THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS (The Devil DeVere book #2) by Victoria Vane

In THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS, (book #2 of the Devil DeVere series) Ned's spoiled daughter Vesta goes to London to find a husband and is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain officer of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons who happens to be DeVere's younger brother Captain Hew.  But when the only man she desires has eyes for her godmother, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove just how wrong he is!

Desperate times call for devilish measures… when the object of one's passion has eyes for another… it's time to take matters in hand!

Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants…Coddled and pampered, since her mother's death, Lady Vesta Chambers is beside herself when her father goes to London to prepare for her come-out and returns with a young bride of his own. With her world turned upside down, Vesta accompanies her godmother, Diana, to town, where she is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain captain of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons.

But when the object of her passion has eyes for another…
Captain Hewett DeVere, younger brother and heir to Viscount Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere, has returned from the American war scarred, disillusioned, and looking forward to settling down to a quiet and respectable life. But when the handsome and straight-laced captain turns his eyes toward the widowed Diana, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove she is no longer a little girl, but a woman with the passion of …a huntress.


THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS is the second title in the Devil DeVere series and a delightfully playful and light-hearted romp!

Here is one of my favorite scenes between Hew and Vesta:

"But it is so large and swollen, is it painful?
"No, just uncomfortable. Now, may we stop discussing my …" the appropriate word for feminine ears failed him.
"Phallus?" she offered. "That is what the grooms call it."
"Why are you eavesdropping on grooms?"
"I used to watch the stallions leaping the mares."
"You what!" Hew almost choked.
"Well, how else is a girl with no mother supposed to get any education? Although I doubt Mama would have told me very much. So there's really no reason to be timid, Hew. I already know all about the mating process. And to the best of my knowledge, the stallions never 'ignored it until it went away.' Please feel free to relieve yourself of it. I would even help you if you would like. I'm not the least afraid for I have seen much larger ones."

LONGER EXCERPT AND BUY LINK:

For information and excerpts on all 4 titles in the Devil DeVere erotic historical romanc series, please visit me at : http://authorvictorivane.com

The Destiny of Shaitan - Origins (Hong Kong/ Bombay)

Hi Everybody,

It’s awesome to be here today. Thank you Goddess Fish for having me. I am a writer based in London. Though originally from India, wanderlust drew me away from my home city of Bombay, and I travelled across South-East Asia, living in Singapore and Hong Kong for a few years. My travels inspired my writing. So in the first of my series of posts here, I wanted to share a little of how The Destiny of Shaitan was born. It was 2003 and wanderlust had led me to Hong Kong. Landing in this city felt as if I had been dropped in a cauldron of seething emotions. As a kineseologist friend said “Hong Kong is the base chakra of the universe, the seat of commerce on Earth.”

Hong Kong - the base chakra of the universe

It made sense, for everywhere around me the thirst for money and the search for a life lived outside oneself -- preferably in a series of the latest branded acquisitions-- ruled. For someone like me who is spiritually in tune with my inner self, the city came as a shock. I could feel my heart beating fast—from the crowds, the people, the uber-tall skyscrapers with their small cell like apartments—one of which became home to me for the few years. I lived in a tiny four-hundred-square-feet apartment. “Eighteen—lucky number,” the landlord had reassured me, when he showed me the place, as apparently, was the street address—Eight Hollywood Road.

 

My 18th floor apartment, #8 Hollywood Road

The belief in numerology runs deep in the Orient, with local businessmen shelling out millions of dollars for a car license plate bearing the number Eight. But I digress, for I am here to share the story of the origins of my novel. One hot perennial-summer-afternoon found me walking down Hollywood Road, wearing my favourite thin cotton cut-off trousers, and a skinny-T-shirt. In that eighty-degrees-heat the less one wore the better, and I had learnt very quickly that even wearing jeans felt claustrophobic. Cotton was best, as it let in the cooler air to keep the skin ventilated. Raindrops drizzled, and a slight sea-breeze crept up, enveloping me in its cooling embrace before fading away. I raised my eyes in delight at the perfect moment and put out my hand to catch the drops of calm in the palm of my hand. Thank you, one above! My phone rang just then, startling me out of my dialogue with the greater force of nature. “Enjoying your walk?” It was the man I had met last night at the salsa bar. Hong Kong—strangely—is a salsa hotspot, and most nights I managed to make it to the gym and then onto a salsa class to give myself over to the pure enjoyment of becoming one with the music. I was a novice and he was obviously a seasoned dancer. I was flattered by his attentions, and for the rest of the evening we twirled, sashayed and swayed together. Seemed he was in the bus that had just gone by, “I saw you talking to yourself” he told me that night as we met at another Saturday night salsa melange.

