I love blog hops. That’s all I can say. Thanks for dropping by my site for the Spring Fling Blog Hop. I’m giving away an ebook of either Protecting Katie or Shrouded in Darkness. Winner can choose either one. The Grand Prize will be a brand new Nook!
Just sign up for my newsletter below for upcoming contests and new releases, and you’ll be entered to win.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined another blog, called Star Bound Lovers. We hall have some type of science fiction woven into a number of our books.
We’re have a great contest going on from now to May 19th, 2012. Every comment you leave on our blog posts from Allison’s first post on April 16, 2012 until May 19, 2012 will enter you in the chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Please make sure you leave an email address for us to contact you.
Hope to see you there! 
I’ve been reading with interest about the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Apple and a number of other publishers for price fixing. The publishers involved are HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Apple, Penguin Group, MacMillan and Hachette Book Group. What is far more interesting is that three of the companies agreed to settle. Does that admit guilt? The Department of Justice doesn’t go after anyone unless they have cause. Rumor is that they have a 90% success rate.
Apple, Penguin Group and Macmillan have not settled. Will they back down? Time will tell. Apple is speaking out, saying that their launch of the iBookstore in 2010 encouraged competition and broke down Amazon’s monopoly on the publishing industry. The suit goes into more depth stating that as a result of Apple and the involved publishers teaming up, ebooks prices ranged around $12.99 and $14.99, instead of what they normally would have sold for $9.99
I have a friend who is an avid reader. She has a Nook and has complained to no end about the price of ebooks. She gets disgusted that some of the prices for her favorite authors are even more than the paperback version. She does have a valid point.
This is by far one of the most interesting times for the publishing industry. I’m sure by next year, the industry’s future and the road to publication will have a completely different spin on it.
I don’t have any Easter eggs to give away but I thought I’d give away something calorie-free. For today only, I have Protecting Katie, my contemporary romance, free at Amazon. So feel free to download a calorie-free copy at Amazon!
Thanks for dropping by my site for the 18 & Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop! Hope you’re finding alot of new authors and exciting sites on your hop. To get back on the hop, just click on the image to the left.
Up for grabs is a $10 electronic gift card from Amazon. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter at the end of this post for news on new releases, contests and freebies.
I’d thought I’d get a little naughty with the following excerpt from Shrouded in Darkness:
The scream slapped her awake. She jackknifed up in the bed. Blood pounded in her ears as she sat and listened to the silence. Then she realized that this time the cry hadn’t come from outside but downstairs. She scrambled from the bed and hit the cold wood floor running, almost banging into the side of her bedroom door on the way out. The night was black, illuminating nothing. With questing, outstretched hands, she found the stair’s handrail and fumbled down the steps. Breathing deeply, she rounded the stair post and slammed into something warm and very human.
She opened her mouth to scream.
“It’s me, Jake,” he said from the darkness, holding onto her arms to steady her.
She let out a long, shaky breath. “What was that?” she asked in a hushed voice. “You must have heard it. It sounded so awful.”
“It was your cat.”
“Marmaduke?”
“Yeah.”
“But I could have sworn it sounded more human than—”
“I stepped on his tail.” He cleared his throat. “Scared the hell out of both of us. He took off somewhere. Sorry about getting you out of bed.”
“I’m just glad I found out what it was. But what are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Relaxing, she glanced up, only to be blinded by the night. Thick, black and total, it draped over Jake and everything around her. His hands, warm and strong, grasped her upper arms. She grew conscious of the coolness of the house, of the silk of her nightgown against her skin, but most importantly of Jake, of the deep woodsy scent of his after-shave and how his hands, minus the gloves, were now slowly sliding up and down her arms. Her toes curled beneath her. He smelled like what she envisioned a man should smell like. Desire lapped against her skin until it seeped through her flesh and took hold of her body.
He slid a hand up her arm and over a shoulder to cup her throat, while the other curled around her waist to press against the small of her back, inching her closer to the heat of his body. She met his lips halfway, opening her mouth beneath his. The kiss deepened, demanded and took. She raised a hand to feel his own against her throat. He had a long fingered, strong hand, the skin smooth and flawless over the tendons and knuckles. She touched his face, his neck, his shoulders. Against her palms, his skin was satin over hard muscle. He was all male, all power.
