Friday 29 May 2015

Fall in Love with Fairytales Blog Hop






Thanks to Anastasia Vitsky, the Beyond Fairytales authors are holding a special blog hop to celebrate our books being made into boxed sets. The Beyond Fairytales books have been grouped into boxed sets and are on special for only 99 cents. Don't miss out on this awesome bargain - five amazing stories based on fairytales for less than a dollar. And you could get twenty for less than $4.

To take part in the blog hop, you need to find word search clues from each blog (except for mine - I'm just helping spread the word.) So, stop by Ana's blog to find the links for all the blogs here.


All that glitters is not gold…unless you’re talking about these five ADULT fairy tales.

Join our princes and princesses as they escape assassins, knock boots, chase gold, protect trees, and enjoy life to its fullest.  These fairy tales will make your heart pound and your temperature rise on the journey to happily ever after. 

The Century Sage is available in the gold boxed set here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
All Romance Ebooks
Google Play
Bookstrand

Find all the boxed sets here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
All Romance Ebooks
Bookstrand

There's also a chance to enter for awesome prizes in the rafflecopter code below:

Rafflecopter


Monday 25 May 2015

Book Release Blitz - Men of Valor


Men of Valor 1- 3 Box Set
Books: His Treasure #1, His Strength #2, His Princess #3
Genre: Historical Romance, African Fiction
Release date: May 25, 2015
Photographer: Hector Obeng
Cover design: Love Bites and Silk


His Treasure
In a time when men ruled their households with firm hands, can a quiet man tame his rebellious wife with persevering love?

Love Romances Café Best Book of 2011
Kiru smolders with the sensitivity of the loved in describing this man... An exceptional book, well worth the time, money and frustration.....Sigh! ~ Imagervet (Amazon reviewer)

I didn't want the story to end, it was that good. ~ The Wordsmythe (Amazon reviewer)

***
His Strength
When a warrior seeks to claim a free-spirited woman, he soon discovers a tigress unwilling to be caged. Is the hunter about to be hunted?

The story is well told, the characters are tight and multi dimensional. ~ PamelaStitch.com

I enjoyed the FIERY passion between Ikem and Nneka...their chemistry is totally OFF-THE-CHARTS...and only IGNITED more by their INTENSE and sometimes humorous verbal sparring. ~ Malaika Tamu (Amazon reviewer)

***
His Princess
With the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders and his honour at stake, can a Prince truly love a slave?

I loved the hero, who in a land and time of male dominance, chose to be a man without reproach - a man worth losing one's heart to.  ~ Empi Baryeh, author

This book was fantastic. Throughout it I kept wondering how the hero and heroine would end up together. When the major revelation came I said, "Hot holy crap" out loud because I didn't see it coming. ~ Nana Prah, author














Excerpt from His Treasure
Obinna looked up at her, his eyes fringed by long, dark lashes, a black, expressionless pool she could drown in, always unnerved her. As she couldn’t read his mood, gauging how to tell him what she wanted to say was difficult.
“Yes, say what’s on your mind Adaku,” he said in his usual deep voice, as he licked his long fingers.
Something stirred low within her belly. Her eyes hungrily followed his action, and she got distracted. For a brief moment she wished it was her fingers he was licking.
“That could be arranged.”
Adaku looked up sharply and Obinna’s brow was lifted with amusement. She realized she must have spoken her thought out loud. Embarrassment and heat washed over her as he took hold of her hand in his large one.
Somewhere within her mind something shifted. An awareness of Obinna at a primal level registered in her rapidly hazing brain.
The air suddenly felt warmer and her skin prickled. He took her fingers into his warm mouth in turn, twirling his moist tongue around each. Sensation flooded her body, and she forgot everything else she wanted to say. All she could feel was the stroke of his tongue on her fingers as he sucked and lapped each one.
His touch scorched her straight to her soul.
She gasped and his gaze came up, locking on to her and pinning her to the spot. His eyes were filled with a desire she couldn’t explain. His tongue moved down her skin, searing a path to the spot at the center of her palm before licking it. Then he released her hand, and she realized she was trembling.

