THE DOUBTING HEART - Winner announced

Thanks to everyone who stopped by last weekend to help me celebrate the release of The Doubting Heart, book 2 in my Heart's Desire series. I've put all your names into a random number generator (random.org) and it selected Catherine Lee as the winner of book 1, The Hungry Heart. Catherine Lee, I'll be in touch.

You can purchase The Hungry Heart and The Doubting Heart from Amazon or other digital retailers. And don't forget to follow my blog tour for a chance to win even more prizes (including a $50 Amazon GC). You can connect with me via my website, Facebook, Twitter & Goodreads.

And the winner is....

Debby!  A paperback copy of Accidental Affair will be on its way to you shortly!

Thanks for dropping in and getting involved in the conversation!

And A Big Thank You To Our Host!

Well, the party is winding down.  The booze is gone, the strippers are . . . somewhere, and last call is going out.  Time to gather up all our drunk friends, pay the tab, and follow the designated driver back to their car (wherever the hell THAT is...).  I really should NOT wear heels to an event like this...!

Thank you, Goddess Fish, for kicking the month off with a bang.  The blog tour for Accidental Affair starts tomorrow, and I feel better prepared for my maiden voyage having spent time here at the Party Pavilion.  Best of luck to all the authors, and happy reading!

Check out Accidental Affair on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or Smashwords.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Affair-ebook/dp/B009ZP5MV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352673266&sr=8-1&keywords=accidental+affair+leslie

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/accidental-affair-leslie-mckelvey/1113750316?ean=2940015936421

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250538

If you'd like a sample before purchasing, the entire first chapter of Accidental Affair is available on my blog:

Amazon Red

Thanks again!

 

THE DOUBTING HEART - Excerpt 2 & Giveaway

Hi all,

I thought I'd share one more excerpt from my new romantic suspense, The Doubting Heart.

Anxious to escape the ghosts of the place, she rounded to Copper, set her right foot into the stirrup and pushed off to mount her. The stirrup seemed to slip as she raised her left leg over the horse.

Suddenly, Copper shied back and reared up. Shelby lost her balance and slid down the side of the horse. The reins slid from her hands. She clawed at the saddle. “Copper! Easy girl. Easy up,” she cried, but her voice was too panicked to have any effect.

Then Copper began to run.

Shelby managed to grab onto the horn, but without the stirrup for support she felt herself slipping. She clawed for purchase yet each movement pulled the saddle further down the horse’s side. She grasped at the mane with her left hand and wrapped her fingers tightly through the coarse hair. The rocky ground seemed only inches below her and she struggled to hold her body rigid. Her loose leg dangled precariously close to the horse’s scythe-like hooves.

She called to Copper, tried to calm her. The horse sped up and edged closer to the water. Shelby panicked. Not the river. Not again!

As she fought to raise herself higher, she caught a glimpse over Copper’s back of a dark form approaching from up the canyon wall.

Another horse and rider!

Relief flooded her. Thank God.

She held tighter to the saddle and mane, willing every fiber in her being to hang on until her rescue. She counted the seconds. Waiting.

It was taking too long. She was afraid to turn her head to look for them. Where are they?

Then she saw them, a shadow on the ground, easily matching Copper stride-for-stride. That wasn’t right. They should be passing. Grabbing Copper’s bit. Slowing the pace. Stopping her.

The dark shadow was edging closer to Copper.

Closer to her.

Suddenly, Shelby realized what they were doing. Her mind exploded into a blinding fury of panic and shock. She heard herself scream.

The other rider was deliberately driving her towards the deadly torrent.

You can find more information and the buy-links for The Doubting Heart at http://www.brendagayle.com/books/doubtingheart.php.

Thanks very much for stopping by to help me celebrate the release of The Doubting Heart. Don't forget, a randomly chosen commenter on one of my posts will receive a digital download of The Hungry Heart, book 1 in my Heart's Desire series. Check back next weekend when I'll announce the winner.

In the meantime, you can follow my blog tour for the chance to win even more prizes (including a $50 Amazon GC) and connect with me through my website, Facebook, Twitter & Goodreads.

Accidental Affair (excerpt 3 - ADULT CONTENT)

            “Jack, stop,” she gasped.  “Please . . . stop.”

