Tuesday Truth 4/8/14

The snip from Miss Amanda and Sand’s story is going to be delayed this week. Sorry! I got sucked into the final line edits on Wolf’s Vengeance  and ended up finishing them and turning the manuscript back into the editor tonight. I will work on Amanda and Sand tomorrow night after work and try to get something posted on or before Wednesday.  Sorry!

What a Fun Blog Hop!

The folks over at Just Romance Me put on the best bloghops! And they make it SUPER easy for both the authors and the readers to participate. If you are an author or blogger and your’e looking for a blog hop to participate in, I can’t praise Michael highly enough for all the work he does behind the scenes. He makes it easy for us! If you’d like to know more about it, you can email me at maddybarone@gmail.com.

The latest hop, Fool For Love, just wrapped out and I had two winners. Tina B and Diana M.  Tina won her choice of any of my books in the digital format of her choice. Diana  won a $15.00 gift card to Amazon. Congrats, ladies, and thanks for coming along on our hop.

I’m already looking forward to the next hop!

Fool For Love!

 

Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop of the Fool For Love Blog Hop from Just Romance Me. To join the Hop just click HERE. The good folks who run the Hop are giving away a free download of one of my stories, and I’m giving away a $15 Amazon Gift Card. Keep Reading to find out how to enter.

I write paranormal romance with a twist. Like time travel to a post apocalyptic future where women are rare. A plane takes off in 2014 and crashes in 2064, and the survivors learn that terrorists destroyed the world they knew. Due to disease released by the terrorists, women are few. And werewolves really do exist and they want mates to cherish.

 

I’m writing this blog post on the evening of Thursday April 3. You might think that means warm spring weather. Not in North Dakota. We had a blizzard a few days ago and right now heavy wet snow is falling. It’s no very cold out, but it’s the kind of wet cold that seeps in your bones. It reminds me of a a scene in my upcoming release Wolf’s Vengeance. The hero, Snake Wolfe, is a wolf shifter, and his mate, Melissa, had gotten drenched in a cold rain while they were travelling with her brother. Snake wrapped her up in blankets and curled up in wolf form next to her to keep her warm. Here is a sneak peek at their first love scene.

 

Mel woke hours later from a sound sleep to find a warm furry body pinning her under the blanket. Her heart leaped into her throat and pounded there for a minute before she realized it must be Snake. She lifted a bleary head to try to see him better. It was too dark to see anything but the unearthly shimmer of wolf eyes, but she knew it was Snake.

“Oh, Snake, you scared me for a minute.”

The wolf swiped a wet warm tongue over her cheek.

“Eeww,” she groaned, wiping the slobber away. But she laid her head down and went back to sleep, leaning into the comfortably warm bulk of a wolf.

She woke next when dawn was only a promise in the east, barely seen through the open barn door. Her mouth opened in a wide yawn as she pressed closer to the wolf’s warmth. The feel of smooth warm skin instead of rough fur against her cheek shot her eyes wide open.

 “Snake?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, burrowing his nose into her throat.

She wrestled a hand from under the blanket to touch his hair. His braids were thicker and longer than her stubby one. She ran her hand down the length of his braid until her fingers smoothed over his bare spine. “Are you wearing clothes?” she demanded with a gulp.

“Nuh-uh,” he murmured. “Just made the change a couple of minutes ago. Haven’t had time to dress yet.” His mouth touched her throat, glided up to the corner of her jaw, over her cheek to her lips, where he teased her with small, light kisses.

Mel froze, breath trapped in her throat for a long icy moment before she realized how nice it felt. His weight felt good too when he moved his body over hers. But she was horribly aware that she was naked under the blankets except for her panties, and she could feel his erection pressing against the top of her thigh. “We’re in the open,” she protested in a whisper. “Someone could see us.”

“Nobody can see us. Mike’s snoring by the barn door and Stone is running a perimeter patrol. It’s just us, Mel.”

“I don’t want to have sex here,” she hissed.

“We won’t.”

“But, you’re …I mean, you…” She trailed off, angry at herself for being so prudish. “You’re … uh… hard,” she finished.

“Yeah. Just ignore that. It happens when I’m this close to you, but we don’t have to do anything about it.”

They didn’t? “Won’t that hurt you?”

She felt his shrug. “I’ll survive. This isn’t the right time or place. We’re in the open, remember?”

His heat was irresistible. She wrapped her hands around his braids and tugged him down to her mouth. “Kiss me, Snake.”

His lips were amazingly soft for a moment, then hard and demanding on hers. She savored  the feel of his mouth before Snake buried his face against her neck. “Oh,” he groaned. “I’ve wanted to do that forever.”