Excerpt from His Strength
"Why did you not come to see me when you want me so?" He cocked his eyebrow cynically.
Her mouth formed an O. "I-I don't want you," she replied in a petulant fashion, shaking her head vigorously. But her eyes told him another story. They were a warm brown and stared at his lips as if expecting him to kiss her.
Maybe I should oblige her.
He chuckled. "Liar," he whispered before he lowered his lips to her. But he didn't claim her lips immediately. Instead he feathered her face and neck with kisses, alternating between nipping and licking her sweet-salty skin. Her breathing increased rapidly. When he looked up, he noticed that her eyes were closed. He licked the pulse at her neck before he trailed his lips back up and hovered above her lips. She opened her eyes and moaned softly.
"Say it, Nneka. You want me to kiss you."
"Never!" Her voice, as well as her body, trembled as she spoke.
"Why do you have a tough time admitting what you want? Your eyes and body betray you easily." He laughed as he pushed his thigh between her legs, parting them. He felt the heat and dampness of her hooded pearl against his bare skin.

Excerpt from His Princess
"Rise, Ezinne," he said.
The intense timbre of his words resonated, doing odd things to her insides. She’d heard him speak before. Still, being alone with him seemed to heighten the effect of his voice on her body.
She straightened but kept her eyes lowered. She needed to gain back control of her body. If she kept her eyes lowered, away from him, she could keep her body in check.
"Look at me," he said in a snappy and low… dangerously low tone.
Was he annoyed?
Slowly she lifted her chin, her stare connecting with his once more. His lips were pursed, confirming her suspicions of his irritation.
Anxiety and excitement caused her heart to thump against her chest. Instinct told her to look away. This was the prince. He was capable of crushing her with a snap of his fingers. She should heed the warning.
Instead, she refused to look away and held his gaze. Infuriation crept up her spine at a snail's pace. She would not be intimidated.
"When you are in my presence, you will look at me directly," he continued.
"As you wish, my prince." She nodded and curtsied briefly still maintaining his gaze.
"And when we are in private like right now, you will use my given name, Emeka."
Doing that would mean accepting this whole arrangement as his con—companion. She couldn't do that. She wouldn't do that.
"No, my prince. Regardless of where we are, you are still the Crown Prince of Umunri, and I'm just a servant in your palace. I can't address you by your given name. It is improper."
"That may be so. But for the next four weeks, you are here to grant my every desire as my concubine."




Kiru is the award winning author of His Treasure and bestselling author of The Essien Trilogy series. She writes sensual and passionate multicultural romance stories set mostly in Africa. When she's not writing you can find her either immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family. She currently lives in the South of England with her very own alpha husband and three children.


Follow her blog for latest news and giveaways: http://kirutayewrites.blogspot.com
Read book excerpts and free short stories on her website: http://www.kirutaye.com
Check out her author page on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Kiru-Taye/e/B00723TSDI/

You can also reach her on



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Tuesday 19 May 2015

Pre-release Blitz - Rain by Taryn Kincaid

Rain

A Beyond Fairytales story
By
Taryn Kincaid

A dystopian retelling of Sleeping Beauty



Pre-Order Now!

Blurb:
            Sleeping Beauty in a post-apocalyptic land…

            In a world gone mad, where little remains but a vast wasteland of sand, the leader of a troop of roving warriors welcomes a brave young woman into his midst.
            Much as he burns for her, Major Clay Worthington swears to keep his distance from the mysterious woman, so sensitive even the stinging rain can wound her.
Rosina Brierly is besotted with the formidable soldier and will gladly trade her life for one torrid night of blissful passion in his arms.

       But when sleep overcomes them, will true love prevail?

Excerpt:
            Does the major ever feel lust? Does he covet a woman’s touch? He never gave any sign he did. Too aloof and austere, too remote from the simple emotions of mere mortal men.

            He shook her again. “Wake up, princess. The rain will come soon.”

            The men looked forward to the rain. They hated the relentless sun blasting down upon them, as if they thought it would incinerate what was left of the earth beneath their boots, baking the soft sand into badlands as hard as concrete. They’d strip off their T-shirts and boots, their combat fatigues, and sometimes even their camouflage boxer shorts, and dance and play, naked or nearly so, in the slanting gray soup, laughing, tossing round balls or throwing saucer-shaped plastic discs to each other.

            For her, the showers had the opposite effect. The stinging rain sliced into her sensitive skin like acid, raising blisters and sores, sometimes bloodying her.

