I always enjoy it when guests come by to visit my blog. 😉 And today, I’m very happy to have fabulous author (and friend!) Katie Reus here with us.  Thanks for coming by, Katie! And congrats on your release!

Thank you so much to Cynthia for having me here today! As a thank you I’d love to give away a digital copy of my recent release, Fatal Deception, to one commenter.

Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres to read and to write in. I love the blending of romance and suspense! There’s nothing hotter than reading about two people falling in love while running from dangerous villains. Over the past year I’ve been self publishing a series of romantic suspense stories (Red Stone Security series) and the reader email I’ve received has been amazing. If you’ve read No One to Trust and Danger Next Door then you’ll know that Harrison is the married brother of the heroes in the first two books. A similar theme in many of the emails I’ve received is readers wanting to know why I didn’t write Harrison’s story. I had always intended to write his story as the third book in the series, but I guess the natural assumption was that since he was a married character he wasn’t getting a story. And that’s definitely not the case!

I’ve been married for almost nine years (gah, how is it that long already?!) and for anyone who is married or in a long-term relationship, I’m sure you know how tough things can be sometimes. It’s definitely not rainbows and unicorns all the time because that’s just life. And that’s the reason I wanted to write a story about a couple already married. Even though they’ve already said their ‘I dos’, they have issues to work through just like the couples in the first two books. This book has only been out a couple weeks but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the reader emails telling me they love reading about a married couple so I hope if you check it out that you enjoy it too.

Today I’d like to share a brief excerpt Fatal Deception:

***

Harrison gripped the steering wheel of his truck so tight his knuckles were white. He should be in a great mood, but there was a dark cloud that had been hovering over him the past few weeks. The wall that had been growing between him and his wife was getting higher every day.

Taking the turn a little too sharply into the quiet Coral Gables neighborhood where he lived with his wife, he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t bat an eyelash in the passenger seat.

It took a lot to get Mara riled up, but lately she’d been edgy and distant. At first he’d wondered if it was because they’d gotten married so soon after meeting each other. From engagement to marriage had been less than a year. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other and the sex had been off the charts. Thankfully nothing had changed in that respect, but for the past few weeks she’d been leaving early from the shelter where she volunteered, and was evasive about where she’d been going afterward.

“It was good to see Grant so happy,” Harrison said as he steered into their driveway and waited for the garage door to lift. His brother was in a better mood than Harrison had ever seen him. Over six months ago, Grant had been injured in an explosion that left his face, back and one of his arms scarred. Until getting involved in a relationship with Belle, his new next door neighbor, he’d been close to becoming bitter and reclusive.

Mara nodded tightly, her normally relaxed features holding a hint of unease. “I agree. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s him.”

They’d just come from a barbeque at Grant’s place to meet his girlfriend/soon-to-be-fiancé and her extremely large extended family. They’d had a good time, but Mara continued to pull away from him emotionally and he was about to lose his mind. What had happened to make her withdraw from him?

“Do you think he’ll propose to her?” Mara asked, the question surprising him. Lately whenever they spoke he was the one who initiated conversation.

“Yeah, he showed me the ring.” His brother had been so nervous, but there was no way his girlfriend would say no.

Mara chuckled softly and, for the first time in weeks, it didn’t sound forced. “I wondered why he kept patting his pants pocket all day.”

It would be just like his wife to notice something like that. Not much got past her, a trait he found sexy, but right now he was wired too tight to play nice. As the garage door closed behind them, she started to get out of the truck but he placed a hand on her forearm. Tensing under his touch, she turned to look at him, her normally bright green eyes filled with anxiety. “What’s been going on with us the past month?” he asked softly, though the question sounded like a sonic boom in the quiet enclosure.

She pasted on a bright smile that might have fooled anyone else, but he could see the wariness in her eyes. “What are you talking about?” Placing a hand over his, she squeezed gently.

“You know exactly what.” His voice was a low growl, but she barely seemed to notice. Or if she did, she was ignoring it.

Instead of responding, she turned in her seat and slid one hand up his arm as she started to crawl toward him. He inwardly groaned when he realized what she was doing. The past few weeks anytime he wanted to talk, she literally jumped him. Sex was her way of distracting him. And it normally worked. Not tonight though. Placing his hands on her shoulders he held her away from him. His erection pulsed against his fly, pissed as hell that he’d stopped her.

The hurt in her eyes was real and that tore at him. “Are you stopping me?” Okay, and the hurt in her voice was even worse.

“We can’t use sex to fix everything.” God, was that actually him talking? His hot wife wanted to have sex in his truck. He should have her naked and riding him by now.

 ***

Fatal Deception description:

Mara Caldwell is a woman with a dark past. She made a clean break from her old life, never imagining her secrets could come back to haunt her. When an old enemy surfaces and threatens the world she’s created for herself Mara is prepared to give up everything, including the husband she loves if it will keep him safe.

Harrison knew his wife had secrets when he married her, but when he discovers the truth, it’s far worse than he imagined. He’s determined to protect her from a deadly enemy who wants to destroy her, but her lack of faith in him infuriates and wounds him. They must work together to keep her safe, but the man they’re up against seeks to destroy everything they’ve built together. Including their lives.

Warnings: This book contains light bondage, hot sex, graphic language and a villain hell bent on revenge.

