Update: The ANGEL OF DARKNESS prize pack will be going to…Tina B! Congrats!! (And, psst..I’ll be giving more of these away soon!)

Inspiration can come from any place. (And it usually does.)  For my novella, BOUND IN DARKNESS, inspiration came from a fairy tale.

I’ve always loved the Snow White tale but I’ll confess…I wanted a slightly different ending for Snow White. Sure, gallant princes are all well and good, but I’d rather have Snow White wind up with a bad boy.  And from that one idea–well, BOUND IN DARKNESS was born.

Remember how sweet little Snow White was supposed to be taken in the woods and murdered?  That’s the beginning of my novella. My heroine, Allison, follows the wrong man into the woods. His job is to kill her but…

He doesn’t. Just like in the Snow White tale, our heroine doesn’t die at that moment, and in that moment, well, things get interesting.  The assassin sent after my heroine is soon the one who is protecting her from every evil that comes her way.  No, he’s definitely not a gallant prince. In fact, he’s a werewolf.

But then, my heroine isn’t exactly lily pure, either…she’s a vampire.  And the lady is getting the urge to bite.

What favorite fairy tales do you have? Which tales would you like to see with a new twist?  Leave me a comment and let me know. One winner will be selected to win an ANGEL OF DARKNESS prize pack that will include: an early copy of ANGEL OF DARKNESS (as soon as I get my author copies, you get the very first one!), an ANGEL OF DARKNESS t-shirt (size large), an ANGEL OF DARKNESS mug, and an ANGEL OF DARKNESS tote bag.

And don’t forget…you can buy BOUND IN DARKNESS at Amazon, B&N, All Romance eBooks, or Smashwords for .99! Thanks!!!

My new ebooks, BOUND IN DARKNESS and ENTANGLED are available now! (Though the official release day is tomorrow, the books are available now at Amazon, B&N, All Romance EBooks, and Smashwords, so I thought I’d go ahead and spread the word.)

But…I am planning to have my release day party tomorrow (9/12/11), so I hope you will come back by for the fun!!  The party will kick off at 8:00 am tomorrow (Central Time) and last until 10:00 pm.  Each hour, a different author will be joining the party.  Many of my writing friends from the ENTANGLED anthology will be at the party(like Edie Ramer, Michelle Diener, Dale Mayer, and Nancy Haddock), plus great folks like Donna Grant, Jennifer Haymore, Lisa Renee Jones, and Caridad Pineiro.  There will be tons of contests (and all contests will stay open until noon–again, Central Time–on 9/13/11 so that people in different time zones will have a chance to participate.  It will be a great time, and I hope you can join us!

Now, back to those releases!  🙂

Here’s the blurb for BOUND IN DARKNESS:

Hunter…

When it comes to killing vampires, werewolf Cade Thain is the best slayer in the Northwest. So when a witch hires him to take out a pureblood vamp, the assassin thinks it will be just business as usual. One less vicious vamp on the streets…one more undead parasite gone from the earth. Then he meets her.

Protector…

Allison Gray isn’t the prey that Cade expects. Beautiful, innocent, she stirs a dark desire within him. Allison hasn’t transformed fully into a vampire, not yet, and it’s Cade’s job to make sure that she never does. Allison thinks that he’s at her side to keep her safe, but Cade is supposed to pick the right moment—and kill her.

Lover…

Killing Allison is soon the last thing that Cade plans. As she begins the transformation that will turn her into a vampire, her bloodlust and their desire merge in an explosion of need that neither can control. But Allison’s enemies are closing in, and the coming battle will take Cade and Allison beyond life, beyond love…and into a deadly darkness that waits to claim them both.

Bound in Darkness.

***

You can find BOUND IN DARKNESS at Amazon, at B&N, at Smashwords, and at All Romance eBooks (I know–I said this before, but this time, I’m providing links!) Also, did I mention that BOUND IN DARKNESS is just .99?  Cause it is!  This is a novella story, with a word count clocking in at just over 21,000.  It’s a sexy story about one hot werewolf with a very dark side.  Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about how I got the inspiration for this tale (Snow White helped a lot!)

And for my second release:

ENTANGLED is a paranormal romance anthology (all of the stories are linked to Halloween).  The anthology is priced at $2.99, and ALL of the proceeds from this book will be going to the Breast Cancer Research Fund.  So you can get a great read, and help out a great cause at the same time.  It’s a double win.