            She did not know why the major called her princess. Perhaps he didn’t know either. Whatever royalty once walked the earth had long gone, fled underground or died in battle or simply disappeared. The war engulfed every human on the planet, every inch of land, and had waged so long she doubted anyone remembered anymore. Well, maybe Nicodemus. At least he sometimes hinted he did in the stories he told. And she had seen him whisper into the major’s ear, unknown things that made the major pale beneath his weathered tan.

            Major Worthington did not treat her like a princess, though, except when she slumbered, when he knelt before her in her fantasy world, his head bowed, his fist over his heart, laying his sword at her feet and claiming the role of knight. Her hero. Her champion. When she awoke, he remained one of the elite warrior breed roaming the planet, bristling with weapons like the soldiers he led. He treated her as the translator she was to him, sometimes barking orders to her as if she were one of his men, only occasionally seeking her counsel.

            She came fully awake as he jerked her up from the ground and yanked her toward him. The glare of the setting sun broadsided her, hurting her eyes. Why was he so insistent about the impending rain? No clouds yet darkened the sky, although the hour sped toward evening dusk now. But no hint of shadow yet blotted the horizon.

            “I can smell it,” he muttered.



Coming June 2 from Decadent Publishing

Friday 15 May 2015

Spotlight on Don't Speak by Deborah Melanie

This book looked amazing so I had to sign up for the spotlight. Welcome, Deborah Melanie. We both like to write sweet and sexy romance and are both cat lovers! Anyway, here it is:

Don’t Speak.


Blurb:

Kane and Serena meet once a week for sex in an anonymous hotel. They have an agreement; silence is golden. No words at all are used during their weekly encounter. Is this the ideal sexual relationship or a one way ticket to a broken heart?

Kane’s Story

Reluctantly I pulled away, knowing it would only be a matter of time before one of us broke the rules. And despite the old adage, I firmly believed the rules were meant to be followed. Taking the scarf, I held it up to her mouth. She parted her lips and bit down on the pale fabric as it settled against the pink sheen of her lips. I was mesmerized. Tying the scarf firmly at the back of her head, I marvelled at her obedience, her trust. This was something new to both of us. Looking at me directly, she held her chin up firmly, but not defiantly. She wanted me, but she wanted me to take charge. I felt the thrill of power course through my veins.


Don’t Speak can be bought here: Amazon




About Deborah Melanie:

Deborah Melanie is the wife of a retired, semi-professional footballer. She is a mother, cat lover, designer, reviewer and published author.

Deborah writes stories primarily describing life in England. She loves to set stories in small market towns, with close knit communities and a backdrop of rolling hills and beautiful landscapes. Her stories are contemporary; often combining her interests in the paranormal, comedy and food. Deborah likes to write both sweet and sexy romance stories.


Author Links.






Thursday 14 May 2015

The Power of the Fairy Tale


Growing up before Disney had taken over our lives, I was exposed to the classic fairy tales. I read several of them, and I think we were read them at school. My favourite was always Cinderella. I liked the idea of a girl rising above her difficulties and becoming a princess. I hated how unfairly she was treated, but also how magic and her own determination mixed with her humble goodness, enabled her to become the prince's love. I think I was also a romantic in those days.

Sleeping Beauty troubled me a bit, but I remember having one of the those golden spine books of the story. The book was filled with beautiful colour illustrations, and the one of sleeping beauty lying on the bed fast asleep with her hair cascading down the side of the bed enamoured me. She looked so beautiful. I used to try to pose as her in my room, pretending to be the heroine in the story.

Even as a kid, I was fascinated with stories and specifically romance. I used to walk all over the place because I grew up with a single working father and had to find my own way around the neighbourhood. While I walked, I thought up stories in my head. Many times, they were romances. When I played imaginary games with my friends, they usually had something to do with love.

I think that's what draws many people to the classic fairy tales. Most of them have a happy ending where a prince and princess find each other. Yes, many of the Grimm's originals are much darker, but they hold promise of a bright future. They show us the ability of ordinary characters rising above almost impossible circumstances.

