Winners!
The giveaway to celebrate the upcoming release of Eddie’s Prize is in full swing. Congrats to the winners of the 5th, 4th and 3rd prizes. They were:
Carrie – 5th prize
Tara B – 4th Prize
Rae G – 3rd Prize
It’s not too late to join in if you’d like to win a silver key on a 16″ chain or the grand prize of a hand crafted afghan, a coffee mug featuring all four of the Liquid Silver book covers. Both of these cme with an ARC of Eddie’s Prize. This giveaway is open only to those on my newseltter list. For a chance to win, sign up for my newsletter HERE.
And the Winner of the Fifth Prize Is …
Carrie!
Congrats, Carrie!
I have emailed Carrie and will send her the ARC of Eddie’s Prize. I will send the entry for Prize #4, another ARC of Eddie’s Prize. The winner will be selected by Random.org on Sunday night. Good luck!
Win an ARC of Eddie’s Prize! (plus other great prizes!)
It’s coming soon!
A drawing for wonderful prizes like …
*This sterling silver little key necklace!
*And a hand crocheted afghan made by yours truly!
*And a few of these mugs, featuring all four of my covers from Liquid Silver Books!
*And some Advanced Readers Copies of Eddie’s Prize!
Five great drawings!
March 8 is for the 5th prize=an ARC of Eddie’s Prize.
March 10 is for the 4th prize= an ARC of Eddie’s Prize.
March 12 is for the 3rd prize= an ARC of Eddie’s Prize + a coffee mug.
March 14th is for 2nd prize=an ARC of Eddie’s Prize + a coffee mug + the silver key necklace.
March 16th is for the Grand Prize=an ARC of Eddie’s Prize + a coffee mug w/coffee, tea and hot chocolate + the afghan.
The entry form will be available only to the folks who receive my newsletter. If you’d like a chance to enter, you can sign up here.
Eddie’s Prize Ready for Pre-Order
Eddie’s Prize will be released on March 18, 2013, for $5.99, but if you Pre-Order it from the publisher it will be 20% off. Go here and scroll down to Eddie’s Prize.
Tuesday Teaser Feb 19: Wolf’s Prize
Late as usual, but better late than never, right? Here is a snip from Ellie and Quill’s story.
After they ate, Quill spoke to the men in a low voice. A few glances were directed her way, accompanied by nods and smiles. In only a few minutes most of the men melted into the darkness, taking Tommy and Connor with them. Only Snake and Stone stayed to watch over Sara and Mel while they cleaned the dishes. Ellie moved to join them, but Quill stepped in front of her.
“Let’s walk for a few minutes before bed.”
Ellie swallowed and nodded. They were alone. It didn’t frighten her, exactly. She draped the blanket over her shoulders like a wrap against the chilly air of the evening and walked beside him out of their small camp. “Where did everyone go?”
He put an arm around her waist. “They’re not far. I asked them to give us a little time alone.”
Alone. In the dark. With Quill. Ellie tried to slow her breathing. “Why?”
He pulled her to a stop and lifted her hands to his mouth to kiss each palm.”You know why. You brought a blanket.”
Eddie’s Prize Cover Reveal!
At last I can show you the cover for Eddie’s Prize! The artist is Lyn Taylor, who also did the covers for the rest of the series. She is very talented. I really love this one! This will be relased on March 18, but I will be having a drawing for some prizes (including, of course, a couple of ARCs of Eddie’s Prize) during the second week of March. To learn more, join my newsletter.
Teaser Tuesday, Feb 12
Eddie’s Prize comes out in a little over a month. At last! I am hoping to be able to show off the cover art soon. I saw the first draft of it and I think it is beautiful.
Here is a snip from Eddie’s Prize. Christmas Eve 2064:
Eddie washed dishes as she tidied up the kitchen. Through the kitchen window Lisa could see snow falling through the dark night. It was a scene out of an old fashioned Christmas card.
“It’s pretty,” she said. At Eddie’s raised brow she elaborated. “The snow. We didn’t get snow in California. It makes it seem a little more like Christmas.”
He hung up the dish towel to dry. “It’s Christmas Eve. Our first Christmas together.” His kiss was gentle. “I know you were a little disappointed to not be able to go see your friend, but I wanted you to myself this time.”
Lisa’s hands framed his face. “Carla is a good friend, but Christmas is for families. You’re my family.”
“Come to bed,” he breathed.
She giggled when he swept her up and carried her to their bed. “I should brush my teeth before bed,” she mock protested.
“Tomorrow.” He peeled her clothes off her with careful haste.
She kicked her feet to rid her legs of the jeans still clinging. “I should wash my face,” she teased.
He made short work of his own clothing. “Tomorrow,” he repeated.
A Weekend Present For My Readers
I am currently engaged in edits for Eddie’s Prize. They are pretty intense but I think it’s going very well. I am sometimes swamped in embarrassment when my editor gently points out the third (or tenth) time I have made the same poor word choice. Thank goodness for editors! Any author who thinks they don’t need one is an idiot.
