Guest post with Author Raine Delight

The love of a good alpha hero

I love strong alpha male heroes. There is something about them that makes my heart race and sigh with delight.What makes a really good alpha hero? One that in my opinion is also with flaws. You know the strong hero with a heart of gold he keeps hidden. I don’t mean one that is so vile and mean that you want to toss him out the window. I mean those heroes who come off strong, tough but with the right person, melt into a puddle of goo. Who doesn’t love an alpha male hero who is redeemed by the love of their soul mate?

In my book, Haunting Magic, I have a wolf shifter who has to find his mate before Halloween or risk being a lone wolf for the rest of his life. Rodrick Dracon was a fun character to write. He had a different woman (or women for that matter) every night with a charm that could have been slimy but came off as adorable….well except for Jax, his nemesis and the one woman his wolf wanted for a mate. I never imagined these two hooking up per say. The sparks flew whenever they were together but my muse was determined to show these two stubborn people they were perfect for each other. I let the muse flow and voila! A story that has gotten good reviews plus it became my best selling book ever at Aspen Mountain Press and a cover that everyone drools over. Writing Rod as a strong alpha male had me swooning because he didn’t steamroll over Jax, she went toe to toe with him and in the process both found a love that was meant to be.

An alpha male character, in my honest opinion, is only as good as the mate he is destined for (be it female or male). They have to be just as strong and able to not let their soul mate(s) run right over t hem. For that I love strong main characters, ones that fairly simmer with life and practically step off the pages-into your room and heart. I just finished another Devon Falls book called Moonlight & Magic, a tale of a lone were-tiger looking for his mate and a place to call home. Michael Barnes was at first a shy quiet man until he informed me quite loudly I should say that he was a tiger, not a house cat and made me scrap the first draft and rewrite it all over again. After reading what I wrote the second time, I totally agreed with the character and my muse. He was a stronger character the second time around who, with his sight set on Dixie, made sure that she knew how much he wanted her. He wasn’t without issues either. Michael had to show Dixie the love he was feeling for her would last longer than one night plus he had to trust her with the one thing he had of value-his heart. Both characters are strong in their own way and perfect for each other.

I draw upon my favorite books that had some memorable characters as inspiration for my characters. You know those authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon, Keri Arthur, Lena Austin, Sierra Dafoe, Claire Thompson, Josh Lanyon and more who create many wonderful characters for readers to fall in love with. With each book I write, I try to draw on my inspiration and give the characters that spark that makes them lovable as well as believable. So tell me, What makes a good alpha male hero in your mind? Have any favorites that make you swoon?

Raine Delight is a multi-published author who enjoys writing about alpha heroes who need the love of a good mate to settle their heart. You can find her on the web at http://authorrainedelight.com (website), http://rainedelightbooknook.blogspot.com (blog), http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Author_Raine_Delight (Yahoo loop) or on Twitter at Raine_Delight. She is published at Aspen Mountain Press (www.aspenmountainpress.com) and upcoming at The Wild Horse Press (www.the-wild-horse-press.com)

Guest Blogger Barry Napier talks Poetry

"Using Every Outlet"

Guest blogging is, by nature, sort of tricky.  It’s the equivalent of hiring a babysitter that you have just met and know nothing about.  And since Cynthia has been kind enough to allow me into her house, let me go ahead and introduce myself before I begin my rambling.

My name is Barry Napier and I write dark fiction.  I’ve had more than 30 short stories and poems published online and in print, most recently in The Pedestal Magazine, Kaleidotrope, Inkspill Magazine, and Night Terrors.  My short fiction collection, Debris, was released last year and my chapbook The Final Study of Cooper M. Reid was released in June of this year.  Next year will see the release of my first novel, The Bleeding Room, through the small horror press Graveside Tales.

Most recently, however, my poetry collection A Mouth for Picket Fences has gone up for pre-order from Belfire Press (official release date is September 28^th).  

The previous sentence is likely the hundredth time I’ve written that or a similar statement within the past month and it still sounds odd to me.  A poetry collection was the absolute last thing I thought I’d have published when I started really trying my hand at this writing thing.

Here’s the thing about poetry: I think anyone can do it as long as they can open up and be honest about their writing.  Here’s what I mean…

Even when I first started writing way back in high school, I was aware that my prose was far too wordy.  As I went to college and started taking writing more seriously, I thought I could use my wordiness to my advantage.  After all, I was a fan of Stephen King and he had released two books of over 1,000 pages that I considered classic.  Of course, it did not take me long to realize that I was not Stephen King and that unless you are a master of the craft, being overly descriptive and wordy can be a hindrance. 

