I'm very honored to be here talking about my upcoming print release of Velvet Cataclysm. Larissa has become one of the modern-day storytellers of the vampire legend, adding her own unique spin and voice to wonderful effect in the Demonica series. Every writer hoping to contribute to this popular genre has a considerable task before her–how to add something unique to her telling of the vampire myth. For my own part, I knew I wanted to write my settings in the underground labyrinth beneath city streets. I love to travel, and the underground worlds of great cities are so fascinating.

Each of my six heroes has been spread across the globe, where he is the sentinel of the underground world, the only force that can control the bloodlust of his clone. We always consider vampires soulless, so I wanted to include another theme in my Princes of the Underground series: how does one go about gaining the ultimate prize of the soul? In the princes' case, the answer lies in hope, magic, six very unique women, and the friction of suffering.

A new soul is birthed in the fires of longing, torment and love.

Warning: Velvet Cataclysm contains graphic scenes of sex and violence, although at its core, it is first and foremost a romance.

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In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.

When an attack reveals the true power of Christina’s gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won’t rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul…

Excerpt:

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, you know that?” She slammed the door shut and swept across the room like a wildfire on the rampage. “It’s you who put this fixed idea in Aidan’s head that we shouldn’t move away from Whitby. Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?”

“You’re wrong. No intervention was required on my part. Aidan is very upset about the idea of leaving Whitby. It’s his home.”

“Wrong. Whitby Manor is your home,” she corrected, pointing accusingly.

She stepped back when he stood abruptly, quick as a snake at the strike. “It’s my home because you’re there,” he growled.

Christina was set off-balance by his unexpected revelation accompanied by a focused explosion of feeling. The vivid memory of the gazebo made her recover. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you brought your girlfriends to what should have been our first date.”

She’d never seen Saint show an emotion as mundane as incredulity until now.

“First date? You saw what I am! Saw it with your own eyes, and yet the only thing you consider is that I was unfaithful to your infantile fantasies?”

She snarled and picked up a heavy marble paperweight from her desk, fully prepared to hurl it at Saint’s stunned expression of disbelief. A frustrated cry left her lips when he was suddenly beside her, restraining her wrists. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her back into his chest.

“Calm down.”

For a few seconds, she was dazed by his resonant, deep voice and the sensation of his body pressed against her. She twisted furiously in his hold, but her body slowly sagged. When she realized she was following Saint’s order without conscious thought, her fury erupted.

“_God_, I hate you! How could you have done that to me?”

“I am what I am. If I could change my nature, I would in a second. You gave me no choice but to reveal to you the truth about why your dreams are merely that—the fantasies of a child.”

Fury bloomed in her chest, feeling as if it would explode through the skin at any moment. “I told you the other night. I knew you weren’t like everybody else. I didn’t guess you’re…whatever you are…a vampire?”

“Humans have called me that. The truth is a bit more complicated.”

“Vampire or not, you’re an asshole. Some things remain consistent across the species. Even the paranormal variety.”

She braced her legs and twisted viciously to push herself out of his hold. She might as well have been trying to throw a mountain off her. His strength was effortless, as though she were being restrained by steel instead of flesh.
“Let go of me.”

“When you calm down.”

She tried to ignore the shiver of excitement that raced down her neck when she felt his voice rumbling from his chest to her back and his warm breath brushing her ear. She inhaled his familiar scent. As usual, it started an unstoppable chemical cascade of arousal in her body. Her lack of control over her reaction infuriated her further.

“I’m about ready to scream myself hoarse. Do you want to upset Aidan?”

“No. Do you?”

She twisted her neck around and glared up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you think you’re really doing the best thing by taking him away from Whitby?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Who’s making that decision? The loving mother? Or your battered ego?”

She went completely still. For a few seconds she thought she’d go stark raving mad if she didn’t get to punch Saint Sevliss’s gorgeous, smug face just once. He stared down at her with those amazing blue eyes while she panted and her breath burned in her lungs.

Click here to buy Velvet Cataclysm

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Okay, so Beth is giving away a copy of Velvet Cataclysm to one lucky commenter! Just tell me if you've read anything by Beth before. Winner will be announced tomorrow evening!

Hi all!

Zoe and I have sort of done a blog swap — I was over at her place yesterday, and she's here today with a giveaway! Yay, Zoe!

Say hello, everyone!

~ INAPPROPRIATE HUMOR ~

Hi guys, it's great to be back at Larissa's blog to promote my new release, Save My Soul. The book is about an incubus who has been trapped by a fifty-year-old curse. His cabin fever has given way to a few strange, neurotic quirks. When Anna buys the house, at first she thinks it's haunted by a woman named Beatrice Stone. It's only later that she discovers she's got a big bundle of evil hotness living under her roof.