“We haven’t known each other that long.”

“I wanted to do that before I ever saw you. And since I’ve met you I’ve wanted to do it twice as much.”

His chin had no stubble. She brushed exploring fingers over it. “Then keep doing it.”

 

Do you think having your cheek licked by a werewolf is sexy or disgusting? Leave a comment and let me know. On Sunday I will choose a commenter to receive a $15.00 gift card to Amazon. Have fun on the hop and good luck!

Tuesday Teaser April 1, 2014-Wolf’s Lady Part 13

Today’s tidbit from Sand and Amanda’s story is not as exciting as I would have liked it to be. This is a section where I want the reader to get to know a little bit more about Amanda. What sort of family does she come from? What does she think of her life working in Sky’s house? This is the sort section that I will spent extra time on during my self-edits because it rambles more than I want it to.

Speaking of edits, I just finished edits on Wolf’s Vengeance. I’ll be sending out the first couple of chapters in the newsletter later this week, along with news of a blog hop where you can win tons of prizes, including gift cards and a kindle paperwhite.

Amanda woke the next morning feeling oddly happy. She hadn’t felt this sort of fragile hope since her early childhood, before she learned lavish Christmas presents only came to rich little girls. A set of pretty clothes that were brand new instead of hand me downs had been at the top of her wish list for years, until she realized a sanitary worker couldn’t afford them, even one who cherished his daughter above anything else.

Sand wasn’t her Christmas present, but he could be. She lay on her back between cool sheets and cast her mind back over the events of last night. A giggle escaped when she remembered Paul’s misunderstanding. The giggle died. Sand’s violence had been controlled, but was there any doubt he could have killed Paul? No, not in her mind. What would it be like being married to him? The sex part would be fine, no matter what sort of lover he was. In seven years she had plenty of experience. Some men were good at it, others weren’t. She shrugged, her shoulders moving against the pillow. As long as he wasn’t cruel she could accept his lovemaking. Sex was only one slice of the marriage pie. There were other things that outweighed sex. She had a month to decide if Sand could give her what she wanted from a husband.

She got up and threw on a robe. Unlike her sexy working robes, this one was bulky and comfortable. Summer was winding down, and the morning air was a bit chilly. Was it always this cold in the morning? Since she normally slept until noon, Amanda wasn’t sure.

She opened her door to go downstairs to breakfast and nearly tripped over a foot. Sand jumped up to steady her.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She tightened the sash of her robe. “I’m going to use the bathroom and then have breakfast. Have you eaten yet? I’ll meet you in the dining room in a couple of minutes.”

 Sand was still at the head of the stairs when she finished in the bathroom. He walked beside her down the stairs, through the kitchen to the dining room. There she found a half a dozen women seated at the long table. They were what Amanda considered day staff. Ginny, Sally, Carey, and Rebecca were laundresses, and Jennifer and Denise worked in the kitchen.

Sand said a quiet good morning and headed over to the buffet under the window and loaded his plate with enough eggs and sausage to feed an entire family. Amanda filled a plate more modestly.

Sand wasn’t one for chatting while he ate. Amanda watched him empty his plate one forkful at a time. He ate neatly, she noticed, but steadily. When he got up to fill his plate again, Amanda met Carey’s wide eyes with wide eyes of her own and a little shrug.

He finished his second plate before she finished her first. He leaned an elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand to watch her. “What would you like to do today?” he asked. “Are there chores you need to finish first?”

Ginny snorted, a sound loaded with bitter sarcasm. Amanda put all her attention on finishing the last of her raspberries. “Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested when she put her fork down. “Give me five minutes to dress, and I’ll meet you by the front door.”

Without looking at Ginny, Amanda went back upstairs. She put on ankle boots, jeans, and a loose blouse of pale green cotton. Because it was a little cool, she added her mother’s shawl. It seemed right to wear the shawl her mother had knit before her death.

 Sand stood in the foyer, deftly braiding his long black hair into a single braid that dangled between shoulders blades. Amanda’s fingers itched to do it for him. He had gorgeous hair.

“If I decide to marry you, you’ll have to agree to let me play with your hair whenever I want.”

Surprise lit his face before melting into a smile. He ducked his head almost bashfully. “It’s just hair. You can play with it anytime you want.”

She laughed and went past him through the door he held open for her. “You’re making it too easy for me. You should hold your hair hostage. Tell me I can’t touch it until I agree to marry you.”

Sand stopped her by touching his fingertips to her shoulder. “No.” His face was very earnest. “I want you to accept me. I want that so bad it’s all I can think of. But I won’t use blackmail to get you. I want you to be my mate because you want it too.”

She swallowed a quick stab of emotion. What exactly the emotion was she wasn’t sure, but it brought tears crowding the back of her eyes. She hurried past him to the steps. He fell in beside her.

“Let’s go down to the city gardens,” she said quickly. “I like to walk there.”

“Sure.” They walked in companionable silence for a few blocks before he spoke again. “Why doesn’t Virginia like you?”

Amanda sighed. “Ginny is an unhappy person. Her family paid nearly all they had for her to marry. They belong to a church that believes all women should be married. They don’t approve of my profession.”

“Hm.” Sand’s face looked interested. “Where is her husband?”

“He died a year ago. Ginny is twenty-nine. The city ordinance requires all women from eighteen to forty to pay a tax to remain single, or go to work in one of the brothels.”

“Even widows?”

“Even widows. Sky’s house might be a brothel, but he doesn’t force anyone to accept clients. It’s a good place for Ginny. Her sons live with her parents, but she has two days off a week to visit them.”

“So why does she not like you?”

“Well, I’m a whore.” She laughed lightly. “Which according to her church, means I’m evil and going to hell. Besides that, I make more money than she does, and I don’t have to do any of the labor she does. Other people wash my clothes, cook my food and clean my house.”

Sand’s brow was furrowed as he tried to understand. “Is she jealous?”

Amanda shrugged. “That might be part of it.”

The entrance to the gardens came in sight. She grabbed his hand. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I want to show you my favorite spot in the gardens.”

What Are “Edits”?

I am waiting for the next round of edits from my editor, and I thought I’d take a few minutes to talk about edits. What do I mean when I say “edits”? For me, there are a couple of different kinds of edits. Probably every writer has their own version, but here is mine:

 

Self Edits:

When I’m writing my first draft, the first thing I do when I sit down to write is go over what I last wrote and fix any boo-boos I find, Spelling, grammar, small changes in the characters or story all get a quick fix. When I’ve finished the story, I go through it again. Sometimes the story has changed since chapter 1. Often secondary characters have changed their appearance, their name, or their motivation. I send it out to my beta readers to see where the story doesn’t make sense or has bits missing. When they send it back, I pay attention to their comments. They tell me the unvarnished truth about how they like the characters and the story. I sometimes make pretty major changes based on what they tell me. I’ve learned to listen to them! After that, I read it all the way through to catch repetitive words, adverbs, and that sort of thing.  Those changes are what I call Self Edits, and I do those before the manuscript goes to the publisher. When you read my free serial, Wolf’s Lady, you aren’t getting any editing at all, nto even the basic self-edits I usually do.

 

Edits:

These are the edits suggested by the publisher. My publisher, Liquid Silver Books, assigns an editor for the manuscript and gives us a due date to have it complete and turned in. She reads it through, and uses Track Changes and balloon comments to correct punctuation (I really suck at commas!) and point out where things could and/or should be worded differently. Sometimes there are major changes like a different ending, or adding or deleting a scene. These are done in usually three rounds of editing. She makes suggestions/corrections and send the manuscript to me. I do some correcting and rewriting and then send it back to her. We go back and forth until we’re happy with it, and she turns it in the the Editor in Chief.

 

Final Line Edits:

The FLEs are done by another editor assigned by the publisher. Mostly this person is looking for typos, punctuation, small wording changes, etc. The FLE editor sends the corrections to me to accept, and I make the changes and send it back. Then it goes to the formatter to be made ready for sale. It’s sad and frustrating that even after all the times the manuscript has been looked at, typos still slip through!

 

So, there. Now you have an idea of what I mean when I say I’m waiting for edits. I plan to send the first chapter of Wolf’s Vengeance out next week in my newsletter.  Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teaser 3/25/14: Wolf’s Lady Part 12

Here we are, another Tuesday. That means another snip from Sand and Amanda’s story! I apologize for this being on the short side. A good friend passed away this weekend after a long battle with cancer. I haven’t had the time or the heart to write much the past few days. I also received and completed the first round of edits on Wolf’s Vengeance.  I think the editor has shown me things to fix that will improve the story. 🙂

Enjoy!

Sand all but leaped to his mate’s side. “Bed?”

Sky caught his arm. “To sleep,” he said sternly. “Right, Mandy?”

Sand saw a twitch disturb Amanda’s face, almost a wince. “Yeah,” she agreed.

There were so many scents in the room that Sand couldn’t identify her emotions. Dare he hope she was disappointed by the idea of merely sleeping with him without more? He walked close behind her as she went up the stairs, blowing laughing kisses to her admirers below. She kept that breezy smile on her lips until the door of her room closed behind them.

