Since it's Getting Cold Outside... (I wish!)

Hey everyone! With winter closing in on us (December 21st), it's about time for colder weather. While some people aren't a fan of it, I love the cold. With hot weather, there's only so much you can do to stay cool. Cold weather, on the other hand, you can always pile on more clothes, blankets, cabana boys... whoops! That last part was supposed to be a secret.

Anyways, my heroine from Her Christmas Elf certainly finds someone to help warm her up. Namely, a sexy Finnish elf named Pekka. So instead of being able to transport us all to the forests of Finland to go scavenging for Christmas elves, I'll share something else to help keep the holidays warm and cozy.

If you all enjoy mulled spice wine, then you'll enjoy this recipe for Christmas Glögg, which I've had on my travels to Finland. So tasty! There's also a Christmas pastry called Joulutortut, which literally means Joulu (Christmas) and tortut (pastries). I've made them for my own Finn before. Mmm... yum! Anyways, that website, thisisFINLAND, shows a traditional Finnish Christmas dinner as well as more information about the country, including some gorgeous pictures.

But, if that's not enough to warm you up, here's an excerpt. *grin*

Excerpt:

Pekka picked her up along with the blanket and made his way to the bedroom, which gradually warmed due to the stove’s heat. He laid her on the bed, and the look in his eyes sent a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold through her spine. He unzipped her coat and piece by piece removed her clothing until she was in her underwear.

His breathing was a little heavier, and she couldn’t help but squirm beneath his penetrating gaze. “May I?” he asked, his hot hands resting on her shoulders. She wanted to press herself closer against him to drink in more of his warmth.

“Yes.”

After helping her into a sitting position, he slid his hands behind her back and unhooked her bra. The air kissed her breasts, and his gaze lowered. He licked his lips, and she looked down to see her nipples harden.

Desire pooled between her thighs, and she wanted this mysterious man. She wasn’t the type of woman to have one-night stands, but there was something almost magical about Pekka.

She leaned back and dropped her hands to the hem of her panties. Before she could remove them, Pekka had them down her legs. She took a shuddering breath and stared at him.

“This isn’t what I’d intended.” As he spoke, he stripped away his own clothes, revealing a deliciously muscular body used to hard work. “I’d only meant we should press our bodies together, but…”

She parted her legs as he climbed up her body. His cock stood ready for her, yet a flicker of doubt crossed his face before he could suppress it.

God, she must seem like a wanton hussy. Damn it.

He moved to her side, though the bed was small enough he wouldn’t be able to go far from her before falling to the floor. She rolled to her side, facing away from him. Before she knew it, they were under the blankets with the feel of his warm body against hers.

She cradled herself against him, trying to warm up.

Her Christmas Elf
Sarah Mäkelä
Genre: Erotic Urban Fantasy Romance

Traveling alone in Finland around Christmas isn't exactly what Vera Hayes had imagined she'd be doing. When her longtime boyfriend dumps her before the trip at the last minute, she decides to go anyways. However, she gets lost in a forest in Lapland and starts to panic until she runs into a magical man who looks suspiciously like an elf without the pointy ears. Pekka, one of Santa's elves, soothes away her worry and helps her find her way back to her cabin, giving her a Christmas Eve to remember.

Buy Now: Changeling Press

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sarah Mäkelä
Dark, Magical Encounters of Passion...
http://www.sarahmakela.com

Santa's Helpers: Her Christmas Elf by Sarah Mäkelä

Hey everyone! I'm really excited to be part of the Santa's Helpers series this year. It was great fun to write. I hope you all enjoy the excerpt.

Her Christmas Elf
Sarah Mäkelä

Traveling alone in Finland around Christmas isn't exactly what Vera Hayes had imagined she'd be doing. When her longtime boyfriend dumps her before the trip at the last minute, she decides to go anyways. However, she gets lost in a forest in Lapland and starts to panic until she runs into a magical man who looks suspiciously like an elf without the pointy ears. Pekka, one of Santa's elves, soothes away her worry and helps her find her way back to her cabin, giving her a Christmas Eve to remember.