He hauled her closer, pressing her sensitized breasts against his chest as his tongue mated with hers. His desire thrust against the shallow hollow of her hips. The thick, hardness of him scorched through the material of her gown to her belly and turned her legs to liquid. She slid her hands over the sleek texture of his naked back, over the muscles and tendons, down across the indentation along his spine and lower.
She froze.
He was entirely, absolutely, completely naked, every male inch of him. She whimpered as her breath came out in short, shallow pants, and desire slammed against her, painful in its intensity.
Margot stiffened. Oh, God. Had she completely lost it? Where was her sanity, her morals? She hardly knew this man.
“No!” She dragged in a lungful of air. “This is all wrong!”
Before it was too late, Margot ripped out of his arms, stumbled up the stairs to her room, and slammed the door closed.
###
Grabbing the banister, Jake stepped onto the stairs. Even the cold air against his bare skin couldn’t douse his raging desire. He could run after her and take her. She’d been just as hot, just as hungry. It wouldn’t take much to convince her to let him strip her naked, to touch, to stroke and kiss her until she was writhing and bucking beneath him, to make her come.
He stood under the cover of darkness, trembling, starving, hurting. It had been too damned long. Her skin had been soft, smooth. She’d smelled like heaven. Jake flexed his fingers. He’d finally buried his bare hands into her hair. The strands had felt exactly like he’d envisioned. Like silken water. He’d wanted to bury his face in their waves and drink in their essence.
Jake let her go. This time.
Thanks for stopping by. I’m one of 120 authors on the St. Patrick’s Day blog hop. Hope you have fun along the hop! All you have to do to get to the blog list is to click on the image to the right.
Up for grabs is your choice of an epub, either Protecting Katie, a contemporary romance, or Shrouded in Darkness, a dark paranormal romance. Summaries of both are below. Just make a comment about what you like about St. Patricks day, if you have any memories on that day or if you even celebrate it. Oh and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for info on upcoming releases, contests, and prizes.
PLUS We have TWO Grand Prizes for TWO different winners!
Grand Prize 1: Winner’s Choice of a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
Grand Prize 2: Winner’s Choice of a $90 Amazon or Barnes&Noble Gift Card
The grand prize winners will be chosen at random from the commenters – meaning you can comment on EACH blog – meaning 120 entries to the grand prize.
Okay, I’m super guilty when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day. I can’t remember a time I’ve worn green on that day. The reason why is because every year, it never fails a get a pinch from my oldest daughter. You’d think I would have figured it out. You’d also think by me not wearing green, my daughter wouldn’t be into the holiday, but oh, boy, she sure is. I can’t remember a time when she hasn’t worn green on the day, even if it happens to be her socks or earrings.
I think I’m going to have to hide from her this year, unless I want to get a bruise on my arm. I don’t have anything green! Yikes.
Protecting Katie:
Morgan Stone will do anything to keep his daughter, Katie. But would he steal? Yes. Lie? Absolutely. Cheat? Most definitely.
When Jeff, Katie’s biological father, threatens to file for paternity, Morgan, blind to
anything but the need to protect Katie, strikes back with photographs of Jeff with one woman while engaged to another. With evidence of his ex-partner’s infidelity, he meets Jeff’s fiancée, Kristen St. John. In less than thirty seconds, he destroys her dreams with damning photographs of Jeff in the arms of another woman.
Can Kristin believe the evidence of her fiancés’ infidelity? Caught in the middle of a battle between two men, Kristin doesn’t know who to believe or trust, especially her heart when it comes to Morgan. She finds herself falling for this fierce, loyal man. But when it comes to loving Kristen, will Morgan find it within himself to give up everything, even Katie?
5 Stars and Top Read - Writers and Readers of Distinct Fiction
“Not wanting to ruin the ending for the reader, I will say this, a brilliantly written story. One I completely recommend to anyone who likes a good book….Bravo ! I loved it!” – Terri Ann Armstrong, WRDF Reviews
Shrouded in Darkness:
Winner of the Ready-Set-Go Peninsula RWA Contest
Finalist in the Suzannah North Louisiana RWA Contest
1st place in Peninsula RWA Chapter’s contest.
