Shayla Black's Tempt Me With Darkness

For those of you who don’t know who Shelley Bradley or Shayla Black is...shame on you. No, just kidding, because I’m going to introduce you to her. This is also the perfect segue into my own ramblings on Thursday—so don’t forget to come back!

I came to find Shayla Black as a fluke, quite honestly. I was searching for something new to read and I was exploring writing erotica myself (remember you must read the market you are writing) when I came across her book Wicked Ties – from there, as they say, the rest was history.

I don’t have all of the 20+ books she’s written, but I’m working on it. Her paranormal Tempt Me With Darkness was released in August of 2008 and is Book 1 of the Doomsday Brethren Series. You have the chance to win this awesome book here – all you have to do is leave a comment and at the end of the week we will randomly pick a winner – you will SO not regret this. I urge you to check out her sites (www.shaylablack.com and www.doomsdaybrethren.com) and read more about the Brethren…Le’Pant, Le’Pant. :)



Here's the backcover blurb:

He’s an immortal knight hungering for satisfaction. . . .

As soon as Marrok sees Olivia Gray, he’s sure they met in eons past. He’s felt her soft, gentle curves writhing in pleasure beneath his own powerful body. . . Morganna! For centuries, towering Marrok, once the mightiest of King Arthur’s warriors, has endured a terrible curse the witch cast upon him when he spurned the witch.

She’s a modern woman about to discover ancient magic. . . .

Olivia shares a mystical—and irresistible—connection with brooding Marrok. Soon after the sexy warrior appears in her erotic dreams, he abducts her, demanding she uncurse him. Their intense passion is more powerful—and intimate—than either of them has ever known. Olivia may be the key to unlocking the diary that will break Morganna’s hold on his life. But in the wrong hands, the book also holds the power to destroy magickind. As they search for answers, a ruthless wizard returned from exile is building an army of evil. When he discovers Marrok and Olivia have the diary, only their love—with the help of a powerful group of magical Brethren—can save them.

Read the First Chapter and see the trailer here.

Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win Book 1 – Book 2, SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW, and Book 3, POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT, will be released back to back this fall. With more coming, you don’t want to be left out.

Is it obvious I love her writing! If not let me make it clear—I do…so enjoy and let’s talk about it.

LKap

And the Winner is...

Thanks to Vicki for having my visit this week. I've enjoyed sharing my elements quiz with everyone who's taken the quiz and posted their element.

I'm delighted to announce that Brandy W won the signed copy of The Magic Knot! Congratulations, Brandy. I hope you enjoy reading my book.

For anyone who'd like to read a two chapter excerpt, please visit my website. I also have a link on my home page to a 'sexy snippet' of The Magic Knot that Dorchester have up on their website.

Helen

Brandy, major congrats! Please send your snail mail addy to helenscotttaylor2@yahoo.co.uk.

It's been my pleasure to have Helen this week and I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Have a great weekend everyone,

WW’s and PD’s,
Vicki

Reverence for the Written Word

Helen Scott Taylor will be back tomorrow to choose the winner for The Magic Knot.
Now, on to this week's rambling's with LKap. All comments today will be counted in the contest.

I was reading a magazine the other day and realized how I abuse these poor things. I am one of those people who can read a book and you probably couldn’t tell I’d ever cracked it open. Yes, when it comes to books, Anal retentive is an understatement in what you’d call me.

I will not crack the spine, I will not turn down pages, I absolutely hate stickers – which poses a problem when you get them signed and they put the “autographed copy” sticker on them. Those I have learned to deal with (although truthfully it still bothers me). When I get published I will really have to think of something else, I can’t be the only one out there with this problem.

So what is it about a magazine that I can fold, roll, crumble, rip out pages and thoroughly destroy that is different?

Authors are authors right? These people write and some write very well, but I see this as different somehow. Depending on the magazine you read, these things actually cost more than some books. And not to mention they’re in color. I mean really, most books you get the cover only in color.

I never gave this much thought until one day I was reading a magazine and started tearing off the pages one at a time after I read them. Then, I threw them away! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to throw a book away – I think it would have to be caught in a tornado and practically shredded before I’d do that. And still I’d think about it and hope when it dried out it would be okay.

I grew up in a house that revered the written word. My mother at one time was just like me (or rather I am just like she was—please don’t tell her I’m admitting to this). Now the woman can mutilate a book like nobody’s business – the horror I tell you! Even books I don’t care for, I have a hard time getting rid of.

I don’t have time any longer, but I would never – I mean never - not finish a book once I started it. I was raised knowing someone put a lot of thought into each word. Now of course I understand it even more. But a magazine—not so much.

Still don’t understand why, still tear off the pages as I read them—and throw them away.

Anyone else out there like me? Or do you secretly bend your book pages too?

Interview with Helen Scott Taylor and You Can Ask Questions Too

I’m so excited to have Helen Scott Taylor in the house today. She’s an amazing author and last year’s American Title winner with Dorchester Publishing. Her world building is great and you’re immediately pulled into Niall O’Connor and Rosenwyn Tremain’s world.

