Weee! So many winners!! :)

Weee! So many winners this week! Congrats to everyone who won!

Armenia

Wins a copy of TO DESIRE A DEVIL by Elizabeth Hoyt.

Rebekah E.

Wins a copy of THE NOTORIOUS BRIDEGROOM by Kit Donner.

Amanda

Wins copies of both HOLIDAY SEDUCTION & HOLIDAY HEAT by Jaci Burton.

 

Now for the Brava Giveaway –

Stacy S

Wins a copy of UNLEASHED by Jami Alden.

 

Throuthehaze

Wins a copy of BELONG TO THE NIGHT anthology.

 

Lyoness2009

Wins a copy of FASCINATED anthology.

 

Sheila

Wins a copy of WICKED by Noelle Mack.

 

Unclaimed books from last week.

As much as it pains me to say this, I never heard from two of the winners announced last week so the new winners, along with the book prize they won, has been updated below.

Mari

Wins a copy of NO RESERVATIONS by Lauren Dane and Megan Hart.

Mariska

Wins DEVILISH LORD, MYSTERIOUS MISS by Annie Burrows.

Winners have 48 hours to email me their addresses at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (without the spaces) to claim their book prizes or new names will be chosen.

Dreams, destiny and self-delusion with Jessa Slade

The war between good and evil has raged for millennia, but now evil is
winning, and The Marked Souls are caught in the middle…

After an accident left her near death, Sera Littlejohn is struggling to
piece her life together again.  But when a violet-eyed stranger reveals a supernatural battle veiled in the shadows, Sera is tempted to the edge of madness by a dangerous desire.

Ferris Archer takes Sera under his wing now that she is talyan, possessed by a repentant demon with hellish powers.  Archer and his league of warriors have long risked their demon-shattered souls to stop darker spirits from wreaking havoc.  But they’ve never fought beside a female talya before, and never in all his centuries has Archer found a woman who captivates him like Sera.

With the balance shifting between good and evil, passion and possession, Sera and Archer must defy the darkness‹and dare to embrace a love that will mark them forever…

 

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Dreams, destiny and self-delusion

 

I had originally written a post for my appearance here at Novel Thoughts about my never-ending adoration of dark heroes, but after my experiences last week, I’ve been musing on the fine line between dreams and madness.

 

See, I just returned home from a week-long stock book signing tour in Chicago for my debut urban fantasy romance, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS.  (If you live within 25 miles of Chicago, every copy of the book I could find contains a bookmark and a custom temporary tattoo based on an inside joke in the story.)  I had the chance to meet a bunch of booksellers, the members of a book club, and random readers too, which was fabulous fun.  I talked to some of them about how long I’d been writing, how I’ve always known I wanted to be an author, and how getting to sign my book—finally!—must be a dream come true.

 

And when I put all those answers together, I realized how FREAKIN’ PSYCHOTIC I must sound!

 

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the expectation of different results.  Well, sadly, that is also the definition of achieving your dreams.

 

Many people—dare we say most?—won’t achieve their dreams on the first attempt.  I’ve been writing since I was a wee young thing and seriously pursuing publication for more than a decade.  I racked up almost a hundred “no”s before I finally got to a “yes.”  But my dream still isn’t over.

 

Because my dream isn’t just to write, but to be read.  Last week, I drove around to all the Chicago bookstores, tucking that dream in between the pages of my books and abandoning them on the shelves in the hopes that some unknown reader will stumble upon one, take it home, and love the story as much as I did.

 

Sometimes I think I’m as crazy as my characters.

 

SEDUCED BY SHADOWS is the first book of The Marked Souls.  In the series, the heroes are possessed by repentant demons, seeking their redemption by fighting against the forces of darkness.  I imagined that the talyan—the alpha males warriors—were fated to be possessed because of their “penance trigger.”  The penance trigger was a moment in their past that echoed through the years, a psychic wound from which they never quite recovered, that made them vulnerable to the demons.

 

The newly possessed heroine of SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, Sera, gets the explanation from the hero, Ferris Archer:
______________________________

“When I had the vision of the demon, it said I’d called it.” She fixed her gaze on her hands wrapped around the coffee cup. “It said I was lonely. It said it loved me. How desperate is that?”

