🙂 You can now get HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT free from Amazon Kindle (this free deal is good only from 11/21-11/23–so hurry and get the book now!).

You can also get the HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT ebook free from Sony (Hurry! The free deal from Sony also ends on 11/23.)

If you don’t have an ereader, no worries! You can download these books to your computer to read.

The HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT ebook will also soon be free from Barnes and Noble–as soon as the deal appears on their site, I’ll be back to put up a link.

Spread the word! Download the book! Read and relax before the wonderful madness of Thanksgiving!

So it’s a week before Thanksgiving, and, yesterday, I started making up my list of all the things I’m thankful for in this big world of ours.

And in response to the list I created, I realized I needed to send out a thank you note to my readers–because I am incredibly thankful for all of you.

To all my readers–thank you. Thank you for reading my books. Thank you for writing to tell me when you enjoy my characters, when you want to see more of a certain character. Thank you for telling your friends about my books. Thank you for letting the laundry pile for a bit so you can read about Niol. Thank you so much!

When I receive an email or a note from a reader–seriously, it makes my day. I love that people care enough about my books to contact me or to visit this little blog of mine to see what stories are coming up next!

Writing is a dream I’ve had since I was a kid, and now, I’m living my dream…but only because of readers. So thank you for the support. Thank you for exploring the worlds that I create.

And I hope you have a really awesome day, too. 🙂

Update: The Sony link is all fixed now! You can download the free ebook (HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT) right here.

For a limited time (11/17-11/21), you can get a free ebook download of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT from Sony. An early Thanksgiving treat! (Note: for some reason, the description page didn’t load for me when I checked it out, but just click the “Want this ebook?” button and you can download the file, no problem.)

Later this week, you’ll be able to get the free download from Kindle and Barnes and Noble (that download will be available on 11/21). I’ll post links what that download is available.

Please, help me spread the word about the free download! Can’t beat free! 🙂

I’m in New Orleans today (New Orleans is one of my favorite places to visit), and, while I’m away, I thought I’d put up a new excerpt for you.

Here’s the opening of ETERNAL HUNTER (available 12/29/09):

Chapter One

Jude Donovan was used to hunting killers—used to running them down like the damn dogs they were and caging the bastards.

So when he followed his latest prey into the swamps of Louisiana, an area that looked like it had been home to nothing but beasts for the last few centuries, he wasn’t nervous.

Until a bullet thudded into him.

Sonofabitch. The fiery pain blasted in his shoulder even as the retort of the rifle echoed in his ears.

“You’re not taking me back, you bastard!” The snarl came from up ahead, to the right. The tip of the barrel jutted over a fallen log.

Jude gritted his teeth, but didn’t bother glancing down at the wound. Not time for that, not now. “Bobby Burrows!” He called out the man’s name. Voice loud and hard, as if he weren’t bleeding like a freaking stuck pig. “There are two ways we can handle this…” He stalked forward. Drops of blood littered the ground around him. Great. Blood would attract the gators and hell knew what else. The bastard would pay. “First way’s easy, as in…you drop that rifle and come out with your hands up.”

“I’m not giving up! I won’t go to jail! I won’t!” The tip of the weapon began to move. Fuck.

“Then we do it the hard way.” Jude inhaled and caught the cloying scent of the swamp. The rich flavor of his own blood, and the man’s scent of fear and sweat. “I come and get you—and I rip you apart.” Simple enough. His eyes narrowed on his target. The ground disappeared beneath Jude’s feet as he sprang forward.

A man darted out from behind the log, eyes wild, rifle clutched tight to him. With a big-ass scope on it, of course. He lifted, aimed—

Jude growled, a deep, inhuman sound, and he swiped out with his right hand. Caught the wanted man in the right shoulder. Saw the spatter of blood in the air. Bobby’s this time, not his.

Wound for wound. Blood for blood. The way of his kind.

He grabbed the weapon, wrenching it out of Bobby’s hand. Bobby, a guy in his forties, balding and with big fists, stared up at him, terror on his face. “You—you’re not—”

Jude smiled. Held up his hands. Blood stained the claws that seemed to burst out of his fingertips. “Human?”

A whimper.

The smile stretched even more. His shoulder ached like a bitch, pulsing every few seconds, but Jude ignored the pain. An old habit. He leaned forward, ran his claws over the squirming man’s stubbled face. “No, I’m not. What I am, Bobby, is the worst nightmare you’ve ever had.” He let his claws dig into skin. “Tell me, did you enjoy cutting those women?”

Bobby’s screams pierced the night.