As I really tried to get my foot in the door of the publishing world, I finally learned that I was going to have to work on my writing.  The first thing I did was learn to exorcise the wordiness from my fiction.  I would find myself getting over-descriptive when the scene didn’t call for it.  In the midst of otherwise bloody scenes, I somehow ended up waxing poetic about the way the moonlight made spilled blood look like “black dew, refused by the ground” (painfully, this was an actual line that was later edited) or how overhead fluorescent lights “danced like daredevil angels along the blade of the knife.”  (Again, not very good but hey, this was about four years ago).

The poetic side of me—which, coincidentally, I believe is the part of me that feared being labeled as nothing more than a horror writer—did not like removing lines like these.  I actually kept a notebook with these deleted lines and toyed around with placing them into lyrics for the incredibly underwhelming band I was in at the time.

In the end, it was these sorts of lines that helped me rediscover poetry.  I fell in love with Dickinson in high school and studied Elliot and Cummings pretty deeply in college.  And of course, as an aspiring writer of dark things, I liked Dante quite a lot as well.  I fell back into these names several years ago, trying to find a way to set myself into the mindset of a poet.  My education in poetry is limited; I took a few modules and a single semester in college and nothing more.

After a while, I got brave enough to submit a poem to an anthology titled Death in Common.  The editor, to my surprise, was very excited about my poem and I have remained friends with him ever since.  The editor of that anthology and the small grouping of small press horror writers that I associate myself with have been incredibly enthusiastic about my poetry.  This encouragement  morphed a hobby that I sort of kept bottled up into an exercise I put myself through almost daily now.

In any given month, I write about 12 poems.  Of those 12, only 5 or so end up making the cut.  If this were the case with my short fiction, I assure you I would have gone mad a long time ago.

All of that to say this: I strongly believe that if you have the capacity to write fiction, you have the capacity to write poetry.  And it is likely true the other way around.  The recent surge of popularity in flash fiction (and even Hint Fiction as well) is, I believe, proof of this.

I encourage every writer out there to attempt writing a poem sometime this week, even if you have never attempted it before.  Approach it with the same step in which you begin your journeys with fiction and hold nothing back.  Even if you’re known for writing visceral scenes of murder and gore, poetry allows the vulnerable side to come out.  And for you romantics, it is the perfect outlet for the rage you’ve kept bottled up under flowery prose.

Don’t limit yourself.  You are a writer, so write. 

If my little excursion into poetry has taught me anything, it’s that there is a plot to everything, even the densest of haiku. There’s no sense in letting formatting and structure hinder you.  As I said at the beginning of this lengthy post, I never even gave a passing thought to the idea that I would one day release a book of poetry.  And now I can’t image what my writing would be like if I did not have it as an outlet to use.

So I urge you to give it a try.  You might just surprise yourself.

Read more from Barry at his blog: www.barrynapierwriting.wordpress.com

Guest Blog and Contest with Karen Nutt!

The Power of a Scent?

Have you ever wondered why certain scents conjure up memories? Fragrances for good or bad can change your life forever, stirring up powerful feelings.

Pheromones are a natural chemical scents the body produces. In the animal kingdom, it controls all social behavior, including choosing a mate. Believe it or not, humans are influenced by these scents and are drawn to them, too.

A scent can also connect you to the place, person or event. The scent triggers the memory in a form of a conditioned response. This is why the smell of the ocean may remind you of your romantic evening with a special someone or why fresh baked cookies remind you of your grandmother. Scents can also trigger the subconscious and influence your mood. Perhaps the scent of freshly brewed coffee brings a smile to your face. I know a good cup of coffee in the morning sure makes me happy.

Each unique scent makes up the fabric of our lives and connects us to the special moments, holidays and events. Just like the shape shifters we like to read about with their keen sense of smell, scents are special to us, too.

In the past, I’ve given away pens, bookmarkers and other promotional items for my books. For my Fallen Angels series, I wanted try something unique. I worked closely with Jfay from Studio B, the creator of artistic candles and wicked perfumes. Her amazing talent to conjure up tantalizing scents didn’t fail her and she now offers a new Fallen Angel perfume, specially designed for my Fallen Angels series. How cool is that?

Close your eyes and imagine sweet earthy scent with honey sweetness and a dash of dark spice—dangerous and tantalizing as a brush of an angel’s wing.

If you’re interested in knowing more about my Fallen Angel’s Series, please visit my website at: http://www.kmnbooks.com

Eli: Warriors for the Light is now available in both print and e-book formats.

If you’re interested in Jfay’s candles or wicked perfumes go to: (http://www.studio3bonline.com/)

A Question for the readers and/or authors: What scent has conjured up a special memory for you?

