Vacations, Angels, and Carrie Ann Ryan!

Today I want to welcom Carrie Ann as she talked vacations (sort of) and angels. One yummy angel to be exact!

Flying with no Fear

My lovely host asked me to talk about my favorite vacation and I actually had to think about that! LOL I haven’t been on a true vacation in such a long time, but when I was younger and living in Portugal. Since my parents were in the military, there weren’t many times that we could take vacations. But since I was living on in the Azores (the little islands of the coast of Portugal) we got to take mini-vacations.

I think I walked every square inch of that volcanic island as a kid. I visited shops, saw bullfights in the streets, went caving in volcanic pits, kayaked in the Atlantic Ocean, rode bikes over hills and dirt roads. We learned culture, met wonderful people…and hated it.

I was a bratty 12 year old who wanted a mall. What can I say? Sure, I liked it while I was doing things. But mostly? I was bored without anything to do. So I made things up to do.

Like cliff diving.

I was the slightly overweight, short, blonde girl, who at 12 was a senior in high school. Can you just see the romantic comedy coming from my life story? Well, I was that kid who smiled, loved to talk, was geeky, and didn’t have a boyfriend.

But when the time came to cliff dive off the sides of the volcanic rock into the Atlantic Ocean? I was the only American to do it – the five or six Portuguese kids taught us how to do it safely. The boys and girls who had tormented me and called me CCC for Chubby-Cheeks-Carrie were too afraid of heights and water.

Well screw them.

I jumped over and over again. I dove with turtles and fish. Saw dolphins…even a few sharks (yikes!). But I swam like a fish and flew like an…angel?

Yeah, I think my angel from Dust of My Wings, Shade, would have been proud of me. My favorite vacation was not a vacation at all. But a two year part of my life where I grew up a little, found people I never thought I would, and flew.

A pretty cool vacation for me. Don’t you think?

I love that! Wow, it sounds amazing, Carrie! What...no pictures of the Azores?

Carrie Ann will be awarding Dust of my Wings "swag" packs to one commenter at every stop, a $25 Amazon GC and necklace (pictured to the left) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so don't forget to follow her tour and comment!

Blurb:
Humans aren’t as alone as they choose to believe. Every human possesses a trait of supernatural that lays dormant within their genetic make-up. Centuries of diluting and breeding have allowed humans to think they are alone and untouched by magic. But what happens when something changes?

Neat freak lab tech, Lily Banner lives her life as any ordinary human. She’s dedicated to her work and loves to hang out with her friends at Dante’s Circle, their local bar. When she discovers a strange blue dust at work she meets a handsome stranger holding secrets – and maybe her heart. But after a close call with a thunderstorm, she may not be as ordinary as she thinks.

Shade Griffin is a warrior angel sent to Earth to protect the supernaturals’ secrets. One problem, he can’t stop leaving dust in odd places around town. Now he has to find every ounce of his dust and keep the presence of the supernatural a secret. But after a close encounter with a sexy lab tech and a lightning quick connection, his millennia old loyalties may shift and he could lose more than just his wings in the chaos.

Excerpt:
“Hi.” Shade smiled and tilted his head.

“Hi,” she breathed.

“You look beautiful, Lily.” He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and she shivered.

“You do too.” She blushed again. Soon she’d be Crayola red. “I mean you look handsome.”

He traced her jaw with a calloused finger. “Thank you. Are you ready to go?”

She swallowed hard. “Uh huh.”

Okay, she really had to remember the English language. This was getting embarrassing.

“Okay then.” He trailed his hand down her arm and wrapped his palm around hers. His warm skin felt like heaven against hers.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. How was she supposed to get through a whole date if she couldn’t even formulate thoughts to get out of the door?

With a nod, she gripped his hand tighter and closed the door behind her. He led her to his bike and she smiled.

“I love it, Shade.”

He gave a huge grin. “Thanks. This is my baby. No matter where I am, I try and take her with me.” He rubbed the leather seat and an irrational urge to knock the bike down went through her.