Purchase info: Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble and Kobo Books

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Just leave a comment and be entered to win. Open internationally.

I now officially have a Street Team! Would you like to join?

Well, okay, first, you may be wondering…what is a Street Team?  And what do I have to do as part of the team?

If you are interested in helping me spread the word about my books, then the Street Team is for you.  Musicians often use Street Teams a great deal–Street Teams are people who “hit the streets” to promote a group or product, or, in this case–they promote books. For my Street Team, members will be primarily hitting the cyber streets. 😉  In return for Street Team participation, members will receive special prizes, ARCs, and some “bonus” perks.  In addition to my normal giveaways and contests, I’ll have special Street Team only contests that I run for members.   Street Team members can participate as much or as little as they like–it is all up to the individuals.

If this is something that you’re interested in doing, you can join my Street Team here (it’s a special group on Facebook).  Thank you!!!!

And…one final note…if you’d like to read the first chapter of ANGEL IN CHAINS, Kensington has it posted!

Update: Thank you all SO much for sharing your stories with me!  You had me fighting the urge to try the Bloody Mary routine once more. 😉 I randomly picked a winner, and that commenter is…latisha depoortere. Congrats!!!  (Psst..more contests are coming soon!)

I’m very excited about a new book that I hope to release very soon (it’s October–come on, I HAD to release a paranormal during this spooky month!).  Here’s the cover for the book:

And here’s the blurb:

Don’t go into the woods.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Lambert knows that the woods near her new home aren’t safe. She’s seen the wolves that stalk through that dark forest, but Anna doesn’t scare easily.

Anna is cursed–or gifted, depending on how you look at it–with the ability to find anyone or anything that is lost. So when folks start disappearing in the small town of Haven, Anna’s father, the sheriff, has to use her special skills as they begin to hunt for a killer.

But the killer isn’t exactly human. As Anna is pulled deeper into the secrets of Haven–a town that is truly cursed–she finds herself falling for two, equally mysterious boys. With the danger closing in, one of those boys may just turn out to be her savior. And the other? He could be a very big, very bad…beast.

Beware of beasts…and boys…with bite.

 ***

THE BETTER TO BITE will be the first YA that I release, although it is not the first YA that I have written. I actually wrote my very first YA novel almost 16 years ago. So, ahem, I guess you could say this one has been a long time coming. 😉

As I wrote THE BETTER TO BITE, I thought of it as Veronica Mars meets Little Red Riding Hood–with werewolves.  I had such an incredible time writing this story, and I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that readers enjoy it, too.

And just because I’m releasing a YA novel, it does not mean that I won’t be writing adult stories, too. I promise, I’m definitely still doing them! Actually, I’m working to have an adult paranormal romance come out in just a few weeks, too, and then I have a December release with Kensington Brava (ANGEL IN CHAINS)…and in 2013, well, I’ve got at least 7 adult releases scheduled.  I love writing–and I love to write in several areas, so no worries on that score.

I will be planning some giveaways  with THE BETTER TO BITE, and as soon as the book is available, I will be back to spread the word.  In the meantime…since it is the Halloween season, why don’t we do a giveaway today?  I’ll give a $15 Amazon gift card to one commenter. You just tell me…what’s your favorite spooky ghost story to tell around Halloween?  My heroine, Anna, in THE BETTER TO BITE, sure does enjoy spooky tales. And so do I!  I’ll pick the random winner on 10/6 at noon (Central time). Good luck!!!

(And I’d like to send out a big thank you to my wonderful cover artist, Pickyme!)

My publisher is giving away 10 copies of ANGEL IN CHAINS (my November 27th paranormal romance) at GoodReads. The giveaway will stay open until October 31st.  You can check out the full details here.

Good luck!

I am so excited to be attending the Olde City, New Blood Conference in February of 2013! Jennifer–the hostess with the mostess for this event–has organized a contest to spread the word about this great conference. Below, you’ll find all of her wonderful info!

Dearly Beloved,
We are gathered here today, to join two awesome things in a state of increased awesomeness.
Today, we’re bringing together an author/reader mini-con, and the chance to WIN YOUR WAY IN FOR FREE!

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen… starting today, you will all have 7 days to hop around from author to author, blogger to blogger, and enter at every stop to win one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to Olde City, New Blood, the upcoming urban fantasy/paranormal romance mini-con in St. Augustine, FL next February.

You can check out the official website for the complete list of Featured Authors (I’ll give you a hint… one of them is ME!!) and Featured Bloggers. There’s also a main contest post with all the participating authors, bloggers, and dates for the contest. It’s super easy. Visit each of the spotlight blog posts and author websites listed, fill out the Rafflecopter link on each one (one entry PER POST, not per day… and yes, they will be checking), and POOF, multiple entries to WIN!!

The prize is one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to see me and about 49 other authors on the sunny beaches of St. Augustine, Florida, from Feb 8th-10, 2013. We’re going to be doing panels, readings, meet & greets, and just generally having a fun weekend with our incredible fans!! Please keep in mind, if you win, you’ll have to cover your own travel and hotel expenses, but your ticket into the party will be on Olde City, New Blood!!!

The contest runs from September 30th – October 6th, and the 3 winners will be announced on September 7th. Don’t forget to click the Rafflecopter link below before you hop off to check out the rest of the contest posts!! Good Luck, everyone!! I hope to see you ALL in Florida this February!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway