2017 in Review

Holy cow, guys! I had 3 new books come out in the last 2 months of 2017! 
If I had to narrow my writing down to 3 genres, I would have hit them all. 
I had a Paranormal MF romance

, a MM Christmas story

, and a Lesbian Contemporary story

Thank you to all of you who buy and read my books. I wish you all peace and love in 2018. 

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Sassy in the Snow Release Day

Escape into Milly Taiden's Sassy Ever After Kindle World. A new release by Tracey Steinbach

Blurb:

Jolene Todd has been patiently waiting for the completion of her bar remodel. Finding herself in need of something to occupy her time, Jolene agrees to house sit for a friend. The peace and quiet is a nice change from the rowdy atmosphere of her bar, but soon the calm comes to a crashing halt when Jolene finds herself face to face with a dashing shifter.
Ryker Stevens prides himself on being the town Sheriff and an enforcer of the pack. While tracking a rouge wolf, Ryker happens upon a home and meets a woman who just may be the missing piece of his heart.
Follow Ryker and Jolene as they overcome a mix-up and tread the waters of romance in Sassy in the Snow by Tracey Steinbach.

 

A special thank you to Taylor Dawn for the beautiful cover and help with my blurb. 

 

This launch the Sassy Ever After Kindle World authors have a special surprise for you. Barbara Wolfe has a message but to find it.... Well you have to visit each author's FB page or website and find the "hidden word" on their release day post.
The word(s) could be on a teaser, all caps, in italics, a different color.. etc. It just stands out in some way.
When you put all the words together to make a statement, Email it to Jennifer @ Carpediem5366@gmail.com

One person will be picked to win a kindle!

Authors are listed in random order:
https://www.michelebardsley.com/the-pack-rules
http://aidyaward.com/books/dragons-love-curves/
www.elianneadams.com
https://www.facebook.com/AliyahBurkeAuthor/
www.facebook.com/EMarieBooks
https://www.facebook.com/RobbieCoxAuthor/
https://www.facebook.com/CodiGarysBooks/
https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaBenjaminAuthor/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTaylorDawn/

A special treat for you: We all uploaded the first chapter of our books to Instafreebie.  It will be live for one month. https://www.instafreebie.com/gg/V2hIUh7St3sBeSLKhPgF

 

 

 Read a

Timeless Surrender Cover Reveal

Timeless Surrender, Book 3 of New Camelot 

Blurb: 

History branded him a coward. Prophecy labeled her his destruction. Some legends are born of lies. Others begin when the lies end. And not everything remains myth...

If you could live forever, what would you choose to live for? I chose power.

Born of darkness and raised on revenge, Mordred Lothian spent an eternity fighting for the honor of a woman who had none. Free of her hatred, his only goal is to pick up the pieces of betrayal and attempt to forge a new life in a world that never wanted him. Raised by one of Hollywood's most scandalous actresses, Jenalyn Rhodes knows true illusion begins when the end credits roll. Damaged by the one person who should have protected her most, she is determined to have no master and only one mistress: Herself. Thrown together to stop an ancient evil hell bent on vengeance, can the sacrifice of one be the salvation of the other? 

You've loved through the Night. You've burned with Desire. This summer, prepare to Surrender. 

 

 

Torie James

Facebook    Twitter     Website   Pinterest

 

The Ghost of Secret's Gate

The Ghost of Secret's Gate

Genre: Paranormal/Contemporary Romance

Series: Loch Ness Legends #1

He wanted a home...

1861. Estranged from his family for a shocking betrayal, Highlander Lachlan MacQueen is a man who lives by his rules and no other. Reckless and rootless, he roams the border towns between Scotland and England, a mercenary for hire with an unspoken determination to regain all he's lost. By any means necessary.

When he inadvertently saves the life of Queen Victoria, she rewards him with a royal boon, the deed to a small manse nestled along the shores of Loch Ness called Secret's Gate and a stipend to ensure his outlaw days are over. But past sins demand payment and when the price becomes too high, Lachlan's untimely death becomes another skeletal ghost in an unopened closet.

She wanted to heal...

2017. Verity Harper's memories of Secret's Gate are hazy at best. Two months spent in Scotland 25 years ago echo with remnants of a mysterious, hasty departure home to America and fresh beginnings with her mother, Pamela and new stepfather, Archibald MacQueen.

