Update…The winner for this giveaway is…Kerry! Congrats, Kerry!  I believe that the lovely Marie has already emailed you. 😉

Hi, everyone! I hope that you are having a wonderful week! Today it is my pleasure to have busy author Marie Treanor visiting my blog. Marie is sharing info about her new release (ready for a steamy excerpt?) and offering one commenter a $10 Amazon.com gift card.  Marie, thanks so much for coming over!

On Serafina and the Silent Vampire by Marie Treanor

 

Cynthia, thank you for having me on your blog today! Waving to Cynthia’s readers!

When it comes to blogging, I tend to write about whatever’s in my mind at the time – which isn’t always the best idea! However, gamely sticking with this tradition, I realize there isn’t actually much in there right now that isn’t associated with my new release, SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE. So, I thought I’d tell you how the story came to me in the first place.  Maybe I should start with the blurb:

SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE (Serafina’s, 1)

By MARIE TREANOR

Silence has never been so sinful…

Welcome to Edinburgh’s unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina’s.

Serafina MacBride is psychic – but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client’s party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire – annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client’s son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.

But the amoral and seductive  Blair is also on a mission – to find and kill a nest of young vampires who’ve invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights – and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.

Supported and hindered by Blair’s eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina’s, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.

In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being  she’s trying so hard not to love.

 

***

For me, this idea was unusual, because for once, my vampire wasn’t the catalyst for the story. Sera was. I’d been reading about the tricks of fake psychics and mediums and the damage they can cause, and I found myself wondering, “What if one of those scammers really was psychic, but just made a bit of money on the side ripping off the sensation-seekers?”  And Sera began to grow in my head – tough, looking out for the fast buck, somewhat isolated and lonely because of her gifts, but basically compassionate and unswervingly loyal to her few friends. In her own way she is honest, true at least to her own code of honour.

And from her complicated character, grew Blair, the silent vampire, because Sera needed to encounter a different kind of dead from the spirits who were part of her normal, everyday life. Realizing she doesn’t know everything about the supernatural world is a wake-up call for Sera. Vampires are almost like solid ghosts: drifting through the human world they feed off, largely un-noticed and unheard. They’re few and far between, solitary  beings. But because she can speak to the dead, Sera hears Blair telepathically, and realizes, eventually, there really are more things in heaven and earth that she’d ever imagined!

So, this is the sometimes comic and sometimes steamy set-up for Sera to meet her match. Here’s an excerpt showing  her dangerous attraction to Blair sizzling up to the surface…

Excerpt from SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE:

Although the scary glow didn’t vanish from his eyes, they seemed to soften. His body didn’t. It still pinned her helplessly to the wall. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek, trailing his fingertips down her jaw to her throat. She gasped.

“Serafina,” he murmured in her head. “Some things are just stronger than you. They don’t necessarily hurt you, and they won’t necessarily defeat you.”

Distracting her from his surprising words, the bulge in his jeans was hardening, both alarming and exciting her. After all, he had the kind of face and body to die for. Sera had no intention of dying.

“Okay, celebrate!” she spat. “You’re stronger than me.”

His lips twitched. “I was thinking of Nicholas Smith. But now you mention it, yes, I am.” His fingers lingered over her vein, stroking. She shivered, trying not to feel the spurt of physical pleasure that was in danger of drowning out her alarm, especially when he swayed his hips in a slow, sensual caress. His erection rubbed against her tummy, and she had an insane urge to stand on tiptoe to feel it grind between her legs. “And, you know, I like that too.”

“Why?” she got out, reaching wildly for the smart comment that somehow eluded her.

His fingers slid upward to her face once more, and he traced the outline of her lips. “Because I can kiss you without you feeling the need to stop me.”

She narrowed her eyes threateningly, although her heart seemed to plunge right through her stomach to her womb. “It won’t be the need that’s lacking,” she managed.

“But you like the way I look,” he pointed out, pressing gently on her lower lip to part it from the upper. “I’ve read it in your mind.”

“Doesn’t mean I want you slobbering all over me!” Oh Jesus, what would it feel like?

“I won’t slobber,” he promised and bent his head.