Helen it’s great to have you here. I’ve been waiting for your book to hit the shelves since the first time I read the excerpt on your website. Yes, I said first time, as I’ve re-read it several times.

Me: Needless to say, I’m already a huge fan. Can you tell us how you came up with this idea and what’s coming up next?

Helen: I initially conceived the idea for The Magic Knot to be a contemporary story of identical twin Irish brothers running a pub in Cornwall. When I changed my focus from contemporary romance to paranormal, I wanted to write something a little different from the vampire and shape-shifter stories other authors have done so well. I researched myths and folk law and decided the fairy world provided great scope to develop my own interesting characters and a world a little different to anything else that is available.

I have two male secondary characters that play sizeable roles in The Magic Knot. Michael is the hero’s brother, and Nightshade is a winged vampiric fairy who can’t decide if he is their ally or enemy. I’m hard at work on the sequel due out in December. The Phoenix Charm features Michael as the hero, and the next book I have planned is Nightshade’s story.

Me: You won the American Title with Dorchester. What was the call like? How did you celebrate?

Helen: The day after voting closed, I had an email from the Romantic Times editor who was coordinating the contest to tell me I’d won. By the final round we were down to two entries, so I knew I had a 50:50 chance of winning. But I was still disbelieving when I received the email with the good news. My family took me out for a celebratory dinner, and we had to take a photograph of us celebrating to appear in Romantic Times!

Me: With the release of The Magic Knot and working on the next book, have you found it easier or harder when you sit in front the computer? What has changed for you now that you have deadlines?

Helen: I’ve read other newly published authors say that the first book they wrote after being published was the hardest, because they have greater expectations of themselves. I’m definitely finding this is true. The first hurdle was having my second book accepted for publication, then the worry over whether it is as good as the first book. I’ve not written a sequel before, so I’m learning how to write a stand-alone book that is also a continuation from the first. I’m sure there will be new challenges at every stage in this business. All I can say is getting a book published is most certainly the beginning of the work and not the end.

Me: You run your own business, write, and have kids. What do you like to do in your spare time?

Helen: I don’t have a lot of spare time. I try to have a walk most days, but I’m a fair-weather walker and don’t go out in the cold and rain. Unfortunately, we’ve had our coldest winter for twenty years in the UK. I would like to read more but rarely get time these days. When I have to choose between reading and writing, writing usually wins.

One thing I do enjoy is visiting historic houses. The British National Trust historic houses are open from Easter to October. I like to make time to visit some every year, especially while I’m researching a book. I like to use historic houses as settings in my novels, even though my fantasy worlds are contemporary set. In The Magic Knot, I used a Palladian mansion called Powerscourt, near Enniskerry in Ireland, as the inspiration for the Irish fairy queen’s home. In The Phoenix Charm, much of the action takes place in a medieval castle situated on an island in the middle of a lake in Wales.

Me: Whose journey was harder to write, Niall’s or Rosenwvn? And can I just add I love the line Niall’s soft Irish brogue.

Helen: Niall’s was more difficult. I found him a challenging character to write, as he is so proud and private. He didn’t want anyone poking their nose in his business, not the heroine, or me! Rose was much easier as she is very down to earth and practical.

Me: Did you do your research for Ireland online or have you visited the beautiful land of green?

Helen: I took a special trip to Ireland to research The Magic Knot. My husband and I spent four days visiting the area of the Wicklow Mountains where the Irish fairy troop lives. The weather was bad most of the time. When we drove over the Wicklow Mountains, which is more rightly just an area of high moorland, all we could see was mist. We enjoyed visiting the Palladian mansion, Powerscourt. The gardens and the waterfall in the middle of the lake were beautiful.

Me: Was The Magic Knot your first book, or do you like most of us and have the manuscript graveyard with the dust bunnies?

Helen: The Magic Knot was the third book I wrote. The first was a short contemporary, which helped me learn how to write, but also taught me short contemporary was not my genre. The second ms was a paranormal romance, Passion Beyond Reason, about a parallel world inhabited by demons. This story did very well in contests, winning as many as The Magic Knot. In fact in once contest where both my paranormals finaled, Passion won and beat The Magic Knot into second place. I intend to revise that story and submit it sometime.

Me: For those of us in the pre-published stage, what advice and motivation would give us?

Helen: I don’t think there is any magic formula to getting published. Success is down to hard work and persistence. I took lots of online classes and read many craft books. My husband jokes that I must have put myself through the equivalent of a degree in creative writing. My advice is to learn the craft, write stories, enter contests, and submit your work. It might take one book, or twenty before one is accepted, but eventually it will happen if you persevere. There is an element of luck involved—your story being the right genre on the right editor’s desk at the right time. But if you write enough and send out enough that will eventually be your story.

Me: Did I say I'm so excited you're here??? Cause I am :)Thank you for sharing your a little of your world and your characters world with us. And isn't the cover amazing.


Okay, everyone, now it’s your turn. Leave your questions in the comment section and Helen will be back through out the day to answer them.

