Tuesday 31 December 2013

New Year's Eve Blog Hop: Exclusive Excerpt - Not Another Soldier

New Years Eve Blog Hop

Welcome to the Smile Somebody Loves You New Year's Eve blog hop!  I am sharing this exclusive excerpt from my upcoming release, Not Another Soldier. This is my first full length contemporary romance and will be released on the 17th January. This is what I'm looking forward to! Be sure to comment as I'm giving away an ARC ecopy to one random commenter!

Be sure to also enter the rafflecopter to win these amazing prizes: $150.00 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winners choice) SSLY Key Chain, a signed copy of Bohemian Grove by T.M. Williams, an E-book of Maverick Touch: The Cat by Ashley Nemer, e-book Scorned (LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted) by Tyffani Clark Kemp, paperback copy of Summertime by Christina Cole, a signed copy of Mail Order Brides of the West:Trudy by Debra Holland, a Godiva Chocolate Basket, courtesy of Morgan Wyatt and an awesome prize, a 30 minute tarot card reading via Skype or telephone by author Shauna Aura Knight!

Excerpt
I climb the stairs wearily to the front door and Nick shadows my steps, acting a little like a human shield. I don’t know if he even believes I was attacked, but he seems to be taking protecting me pretty seriously. I’m beginning to think it was just a one off. I happened to run into a psycho. Typical.
Jabbing the entry pad, I push it open and Nick follows me up.
“You don’t have to escort me all the way home, you know,” I mumble.
“Sienna, I’m not leaving you until you’re safely home. Just accept it and shut up.”
He says this softly so it doesn’t sting but I do feel ungrateful. My fingers are numb, maybe from shock, so I fumble to open the front door.
“You want a coffee? Breakfast?” Nick asks as he closes the door gently behind him.
I scowl, knowing I should be the one offering him breakfast, not the other way around. I’m really going to have to make this all up to him. Another time though.
“I was going to go to bed.”
I realize I’m being rude, but I’m tired and edgy. I keeping wondering what would have happened if Nick hadn’t turned up. And then I glance into Nick’s eyes and they’re dark and simmering with something indescribable.
Bed.
The word lingers in the air and I wish I’d never said it because now the word is echoing in my head and the idea of a bed and Nick can’t seem to compute in my mind. It’s like my body suddenly explodes with unbridled desire and the synapses in my head are firing off. I’m overloaded with erotic images, with the memory of Nick’s hard body under my cheek, and all I can think is how much I want that solid body pressed against mine.
In bed.
And I know he’s thinking it too. I can see it in his blue eyes. He takes a moment to shrug off his light jacket. I guess it was cold when he first stepped out. He takes his time as if there’s no hurry. As if I won’t burst into flames if I don’t touch him. His gaze remains on mine as he hooks it over the coat rack. I frown at the domestic sight of our coats hanging together, an image of a future I’ll never have.
I suck in a deep breath as he releases his jacket and turns completely toward me. Today he wears a tight old grey T-shirt, the lettering on it faded, and scruffy jeans. The denim is worn around the crotch… My cheeks flame. What am I doing studying there?
 I’m not sure who takes the first step but both of us move forward. I feel as though I’m pushing through water or cold treacle just to get to him. And then he’s there, all hard muscles and rough fingers.
Those fingers are in my hair, pulling my head back so he can kiss me. His lips meet mine. There’s no pretense to this kiss. It’s hard and demanding. His teeth bump into my lip and I whimper. I’ve never been a whimperer but Nick’s kisses make me want to keen and beg for more. My hands snake up around his neck, my nails dig into his skin. His tongue presses between my lips and I taste coffee and heat, and I can’t get enough. We deepen the kiss, clamor against each other.

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Saturday 28 December 2013

Medieval Glossary

I use some old English words in my books so I thought it would be a good idea to have a little glossary of them here. The medieval words are what you might hear typically at a Renaissance fair. Medieval England went through a transition of languages from the Saxons to the Normans until Middle English became popular and closely resembles what we speak now. You would most likely recognise the words from Shakespeare's work.

Demesne - An estate or part of an estate
Destrier - A strong breed of horse, usually used for war.
Gambeson - A padded jacket worn under chanmail to protect the wearer.
Hauberk - Chainmail
Helm - A helmet
Rouncey - A horse. Usually used to refer to an ordinary horse, used for all purposes.
Sennight - A week
Surcoat - A long garment, typically worn during the crusades, over chainmail. Often sleeveless, they usually reached down to the knees. Women also wore longer versions over their other garments.
Villein - A person who held loyalty to their lord. Villeins had some rights and were considered partially free.
Garderobes - Toilets
Solar - Bedroom/Area for the lady and lord of the castle to relax in.
Bliaut - Usually a loosely draped gown with long sleeves.


Wednesday 25 December 2013

Merry Christmas!

Have  wonderful Christmas... or whatever you're celebrating... and New Year! 

Thank you for all the support my readers have given me this year. It's been a blast! I look forward to an even more exciting and interesting year in 2014. 

Monday 23 December 2013

Romance writer and proud!

I've talked about this before.--and will no doubt rant about it again. The snobbery towards the romance genre absolutely infuriates me and smacks of ignorance and fear.

Romance is an extremely strong and powerful genre. Men and woman read it, in all heat levels, and some of the bestselling books this year have been romance novels. To dismiss it is insane.

A friend was snubbed recently because she wrote romance. And along came the inevitable tales of other writers being snubbed, not only by readers but by fellow writers. God knows, I've met enough arrogant writers to know that not all writers are sweetness and light, but let me tell you, the vast majority of romance writers are the most supportive, giving people you will meet. And honestly that seems to come with the territory. My friend will know I'm repeating myself as I said the same to her--romance readers and writers are the most open and positive people you will meet. They believe in a happy ending. They believe in fighting for something good and worthwhile. They're not scared to put themselves on the line when it comes to things that matter.

You may discount romance as fluff or kink, in it's various forms, but it's probably one of the few genres that are close to life. Generally you won't find Chuck Norris type heroes running around saving the world every two minutes, or serial killers being hunted down by a jaded detective every day, or a sassy female private eye managing to solve a crime no one else can every few months. I'm being flippant toward genres that I read and enjoy here, but do you see what I'm getting at? Romance happens every day, even in the smallest of ways. The things we do for one another--the peck on the cheek, that meal we just cooked, the chocolate bar someone just brought home for their other half... It doesn't have to be some epic love story and actually if you truly read and understood romance, you would see it's about the small things. Whatever their setting, these stories aren't fluff. They're a true reflection of live and all it's trials.

It's about triumph over obstacles. Not just in love, but in life.

So why don't we give romance more credit? If there's anything I want to teach my children, it's to fight for things and to know that you can achieve your happy ending, whether that involves falling in love or not! This is not for delusional women who are just looking for a way out of their depressing lives. It's for positive people with open hearts who aren't scared of believing good things can happen if you try. I know I'll be encouraging my girls to read romance.

Again I'm repeating myself but I believe the vast majority of the snobbery comes from a time when female writers were looked down upon and men feared the emancipation of women. They didn't like the idea of women's heads being filled with ideas that revolved around freedom, dreaming, fighting for and achieving things in life.

I hope we've come some way in the past few hundred years that we can put that crap behind us.

If you don't like romance, fine. I don't like horror. But I will always admire anyone who reads and anyone who writes. You are awesome because you dream and are open to new worlds. But don't look down on someone else because of their reading choice. If you do, you truly don't deserve to hold a book in your hands because you stand against everything books mean. Freedom of expression. By trampling on another person, you're destroying that. Don't like romance, don't read it. But do shut up about it.

Saturday 21 December 2013

Love Lust and Christmas Kisses Multi-Author Event

Love, Lust and Lipstick Stains are pleased to announce we're hosting an amazing multi-author Facebook event. On the 22nd December from 1pm-5pm EST 24 authors will joining together to spread some Christmas cheer and give away some amazing prizes, including a grand prize of a $50 gift card plus tons of swag, ebooks, paperbacks and more. 

So if you would like a break from the stresses of Christmas and fancy the chance to play games and chat with some of the hottest authors around, stop on by on Facebook.

Join the event HERE.

Friday 20 December 2013

Christmas Giveaway and a great big THANK YOU!

It's nearly Christmas and I'm looking to spread a little cheer as well as say thank you to my readers and a few people who have helped me over the past year. This year has been crazy and exciting, and a learning curve. I've had several books released, explored contemporary romance and signed a book with a new publisher.

I've also met some amazing people on my travels and even met one of my online BFF's in the flesh for the first time! I'd love to thank all of them but there's too many. I would like to a do a general shout out to all the book bloggers out there. They are amazing! I host book tours on my blog when I can and know how much work goes into just doing those few blog posts. How these guys find time to constantly maintain busy blogs and social network pages is beyond me!

I hope throughout next year, I can show my appreciation to all the people who have helped me but to start things off I am sending out my thanks specifically to three blogs who have been amazing:

My Family Heart Book Reviews - Tonya was one of my first supporters and works so hard to help authors. Her enthusiasm and kind heart is wonderful. I will forever be grateful for her support and friendship.

A Readers Review - Tina and Caroline are Brits like me and are pure book lovers. You can see their love for books and authors in every review they write. With busy lives, these guys still manage to support all authors from well known names to first timers.

A Dirty Book Affair - I 'met' Summer and Jenny on a blog tour and could tell I was going to love them instantly. They have an amazing sense of humour and bend over backwards to support authors and the book community in general. Their genuineness comes across in every review and post they write.

I have also met many readers who have touched me with messages of support and wonderful reviews. I wish I could thank them all individually but Facebook would probably ban me for spamming :P So in the meantime, enter my giveaway so I can show thanks to those who have supported me and hopefully thank some of you with a nice little prize!
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Cover Reveal: Not Another Soldier

Today I am revealing the cover for my first ever full length contemporary story, Not Another Soldier. I'm proud of this story. It's the first that's really been inspired by a little bit of my life. I took some of my personal experiences from my life as a military wife and blended them with a lot of action and a few heated goings on! Be sure to enter the giveaway below to win an Amazon GC!

So without further ado...


I’ve just buried my husband. I was going to divorce him and now he’s dead.

After five years as a military wife, Sienna is moving on. She’s keen to leave behind the misery of her marriage to Rob but for some reason the past won’t let her go. It doesn’t help that her closest friend, Nick, is also a soldier. Unfortunately Sienna is struggling to deny her attraction to the sexy marine, even knowing there can be no future in it. When the injured soldier admits he wants her just as badly, and has always wanted her, the fight to control her feelings becomes harder. 

And now she’s learning things about her late husband that surprise even her. When the secrets of Rob’s life come to light, Sienna finds herself involved with some very nasty people and Nick is determined to protect her, no matter what. 

As the danger grows to both her heart and her life, Sienna needs to decide if it was the army that was the problem or her late husband. Is Nick worth the heartache of being a military spouse again? And will he be able to protect her from the ring of drug dealers slowly closing in?

What do you think? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget the rafflecopter below :D


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Thursday 19 December 2013

Book Spotlight: Trevor by Krystal Shannan

Trevor
A MacLaughlin Family Novella


By
Krystal Shannan


Trevor MacLaughlin has been in love with his sister's best friend for years. But, he let her move away to college without ever telling her how he felt and hasn't seen her since.


Now, years later, a second chance with the woman of his dreams practically falls into his lap.


Will he take a leap of faith and tell her how he feels? How he's always felt? Or will the woman he knows is meant to be his slip through his fingers a second time?