She couldn’t have avoided it. She refused to dent her dignity further by trying. So she glared into his face, daring him, while her heart thundered in treacherous anticipation. His lips hovered over hers for an instant, just long enough for her to panic that perhaps he was changing his mind and wouldn’t do it, after all. She felt an urge to close the distance herself—only to break the tension, of course. And then he did it, sliding his fingers away from her lips to cup her face and sinking his mouth into hers with blatant, wonderful, terrifying sensuality.

There was none of the buildup she was used to, the gentle brushing of lips, the soft, quick kisses that grew deeper and longer. It was an outright assault on her senses, and it was devastating. His lips were cool and firm as they moved on hers, savoring, almost as if he were drinking from her. Oh shit, don’t think drinking here! He opened her mouth wider for his tongue, which swept around her teeth and curled around her own, drawing it into his mouth. She tried to speak, but the attempt got lost in the shock of his long, sharp teeth under her tongue. Blood drummed in her head, a tattoo of fear all mixed up with wonder and sheer, unadulterated lust.

A weird sound came from her mouth, and he deepened the kiss, almost grinding his mouth into hers, demanding the response she found it impossible not to give. There had never been a kiss like this one, fierce and overwhelmingly sexual, driving all thought from her head but the gratification of desire. She melted into it, opening wide for him, winding her tongue around his, sucking and biting his lips, drawing him deeper in.

At some point, he’d begun to grind his hips too, rubbing himself against her, and she found herself moving with him, standing on tiptoe and pressing back to try to assuage the aching need between her thighs.

When she almost ran out of breath, he broke the kiss and smiled. “Oh yes,” he whispered in her mind. “All night with you. All night and day, and all night again…” His words drove her to fever pitch, eliciting a helpless mewl of desire as she reached for his mouth once more.

He gave it with enthusiasm. His hands were on her hips, stroking down to her thighs and dragging upward inside her jacket and over the sides of her breasts. She moaned into his mouth, felt his thumbs caress her desperate nipples over and over. She wanted them on her naked breasts. She wanted no clothes at all between them. She wanted him buried deep inside her, pounding her to the greatest, sweetest orgasm of her life. More than that, she yearned to blast his control to hell, to make him lose himself in the pleasure she could give him. She was sure no one had ever wanted her this much before.

She squirmed against him, dragging her arms free at last to loop them around his neck and comb her fingers through his soft hair. His hands cupped both her breasts, making her gasp, and swept downward to the fastening of her jeans.

She tore her mouth free to gasp, half laughing, “Oh stop! We can’t! This is a respectable street! People are bound to pass.”

“I don’t care. I want you now. Just for starters. I want to make you scream as you come the first time, see your face in the open air as you fall apart around me. Oh yes.”

She caught his head as he plunged back for her mouth, his fingers determinedly unfastening the buttons of her jeans. “Blair, no!”

He paused and raised his head, his eyes black and clouded with lust. “Admit it. You want me to fuck you.”

She caught the golden flash in his dark eyes, glimpsed the pointed fangs between his parted lips, and swallowed hard. “Does it come with blood drinking?”

“Oh yes…”

 ***

SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE by MARIE TREANOR is available now as an E-book, $2.99 from Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Serafina-Silent-Vampire-Serafinas-ebook/dp/B0092UD3GM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346139424&sr=1-1&keywords=serafina+and+the+silent+vampire+marie+treanor

 

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Serafina-Silent-Vampire-Serafinas-ebook/dp/B0092UD3GM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346133091&sr=1-1

 

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serafina-and-the-silent-vampire-marie-treanor/1112680976?ean=2940015185386

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, which won the 2011 Hollywood Halloween Book Festival prize for Fantasy, was her New York debut with NAL. Recently, she’s dipped her toe into self-publishing.

Website: www.MarieTreanor.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360

Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter

Blog: Marie Treanor’s Romantic Theme Party: http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/

 

Contest: I’d like to give away a $10 Amazon gift card (more than enough to buy a copy of SERAFINA 😉 to one commenter who answers the question: What would you do in Sera’s position? Put Blair firmly back in his place, or grab a night with him, blood-drinking and all?

Thank you to everyone who read HOWL FOR IT, to everyone who helped to spread the word about this book–thank you!! HOWL FOR IT made the USA Today best-seller’s list at #88!

