Tag Archives: erotic romance

Knight Edition, Book 5 in the Night Fall series is here!

I’m up to my ears in work right now, but wanted to pop into to tell you about my new sexy paranormal story…

KnightsEdition_600

“…an action packed, fast paced, scorching, erotic thriller. With delicious love scenes, wry humor and non-stop thrills, [Knight Edition] is a guaranteed page turner that’ll delight the reader.” ~ 5 Drops of Blood, Vampire-Erotica.net

“…an extraordinary read by an extraordinary author.” ~ 5 Cups, Coffee Time Romance

Sidney Coffey, Seattle’s “News at Nine” girl, uncovers the scoop of a lifetime and her ticket into serious journalism. The only problem is–without proof–no one’s going to believe the victims of recent gang killings are in fact “undead” and vampires!

With her gut telling her there’s an even bigger story lurking beneath the surface, she decides to beard a reclusive vampire master in his den for an interview. But meeting the master only complicates things. For a woman with a voracious sexual appetite, the tall, dark and gloomy vamp proves an irresistible challenge.

When a reporter trespasses on his estate, Navarro is at first amused then annoyed that the little baggage is close to putting together the pieces of a dangerous plot involving an old enemy and a group of murdered geneticists. To keep her safe, Navarro issues an invitation he won’t let her refuse.

Free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers! Find it here!

The Vikings have landed!

This anthology was a pure labor of love. I adore Vikings. Read the introduction I wrote for the book below, and you’ll know why.

Congratulations to all the contributing authors! Thanks for trusting me with your stories!

Readers, I hope you enjoy it. There’s variety in settings and characters—despite the fact every story has a Viking hero! I think you’ll be surprised! And if you have time after reading it, we’d really appreciate your taking the time to review it and tell a friend about it—anything to help us get the word out. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

For now, you will only see it on Amazon. You lucky Kindle Unlimited subscribers can purchase it for free; and for the rest of you, for a very limited time (get your copy now!), the price is $0.99! A print version of this book is coming very soon!

conquests

Buy at Amazon

Vikings. Fierce warriors who terrified all in their path as they raided and marauded, enslaved and murdered during Europe’s Dark Ages.

But these rough men from a rugged land were also sailors, explorers, craftsmen, and highly sought after mercenaries.

Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance will transport you to the realm of fantasy where such fearsome and loyal men are relentless potent lovers. Whether the lady of the keep demands a few stolen hours of pleasure with a captured Viking warrior or the handsome Northman is the one seducing his captive, you will find plenty of lusty adventures in settings as far-flung as Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Byzantium, Moorish Spain and the New World.

Let your fantasies run wild to a time when men wearing bearskin shirts and shining iron helms could capture a fierce maiden’s heart!

The Captive by Lizzie Ashworth – A captive turns captor when the lady of an English keep commands a few stolen hours of pleasure with a captured Viking warrior

Ásgeirr and the Tree of Life by Mina Murray – Danger and desire collide when a wounded Viking warrior washes ashore on a remote Irish island

A Varangian Guest by Melissa Fuchs – When her brother returns to Constantinople in the company of a warrior from the far north, a widow finds herself drawn to him with irresistible desire

How to Train Your Skjaldmaer by Delilah Devlin – A Viking jarl tricked into marrying a shieldmaiden sets out to tame his fiery bride

The Viking’s Prize by Emma Jay – Treachery and desire greet a Viking warrior who travels to the coast of Newfoundland to broker peace with the indigenous tribes

There for the Taking by Nym Nix – A captive is seduced by her Viking captor as he couples with an amorous shieldmaiden whilst she is left to watch

Sweet Silk by Megan Mitcham – A Viking returns to Persia years after saving a merchant from certain death to retrieve the child-bride awarded him–yet never claimed

Little Warrior by Evey Brett – A woman braves a pair of daunting shieldmaidens and her father’s wrath in order to take her sister’s place as bride to a Viking warrior

Protecting Her by Regina Kammer – A Byzantine noblewoman seeking refuge in a monastery loses her heart to an invader when Constantinople is sacked by the Rus

