As I mentioned before, I’m going be doing something a bit different here on Saturdays. The fabulous Lauren Dane has organized a diverse group of authors–and we’ll be presenting “Saturday Snippets” for your viewing/reading pleasure. Each week, we will focus on different themes.

This week’s theme?  A defining moment.  I pulled this excerpt from my current release, IMMORTAL DANGER, because I really felt it showed a defining character moment for my heroine:

Maya.

For just a moment, she could hear his voice so clearly in her mind.

And she could hear the echo of pain.

Blinding agony, crushing him, all around—burying him alive—

Then, in an instant, their sudden connection was severed.

“Adam!”  She screamed his name, not really caring if anyone—vamp, chameleon, human, whatever—heard her.  Adam was in trouble.

She began running, going straight ahead, following the reverberations she felt—the shaking walls, the tumbling rocks.  She knew it was crazy to run toward the cave-in, but—

But maybe she was crazy, because she was convinced that Adam was in there, that he’d been hurt.

Dust hit her.  A thick rising cloud of dirt and dust.  She swiped her hand through it, hurried forward.  She caught the faint scent of rotting flesh, ignored the sudden prickling of her nape that told her a vamp was nearby.

Adam needed her.

It would be the vamp’s lucky night. If he was smart and stayed the hell out of her way, he’d get out of there alive, or well, undead.

But if he got in her way…

She found the room.  Saw the horrible, thick pile of rocks, and knew, knew that Adam was beneath the rubble. Their blood link was strong, she realized.  She’d heard his cry, found him through the maze of darkness.

Damn strong.

Her nails lengthened into claws. She couldn’t hear his heartbeat.  Couldn’t hear him breathing.  Because he wasn’t.

No.  “Adam.”  His name was a whisper on her lips.  He couldn’t be dead.  Not so fast.

“Dammit, I told you to wait for me.”  So many rocks.  So much weight.  If he were under there, he would have been crushed beyond recognition. At the very least—

Buried alive.

She climbed over the bigger rocks, crawling and fighting her way to the back of the room.  That was where the scent of blood was strongest.

Don’t be dead.  Dammit, Adam, hold on! The cry was in her mind, and soon, blood was streaming down her hands.

But Maya didn’t stop.  She pulled the rocks away, one at time, scratched through the chunks of sandstone, dug through the rock and grime.

Hold on.

Her claws broke.  Her fingertips ripped open.

But she didn’t stop.

Even though she was very, very afraid of what she’d find at the bottom of that pile.

***

Want to read more Defining Moments?  Here is a list of all the participating authors:

Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
SJ Day
Moira Rogers
Leah Braemel
Mandy Roth
Anya Bast
Viv Arend
Juliana Stone
Savannah Foley
Beth Williamson
Elisabeth Naughton
Michelle Pillow
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Sasha White

Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday.  🙂  I’m glad to know folks are looking forward to Niol’s book!

I used the handy-dandy random number generator to pick the following commenters:

Commenter #13 Beth

Commenter #10 PamK

Commenter #34 delitealex

Commenter #30 Amy S

Commenter #23 Lisa N

Congratulations!! I’ll send an email to the winners very soon. And if you didn’t win, stay tuned! More contests will be coming.

And, hey, here’s something for everyone…the fabulous Karin Tabke has a free short story for folks.  Go check out  A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER.  Karin is such a great author–I’m addicted to her stories.

My wonderful editor sent me some very early copies of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER, and I want to give some away today.  🙂  Yes, it’s a get-it-long-before-you-can-buy-it contest.  (This book won’t be available in stores until June 30.) When the package arrived on Monday, I had to give a happy scream.

So, I’ve got five copies that I want to give away.  If you want one, leave me a comment before midnight (ha)  today.  I’ll pick the winners at random, and all I ask of the winners is that you post a review of the book somewhere. If you’ve got a blog, you can post it there. MySpace? That would be great. If you don’t have a blog, then you could post at Borders. com or BarnesandNoble.com or BooksaMillion.com or Amazon.com–any site would work fine.  I just would love your help in spreading the word about my book.

Now, I’m off to finish working on page proofs for my BELONG TO THE NIGHT anthology.  Have a great day!

I’m over at Greta’s place today, talking about what to do when you realize–yep, you’re in love with a demon.  🙂

Come on my for a chance to win an autographed copy of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER.  And don’t forget–different authors are posting each day in Greta’s Week of Demons…so keep checking out her site for more posts and more chances to win prizes!

Winner Announcement!  Congrats to Sara!! You’re this week’s Old School Giveaway winner!

My apologies on the late posting. The husband was gone camping for the last 5 days and when he came back today, things got a bit off track. But, I am here with the Nora Old School giveaway!  This is what is up for grabs right now:

And I know the picture isn’t super clear, so here is what I’d love to give to a good home:

Silhouette Romance #143 Song of the West (published in 1982)

Silhouette Romance #163 Search for Love (published in 1982)

Silhouette Romance #199 From this Day (published in 1983)

Silhouette Romance #280 Sullivan’s Woman (published in 1984)

Silhouette Romance #299 Less of a Stranger (published in 1984)

Silhouette Special Editor #583 Taming Natasha (published in in 1990)

These are very old school Nora, so if you’re a fan of her early titles or if you’d just like to get these to add to your collection, please leave a comment.  If there is only one comment, that person wins! If there are more comments, then I will pick one winner at random and that one winner gets all 6 titles.  I’ll announce the winner tomorrow after 6 p.m.