If it was me, I'd be OUT of there, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I'd put that house up for sale faster than I'd bought it and that would be the end of that. But Anna is incredibly stubborn. She's also big on the inappropriate humor. She uses bitchy snark and sarcasm to cover her fears and feelings of being overwhelmed, a trait Luc finds too adorable for words.

Rather than go all blah blah on you about it, why don't I give you a taste? This snippet is a scene featuring Anna, her best friend, Tam, and Luc:

When Anna returned, Tam was cozied up on the couch with the incubus. She cleared her throat, and the two of them looked up guiltily. Of course they were guilty. They looked far too snuggly together on the couch, talking like old lovers sharing inside jokes. If he thought he could sleep with her friends, he was insane. Feeding him did not include giving him access to every female she knew.

“Stay away from her.” She wasn’t sure if her voice shook from anger or fear.

He looked up, his expression mild. “Why? Are you jealous?”

“Oh yes, I’m jealous that you might suck the life right out of her. Pick me, please pick me,” she said dryly.

“Really, nothing was going on,” Tam said, stars still in her eyes.

Anna ignored her. She wasn’t angry with her friend. Who could resist Luc? He had that nefarious thrall thing going on that he was probably using to make Anna jealous. Which wasn’t working, by the way.

She grabbed Tam by the arm and had to practically drag her into the kitchen.

“He’s so . . . wow,” Tam said. Her voice was dreamy and breathless, like a Stepford Wife. That bastard had hypnotized her. Anna was going to find a way to rip his appendages from his body, starting with the one he needed most for survival.

“Yes, I have eyes. I can see him. But I’m not going to think about having sex with him because I have this thing called a survival instinct.”

Tam’s eyes lit up like she thought she was in on a secret. “You like him.”

“I do not!”

“But there was banter. I saw it.”

“We don’t banter. We snark, and that’s a completely different vibe,” Anna said.

“He likes you. Didn’t you see the way he looks at you?”

“You mean like a fancy restaurant he can’t get a reservation at?”

Tam was drooling a little bit. “But just look at him . . . My God, the muscles he must have hidden under that shirt.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “He’s trying to seduce you.”

The book isn't all snark, there's also a heavy dose of angst and drama, which I decided to focus on for the book trailer:

Save My Soul is available currently in ebook. Links can be found here. If you're looking for print, it should be available soon at Amazon and B&N. Or you can also order it from your local bookstore.

I'm also giving away a signed print copy of Save My Soul to one reader here (U.S. residents only, please), as well as a digital copy to another reader (international). To enter, just leave a comment and let me know if you're in the U.S. or international.

Thanks for reading!

Why Vampires Just Won’t Die

I fell in love with vampires through Buffy… or more specifically… Spike on Buffy. Wait… that sounded wrong. But really, that was a lot of the appeal. I mean they knocked down a building fighting and having sex. That’s pretty hot. Sorry, where was I?

Oh yeah. Vampires. Before watching Buffy, I never saw vampires as “sexy”. But then, suddenly I did. I got so obsessed with Buffy that I thought, “That’s what I really wish I could write, but everyone will think I’m trying to be like Anne Rice. Rice already did it.”

In hindsight this is pretty funny. I had no idea the vampire craze, far from being over, was just getting started. I even went out of my way “not” to write vampires at first because I didn’t want to be seen as jumping on a bandwagon. The soon-to-be-released second book of my series, Save My Soul, was written first.

It features an incubus that is trapped in a house by a 50-yr-old curse. My reasoning was that an incubus is “kind of” like a vampire but not the exact same thing so it would be different enough that people would just give the story a chance rather than think I was trying to hop on the vampire fad.

Then after I’d written Save My Soul, Larissa Ione came out with “Pleasure Unbound” which was about an incubus. And I was like: CRAP. Dammit! “People will think I’m copying her!”

To my extreme relief, upon reading the book, I found Larissa’s incubus stuff is very different from mine. (Though hers totally rock!) But then I watched Gilmore Girls and discovered Save My Soul has a “Buffy meets Gilmore Girls” feel to it. *head desk*

Once I fully understood that there were no new ideas, I settled down on the whole vampire issue. Which is good, because they’re probably here to stay.

I had been through a few rounds of edits for Save My Soul when I heard about a contest one of the big romance epublishers was running. They wanted novellas about werecats. This was how Kept, my first novella in Blood Lust (first book in my series) came about. I thought… “Werecats aren’t vampires! Yes!”

Though by this time I had chilled on vampires enough to introduce one, Anthony, as a side character in Kept. Anthony is the hero in the second novella and plays a much larger role in my expanding world.

I’ve finally lost the fear of writing vampires because vampires just won’t die. Like Dracula, you think you’ve killed them. But then they rise up out of the mist again. I think there are a few logical reasons for this.