Enslaved by Elle James – A conquering Viking vows to tame his sassy Celtic slave–if she doesn’t kill him first

The Oak and the Ale by Beatrix Ellroy – A businesswoman trying to secure trade routes for her family instead finds love with a crippled warrior

New Words by Teresa Noelle Roberts – An Andalusian Arab poet learns that her new Northman husband is more than just a handsome barbarian

The Needle and the Strap by Bibi Rizer – A young man hasn’t lived up to the Viking standards of his brave and ruthless kinsmen–until he rescues a wild and wicked shieldmaiden from a burning ship

From my introduction…

My step-grandfather’s name was Olaf. Now, before you start picturing a cuddly snowman with a carrot nose, picture instead a man of medium height, light brown hair, and pale eyes–pale blind eyes. Grandpa began going blind in his early twenties. By the time I came along, he lived completely in the dark.

Not that blindness ever stopped him. He rarely walked with a cane. He climbed tall ladders to re-shingle the roof, clean the gutters, or prune trees. But the thing I remember most about him was his keen mind and wicked-sharp sense of humor. His parents migrated from Norway, and he spoke the language and visited cousins back home. He built a workshop in the garage and set up a micro-brewery where he and his friends would gather, and laughter was everywhere.

When I was a child, I attributed my blonde hair and blue eyes to him, but sadly realized very early on that was impossible. Because of him, I never accepted the stereotypical view of Vikings as base, marauding warriors. They were artists, poets, farmers, traders, adventurers, and yes, fearsome warriors.

In this volume, I’ve collected stories written by some amazing writers who’ve captured the breadth of the Viking experience–settlers in a brave new world, raiders and traders who travelled from northern Europe to Africa and Byzantium in wooden boats, soldiers whose superior might made them feared and sought after. More, they gave me stories about the men who remained in their cold, rugged land and the strong women who matched their courage and will.

And I can well imagine my grandfather aboard one of those Viking ships, his face turned to the wind as it caught the sail and carried him to the edge of the known world. Despite the racy content, I think he’d be tickled about this book. So Grandpa, this one’s for you.

Delilah Devlin
Editor

Burnin’ Up Memphis is out!

Well, Burnin’ up Memphis is available on all sites now! I can hardly wait to hear from you. I hope you love it. I hope you love my guys. I have an inkling where I’ll go next, but it’s always nice to hear which fella struck your fancy.

The only thing I have left to say is this: If you love the book, please let someone else know it. You can tell a friend or post a review. The only way I can stay a success and writing full-time is through your continued support. I’m very appreciative of everyone you do.

Enjoy! DD

Burnin' Up Memphis

She’s the one fire he may not be able to control.

Firehouse 69, Book 1

When a roof collapse kills his best friend and his girlfriend clears out his apartment and leaves, firefighter John Cooper knows he shouldn’t sit alone in his empty apartment. But when he accepts an invitation to Club LaForge, his feet get colder with every step he takes inside.

The sights, sounds and smells of the BDSM club make him sweat, and not because he’s turned off. Yet he can’t bring himself to admit—to himself, or to his luscious guide, Moira—that this lifestyle might just be what he needs.

An experienced BDSM trainer, Moira senses that Coop is not only a Dom in the making, but exactly what she’s been looking for. A man to be her lover and her Dom. The only problem is, Coop isn’t looking for anything complicated.

Moira’s willing to start slow and easy, but even once there’s enough trust to bring Coop into her world—and to her Dom—she’s still worried he’ll look for the nearest exit.

Warning: Do you smell smoke? Don’t worry, it’s just a hot and sexy firefighter getting down and dirty. Contains BDSM scenes, ropes, floggers, some spanking, some sharing, and some five-alarm sex.