Buy Now: Changeling Press

Excerpt:

Shivering, Vera Hayes watched the soft snow falling around her. The landscape was so pretty and so dangerous at this chilling temperature, especially considering she had no clue where she was. She'd gone on a walk when the sun had been up, but now darkness rapidly descended on the forest.

Damn it!

This trip had been nothing but trouble, and she'd been stupid to actually take it. Her ex-boyfriend Steve had wanted this, not her. She'd gone ahead with it thinking it would help free her somehow, but this was far from freeing.

Vera stomped her feet and huddled deeper into her coat, which was starting to feel a little too thin for the current weather. She leaned against a birch tree and hunched her shoulders, beyond frustrated with her current predicament.

Snow dusted her, and she scanned the forest again. Hope failed her, and she set off walking again. Damn, damn, damn.

Faint rumbling sounded in the distance behind her and she stopped. The noise grew louder until she could identify it.

Hooves. Lots and lots of hooves. Adrenaline flooded her veins, but her body froze in place from fear.

In the distance, she spotted a herd of reindeer running in her direction. A quick look around her showed no trees with low-hanging branches. So much for easy climbing. She reached for the closest birch, its bark broken by the frost. She wrapped her hands around it and began to climb.

Behind her, the noise grew louder. Among the trees, a herd of reindeer led by a massive gray bull trampled its way through the forest. Snow and frost caved beneath their hooves with almost no resistance.

The glance startled her, and her feet slipped down the birch. Panic struck her chest as she dropped to the ground.

To her left, she saw a small clearing among the trees. She tried to sprint through the almost knee-deep snow, but her progress was too slow. With the herd not far behind, she screamed. When would this nightmare end?

Just as she reached the clearing, a man grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her toward him then and shoved her against a tree, his firm body nestled against her back.

Her breath came out in pants, and not only from her running. "Let me go," she yelled, fear audible in her voice.

"Hush. The herd will ignore you." The man's low, accented voice calmed her a little.

For a moment, Vera considered kicking him and racing away, but his grip tightened on her. He pressed her tighter to the tree. His body molded to hers as if they were puzzle pieces. She only had a second to ponder that as the herd of reindeer stampeded through the clearing.

The large reindeer bull slowed to a stop beside them. Intelligence gleamed in its black, glaring eyes as it waited for the rest of the herd to pass.

"She won't hunt your kin, Old One. I'll look after her," the man said. The reindeer turned its gaze to the man and snorted, shaking its head.

Vera trembled. The cold and numbness she'd been fighting against was draining away her energy. She barely made out the man saying something she couldn't catch. Her attention now focused on the huge bull that stood close enough for her to reach out her hand and touch. The other reindeer were easily her height from hoof to head, but this one made them look small in comparison.

The reindeer stared at her then blew a cloud of steam from its nostrils, obviously not impressed, before galloping after the rest of the herd.

She watched it go until it was barely in sight, then the man grabbed her shoulders. He spun her around, and his gaze dipped to take her in. His expression soured, and he returned his gaze to hers. "What are you doing out here dressed like that?"

Surprise at his audacity had her pulling away from him. His clothing didn't exactly inspire confidence in his sense of fashion either. From what she could tell, his clothing looked to be made of animal pelt. She placed her glove-covered hand against his chest and marveled at the sleek fur.

He snagged her wrist yet didn't move her hand. "There's a storm coming. You shouldn't be out here. You'll die." His gaze whipped over her again, and he grimaced. "Where are you staying?" His words held a melodic lilt that was so pleasant.

"At the cabins." Her teeth chattered a bit more, and she huddled in on herself.

He gave her a quizzical stare then cursed an almost lyrical string of sound. "You're far from safety. What are you doing way out here?"

What did he mean? She hadn't been walking for that long. Or maybe it just hadn't seemed so.

He scooped her into his arms, and she considered falling asleep in the warmth of his grip. But she didn't know anything about him, and after what had just happened with the reindeer...