Thank you for talking about the book. For tweeting. For sharing on Facebook. For deciding to give this book a read in the middle of your busy lives.  I am so grateful to you!

THANK YOU!! 🙂

And thank you to all the wonderful folks at Kensington who helped to put this anthology together. The Kensington staff members work so hard to produce and promote their books–and I appreciate everything that they do!

Now, I think I shall celebrate with some chocolate.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Hi, everyone! I hope that you’re having a terrific week! Today, very busy author (and great lady!) Jeffe Kennedy is the guest at my blog.  She’s sharing an excerpt from her new book, ROGUE’S PAWN–and giving a copy of the book to one lucky commenter.  Welcome, Jeffe!

 

I’m so excited to be here on Cindy’s blog. I first met her at the RT Convention, back in Orlando in 2009. I was the brand-new president of the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFP) chapter and a total newbie to RWA and romance writing. Cindy – as always – was the nicest person in the world to me. She’s the only person I know who can be all sweet sugar Southern Belle on top, and all sexy, scary goddess underneath. Over time she’s become a friend.

So when she offered to host my fantasy romance ROGUE’S PAWN here on her blog? I jumped at the chance! Thanks Cindy! I totally owe you a milkshake. 😉

***

Falcon slammed his hand on the table. “Enough with playing dumb, foreign sorceress. Let’s get this done with.”

Darling sat on the table in front of me. He blinked at me sweetly, swelling a purr. I saw him in a classroom with me, riding on the back of a horse during battle, then standing at my heel.

“He wants to be my Familiar?”

“Agreed,” Lillibeth said.

The cat rubbed his cheek against my chin and padded back down the table. I wanted to ask exactly what I had agreed to, but my thoughts slipped away. Falcon and Healer wandered out of the hall, arm in arm, heads bent together as they laughed merrily over some private joke. Scourge rose to leave.

“Remember what I’m owed, Scourge.” Rogue lounged back in his chair, the indolent lord of the feast. “I expect my merchandise returned in appropriate condition.”

Scourge stilled. Then gave Rogue a curt nod and left.

“Lord Puck, you will miss the festivities, but you’d best convey your charge to her new home,” Lillibeth said breezily.

The bowed-head lads pulled my heavy chair away from the table. Even looking up at them, I couldn’t quite get a glimpse of their faces. Was I supposed to stand now? Rogue and Puck pulled me to my feet, so I supposed so. Puck pulled my wrists behind my back, fastening them together by my silver bracelets, then did the same with my feet. I couldn’t seem to resist. Why couldn’t I think? I teetered there while Rogue steadied me.

“The wine?” I finally got out and Rogue touched my face in that way of his that seemed to be tender.

“Magic can’t touch you while you wear silver, but it can touch something you then touch. You could never have protected yourself against it.”

“It’s better for the journey,” Puck added. He clipped a leash to my collar.

For the first time, I really processed that I was going somewhere else, in someone’s custody. Damned if I would cry again though, despite the aching emptiness in me that was the loss of everything I’d ever known.

“A moment, please, Lord Puck,” Rogue said.

He held me by the shoulders, looking down at me, gaze inscrutable on the placid unmarked right side, intense, almost harsh on the left.

“A deposit on my debt,” he said, then pulled me hard against him, one arm sliding around my waist, the other hand cradling my head. His lips touched mine, a soft brush at first. Then moving deeper, parting my mouth with a burning heat, soft and hard at once. Cinnamon, sandalwood and something more. With my hands chained behind my back, inclined against him, nearly off my toes as he held me up by the waist and skull, I had no power to pull back from him.

I couldn’t return the kiss. Tried not to.

Tried and failed.

The edges of me blurred and I became the kiss.

I became a goblet held in his arms that he drank from, while the longing in me throbbed, pounding in my breasts and between my legs, melding with the horrible keening loss that also grew.

I knew then, profoundly, that nothing was under my control. Maybe never had been.

Rogue released my lips, eyes fulminous, like the blue flame of a Bunsen burner. He seemed about to say something. Then didn’t. Through my haze, I caught roiling regret. He set me down, giving me a little push so that Puck caught me.