My contribution to ENTANGLED is an 11,000 word short story called, “A Bit of Bite.” (Most of the stories are between 10-11k. but with 11 authors participating, that means you are getting a book with over 100k words for just $2.99.  Deal! This price will last for the months of September and October. )

ENTANGLED is available at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, and All Romance eBooks.

Both of these books are ebooks, but if you don’t have an ereader, you can still read the tales.  You can download a free program like Kindle for PC or Nook for PC and read the books right on your computer (I use these programs all the time. Very handy).

Here’s the blurb for ENTANGLED:

Ghosts, vampires, demons, and more! Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal short stories from authors Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, and Michelle Miles, plus a Seven Deadly Sins novella by Allison Brennan.

***

I hope you enjoy a terrific Sunday, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the release day fun!

.99 Paranormal Novella

Scroll down…new contest posts are below!

Welcome to the party!!! I’m celebrating double releases today, and so I’ve got some great guests who are coming by to keep us all entertained & happy! Scroll down to see their posts, to enter the giveaways, and to join the conversations. Thanks for coming by!

The party will kick-off today at 8 AM (Central Time) and last until 10 PM (again, Central Time). Each hour, a new author will be here–and there will be new prizes listed. All giveaways will stay open until noon on 9/13/11. Have fun!!

Paranormal Charity Anthology, $2.99

Vampires…

Werewolves….

Forbidden Romance….

Let’s have ourselves a howling good time!

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday…I hope this weekend you get to curl up with a good book. And speaking of books…author Lucianne Rivers is here to chat with us about her new story, THRILL ME (and warning–giveaway ahead!)

***

Thanks for having me at your blog, Cynthia. I don’t know how the weather is where you are, but here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, fall has arrived. Overnight, it seems. On August 31 it was summer, and the following morning autumn had come. It rained and there was a decided chill in the air.

Now, for a drought-ridden state, rain is a good thing, but I come from Ireland, where it rains practically all year around. Grey skies and me don’t go well together. It’s the kind of winter’s-a-comin’ atmosphere that makes we want to hibernate with a good book and a bottle of wine…preferably followed by a snuggle with a beautiful man. If any of the latter are missing, I get lonesome.

Although, I have found a suitable alternative to at least one of the above…It’s called EXERCISE. Now that the evenings are getting darker, I have to make an extra-special effort to leave the house for my gym. However, once I’m there (I do Olympic weightlifting, Crossfit and Jiu Jitsu), and get those endorphins going, I feel a little bit of summer come back to my system.

Margo, the heroine in THRILL ME–my new release in the Caldwell Sisters Trilogy from Entangled Publishing–is an Olympic lifter, also.

Having just been made detective at the Santa Fe Police Department, she has to make one final trip before she gets her first case. In the Virgin Islands, she searches for her long-lost father, Zach, with a little help from the hunky Captain Adrian Prince, but finds more than she bargained for in the form of gunrunners, drug-dealers and dangerous, open water.

Very few grey skies in THRILL ME, but plenty of potential for wine and snuggles for Margo and Adrian. After the danger has passed, that is.

I hope you enjoy it, and the prequel and sequel, HOLD ME & ENTICE ME.

Lucy

Want to read THRILL ME?  Then tell us what you’re looking forward to this Fall–or leave a question for Lucianne. I’ll pick one winner to receive a Kindle ebook copy of THRILL ME. (And remember…no Kindle? No problem! You can still read the tale with the free Kindle for PC program.)

Here’s the blurb for THRILL ME:

Santa Fe Police Detective Margo Caldwell needs a vacation, but the wild goose chase her mother’s death triggers isn’t quite what she had in mind. Margo and her sisters must locate their father, or the Caldwell estate will remain unsettled—and they’ll never know why their father didn’t return from the Gulf War.

Pursuing a lead, Margo heads to the Virgin Islands in search of Zach Caldwell. To navigate the waters of the Caribbean, she needs a boat and a captain. Too bad Captain Adrian Prince, with his mesmerizing muscles and wicked grin, may be gunrunner.