 Now, she returns to claim the legacy left to her by Archie; the very manor of her erstwhile childhood summer. But the free spirited, fun loving child that roamed the grounds with innocent glee has been replaced by a heartbroken woman full of remorse and shattered by regret.

And now, she's beginning to question her sanity when an alluringly familiar voice in her head opens the floodgates to a piece of her past long forgotten.

Can a lie that destroyed one life give another the truth it needs to be whole?

Author's Note:

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. Once a year, my mother and I watch it together, it's our "thing".

I've always wanted to write my own ghostly love story but they can be tricky in various ways. I finally bit the bullet though and began work on "The Ghost of Secret's Gate". It ended up turning into a much larger story than originally intended but I am so happy with the end result!

It's got a few of my favorite things: Scotland, Hot Ghost Dude and did I mention Scotland?

So, meet my new friend Verity, a woman tottering on the brink of defeat....

Excerpt:

Ah, she couldn't get enough of Clare's raspberry cranachan trifle. Clearly by the feel of her skirt's tightening waistline.

Voices, however, she'd had enough of and reached for one of the six pill bottles on the nightstand, deftly plucking one from the rest. Her auditory hallucinations weren't a result of a psychosis, so there was no actual medicine to treat her. She refused to take anti-psychotics, scared it would do irreparable damage to her already battered brain. She noticed it only flared when she grew irritated or anxious, thus she had grudgingly accepted the doctor's recommendation of Halcion, in its lowest doseage. Sedating her brain activity afforded pockets of relief from hearing things. Thinking things.

What's happened to you, sweetheart?

Uncapping the bottle, she shook out a pill, popped it into her mouth and took a swig from the glass of water Clare had brought her earlier. Well, thank you for asking, Voice in My Head. Let's see. Life. Life happened. I grew up, got a job, made a career, married, divorced. Nearly got crushed by a train while working on location. Spent a lot of time in physical therapy for my back while alternately falling in love with painkillers. Lost my mind and my job after that. Lot of fuzzy time in between in which I did some pretty shameless things to keep my fix going. Woke up one day, decided this was my story and since I was holding the pen, it was time for a rewrite. Got clean, got a new job and got engaged. But instead of planning a wedding, I ended up missing a funeral after I killed my parents. That about sums it up. Oh, and my fiancé dumped me because my face is no longer pleasing to the eye. Anything I left out can be found in the brochure. Grab one on your way out. I'm here all week, try the veal!

Release Date: 2/16/2017

Will be available on:

www.amazon.com

Author Bio:

Born on the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous,Torie is the illegitimate love child of Han Solo and Daenerys Targaryen. Rescued by Gandalf shortly before her home planet was destroyed in the last days of the Clone Wars, she was raised in relative obscurity by her foster parents, Severus Snape and Pippi Longstocking. At the tender age of 113, she inherited the best little whorehouse in Texas and is rumored to be bringing Sexy Back. A self confessed chocoholic, she’s been engaged to Willy Wonka despite gossip surrounding a lifelong affair with Bruce Wayne.

And clearly, she practices delusion on a daily basis.

The truth is, I’m just an overgrown kid with a vivid imagination who loves to write and share my crazy with the world. My future plans include, hopefully, buying a lovely Scottish castle and convincing Queen Elizabeth I that I’d make a fab addition to the Royal Family.

Four years ago, I finally got my ‘brave’ on and submitted a wee story about true love, honor, friendship and the magic within us all. That story was Timeless Night, the first book in a five book series I’ve named New Camelot. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to have published Timeless Desire (Book 2 of New Camelot), Beauty and The Feast (A New Camelot Thanksgiving Novella) Ties That Bind (The Cloie Chronicles I), Fractured Fantasies (Valentine’s Venom), Fractured Fantasies (Volume 1-6) and slew of short stories.

I live in Southern California, a stone’s throw from Disneyland, with my family and the most ridiculously spoiled pets anyone could imagine. I wake everyday with the determination to make this life as random, quirky and beautiful as it can be.

If I haven't scared you off yet, feel free to track me down at any of the following!