Vampires are about all the things we desperately crave: immortality with eternal youth and health. Vampires help us confront our darker selves and our primal sexual urges. They help us make sense of an increasingly scary world where it’s sometimes nice to think about a silly non-threat like vampires or a zombie apocalypse, instead of all the crazy crap going on in the world today.

Vampires also speak to our need for connection. In most mythologies vampires can not only enthrall their victims and pets, but they can create a link or bond to someone through blood exchange. This connection shines a light on our desire to be protected and cared for. If a vampire has a blood link with you, he can find you anywhere and protect you from the big, bad world.

The vampire mythology is one of the most seductive mythologies around. The extent to which werewolves, demons, and other creatures capture our imagination seems to hinge on how well they meet the same needs vampires do.

So if you think you’re tired of vampires, maybe what you’re tired of isn’t vampires themselves, but the idea that they should still be a novelty or fad, instead of what they are: an enduring myth that some part of our psyche seems to need. Just as we’ll never tire of stories about humans, stories about vampires will never stop being written.

Now that I’ve gotten all blah blah on you, in gearing up for the release of Save My Soul, I’m doing a newsletter drive and contest from my blog.

The rules are simple. Send a blank email to newsletterdrive@gmail.com

You’ll be subscribed to my newsletter (which you can later unsub from if my writing isn’t right for you or you just don’t want the newsletter), get a free digital copy of Kept, and be entered to win 10 paranormal romance books (paperback). The winner gets to choose the books!

You can also enter the secondary contest where I’ll be drawing 10 winners to receive a signed print copy of Blood Lust, which is an anthology of my three novellas: Kept, Claimed, and Mated, OR a signed print copy of Save My Soul when it comes out.

For full contest details and rules, please visit my blog: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com (Post stickied to the top)

Hi everyone!

Today I'm introducing you to Stella and Audra Price — sisters who write together even though they are an ocean apart. I haven't met Audra, but I've spent time with Stella, and she's fabulous! She's been busy getting things together for the Authors After Dark event (which I would LOVE to attend, but I did manage to get a basket of goodies out for it,) so she hasn't had much time to promote her new release.

So here she is! Happy release day, Stella and Audra!!! (And don't forget to click on the link for their contest!)

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Just Released!

Book two in the American Satyr Series by Stella and Audra Price, To Collar and Keep!
A surrender to the unknown has never been sexier.

Olanis, the summer holiday is upon the Satyr clans once more and it is the time for Harlequin, prince of the Rummer clan, to claim his first and only female, the Grecian Satyr princess Arabella, sight unseen.

Unsure of what kind of woman his clan had brokered for him, he is both interested in the woman that would wear his collar, and nervous that she won’t meet his standards. His female has to rival him in all things, and his hopes of that coming true are slim and none.

Arabella craves two things, finishing her education, and being claimed by her Satyr. An anomaly in the Satyr world, Arabella was afforded opportunities other princesses weren’t. Now, in a foreign land she is given over to the Prince she was promised to, and she couldn’t be more nervous. What's a girl to do when you’re being gifted to a man you have never seen?

Harley is a commodity to the Rummer clan, one that his father plans to exploit regardless of his son’s wishes. When he gives Harley an ultimatum, Harley and Bella have two choices-agree to the terms or rebel.

When sparks fly and new alliances are forged in the Satyr ranks, both Harley and Bella have to decide what it is they want and what kind of future they wish to have. Only together will they succeed, if they can suffer the slings and arrows.

WARNING: This book contains a Satyr prince with unconventional ideas about his princess, a princess with a mind to rival Hawkings, a feral Satyr with a hidden agenda, F/F scenes, polyamory and lots of hot sex.

Naughty Sexy Satyrs! And theres a Contest too! Wanna a Satyr goodie pack? Check Stella and Audra’s bloggy for details!

*WHAT FANS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE AMERICAN SATYR SERIES:

Of Crimson and Collars is an extremely erotic and playful story that was a delight to read. I predict that I will be re-reading this one soon and believe you will be too. I will be waiting, impatiently, for my next visit with the American Satyrs. ~ Joyfully Reviewed

A Reviewer Top Pick! Stella and Audra Price work together to bring us a stunning story of domination, submission, demons, satyrs, water nymphs, trickery and lust…I would definitely read anything else they write as this was a most enjoyable read. ~Night Owl Reviews

They have created an erotic world of d/s which does not humiliate, a world where the innocence of the submissive is an engaging power. If you enjoy a book packed full of erotica then this is the book for you. I enjoyed it so much I went back and bought 3 more of there books from a different series. ~Loose Knickers and Window Lickers

This is a book I loved reading and didnt want it to finish so soon. This Satyr world is one I’m going to enjoy getting to know. ~Ramblings of a Book Bitch

YOU CAN BUY TODAY AT TOTAL E BOUND!

Hi everyone!