Everyone dances in Hong Kong

I blushed feeling the blood rush to my face so that the heat curled up from the pits of my stomach all the way to the tips of my eyelids. I blinked. Why did it felt as if he had caught me in the act of making love to myself? Perhaps because at that very moment, when he saw me, I had been one with the universe. In the middle of the city I was in my own private place. No one was meant to see it, and yet he had intruded to see a vulnerable side to me; the one which no-one was meant to know even existed? There are no coincidences. So what was this? All it had been was an emotional exchange, yet the attraction felt wrong, it felt as if coming from a wellspring of hope which I had not known existed within me.

A gaze, a touch, a sizzle

 A gaze, lust. A touch, sizzle. A beat of music, caress. A drop in time, like the rain which chattered down while I had looked up and floated away. Why did it feel so strange? When all I had done was look into his eyes and felt a connection? I had to get to the bottom of these uncharacteristic emotions—hope, lust, guilt—all bubbling up within me and so had put the first words to paper, in the form of a short story. My writing style, it turned out, was firmly rooted in the magic realistic, almost fantasy genre. Set in a futuristic city filled with foreign scenes—similar to the alien city of Hong Kong, where nothing was as it seemed; splattered with characters who were bizarre—much like the own country rejects who came to Hong Kong, attracted by its multilayered, east meets west confluence of sensations, in the hope of finding their path.

Where East meets West. Inspiration for Tiina's adopted planet Java

The unerring precision of being caught in that act by him sends goose pimples up her arms. She plays it out in her mind, examining it from different angles. These were the first lines I wrote in Hong Kong. They found their way into the book for Tiina, my protagonist. A strong, free-spirited, ready-to-fight-for-what-she-believes-in girl she is. The Destiny of Shaitan, #1 in the Chronicle of the Three traces Tiina’s origins too, from her birth to when she is seventeen. The novel tracks the influences of her formative years, from carefree child, to an angst ridden teenager, with the raging confusion of rebellion, first love & first heart-break driving her ultimately on a quest to find out who she really is. The one place I didn’t make it to while living in Hong Kong was Borobudur in Java. It’s ancient yet futuristic locales bridge the old and the new. It inspired the confusion of emotions which Rai goes through. I hope to go there next spring, so stay tuned.

Beautiful Borobudur: Inspiration for Rai's conflicts

In my next post I’ll talk about my life in London as it is today and how the open green spaces of this magnificent city nourished me into finding my voice. Meanwhile you can find Tiina & The Destiny of Shaitan on Amazon http://tiny.cc/szqsew. To find out more about me go to www.laxmihariharan.com

READY. AIM. FIRE! (AND HIT THE CONTEST BULLSEYE!)

Police sniper Collin O'Shea is always vigilant for danger, a trait that serves him well on his job. However, he is totally unprepared for how quickly the innocent sweetness of Beth Boulanger claims his heart. 

LIVING THE LEGACY is the third book of my Legacy Series. Set in the fictional small town of Halo, Oregon, this series jumps into the action-packed lives of eight adopted siblings determined to live up to the legacy of their policeman father. 

Collin is the oldest, and has mapped out his life by asking the question, "What would Bernie do?"

However, when his whirlwind marriage is threatened by long-buried secrets and suspicious "accidents," Collin must step out of his adoptive father's long blue shadow to save his wife and unborn child. 

During July, I'm also participating in a blog tour organized by Goddess Fish. Follow me on tour to find out more about LIVING THE LEGACY and the other books of the Legacy Series. You can also win weekly gift certificates, as well as a grand prize at the end of the month. For details, please visit my LEGACY blog at <http://oshealegacyseries.blogspot.com/>.

Posted by Genie Gabriel <www.GenieGabriel.com>.

Big Happy Hi to All! 

First, thanks for stopping by. How awesome of you to drop in and give me a chance to share my debut novel with you. I am super, super excited. (Can't you tell?) Let's start from the beginning. What's it all about?

Crimson Footprints

When an insecure woman begins a cloak-and-dagger love affair with a Japanese American man, she is intent on keeping her bigoted family in the dark albeit with devastating consequences. On the night of her brother s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Porsche will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could've done the same. But love's a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this for now. After all, Deena's career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she s never had. And away from him.

Drop back periodically today, for a chance to win a copy of Crimson Footprints, peek behind the veil of creation, and get a first ever glimpse of my WIP (work in progress). See you soon!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/KGTeZE

For Your Favorite eReader: http://bit.ly/LwN2Eo

Twitter: @ShewandaP

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/LoVWjJ

To Blow Me Kisses: www.shewandapugh.com

Welcome to the July Monthly Release Party!

Welcome to the July Monthly Release Party!

This month we have more than a dozen authors in various genres here to chat with us, to share excerpts and to host giveaways.

Remember, too, that every comment on any and every post today earns you an entry into a drawing for a $10 Amazon GC!!