You can find/follow Torie at:

Blog and Website: https://toriejames.wordpress.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/WriterGurl216

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Writergurl216

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7054839.Torie_N_James

Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CTBYH0M

The Ghost of Secret's Gate Cover Reveal

The Ghost of Secret's Gate

He wanted a home...

1861. Estranged from his family for a shocking betrayal, Highlander Lachlan MacQueen is a man who lives by his rules and no other. Reckless and rootless, he roams the border towns between Scotland and England, a mercenary for hire with an unspoken determination to regain all he's lost. By any means necessary.

When he inadvertently saves the life of Queen Victoria, she rewards him with a royal boon, the deed to a small manse nestled in Crathie called Secret's Gate and a stipend to ensure his outlaw days are over. But past sins demand payment and when the price becomes too high, Lachlan's untimely death becomes another skeletal ghost in an unopened closet.

She wanted to heal...

2016. Verity McClellan's memories of Secret's Gate are hazy at best. Two months spent in Scotland 25 years ago echo with remnants of a mysterious, hasty departure home to America and fresh beginnings with her mother, Pamela and new stepfather, Archibald MacQueen.

 Now, she returns to claim the legacy left to her by Archie; the very manor of her erstwhile childhood summer. But the free spirited, fun loving child that roamed the castle with innocent glee has been replaced by a heartbroken woman full of remorse and shattered by regret. And now, she's beginning to question her sanity when an alluringly familiar voice in her head opens the floodgates to a piece of her past long forgotten.

Can a lie that destroyed one life give another the truth it needs to be whole?

Coming October 20^th, 2016 by Torie James

Find Torie at any of the following cool kid spots:

Blog and Website: https://toriejames.wordpress.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/WriterGurl216

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Writergurl216

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7054839.Torie_N_James

Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CTBYH0M

Club Revenge (Dysfunction at its Finest Book 1)

A family forged in battle. 

Amora Medina-Jackyl knew one thing well—vengeance. She’d inflicted pain without mercy to those who deserved the punishment. She’d lived by one motto her entire existence-- family was to be protected above all else. An ancient cult murdered her parents and siblings when she was little more than a child. The Order of Angelus hadn’t understood the Hell they’d brought down on themselves that one brutal night. 

Amora was many things in her four centuries. A daughter and a sister, a mother, yet she was best known as a killer. When she finally meets her end, Amora will have hundreds, maybe thousands of lives to answer for. Her only wish is to find one moment of peace. She denies her need as much as she fights to protect it. When the one woman who can bring her serenity comes into her life: can Amora destroy century old walls to let her in? 

Lies and conspiracies tear at the fabric of sanity—of what’s right. Can truths come to light that change the reality of a family who’s known only the taste of revenge and loss? 

Author's Note: This is a previously published title. It was released as a two-part novel, it has been expanded and re-edited. This is a standalone novel. 

BUY LINKS

Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | All Romance Ebooks | iTunes | B&N

Excerpt:

The deep bass pounded beneath the thick soles of Amora's boots. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked around Club Revenge with a sense of pride. She had been in New Orleans off and on for several years, walked the streets every night before she decided to settle in. Blues and jazz flowed from every open bar and club door. She’d lived countless places in her four hundred years of existence, but this one was the only one that called to the remaining vestiges of her soul.

Bodies moved on the dance floor, hands stroked over exposed, silky flesh or along corded muscle. Lust tinged the air, everyone in the room felt it and sensed the urgency. Any other night she would make her way onto the crowded dance floor, become lost in the sea of bodies. She'd find a warm body for the evening, draw the woman into her and get lost in the sensory overload--the scent of sweet skin devoid of the cloying stench of perfume, hear the breathlessness of her voice, and taste the salt of heat-dampened skin. But not tonight.

A few nights had passed since she had a perfect armful of female. Owning Revenge made it easy to find a lover for the night, but she grew weary. Her reputation, the thrill of lying with a monster, and they submitted easily. Sex was sex, too simple to get. Some lonely souls craved contact, unconcerned with the temporary nature—a well-cultivated cover for what they wanted. Amora shook her head and lifted her hand, whipped her towel from its perch and wiped down the shiny bar.

Last call approached, she signaled her performers, they wandered from the direction of the stage and dressing room. Soon, Amora would lower the music and tell everyone it was time to go home then she and her people would relax for the rest of the night. It was the only time she had a moment’s peace, because when dawn made its inevitable arrival, the nightmares—or more like day-mares—would come with the promise of strangling fear.