Normally, I do these interviews in my newsletter, but since my newest victim, K.T. Grant, has a book out that falls between them, I figured I’d subject her to my blog instead. I'm also going to give away a copy of her newest ebook, The Princess's Bride!

K.T., in case you aren't familiar, writes erotic romance and lesbian romance. I've read my share of m/m romance, but K.T.'s books are my first foray into the f/f subgenre. K.T. has been a huge supporter of my books, and I'm super happy to return the favor here on my blog, so here she is. Just leave a comment if you want to win her newest…a very spicy lesbian pirate romance!

On with it:

The Imp Round:

Favorite pizza toppings?

KT: Just cheese

Ale or lager?

KT: Ale… sweet summer ale.

Small purse or large tote?

KT: Large tote so I can carry all my books around

Mac or PC?

KT: Mac

Laptop or desktop?

KT: Laptop. Keeps my lap warm.

The Cruentus Round:

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to one of your characters?

KT: From The Princess's Bride. My sweet innocent heroine is kidnapped and held for ransom by her former lover who wants revenge. Former lover also wants to have her wicked way with my heroine.

The Bedim Round:

Which of your books contains the sexiest love scene?

KT: In my debut release, Lovestruck, my two heroines have some sexy times with a Jack Rabbit vibrator together.

The Sora Round:

Which of your books was the easiest to write?

KT: For the Love of Mollie was pretty easy to write since I had played the entire book in my head and just needed to get it written down on paper.

The Fallen Angel Round:

Which of your covers is your favorite? (I'm partial to The Princess's Bride!)

KT: For the Love of Mollie. My heroine Mollie, is curvy, and the female model on the cover shows that perfectly. (also has some nice man-titty to drool over)

The Seminus Round:

Who is your favorite Demonica brother? (What? You know I had to ask…)

KT: Eidolon from Pleasure Unbound. He's a sexy doctor who won't stop having sex with the heroine, Tayla, until she orgasms. And since she has problems with finding her "O", Eidolon has a lot cut out for him He's quite the giver!

Thanks for being with us, K.T!

Thank you my favorite author of hot demons ;)

* * *

Okay, so just leave a comment about anything, maybe tell us if you've ever read an f/f romance before, and I'll announce a winner tomorrow!

This week I have a special treat! Two guest authors who keep me entertained, whether I'm reading their books, following them on Twitter, or bantering in email.

Today, please welcome back Zoe Winters, and check out her most excellent contest!

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Hi, I'm Dayne Wickham, the hero of the first novella in Zoe Winters' book, Blood Lust. I offered to give Zoe a potion that would temporarily allow her to be in two places at once, but she has this weird thing about drinking potions. So here I am… covering for her.

I think she doesn't trust me with magic around her because she knows I'm jealous of her other male characters. She's got that ridiculous crush on Cain, which I completely don't understand. He's an incubus who kills every woman he sleeps with. Yeah, that's an attractive trait to have in a man. pffft.

And then there are the minor crushes she has on Anthony and Cole, who aren't as bad as Cain, but still. She likes her supernatural bad boys… demons, vampires, werewolves. But me, I'm just a magic user.

Hey, I can shoot a spark of glowing energy out of my hand and wrap people in a band of light. They can still say annoying things, but they aren't getting away. And I have a reputation. Despite this, apparently a sorcerer just isn't bad enough for her.

That's fine. I've got Greta, and I'm happy with her. But it still hurts to be ignored by your author. You know? Maybe I shouldn't be drinking so much. It turns me into a big emo pansy.

I know you didn't come here to hear a sob story, and my sinister reputation is going right out the window, but I needed to get that out. I'm a little bitter, and she probably should have trusted me with magic before she trusted me with a blog post.

Zoe was here a few weeks ago to promote the individual novellas that make up Blood Lust (Kept, Claimed, and Mated). But now, the collection is out in Ebook and finally in print. She's running a contest this week where you can win a free Amazon Kindle. She asked me to make sure people knew that the Kindle she's giving away will be the new generation with the free 3G, not the crappy one that just has the wireless. She was really insistent on this point.

She's also going to give away a signed copy of Blood Lust to one commenter she'll randomly select from the comments thread, here. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. Or, if Zoe can be bothered to tear herself from her other commitments, she might field some questions as well.

And now for the obligatory book description of Blood Lust:

It’s all about the blood…

Comprised of three novellas, Blood Lust gives readers a snapshot look at the world of the Preternaturals Series. (Future installments of the series will be novels.)

KEPT:

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta's blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

For a vampire, Anthony isn't a picky eater, but he's drawn to Charlee's blood more than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he's denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he's made.

MATED:

Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being "kindred." She's forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she's abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.

Print and ebook copies are available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. (other retailers coming soon.)

Buy links are available from Zoe's blog (The top stickied Amazon contest post.)

You can find Zoe here:

Author Website
Author Blog
Twitter