Buy it now! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain | Kobo | iTunes

Men Out of Uniform

The hottest thing about a man in uniform is imagining him out of it…

They may enforce the rules, but when men in uniform are off duty and under the covers, they’re experts at breaking them. In this searingly sexy anthology, popular authors Maya Banks, Sylvia Day, and Karin Tabke present men in uniform–unzipped…

In Maya Banks’s Soul Possession, Jessie spends a hot night with two sexy-as-sin detectives, only to be accused of murder the very next day. But when Jessie becomes the target of a serial killer, her two detectives will risk everything to have her back in their arms–and in their bed…

It’s time for protected witness Layla Creed to come out of hiding and take the stand in Taking the Heat by Sylvia Day. Layla has only three days to reconnect with federal marshal Brian Simmons–and slake the white-hot lust that has simmered between them for years…

Karin Tabke’s Wanted follows the X-rated exploits of bad-boy cop Colin Daniels and the soon-to-be-ex-wife of a mob boss. He’s been hired to guard her body, but it drives him to distraction instead, putting his career–and his life–on the line…

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Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance

Available Now!

Steamlust is romantic erotica that reflects the excitement, fantasy and rebellion of steampunk. Not sure what steampunk is? Think Victorian elegance and aesthetics meets futuristic invention and exploration. The genre of steampunk itself has transcended the Victorian (or Edwardian) eras — in Kristina Wright’s inventive anthology, it can be any time period, real or imagined, that blends elements of science, history, fantasy and technology. Until Steamlust, the genre had been missing romantic relationships and erotic encounters. Steampunk erotic romance is shiny brass and crushed velvet; mechanical inventions and romantic conventions; sexual fantasy and kinky fetish. It’s steam powered sexy romance!

Editrix extraordinaire Kristina Wright creates a lush and fantastical world of women-centered stories and romantic scenarios, first for steampunk fiction. Fetishizing the wardrobe, language, fantasy and rituals of steampunk, Steamlust includes alternate histories, second worlds, time travel and contemporary settings.

Book Video:

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March Mania!

Have you ever heard the old saying that March roars in like a lion and out like a lamb? For me, that hasn’t been the case at all! The whole month been roaring with one thing after another. I’m, not sure where the time is going!

The first thing I want to say is thank you to all of you who bought a copy of SURRENDER TO ME during its first week of release! It has debuted on New York Times trade bestseller list for the first time! I am humbled and thrilled. I really appreciate you!!! The book also debuted at #6 on the Neilsen Bookscan trade romance bestseller list, at #1 on the Borders romance trade bestseller list and #40 on the Barnes & Noble trade fiction bestseller list. I am super excited and I thank you so much!

I recently finished BELONG TO ME, the next book in my Wicked Lovers series! When I typed “The End”, it was with a deep sense of satisfaction. I absolutely LOVE Logan and Tara. Their relationship is so hot and tender. It kind of melted me a little. *sigh* I love this series and hope to continue writing it for a very long time. I’ll be starting Tyler’s book next, and I’m feeling really excited. I can’t wait!

I just received the cover for this book from my publisher. I really love it and think it conveys the love and passion that this couple has for one another! I am always thrilled with the amount of input they give me on my covers.

BELONG TO ME is already up for pre-sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

For those of you in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I will be at signing books with fellow authors Nikki Duncan, Angi Morgan and Candace Havens at the Barnes & Noble in Lewisville, TX on April 16, 2011 at 2pm. We’re planning on making it a spring fling celebration, and I am really looking forward to it!

Lastly, there is now a group of Role Players just starting to play the Doomsday Brethren on Facebook! When they approached me about this I was so excited and honored! You can find them on Facebook by searching for Doomsday Brethren, then joining the public page.

And if you haven’t heard I have joined the Twitter revolution! You can follow me at @Shayla_Black.

Hope the rest of March is fabulous for everyone!

A Tease from SURENDER TO ME

I’m often accused of tormenting readers just before I have a new title release. Okay, maybe I like to tease a little. Or a lot. I won’t deny that I enjoy it. With that said, I’m here today to offer up a new tease. Read on…


Surrender to Me
Wicked Lovers, Book 4

Publisher: Berkley HEAT
ISBN-13: 978-0425236550
ISBN-10: 0425236552
Release Date: March 2011
Genre: Erotic Romance

Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders | Books-A-Million
Pre-Order eBook: Kindle | Nook

Excerpt
© Shelley Bradley LLC
2011

Here, now, her panting breaths mingled with Hunter’s, his unrelenting stare reached through the shadows, promising searing pleasure. Despite her misgivings about his bent for control, Kata wanted him. Badly.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, raising her hips.