            Before the words finished leaving her mouth he kissed her.  Laine’s body betrayed her and she found herself kissing him back.  He was like a narcotic, and her head spun as his tongue explored her mouth and his fingers her breasts.  When he pulled away she was breathless and dizzy.

            “What did you say?” he asked in a teasing voice.

            Laine met his silver gaze, and the tenderness she saw reflected in his eyes brought her up short.  Mindful of his shoulder, she pushed him onto his back and came up onto all fours over him.  They stared at each other for a moment, and then she lowered her head until her lips were no more than a hair’s breadth from his.

            “I said,” she whispered, “stop it . . . some more.”

            He lifted his head and captured her mouth, his kiss stealing what little sense she had left.  Her breasts brushed his chest and electricity shot through her.  A pulsing ache settled between her thighs, and while he was very good with his mouth, Laine needed more.  The thought of having him inside her made her ache.  Unable to stop herself, she reached down and wrapped her fingers around him.  Laine moaned softly as the heat and hardness of him sent desire shivering over her skin and sizzling along every nerve.

            He went still as she straddled him, and when she rubbed herself against him he closed his eyes and growled deep in his throat.  The animal sound only excited her more, and for the first time since meeting him she felt like she was the one in control.  He gripped her waist with his good hand, and when she swiveled her hips and bore down on him he sucked in a breath.  His gaze flew to her face.  She gasped and paused, warm tingles fanning out from where their bodies joined to every part of her.

            Laine started to move, slowly and rhythmically.  The feel of him inside her sent her heart racing as he filled her completely, his hips moving in rhythm with hers.  The tension between her legs intensified and roiled outward, expanding exponentially when he moaned her name.  She closed her eyes and threw her head back.  This was what she had needed.

            “God, you feel good,” he growled.

            She looked at him, but his eyes were closed.  His fingers flexed and relaxed at her waist, and when she started to move faster his grip on her tightened.  He opened his eyes and met her gaze, and she gasped when he drove his hips upward.  A shock of pleasure traveled all the way to her toes.  She froze for a moment, and when she moved again he matched her pace.  With each thrust of his body into hers she felt her climax building.  She was lost in a haze of sensation so complete that when he put a hand behind her neck and pulled her to him she didn’t realize she was moving.  Then he kissed her and everything came back into razor sharp focus.  She gasped as he devoured her, his tongue matching the thrusting of his body.

            Jack was overwhelmed, and the sensation was what he imagined drowning would feel like, only in a good way: hard to breathe, heavy with need, and helpless to stop it.  Never in his life had he imagined the quiet, unassuming doctor would be such a firebrand.  They moved together as if they were perfectly calibrated for each other, though there was nothing mechanical about their lovemaking.  Wave after wave of pleasure rushed through him, and he fought to maintain control.  She was hot and tight and felt so damn good it was hard not to just let go.

            This was the woman from the photos, the woman he’d glimpsed in the cab.  She was sensual, brazen, and unashamed.  He felt her tremble as he buried himself inside her, and then pulled back.  He moved fast and hard, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

            “Oh, God . . . Jack . . . .”

            Her muscles began to contract around him, but he couldn’t stop, not now.  “Come with me, Doc,” he whispered in her ear as his fingers wrapped around her hip.  “Come with me.”

            When her orgasm hit he was unprepared for the shock of sensation that exploded inside him.  As she cried out against his neck he gave one final thrust and closed his eyes as a pleasure that was nearly unbearable burst through him like lightning through storm clouds.  He clenched his jaw and wrapped his arm around her, holding her as tightly as he could.  His body shook with the intensity of his climax, and it was several minutes before the last tremor left him and he was able to draw a full breath.  When it did, he lay limp and motionless.  He clung to her, and she to him, both of them panting as if they’d just run a marathon.

            Had Ripley himself walked into the room at that moment, Jack would have been unable to move and quite content to stay where he was.  He could feel Laine’s heart pounding in tandem with his, and at the moment nothing else mattered but her.  He ran his hand up her back, amazed at the silken texture of her skin.  He threaded his fingers into her hair and sifted through the riotous strands.  Yep, the rest of her was just as soft as her neck.

            Laine didn’t move.  She couldn’t have if she’d wanted to, and she didn’t want to.  It felt so right, being with Jack.  In fact, she hadn’t felt this right since before Nick’s death.  The sensation of his fingers in her hair was pleasant and familiar, and she closed her eyes with a sigh.