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”
G.K. Chesterton

When Decadent Publishing said they were starting a fairy tale line, I was instantly hooked (no pun intended.) The first fairy tale they assigned to me was The Frog Prince and Iron Henry. It seemed like a daunting task, but also promised many opportunities for romance. So, I wrote Her Real-life Hero. It was one of my first erotic romances and needed a lot of revisions, beta reads, edits. It's on the final stages of editing and should be released shortly. Here's the cover which you may have seen me show off already:


Blurb of Her Real-life Hero

When Joanie buys an antique bureau to inspire her writing, the hero in her book comes to life after she promises him he can live with her. Outraged to be stuck with a man in her home when all she wants is to revel in her new-found freedom, Joanie tries her best to get rid of Theo. The magic of the bureau and Theo have other plans. Joanie resists Theo’s magnetic sex appeal, but the more she resists, the more she succumbs.



Unable to resist the temptation, I asked for a second fairy tale and was assigned The Dryad. The story had no romance in it - well the original didn't, but I managed to adapt it to tell the story of Lina, the tree sage who met Brad, the rally driver. An unlikely pair who are brought together by duty more than love fight their own dragons. And there are many of them. I loved writing this story.

Here's the cover and link for the book.


Blurb of The Century Sage:

Lina is a tree sage, a gifted person who heals trees, but her duty binds her to one place for her whole life until she marries. Tree sages must marry and birth a daughter by twenty-eight, even if true love is out of the picture. When hot rally winner Brad meets her, he is drawn to her mystical powers. Lina can’t resist the man who represents something she shouldn’t go for, but neither can she turn away his sexy touch. Brad offers to marry her and take her on a world-wide rally tour. She can fulfill her dream of traveling, and he provides a way to meet the demands of her breed, but will that be enough? What about love?

When Lina settles in Paris, loneliness and unfulfilled expectations threaten to pull the shaky relationship apart. Could the barriers between them be caused by an evil greater than they imagined? Soon, they will have to fight for Paris, but will they survive?



We are having many giveaways during this blog tour. Please take part - the rafflecopter code is found below:


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Friday 8 May 2015

April Vine - Spotlight on Reclaimed by her Master

Today, I have my beloved writer friend and erotic romance idol. April knows how to write hot and she's helped me so much with writing spicier. She's beta read many of my books and does an amazing job with them. Her books are hot yet so touching! I love that she doesn't scrimp on the emotion. Her sex scenes are amazing. Anyway, she's had a book come out with Lyrical Press called Reclaimed by Her Master. Doesn't it have a stunning cover?


Blurb:

He’ll catch her in the act—and never let her go.

No one breaches the defenses of billionaire Dom Stephen Black—until Aria Swift does just that, stealing a priceless painting from his collection—along with his heart. But two can play that game, and soon a treasured necklace that belonged to Aria’s late mother ends up in Stephen’s skilled, waiting hands—along with a dare to retrieve it…

Eight years later, Aria is ready to put closure on her infamous past by meeting Stephen’s challenge. And suddenly, she’s caught in his trap…

There’s only one way to master a woman like Aria—and only one place to do it. Stephen’s luxuriously decadent Gold Room is where he’ll mete out her punishment, stroke by excruciatingly ecstatic stroke. Where Aria will submit to his every desire—and find in his touch, in his control, a frenzied yearning, and the ultimate pleasure of surrender…

Excerpt:

Standing on the inside of the Gold Room, Stephen inhaled a deep fortifying breath and relied on his mastered ability of conditioning his body to feel nothing. He barely succeeded, not when Aria stood within arm’s reach of him again. Yet the mere space separating them could easily put them universes apart.
She planned to marry someone else. The idea rocked his soul with rampant violence. Didn’t she know that even though he had the power of the whip, she had the force of will, instilling her as the true authority? If she didn’t step inside, she wouldn’t relinquish her control to him. He wanted her control with a pathetic desperation his peers would not believe, but that hadn’t diluted since the first time he found her here in his room.
He’d been twenty-four years old. He hadn’t only inherited his uncle’s vineyards and the mansion that went with it. He had inherited the Gold Room, too. Stephen’s first partner had been a seasoned submissive five years older than he. Monica taught him to measure his strength yet yield the best results for both himself and his sub. She read books to him about bondage and submission. She took him to high society game nights, where slaves were showered in diamonds, kept in glass jars, and bought by rich men from all over the world. She took him to the underbelly of the lifestyle too, deep in dangerous parts of the city where the tension reigned raw and brimming with an edge of almost violent exhilaration, where subs were kept in dark cages, behind iron bars, the only place they wanted to be.
Stephen fulfilled his need, the one that founded the base of his psychology, until he met Aria. She reached deeper than he thought possible. She touched the nucleus of his soul.