She would not be jealous of a motorcycle. Would not.

Where to buy Dust of my Wings:

All Romance
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

About Carrie Ann:

Carrie Ann Ryan is a bestselling paranormal and contemporary romance author. After spending too much time behind a lab bench, she decided to dive into the romance world and find her werewolf mate - even if its just in her books. Happy endings are always near - even if you have to get over the challenges of falling in love first.

Her first book, An Alpha's Path, is the first in her Redwood Pack series. She's also an avid reader and lover of romance and fiction novels. She loves meeting new authors and new worlds. Any recommendations you have are appreciated. Carrie Ann lives in New England with her husband and two kittens.

Carrie Ann loves hearing from readers. You can find her at:

Website
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Heartthrob Haven
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Nightfall by Robyn Bachar

I love being a romance writer, but I’ve always been a bit squeamish about writing sex scenes. When I first started writing my erotic space opera Nightfall, I had no intention of trying to publish it. I wanted to write something fun without the constant worry of whether or not my readers would like it. But the more I worked on it, the more I fell in love with this book. So I shared it with my critique group and beta readers, and they loved it too. I thought, what the heck, I’ll send it to my editor.

Much to my surprise, she offered me a contract. Suddenly I’d somehow become not just a romance author, but an erotic romance author, because Nightfall is a M/F/F ménage. It has epic space opera adventure with space battles and laser gunfights—and steamy romance between Captain Carmen Hawke, her crewmate Dack, and his new mate, Talena.

When I saw the Samhain RedHots!!! tag on the blurb, I almost swooned like a Victorian heroine with a case of consumption. Red hot? My book? Yup. Though I’m still a bit bewildered about how I got here, I couldn’t have told this story any other way. Dack, Carmen, and Talena complete each other perfectly as characters, and I loved telling the tale of how they learned that. I could never separate them (they’d only yell at me if I did, and I try to keep the voices in my head happy).

So now I’m an erotic romance author, and I’m rather okay with that. I haven’t swooned once while writing the sequel.

Blurb:

Her heart says “never”. Her body says “now”.

When a wounded runner stumbles into her workshop, sculptor Talena Spenser’s comfortable, quiet life is shattered. Aiding the escaped slave risks losing more than just her freedom. She is in phase, when Cy’ren females are overwhelmed by the drive to mate.

Mordacki Loren, shadow sword of House Nightfall, knows the pain of losing a mate. He never intended to take another. But Talena, raised by humans with little knowledge of Cy’ren ways, leaves him no choice. As the mating lust consumes them, Dack promises to honor her wishes—even if that means letting her go.

Scarred and hardened by a munitions accident that sent her Alliance career up in flames, Carmen Hawke joined the Cy’ren resistance as captain of the flagship Talon. When old flame Dack returns from a mission with Carmen’s childhood friend and first love, Talena, in tow, the temptation to allow someone—or two someones—close to her again cracks her emotional armor.

Pursued by an unknown enemy, the trio works together to discover the secrets of Talena’s past, and to uncover a threat that could destroy the fragile peace of the Cy’ren homeworld.

Warning: If the epic space battles, gunfights and swordplay aren’t enough to get you going, strap yourself in for a male-female-female threesome that’s scorching enough to fire your engines into overdrive.


Excerpt:

When they reached the docking level, Talena hesitated at the door leading into the terminal. “This is as far as I can take you.”

“Come with me.” Dack placed a hand on her shoulder, and she shied away as though the contact burned.

Tempting, far too tempting. She licked her lips as she resisted the sudden desire to kiss him, stepped back and bumped into the wall behind her. “No. I’m happy here. At least I was, until you showed up. Now go.”

“Don’t you want to be free?”

Talena frowned. He thought she was still a slave? “But I—” she began, but was interrupted by the flare of a laser bolt exploding near them.

“The door,” Dack shouted as he drew his weapon and returned fire.