            “Does this feel as right to you as it does to me?” Jack asked in a low voice.

            Laine’s voice failed her and her heart flip-flopped.  All she could do was nod.  His fingers traced lazy circles on her shoulder, and she suddenly remembered he was injured.  She sat up and looked at him in dismay.

            “Did I hurt you?” she asked.

            When she reached for the bandage he grabbed her hand.  She bit her lip as he shook his head and kissed her palm.  Heat flooded her cheeks, and other parts of her, as she realized he was still inside her.

            “No, you didn’t hurt me,” he said in a low, husky voice.  “But, you could still kiss me and make everything better, if you felt so inclined.”

            Laine didn’t need a second invitation.  She’d wanted to kiss him for so long it seemed, and now he wasn’t pushing her away.  When his tongue demanded entrance to her mouth she gave it, and a soft moan escaped her as desire began to pulse through her yet again.  Her eyes flew open and she looked at him in surprise as he hardened inside her.

            “Well, lookee there,” he said, with a wicked smile.  “I’m better already.”

Slipping into a Pen Name

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Unlike most people, I don’t wait until evening to slip into something more comfortable.  I do it every morning, after breakfast, exercise, and a shower. Yes. I slip into something more comfortable, more freeing, and even more sexy. And that something is my pen name. Liz Everly.

Okay. So the name itself might not be “sexy.” I like it. It’s why I picked it. But what’s sexy and freeing about it is that it’s not my real name. My real name comes with a lot of baggage. A lot of shoulds, coulds, supposed-tos, and definitely NOT-supposed-tos. And Liz? She can let it rip. And she does. Smirk.

When you’re writing steamy or erotic romances, a pen name helps in a lot of ways. First, people make assumptions about those of us who write sexy stuff and sometimes those assumptions can be dangerous. Just because we write about sex doesn’t not mean we are up for grabs.

For some of us, it’s a matter of safety and security in our own communities, as well. I live in a conservative Southern state. I have children that go to public schools and are involved in a number of activities out side of school. It could get ugly for them. I don’t want that and I’m betting you don’t either.

Publishers love the pen name when writers are dipping into another genres. It suits their marketing purposes. They don’t want to confuse bookstores and the like about where to shelve your books. Nor do they want to confuse your “image.” Can the person who writes squeaky clean inspirational romances, for example, also write sexy romance? Yes they can—and often do. But publishers think they will lose business and readers. We don’t want that. So I am only too happy to oblige.

So for all those reasons I am Liz Everly. And every morning when I’m writing my steamy romances, I shed the skin of the other writer I am and slip into something else—a lighter, uncomplicated version of my writer-self.

What are your thoughts on pen names?

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Please visit my site for more information about me and SAFFRON NIGHTS http://www.lizeverly.wordpress.com . Also, the first two chapters of SAFFRON NIGHTS are there.

Twitter @lizeverly1 ; FB author page.  Please click on the book cover if you are interested in purchasing SAFFRON NIGHTS from Amazon.

Check out my Goddess Fish Book Blast on February 6. Leave a comment on any of the blogs and get a chance to win organic saffron and cedar body wash and soap. Yum.

THE DOUBTING HEART - The Story Behind the Story (with Giveaway)

Hi again. By far the question most common asked is how do I come up with the ideas for my stories. It would be great if an idea popped into my  head fully formed and I just began to write it start to finish. But that's not the way it happens at all. Writing a book can be pretty darn messy. Scenes are added, deleted, picked up and used elsewhere (sometimes in other books). Here's a bit of the background to how The Doubting Heart came about.

The Doubting Heart was originally called Wildhorse Pass, and the title came to me when I misread a sign while driving along a highway on the Bruce Peninsula, in Ontario. I thought “hey, that’s a neat name for a place,” and started to wonder about what type of place it would be and what would go on there. I don’t know what sort of mood I was in but I kept thinking about doubting your senses and mistaken identity, and slowly a plot formed.

After I had written the entire book, I felt  as if something was missing. I didn't have a sense of closure. My thoughts kept returning to the “other” stuff that influenced the characters but wasn’t fleshed out in the book—specifically the dynamics of the larger Graham family that had alienated both the hero, Chad, and his cousin, Michael, thus leading to the incidents around which the book was based.

