Posted in Romance on March 1st, 2011 by Cynthia Eden
Today is the release day for the eBook version of DEADLY LIES! So if you were waiting to read the book on your e-reader, you should be good to go! 🙂 I’ll confess to being completely addicted to my e-reader. If I leave home without it, I just feel…lost.
I’m guest blogging today over at Ramblings of a Chaotic Mind. I’m talking about just how far people would go to protect those they loved, and I’m giving away a copy of DEADLY LIES. If you get a chance, come on by!
Posted in Romance on February 27th, 2011 by Cynthia Eden
Update: The winner is…Alexandrea Ward! Congrats!
Hi, everyone! I am so excited to have my friend (and super talented author) Beth Kery guest posting today. Beth can write some amazingly sensual stories that pack an incredible emotional punch. Welcome, Beth!
***
Of Werewolves And Vampires
When it came time to do the research on my first vampire-themed novel, I went back to one of the original sources, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Velvet Cataclysm isn’t a classic vampire story, by any means, but it does hold seeds of that fantastic novel. One of the first things that struck me about the novel, which was written in 1897, was just how downright lascivious it was. Apparently, vampirism possessed the thread of forbidden sexuality from day one.
The fair girl shook her head coquettishly, and the other two urged her on.
“Go on. You are first, and we shall follow; yours is the right to begin.”
“He is young and strong; there are kisses for us all.” I lay quiet, looking out under my eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipation. The fair girl…went on her knees, simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her heck, she actually liked her lips like an animal, till I could see….the moisture shining on the lips and on the red tongue.” (Dracula, 1897)
No wonder the staunch, moral Victorians lapped up this story like a cat at its cream.
Velvet Cataclysm came out first in ebook, and I had several people express confusion as to whether Saint, my hero, was a vampire OR a shapeshifter wolf. He’s both. Once again, I used Stoker’s Dracula for a reference here, only finding out after reading Dracula that werewolves and vampires have long been intertwined in myth. In Dracula, the Count not only shapeshifts into a wolf, he is the ‘king’ of the wolves.
I saw around us a ring of wolves with white teeth and lolling red tongues…All at once, the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had some peculiar effect on them…How he came there, I know not, but I heard his voice raised in a tone of imperious command, and looking towards the sound, saw him stand in the roadway. As he swept his long arms, the wolves fell back and back further still. (Dracula, 1897).
Later, we learn that the Count took the form of a ‘gray dog’ or wolf aboard the ship to England. He later has a strange meeting with a local zoo-keeper in regard to his wolf, Berserker.
He was a “tall, thin chap…with a hard, cold look and red eyes…and a mouth full of white, sharp teeth. He had white kid gloves and he pointed out the animals and says: “Those wolves seem upset at something.”
Then, the animals “laid down, and the man came over, and blessed, but he didn’t put out his hand and stroke the old wolf’s ears.” (Dracula, 1897).
Velvet Cataclysm varies greatly from the original Dracula, even including a touch of science fiction within its plot, but I did include the vampire/wolf myth first penned to great-fame by Bram Stoker. Oh…and since it’s an erotic romance, I definitely included the salacious sexual appetites inherent to the vampire.
Thanks very much to Cynthia Eden for generously inviting me to blog here today. I’ll be giving away a print copy of Velvet Cataclysm to one commenter on this blog post!
Here’s a bit about Velvet Cataclysm, the first book in the Princes of the Underground series.
In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.
Princes of the Underground, Book 1
Christina Astor’s telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What’s driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that’s somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.
For centuries, Saint’s kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her.
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…
5 Lips, I was enthralled. I’d recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
–Two Lips Reviews
5 Stars…a fast paced, action packed and emotional erotic paranormal romance that had my adrenaline pumping and heart twisting. –Lea Closetreader Blog
“Beth Kery just became an auto-buy!” Larissa Ione, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author
Posted in Romance on February 23rd, 2011 by Cynthia Eden
I’m hopping around blog-land a bit today. 🙂 Over at Magical Musings, I’m asking commenters to Get Criminal as we chat about favorite crime shows. I’m also giving one commenter there an autographed Deadly book of her choice.
And at the Brava Authors Blog, I’m having a Howling Good Time (sorry!) talking about my upcoming werewolf romance, NEVER CRY WOLF.
Posted in Romance on February 22nd, 2011 by Cynthia Eden
Hi, everyone! Today, DEADLY LIES is out in the wild! DEADLY LIES is the third installment of my Deadly romantic suspense series, and this book focuses on SSD Agent Samantha Kennedy:
She wants to hide the past…
FBI Special Agent Samantha Kennedy is haunted by memories of the serial killer who abducted her. To keep the darkness at bay, she pretends to be a different, more confident woman. This Samantha doesn’t fear every unknown face. So she throws caution to the wind and shares a night of unbridled passion with a handsome stranger.
