Readers' Heaven - Dariel's New Year Reunion - Day Four



Hi, and welcome back to our New Year's Reunion! It's day seven, last day! Every day you take a look and comment, you'll receive extra points, so if you're new to the event, you'll want to take a look at posts from the last three days to catch up. Make sure you enter the Rafflecopter and include your email address in your comment. Don't miss a day, and have fun :-)


Kayelle Allen


What’s Happening Now? Interview
Kayelle Allen
1.    First, looking back, how do you feel about your 2013 goals and how well did you do in reaching them? What helped or hindered your success?
I set the goal of publishing two books this year and writing one new one. I accomplished all that. What helped? Can I put "desperation" as a motivating factor? LOL I really needed something new, and I was able to deliver that.

2.    Life happens, and every writer is subject to its effects (positive or challenging). What personal (spiritual, emotional, physical, professional) life changes do you foresee affecting your writing this year?
In 2013, three of my family members died: a brother-in-law, and my father-in-law, and on the day of his funeral, one of my sisters. It was a tough year in that sense. I am working to get into better physical shape for 2014. I'm in the process of writing goals for that now. I am much more balanced as a person than I was at the beginning of this year.

3.    What have you learned about yourself recently as a writer (one random thing)?
That I love role-playing as a means of creating characters. I'd RP'd before, but had never done it to flesh out a character. It was great fun.

4.    How many books have you published (include anthologies)? Tell me about them (genre, bibliography)
I've had 10 books published. Four just went out of print (as of December 1, 2013). Three will be going back into print in January 2014. That fourth will get a sequel and come out later in the year.
I have seven Scifi Romance books, and two contemporary BDSM romances. Some are gay romances, others are het. Current books are:
Fifty Gays of Shade http://is.gd/50gaysofshade

5.    What can we look forward to from you in 2014 (special projects, books and anthologies of course)
Readers can sign up for a fun newsletter that reveals all sorts of good things and has links to free reads. http://eepurl.com/G3YND
Books coming soon: Tales of the Chosen trilogy: Wulf, Alitus, Jawk (MM Scifi set in the Tarthian Empire)
Wulf
Superstar Wulf Gabriel must depend on the one man he swore he would never trust again. The most powerful and feared man in the empire - the Harbinger. Lust. Power. Forgiveness. A Chosen loves forever.
Alitus
The empress asks her trusted spymaster, Alitus, to discover if a friend's lover is having an affair. The truth could alter age-old alliances and rock the empire to its core. Passion. Submission. Loyalty. A Chosen bares his heart forever.
Jawk
When immortal Luc Saint-Cyr arranges a menage with Wulf and Jawk, he gets far more than he bargained for. Pleasure. Trust. Possession. A Chosen's betrayal is forever.

Bringer of Chaos
This will be an illustrated book done in collaboration with my son Jamin Allen of Nimajination Studios. Pietas is the ruler of the immortals, and this will be his origin story. We plan to release it in two parts.

6.    Which of your books would you suggest to someone new to your writing and why?
At the Mercy of Her Pleasure was my first book, and it gives a good feel for the Tarthian Empire where most of my books take place. It features a younger man and older woman, and has several twists, one being that the man is the innocent virgin and the woman is more experienced. It's also a good introduction to Luc Saint-Cyr, who is not a hero in that book, but is in many of the others.
7.    What’s your favorite online hangout (complete link – only one)?
Oh easily Twitter. http://twitter.com/kayelleallen I'm a nut for all things Loki and Avengers, and you can get your fill there. I have a Paper.li newsletter devoted to them that publishes on Twitter. It's called Loki's Army Recruiters. http://paper.li/kayelleallen/1383533309 Okay, that's two, but you can read the paper.li on Twitter. ^_^ And thanks for asking this question!