She tipped her driving cap lower over her eyes, she went about setting up the customers at the bar with another round. Amora joked where it was appropriate, flirted with the women in hopes she’d find a distraction from what would come. Her lovers never stayed the day, she always ushered them out before dawn, her pride, or as some would say, arrogance wouldn't allow anyone to see the weakness of her fight against her demons. They were real ones, not just the ones who sprang from the bowels of a mythological Hell, but also flesh and blood ones. Witnesses to her every weakness—the blubbered pleas for her life, for sustenance. They’d starved her, and turned her into a weapon—they had stolen too many years.

Eighty-seven years locked in a cell, dying in small measures of time, flesh became paper-thin. Gums receded, her body emaciated from the withholding of blood she had needed to survive. She learned the exact smell of her flesh as it burned, what it looked like falling as ash to the dirt floor. The horrors she had faced, the acts she had perpetrated haunted her, but she merely wanted to sleep, to find contentment and peace.

Her greatest regrets came to her in blaring clarity, all her mistakes, the faces of all the innocents, and the not so innocent, moved in a macabre play behind scratchy eyelids. Amora would feel the wetness of tears trailing down from the corners of her eyes as she fought each day to remain somewhat sane. Those tears failures she wouldn’t let anyone else see.

Amora always woke to screams and hisses, lingered pasts, realized the agony wasn’t hers not that of her mother. She would curl upward, wrap her arms around her raised legs and rock, force the clinging memories away. Amora didn’t know when or if she would find peace. With each year, decade and century that passed, her doubts of some happiness faded or shattered in the reality of her existence. All she had was an existence. She survived and little more than that. She found bliss in warm bodies, in the clasp of feminine legs and arms. An empty momentary sexual oblivion.

Genre: Lesbian Dark Fantasy Paranormal

Word Count: 59,000

The Smexy Romance Blog Hop and Giveaway

Her Christmas Tree by Tracey Steinbach

Blurb:
Employer and employee, vampire and human, he drives her nuts, she threatens his existence. The situation is complicate enough, but when love is thrown into the mix, things really get out of control. Romance author Tracey Steinbach is pleased to present her paranormal romance Her Christmas Tree. You’ll love this holiday treat!

Excerpt:

Miranda’s heels clicked loudly across the marble floor as she stomped her way down the hall. She pressed her lips together to keep from shrieking at the infuriating man. If he didn’t watch himself, she was going to stake him through the heart in his sleep. Would serve the arrogant bastard right if she did.

Did you hear that? One of these days I’m going to stake you in your sleep!

Matthias’s deep chuckle was the only answer she received. That quickened Miranda’s stride, sparking more of her anger. How dare Matthias deny her a few days off? It was Christmas, for heaven’s sake! She knew he didn’t celebrate it, but she did. It was her favorite holiday, and she wanted to spend it doing what she wanted, not catering to his every need. No, she didn’t have any family to spend it with, and she barely had any friends, it seemed like every time she planned something with Beth and Vicki, Matthias would beep her with some emergency. They never turned out to be real emergencies, though. Miranda suspected that he was trying to keep her in the house and away from other people. She just couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t like she was going to go blathering on about her boss the vampire. Who would believe her?

Miranda had stomped her way to the other side of the house when her PDA went off. The man was bound and determined to make her crazy today. She activated the touch screen, bringing his message up.

If it will make you happy, you may put up a tree in my living room. Not that I want one. I do not. But if it will keep you from staking me in my sleep, so be it.

Miranda could almost feel his amusement. Fine, he was giving her permission for a tree? It was going to be the biggest tree that would fit in there. Miranda allowed a small smile to curve her lips. At least she’d get to do some decorating. When she’d moved from her dinky little apartment to the wing of Matthias’s house, she had mourned the loss of her own space to decorate for holidays. Matthias had said she could do whatever she wanted to her rooms, but it wasn’t the same as having a tree lit in front of a picture window, sharing it with whomever happened by. That was one of the best parts of the Christmas season, to her mind. The feeling of giving and sharing, that normally eluded the public, was present. It warmed her heart to do for others, which was one of the things that made her good at her job. Yeah, sometimes her boss was a pain in the ass, but she was happy most of the time. He obviously was happy with her, too, or he’d have fired her long before now.