He needs to uncover the truth…
One night isn’t enough for successful entrepreneur Max Ridgeway. He wants more of the sexy, smart, mysterious woman who slipped away before dawn. When they meet again, their attraction is undeniable—until his stepbrother goes missing, and Max realizes that Samantha isn’t who she seems. But they must trust each other to trap a ring of blood-thirsty kidnappers before the nightmares that terrorize Sam become irrevocably real.
As a merciless criminal spins a web of . . .DEADLY LIES
And here are a few review excerpts to try and tempt you so that you’ll buy the book:
(Tempt, tempt!)
“The heart-pounding sequel to Deadly Fear and Deadly Heat offers surprise and sexy romance at every turn.”–Publishers Weekly
“…sexual chemistry is fiery, their conflict strong and the plot turns twisted. Readers will race through the final pages to see if the characters—and love—can survive.”–Bookpage
Posted in Romance on February 17th, 2011 by Cynthia Eden
In just a few days (on February 22!), DEADLY LIES will be shipping from your favorite online book retailer or available in your local bookstore. (The e-version of the book will be available on the *official* release date of 3/1.) So to get ready for the coming release, I thought I’d share the DEADLY LIES prologue with you. And, yes, warning! There is adult language in this prologue.
Prologue
“I thought you’d be worth more.” The voice came to him, low and taunting. “After all of your blustering and bullshit, I really thought you’d be worth more.”
Jeremy Briar jerked in the chair, but there was nowhere for him to go. His hands were bound to the armrests, the duct tape was far too tight, cutting into his wrists, and his legs were taped to the legs of the chair. A blindfold covered his eyes, casting him in darkness, and the scent of cigarettes burned his nose.
“L-let me go…” His voice rasped out. They hadn’t given him anything to drink or to eat, in Christ, how many hours? “M-my family…th-they’ll pay any-anything…” Just to get me back.
Laughter. Dark and mean. “No, they won’t pay a fucking dime.”
The ice in his chest froze his heart. “No!” The tape bit into him. “M-my father is—”
“An idiot.” The voice was still low, drifting through the darkness. “I gave him instructions, but the thing is, Jeremy boy, the asshole just couldn’t follow them.”
Bile rose in his throat. “N-no…”
“Not like I asked for that much. Just four million for you. Four damn million.” The shuffle of footsteps. More than one set. Someone else was here. Wherever the hell here was. He didn’t know. The last thing he remembered was drinking at The Court, then he’d woken up in hell.
“The bastard has that much in change.” Anger simmered in that tense whisper.
Jeremy licked his lips and knew that the voice was right. His father owned half the city. He had that much money in the bank, easy. What the fuck? Jeremy’s mouth was so dry. He’d screamed and he’d screamed before, but no one had come for him.
No one had helped him.
“Your father thinks it’s a joke.” Jeremy jerked when he felt a touch on his shoulder. Sharp. Light. Fingernail?
The point pressed into his flesh.
Jesus. A knife. A whimper broke from his lips. “L-Let me talk to him…I’ll make him see—”
No fucking joke.
“I told him what to do,” the whisper blew against his ear, and Jeremy shuddered. “Told him when to make the drop. Told him where to put the money. Told him everything, and if he’d just followed my instructions, you would’ve been home by now.”
The blade sliced into his shoulder.
Jeremy pissed his pants. “Pl-please…”
“Rich boy, is this the first time you’ve begged?”
His head jerked in a nod. He knew tears streamed from beneath the blindfold. He couldn’t stop them. Fear ate at his gut, and he knew, he knew that his father had left him to die.
Always disappointing me, boy. Not going to dig your ass out of another mess. You’re on your own.
Those had been the last words that his father spoke to him. So he’d screwed up and gotten busted with pot. Did he deserve this?
Don’t let me die.
“Beg some more.” The blade sank into his shoulder.
And Jeremy begged. Begged and pleaded and promised anything because he wanted the fire in his shoulder to ease. He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted to go home.
Bad dream. Just a bad dream. I’ll wake up, I’ll—
The knife pulled from his flesh with a thick slush of sound. Jeremy cried out, sagging back, but the blade followed him. The tip grazed over his jaw, traveled up his cheek, and then slipped right under the edge of the blindfold.
“You’re going to send your old man a message for me.”
Hope shot through him. Yes, yes! If he could just talk to his dad, he could make him understand. Not a joke. Hell, no. His dad would understand. The bastards would get their money, and Jeremy would be free. “I’ll tell him anything, I’ll say—”
The blade sliced the blindfold away.
He blinked against the flood of light. So bright.
“You don’t have to say a damn thing.”
The voice, not a whisper anymore, stopped his heart.
The man crouched over him with the weapon. Jeremy could see the others, too, as they came forward into the light.
Jeremy shook his head, “Don’t—”
The knife sank into his upper arm. It sliced down, and the bastard jerked the blade, cutting through flesh and muscle in one long stroke as he opened the arm from shoulder to wrist.
Jeremy screamed.
“Let’s send him a message.” The figure moved around him and stared down with a smile that twisted his lips and never touched his eyes. “Let’s see what the asshole has to say when he finds what’s left of you.”