Talena slapped her palm against the scanner as a volley of bolts hit the walls around them. The door opened and Dack grabbed her arm and hauled her with him as he charged through it. More shots followed as they rushed into the arrival area, and crew and passengers scattered. The door shut and Dack blasted the scanner, jamming the lock and keeping the security team from following.

They hurried on into the terminal and more shots zinged their way, this time from ahead of them. Dack skidded to a halt next to an arrival counter and ducked behind it, pulling Talena down with him.

“Let go of me,” she demanded.

Dack peered around the corner of the counter and jerked back as a bolt scored the floor near him. “Malenson’s between us and my ship.”

“That’s your problem. Let go!”

“I can’t leave you here. They’ll arrest you.”

“You put a gun to my head. I think they’ll understand.”

The computer screen on the counter above them exploded, raining pieces of plastic over them. Dack grimaced. “The Eppes aren’t real understanding.”

Panic gripped Talena, and she struggled to breathe past the fear. He could be right—she didn’t know about this mysterious Eppes group, but the authorities might not care if she was coerced. She’d helped a runner, and now she was as guilty as he was.

“Stay behind me. I’ll clear the path, you get the door. Ready?” he asked.

No, she thought, but she nodded. Better to get it over with before she fainted from terror.

Where to buy:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Samhain

Don't forget to comment and follow the tour, because Robyn will be awarding $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter!

Abut Robyn:

Robyn Bachar was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and loves all things related to Chicago, from the Cubs to the pizza. It seemed only natural to combine it with her love of fantasy, and tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area in her Bad Witch series. As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in MMPORGs. Her new series, Cy’ren Rising, was born out of a lifelong addiction to space opera movies and TV shows.

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Napoleon's birthday

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy 243rd Birthday, to be exact! (And really it's tomorrow, August 15)

From Biography.com

Born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica
Father: Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and political opportunist
Mother: Marie-Letizia
The Buonaparte's: A wealthy family from the Corsican nobility, although when compared to the great aristocracies of France Napoleon's kin were poor and pretentious. Corsica's occupation by the French had drawn considerable local resistance. Carlo Buonaparte had at first supported the nationalists siding with their leader, Pasquale Paoli.

But after Paoli was forced to flee the island, Carlo switched his allegiance to the French. After doing so he was appointed assessor of the judicial district of Ajaccio in 1771, a plush job that eventually enabled him to enroll his two sons, Joseph and Napoleon, in France's College d'Autun.

The rest, as they say, is history!

Friday Recipe: Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins. To clarify, I love the crumbly top of blueberry muffins! Yum. These claim to be To Die For Blueberry Muffins and I have to admit, they are!

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 25 Min
Ready In: 40 Min

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).


2. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.


3. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.


4. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.


5. Mix this with flour mixture.


6. Fold in blueberries.


7. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
   

To Make Crumb Topping:

1. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.


2. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.


3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
   
   Nutritional Information
   Amount Per Serving Calories: 383 Total Fat: 16.1g Cholesterol: 43mg

Blast: Linda Mercury and vampires

Linda will be awarding a hand-painted fan (see beautiful photo to the left) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

BLURB:

SHE HUNGERS FOR HIS LIGHT

She calls herself Valerie Tate. One of the few vampires left on earth, as beautiful as she is powerful, Valerie has resisted her craving for human blood for years, just as she once hid her true gender. But the night she lays eyes on the most enticing man she’s ever seen, it’s game over. He radiates goodness and light—and searing sexual energy. Valerie must have him. Taste him. Consume him. For he is temptation—and he is her destiny…

Wallachia

November 25, 1431

She swam in an ocean of blood.

The exhausted, dark-haired mother howled in pain and freedom as the crown of a baby’s head emerged from between her legs. The woman panted and heaved, thrashing her sweat and gore-drenched body from side to side. Snow mixed with thunder and rain lashed the tower of the family castle, chilling the already icy room.

Vlad Dracul crouched at her feet, his face stiff and set under his moustache. His outstretched fingers curled into fists and opened again as he waited for the infant to emerge. Blankets, rags, and a pot of steaming water at his elbow kept him company. His jaw clenched with every echoing scream and his shoulders tightened with every passing moment. Not even the usual rushing of the river below covered the cries of Cneajna, his wife.