Love. The word exploded in an empty place in him, as if that powder had burned to the end of the line. He clamped down until the echo died. “Desperate on the demon’s part? Or yours?” When she glared at him, he shrugged. “It makes a bargain to fill what’s missing in us and then takes what it needs.”

“But why me?” She wilted a bit. “Seems a little conceited to think I’ve had any more tribulations than the next guy.”

“Haven’t you?” He waited while she considered. “But it’s not about the quantity of your suffering. It’s the quality. Demons are quite the connoisseurs of pain.”

She grimaced. “Me too lately, I guess.”

“Exactly. When the demon crosses over, it seeks a matching target, a soul that resonates with its energy. Somewhere in your past is a penance trigger. It defines the headwaters of an invisible fault line in your soul, cutting a path right to the moment when the demon breaks your life in two.”

“A penance trigger?” Some memory brought a hazy glitter to the corner of her eye. “So it was because of me.”

The tear never fell, but his muscles tightened as if reacting to a mortal threat. He held himself still with effort. He wouldn’t reach for her again. “Whatever it was doesn’t necessarily make you guilty, Sera. It just made you vulnerable.”

Despite his soft tone, her instant focus pinned him. Her narrowed eyes left no room for tears. “I still can’t believe any of this. I should have my head examined.”

“You mean your soul.”

______________________________

 

After last week, I’ve come to think maybe all of us have some version of a penance trigger, a moment—often insignificant at the time—that puts a hairline crack in the rest of our days until it finally blows wide open.

 

For me, it was the PTA Reflections grade school writing contest.  I won the contest and got a gift certificate for a free book.  Well, obviously, there was no going back, not after getting a free book.  I was forever more doomed to be a writer. 

 

Like my heroes, destined to fight evil for eternity, I was destined  to put words on paper.  So calling my book on the shelf (and that sure seemed to take an eternity) a dream come true isn’t quite right.  Because the dream continues.  And as mad as it sounds, I hope I won’t ever wake up.

 

Jessa Slade’s first book, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, is available now at most bookstores and online.  Chapter 1 is available at her website http://jessaslade.com. Book 2 of The Marked Souls, FORGED OF SHADOWS, will be out June 2010.  Read a free short story introducing the world of The Marked Souls at http://www.tinyurl.com/MarkedSoulsPrequel.

 

Do you have a penance trigger in your life, a moment—good or bad—that threads through your days?  How has that influenced your waking dreams?

 

Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of SEDUCED BY SHADOWS along with the temporary tattoo and a pair of Possession In Pearl earrings, freshwater pearl sticks that look like they might have something dreaming inside them.

 

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Many thanks to Jessa for being our guest today. For more info on what she has coming up, visit her website here.

Brava Giveaway!

Haven’t done a giveaway in a while so decided to fix that. I have four Brava books to giveaway this time. Four winners will be announced Sunday. All you have to do for the chance to win one, is comment on your choice of book you’d like to win. Same rules apply for this giveaway. Once winners are chosen on Sunday, they’ll have 48 hours to email me their address or new names with be chosen. Good luck!

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He’s the oldest of the three Taggart brothers. And the boldest. Tall, dark and rippling with muscle, Danny Taggart takes no prisoners. But when his latest case puts him up close and personal with the woman who once left him raw and aching, he’s shell-shocked. Caroline Medford is still hotter than hell. But she’s also got her pretty grip on the truths that have shaped him into the soul-ravaged warrior he is today. Burned once, Danny’s plan is to satisfy his craving for Caroline and walk away. Yet once he has her warm and willing beneath him, he can’t get deep enough – or close enough. Not even when danger threatens to destroy everything he’s ever fought for. Including the only woman he’s ever loved…

 

 

 

 

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Wanna know where the real wild things are…and what they like to do there?

Belong To The Night

The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There’s no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully’s grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory—including a certain sassy witch—from vicious rivals.

In The Dark by Cynthia Eden

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James’ undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires, distracting her from tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of solving the case, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart. City Of The Dead by Sherrill Quinn

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover the Eye of Bastet, a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun cop Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the demon who has her brother, and the key to her family’s survival.

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Beatrice Small — Mastering Lady Lucinda
The members of the underground club, The Devil’s Disciples, are prepared to give Lady Lucinda Harrington an unforgettable lesson in seduction-but it it the gentlemen, and not Lucinda, who are left begging for more.