Adrian takes Margo on his delivery route to small islands near St. Thomas that hide more than wildlife, booze, and sexy boaters. On a remote, mangrove-ridden patch of sand, they find gun-toting Zach Caldwell. When their mission turns deadly, Margo must save Adrian’s life—and her own—even if she loses her heart in the process.

Title: Thrill Me (Caldwell Sisters, #2)
Author: Lucianne Rivers
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Launch Date: September 2011
ISBN: 978-1-937044-22-0

Happy Friday, everyone!! I hope you are all gearing up for a great weekend. And, speaking of the weekend, author Kaylea Cross is here to kick things off in style for us. She’s sharing a great guest post & offering one lucky commenter a copy of her book, DEADLY DESCENT.  Welcome, Kaylea!

All In the Name of Research

Thanks to Cynthia for having me here on her blog today!

One of the things I love best about writing military romance is the research I get to do. Having never served in the military (because I’m a wimp) or experienced combat (thank God), I have to rely on other sources for my information. Books, mostly, and some info provided by the good old Internet. But sometimes I get to do something really cool that makes my inner geek cackle with glee.

While researching Deadly Descent, I had such an experience. An old softball buddy put me in contact with an Air Force Pararescue Jumper (PJ), which is no mean feat considering there are only 300-400 of them around. This same friend also hooked me up with a National Guard Black Hawk medevac pilot. I was beside myself with excitement. One simple e-mail, and I wound up with the two contacts I desperately needed for my book.

That was the fun part. The rest…not so much.

Since I was writing a book about a Black Hawk pilot, I felt it was my duty to bite the bullet and get on a helicopter to see what it was like. Problem is, I’m freaking terrified of flying. (I know! My characters would be so ashamed of me. *hangs head*)

Ever since a girl in my high school grad class was the sole survivor of a plane crash, I’ve been traumatized about getting on an aircraft of any kind. To me it seems about as risky as Russian roulette, and every time I have to fly it’s sheer agony for me and anyone unfortunate enough to be near me the day of the flight. I’m always shocked and relieved when I land safely, but still feel like I’ve dodged a bullet. And then I’m always aware that I still have to get back on a plane to get home again. But I digress.

No self respecting author of military romantic suspense can laud the accomplishments of their military heroes and heroines book after book, yet still be afraid of boarding a freaking aircraft. Since I write about Spec Ops guys fastroping from helos, and in Deadly Descent I wrote about a Black Hawk medevac pilot heroine, I had to put on my big girl panties and face my demons. I just couldn’t look myself in the mirror otherwise.

I should add that my father got his rotary wing licence last year and flies his helicopters every chance he gets, so I had ample opportunity to go up in a helo if I wanted to. Funny enough, I was always suddenly “busy” whenever he called to invite me to go up with him.

About two chapters into Deadly Descent, I’d had enough of my cowardly ways. I went up with dad’s instructor, who gleefully took me on a flight to “mimic inserting a group of SEALs on the beach”. Yee haw. I can’t even guess how many calories I burned on that two hour long flight. My heart slammed so hard during his dives and other scary aeronautical manuevers that I could feel it rattling away against my ribs, but I didn’t want to look like a total wimp so I bore it in silence and tried to pretend I wasn’t nervous in the least. From the pilot’s evil smirk, I’d have to say I didn’t quite pull it off.

To distract myself from the fear of falling out of the sky at any moment, I asked a continual string of questions about the helo, instrumentation, the scenarios in my book and everything I’d ever wanted to know about Black Hawks. Having survived that inaugural flight, I braved several more research flights (aren’t you so proud of me for my dedication to my craft?). After that I interviewed that Black Hawk medevac pilot I mentioned earlier, clearing up all my final questions about my plot, etc. Oh, and I interviewed a Canadian Navy pilot that survived a Sea King helo crash as pilot commander.

Thankfully I interviewed him after I’d finished my flights.

I want my writing to reflect the reality of what our soldiers do in the field, and I’m happy to say the PJ that helped me actually read Deadly Descent and e-mailed to say he thought I’d done a great job of portraying what goes on in the field. I’ll take that as a compliment.

I’m giving away a digital copy of Deadly Descent today, so please leave me a comment to enter the contest. Have any of you had to face your worst fears or phobias sometime in your life? Did anything help you overcome your fear? I’m never going to enjoy flying again, but hey, at least I got the details right in the book!

Kaylea Cross

Deadly Descent