To celebrate, here is another short teaser from Eddie’s Prize:
Eddie woke suddenly, shocked it was broad daylight. He flung the covers back and lunged up in bed. A voice said “Oof!” as his elbow landed in a soft stomach. What—? Lisa! He had been well and thoroughly loved last night by his bride. He had loved her thoroughly, too. Their first time together had been a blur of desperate urgency. The second time …What a delight it was to be married to such a beautiful and creative woman. This was their honeymoon. They had no chores to get up for, nothing to do but get to know each other. He grinned down at her startled expression and watched it melt into a satisfied smile. They could stay in bed all day with no one to complain over their laziness. The thought had its appeal. He kissed her flat tummy in apology, and let his lips travel gradually north.
“Good morning, Mrs. Edward Madison,” he murmured against her throat. “Can you think of any reason we need to get out of bed today?”
Lisa stretched and rubbed against him. “Why?” she teased. “Was there something you needed to do in bed today? Catch up on your sleep? Or—” She dissolved in giggles when he fluttered his fingertips over her ribs. “Hey! Stop! I’m ticklish!”
Naughty New Year with Sky
Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop on the Naughty New Years blog hop! If you fall off, you can Click Here to jump back on.
My current series is a futuristic paranormal with werewolves, but there are no cool futuristic weapons or technology. Nuclear war decimated the population and sent people back to living like it’s the American frontier all over again, and the only government is run by strong, ruthless men.
I decided to give you a teaser about Sky and Quill, two minor characters in a previous book who leave the werewolf den to live in Omaha since their chosen mates have been denied to them.
Good luck in the prize drawings. I will be drawing a name from those who leave a comment on my blog for a $10 gift card to Amazon. Members of my newsletter are automatically entered twice. That is in addition to the drawings for ebooks by the Just Romance Me folks. So, Enjoy and good luck!
The new year was only fifteen minutes away when the mayor of Omaha was admitted to Ms. Julia’s House of Joy. As host, Sky went to the entry to greet the latecomer to the New Year’s Eve party.
“Welcome,” he said with a cordial smile which hid dark and bitter things. Did McGrath have any idea Sky considered him his greatest enemy? Mayor McGrath handed his luxuriously warm overcoat to a fifteen-year-old girl who, until a month ago, had been picking up johns on the icy streets of Omaha. Mayor McGrath gave her a patronizing smile and a pinch on the ass as she took his coat. Though his wolf yearned to tear out the mayor’s throat, Sky maintained his friendly expression through years of practice.
“Tim, I’m glad you could stop in.” Sky shook the mayor’s hand and drew him into the reception room. “I’m sure you have several stops to make tonight.”
The mayor accepted a glass of champagne from a server. “Naturally, I want celebrate with as many of my people as possible, but I wouldn’t miss your party. Where better to ring in the New Year than at one of the fastest growing businesses in town? You’ve done a lot with the place in the past few years.”
Sky smoothed his sapphire blue silk tie with a self-satisfied smirk. At least, he hoped it looked self-satisfied. “Thanks, Tim. We’re managing to turn a nice profit, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by our taxes.”
“Yes.”
Tim McGrath’s tone was distracted. His gaze was fixed on LaToya, the newest lady in the house. He waved her eagerly over. LaToya shot a pleading look at Sky. He nodded at her and she came over, reluctance showing in her stiff steps. Sky looped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to his side.
“This is LaToya James,” he said. “LaToya, say hello to Mayor McGrath.”
“H-h-hello,” she whispered.
“Hello, young lady. Aren’t you a pretty little thing. I want you to join me after midnight.”
Sky produced a smile intended to convey regret. “LaToya is new. She just turned eighteen on Christmas Eve. I’m not ready to share her yet.” Without giving the mayor a chance to respond, he brushed his lips over LaToya’s hair. “Help Patricia in the kitchen, baby, and send Aimee over to us.”
The mayor chuckled while he watched LaToya hurry away. “One of the perks of being the owner of a whorehouse is sampling the employees?”
Sky shrugged enigmatically.
“I heard you’re engaged to a girl back home.” McGrath sipped his champagne with a raised brow.
And you’ve been married to a good woman for nearly thirty years, Sky inwardly sneered. Doesn’t stop you from humping any girl you can get your hands on. He nodded at Aimee as she joined them. She was beautiful and young enough to interest McGrath, and fully aware what she could expect from the mayor. “Tim, this is Aimee Chambord. I don’t think you’ve met her before?”
The mayor smiled widely at Aimee’s gaping décolletage. “Why no, I don’t believe I’ve met Ms. Chambord. Can I get you a glass of champagne, my dear? Will you excuse us, Sky?”
