HALLOWEEN HOPPING!

Oooh! It's almost that haunting time of year again, time for Nancy Gideon's Haunted Open House Giveaway Blog Hop! Nancy and her author friends have gathered to entertain you, Halloween-style! We're going to tell you scary stories, talk about our favorite Halloween treats, or just discuss the season in general. I'm glad you can join us.

On my blog I want to explore my weirdness. That's right. I'm weird. I don't like haunted houses. I don't think it's fun to be scared (it's the opposite of fun, in my book!) But...I like writing about gruesome murders and twisted villains. So explain that. If you hop by my house at Halloween, you're not going to find gory decorations, bloody dismembered parts or ax-murderers lurking in the corners. You are more likely to find whimsical decorations, like figurines of Trick-or-Treaters dressed up like candy corn or signs that read, "Witch Parking Only~Violators Will Be Toads!" But my bad guys are not cartoonish in any way. They kill, they rape, they threaten children~ a grim lot, indeed. So why this incongruity? Maybe it is because I can control the evil in my books. If my characters kill, it's because I make them. If they brandish weapons, I put them in their hands. If they're jumping out of shadows, it's because I wrote them there. 

So I wanted to share a villain here today. But who to choose? The evil Lord Boltar from my desert romance, TAKEN BY STORM? He killed the king and queen and countless others. He's definitely creepy! Or speaking of royalty, maybe the king from AN UNCOMMON LOVE. After all, he tricks his daughter and locks her away in the castle. Not a role model for proper parenting. There's even cold-blooded killers in my rock star romances, like TRAPPED UNDER ICE, or BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE. But I decided to bypass all these bad guys and switch up holidays on you, giving you the villain from UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR.

Excerpt ~

Max didn’t expect the explosion. He heard the

 

tremendous, almost rhythmic sound of metal crunching as the car cartwheeled down the side of the cliff like a preschooler at recess. The thunderous BOOM of the sedan going up in flames caught him by surprise. He was rushing to peer over the edge, but was stopped dead in his tracks by the blast. By the time he got to the side of the ridge, the fire had already engulfed the vehicle. The flames licked hungrily at the night sky like so many devils’ tongues and consumed the car with such vehemence that, within seconds only a black outline of the frame remained.

Looking back on it, standing on the side of the road was an incredibly stupid thing for him to do. Anyone could have seen him as they whizzed up the side of the mountain, and perhaps even noted the dents in his car and copied down the license plate number. But he wanted to see the results of his handiwork. Besides, he wasn’t thinking at all clearly that night. 

It gave him a raw thrill to chase the sedan over the edge of the cliff. He followed Kevin home from work, desperate, not knowing what he would do to solve his problem. At first he only picked up speed to keep pace with Kevin, but then recklessness began to pump in his veins. HHe pulled out into the lane meant for on-coming traffic, not even realizing what he was doing. His eyes darted everywhere, his pulse raced, frightened witless as the scenery flew by. Luckily, for some reason, the usually well-travelled road lay deserted. Thinking he wanted to pass him, Kevin slowed down, no doubt cursing the crazy driver beside him. But he only matched the sedan’s speed. Kevin glanced over, and in the flash of a streetlight, seemed to recognize him. 

He must have thought ol’ Max didn’t have it in him. But I did.

He remembered the changing expressions on Kevin’s face as he began to understand his adversary’s intentions. At first his brow had been furrowed in confusion. Then his jaw went rigid and he tightened his grip on the wheel, glaring at Max, who feinted with his car. Kevin had to swerve onto the shoulder before correcting the path of the sedan. That was when Max’s prey stared back, his eyes hollowed by fear. A wild laugh burst through the air and Max wondered at first where it came from, before realizing it belonged to him. 

The vehicles jostled, and tires screeched. When Kevin’s car finally did careen over the edge of the cliff, Max could have sworn he felt the heat of the gigantic explosion, although he knew that was impossible. For him it was like an orgasm, a wave of pleasure and relief. Kevin Kelly was no more.