I'll be giving one copy of Her Christmas Tree to someone who answers the question: Would you want to be a vampire, if you could?

http://www.lsbooks.com/her-christmas-tree-p1092.php

Entry-Form

Wet Heat by LM LeFERRUR

Wet Heat: The Aphrodite Chronicles Story One

Erotic Paranormal Short Story

Blurb:

Attorney Naida Bouche has a secret… of paranormal proportions!

The secret tore her, and fellow attorney, Coop’s, marriage apart. She let her guard down and allowed herself to love. But that love—and the passion that followed—could have been the death of them…well, him.

A chance encounter in judge’s chambers catapult Coop Martin’s and his ex-wife’s libidos into overdrive. Add being stuck in an elevator to the mix and desires explode. Coop wants his wife back but she’s thrown up a roadblock that he’s determined to break through.

Can their undeniable chemistry be enough for Naida to reveal who—and what—she is? And could Coop still love her should the truth be revealed?

Excerpt 1

The last vestiges of summer

Second Chance, Pennsylvania

Water cascaded off her nude body. Small rivulets ran over her breasts and down her slightly rounded stomach, disappearing into the surface of the lake.

She was one with the water.

She could, literally, become one with it.

Moonlight reflected off the mirror-smooth surface, adding a soft glow to the night. Crickets serenaded her with their chirping song. A wolf howled in the distance. Nature cocooned her.

She grinned and dove under. Liquid embraced her, still heated from the sun’s rays of earlier in the day. Her body became insubstantial, fragmenting into molecules of H2O. Disorientation left her bewildered, but the feeling came and went. Weightless warmth enveloped her, and the ebb and flow of the tide lulled her into blissful relaxation.

The moon slid across the sky. Hours had passed. Her body became corporeal with a single thought. After regaining her human form, she cut through the water with powerful strokes and rose to the surface in a rush of bubbles.

The night air chilled her damp skin, raising goose pimples along her flesh. She pushed the long fall of golden blonde tresses from her face and glanced into the deep, lush woods that ringed the lake. Soon the leaves would change to shades of gold, orange, red, and brown. In would come the autumnal chill. Her time in the waters would decrease, and then winter would set in and freeze her out.

When that happened, she’d resort to the swimming pool located on the basement level of her large log home. Even with the greenery she had sprinkled about, it never fully replaced the exhilaration of the lake, the feel of fresh air against her skin, and the scent of the wilderness.

She repeated the cycle, year after year. The monotony had long since worn short on her nerves.

At one time, she’d had someone to break the mundane tones of her life.

But she had ruined that.

He hadn’t understood the need, the drive, to be one with the water.

She had allowed it to build a wall between them.

But how could he have understood? Hell, she’d have trouble believing the truth, if it wasn’t her life.

The root of their problems had been otherworldly, as her father was human and her mother was a water nymph.

The nymph side of her heritage presented two problems. First, she needed daily contact with a body of water. Like her pool in the basement. Second, she also needed a daily dose of sex. Preferably more than once a day. After all, the term “nymphomaniac” had been born of a nymph’s sex drive.

No, he had never known the truth of her desires.

She had pushed him away, afraid of exposing her real self.

And that fear, that uncertainty, had left her alone…and needy.

Buy Links:

Amazon - http://amzn.to/1F0r9uH

Author Bio:

I'm a writer of sexy romances with a kick of heat! Though my contracted stories are paranormals, I haven't discounted writing a contemporary or two.

I live in Pennsylvania just a hair shy of the Maryland border. I live with a family I adore which includes two furry feline children and a furry canine daughter.

In my spare time, I'm more than likely watching television. I watch Bones, Blue Bloods, NCIS:New Orleans, or some sort of car show like Wheeler Dealers.

I'm a huge sports fan, football in particular. During the fall/winter, I'm watching Notre Dame or Penn State on Saturdays and the Saints or Colts on Sunday.

I've been known to have my nose buried in a book. Nora Roberts/JD Robb and Clive Cussler are favorites of mine. I know, I know...Clive Cussler isn't a romance author. The man can weave a tale of adventure like no other!

Find me at:

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author Page