*Contest: All you need to do is leave a comment or ask me a question and you’ll be entered in the drawing to win a Fallen Angel perfume necklace. Please remember to leave your email address so I may contact you if you should win.

Take care,

PERFUME NECKLACE for CONTEST WINNER

Karen

Guest Author Lex Valentine brings the Heat

 

BUY LINK: http://pinkpetalbooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=71

 

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m one of those romance authors who writes across genres. Contemporary, paranormal, GLBT, urban fantasy, sci fi rom, historical… All of it erotic usually. I’m probably best known for writing erotic paranormal romance because of my series Tales of the Darkworld.

In the Tales series, three best friends conspire to ensure that their friends and family members successfully find and connect with their mates. Every book has a scene where the matchmakers (black dragon Sean Antaeus, vampire Marius Granville, and magia Alfred Stone) play golf and discuss the latest coupling. Usually, the discussion happens because things are not going very smoothly. By the end of the golfing scene, the three friends have either done something or planned something to fix the problems in the romance they are fostering.

The books in the series run the gamut of my cross-genre abilities from het (Shifting Winds, Hot Water, Ride the Lightning, Common Ground) to BDSM (Ride the Lightning) to gay (Fire Season, Sunstroked, Common Ground) to ménage (Common Ground.) I cover a lot of kink too. Anal sex (every book), pegging (Shifting Winds), voyeurism (Common Ground), sex in shifted form (Ride the Lightning), sex on the beach, in the pool, in the hot tub, in a mausoleum, in a hay stack, in a gazebo, against a wall (both facing the wall and with back to the wall), on a washing machine, in the cemetery, in a garden, in an office… I’ve a fertile imagination and fairly wild past so I’m pretty no holds barred when it comes to writing sex. But the sex is never the focus of my books. The love story is and I am a firm believer of the HEA.

This series has also garnered a few awards from the simplicity of winning the Summer Hero contest at TRS to the more serious honor of finaling in the Rainbow Awards and the Lories Best Published contest. I’ve had nothing but great reviews from all the major review sites. It appears that readers love the Darkworld characters. Which is a good thing because I write them with love.

I love every character I bring to you. They live in my head and I know their thoughts, wishes, dreams, and hearts. Bringing them to life for you is my pleasure. I try to make them seem like real people despite the fact that some are shifters (dragons, wolves), some are fae, some are vampires, some are demons, some are magical (the magia), and in one case the character is dead (that book isn’t out yet.) I want you to be able to identify with them. I want their emotions to seem real to you. And I want their world to seem real to you as well. When you’re done reading I want you to feel that you too could be Colin Granville’s neighbor, calling him to tell him there’s a dragon in his yard (his mate Eden.)

Currently, five books of the ten book series have been released by my publisher Pink Petal Books. The sixth book, Sunstroked, will be out the first week in October. For a taste of my series, here’s a blurb and an excerpt from the latest release, Common Ground. I hope you enjoy it!

Many thanks to Cynthia for having me here!

Lex Valentine 

Blurb:

Werewolf Sair McCallan escapes the confines of her brother’s pack with the help of a mated werewolf couple who believe in open sexuality and relationships. With Weylyn and Keir Randall, Sair experiences freedom in all things for the first time in her life. When she meets her mate, she’s shocked to find he’s a boring, broody vampire. Uptight Marius Granville has his staid and orderly life completely shattered by the arrival of his bloodmate, a beautiful werewolf who steals his heart and expects him to join in her kinky play with the Randalls. Marius is forced out of his hum drum existence and opens himself to new sexual experiences to please Sair. As her new mate strives to give her everything she needs, Sair battles internal demons that threaten their fragile new relationship.

Warning: This book includes sex on a washing machine, a make out session ala From Here to Eternity, sex between best friends (F/F), double penetration of a female (oh, baby!), and the best blowjob in the world (M/M) all within the confines of the hottest ménage a quatre the Darkworld has ever seen.


Excerpt:

 Marius simmered. Stewed in the juices of his own ardor. He hadn’t minded buying casual clothes when he left the office with Sair. After all, he wasn’t about to go all the way home to change despite the fact his cock loved the idea of taking Sair home…so he could sink into her wet heat and fuck her for oh, about ten days straight. He’d had to have a brief but stern chat with his arrogant penis about patience.

Then, he’d wondered briefly if she thought he didn’t have any casual clothes. That put his boxers in a bunch, but he shrugged it off, knowing that soon enough he’d have an opportunity to show her that he wasn’t just a power suit. At which point his fangs decided they wanted to hang out all day because the thought of showing Sair his sexual side had him salivating.