Buy Now: Changeling Press

Sarah Mäkelä
Dark, Magical Encounters of Passion...
http://www.sarahmakela.com

J.A. Garland's Release Party with Epic Giveaway!

As a fulltime firefighter, I work two 24 hour shifts, then two twelve hour shifts. Finding time to write is not always easy. I cannot write on shift, so at least two days are out, and I'm too exhausted after the two twelve hour shifts to be very creative. If I don't work overtime on my days off, then I can squeeze in some time here and there around family commitments. When I do get to writing, I find the plot is both the easiest and the hardest to write. Being type 'A', I must sketch everything out to make sure I intertwine scenes and get that big black moment just right. The characters that carry the storyline come secondary. Sometimes, though, they don't like to play nice. They take that 'breath of life' and try to run amuck! But speaking of characters, why don't we talk about Instinct's hero and heroine?

Rory is a good guy, but he's had a tough time of things. All he wants is to do his job and forget about his childhood. The object of a botched assassination attempt, he's launched into a complicated world where the one person who holds the answers, will only share them at a heavy price...his complete trust.

Amber is a feisty woman who holds the key to Rory's problems. But her secrets are just as dark and deep, and she won't talk until he tells her about his past.

I just finished writing and submitted book two in the Halfling Chronicles, The Dysus Dreamer. This book pursues the origins of the Halflings, and the Shadow creatures who wish to control them. The Dysus Dreamer follows characters from Instinct, and introduces a few new ones to keep you on your toes.

J.A. Garland's Release Party with Epic Giveaway!

Now that you know a little bit about me, let me tell you about my book.

Instinct is book one in a series where Shadow creatures--paranormal beings who refuse to fly under the humans radar--come out to play. The National Otherkind Administration (NOA) is responsible for overseeing human/Otherkind interactions. Utilizing Analysts, they collect information on the Shadows. If they believe an infraction of the Otherkind Agreements exists, they send in the Trackers. At the top of the food chain is the Otherkind Council. They act as judge and jury, and have become celebrities of sorts in the eyes of the Otherkind. My series follows several key players on both sides of the table.

Instinct Blurb:

Lone wolf, Rory Archer, never failed a single mission. Now the hunted instead of the hunter, Rory unwinds a twisted trail leading back to Amber Arlington, a spirited Halfling tied to a world of Shadows. Bound to vows initially forged out of necessity, Rory and Amber's relationship surges into more than either of them had bargained on. Scrambling to identify their attacker before joining the casualty list, Rory is faced with doing the unthinkable, or watching Amber turned into a slave for his species.

In the battle against Shadows, demons and all variety of monsters come out to fight. Can one wolf learn to trust in time to save them all?

One

San Francisco, March 13, 0700 hours

Anxiety prickled Rory’s chest before fanning out to raise the hairs on the back of his neck. Dropping quickly, he pressed his torso and legs flat to the ground. Prone was never first pick, but a small silhouette was the best concealment the area offered.

Lifting his head, he scanned the beach. Early morning waves rolled onto the shore, a salty surf leaching down to darken the sand. He twisted, angling to look overhead. No birds, no surfers, no stray animals. Nothing.

The absolute absence of activity confirmed his instincts.

Rory sprang to his feet in a protective half-crouch and turned, just in time to see a man come out of nowhere. Lowering his head and steeling his body, Rory head-butted his attacker square in the gut.

“Shit!” The man grunted, expelling an angry rush of air as he hit the sand.

Rory resisted the urge to leap back into the fray. He’d been in enough fights to know men with tunnel vision didn’t live to fight another day. Giving himself a buffer, he took a few steps back. “I’m not here for you.” This wasn’t the Otherkind Shadow whose dossier he’d spent the better part of the evening memorizing.

Who was this man and why was he tangling with him?

“Do yourself a favor and stay down,” Rory growled while looking around. Several distant figures headed their way from the north and the south. It was entirely possible they weren’t friends of the man who’d tried to jump him. They could be nothing more than the early morning runners they appeared to be. But other runners never made him feel this on edge. Just what in the hell was going on?

“You might not be here for me, Wolf, but we’re here for you.”