If only that had been the end of it. 

~ Nice guy, eh? Let me tell you a bit more about UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR before you head on your way to the next stop. Oh, and then I'll giveaway an e-copy of UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR to two people. A Christmas romantic suspense just in time for the holidays! 

Blurb ~

Dylan Fisher is an EMT and part-time Santa Claus at a mall in Denver, Colorado.

He has logged plenty of time with children sitting on his lap asking for anything from the latest electronic gadget to a week’s worth of homework passes, but he never heard anyone ask for what little Delaney Kelly asked for on one snowy night in December. A dad! When Dylan’s eyes search the crowd for Delaney’s mother and land on Keira Kelly, the paramedic almost finds himself in need of a little CPR. She is stunning! 

Keira Kelly is still grieving over the loss of her husband…

… but a reckless driver has her thinking about nothing but survival as she’s headed home from the mall. When Keira wakes in the hospital to find a hunky EMT at her bedside, she begins having a few thoughts that would put her on Santa’s Naughty List for sure!

Neither is ready for what is coming UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR!

When she finds out the EMT is only hanging around because the police believe someone is out to get her, she’s not sure what to think about his kindness. Is he helping her because he wants to, or because he feels he needs to? And what about the man who rammed her car, could he have had something to do with her husband’s death?

giveaway ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, don't forget to check out what my friends have to offer on their blogs--->

~ JT AND MJ ~ BRINGING SEXY BACK!!! ~

Good morning! Today I have the pleasure of participating in the My Sexy Saturday Blog Hop! What that means is you'll find a number of authors posting either 7 words, 7 sentences, or 7 paragraphs from a manuscript. The section they choose will show their idea of sexy. Remember, sexy can mean different things to different people! I decided to go with 7 sentences that may surprise you. While definitely sexy, it isn't from a love scene. I wanted to shake things up a little bit! 

This is from ROCK ME, GENTLY, the fourth book in my ROCKING ROMANCE COLLECTION. I'll start off with a blurb to give you a little context. 


Blurb ~


Like so many others, their romance started in

Las Vegas…

He’s a rock star. She’s an ad exec. After almost having a one night affair in Sin City, Josh can’t get Cassie out of his mind. Why had she run out on him? 

Like so many others, their romance started with a shot of tequila...

When the Josh Dunningham of Money Back Guaranteed tries to seduce her, Cassie is taken aback. Sure, he’s hot. And he could definitely rock her world. But can she have a fling with a man she doesn’t even know?

Like so many others, their romance turned rocky…

When Cassie returns to Chicago and finds a ten-foot tall Josh Dunningham on a radio station’s banner across from her office, she is tortured by memories of their short time together. When they meet again, things explode—in a bad way—and Josh has to prove himself to Cassie to earn her trust. But will he succeed when outside forces also want to tear them apart? When Cassie receives threatening letters and is attacked in her home, Josh is determined to find out who is behind it. But will the stalker’s encore performance bring an end to their show once and for all?

Excerpt ~

She shifted her feet, and he was overwhelmed by the sweet scent of honeysuckle. He found himself swamped by a memory.


He was walking to school, dragging his feet as he went, as was his general custom, when he came across the white and yellow honeysuckle vines covering his neighbors’ fence. He set his books down and plucked one of the white blossoms. He pulled at the base of the flower like he had seen the owners’ son do, and watched, in wonder, as the delicate green and white stamen slid out, peppered with yellow dust. He slid his tongue along it, tasting the sugary, honeyed flavor of the pollen. Delighted, he quickly pulled off a yellow flower to see if it tasted the same.


The innocent memory seemed, at the moment, highly erotic and he let himself imagine his tongue trailing down the girl, tasting her in a similar way.

~ So, a little different take on sexy. I hope you enjoyed it.

Now here are some other authors sharing their idea of sexy on the My Sexy Saturday Blog Hop! Hop on over and check them out!