I could see a larger story arc forming as I began to consider the stories of Chad’s two cousins—Hunter and Anna—who were still navigating their family’s minefield of expectation and responsibility. And the more I worked through an overarching plot, the more I realized book made most sense as the second installment in a series I named Heart’s Desire. I then wrote what became the first book in the series, The Hungry Heart, then significantly revised Wildhorse Pass and renamed it, The Doubting Heart.

Don't forget, in addition to Goddess Fish's $10 gift card to be awarded one commenter, I'll be giving away a digital download of The Hungry Heart, the first book in the series, to someone who comments on one of my posts.

I'm also doing a blog tour. You can check out the stops for a chance to win a download of my new short story, Father of the Bride? or a $50 Amazon GC.

I love to talk about books, writing, and life. You can connect with me via my website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Who are the erotes in Jennifer Lynne's Gods of Love series? (Adult-rated excerpt)

Jennifer Lynne has just released SEX CLUB SECRETS, the third novella in her best-selling GLBTQ-themed GODS OF LOVE series. She explains how the idea came about for a series of short, stand-alone novellas with a common theme based on the erotes' myth:

When I was searching for a mythology that might work for an erotic romance idea called GODS OF LOVE, it was inevitable that I would look to the heights of Mount Olympus – the home of the ancient Greek gods – for inspiration. I found a group of winged gods called the erotes, and researching their myth has indeed been heavenly territory.

As with most mythological beings, there are many different versions of the erotes myth. The one that resonated best with me is that they are the children of Aphrodite and aspects of Eros, the primal god of desire. I was fascinated by the idea that eros, or "desire", is such a complex emotion that its various aspects can only be personified across several beings rather than contained in one.

While the erotic author in me applauds the idea of the greatness of eros, I also love the idea that the power of the erotes stems primarily from a woman (yep!), the Greek goddess Aphrodite, born of the sea. As the mother of the erotes, Aphrodite's subtle influence is evident throughout the GODS OF LOVE series, and in fact she will have her own story at last in IMMORTAL SEDUCTION (GODS OF LOVE 4) - out in April.

In the meantime, here's an Adults-only taste of new release menage a trois fantasy, SEX CLUB SECRETS, featuring Anteros, god of requited and unrequited love:

Helpless. Ella felt utterly helpless and vulnerable in this crazy position, and it should have had her screaming to get out. In the past it would have, but here in the privacy of this club she felt safer than she had in a long time. There were rules here, and security checks, and the people who came to Secrets would abide by those rules, however unusual or kinky their needs.

She could trust Anteros. She knew it in her heart, and it gave her the courage to relax into the moment. “If Kade were out there, watching, I wonder if he’d want me right now.”

Anteros laughed, a quiet chuckle that flowed over her skin and left goose bumps as effectively as that feather would, if only he would lean forward and touch its delicate end to her quivering flesh. “Look over there, my girl.” He gestured toward the doorway and she gasped at the sight of the handle turning.

“No, I don’t want anyone else to see—Kade! Um. You’re…Kade.” She must sound like a half-wit, repeating his name over and over, but she couldn’t comprehend that the subject of her imaginings was actually here in the room with them, right at the instant when her fanny was laid out like a Christmas turkey on a plate.

Sweat broke out on her forehead and she began to struggle against the bindings. “Kade, no, don’t stare at me! Anteros, please. Let me—”

“Shhh.” Her dark-skinned companion laid a gentle hand on her ankle. “He is not repulsed. Look at him.”

She couldn’t. It was impossible to meet Kade’s gaze. What would he think to see her trussed up like this? She stared instead at the window, biting her lip and willing herself not to cry. But then he stepped in front of her and his swollen penis was directly in her line of vision. It poked out of the gap in his trousers in a manner that was clearly far from revulsion.

“Do what he says, Ellie. Look at me.” His voice was familiar and gentle, yet the fingers that slipped under her chin and forced her gaze upwards were firm and uncompromising. When she finally looked into his eyes she read the truth in their brilliant depths. Not hazel right now. Green. Like the August birthstone, peridot. A hesitant grin decorated his face. “You've never looked more beautiful to me than right here in this moment. I want you, Ella Harris.”

Want to read more? SEX CLUB SECRETS is out now at:

Amazon (Kindle)

Smashwords (EPUB, PDF or Kindle)

All Romance ebooks (Kindle, EPUB or PDF)

Apple iTunes store (for iPad, iPhone, iPod)