 ***

About Rogue’s Pawn:

This is no fairy tale…

Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can’t control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he demands an extravagant price—my firstborn child, which he intends to sire himself…

With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils—including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to…

***

 

Purchase info: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Carina

Jeffe Kennedy took the crooked road to writing, stopping off at neurobiology, religious studies and environmental consulting before her creative writing began appearing in places like Redbook, Puerto del Sol, Wyoming Wildlife, Under the Sun and Aeon. A BDSM  novella, Petals and Thorns, came out in 2010, heralding yet another branch of her path, into erotica and romantic fantasy fiction. Since then, erotic shorts in the Blood Currency series—Feeding the Vampire and Hunting the Siren—have come out from Ellora’s Cave. Carina Press is publishing the Facet of Desire series, which includes Sapphire and Platinum. Her contemporary fantasy novel, Rogue’s Pawn, book one in A Covenant of Thorns, came out in July, 2012. Jeffe lives in Santa Fe, with two Maine coon cats, a border collie, plentiful free-range lizards and frequently serves as a guinea pig for a professional acupuncturist.

Find her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jeffe.Kennedy) and Twitter (@jeffekennedy) or visit her at her website http://jeffekennedy.com/.

CONTEST ALERT: Please leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of Rogue’s Pawn.

Open to all readers, 18 years or older, who are legally allowed to participate in such a contest as allowed by their local laws. All federal, state, local, and municipal laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. By participating in the contest, participants agree to be bound by the decision of the contest sponsor. One commenter will be selected using random.org. The winner’s name will be posted in the comments section of this blog after 9/13/2012 noon US Central time (so check back) with instructions on how to contact Jeffe. The winner must contact Jeffe Kennedy within two weeks to claim your prize.

 

Update from Katie:  According to random.org, Norma Keglovitz you are the winner! Congrats on winning and please contact me at katiereus@gmail.com so I can get your contact info

Today I’m excited to have author Katie Reus as a guest at my blog!  Katie writes fantastic paranormal romance and romantic suspense novels.  AND she’s got a brand new release due to hit store (and cyber) shelves tomorrow. Congrats and welcome, Katie!

 

Thank you so much to Cynthia for having me here today! Every time I’m at her blog I feel the need to reiterate how wonderful she is! We roomed together at Authors After Dark this year and let me tell you, she’s a fabulous roommate and friend. She’s like the energizer bunny and I’m always so impressed by how much she works.

Okay, that’s enough rambling from me! Tomorrow Primal Possession, the second book in my Moon Shifter series releases, and I’m so excited. I’ve received so many emails asking about Liam and December’s story and it’s finally here! So today I thought I’d share a sneak preview and give away a copy of it!

***

Through her slat blinds December could see light starting to peek in. Without looking at her digital clock, she knew it was just barely sunrise. Normally she liked to sleep in on Saturdays, because she opened her shop up an hour later than usual. That so wasn’t happening today.

Not with Liam sleeping in her guest room. She should probably be more concerned or scared that some maniac had tried to inject her with God knew what last night, but Liam’s dark, dominating presence in her house was much more frightening. Okay, maybe not frightening. But it made her much more aware of . . . everything. Namely, herself and all the sexual feelings he stirred inside her.

She wasn’t scared of him. Just scared of her feelings for him. Instead of staring at the ceiling for another hour, she threw off her comforter and headed to the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her curls stuck out wildly thanks to a rough night of tossing and turning. For a moment she contemplated putting on makeup or taming her hair, then scoffed at herself. Let Liam see her this way. Maybe it would help him get over her.

She opened the bedroom door and jerked to a halt.

Stretched out on the rug covering the hardwood hallway, Liam lay on his back—shirtless—directly outside her bedroom.

His dark eyes popped open when she gasped. Something told her he’d already been awake, though. In one quick swoop, he assessed her from head to foot and smiled. Despite her pajamas she felt practically naked under his not-so-subtle evaluation.

As he stared at her, she couldn’t help the way her own gaze strayed to his bare chest. His shoulders were impossibly broad and his chest was pure male perfection. All that strength. He wasn’t bulky or overmuscled, like those awful-looking bodybuilders. Just firm, but too broad to be called lean. Her gaze helplessly dipped lower and his stomach muscles tightened in response.

