Coming Soon

For the last week I’ve been working hard on edits for Operation: Second Honeymoon. Let me start off by saying I’m thrilled they’re letting me keep the title. I love it. I’m sorry if others don’t, but I really do.

I wrote this book for a few different reasons. I used it as a therapeutic venue on some levels, at the suggestion of my wonderful friend Kat.

The heroine, Avery has suffered a loss and instead of turning to her husband, the man she loves with all her heart…she pushes him away. This once happy couple suddenly finds they’re lost and alone.

Avery’s husband Cole will do anything to save their marriage and get his wife back.

We all know I suffered a big loss a few years ago. I basically did the same thing, by pushing hubby away. I was ready to end my marriage for many different reasons. Some brought on by depression and some by delusions. Looking back I’m happy HE decided to stand by me and realized it was something that would pass.

Hubby suffered too. He essentially lost his son and his wife. His problem was he wouldn’t turn to me to talk. He kept it inside, so he could be my rock.

Grief and loss can take a toll on any relationship if not addressed properly.

All seriousness aside, Operation: Second Honeymoon will also bring happiness to readers. You’ll see the love Avery and Cole share in the beginning. The story is an M/F/M ménage. Readers will also be introduced to Owen, the couple’s next door neighbor.

Cover art, blurb and tasty excerpt coming soon!

Operation: Second Honeymoon will be released by Loose Id on July 9^th.

Nibble my newest cherry, STEAL ME AWAY, blurb and excerpt! Out now!

http://www.ellorascave.com/steal-me-away.html

Fancy Turner knows it isn’t wise to hunger for the touch of the virile Comanche chief, Bull Elk. She should catch a husband from among the few men who returned to Texas after the Civil War. But tall, bronze Bull Elk, in his feathers and buckskin, is so handsome—and forbidden.

When Bull Elk charges onto the ranch one morning and catches Fancy up in his arms, he knows he risks the anger of his own braves and the fury of the long knives to have her. He’ll risk everything to twist her golden hair in his fist, to caress the pale swell of her breast as no man has before him. He’ll have Fancy as his wife even if he has to fight his own people to make it so.

Thrust into a world she doesn’t understand, Fancy expects Bull Elk to take her. But never in her darkest fantasies does she expect to enjoy it so much. Bull Elk’s touch is possession, his kiss a brand, and to her shock Fancy finds that the only future she wants is the one she imagines in his arms.

Excerpt, All rights Reserved, Copyright, Cerise DeLand, 2013

Fancy Turner and her sister are outside picking vegetables and flowers one spring morning. They argue about men and the losses during the Civil War. Suddently, Fancy’s sister points to the hill above them.

“Francine!” Collette screamed. “Don’t go! Look up at the hilltop!”

Fancy whirled to her left, one hand up to shield her vision from the glaring sun—she stood stark still. There on the ridge stood a party of half-naked mounted Comanche braves. A lot of them. Eight, nine, ten in all. By their build, Fancy could see a few were her age, maybe younger. All wore tawny loin cloths of buffalo hides, short boots of the same soft substance, long white and black hawk feathers in their shoulder-length ebony hair and nothing on their broad, bronze chests. Their leader, the tallest man among them, wore red paint across his nose and cheeks. His large, hell-dark eyes, he had ringed in black paint. Despite his fierce markings, Fancy knew who he was, and she smiled and waved at him.

“Nothing to fear from him, Coll. That is Patuwa kum. Chief Bull Elk.” She continued to walk toward the party, refusing to comfort her insolent sister any more than necessary.

“Wait, Fancy. How do you know that savage?”

“He came to a powwow with Ranger MacRae and Herr Mannfried last month in Fredericksburg.” That day, Bull Elk had worn his ceremonial headdress for the meeting and long buckskin trousers. No shirt then either. The better to show off that magnificent muscular chest. She quivered recalling how attractive she had thought him then. How his gaze made her want his large hands around her waist. How she imagined him kissing her lips. Her breasts. And even, oh god, her pussy. She cleared her throat, trying to rid her mind of her forbidden lust for the Comanche. “Ranger MacRae introduced me when I served them all food and lemonade.”

“That doesn’t make him civilized, Fancy. You’d better not go near him.”

“Don’t be a ninny, Coll. He’s fine. He speaks English too. I heard him.” She continued her way up to the ridge and stopped in front of the handsome Comanche who some said would lead his people to white folks’ ways. “Hello, Chief. How are you today?”

Though she smiled at him in greeting, he narrowed those large umber eyes at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. “Fancee. Tur. Ner.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Nice. You remember my name.”

One of his braves spoke up, gesturing to her and shaking his head as he pointed toward Collette.

“Patuwa kum,” Fancy tried for some polite conversation, “do you…perhaps…go to Fredericksburg today?”

Two other braves murmured to their leader and Fancy could make out that they spoke his name the way she had. From the amused looks on their faces, they were making fun of her pronunciation.

So much for trying to be neighborly. Not eager to be an object of their ridicule, she bid them good day. She turned her back and trod along the stony path toward her family’s ranch house.

“Fancy,” Collette called, “don’t you dare leave me here alone with these beasts.”

Fancy didn’t bother to turn. Her sister didn’t deserve her consideration after the way she had spoken to her today. “Maybe they can teach you some manners, Coll. As for me, I am going home. Come, if you wish, or stay and reconsider your ways.”

“You little bitch!”

At the insult, Fancy halted in her tracks.

At once, the air was filled with war whoops and Fancy felt the earth vibrate with the pounding of horses’ hooves.

“No! Noooo!” Collette cried out.

Fancy whirled to see Bull Elk and his nine braves charging toward her. Her fingers went numb. Her basket of flowers fell.

Bull Elk rode straight at her. Her body frozen, her fears of being trampled by his horse turning her blood to ice, she cringed. Then she hiked up her skirts and ran. She didn’t get but two steps away.

The Comanche chief yelled a heinous cry as he came upon her and scooped her up across his lap, hanging her over his horse’s back, face down. Air slammed from her lungs. Her head spun. She tried to scream and no sound came out.

Bull Elk’s braves galloped beside him, chanting ear-splitting cries. He echoed their sounds as they raced across the hills.

Still Collette’s cries rang in her ears. “Noooo! Oh, god, no. Bring her back! Fancy! Fan-ceeee!”

 The chief pinned Fancy down, his massive hand to her spine. Her long platinum waves escaped her bun and cascaded around her face. Her fingers scraped tall grasses as Bull Elk rode like the wind across the rough terrain. She winced, curling her fingers to her palms. His companions rode nearer and nearer to them so that dirt and stones cast up from their horses’ hooves hit her in the face. Clamping her eyes shut, she heard Bull Elk call to them, curt commands she took to mean, Hurry. Others follow. Their wails frightened her so that she feared she die of it. Breathless, her lungs straining for air, her ribs bruised from the galloping of the horse across the barren plain, Fancy feared all hope was lost for rescue when Collette’s shrill demands died in the distance behind her.

She writhed but Bull Elk hooked his arm around her, bent over her to keep her firmly across his saddle and rode on. And on. And on.

And she wished he would never stop. For when he did, Fancy understood from tales of so many others who had been captured by the Comanche, that he would strip her, scalp her and maybe even skin her. She fervently prayed before that happened, she would die.

Moving my computer back to my bedroom...

I would much rather write in a place where there is sensuality and order...

than in a young man's bedroom where there is chaos, disorder, and stinky gym shoes strewn in every corner. Guitar and amp and heavy metal accoutrements strewn haphazardly around the place...dirty clothes flung onto the floor rather than in the hamper that I put in here for them. No matter how often I remind him that it is also my computer room, he seems to forget the moment I stop nagging.

He works 10 hours a day, four days a week at a cabinet shop. His clothes gather tons of sawdust and wood chips.  He leaves the house at 5:00 a.m. and gets home after 5:00 p.m. after a 15 mile drive in lousy traffic. The sawdust covered clothes are tossed onto the floor. You get the picture.

The only time I have to actually write is while he is gone. So you see, I must move my computer out of this mess and put it back where I can spend the evening hours writing. I am not a daytime writer. And I cannot seem to concentrate on sexy romance in the midst of all this chaos and mess.

I helped raise my grandson and promised that he would always have a place here. But a few years ago, he went to stay with his dad, who didn't care one way or the other about the boy until he figured the boy was old enough to go hunting and fishing and shooting cans with his .22. The thought of actually buying groceries instead of that extra case of scotch or that box of cigars never registered with the jerk even after he had his son under his roof.

After four years of haphazard survival, the kid grew a brain and decided maybe Grandma was about the only person who cared enough to give him a safe place to live while he tried to build a life again. So the nice computer room that his bedroom had become is now filled with clutter, dirty clothes, and sawdust. Sigh. And I refuse to pick up after him now that he is an adult. So I will move out of the room...and we can both have our privacy.

Too bad this little old house is so small, and has so little storage space. But I made it work out before, and I can make it work out again. So wish me luck as I make the transition back to my own room. I like having the ability to close my door and write...then fall into bed.

Hugs!

Fran Lee

http://www.franleeromance.com  

 

   

One of My New Heroes

When I’m feeling blue, or need creative inspiration, our wonderful Katalina Leon has a knack for sending just the right picture which puts me back on track. The other day, she told me about Pinterest and I checked out her site. This glorious image was one of many I found there. 

I’m a very visual person. Framed collages of photographs cover my family room walls; vacations, kids and grandkids, holidays, life in general. There isn’t a tabletop in any room that doesn’t have at least one photo on it. My book covers decorate my kitchen walls. When I was a teenager, buying posters of my favorite musicians and bands caused big excitement. In the earlier years of our marriage, my hubby, Mister Indulgent, just smiled and rolled his eyes at the life-size cardboard figures of Fabio and Kevin Sorbo which stood next to our TV.  

When I write a book, I have to have a clear picture of the hero(s) and heroine in my mind before I tell their story. Many times, once I start typing, they behave in ways I didn’t anticipate, but their physical appearance never changes.  

Now to the fun stuff – let’s all gaze together, in my case longingly, at this yummy specimen of male goodness! He is Garfor, one of the three heroes in my upcoming release (July 31^st), Megan’s Men, in the flesh!!

 

Can’t you see him at the command of a military space ship? And look at his left hand, the positioning of his fingers; this man can play a woman’s body like a fine tuned instrument.  

Oops, wait a second. I have to take a sip of my cooling beverage and blot my feverish brow. 

Look into his eyes. I see confidence without arrogance and a whole bunch of, “I’m going to take you to heights of sexual satisfaction you’ve only dreamt of.”!

His picture currently sits to the left of my computer so he can gaze at me as I finish writing Megan's Men.

 

Have a great weekend~

Tessie

www.tessiebradford.com

 

 

 

Cover Reveal And A New Contract Too!

This was a great weekend. I saw Ironman 3 with my husband and son and we loved it. I got a new book cover that I think is gorgeous! I believe Syneca did this one and of course that is late and will always be great Angelo as Lord Ronan O'Griofa. Last but not least I got a book contract from Ellora's Cave for a time travel wolf-shifter novel that I can't wait to share more about!

This is the the cover for Lord Griffin's Prize. It's part of the Emerald Isles Fantasies book series, which includes ten amazing Ellora's Cave authors, an enchanted Irish castle, magic and handsome heroes! I'm expecting edits soon, no release date yet. This series is so much fun! I can't wait to share it.

Have a wonderful week. I wish all the moms a very Happy Mother's Day!
XXOO Kat

Interview with Heather Peters

Buy Link

Today I'd like to introduce you to a long-time friend Heather Peters. She writes sexy hockey stories, along with other totally fantastic books. I highly recommend them all!

Okay Heather…Tell us about your favorite character from your books. Right now my favorite characters are Nate and John from my new release, Whispers. They tore at my heartstrings. And, they're really hot and sexy!

