Tag Archives: new release

From The Nightstand ~ Hitting Black Ice

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Today I’m excited to have Heloise West here to talk about her new release, Hitting Black Ice.  I’ve been looking forward to reading a novel by Heloise, having been a fan of the fiction excerpts she posts on her blog, Velvet Panic.  When the excerpt is never long enough, you know you’ve found your next favorite writer!

HeloiseWest_HittingBlackIce_coverlg(1)

 

Heloise tells us about her inspiration for the book, followed by a delightful, much too short excerpt:

***

Alexis asked me what inspired my story “Hitting Black Ice.” Here’s my attempt at an answer 😀

I love mysteries and suspense, romantic or otherwise, and I knew I needed to work on a contemporary story to offset the historical mystery romance I was struggling with at the time.

It’s a little like putting a soup or stew together at first. Or a sketch that needs to be developed because you’ve fallen in love with a line or a shape, a color. I honestly can’t remember who said a story is a juxtaposition of two ideas, but I find that very true. I have to fall in love with that place of juxtaposition first in order to be inspired. I had a winter setting in mind and a character who was trying to talk another out of suicide. I like darker stories, and stories of redemption, so their journey together became important. One of them was on the run from something and living in terror of discovery. The other character had resources. But I needed another layer, the juxtaposition, and that became Nick, the evil FBI agent. I really liked the idea of turning the Romance trope of the enigmatic law enforcement alpha male character on its head.

The story gave me fits, and I abandoned it once or twice, and worked on the historical until that story needed me to step away from it. A glimmer of potential always remains beneath that stagnant pond when the words dry up or I’ve written myself into a corner.

It’s funny how after awhile, the story itself becomes the inspiration to continue writing it.

***

Excerpt:

Hunter opened red wine instead of whiskey and was savoring the first sip when the cell phone dinged with a text message.

Hunter? It’s Shawn.

His heart leaped into his throat. Ok.

“You brilliant asshole,” he told himself, thumbs twitching over the keypad.

U home?

Y. wru?

*$.

The Starbucks across the damn street? U ok?

Y. U want anything? Biscotti? Muffin?

Get up here, muffin man.

He waited a heartbeat.

OK!

Fuck, the bed still needed making. Hunter raced into the bedroom, threw sheets and blankets back together, and shoved the body pillow in the space between the bed and the wall. The building buzzer went off. He ran into the living room to answer it and slid in his socks on the hardwood, nearly going down. He limped to the bathroom, combed his hair, washed his face, and sniffed his armpits. He swished cinnamon mouthwash around and managed to spit it out without dribbling on himself. Off came the pajama bottoms. He jumped into the tightest jeans he owned and changed the rumpled sleep T-shirt for a fresh one.

“Get hold of yourself, boy,” he said to the man in the mirror. “It’s not effing prom night.”

He tucked the T-shirt in, trying not to catch his swooning cock in the zipper as the door buzzer went off. He stood in front of the door, counted to three, and jumped when it buzzed again with his hand still on the knob. He yanked the door open.

Shawn stood on the threshold in a black leather jacket, holding a cardboard box with two coffees and a bag of cookies or muffins or damn biscotti perched on top. His eyes were light with hope, though his smile was tentative and sweetly unsure.

***

Blurb:

ER physician’s assistant Hunter guards his heart carefully, but that doesn’t stop him from falling for Shawn, the front desk clerk. He keeps his distance from relationships for a reason, but just can’t help himself when it comes to Shawn.

Shawn is on the run from the law and love to protect himself and anyone else involved. One man is dead because of him, and his life now is simple and easily thrown into a bag at any hint of danger. Until he meets Hunter, and he no longer wants to run.

Forced into a hostage situation, buried passion explodes in the aftermath, and sex in the supply closet brings their hearts back to life. Tentatively, step by step, they begin to explore a relationship together until the past catches up with Shawn.

FBI agent Nick Truman has finally found his man, but when Shawn escapes, he focuses his attention on Hunter. Shawn returns, even though it means sacrificing himself to save Hunter from the man who framed him for murder.

Title: Hitting Black Ice

Author: Heloise West

Publisher:  Loose Id

Publication date: December 2, 2014

Word count: 75,000

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23644828-hitting-black-ice

Bio:

Heloise West, when not hunched over the keyboard plotting love and mayhem, dreams about moving to a villa in Tuscany. She loves history, mysteries, and romance of all flavors. She travels and gardens with her partner of 10 years, and their home overflows with books, cats, art, and red wine.

Social Media:

heloisewest@hotmail.com

https://twitter.com/velvetpanic

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23644828-hitting-black-ice

https://www.facebook.com/heloise.west.1

http://velvetpanic2.wordpress.com/

 

Buy Links:

http://www.loose-id.com/hitting-black-ice.html

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hittingblackice-1689874-340.html

 

 

 

Weekend Writing Warriors #39

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wewriwa

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors.  Today I get to announce the release of the next book in the Masters and Mages series!  Blood of Salar is set to release on March 3rd, 2015.  To celebrate I’m going to share a snippet from the first chapter.  Things are getting dangerous in the land of Rakkan and M’lan the monk and Jamil the assassin are challenged to maintain their relationship while a rebellion swirls around them.  After months apart, they find themselves at odds regarding Jamil’s work.

M’lan is the first to speak:

***

“Kings and lords always claim to have the ear of at least one god.”

“Much like monks.”

M’lan’s cheeks burned. He sensed Jamil slipping away from him, back into his previous enslavement to the court and its devious methods.

“The king’s sorcerers still have a dark hook in your heart,” he pronounced. He regretted it when he saw the affect of his words.

Jamil’s eyes narrowed and his face achieved a hardness M’lan hadn’t seen since before the monk healed him.

“If anyone has hooks in me, it’s you, Headmaster M’lan.”

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

 

Weekend Writing Warriors #33

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wewriwa

Hello and welcome to another week of Weekend Writing Warriors!  I’m all a twitter today because Tuesday is release day for To Catch a  Threeve and I’ve got all kinds of promo stuff lined up.  Don’t forget to pop back in for chances to win stuff.

So today will be my last snippet from To Catch a Threeve, in which I hope to leave you all breathless and wanting more.  In last week’s snippet, Constable Axel Blackwood, in a moment of weakness, allowed desire to overcome logic when the thief he’d captured unexpectedly kissed him.

***

A hot tongue probed Axel’s mouth, and he became aware of hands behind his neck, pulling him down as if the two of them could possibly get any closer. Even the slap of the dangling manacle against his collarbone didn’t wake him from his passionate trance. His hands fumbled through the folds of the cloak, desperate to touch the body he’d never stopped dreaming about.

A sharp, sparkling sensation blossomed at the base of Axel’s neck. He’d barely registered it before a flash blinded him. Paralyzed, he tumbled forward when the thief leaped to his feet, leaving behind an icy rush of air. Axel hit the ground face-first, unable to even curse his stupidity as the spell swept through him and rendered him helpless.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or copy & paste this address: http://www.wewriwa.com

***

Official Blurb for To Catch a Threeve ~ Release date October 28th ~ This Tuesday! 

Release date October 28th

Release date October 28th

Axel Blackwood catches a thief and is astounded to see that he closely resembles Liam Alloway, the love he lost seven years ago in an attack by the evil woodland folk known as threeves. Axel suspects he’s fallen prey to dark magic, but can’t help becoming infatuated with his prisoner. He’s overwhelmed with the hope that he can at last bring his lost lover home, despite everything that warns him it’s all a diabolical trick.

Bryn Darrow, the half-threeve, half human orphan sent to trick Axel and rob him of much more than a simple gem finds himself equally as fascinated with his handsome human captor and the lure of someplace to call home, but he knows deep down that the constable is in love with a dangerous illusion. When he’s commanded by the threeves to murder Axel and steal a witch’s powerful grimoire, he’s forced to decide between the only family he’s ever known and the one person who might rescue him from a life of isolation and pain.

Will Axel and Bryn be forced into a deadly confrontation before they can discover the truth?

Guard Your Heart

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LynnSexySaturday_banner

Welcome to the Halloween edition of My Sexy Saturday ~Don’t forget to click the link and keep hopping for a spooktastic selection of steamy fiction.

It’s been awhile since I participated, but I couldn’t resist the spooky theme. Also, it just happens my erotic fantasy, To Catch a Threeve, will be released this Tuesday, so I thought I’d share a selection of seven paragraphs in which Constable Axel Blackwood and Threeve Bryn Darrow “get to know each other”.  Despite knowing perfectly well that threeves are dangerous and diabolical folk, Axel can’t help being attracted to the thief he’s just caught, who resembles Axel’s lost love, Liam.

