://indiebookblowout.com/Indie_Book_Blowout/Genres.html


***Bonus hottie***

Here's what I picture Cristian, hero book 3, looks like.

Indie Blowout Labor Sale!!!!

So this is pretty much all I'm going to be talking all weekend. Is it because I'm as obnoxious as a car salesman. No! It's because there are fabulous deals you just can't walk away from!

Okay, maybe I'm a little obnoxious.

Anyway, every book in the sale is $0.99. They're e-books so if you don't have an e-reader yet...get one!

Or, enter on the site to win one. Most of the book links on the site go to amazon but you can also get each book (most likely) at any e-reader site or on smashwords (which you can read pdf or html). Basically there's a version for everyone.

Anyway, that's all the sales pitching I'll be doing. If you're considering buying either of my books, you can check out my website and read the first chapter of each as well as reviews. The link is on the right hand column.

Have a great Labor Day everyone!!!!

INDIE BLOWOUT SALE LINK