* * *

The first time she saw him, Jude Donovan was covered in blood. Erin Jerome recognized him instantly—she’d seen his picture in the local paper just days before. She watched as Jude handed the wanted man he’d apprehended over to the local cops. Watched as Bobby Burrows, a man who’d cruelly sliced up the faces of his ex-wife, his two ex-girlfriends, and some unlucky woman he’d stumbled across in Baton Rouge, was shoved into the backseat of a squad car.

She could hear Bobby’s shouts from across the street. His yells of “Monster!” And his ravings about claws and killers.

Disgust tightened her lips. Jerk was probably already preparing for his defense. An insanity plea. Erin would bet a month’s salary on it.

Not that she was going to let the freak get away with something like that.

Oh, no, as an assistant district attorney, it was her job to make sure that old Bobby got to see the inside of an eight by twelve foot cell, preferably for the rest of his miserable life. Angola prison was waiting on him.

Straightening her jacket, because this was only her second week on the job and she needed to be professional—or, at least try to be—Erin crossed the street. Her eyes were drawn to Jude.

The bounty hunter.

He worked for Night Watch, a huge, multi-state operation that had a main base in Baton Rouge. Night Watch was reputed to be one of the best, if not the best, bounty hunting agencies in the country. No matter what it took, their hunters caught their prey.

A fact that, right then, made her enormously grateful. Her job would get a whole lot easier now that she had the defendant in custody.

Her heels tapped on the pavement. Time to—

Jude’s head shot up. His eyes, the bluest she’d ever seen, lazered in on her.

Erin stumbled. No, oh, hell, no—

But she caught his scent then. The wild scent of her kind.

Other. Shifter.

Erin wasn’t human, well, not completely anyway. And she knew the truth about the world around her.

She knew that humans weren’t the only killers out on the streets.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she straightened her shoulders and kept walking. The animal scent of the hunter teased her, as did the thick fragrance of blood in the air.

Dammit, this is the last thing I need. She’d tried so hard, for so long, to be normal.

And then this guy had literally landed in her path.

His nostrils widened as she came closer. She knew he was drinking in her scent, knew too by the faint line that appeared between his brows that he couldn’t quite understand what she was.

Story of my life.

“Ms. Jerome.” One of the uniforms stepped toward her, a wide smile on his face. His partner slammed the car door, effectively isolating Bobby and ending his claws rant.

Maybe that hadn’t been an insanity plea in the making after all.

She crouched down, gazing at Bobby through the window. Her breath rushed out. “What happened to him?” But she knew.

The uniforms looked at Jude.

Jaw clenched, so did she.

And Erin realized she’d made a serious mistake. His eyes held hers. Saw too much.

Danger.

Oh, yeah, this guy was a serious threat. To her.

Not good-looking, not really, at least not in that classic, magazine way. A mane of thick blond hair teased his shirt collar. Framed a face that was hard, a little cruel. High cheeks. Sharp nose. Square jaw.

No, not a GQ face. But still…

Sexy. Somehow, he was still sexy. Maybe it was those lips. That scar that slipped right over the edge of his top lip. Shouldn’t have been sexy—

But it was.

He was.

Freaking animal attraction, that’s what it was.

The guy had an air about him, one of those I-don’t-give-a-damn attitudes. A wildness in his eyes and in the curl of his lips.

Erin swallowed. She couldn’t help taking an uneasy step back.

His eyes followed the moment, and one golden brow rose. After a moment, he shrugged. His gaze raked over her body. “And you are…?”

“Assistant District Attorney Erin Jerome.” Gritted out. Why was there blood all over Bobby? If something happened and this case got thrown out—

“Not the question I was asking.” Bland as you please. That brow was still up.

Her lips parted. “What?” No way could he have meant—

His eyes swept over her again, and a smile lifted his lips. “Interesting.”

Winners:  I decided to pick three winners. 🙂 And the winners (who will all receive both the mass market version of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT and ETERNAL HUNTER) are:  Jodie West, Veronica H, and Barb P! Congrats,  ladies!

And, please, stay tuned–I’ll have more giveaway soon.  Enjoy your weekend!

Fun news–I just received early copies of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT (mass market re-release) and ETERNAL HUNTER (very early copies of this one–it doesn’t release until 12/29).  Want one?

Just tell me why Friday the 13th is good for you!  I’ll be back tomorrow evening to pick a winner (or 2…).  The winners will get both books. If you’ve already read HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT, just pass it on to a friend. It’s the season for giving–well, almost the season for that, right?

Have a great Friday the 13th!!