Thursday, December 20, 2012

New release! The Haunting of Belle Sauvage

I have a new release!
This one has ghosts, vampires, an old plantation house and lots of action. It’s a heavy rewrite of a book I had out years ago, but I’ve rewritten it so it fits better into the Hosts to Ghosts series.
I’ve planned more stories for this series, if this one does well, so fingers crossed!
Here’s the description and an excerpt.

After three weeks of married bliss, Jordan Arcenaux wants a divorce. Reeling from his rejection, Karey agrees  to exorcise Belle Sauvage, a plantation house being renovated as a luxury resort.
The ghosts of Belle Sauvage are dangerous. They want a treasure lost a hundred years before, the sapphire necklace known as the Blue Star, but more than that, they want to find a way back to life. They want Karey.
Newly made vampire Jordan follows his vampire ex-lover to Belle Sauvage to try to save the wife he still loves. Karey can’t be part of his new life, but his efforts to push her away become more desperate as he tries to save her from himself and Karey makes it clear she doesn’t want to be saved.
Ghosts in search of a body to inhabit, a lost treasure and a voodoo practitioner turned rogue all conspire against Jordan and Karey finding any kind of happiness together.
But in the heat of the Louisiana night, that’s all they can think of and all they want. Despite impossible odds, they still want each other.

Excerpt:
“Let’s see how much you’ve changed,” she said hoarsely, and put her lips to his.
It was too much. Jordan groaned, and swept her close, her upper body molding to his, even through the layers of clothes they wore. When she opened her lips slightly he surged in, taking her mouth and her senses, his hands restlessly roaming up and down her spine. She tasted like all the things forbidden to him now; sunlight and laughter, sweetness and life.
She didn’t try to pull away; rather, she curled her arms around his neck and thrust her fingers into his hair, sifting the short strands, drawing him closer. She leaned back and Jordan followed, tracing her waist with his hands, curving them up to stroke the underside of her full breasts, caressing her form hungrily. He was at breaking point. In another moment he would be inside her, taking what he had missed all these months.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t take her again, and then walk away. If he ever allowed himself to make love to her again, he wouldn’t leave her. And he had to leave her; he had to give her back to life.
So he did the only thing he could think of. Still kissing her, listening to her delicious sounds of desire, he entered her mind again and pushed her into sleep.
He couldn’t bear to release her, even when she slumped in his arms. He held her, pressing small kisses to her face and neck until he knew she’d fallen deeply asleep.
It was hard to let her go, knowing he didn’t dare do that again. “It’s for the best,” he said, and stopped to tell her the truth, now she was too deeply asleep to hear him. “Everything I read about vampires and the paranormal blew apart in one night, mon amour. I don’t know who I am any more. Fuck, I don’t know what I am, either. I have all the powers I dreamed of. I can move objects, transport myself in space. I can enter minds, persuade and coerce. But I can’t tell you any of this. If I do, they will kill you. I’m so sorry, Karey. I hope you find the happiness you deserve, the happiness I wanted to give you once. I still love you. I’ll always love you.”

You can read more about the book here:
And you can buy it here
And here

Thanks for listening!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

December News



A big month for me. Not only is it one of my favourite months of the year, it’s the month the second Nightstar book comes out. I really am excited about this series. I mean, every release leaves me checking the websites with an “Is this really me?” kind of wonderment, but the books about the music world have a special place in my heart. Music means a lot to me, and I usually write to a soundtrack.
Although Jace, the hero of “Born on the Bayou” is a badass half-French, half Louisiana guitarist, this book reveals that he also has a soft heart.
And I can finally reveal that the book I’m doing for the Clandestine Classics line is – “Tom Jones!” Those of you who enjoy my historical romances know that I’ve featured the Fielding brothers in quite a few books. They are fascinating characters, and I’ve done a fair bit of research into them, because their lives were roller-coaster ones.
Henry Fielding published “Tom Jones” in 1749, the same year another notorious book came out—“Fanny Hill” (yes, both of these titles have longer titles, but most people these days know them by their shorter names). What I hadn’t realised when I said I’d do this book was the length! “Tom Jones” is a bouncy, boisterous read, bursting with life, so it doesn’t seem that long. Except that it is. Since I’m adding to it, we’re splitting it into four parts, easier to put on ereaders and to navigate, as well as the print version being less heavy on the purse. Eight hundred pages long, this book, but it was an absolute delight. I found it a serious challenge getting into Fielding’s style. The thing about Clandestine Classics is that the modern author isn't allowed to change one word of the original. The rumpy-pumpy has to be added as seamlessly as possible. It’s very hard to do, but I do hope I did the original at least a little justice. I chose the book because it invites this treatment, and I’m not sure that Fielding might have added the naughty bits and taken them out later—there are so many scenes that seem to indicate that.
The first part of “Tom Jones” is due out in January. “Born on the Bayou” is out on December 7th.
I’m also planning to put the books already on Kindle on other platforms, so those of you with Kobos and Nooks can get them, too.
And can I say thank you and “goodnight sweetheart” to Angelo, who graces the cover of “Born on the Bayou.”