Buy links:



Bio:

April Vine is a nighttime erotic romance writer and a daytime professional dreamer. She adores books, chocolates and shoes, and is happiest doing all three at the same time.

She lives in a house with boys and a few four-legged furry things and has come to accept both species for the strange creatures they are.


Author links:

Email: april.vine@yahoo.com


Wednesday 6 May 2015

Pre-release Blitz - Kiru Taye's Kola

 

Title: Kola
Author: Kiru Taye
Series: An Essien Trilogy Spinoff
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic, Suspense
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Cover Model: Allan
Photography: Yuri Arcurs
Cover design: Love Bites and Silk


BLURB

When sassy heiress with a heart of gold, Tari Essien, needs a place to escape the pressures of the hounding press, she turns to Kola Banks, a deeply scarred ex-soldier who's also the Essien chief of security. Kola can't offer Tari anything more than his protection. She's family for goodness sake, even if they share no blood ties.
It’s a weekend of lessons for both of them. Together they can't avoid the explosive heat that sizzles between them, nor help pushing each others' boundaries physically as well as emotionally.
But when the weekend ends and Tari's life is in danger, Kola will put his body as well as his heart in the line of fire to keep her safe.

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER 




TEASER

If she even sensed half of the things he wanted to do to her, she’d run a mile.
He jumped into the pool. When he came up for air, she was gone from the window. He swam a few laps before the skin on his nape prickled and he lifted his head.
Tari stood at the edge of the pool, wearing what he could only describe as a very skimpy emerald bikini set, her hourglass curves barely tamed by the scraps of fabric, her flawless caramel skin tempting him to touch and taste her.
Damn!
How was he supposed to keep his hands off her if she walked around his house with next to nothing on?


CONNECT WITH AUTHOR
Follow her blog for latest news and giveaways: http://kirutayewrites.blogspot.com
Read book excerpts and free short stories on her website: http://www.kirutaye.com
Check out her author page on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Kiru-Taye/e/B00723TSDI/

You can also reach her on

GIVEAWAY

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Tuesday 5 May 2015

The Star Princess by Jessica E. Subject - Top Ten Things and Review


THE STAR PRINCESS
A Beyond Fairytales audio book
By Jessica E. Subject
New Adult Erotic Sci-Fi Romance
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-61333-765-3


NOW AN AUDIOBOOK!

Narrated by Jon Filipko



In one week, Princess Ro’sa will board a spaceship, leaving her home on Minjet to be with her betrothed on Earth. The only problem is, she detests the prince’s selfish and arrogant ways, preferring to spend time with his personal aide, a man who stirs her desires in ways she never imagined possible with his radiant blue eyes and smouldering lips. And oh, the way he touches her.

Earth’s post-apocalyptic landscape offers little but the alliance offers much and a princess must do her duty, no matter the danger to her person and to her heart.


I've listened to a couple of audio books - it's a new thing for me, and I have to admit this one was my favourite so far. I can't believe I hadn't read one of Jessica's books yet. Her writing really appeals to me. It was sexy and sweet, with the perfect conflict and touch of romance. She kept the pace going well - no dragging, but enough detail to make the story so fascinating. Her writing style was easy to read and identify with. The romance was completely satisfying.

I loved the alien world she created. She has a way of creating a world without detracting from the human story. There weren't too many descriptions or details of anything insignificant, but enough to create an interest. There were plenty of fascinating twists and turns into the novella plot - unusual for a short book, and the characterisation was realistic and authentic. I have one complaint - I would have liked it to be longer, purely because I was enjoying it so much.

I also really enjoyed the narrator's style and voice.














Top Ten Songs from the Star Princess Playlist:

10. Kiss You Inside Out by Hedley
9. One Life by Hedley
8. Safe and Sound by Capital Cities
7. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
6. Two Princes by Spin Doctors
5. What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) by Kelly Clarkson
4. We Found Love by Rihanna
3. To You I Belong by B*witched
2. Alien by Bush
1. Spaceman by Bif Naked


Jessica E. Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotic. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.
When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk with her giant, hairy dog her family adopted from the local animal shelter.
Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.