Jake Preston is on borrowed time. If he doesn’t stumble upon a miracle and soon, he’ll end
up dead. And even if he does, he still might end up dead with a clever killer hounding his heels. He believes that the one miracle and antidote to save him is in Margot Davenport’s house, across the country and miles away from Boston. Somewhere locked in her home is the key to reversing an experiment that is killing him with each breath he takes.
Margot doesn’t particularly care if she ends up dead. She’s lost everything she’s ever cared for. A divorce and the loss of her job as a corporate lawyer has left her with little faith in herself or in anyone else. Most importantly, she’s lost the one person on this earth she’s looked up to and cherished–her brother, Johnny. His death in a car accident has devastated her, and she can’t find the willpower to pull herself from the chasm she’s fallen into. Her only solace is at the bottom of a wineglass. Having moved back to the small town in northern Arizona where she was raised, she’s made a point of isolating herself both mentally and physically from everyone other than a few chosen friends. Little does she know that her life is going to explode into chaos and the person behind Johnny’s death is coming after her.
I’m going to be traveling the web on a week long blog tour starting March 1st. Below are my stops. Come by and visit!
March 1
Stories of my life
www.roncnieto.com
March 1
Roxanne’s Realm
www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
March 2
Fang-tastic Books
http://www.fang-tasticbooks.
March 2
Jade Mystique
http://jademystique.blogspot.
March 3
Grave Tells
http://gravetells.com/
March 4
SJ Clarke
http://sjclarke.com/blog-2/
March 7
This is From my Heart
http://janieraeldridge.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Ashanti. Tell me a little about yourself.
I’m an after school instructor. I teach sports, poetry, and computers for the little ones. I also teach older adults how to use computers because my Masters degree is in Gerontology. I personally love life-long learning and always try gaining new skills. Currently, I’m supposed to practice on my Les Paul, but I’ve been cheating on her with writing.
What’s Barcode: The Legend of Apollo about?
Spencer Colt attends a university for gladiators that his father owns. He is praised as a god 
powerful enough to defeat the dictator known as Helios. Though he tries running from his responsibilities, a mysterious boy appears that violently motivates Spencer to accept his fate. He not only trains to fight his enemies, but works at defending the people he loves and his home.
This novel is a Fantasy/Science Fiction but the romance is definitely there. I believe it can be considered an Urban Fantasy as well.
What made you want to write it?
This story has bugged me for years. I’ve thought about it constantly since my college days. I normally write romances and wanted nothing to do with a science fiction or a fantasy. But one weekend, my in-laws were visiting and I needed something to do while they occupied my work station, the living room. So, I started reading Harry Potter and made plans for my story. Before I knew it, I was done.
How long did it take to write the novel?
It took three weeks to write my novel and three rewrites. I originally tried third person, but I’m not good at that style. My strength lies in connecting readers with the main character.
Who is your favorite character? Why?
My favorite character in the story is Kode for reasons I can’t say without giving the story away. But he’s very mysterious and has a dark past. He has hero like qualities–persistence, endurance, and motivating others–but he uses them for evil. Readers will find themselves in a love-hate relationship with him.
How do you think readers will respond to the story? How do you want them to respond?
I think readers may wonder where the plot in the story is for a few chapters, but once the story evolves, they’ll see a huge problem unravel. Then, they’ll cheer for some characters and hate others. I ultimately hope they love this story. I used a lot of my experiences and my favorite scenes from my other unpublished work to strengthen this novel. Hopefully it pays off.
To purchase a copy of Ashanti Kashif Ross’ book, Barcode: The Legend of Apollo, at Amazon.
You can visit Ashanti Kashif Ross at www.kashifross.com
I’m going to be out and about at the following places on the internet. Feel free to drop by and say hi!
8 – Book Spotlight @ Tamaira Soana
9 – Interview @ Sara Trimble
10 – Guest Blog & Giveaway @ Celtic Ladys Reviews
Hello! What better way to start of the year than being part of the Shameless Giveaway Hop? On this hop I will be shamelessly giving away a $10 electronic gift card to Amazon.com to one lucky poster.
Also to celebrate the New Year, my dark, paranormal romance, Shrouded in Darkness is on sale for a limited time for only .99 cents at Amazon until the 27th.
To enter all you have to do is log into the rafflecopter form with your name and email address. You may have to click on the continue reading link below to get to the rafflecopter form.
Giveaway ends April 22, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