1.  Tell us about your current release. Whispers is my new 2-novella anthology. The first story, Whispered Magic, is about Nate and Crystal, who meet one Halloween afternoon in Hawthorne Square, in Salem. Nate's aunt Lily, owns the local and very popular New Age shop, Mother Earth. She is an 80yr old, sharp, intuitive woman,  a little on the eccentric side. When Nate and Crystal find that they are instantly attracted to each other, one has to wonder if love at first sight is in play here, or is Aunty Lily up to her old (magic) tricks….The second story is told within the context of a five day cruise to the Caribbean. John Stabler is hired to find a runaway bride. He's a weary, hurting private investigator who knows if he finds this publishing heiress, the money he earns will enable him to finally retire to his mountain cabin. He doesn’t figure on meeting Celeste Foxworth, who steals his heart, and melts his jaded, cynical heart.

2.  Tell us about your next release. Ah, now my favorite subject: sports, or in the case of my next 2-novella anthology, Rules of the Game #3, both will be hockey stories, and I have two amazing heroes who not only play some ass-kicking hockey, but are also floored and humbled by the women they meet and fall in love with. This one will be released in very late Summer.

3.  What does your family think of your writing career?  I can answer that by quoting my 6 year old grandson, who overheard me tell my daughter about the release of Whispers, and commented: Nanny, you write about hockey players and love right?  That's my boy.

4.   As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An actress, a rock goddess like Stevie Nicks, an archaeologist, a music producer, and a writer.  Well, one out of five ain't bad.

Amber: I wanted to be a rock goddess like Stevie Nicks too!!!! I still do. lol

5.  What are your favorite TV shows? As I grow older, I find my tastes grow more and more eclectic. I absolutely love The Walking Dead, The Big C, Nurse Jackie and Dexter. On the other hand, I also enjoy True Blood, Family Guy,Tanked, Once Upon a Time, Vampire Diaries, Arrow and Beauty and the Beast. Oh, I rarely watch the news; it depresses me.

6.   Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they? I'm sure they've heard it all  before. I've been writing for the better part of thirty years; many rejections, a lot of tears and frustration, also there were a few years here and there where I didn’t write at all. Now after finally seeing a little success being an indie author/publisher, I only have three words, Don’t give up ~ If you are really serious about making it as a writer, you have to be tough and resilient. If you have a dream, go after it. It's a short life, go after what you want.

8. Tell us about your family.  I've been blessed with two amazing children (that includes my son-in-law and daughter-in-law).  My elderly dad lives with me and he can still drive me crazy, but at the age of 88, the man can still (and does) balance his checkbook to the penny, I kid you not. I have a best friend who has put up with my moods for the past thirty years (and still loves me). The love of my life and soul mate, Michael, passed nearly three years ago. He was my husband, lover, best friend, and encouraged my need to write every day of his life. I count myself so incredibly blessed to have had him in my life for twelve, amazing years.

9.  Morning Person? Or Night Person?  Definitely morning. I have no problem turning in at 7:30 p.m. Really. Seriously.

10.  What would we find under your bed? I don’t planning on looking any time soon.

Want to be stolen by a Comanche chief? STEAL ME AWAY, May 8

http://www.ellorascave.com/steal-me-away.html

The prequel to my KNIGHTS IN BLACK LEATHER series, STEAL ME AWAY debuts at EC in 2 days. Yes, Wednesday! This is a book I had a wonderful time researching.
And lemme just say, yummers to the cover artist who captured BULL ELK so well. Fancy Turner, too!
He is delicious, I think, in print and in person.
Imagine. Being stolen and loving every second of it...almost!
The Comanche of the south Texas plains were not gentle people. In fact, they were to many the most fierce, the angriest ones to confront the Anglos and Tejanos who came to settle here.
Because very few Comanche remain, I had a devil of a time researching. In fact, this book has lived in my mind for many years!
But let's here it for my hubbie who, while on TDY in Oklahoma last year, found the most marvelous reference on them.
I had read bits and snatches in other books devoted to other subjects, but here in STEAL ME AWAY, you learn (really you do!) what I learned. And it is historically accurate, down to the last few chapters...which I will unmercifully tease you with and say, you must read to learn!
ENJOY!
Bull Elk is one of my most favorite heroes...and I hope you agree!