Susan Johnson — Risking It All
When the destitute Felicia Greenwood wins the gamble of her life with the aid of the Duke of Grafton, she never expects to receive an introduction to the delectable delights of desire.

Thea Devine — The Pleasure Game
When Regina Olney learns that longtime friend, Jeremy Gavage, is devising a scheme to thwart her plans of pursuing a notorious rake, she seeks revenge by playing a wickedly sensuous game of searing passion.

Robin Schone — A Man And A Woman
Hoping to experience once again the intimacies shared with a man, widowed Megan Branwell engages in a charade with Connor Treffrey that will take them both on a breathless journey of indescribable pleasure.

 

 

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Kyril. Marko. Semyon. Brothers like no other, sharing an ancient blood bond and descent from Russian wolves. Sworn to lead the Pack of St. James and defend the English crown, their seductive charm is legendary among the women of London. In Wicked, Noelle Mack presents Semyon’s story. . .

The Demon’s Disciple

Masterful. Seductive. And very much in demand. Semyon Taruskin does not deny his reputation as a lover. But one woman alone has enchanted him: the seemingly innocent and bewitching Angelica Harrow. He would risk his own life to protect hers, for Angelica lives in fear of one who betrayed her, a notorious rake who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Was the man murdered? Or transformed into a different—and far more malevolent—entity?

For her love, Semyon will reveal his supernatural powers in a lethal battle for dominance of London’s private hells. The last man standing shall claim Angelica—and Semyon’s passion for Angelica is proof that the wildest blood runs hottest. . .

 

 

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That’s it for this giveaway. Leave a comment with the title of the book you want and winners will be chosen sometime on Sunday. Good luck!

 

 

Jaci Burton Discusses Holiday Books

Sweet Charity by Lauren Dane. Eight years after a horrible one night stand,Charity and Gabriel finally find themselves in bed again. Trouble is, he thinks she’s too nice a girl to accept his darker sexual urges, so he’ll only agree to a short term fling. Gabriel’s about to find out that even sweet girls have their limits.

Unraveled by Jaci Burton. Entrepreneur Mitch Magruder wants to buy old friend Greta Mason’s rundown motel. Greta loves the motel and intends to hang tight, despite the feelings between her and Mitch. Can a man afraid to commit and a woman bruised by the past find a love worth building a future on?

 

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It’s that time of year again—the…I hate to say it…but it can’t be avoided, so I’m going to utter the “H” word. The Holidays are creeping up on us.

 

I know, it makes me shudder too. All the shopping and the decorating and the shopping and the cooking and the wrapping paper and the shopping and the cleaning my house so family can come over and the shopping and the endless lines and the shopping and the stress and the shopping. And did I mention the shopping?

 

But you know what I do love this time of year? Holiday romances. This is actually the first year in a long time I haven’t written a new holiday romance. I love writing them, and I love reading them…in all genres. As much as you have to drag me, kicking and screaming, into the holidays, the one thing that’s guaranteed to put me in the mood for this crazy time of year is a holiday romance. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sweet category or a family romance or an erotic or a historical, I love them.

 

Maybe it’s because there are so many different types of holiday romances. Romance and the holidays just go so well together.  It’s a season for warmth and family and miracles and of course—love. And hey, we romance writers are in the love business, so what better time of year to set our stories than at the holidays. And this time of year tends to be cold outside in many places of the world. Fireplaces are sexy ya know. All that snow, and the possibility of being stranded in a snowstorm, cuddled up with the hot hero…yum and oh so sexy.

 

And romances with kids in them? Love them at the holidays. There’s nothing better than seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child. Add in a couple trying to fall in love to the mix and you have a winning recipe for happily ever after.  Sometimes the child is the catalyst for the romance in these types of stories.

 

I also love holiday reunion romances, where two lovers have been torn apart and are reunited at the holidays. The forgiveness factor is strong in these romances, and the holiday is integral and bringing them back together again. These are the sweetest types of romances and they really pull at the heartstrings. These types of stories tend to be loaded with emotion, making them powerful reads.

 

The holidays are all about second chances and forgiveness and granting those special wishes, like telling someone you love them. I just get all warm inside thinking about the potential for romance this time of year.

 

And speaking of romance, I’m going to give away Holiday Seduction and Holiday Heat to one winner. The erotic romances contain connected stories by me and wonderful author Lauren Dane. J

 

So tell me what holiday books are on your to buy list this year. I’m always on the lookout for great holiday romances, and this is the time to buy!

 

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Many thanks to Jaci for being our guest today. Don’t forget to leave a comment for the chance to win copies of HOLIDAY HEAT and HOLIDAY SEDUCTION. For more information on Jaci and her books, please visit her website here.

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UNWRAPPED Amy’s kind of fantasies wouldn’t cut it in the straight-laced law firm where she’s fought her way to partnership. And she refuses to let a younger man use her to advance in the firm. Justin might be brilliant, gorgeous and sexy, but he’s firmly implanted in the look-but-don’t-touch realm. Until a corporate acquisition in Hawaii over Christmas gives Justin the opportunity to show Amy he’s interested in her as a woman. And he has the ideal plan to help unwrap the perfect Christmas gift for Amy.

TO DO LIST Since she could pick up a pencil, Belle has used lists to map out her life. But now, she realizes the life she thought she wanted exacts too high a price. Exhausted, she heads home for Christmas to make a new to-do list. She didn’t factor in Rafe, her brother’s best friend kissing her under the mistletoe! Belle finds herself with a whole new set of goals to balance with what she thought she always wanted. Rafe’s plan is to seduce Belle back home where she belongs.

Kit Donner’s Susan Boyle Effect

In the bedroom of a spy. . .

Ever since the horrible day her brother was accused of treason, Patience Mandeley hasn’t recognized her own behavior. Under normal circumstances she would never be disguised as a maid, skulking around a earl’s estate for secrets she isn’t meant to find. But now the situation is desperate, and Patience will do whatever it takes to spare her beloved brother the noose, even if it means finding the true spy herself.

To do that, she’ll have to gain access to the estate of Lord Londringham, the most desired bachelor in all of England—without him knowing who she really is. But even in her maid’s uniform, she can’t miss the looks of unsuppressed desire she receives from her employer, and she finds to her dismay that the attraction is quite mutual. Though she knows she must ignore her feelings for this dark-haired rogue to save her family and escape ruin, his close proximity is making all reason impossible. . .and Patience may find that the real traitor is her own body.

 

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I’m a late bloomer.  I mean, really.  Even in college, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I loved English literature, but did I want to teach it?  Yes and no.  I took three years of German because my German teacher was great, but I wasn’t going to teach German or go into international business.  I took several drama classes but I wasn’t going to be an actress.

I knew everything I wasn’t going to be, but I didn’t know what I was going to be.  What choices would I make (right or wrong) that would put me on the path to my destiny?  Apparently, a lot of wrong ones, and a few right ones.

Have you been there?  When you came to a split in the road, did you take the high road when you were meant to take the left?  It seems as if we’re only given a map after we’ve taken the wrong direction and seen where we’ve been and where we could have gone.  So, is my blog about regrets?  About do-overs?  About second chances?

Nope.  It’s about finding out who you are and what you want, no matter your age.  Although you may have some control over your destiny, life happens, and you don’t always get what you want.  Or what you thought you wanted.  Or what you get, wasn’t what you wanted.  Phew.

Earlier this year, Susan Boyle took the world by storm because of her beautiful voice and her age.  She had finally blossomed at forty-eight.  Wasn’t that wonderful?  It’s never too late.  And I realized Susan and I had something in common.

I happened on my purpose in life only recently.  Remember, I’m only good at figuring out what I’m not good at… In my career as a Logistics Planner, which I found a few years out of college, it was up and down, a very demanding career, with a lot of traveling, and little time for hobbies other than reading on a plane.  It also came with a high burn-out rate.  After twenty years in my career, which had seen its highs and lows, my road turned in a new direction.  I had an opportunity to finish an old manuscript of a historical romance from about seventeen years ago.

Out of the blue, my sister-in-law asked to read said manuscript.  After much dawdling, I pulled it out, dusted it off, and revised it.  Long story short, Kensington published my first manuscript, “The Notorious Bridegroom,” in August.  The second time around in revising my work was a challenge, but a delightful one.  I enjoyed revisiting my impulsive Patience, out to save her brother from the French spy, Bryce, who’s actually an English spy, and a good guy- well, you’ll just have to read it, to see what happens.