The Magic Knot - Helen Scott Taylor's In The House

It is with great pleasure I welcome Helen Scott Taylor to the blog today. This week she’s giving away a copy of The Magic Knot.

The cover is amazing and the book, I’ve been waiting forever to read it. She’s an American Title winner, how cool is that!

Here’s a note from Helen,

In my fairy world featured in The Magic Knot series, each fairy embodies the qualities of one of the elements. The leprechauns and Cornish piskies are Earth elementals, the noble old blood Tuatha Dé Danaan are either Fire, Air or Water. This gives them their powers, strengths, and weaknesses.

Humans embody all four elements, but we each favor one, which manifests in our personality and dictates our moods and emotions.

Find out which element you are! Visit my website, take my elements quiz then come back and tell us which element you are and if you think it suits you.

Now that you know your element, here’s the back cover blurb.

HE'S A BIKER WITH AN ATTITUDE
What woman wouldn't be attracted to Niall O'Connor's soft Irish brogue and dark good looks? But Rosenwyn Tremain must find her father, and she isn't going to let a sexy, stubborn Irishman and his motorcycle distract her. Rose's intuition tells her he's hiding something, a secret even the cards cannot divine. Her tarot deck always reads true, but how can one man represent both Justice and Betrayal?

SHE'S A WOMAN ON A MISSION
Magic. Niall's body tingles with it when he finds the woman snooping in his room. Rosenwyn might believe she's a no-nonsense accountant, but her essence whispers to him of ancient fairy magic that enslaves even as it seduces. Her heritage could endanger those he'd die to protect, but her powers and her passion, if properly awakened, might be the only thing that can save both their families, vanquish a fairy queen bent on revenge, and fulfill a prophecy that will bind their hearts together with... THE MAGIC KNOT
And you can read the first two chapters here

Okay, you know the drill. Leave your comments to be entered. And yes, if you leave comments each day you’ll be entered for each of them. So what element are you?

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki

TGIF

Friday is finally here. I wasn't in the office on Monday or Tuesday and still it seemed as if the end of the work week would never show up.

This weekend is writing and more writing. I've talked about house hunting, which although we've found the house, put the offer in, the sellers have accepted said offer, we are now in the waiting process for their bank to approve the offer. All of this, along with That's it. Why he shot up, I don't know. I even wrote it on the paper.

Do you think my hero would tell me? Nope. He just shot up and to make matters worse, he's sitting in a car. Now just so I don't sound like a total crazy writer, he is worried about the heroine. She did just find a very odd box outside her door and he has no clue as to who would leave it with her name scrawled across the top. But really, He shot up?

For now the line is gone and I'm moving on. I figure if Nick will tell me later if he wants too why it was there.

One thing I learned from this is to never walk away from scene in the middle of it. Otherwise when I come back to it, I may not know what was going to happen next and really, it might have been the best thing in the world.

What about you? Do you ever leave a scene for more than a week and come back to it and not remember what was going to happen next?

Oh, and speaking of the word 'next', Helen Scott Taylor will be here next week. She's giving away a copy of her book, answering questions, and there'll be an interview with her as well.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and the words flow.

WW's and PD's,
Vicki

LKap's Ramblings

So first off….
We are finally out of Retrograde – YEHAW!!! I’m just sayin’ that was a long 3 weeks. Now we have four months where life is on the upswing – all I can say is it’s about time. That was a rough start to the New Year.

Which is a good segue into why I believe my house should be torched instead of cleaned. Okay, all you insurance adjusters don’t get all crazy on me. I have nowhere else to go and I do love my house, but dang it all…. Cleaning really bites!

Now I’ve raved about my HHB, and I will continue to do so. The man can clean and cooks (and other things that shall remain nameless:)) like no body’s business – when he wants to. But, so the picture is clear in your head, first I must tell you he’s a handyman by trade. He can do it all—just not on his own house (okay I’ll give him a break, it also takes money). Picture a Mechanic with broken down cars in their drive – yeah, you’re seeing my dilemma now. But cleaning still has to happen.

I also have a lot of dogs and a cat – they shed. So I vacuum and mop. I live close to the highway. So I dust. There are also three other humans living in this house. Bathrooms must be cleaned. So guess where that leaves me?

Yep, doing most, if not all, of it. Now if I lived alone I’d have to do it all myself anyway. I get that, really I do. Somewhere in the rational part of my mind I do. But there are things I loathe doing, but guess what…I gotta do them or I’d never have a clean fork in my house.

It’s the daily stuff that really gets me. Doing the dishes – yep I have a dishwasher, but that doesn’t help with the part I really hate—which is putting them away. Doing laundry – easy enough task, right? Sure tell that to the pile of clothes waiting to fall over on top of my dresser. Clean windows – as long as you think dog’s tongues are clean, we’re good.

I tell you my woos, because I used to have a spotless house – when I didn’t work full time and trying to do this writing gig. Ahhhh those were the days—not. Now I’m pursuing a dream I gave up on and right now all I have is a messy house to show for it. But someday….

I’ll have a deadline and I won’t be able to find my computer under the mess. (Just keeping’ it real)

Tell me—what is it you don’t like to do?