Today’s Saturday Snippet focuses on that most important of moments in a book…the first kiss. Some first kisses can be incredibly romantic. Some can be incredibly sexy. And some can be, um, dangerous.

For my kiss excerpt, I decided to use a scene from MIDNIGHT SINS, the second book in my Midnight trilogy. A kiss should be easy for a succubus to handle, right? Well, not when the succubus finds herself falling for a human cop.

***

“You feel it, don’t you?”  A whisper that seemed like a caress against her skin.

She shook her head.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  She could lie, too.

His lips quirked, just a bit.  With a flick of his fingers, Todd unhooked his seat belt and leaned toward her.  “There’s something here.”

The promise of hot, wild sex.  Of power and magic rushing into her body and making her scream with pleasure. But she’d given that up because after the burn of fiery release, she hated the ashes of cold reality. The reality that a man wouldn’t love a demon, no matter how enticing her physical appearance.

His hand lifted, reached for her.

Her fingers flew out and locked around his wrist in a fierce grip.

Silence.  Then he said, “I just wanted to touch you.”

He sounded sincere, but…“I thought you just wanted to send me to jail.”

He didn’t deny her words.  Didn’t fight her hold.  Good thing, too, because the way she was feeling, Cara would have shown him just how strong a succubus could be.

Instead, his eyes dropped to her lips.  “I wonder…” he spoke with words little more than a growl.  “Do you taste as good as you smell?”

The damn pheromones.  “It’s not me that you want.” The admission was hard.

“Ah, baby, but I’m going to have to disagree.”  He was close, so close that she could feel the light brush of his breath against her face.

“You don’t understand—”

He kissed her.  A soft, fast press of his lips against hers.

Cara’s fingers tightened around him as desire began to heat her blood.

“Not enough.” His lips were just above hers.  “I need another taste…”

And she wanted more. When his lips met hers again, her mouth was open. Ready.  The kiss wasn’t as soft this time, and she was glad.  She could taste the hunger on his lips, his tongue.  A hunger that matched her own. There was no questing search as his tongue slipped past her lips.  Just need.  Demand.

A moan trembled in the back of her throat even as her mouth widened for him.  Her tongue met his, licking, stroking.  Her nipples began to ache and swell as the fire blazing inside of her grew.

She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but Cara couldn’t stop. The cop was the wrong man for her. The situation was wrong.

But the need felt so right.

Power began to fill the air as his lust grew.  Such sweet, tempting power.  She could feel it, surrounding her. She could have that power.  All of it.

She just had to take it.

Take him.

No.  She’d sworn to fight that part of her life.  Cara pulled away from him, twisting her head to the side.  “I—we have to stop.”

His breath was ragged. So was hers.  Cara realized she still held his hand.  Instead of a punishing grip, her fingers caressed his flesh.  She snatched her hand away from him.

“Easy.”  He didn’t retreat and he kept his stare on her.  “It was just a kiss.”

That was how the sweetest temptation always started.  With a soft kiss.

***

Want to read more first kiss excerpts? Then check out all of these great authors who are participating in the Saturday Snippet fun:

Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
Sylvia Day
Moira Rogers
Mandy Roth
Anya Bast
Viv Arend
Beth Williamson
Elisabeth Naughton
Michelle Pillow
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Victoria Janssen
Shelli Stevens
Maggie Robinson
Juliana Stone
Sasha White
Maura Anderson
Shelley Munro
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher

I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know that I’ll be launching a big contest here on the old blog–come back on Sunday for the full contest details!

MIDNIGHT’S MASTER releases on June 30, and I just had to do a contest for Niol’s book. 🙂 So, I’ll be doing a two-level contest for that release. Level One–well, that will be like my contests in the past. I’ll make a handy-dandy widget about MIDNIGHT’S MASTER and my contest, and if you post the widget on your blog or myspace (etc), then you will be entered to win–and you could end up with some great gift cards!

Level two of the contest–this part is new for me. Let me give you some back story on this…A while back, I participated in the very talented Lori Devoti‘s Full Moon of Werewolves. Every day for a month, her blog featured posts about werewolves. I loved, loved that format–and not just because of my werewolf addiction. Therefore, for level two of my contest, I’ll be running “30 Days of Demons” on my blog. I’m inviting other demon authors (um, I mean authors who write about demons) to come by and visit. You can read excerpts, you can take quizzes, you can read about demon lore–basically, June will be demon month here at my blog.

But wait–there’s more! For that level two contest…I’ll also have giveaways. Lots and lots of giveaways. Demon books. Arcs. Gift cards. I will randomly have these prizes up during June, and commenters will win!

Sound fun? Oh, man, I hope so!!

And, hey, speaking of demons…I’ve gotten a review of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER from Amelia at Sensual. Here’s a snippet from Amelia’s review: “I love when an author can catch me unawares, as this is a sign of exceptional writing, and Ms. Eden excels at this ability.”