Excerpt:
Trevor opened the hotel room door at 9:05pm. The meeting with the client had taken longer than he expected. The flooding had taken down a wall, collapsed a roof, and ruined several large machines. The owner was paying upfront for a quick salvage, but it would be tomorrow morning before he could have a crew mobilized and here.
As late as it was, he’d managed to find a little place still open and got them both a home-style burger and fries. Hopefully she would forgive him for being so late.
The site that greeted him was adorable and frightening at the same time. Her luggage was open on the floor and appeared to have been dug through, as if whatever she’d wanted was at the very bottom. A pair of pink satin and lace panties lay draped over the edge and a matching pink and black bra lay just inside the suitcase on top of a pile of shoes. The thought of seeing her in those made blood rush to his dick. Papers and books were scattered across the bed along with a tablet computer wrapped in a bright yellow cover.
He set the bag of food down on the dresser next to the tv and picked up one of the books off the bed – Ancient Gods and Goddesses. He flipped through a few pages. Next to it he picked up an inside out black, over-sized sweatshirt. He turned it the right way and chuckled. On the front it read –Men say a women’s place is in the kitchen. Just remember, that’s where all the knives are. This girl was something else.
The door of the bathroom clicked open. Lorelei walked out half wrapped in a towel, wet hair glistening, looking like one of the goddesses from her book. I’ve truly died and gone to heaven.
“Holy mother of popcorn balls! Trevor!” She screeched and ducked back into the bathroom, but not before giving him a nice peek at her bare ass. “You could at least make a little noise when you come in,” she spat out through the barely cracked door.
“Where would be the fun in that?”
He heard a faint curse, but couldn’t decipher what she’d said.
“Can you please leave so I can get dressed?”
He had no intention of leaving the room. “I can bring you clothes. What do you want?”
“I…fine. The yoga pants and the sweatshirt on the foot of the bed.”
He picked up the requested items and glanced down at the lacy bra and underwear. She hadn’t asked for them. A few steps brought him to the bathroom door. She opened it far enough to stick her arm through, snatching the clothes from his hand and shutting the door in his face.
“Anything else?” Underwear, perhaps?
“No.” Her voice was irritated, but husky. The raspy quality made his mind go places it shouldn’t.
~~~~~~
Available now @ Amazon | B&N | Smashwords


Meet the Author:
Paranormal Romance author, Krystal Shannan, lives in Texas and is married to the love-of-her-life. They have a spunky young daughter who believes in fairies. Krystal professes to loving shoes, but avoids wearing them at all costs. She teaches in the public schools and writes as much as she can in her free time. If any more spare time can be squeezed from her day, she enjoys reading romance in all genres, but especially paranormal. If it has a 'Happily Ever After', she's on board!


She is an active member in her local RWA chapter DARA.


Krystal Shannan
Putting Magick in Romance one Soul Mate at a Time.
___________________________________
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Wednesday 18 December 2013

Blog Tour Stop: His Perfect Game by Jenn Langston

Pleaese welcome Jenn to my blog as she shares her book His Perfect Game with us. Jenn will be awarding a digital copy of "His Perfect Game" to two a randomly drawn commenters during the tour, as well as to two randomly drawn hosts.


Greyson Thorpe, Viscount Merrick, wants respectability above all else. Knowing the fastest way to achieve that state comes through marriage, he challenges Hammond Everett, the Duke of Donetic to a card game. After winning the match, the duke agrees to exchange his daughter’s hand in marriage for the forgiveness of his debts.
      
Willimena Abigail Everett had no desire to marry after experiencing the violent nature of men at her father’s hand. When Viscount Merrick arrives, she has no choice other than to obey her father and marry him. Will she be able to set aside her previous beliefs about men and judge her husband by his own merits?
      
After obtaining good social standing, Greyson sends his bride to the country; however, he finds himself missing her. Following her to the estate, he discovers she had been living a double life. Will he discover her secrets and control his burning desire for her at the same time?

Purchase from Amazon and Soul Mate Publishing.



“Willimena,” her father snapped, drawing her attention back to him. “I have found a husband for you.”

Abigail gaped at her father. Shock robbed her of the ability to speak. After years of avoiding the fate she would suffer with a husband, in one instant, all her efforts had been rendered useless.

Her head spun. Surely this was a bad dream, or at the very least a misunderstanding. Sliding her eyes to the unknown man, she hoped he would refute her father’s words. Unfortunately, his unblinking stare only served to confirm it.

As she surveyed him, steely grey eyes assessed her from under dark lashes. His black hair was cropped short around a masculine face. A dusting of hair shaded his cheeks as if he had forgotten to shave that morning. Standing taller than her father, she found him to be quite an imposing figure.

“I-I don’t understand,” Abigail sputtered.

“This is Viscount Merrick, and, as of right now, you two are betrothed.”


Jenn Langston graduated from the University of Houston with a BBA in Accounting and a minor in European studies. Although working as an accountant and mother, she still finds spare time to write. She has always been fascinated with London during the 1800s, and her historical romances express her love of the time period.

When not writing, Jenn loves spending time with her husband and three children. Some of their favorite activities include camping, bowling, and visiting the museum. She also loves reading romance of any kind, and normally is seen with her Kindle close by her side.