He hesitated, then levered himself up to shut the bathroom door—blocking out Ben’s soft snores. He lowered himself to the mattress again, hovering over her, his stare drilling into her in the shadows. “I’m going to take you alone tonight.”

“I know.”

“Repeatedly,” he vowed.

Her breath caught. Desire branded his masculine face as his hot palm caressed her breast, the curve of her waist, before settling inside her thigh—skating heart-stoppingly close to her pussy. And then he stopped. As she strained toward him, her ache ratcheted up.

He seemed to know exactly what drove her mad.

“Keep talking to me.” His husky murmur whispered across her skin.

“Tell you what I want in bed?” Kata had no doubt he was capable of giving it to her.

“That, and more. I want you to be completely open to me.”

“Sexually?”

“In every way.” His eyes were solemn, startlingly direct.

Her heart skipped a beat. Kata pulled her lip through her teeth and peered up at the hard, shadowed angles of his face. “What is it you want, exactly?”

“All you’re willing to give me.” He smiled wryly. “And probably more.”

Those murmured words raised all of her red flags. What did he want beyond passion? Surely not more than a night of pleasure with no regrets. They’d been ridiculously in sync so far.

Maybe hinting at possessiveness was his shtick. Maybe he thought women dug it. Whatever . . .

“I can’t promise I’ll agree to everything, but if you do something I don’t like, we’ll talk it out.”

“Good.” His fingers tightened on her thighs. He pried them apart a bit wider, then wriggled down her body. His mouth loomed closer to the ache she desperately needed him to sate. “Kata, I will push you.”

“About the bedside light?” Kata frowned. Would he still want her if he actually saw all her curves?

“For starters.”

She paused. “Hunter—”

“Trust me, honey.”

The way he called her “honey” made Kata shiver. Usually, she hated that endearment, but the way he said it . . . hmm. Then the rest of his words registered in her lust-ridden brain. Trust him . . . with what? Was he trying to tell her that he was into some freaky shit? He’d done ménages before. What else did he have in his repertoire?

“Look, I don’t know how your preferences run, but I have a few boundaries.”

“Such as?” He breathed against her stomach, pressing mind-stealing kisses to her skin.

“I’m really afraid of knives.”

His husky laugh warmed her. “No knives. I’m hard-core, not weird.”

Kata relaxed. Maybe she was overthinking this. “I don’t like pain.”

Hunter shrugged and trailed his fingers through her very wet pussy. “You’ll only get the good kind from me. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

She frowned. “Look, in case you didn’t get it earlier, I won’t be dominated.”

“You’ll be fine.”

His voice reassured her more than his words, but he hadn’t done anything to give her pause, other than put out a dominant vibe. She’d run across that before and walked away unscathed. She could handle Hunter, too.

Kata shot him a cocky grin and let her knees relax to the sides, widening her thighs. “Okay, then. Do your worst.”

“Oh, honey,” he chided, his gaze fused on hers. “Don’t doubt me. I will.”

* * *

For a chance to win an ARC and read more excerpts, stop by my blog!

Try a little True!

Thanks to everyone who’s read Ravished and let me know what you think. I’m keeping notes for the characters’ whose lives you’d like to peek inside in the next installments. Those of you who have read the first book know exactly where we’ll begin the next adventure! If you’re new to the Ravished, be sure to check out my blog for plenty of steamy excerpts. I promise you’ll be intrigued!

In the meantime, I do have another ebook release to tell you about…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two men plus one woman equals three bodies on fire…

True Wyatt’s hands are going to be full enough keeping the herd alive through the dead of winter. The last thing he needs to hear is that his brother Lonny has rented out their isolated hunting cabin to a reclusive writer—especially a sassy, disaster-prone brunette. Who has the time to babysit a city girl until Spring?

With a deadline looming, erotica writer Honey Cahill is looking forward to six distraction-free weeks to finish her next book. However, between Lonny’s flirty sensuality and True’s hard-edged intensity, the Wyatt brothers set the stage of her imagination for a winter of wicked delights.