Sand watched from the door while she sat down in front of her dainty vanity. He wanted nothing more than to pull her up against him and feel every lush curve of her body pressed to his.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She glanced over at him, surprise plain on her face. “Nothing. Why?”

“You frowned. Downstairs, when Sky spoke.”

She dipped a square of fabric in the wash basin on the vanity to wipe away the paint on her face. He was glad to see it go, but his focus was on her words. “I didn’t frown.”

He shook his head, forcing himself to stay by the door. “You did. Something Sky said bothered you.”

“Oh, that.” She put the cloth back in the washbowl and shrugged. “Sometimes he calls me Mandy.”

Sand raised a brow. “And?”

“And that’s not my name. Mandy makes me sound like I’m five years old. I’m Amanda.”

“No, you sure aren’t five.” His voice came out husky when he surveyed his mate, her black leather costume showing off the most gorgeous, alluringly tempting body he’d ever seen in his life.

She laughed, a burst of surprise and pleasure. The sound poured happiness through him. “Thank you. I think. Looks like I’m going to have an early night for once. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sand straightened from his lean on her door. “Wait. Aren’t we sleeping together tonight?”

“No.” The disappointment that slammed through him lightened when she went on with a crooked smile. “If we’re in the same bed together I’m not sure I could keep my hands to myself. I’m only human, you know.”

“Me too,” he admitted huskily.

Amanda rose from the fragile chair and came to lay her hands over his hair where it lay over his shoulders. “Give me a kiss good night, and then you need to leave.”

Her scent reminded him of a cool breeze brushing over a field of prairie grass, clean lightly touched by flowers. He drew a deep intoxicating breath at the tender spot behind her ear. “How many kisses?”

“One!” she laughed, clenching her hands in his hair.

“Okay.”

He wanted it to be a kiss she would remember. He touched his lips lightly to hers, intending a gentle tease before he tasted the inside of her mouth, but she surprised him by taking control. Her tongue played with his, at first lazy, then turning hot and demanding. The feel of her hands sliding through his hair made him hum his pleasure. When her hand slid around his waist to squeeze his ass he shuddered.

It really wasn’t fair that one moment he was drowning in her kiss and the next he was standing in the hall, blinking down at her smiling face. “Good night, Sand,” she whispered. “I’m looking forward to being courted by you.”

He blinked passion-dazed eyes at her closed door for long moments while he tried to get his breathing back under control. Courting. Yeah. He swallowed and went to find Sky. His cousin would know how to court a woman. He stopped dead on the step, remembering Sky’s spectacular failure with Rose. Sand shook it off, continuing down the stairs. That was a long time ago. Surely Sky had learned what women liked by now.

Tuesday Teaser 3/18/14: Wolf’s Lady Part 11

Time for the next bit in Sand and Amanda’s story! I’m not doing any self-editing like I usually do, so as always please excuse my typos and other boo-boos. I’m enjoying writing this story. I hope you’re enjoying reading it!

 

Amanda licked her painted lips while she stared at him. He could count her breaths sliding in and out of her lungs. “I want Sand to court me.”

Sand threw his head back and screamed a howl of victory.

*

Amanda shivered at that feral howl. When Sand tilted his fiercely smiling face back down toward her, she jabbed a finger at him. “Okay, I’m giving you a chance. For tonight, let’s just keep this cool. I want to go downstairs and visit with people. You just keep your distance.”

“Okay,” he said softly, which really contrasted with his expression.

Sky nodded. “And don’t bite anybody,” he said deadpan.

Amanda wasn’t sure he was joking. She went out of her room and down the stairs. When she was spotted by the twenty or so men in the reception rooms a cheer rose. She tilted her head at its usual jaunty angle and gave them a wave. She strode across the room to an empty armchair, Sand looming like grim death behind her. Even without the spiked collar, wearing his worn jeans and rumpled blue chambray shirt instead of black leather, he intimidated the visitors. He stood a step behind her chair and glared with arms folded over his chest. Most of the men learned right away to not flirt with her. The almost sub-vocal growl Sand let out each time one of them tried to touch her clued them in. Only Paul, her second appointment of the night, hadn’t caught on right away.

“Miss Amanda,” he called when he first entered the reception room. “You look gorgeous!”

He hurried through the knots of people, tall and broad in his well fitted tan suit, his thinning brown hair impeccably groomed, his pale face flushed and sweating from the heat in the room. She knew for a dozen previous encounters that his body was fit for a man of forty who spent hours at a desk. He looked for a moment as if he wanted to try to squeeze into the chair beside her, but a glance at Sand apparently changed his mind.