Their little stint on the beach had been uncomfortable from the standpoint that he hated wet sand stuck all over him and didn’t really care to swim in the ocean. When it came to the wild and unfettered outdoors, he preferred the forest where he could see creatures coming at him. The thought of a shark sneaking up and taking off a leg didn’t appeal to him at all. On the other hand, having Sair grind on him and kiss him like nothing else existed in her world, had put his self-esteem into orbit.  It had also kick started his libido into overdrive which is why he now sat cooking in the heat of his banked desires.

He sat on the patio of a beachside Mexican restaurant, candlelight flickering in a red glass jar, the dregs of a Corona at his elbow, watching Sair lick chocolate cake crumbs from a fork. His clothes were slightly damp and sandy, and he was commando beneath his jean shorts. Somewhere deep inside him, the staid and stern Marius Granville cringed. But the Marius Granville who didn’t care that he wore no underwear felt more alive than he had in decades.

“So let’s recap,” he murmured as he toyed with a tortilla chip, his eyes on Sair’s agile tongue. “You raised your younger brother and cousin after your parents, aunt and uncle were killed. Your brother tried to marry you off to a neighbor, but you refused, which caused a huge rift between you. When you met the Randalls and they offered to bring you to California, you jumped at the chance. You had a big fight with Ruan and told him you weren’t coming back. Keir Randall is Magia and had a dream that you would find your mate at my cemetery, so you started coming there every day hoping to meet me. You like carrots and hate peas.”

With one last lick, Sair put the fork down and pushed the plate away. “Ummn, yes. That’s about the size of it.”

Marius raised one brow. He’d never met anyone less forthcoming, yet so free-spirited. “That doesn’t tell me very much about who you are, Sair.”

She blinked at him in a lazy manner that appeared almost sleepy. “Well, if I were to recap what you told me, it would go something like this: You’ve been the head of your family for a few decades. Your siblings help run the cemetery, but you’re the boss. Your sister is married to Declan Antaeus. Your brother is married to Eden Antaeus. Your best friends, whom you play golf with weekly, are Sean Antaeus and Alfred Stone. You live in the house in which you grew up. You like to ride horses and have a small stable on your property. You don’t have a pool or a Jacuzzi. You like carrots and peas, but hate watermelon.”

A sinking sensation took over Marius’s stomach as Sair tipped her head to one side and grinned at him. Hell. He’d been caught in his own trap.

“Doesn’t seem like you’ve told me very much about who you are, Marius,” she murmured wickedly.

“Fuck me,” he muttered, wishing he had another drink. He couldn’t remember the last date he’d been on and their small talk throughout dinner had been just that…small. Neither of them had said anything memorable or deep.

Sair’s smile widened. She leaned forward in her chair and he could see the hard points of her nipples pressing the thin fabric of her t-shirt. His groin tightened.

“Oh, I intend to fuck you, Marius.  In fact, why don’t you take me home and let’s get right down to the important part of getting to know each other?”

Her seductive voice raised goose bumps on his skin. As cerebral as he could be, Marius responded in a purely physical manner to her words. His cock thickened. His heartbeat sped. Adrenaline coursed through him.  All of which fueled the speed with which he whipped out his credit card and paid for dinner.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d driven home at more than ten miles over the speed limit. Shockingly, a sense of satisfaction stole over him as the Jag rocketed down the freeway in a testosterone driven display of speed and elegance. Until that moment, he’d never really cared what the car could do.  He figured he owed Colin a much more heartfelt thanks than the one he’d proffered when his brother had made him buy the car.

Sair didn’t really talk on the way to his house. She sat skewed in her seat so she could watch him, and he felt the weight of her gaze like fingertips stroking his skin.  He also had the sensation that her thoughts brushed along the edges of his own, their minds in tune with the knowledge of imminent physical intimacy.

It had better be imminent, he thought almost grimly as he turned down his road. His cock felt like granite.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sair smile. The curve of her lips twitched up into a satisfied grin that told him she knew exactly what he’d been thinking.

 

 

Lex Valentine
Setting Hearts & Souls Afire...Coming soon from Ellora's Cave: Rock My Worldlexvalentine.com ~ sunlightsucks.com ~ talesofthedarkworld.com

Demon Hunter: Seek & Destroy up for an award

My trailer for DEMON HUNTER: SEEK & DESTROY is up for an award...please vote #5! http://thenewcoveytrailerawards.blogspot.com/

 

Synopsis:
As the newest demon hunter, Costa Calabrese has a lot to contend with when the portal to hell opens up in his backyard. Aided by his constant companions, Talisa and Paralay, they must face evil in many forms. But what happens when familiar faces become your opposition? Will love be enough to conquer evil?  Read an excerpt of Seek and Destroy