The slight action jerked her gaze back to his face.

“Like what you see?” The question was low and sensual and his dark eyes were knowing.

Her mouth dried up and it took a moment before she could speak. She ignored his question and asked one of her own. “What are you doing on the floor?”

“I wanted to be close in case anything happened.” Liam moved to his feet with the agility and speed of a jungle animal. Instinctively she stepped back. He didn’t advance on her or make a move, but his mere presence invaded all her personal space.

Why did he have to make it so hard for her to keep her distance from him? He might be aggravating with his dominant attitude, but he still wanted to protect her. That made it difficult to get mad at him. Even though she wanted him gone—if only to get back some of her sanity—she also wanted to thank him for staying the night.

“Are you hungry?”

His dark eyes flashed and she knew what he was thinking before he said a word, so she preemptively cut him off.

“For food,” she continued.

Grinning, he shrugged. “If that’s all you’re offering, I’ll take it.”

When he didn’t move, she had to turn sideways to shimmy past him. She ignored his soft chuckle. The frustrating man enjoyed making her uncomfortable. As she headed down the stairs, she could feel his eyes burning into her. Mentally stripping her. “Stop doing that,” she muttered.

“Doing what?” he asked, his deep voice far too close for comfort.

She resisted the urge to turn around. If she did, she was afraid of what she’d see on his face and afraid she’d like it too much. “You know exactly what. Quit looking at my butt.”

“I can’t help it, Red.”

 ***

About Primal Possession:

 

To protect her, he will unleash the beast within…

As his pack’s second-in-command, lupine shifter Liam Armstrong gives orders and takes what he wants—until he meets red-headed, blue-eyed December McIntyre. Liam knows the human beauty is his intended mate the moment he sees her, but December is far too strong-willed to accept his protection.

December, whose brother is the town sheriff, has every reason to mistrust shifters after one killed her youngest sibling. But the forceful and handsome Liam has gotten under her skin in a way she hadn’t thought possible, and the desire she feels for him is almost too much to bear.

When a radical hate group targets all humans known to sympathize with paranormal beings, December is attacked in her bookstore. Reluctantly, she turns to the only one who can help her: Liam. And he is going to take her to places within herself she never knew existed.

 

Purchase info: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

 

A little about Katie: I’ve been reading romance since a young age—ever since I discovered my mom’s hidden stash. Luckily the addiction stayed with me into adulthood. I write paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense for Carina Press, Harlequin Nocturne, and NAL/Signet Eclipse. To learn more about me please visit my website, my blog, facebook or find me on twitter @katiereus.

 

CONTEST ALERT: Please leave a comment telling me what type of animal you would like to be able to change into, or what your favorite thing about paranormal romance is and be entered to win a copy of Primal Possession.

 

Open to all readers, 18 years or older, who are legally allowed to participate in such a contest as allowed by their local laws. All federal, state, local, and municipal laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. By participating in the contest, participants agree to be bound by the decision of the contest sponsor. One commenter will be selected using random.org. The winner’s name will be posted in the comments section of this blog after 9/4/2012 noon US Central time (so check back) with instructions on how to contact Katie. The winner must contact Katie Reus within two weeks to claim your prize.

 

ANGEL OF DARKNESS is on sale for $2.99 (Kindle) version. I’m not sure how long this sale will last, so I wanted to post and share now.

ANGEL OF DARKNESS is the first book in my FALLEN series. Here’s the blurb:

As an angel of death, Keenan’s job is to collect the souls on his list. He’s carried out his duty for two thousand years and never faltered once. Until he meets Nicole St. James.  When the moment of death comes, Keenan hesitates, and instead of taking Nicole, Keenan touches the vampire who’s attacking her.

Cast out of heaven for disobedience, Keenan plummets to earth. Six months later, he finally manages to track Nicole to a bar in Mexico. He’s stunned to discover that the woman he remembers has undergone a dramatic change—she’s become a vampire. And when he realizes that she’s the target of all manner of enemies—other vampires, demons, even shifters—he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if all hell breaks loose…

 

***

Have a great Sunday!!!