***

He snorted and wriggled against his bonds. Nothing about his body language was like Liam. Liam had been graceful, easy, and relaxed in his strength. This sneak was strong, but more like a coiled snake, ready to strike.

Like a threeve, Axel thought. Drummond had suggested half-threeve. Was that even possible?

Now that he looked at the sneak with eyes adjusted to the dark, he noticed more threevish attributes. The large eyes were slanted, almost like a fox’s. The tips of his ears poked out of the thick hair, longer and pointier than any human’s. Had Liam looked like that?

“You’re a chatty one.” The sneak stretched out his spine and looked around. “Why do you hate threeves?”

“Why do you work for them? Why do you work their dark magic?”

“I asked first.”

To Axel’s irritation, the sneak smiled. It transformed him from strange forest creature to beautiful young man. Guard your heart, Axel.

***

Release date October 28th

Release date October 28th

Official Blurb for To Catch a Threeve ~ Release date October 28th ~

Axel Blackwood catches a thief and is astounded to see that he closely resembles Liam Alloway, the love he lost seven years ago in an attack by the evil woodland folk known as threeves. Axel suspects he’s fallen prey to dark magic, but can’t help becoming infatuated with his prisoner. He’s overwhelmed with the hope that he can at last bring his lost lover home, despite everything that warns him it’s all a diabolical trick.

Bryn Darrow, the half-threeve, half human orphan sent to trick Axel and rob him of much more than a simple gem finds himself equally as fascinated with his handsome human captor and the lure of someplace to call home, but he knows deep down that the constable is in love with a dangerous illusion. When he’s commanded by the threeves to murder Axel and steal a witch’s powerful grimoire, he’s forced to decide between the only family he’s ever known and the one person who might rescue him from a life of isolation and pain.

Will Axel and Bryn be forced into a deadly confrontation before they can discover the truth?

Weekend Writing Warriors #29 & Cover Reveal!

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Ah, it’s good to be back at Weekend Writing Warriors.  I had a great time at the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up in Seattle. Got to play fangirl to some favorite authors, listen to insightful discussions, and spend too much money on books, but this introvert is sooo much more comfortable sitting behind the keyboard in pjs and fuzzy slippers, sharing and chatting with ya’ll.

On to the snippet!  I’m skipping ahead a bit, because i have to admit, I’m dying to get to the juicy bits.  You can read the complete scene up to this point by clicking on the Threeve tab. Last time, Constable Axel Blackwood trapped the thief in a magical net.

***

The body under him started to writhe. Even through the heavy cloak Axel felt long lean muscles, taut and ready to flee at the slightest chance. He removed the manacles from his belt and grabbed one of the thief’s slim wrists.

He clamped one on and reached for the other wrist. With a sudden bucking motion, the man twisted sideways in an effort to throw Axel off his back. He only partially succeeded. Axel seized the sneak’s other arm and forced it behind him as well.

With the thief on his side now, the light of the crystal revealed a face that was clearly human.

***

I’m so excited because I get to reveal, for the first time on the inter web, the cover of To Catch a Threeve.  Bask in the loveliness.  I must say Loose Id gives good cover.  A shout out to artiste extraordinaire, Fiona Jayde.

Release date October 28th!

Release date October 28th!

 

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or copy & paste this address: http://www.wewriwa.com

***

Official Blurb for To Catch a Threeve ~ Release date October 28th ~

Axel Blackwood catches a thief and is astounded to see that he closely resembles Liam Alloway, the love he lost seven years ago in an attack by the evil woodland folk known as threeves. Axel suspects he’s fallen prey to dark magic, but can’t help becoming infatuated with his prisoner. He’s overwhelmed with the hope that he can at last bring his lost lover home, despite everything that warns him it’s all a diabolical trick.

Bryn Darrow, the half-threeve, half human orphan sent to trick Axel and rob him of much more than a simple gem finds himself equally as fascinated with his handsome human captor and the lure of someplace to call home, but he knows deep down that the constable is in love with a dangerous illusion. When he’s commanded by the threeves to murder Axel and steal a witch’s powerful grimoire, he’s forced to decide between the only family he’s ever known and the one person who might rescue him from a life of isolation and pain.

Will Axel and Bryn be forced into a deadly confrontation before they can discover the truth?