Yes, it was great- it is great, but what is even better, is that through the writing process, I found my voice.  I found out who I am.  I found something I was good at.  And it gets better.  I’m working on my Masters degree in education, so that I might teach secondary language arts.  I think I’m finally ready to teach.  To share my love and passion for the written word.

What about you?  Have you found your calling?  Like me, you’ll find out, it’s not too late to discover who you are.  Because of this wonderful experience, I learned, sometimes your dreams find you.

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Thanks to Kit for being our guest today. Leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of THE NOTORIOUS BRIDEGROOM. For more info on Kit and her books, check out her website here.

What Azteclady Had Been Up To

I can’t begin to tell you all how much I love shopping at Etsy.com. My oldest daughter actually got me hooked on it and there is no amount of gushing from me to express how much I love and adore that website. You can find anything and everything you’re looking for. One of the emails I got today was from Azteclady and she shared why she’s been so quiet lately — she started a shop of her own at Etsy.com! Woohooo, AL! Congrats! For those that want to check out her goodies, you can find her shop here.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s Portrait of a Laughing Youth

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING—

Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS—

Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh—and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.

Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title—even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

 

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PORTRAIT OF A LAUGHING YOUTH

Years ago I was staying the night in a motel in strange city and as I lay in bed, flipping channels on the TV, I caught an old black and white movie. It was called Laura and it was about a police detective investigating the murder of a young woman. In one of the early scenes, he walks into her library and there’s a huge portrait of her over the fireplace. The detective stares at the portrait, and as he does, the camera lingers too. She’s beautiful—wide eyes, pale, creamy skin, and long dark hair. As the detective talks to her family and friends about her we realize that he’s beginning to fall in love with her, this woman he never met while she was alive.

And then an interesting thing happens: the woman walks in her apartment, alive and well.

In my most recent book, To Desire a Devil, there’s a portrait, too. Except in my book, the portrait is of a laughing young man and in place of the detective I have an inquisitive young woman. Beatrice Corning lives with her Uncle Reggie and ever since Reggie became the Earl of Blanchard, they’ve made their home in the luxurious Blanchard townhouse. In one of the sitting rooms of the townhouse is a portrait of the laughing young man. He’s Viscount Hope, the eldest son and heir of the last earl. Viscount Hope was killed seven years before in the French and Indian War, but Beatrice likes to sit and gaze at his portrait even though she never met the man when he was alive.

And then an interesting thing happens: one day in the midst of a formal tea party a bearded madman stumbles in, raving in French. Even though he now looks nothing like his portrait, Beatrice knows he is Viscount Hope.

Which raises an interesting question: what happens when the image you’re infatuated with comes alive? Viscount Hope isn’t like the portrait anymore. For one thing, the picture was painted when he was a youth—now he’s a man. Furthermore, he’s spent the last seven years as a captive of war. He’s grimly determined to win back his title and lands, and relentless in that pursuit. Perhaps most distressing for Beatrice, he never smiles anymore. Is there anything left of the smiling youth in the portrait? And if there isn’t, can she still love Viscount Hope?

I hope you enjoy To Desire a Devil.

For an excerpt of TO DESIRE A DEVIL, click below – 

Joss Ware Trilogy Coming in 2010

BEYOND THE NIGHT by Joss Ware

Publisher: Avon (January 12, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0061734012

ISBN-13: 978-0061734014

A man with no future . . .

When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott’s extraordinary new “gift”—he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.

A woman with a past . . .

Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one . . . until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?

If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that take them beyond danger.

Beyond desire.

EMBRACE THE NIGHT ETERNAL by Joss Ware

Publisher: Avon (February 9, 2010) 

ISBN-10: 0061734020

ISBN-13: 978-0061734021

Everything they knew is gone.

From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They must learn how to survive this dark, ravaged world . . . but they cannot do it alone.

Simon Japp will never forget his violent past. But when civilization is all but destroyed, he sees his chance for redemption. Blessed with a strange “gift,” he’s determined to help the resistance against the Strangers, the mysterious force that stalks them at every turn. He can’t afford to get distracted, even by the stunning, soft-spoken woman fighting by his side . . . Sage Corrigan has learned to be careful where she places her trust. But she sees something good in Simon, even if he can’t see it in himself. Posing as lovers to infiltrate a group key to their fight, they find that their staged affection soon develops into a desire that will leave them fighting for their lives in the night eternal . . .