And here’s one more quote: “The Midnight Trilogy has reached its third book, and the action only gets more perilous while heightened passions between the hero and heroine continue to rise with each new scene.”

Amelia gave the book 5 Stars! Yay! Thank you, Amelia!! And if anyone would like to see the full review, it’s posted at Sensual.

Hi, everyone!  Today it is my pleasure to have my local RWA chapter-mate, Fran McNabb, as my interview victim. Fran is one fabulous and talented lady! Welcome, Fran! Thanks for answering my interview questions!

Photo by Hank Krieger

1.    Please tell us a bit about yourself and the genre (or genres) that you write.

I’m a retired English and journalism teacher so writing has always been a part of my life. I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and that coastal setting is used in most of my manuscripts.

Right now I write tender romances for Avalon Books, a library publisher.   I have two contemporary romances on the shelves and one historical which will come out in February 2010.

2.    Describe your current  release in 15 words or less.

ONCE IN A HALF MOON is a “friends to lovers” romance set on the Gulf Coast

3.    Okay, now use as many words as you’d like to describe your story.

Nikki Clark returned to the Gulf Coast to start a new life after her divorce, but her world is turned upside down when she comes face-to-face with Russ Preston, the former husband of her best friend in college. Russ is raising his little girl alone.  After a serious accident and multiple operations, his daughter attached herself to Russ. Now he is unsure whether to introduce someone like Nikki new into her life. Nikki and Russ must decide whether it’s worth risking their friendship for a chance at the sort of love that comes along once in a half moon.

5.    Which character do you like better from ONCE IN A HALF MOON—the hero or the heroine?  Why?

Russ, my hero, is a charter boat captain who is raising his daughter alone after his wife ran off with a doctor. He’s my dream hero: Gentle. Handsome. Understanding. A good father.

6.    What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

Time. Finding the time to write is never easy.  I try to do a lot of mental planning ahead of time so that when I actually sit down in front of the computer, I can use the time efficiently.

7.    What’s your favorite scary movie?  Come on, spill.  No explanations—just name it.  Let everyone else guess why.

The 1950-something movie “The Blob.” It wasn’t my favorite – but it scared the heck out of me as a kid.  More recent one?  “Deliverance.”

8.    Tell me the one thing you wish you’d known about being a writer, um, before you became  a writer.

I wish I would’ve know about RWA before I started writing. With my first two manuscripts (that were truly horrible), I did every no-no that a newbie writer could possibly do. After I started going to RWA conferences (like Silken Sands, March 19-21, 2010) and listening to other writers, I figured out a lot of the wrongs I was committing.

9.    What is your writing schedule like?

I’m a morning person so the earlier I get to the computer, the better for me.  After I finish my coffee and newspaper, I head to the computer IF I don’t have a million other things to do. Sometimes I’m writing as early as 4 or 5 o’clock. Of course, this puts a damper on my evenings because I’m too worn out to do anything!

10.    Tell me anything you’d like to tell me.

As I said earlier, I have another book coming out with Avalon in February 2010 – ON THE CREST OF A WAVE. I’m thrilled that this one will be Avalon’s lead historical for that cycle. It’s one of my favorite stories set during the Civil War on Ship Island. This barrier island lies twelve miles south of the Gulf Coast and was used as a prisoner of war camp.  I can’t wait to see that story in print!

To learn more about Fran’s writing, please visit her website at: www.franmcnabb.com.

Thanks, Fran!

I recently learned that HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT has finaled in the Prism Contest (sponsored by the FF&P RWA Chapter), in the Dark Paranormal category.  Wow.  I was so thrilled to learn this news!

There are so many great books listed in the finals.  Here’s the complete list, in case you were curious:

Dark Paranormal
Immortals: The Redeeming by Jennifer Ashley

Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden

Mona Lisa Craving by Sunny

Erotica
A Mermaid’s Kiss by Joey W. Hill

Carnal Desires by Crystal Jordan

Siren Singing by Isabo Kelly

Fantasy
The Dragon Master by Jennifer Ashley w/a Allyson James

Dragonborn by Jade Lee

King of Sword & Sky by C.L. Wilson

Futuristic
Fallen by Claire Delacroix

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair

Light Paranormal
La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock

The Trouble with Moonlight by Donna MacMeans

Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

Novella
“The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro
“Dark Nest” by Leanna Renee Hieber
“Kung Fu Shoes!” in These Boots were Made for Stomping by Jade Lee

Time Travel
Twist by Colby Hodge

Madman’s Dance by Jana G. Oliver

A Sexy Time of It by Cara Summers

Young Adult
Cave of Terror by Amber Dawn Bell

CHOSEN: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast

Sleepless by Terri Clark

***

A big thank you to all the  contest coordinators and judges!  And congratulations to all of the other finalists!

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