The fire that destroys the cabin, though, is as real as it gets. Forced to seek a bed under True and Lonny’s roof, the temptation to experiment—all in the name of research, of course—is overpowering. One night in their arms doesn’t feel like enough; it feels like more. Particularly with one cowboy who fires all her cylinders…

Warning: It’s a Devlin ménage—expect men with stamina and not an ounce of mercy to behave like sex gods, and the lucky woman to love every minute of it. A little domination goes a long, long way…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

True Wyatt prided himself on control—control over the multitude of responsibilities that came with riding herd over a successful ranch; control over his brother, who thought life should be enjoyed rather than conquered; and control over the desires he’d kept in rein since the demise of his marriage. And yet, the sight that greeted him this cold winter day told him he’d only been fooling himself.

From his perch high atop the ridge overlooking the lonely cabin, True Wyatt watched the shapely brunette as she made another trip to her car to pull boxes and suitcases from her backseat, one after the other. Grumpily, he wondered how she’d managed to stuff so much inside a Corolla. The trunk had held a similar assortment of printer-paper-sized boxes, which she’d manhandled into the house, her face growing rosy with exertion.

Despite the biting wind, she’d dispensed with her down coat and wore only a sweater with a crew neck, the sleeves pushed off her wrists. The dark blue knit hugged her upper torso, defining a lovely bosom and narrow waist. Every time she bent to pull out another box her designer jeans hugged her small rounded bottom, and his loins tightened.

Which annoyed the hell out of him. Fact was, he wished he could turn his horse away and pretend he hadn’t noticed trouble had arrived on his mountain. He knew exactly who to blame. His anger smoldered like hot coals ready to erupt into a full blaze. The clop of hooves approaching behind him carried just the fuel to add to the fire.

“Did you know?” True barked without glancing back.

“Know what?” his brother asked, humor underlying his slow drawl as he pulled up alongside him.

“That our tenant is a woman.”

“Sure did. I’m surprised that you’re surprised since I gave you a copy of her book. Picture’s right there on the back cover.”

The book in question sat on the credenza in True’s office. Exactly where his brother had left it two days ago. The fact he hadn’t bothered turning it over made True’s cheeks heat. Dammit.

Lonny had asked him just last night if he’d read the story. The wicked gleam in his eyes when he’d said it should have clued True in that his little brother was enjoying a joke at his expense.

“You do know this is gonna complicate things. If we weren’t busy enough after letting go of the seasonal hands, now we have to babysit—”

“She’s not looking for anyone to babysit her, True. Said she wants the privacy to finish up a book.”

True speared him with a glare. “We can’t leave her alone. What the hell does she know about surviving a winter in high country?”

“Probably not any more than the male author you thought you were gettin’.”

True gritted his teeth as Lonny’s mouth stretched into a gleeful smile.

“Tell the truth. You planned on having to check up on Mr. H.A. Cahill. You don’t trust tenderfoots.”

“But I wouldn’t be as worried. If a man’s stupid enough to get himself into trouble out here, it’s a damn shame, but not something I’d lose sleep over. But she’s…” He waved his hand toward the woman hopping down the steps for another load.

Her breasts bounced enticingly, distracting him from what had to be said.

At Lonny’s chuckle, he swung back with a narrowed gaze. “It’s not safe. Does she know she could be shut in for a month? That bears and wolves pretty much think a cabin is a drive-through?”

“The bears are hibernating. She’ll be gone before they stir. And you know wolves are shy of humans.”

“Does she know how to shoot a gun? Dammit, does she even own one?”

Lonny shrugged. “I asked if she needed me to leave one. She gave me a funny look.”

True cursed. “You show her how to light that cantankerous stove?”

“Showed her twice.”

The woman bent, reaching deep to the back floorboard of her car. Her sweater rode up, exposing a set of deep dimples right above her sweetly curved ass.

“Electricity’s bound to go out,” True muttered.

“There’s plenty of gas in the shed for the generator. ’Sides, she said candlelight gets her in the mood.”