He knelt on the carpet before her. “I had expected to meet you upstairs in your room.”

Habit made her put on an imperious sneer. “If I choose to allow you in my room—”

Sand came around the chair in a blur of blue cotton and black hair to grab Paul by the collar and jerk him up to his feet. “You will never see the inside of her room again,” he said in a chillingly conversational tone.

She could see that instead of frightening Paul, Sand’s domineering warning excited him. His pale blue eyes rolled to Amanda, his face shining with delight. “Are we having a threesome tonight?” he asked breathlessly.

She wondered if Sand even knew what Paul was talking about. “Paul,” she began, but Sand cut her off.

“Amanda is mine,” he snarled.

“Yes, Master,” Paul said in that same breathless voice. “Of course. I’ll be grateful for whatever crumbs you allow me to have.”

Amanda had to laugh at Sand’s confusion. “Paul,” she said kindly, “I’m afraid there’s been a change in my schedule. This is Sand Wolfe. I’ll be spending my time with him exclusively for the next month.”

Paul looked from her to Sand. “But … I am very good at fellatio,” he offered.

“At what?” Sand said, still holding Paul’s collar twisted in his fist.

“Fellatio.” Now Paul’s voice turned slightly condescending. “Giving head. I can suck your cock all the way down my throat while you finger fuck Amanda. Or you can ass fuck me while I fuck Ama—”

Sand’s fist jerked Paul off the floor. The man clawed desperately at his strangling collar. Amanda jumped up but wasn’t sure what to do.

Sand dragged Paul’s ear close to his mouth. “If you ever speak her name again I will kill you.  If I ever see you near her again, I will kill you. You understand me?”

“Yes,” Paul croaked.

“Good.” Sand lowered the other man down to his feet with frighteningly gentle care. “Now get out and don’t come back.”

Paul stumbled when Sand dropped him and hastily pushed his way through the whispering people who were staring at them. Amanda sat back down in the armchair, aware that her fingers were trembling. She drew a calming breath and looked up at Sand. There was a faint flush in his lean cheeks when he turned to look down at her.

“Do you do that?” he asked. “Have two men in bed at the same time?”

For no reason that she could think of, she felt heat rise to her face. “A few times,” she said quietly, stroking the nap of the upholstery.

“Do you like it?”

She paused to consider it. “No, not really. I don’t dislike it either. Really, it doesn’t matter to me one way or another. It’s just part of the job.”

“I can never do that.” Sand dropped to one knee in front of her chair. “My wolf would never accept sharing you with anyone that way.”

“I know.” Maybe she shouldn’t have, but she cupped his face in her hands and leaned forward to kiss him. “I would never share you either.”

He kissed her back, his lips more gentle than she’d expected. He pulled away after only a few moments, though, and stood up to meet Sky, who was approaching with that smooth, unhurried gait of his that ate up the distance far more quickly than it seemed to.

“Sand, you have to stop throwing our guests out.”

Before Sand could snarl a reply Amanda stood quickly. “Considering what Paul said, Sand behaved himself very well.”

One of Sky’s elegant brows rose. “And what did Mr. Harper say?”

“Paul thought a threesome was a good idea, and described who would be doing what to whom.”

Sky’s other brow shot up. Amanda wondered how he did that. “I see,” he said smoothly. “I think you’re right, Mandy. No blood was spilled, no furniture broken. All’s well that ends well. But I believe I will need to send notes out to your usual appointments to inform them you will be unavailable for some time.”

“Forever,” Sand snapped.

“Perhaps. Good night,” Sky said pointedly.

Amanda sighed. “Alright.” She sashayed past Sand. “Coming?”

“Where?” he asked suspiciously.

“To bed, of course.”

Free Books for the National Reading Month!

   Wolf's OathSherry's Wolf.jpeg

Did you know that March is National Reading Month in the US? I learned to love reading when I was a child yearning for adventure. Nothing very adventurous happened to me in real life, but when I opened a book I could be anywhere or anything in the world, or out of this world.

So I don’t need much of an excuse to read a book, and I’m happy to do my civic duty to promote reading. I’m doing my part by setting my two self published book to FREE at Smashwords. Wolf’s Oath and Sherry’s Wolf are free until March 31.  Read Wolf’s Oath first. Events in that book have a bearing on Sherry’s Wolf.  I don’t believe you have to read the first three books in the series to be able to enjoy these. So click on the links below to download a book and spend an afternoon buried in another world.

Wolf’s Oath at Smashwords

Sherry’s Wolf at Smashwords

 

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