Sky waved them off with hidden relief. He circulated through the large set of reception rooms, checking to see that the bouncers were alert and none of his ladies was being mistreated. He was an Alpha wolf, and the men and women who worked in this house were his Pack, to protect and provide for. And —his eyes went cold when they found McGrath— kill for.
He glanced at his reflection as he passed a mirror on the landing of the main staircase. His black hair was neatly cut, his black silk suit was expensively elegant, his tie the same vivid blue as his eyes. A wave of weary disgust passed over him. No one in the Clan would recognize him. Even he didn’t recognize himself some days. There were times he doubted his wolf approved of him.
Quill, his cousin and beta, joined him, handing him a glass of champagne. Ms. Julia, the lady who had saved them when they’d first come to Omaha years ago, came with him and stood between them at the fancy carved railing. The three of them looked down over the dozens of people coming together to watch the clock count down the last few minutes of the year 2069.
“I’m leaving in the spring,” Quill said quietly.
Sky knew the day was coming when Quill wouldn’t be able to bear the vice and intrigue of Omaha, but he flinched anyway. “I understand, but I’m going to miss you.”
“Come with me,” Quill urged.
Sky watched McGrath as the man sipped champagne from Aimee’s cleavage. “I can’t. I have to finish what I’ve started.”
Ms. Julia, aging but not stupid, patted his arm. “What about your fiancée, honey? You let everyone think the wrong thing, but you can’t fool me. You love that girl. Go get her and bring her home.”
Rose. The mate his wolf had chosen for him five years ago. Longing so deep and sharp it was painful cramped Sky’s belly. He wrapped one hand over the bannister to brace himself. He could almost feel her blond hair under his fingers, the trembling warmth of her mouth under his. “I can‘t bring her here.”
Ms. Julia pursed her lips. “No girl is going to wait forever, you know, not even for a handsome young devil like you.”
“She’ll wait.” Grim certainty rang in Sky’s voice. Taye would see to it. But, oh, God, how he wanted to see her.
Quill met his eyes over the top of Ms. Julia’s silvering head and Sky knew that Quill understood. The two of them, deprived of their mates for over five years, understood each other’s pain all too well.
“Five!” shouted the crowd. “Four! Three! Two! ONE! Happy New Year!”
As horns blared and confetti swirled, Sky lifted his glass. “To Rose,” he whispered, and drank.
Merry Christmas! A Deleted Scene from Eddie’s Prize
My Tuesday Teaser this week is from Eddie’s Prize, but since it didn’t move Eddie and Lisa’s story forward, it has been removed from the manuscript. That made it the perfect Christmas present for my readers. Let me give you a little set up here. It is early November and Lisa is at the den to visit Carla. Eddie dropped her off there on his way north to visit a friend. The two women are sitting in the room that connects to Carla and Taye’s bedroom. Taye set it aside for Carla’s sole use. As they are sitting and talking about what their married lives are like, Sky comes to the den with Rose, whom he rescued from Two Bears.
Carla cocked her head to listen to a distant howl. “Is that Taye? Already?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only half past four. Maybe he finished hunting early.”
But it wasn’t Taye. Agitated voices sounded in the hall, getting closer to the listening women, and a peremptory knock sounded before the door was flung open to admit a tangle of bodies. They poured in like cats dumped out of a sack, all bristling fur, claws and yowls.
Lisa felt bombarded by the invasion, staring at the people flooding into the room without comprehension at first glance of who they were or even how many there were. To settle herself, Lisa counted them. There was a man a little older than she was, tall and muscular, and barely dressed in cut offs, with black hair loose to his waist. He stood to one side of the door with arms folded over his chest and a grim scowl on his face. Snake hovered beside him, but he looked wide-eyed and anxious rather than grim. A third man wore leather clothes like an Indian in a cowboy movie and his black hair was in two braids. His nose might have had a proud Roman arch at one time, but was grossly bruised and swollen now. He seemed to be under the angry guard of two men who must be wolves who’d recently changed back to man form, because they were naked. Lisa would have liked to examine their fine physiques at her leisure, but, remembering Eddie’s little lecture, she forced her eyes to the couple who seemed to be the center of this ruckus.
The man of the pair wasn’t actually a man, but a teen-aged boy dressed only in a dark blue wool breechcloth and leather moccasins. His nicely developed body said he was full grown, but his handsome face held a soft boyishness that said high school. His arm was around a young woman, his body leaning toward her as if to shelter her. In contrast to the long black hair that streamed over the young man’s brown-skinned back, the woman’s hair was short and blond, and her skin was the pale sort that probably burned lobster-red after only minutes in the sun. He was tall and slimly muscular, and moved with protective grace. She was of middle height, and her long limbs reminded Lisa of Alexander the colt’s gawky stick legs. Lisa guessed neither of them was over eighteen. The boy pulled the girl further into the room, toward the couch where she and Carla sat.
Keep Reading
Merry Christmas!