True’s gaze swiveled back.

Lonny raised the hand not holding his reins. “For writing her stories. Although gotta wonder myself if she wasn’t talking about more. Her book was damn hot.”

“You thinking to give her inspiration?” True growled, his voice rising.

“Well, she did invite me down for a meal…” At True’s deepening scowl, he flashed a grin. “Out of gratitude. Said when Leroy’s hunting cabin went up in that brushfire her plans for a retreat were all shot to hell. She’s forever in my debt.” He waggled his eyebrows at the last statement.

True looked away, hoping to keep from saying something really nasty, because for whatever reason, the thought of his brother with the curvy woman below made him feel even meaner.

When he glanced back down the hill, his gut clenched. H.A. Cahill had stacked two boxes and was walking slowly toward the porch. The height of her burden was taller than the top of her head.

“Dammit,” he cussed and nudged his horse forward. She was gonna break her neck—and on his property. Sooner he helped her get inside, the sooner he could move on to more important things, like moving the last of the cattle to the box canyon where they’d stay to weather the worst of the winter.

As his horse picked its way down the slope, he kept sending darting glares her way, willing her silently to stay put. The brief thaw they’d experienced the past week had ended. Snow clung to patches of shaded earth, but had melted away everywhere else, leaving mud and slicks of slush. However, today’s cold snap was re-freezing the ground, the roads—the damn steps.

She slowed as she approached the steps, kicking out one booted toe to find them. Then tentatively, she stepped up. His worst fear was realized when she took another step and her foot slid out from under her. She toppled backward to the ground, giving a startled yelp as her boxes opened and the wind carried away pages of paper.

He kicked his horse’s sides, hurrying him down, ignoring the pounding of his brother’s horse behind him.

Before his own palomino came to a full halt beside the woman struggling to sit, he was out of his saddle and glaring down.

Ready to tear into her for her carelessness, he opened his mouth—but a strange thing happened. One look into her cornflower blue eyes, and his breath hitched. The caustic complaint he was about to voice stuck in his throat.

“You must be the brother,” she said breathlessly, her voice impossibly chipper for a woman who looked as though she’d gotten the wind knocked right out of her. “True, right? Your parents…got really creative with…your names,” she gasped. “I like that. Don’t be surprised…if they turn up in a book somewhere.” And then she grinned.

True’s dick hardened in a one blazing instant, and he knew with a fatalistic certainty just what kind books she wrote.

Hunter's Need…now available

 

Hunter's Need

I’ve posted the first chapter in its entirety at Scribd. You can read it here.

On Wednesday, 12/2, there’s a launch party @ bitten by books and you can enter to win book $$$.

Here’s one last, little excerpt from Hunter’s Need, and I’ve gotta admit…it’s one of my favorite scenes.

__________________________

“I gave you your answer, Ana. Can’t you answer mine?”

I love you. She wanted to tell him, wanted to throw her arms around his neck and tell him, over and over. But she held back. This wasn’t right. Wasn’t good, not for him. Even back when she let herself daydream about having Duke in her life, she’d known it wasn’t right. Duke deserved better than her. He deserved so much more.

“This isn’t good for you.” She blurted the words out before she lost her nerve. Pulling away from him, she jerked her shirt back up but her hands shook too much to button it. Instead, she just held it closed between her breasts. “This is bad for you. I’m bad for you. You’ve got to know that. Even if you…even if you think you feel how you’re saying, you have to know I’m bad for you. I’m not the kind of woman you need in your life, Duke. I’m not strong enough. You need somebody strong. Somebody more like you—”

Duke reached out and hooked his hand in the front of her jeans, gently. She resisted. He jerked harder and she crashed into his chest with a startled, “Ooommph.”

“I know what I need,” he growled. When she would have argued, he covered her lips with his finger. “I know what I want, what I need. And it’s you, Ana. If I wanted somebody like me, I would have gone chasing after Kendall or half a dozen other women that I’ve met. I didn’t go after them, because I was too hung up on you and I have been, from the first damn time I laid eyes on you. I love you. I want you. I need you.”