Kayelle's Social Hangouts:


Dara Young

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What’s Happening Now? Interview
1.    First, looking back, how do you feel about your 2013 goals and how well did you do in reaching them? What helped or hindered your success?
Goals? Was I supposed to have goals? Just kidding! I fell a little short on the goals I would have liked to hit, but hey, there is still time for me to hear from Harlequin. Right?
2.    Life happens, and every writer is subject to its effects (positive or challenging). What personal (spiritual, emotional, physical, professional) life changes do you foresee affecting your writing this year?
Right now, just time management. As always, I work full time, write part time, have a husband, and am an active member of my local RWA chapter.
3.    What have you learned about yourself recently as a writer (one random thing)?
Nothing new lately, but I hope to have a different answer to that question after 2014. If we aren't learning and changing then we aren't growing and improving.
4.    How many books have you published (include anthologies)? Tell me about them (genre, bibliography)
The Cancan Dancer & The Duke - historical romance
5.    What can we look forward to from you in 2014 (special projects, books and anthologies of course)
I am planning to self-publish a paranormal romance this year called Boiling Point (Aegis Book 1). It will be the first in what I hope will be a four book series. Guess it all depends on how readers like the first book.
6.    Which of your books would you suggest to someone new to your writing and why?
I guess it would have to be The Cancan Dancer and The Duke since it's my only book published.
7.    What’s your favorite online hangout (complete link – only one)?
http://www.twitter.com/dyromance

Zenobia Renquist

CREAM (On the Hunt) by Zenobia Renquist

He got grabby but it'll take more than that to keep her.

Haruto's first attempt to secure a mate failed, leaving him on the brink of death. And then he met Janine. Claiming her saves his life but Haruto and Janine both come to realize the bond they share is more than a simple cure. Learning to be a couple is the only option because the magic won't let them live without each other.

Excerpt: Getting It Right by Zenobia Renquist

Janine walked over to him and crouched down. He didn’t look strong enough to stay sitting up, let alone to hurt her. “So you claimed me because you’re dying?”
“Yes. Starving to death.” Haruto braced one hand on the ground as he started to fall over. “My kind feeds on sexual energy.”
“Well, that explains a lot.” When he looked at her, she made a “keep going” motion. If he didn’t remember licking her pussy, she wasn’t going to educate him. That might give him ideas. “And?”
“I and the others of my generation were stricken with an age-old malady to block our ability to feed until we claimed a potential mate.”
“You’re impotent, then?”
“No. My ability to have sex remains, but I gain no sustenance from it. As well, my power to draw and entice women to me was rendered inert.” He closed his eyes and his brow creased as though he were in pain.
She placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. When Haruto looked at her, she asked, “So you can feed now, right? You said that tattoo means you claimed me, so you can feed now.” She paused in thought. “Do you have to feed from me?”
“I don’t have the strength to go anywhere else. Breaking free of the void and unconsciously seeking you out sapped the last of my strength.” He turned his gaze to the tentacle stretched out on the floor. “I can no longer feel it. Soon it will fade and my death will follow shortly after.”
Janine didn’t like this talk of death and Haruto’s seeming resignation. “Will it hurt?”
He looked at her. “Does sex normally hurt you?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
“And that’s all you need?”
“Yes.”
She pushed to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is this a line?”
“Line?” Haruto stared up at her in confusion.
“I’ve known plenty of guys who play the pity card to get sex. You look rough but you don’t look like you’re about to drop dead.”
They locked gazes for several breaths. Haruto smiled and straightened so he sat on his knees. He drew his tentacle back to himself, wrapping it around his waist. While he still appeared exhausted, the hopeless aura that had been surrounding him disappeared. “It seems my mate is smart.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means you are not as gullible as the other women I’ve known.”
“Thanks.”
Looking into her eyes, he said, “I request humbly to have sex with you.”
“You don’t look humble.”
He bent forward, resting his hands on the floor in front of him, and bowed to her. “Please. It is true I am no longer close to death, but I am far from healed.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Pleasure.”
“And?”
Zenobia and her books on the Web