The violent storm outside had prevented the midwife’s presence. Earlier in the night, the mother had demanded that only Vlad remain with her as the pain worsened. No one defied Cneajna, even as water and blood rushed down her legs and painted her body. Vlad knew, however, that the women of the castle waited in the downstairs chamber, ready to help if he called. He was absurdly grateful for their nearness.

Fearless in the face of death, Vlad had nearly fainted at the sight of his wife in labor. The smell of the birth blood that saturated the bed roiled his stomach in ways a festering abdominal wound never did.

Another contraction. She pulled the ropes tied to the fur-lined headboard of the birth bed. The wood groaned under her strength as wave after wave of labor shuddered her body. Vlad’s heart winced at his woman’s pale, sweating face.

Another scream shook the room and Vlad saw the first peep of a black-haired head. Under the power of the mother’s undulating body, a tiny, angry face emerged.

All Romance

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About Linda:

Linda Mercury left behind her varied careers as a librarian, art model, and professional clown to pursue writing. She’s interested in writing, romance, the Middle East, reading, organizing, cooking, hand-made silk Turkish rugs, and the Nike of Samothrace.

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Wednesday Regency: Marriages

I was doing research on I forget what and stumbled across Regency Lore
Faulty 'Facts' in Regency Romances. I found this quite interesting and while I've heard of Special Licences (and have even heard that most nobility only used special licenses) I've never heard of a regular license. I thought that the regular marriage license was just that...the license everyone else used.

Apparently I was mistaken!

Several misconceptions exist about the special license, in particular where to obtain it and what form it took. In the Regency the only place to obtain a Special License was from the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Doctor's Common in London. Only the arch bishop had the privilege to issue such dispensations, which allowed a couple to marry at any place and any time, although still officiated over by a member of the clergy. A regular license could be obtained from any bishop and it allowed dispensation from the reading of banns, yet the marriage had to take place in the morning and at the parish church of either the bride or groom. Both types of licenses were personal and nontransferable, needing the sworn statement by the obtainer that the couple were either of age or had their legal guardians permission to wed. For most situation where Regency authors stipulate the use of a special license, a regular license would suffice.

Guest Claire Adele

Today's guest is Claire Adele with her latest sexy release, Guardian of Her Dream. Haven't read Claire? You should, her menage stories are rugged, sexy, and paranormal. What more need I say?

Texas Inspiration for Guardian of Her Dream by Claire Adele

My Texas family settled in Central Texas in the early 1800’s near San Antonio. In the late 1800’s, my great grandparents moved to West Texas and the rugged desert mountains where I live. I love the mountains of this area where we have our home in the foothills.

The first story I wrote when I was in first grade concerned a little cloud sitting on top of the mountain. However, when visiting Central Texas, I’ve noticed clouds are most often not as sharply defined as they are where I live. I’ve also noticed when visiting Central Texas that the hills are different and not as high as the Rocky Mountains in West Texas. But Central Texas has many intriguing things such as moss hanging from trees that stand with their roots in slow moving rivers.

One evening near the old family homestead in Castroville, Texas, just outside of San Antonio, I noticed shadowed trees with long strands of moss hanging from them in a bend of the Medina River. The picture was impressed on my mind of two men talking in the faint light of dusk beneath the tall trees, the moss surrounding them like dark cloaks. This inspired the background for scenes in more than one of my recent werewolf stories.

Although Guardian of Her Dream takes place in the rugged foothills of West Texas, the bad boys in the story are from Central Texas where they live and work on family owned ranches. I had so much fun writing their story. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Blurb:

As the oldest son in his ranching family, the weight of Rafe Wolfgang's responsibility to protect his family and friends is made heavier by his belief that he failed to protect his best friend, who fell from a cliff and died. Now he craves Darlene's love and must protect her.