“But—”

He cut her words off with a hard, short kiss. “Don’t want to hear it,” he snarled. “I love you. You don’t get the right to tell me what I need, or what I deserve. That’s my call, princess. Now give me an answer—do you love me?”

__________________________

If you’ve enjoyed the snippets, I hope you’ll pick it up…either at your local indie store, local bookstore… wherever. :o)

Want to order?

Borders

Amazon

BN.com

Bamm.com

Powell’s

Indiebound

I’m doing a few signings to for the release… if you live in or near the area, would love to meet you!

Waldenbooks

12/1/09

7-9pm

Oxmoor Center

7900 Shelbyville Rd

Louisville, KY

* * * * *

Destinations

12/4/09

6:30-8:30pm

604 East Spring Street

New Albany, IN

* * * * *

Barnes & Noble

12/5/09

1-3pm

9455 Civic Centre Blvd

West Chester, OH

Through the Veil releases today 6/3/08

Photobucket

~*~

Here’s an excerpt…

Her body ached.

It wasn’t anything new. Although Lee was only twenty eight years old, she already felt ancient. Exhausted even upon awakening,with stiff aching joints, and bruises that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Lee slowly flexed her muscles and tried to hold together the fragile wisps of the dream. But as always, it faded away, out of reach, out of mind. He faded away.

She didn’t know his face. But each night he came to her. Each night, they found each other again. He would look at her with eyes that made her burn and want and wish and for that brief period of time, she felt whole, complete and that sensation lingered with her as she drifted from sleep into awareness, but the minute she opened her eyes, all memory of her dreams started to fade. All that remained was an ache in her chest, a knot inher throat and a body that felt as though somebody had tried to beat her death.

Today, the ache was worse. The memories were fading fast although she tried to hold onto them. Like smoke, though, they faded away even as she grabbed the notepad by her bed and started to scrawl down what little she remembered. She didn’t look down while she wrote—instead she clenched her eyes tightly shut and focused on him. Even if she couldn’t remember his face, she could remember how he made her feel inside. Focusing on that instead of trying to recall the dream made the words flow easier.

Blood. Screams. Smoke. The cries of the wounded. Ugly snarls and fetid breath. People clamored around her and they had needs that she couldn’t even begin to understand. And him—

Always him. Everything seemed to revolve around him and everything inside of her yearned for him. As much as Lee dreaded closing her eyes and facing the weird dreams that assaulted her while she slept, she yearned for them as well. Because her dreams led her to him. He would make her laugh, even when the dreamswere dark as death. There was a warmth in his presence that filled an empty ache.

But not this past night. There had been distance, anger, and disgust. He’d yelled at her. His fury had been so great even now she felt chilled with it.

She opened her eyes and stared at the notepad in front of her. She hadn’t just written words. She’d sketched out faces of people she’d never met and monsters the likes of which she’d never seen.

She stared at each of the faces she’d drawn, studying their features for something that would trigger her memories again. The notebook was filled with sketches and none of them meant anything to her. Allof them set against twisted, scarred landscapes.

Some of them appeared more than others, like the old woman and the two guys. Even on paper, the woman’s smile had a decidedly mischievous bent to it, as though she was laughing and Lee had no idea why. The men were polar opposites, one pale, one dark. One looked like an angel and the other had the devil’s smile. Both of them were enough to make a girl’s heart skip a beat but if the man she dreamed of was one of them, she didn’t know which one he was.

Furious with herself, Lee hurled the pad of paper across the room and watched as it hit the wall. It slid to the ground, several of the pages bent and crumpled. With a scowl, she climbed out of the bed and stalked to the bathroom.

“He isn’t real,” she told herself as she turned the hot water on full before turning to tug off her t-shirt. “He isn’t real.” He’s not, her mind insisted, even though something inside her heart argued.

Her reflection caught her eye and she stilled, fighting the impulse to turn and look. Damn it, she was going to take all the mirrors down. She couldn’t not look, when the mirrors were there.

But every time she saw a bruise, a chill ran through her. It was no different this time. Her eye was black, swollen, raw looking it. It had been fine last night. And today,she looked like she had a bruise that had been healing for days. Her mouth trembled as she tried to make sense of what she was looking at.