ABANDON THE NIGHT by Joss Ware

Publisher: Avon (March 9, 2010) 

ISBN-10: 0061734039

ISBN-13: 978-0061734038

Everything they knew is gone.

From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They are humankind’s last hope … but they cannot survive this dark, ravaged world alone…

Quentin Fielding had everything. Money. Power. Women. But now that civilization is all but annihilated, Quent only wants one thing: revenge. Harnessing a strange new “gift,” he embarks on a deadly mission to find the the man responsible for the chaos and destruction, the man he should have killed years ago: his father. Only one thing stands in his way – a mysterious, arrow-wielding beauty…

Zoe Kapoor is on her own quest for vengeance, searching for the monstrous fiends who murdered her family. Soon she and Quent join together, journeying through the ruins of the world they once knew as a desperate desire builds between them. Drawing closer to an enemy they never imagined, Zoe and Quent must abandon all fear, abandon all regret, abandon the night … if they want to stay alive.

Winners’ Time! :)

Winner for last week’s posts are –

MichelleK

Wins a download of a book off Dana’s back list. Check out her website here and let me know what title and format you’d like.

JamieD.

Wins a copy of NO RESERVATIONS by Lauren Dane and Megan Hart.

Johanna Snodgrass

Wins a download of a book off Jess’s back list. Check out her website here and let me know what title and format you’d like.

Chelsea B.

Wins DEVILISH LORD, MYSTERIOUS MISS by Annie Burrows.

Winners have 48 hours to email me their addresses at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (without the spaces) to claim their book prizes or new names will be chosen. Michelle & Johanna, all I’d need from you is an email address, title of choice and preferred format of your book choice.

Annie Burrows on meeting characters–or, how a writer’s mind works.

Is she his lost love?

With his dark, haunted eyes and forbidding expression, the menacing Lord Matthison has the reputation of the devil.  Living on the fringes of polite society, he has still to get over the death of his one true love seven years ago.  But Cora Montague’s body has never been found…

When he encounters a fragile looking woman, the image of his betrothed, working in a London dressmaker’s, he is convinced Cora is still alive.

And he will do whatever it takes to claim her!

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I first met Lord Matthison in a gaming hell when I was writing The Earl’s Untouched Bride (released by Harlequin in February 09).  I only wrote him as a lesson that my naïve heroine had to learn, but then he became much more than that.  I could not stop thinking about him.  He was such a dark, world-weary man.  How did he get like that?  And why was he so shocked when he hit a losing streak on the night he encountered the Countess of Walton?  I got so engrossed in his past, and his motivations for behaving as he did, that, as soon as I had finished my commitments to my publisher, I just had to give him his own story.

I soon realized that a man with such a dark reputation needed something exceptional to jolt him from the shadows that clung to him.  And it came in the form of Mary, a woman with only a sketchy memory of her past, and bearing an uncanny resemblance to the woman with whom Lord Matthison fell in love in his youth.

The story that follows is a twist on The Sleeping Beauty.  Lord Matthison is convinced that he can hack his way through the thicket of thorns that surround Mary’s mind, and break the spell that holds her fast, with true love’s kiss.  But Mary is no docile, helpless female, waiting for some man to come rescue her.  She has had to make her own way in the world, and, though she accepts that she has limitations, she begins to think it is Lord Matthison who needs rescuing!  She cannot comprehend what makes such a handsome man cling to the ghost of a woman who is dead.  And why does he keep on insisting that she is Cora?

Yes, to her way of thinking, he is the one who needs to find a way to break the curse that has bound him for seven long years, and start to live again!

And then, during the course of writing this story, Lord Matthison did something that, I later realized, would have immense repercussions.

And that became a whole new story, centred on the daughter of a hopeless gambler, desperately trying to maintain her virtue, whilst keeping her father out of debtor’s prison…

It’s the way a writer’s mind works!

The story I’m writing about the gambler’s daughter I first met during Devilish Lord… has some parallels to Beauty and the Beast.  And I’ve already told you that Devilish Lord has overtones of Sleeping Beauty.  What is your favourite fairy tale?  Everyone who leaves a comment will be in with a chance to win a copy of Devilish Lord, Mysterious Miss.

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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms Burrows!

You can learn more about Ms Burrows’ characters and the novels they appear in by visiting her website.