Jessica Nicholls

Interview - "What's Happening Now?"
1.       1.      First, looking back, how do you feel about your 2013 goals and how well did you do in reaching them? What helped or hindered your success? I think I have done ‘alright’ in 2013.  I didn’t participate in NaNoWriMo 2013 which I’m annoyed about,  but I did do JuNoWriMo and the product of that is really starting to blossom.   Plus there was the Here Kitty Kitty project Mia Darien invited me to be involved in.  My writing improves a little every year.  What helps would be the time I am now gifted during the week (my kids are now of an age where they are both in school at the same time, in the same place).   A balanced lifestyle helps me write.   I like running, I get irritated if I can’t get out and expel the stress.  Eating right and sleeping enough are also really important.  Then again, when I say balanced if I’ve been too good I get bored and I feel a need to indulge in a bit of wine or rich food.    You know the saying?  All work and no play?….that’s part of the balance.   What hinders?  Life….
2.     Life happens, and every writer is subject to its effects (positive or challenging). What personal (spiritual, emotional, physical, professional) life changes do you foresee affecting your writing this year? This year, well my biggest challenge in life is being a parent.  But there are others - My other half is ridiculously busy starting his business so it’s pretty much me all the time with the kids.  We are live abroad and sometimes that’s hard.  Sometimes I find the chaos a bit much, I crave complete normality, being surrounded by cultural familiarity, knowing exactly who is going to be where and when and for how long, what we are doing next week, next weekend, etc.    It makes clearing my head difficult, so that I can’t focus on my stories.  I wish I could control life more.   But I can’t.    Accepting that sometimes, is hard.  But when I do, and I just get on with the writing, I find it fulfilling.
3.      What have you learned about yourself recently as a writer (one random thing)?  I write better when I try different things out, flip between genres.   
4.     How many books have you published (include anthologies)? Tell me about them (genre, bibliography)  I have had one short story, entitled In Our Nature, published in a paranormal romance anthology called Here Kitty Kitty. 
5.     What can we look forward to from you in 2014 (special projects, books and anthologies of course)  In 2014 I am going to put out a story called Into The Arms of Morpheus.  I’ve been working on it on and off for years.   I’ve recently gotten some good feedback about it so it is getting close to being ready.   I suppose it would be considered a dark fantasy.  Its main focus is a young woman who has an obsession with Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.    I’m also going to be involved in another romance anthology spearheaded by Mia Darien.  The funds for this will go to the Red Cross.  So it will be a worthy purchase when it comes out. 
6.      Which of your books would you suggest to someone new to your writing and why?  Really, at this point I would suggest people purchase Here Kitty Kitty and read In Our Nature (as well as the other stories because they are awesome).    Here Kitty Kitty involves the type of authors I love to read – I’m a sucker for paranormal romance and all of them have such a different approach.   I would only write what I would enjoy reading.   For me, it’s the dark stuff that tends to capture me most.   Check out the short story, and look out for Morpheus in early spring 2014. 
7.    What’s your favorite online hangout (complete link – only one)?    http://www.empireonline.com/  I love empire magazine.  I usually agree with their reviews.  I find the writing on there really intelligent (but not pretentious) and so funny.  Plus, they are usually quite fair.  If they have to say something uncomplimentary it is done with good reason and not for the purposes of just being nasty.  All of the articles on there I have read are written by people who are genuinely passionate about films. 

P.L. Parker

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Blurb: “Beyond Tomorrow” Book 3 in “Riley’s Journey series” by PL Parker
The vicious and predatory Cros are amassing in ever growing numbers in the foothills above the travelers’ temporary encampment. Facing inevitable attack, the tribe hastens to prepare for the last leg of their journey—the perilous voyage across the Bering Strait to the shores of the Americas . But time is in short supply.
Kidnapped by a band of marauding Cros, Rachel’s fate as a slave is preordained. Females are few, the tribeswomen the ultimate prize and better off dead the reality. But fate is capricious and unsettled. When the savage warrior, Hawk, overpowers her captors and takes her for his own, Rachel’s destiny takes a new direction.