So come early, come often, and read and comment. You'll find new authors, add to your TBR pile AND have a chance to win.

Blind Heat Game and Giveaway Part 3 (adult)

Welcome to a some cool fun for a hot Sunday. To celebrate the release of Blind Heat, the second book in my Pantherian Passions series, I've set up a little game related to the story.

Our hero, Marcus St. Germaine has a habit he hasn't been able to kick. At the start of Blind Heat he gives into temptation and this time it gets him into trouble. I'll be sharing the first chapter in blog posts throughout the day. At the end of each post, I'll show you a picture and tell you the name of the blog where it's hidden. Simply email Master Bond ( the kinky French Chef from The Dungeon Gourmet) lemarquis.debond on gmail.com telling him where you found the picture. For every correct answer you send in, you'll get your name in the hat. The prize is your choice of my backlist:

The Tiger's Tale (First book in the Pantherian Passions Series)
The Dungeon Gourmet
Snatch Me

I'll announce the winner Monday morning on the Words, Women, Wisdom blog.
 Happy Hunting and good luck. I'll be checking back throughout the day, so if you have questions, leave them in the comments and I'll be along shortly with an answer.

Blind Heat: Excerpt 3

A grim smile tugged his lips. He wouldn’t invest any hope in promises.

He needed all his energies tuned to the task at hand. Using water rather than a mirror portal to travel from one place to the next was a skill few Pantherians achieved. It required more concentration than most had the patience for.

The water gleamed in the pool surrounding him, and he refocused, his mind imprinting an image of the place he intended to go on the surface. When the vision was fully formed he stepped out onto the water, hovering for a moment before melting away below the surface like the snowflakes that swirled and vanished behind him.
He rematerialized just below a manhole cover in the basement of the lab. He’d meant to resurface at the edge of the wood that bordered the parking lot. Inaccuracy was especially problematic through a source in constant motion, like water. The stream was channeled under the building through a concrete culvert. He hadn’t landed where he planned, but he’d probably landed at the easiest place to gain entry unnoticed.

He pressed his palms to the cover, greasy moisture beaded on the surface made him want to pull his hands back, wash them clean. Darkness concealed whatever might be floating in the inky liquid lapping at his chest. Nothing could conceal the odors of mold and rot so intense he could feel them seep into his pores.

Resisting the urge to hurl himself upward out of this tight space with its slimy walls, his senses tuned to the security guard in an office near the front door. Dipping into the man’s mind was like walking into a bedroom unannounced. That was no security report he was working on at his computer. Marcus could see through the man’s eyes, black letters taking shape in a tiny box on the computer display. Come on, sugar, turn that webcam on and let me see your pretty smile. You can trust me.

The guard was thinking—Am I rushing her? Will she think I’m a jerk?

There was no other human presence in the vicinity. Marcus tuned him out and worried about security cameras as he pushed up. The cover gave under pressure and slid back, the ring of metal grating over concrete reverberated softly in the open space above him. Marcus chinned up and did a quick survey. Concrete floors, pallets stacked with cardboard boxes, steel drums and sacks of what smelled like animal feed. No security cameras in evidence here, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be electronic eyes beyond the warehouse area.

Cold set his teeth chattering. Enough worrying. He had to do it or go. He pushed up and stood dripping on the concrete, raking water from his hair with numb fingers, stamping his feet to regain feeling in his legs. When he looked down he went still, startled by the long, narrow print of bare foot, a damp stain on concrete. Squatting, he slid the manhole back in place and considered the options he should have considered before he came leaping to the rescue.

Security cameras recording images of a human produced an identifiable intruder to track down. Human bodies were poorly equipped to handle wet and cold at once. A dripping, naked man would leave tracks all over the place. Odds were the guard would know these scientists did animal research, but not necessarily what types of animals were in residence. If he discovered Marcus and thought him an escaped experiment, he’d hesitate to harm a leopard as long as he didn’t feel directly threatened.
Shifting was the only option.

He was close enough now for his keen ears to hear the hybrid’s cry with more than his mind. Above him, just two stories up, her keening set the other furred inmates to restless stirring and scuffling. The sounds faded with his body as Marcus went transparent and moved to the next dimension to gather his energy as a leopard and return.

Could he count on cybersex to hold the guard’s attention for the ten minutes or so he needed to get in and out?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find these cuties at PassionsPortal.com (Website for a new series I'll be contributing to)

Congratulations to our July $10 Amazon GC for following!

Every month we'll give away a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate to one of our Party Pavilion blog followers.

This month, http://www.random.org selected:

Viari Rose!

::::THROWS CONFETTI:::

Remember ... we only post the winner here on the blog. If you are our winner, please email us at goddessfish AT gmail DOT com by 7/8/12 to claim your prize.