Lucky Wolford was bullied all through school because of his weight. Overwhelmed, he confided in Rafe, who dealt with a harsh father. Sharing their problems made Lucky see he was worthy of respect. Now mature, he's lean, strong, confident—and crazy about Darlene.

Darlene Lovejoy has sworn to never marry a man who would dominate her. Since she's taken in Rafe and his brothers and friends while Rafe recuperates from his roll down a steep cliff, she's begun to fall for the fun-loving guy and his sexy friend Lucky.

When the Hawks threaten to kidnap Darlene, Rafe and Lucky must tell her they're werewolves, though they could lose her love.

Excerpt:
He growled softly. “God, that was amazing, babe.” He raised his eyelids halfway and smiled at her, clearly satisfied.

Speechless, she gazed at him. She had never experienced anything quite like that before. “You’re the one who is amazing. I’ve never…”

“Neither have I. I’ve never come that hard before.”

His soft-voiced confession stunned her. She didn’t know what to say to that. Suddenly she felt much differently toward him. What happened? Where did they go from here? She didn’t have a clue. She didn’t know what she wanted to do about this obvious connection with him on a sexual level. She needed to think about this. He shifted as if he knew somehow what she was thinking.

“Come on, babe. Let’s dry off and have a drink.”

“Okay.” Her answer sounded weak to her ears. She didn’t even mind him calling her babe. Their relationship had taken a huge turn. She hoped it was for the better. He took hold of her hands, and she closed her fingers over his.

Blocking the view of her from the house, he helped her to her feet. He covered her bared breast with her top, eased her bikini bottoms up around her naked hips, and helped her up the steps. He walked with her over to the lounge chairs, where they grabbed their towels, and he dried off and stretched out on a lounge chair. She dried off and stood there, still in shock from what had just happened between them.

She wanted to escape to her bedroom. “I’d better shower off.” She needed to come to terms with what she had just done.

“Are you all right?” He reached toward her.

“Yes, I’m fine. Go ahead and stretch out and relax for a while. It won’t take me long.”

“All right.” He leaned back on the lounge chair. “Wake me if I fall asleep.”

“I will.” She headed for the house and the privacy of her bedroom and shower.

Lucky was standing at the window beside the den doorway.

Siren Bookstrand

Monday Romance

I'm changing things up a bit. Still waiting back for the edits on The Devil's Pawn, but have decided to postpone my Parisian Exposition Ménage series for a one-shot contemporary. Just as a change of pace.

This one will be very heavy D/s with a cop investigation mystery. And I already have the cover!

Friday Recipe: Pork Chops in White Wine

Food and wine...what's better together? Don't answer that, I can name several off the top of my head. Still, wine marinated pork chops are delicious! (And make sure you say delicious in a semi-singing voice with the -ious higher than the rest.) All kidding aside, if you like pork chops, try this recipe. It's worth it.

Prep Time:
30 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr

Ready In:
1 Hr 30 Min

Ingredients:

• 5 pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup
• 10 3/4 fluid ounces white cooking wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 (4 ounce) jar mushrooms, drained

Directions

1. Salt and pepper the pork chops and fry in a small amount of oil until slightly browned on both sides; drain.
2. In a bowl mix together, mushroom soup, wine, water and mushrooms.
3. Combine soup mixture with pork chops. Cover and simmer on low heat for about an hour until chops are tender.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 319 | Total Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 52mg

Wednesday Regency: London Bridge

Not exactly Regency, but with the Olympic Games going on and the cool Olympic Rings displayed on London Bridge, I thought it interesting that in 1831 the new London Bridge opened. The current London Bridge isn't that one, of course; in 1831 who knew automobile traffic would be such that they'd have to tear the bridge down and start again?

The 1831 bridge is currently in Lake Havasu City, which I've actually visited solely because they have the London Bridge! I can't find one single picture, I suspect they're either on my old laptop or (heaven forbid!) they've been taken with film and are in a shoebox...someplace.

John Rennie deisgned this bridge, and work began in 1824 about 100 feet from the then current (and 600 years old) bridge.