 Excerpt

Sleepless and edgy, Rachel hugged her arms, debating whether to add a few more branches to the fire or tough it out. On the other side of the fire pit the man Hawk slept, the steady rise and fall of his chest the only outward sign that he lived and breathed. She rubbed her cheek, unconsciously studying the male. Savage and untamed, he was an incredible enigma. Muted light from the campfire brushed his bare form with flickering strands of copper highlight, accentuating the ripped abs and muscular thighs. As if sensing her perusal, he sighed, brushing a hand through the tousled locks. I still can’t believe he speaks English!
            He’s the one who saved me from the saber-toothed cat! The same thick curling hair, broad well-muscled chest and powerful arms. He was taller than she’d first believed, standing well over six feet, closer to Jonas’ height Funny! He reminds me of Jonas! Better looking though! But how could a Cro be so good looking? Most of the ones she’d seen up to now were downright butt ugly. Hawk wasn’t pretty boy handsome by modern standards, but the rugged masculine features were much more appealing in her view. Nice teeth too! Too bad he was such a macho pig!
            The cavern was growing colder. She sighed, wishing she’d taken him up on the offer of the bed but after he told her his name, he’d pretty much ignored her. Guess my little outburst  didn’t much  impress him! But what was I supposed to think? Not every day a naked male gives me the come hither sign! For all I knew, he was just another Cro and in the mood for love!
            Stealthy as a field mouse, she crawled to her feet and crossed the few steps to the wood pile. Selecting several nice sized logs, she started back only to stumble to a halt. Hawk’s eyes gleamed beneath the half-closed lids.
            “Cold,” she explained in hushed whisper. Squatting down, she dropped the logs onto the glowing coals, one eye on the fire and the other on the warrior. Feigning indifference, she poked at the branches, blowing on the coals until the wood caught fire.
            He watched her for a few seconds then relaxed, sliding back into slumber with the ease of a child.
            Why is that so effortless for the male population? Men never seemed to let worry keep them from sleeping! Wouldn’t it be nice!
She rocked on her heels, staring into the fire. The faces of those who wouldn’t exist for forty thousand years danced in the flames—parents long dead before she’d even stepped through the time portal, friends and co-workers. The cottage she saved so long for and even the small dog she’d left in the care of the child next door. All lost in the mists of time! An ache grew in her breast. Her life hadn’t been perfect but at least she’d been happy! Not now! She swept tears from her cheeks. I’d go back in a second if I had the chance!
            She almost squealed as Hawk sat up and tossed his leather jerkin and then settled back down. Dumfounded by the unexpected gesture, she reached for the article holding it to her nose. The leather smelled like him, musky and male. By Cro standards, it was a fine piece of handiwork, far above any she’d seen on a savage before, almost as well made as the ones Geena contrived. Quills dyed in reds, blues and yellow decorated the front panels, interspaced by leather fringing, but it was the back panel that was the most impressive. Feathers of all colors were sewn into an intricate pattern, the end result resembling a bird of prey. A hawk most likely! Curious, she glanced at the male. Someone had made the vest with loving hands. Who could it be? Wife, lover, boyfriend? No matter. She wrapped it around her shoulders and lay down, cradling her head on her arm.
Across the fire Hawk’s lips stretched in a brief grin. “Sleep,” he murmured.

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Comments

Melissa Weeks said…
I love the book iv read a few of them the others look like great book cant wait to read them
Melissa Weeks said…
email is misky90501 @ yahoo . com
Dariel Raye said…
Hey, Melissa :-) Happy you stopped by!
Unknown said…
Love to read and these look good. mattnjakesgma@gmail.com
Samantha said…
These books look good!! :O) S-WOODS@COMCAST.NET
Unknown said…
Thank you for this opportunity. Happy New Year :)
I loved the Ashwood Fall series!! I've you haven't read any - check them out!!! Starting with Winter Eve!

theresa.esterline@gmail.com
Donna Reynolds said…
Loved all the stories in Here Kitty Kitty Thank you all for being part of this. mrscrabbyfan@gmail.com
Unknown said…
Thanks for the great giveaway!! jasdarts at hotmail dot com