The doctors had tried to tell her she was doing it to herself. They had even done a sleepstudy, and watched her all night long to determine what caused the bruising.

The study had revealed nothing. And everything.

For when she walked out of the room where they had monitored her body all night, her ankle was swollen, twisted and discolored. It had been fine the night before.

The tape of the study had shown her laying quietly on the narrow bunk, never once rising in the night. She didn’t toss. She didn’t turn. The only weird thing was a blip in the middle of the tape that lasted no more than a few eye blinks. For that brief span of time, the bed was empty. But she hadn’t gotten out of thebed. The probes and lines weren’t long enough to allow her to leave it without one of the attendants disconnecting them. They hadn’t done it.

Odder still, an attendant had been in the room during theblip. They could see him at the edge ofthe screen. But he’d never seen her move. She hadn’t done any more studies after that. Even though the doctors tried to urge her to agree, it had simply unsettled her too much. So no more studies. She’d just deal with looking like the loser of a boxing match.

Lee leaned forward and probed her eye, touching it gently,wincing at the tender flesh she encountered under her fingers. The eye itself looked fine, which was a relief. There had been one morning when she woke up and her pupil had been blown. Her vision had been blurred and the sickening pain made her think she had a concussion. By nightfall, though, the pupil had returned to normal and her vision was fine.

Today, her eyes seemed a little more bloodshot than usual and the red looked unnaturally bright against the nasty mottled blue. Almost festive, the red, white and blue.

There was another bruise on her knee, like she had fallen down. The flesh was sensitive and each step she took sent pain shooting through her knee. Much as the knee hurt, it was actually a rather light night. Lee knew from experience, though, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Light nights seemed to be followed by bad ones.

Her gut churned as that thought circled through her head. Bad ones came with concussions,broken bones—even burns. It had been awhile since she’d had a real bad night and it was like a little mental clock was ticking away the time. It wouldn’t be much longer before she woke up one morning hurt so bad that she’d wish for death, just to get away from the pain.

Even if she did heal fast, pain was still pain and she was tired of feeling so much of it.

“Morbid, much?” she muttered as she turned away from her reflection. She climbed into the shower with one goal in mind. Shower…then caffeine. With caffeine, she could face almost anything.

* * * * *

Through the Veil, Kalen could see her. Stubborn little bitch. He could still just faintly smell the sweet scent of her skin and his hands still itched to feel that satiny skin under his hands, to feel the silk of her hair brush against his body. The vivid bruise on her face infuriated him,even though her rapid ability to heal was already lessening the vivid color and the swelling.

The demon that had attacked her was dead. Dust in the wind. Not that Kalen had anything to do with it. Lee had taken damn good care of it herself. She was good at that. Always had been. Scowling, he wondered if maybe she was a little too good at it. Good at taking care of herself, good at rationalizing away problems, good at everything.

Clenching his jaw, he turned away from the Veil and prepared himself to face the coming day without her. It was a frightening thought. But it always had been. One never knew what the day might bring. Not in this world.

There had been another demon attack, this time high up in the mountains, striking the small settlement of families living there. They had refused to come down into the valley. Too close to the Roinan Gate. It was as if they thought a few miles would protect them. They had been wrong, terribly wrong and Kalen had to live with the guilt of not trying harder.

Raviners had killed the few men and taken their time with the women and children. It brought back memories too ugly for him to dwell on, staring at the their remains. He couldn’t even take a little bit of comfort in knowing that his men had slaughtered the Raviners. If he had taken them down himself, filling their bodies with the dangerous power of the pulsar he carried at his hip, it wouldn’t have been any comfort.

They were losing a little more ground every day. The demons were breeding in his world now and they didn’t just have to wait for the Roinan Gate to open for more of their numbers. There had been a time when finding a clutch of demons had been a rare occurrence and they were killed quickly, if not always easily.

They might have a ghost of a chance if they could shut down the fucking Gate.

Order

You can read a Dear Reader letter & a nice long excerpt here at Berkley’s site.