Guest Author – Dakota Trace!

dakota - bloghop graphic

Today my guest is fellow romance author Dakota Trace who’s going to give us a sexy teaser from her new release Wolfen Bonds. The teaser’s part of Dakota’s Blog Hop for Wylfen Bonds release!

Dakota - DT_WolfenBonds_coverlgBlurb:

The Council of Elders has charged Matthias Galloway with bringing the once prosperous Taghte Pack back into the Council’s fold. In exchange for his services, Matthias names his terms: he wants to claim his longtime lover and friend, Andrew, as his mate.

Nephew of a powerful alpha, Andrew Gilchrist has long been a coveted commodity because of his services as a healer. Neither expects the Council to agree to Mathias’s terms, leaving him free, finally, to claim his chosen mate. Even more unexpected is the presence of a third-bond to appear during their mating ritual.

The grandchildren of the slain alpha of the Taghte pack, Colleen Donghall and her twin brother, were whisked away at birth. They’re still kept hidden from those who would harm them. Raised in seclusion, Colleen’s never experienced lust, let alone the bond between mates. On the night of lunar eclipse, she’s drawn into Matthias and Andrew’s passionate claiming, and her dormant libido is powerfully awoken. 

But it’s nothing compared to the lust and danger that will stalk her and her mates, when she arrives in Scotland.

BUY LINK:

Publisher: http://www.loose-id.com/wolfen-bonds.html

Now here’s the tantalizing teaser :Dakota - Horace - Jianne

Trailing after the determined muse in front of her, Colleen wanted to pull her hair out. How had this become such a fiasco? Sure, she probably shouldn’t have taken the torque off, but damn it, was everyone in the pack going to have handled it by the time she got it back?

“Oh quit your pouting.” Livvy tossed over her shoulder. “We’ll get it back and Nevin will be none the wiser.”

“So you think.” Colleen muttered softly. She knew her mentor. At times, she swore he had eyes in the back of his head. A muffled grunt escaped her as she suddenly plowed into the woman in front of her.

“So I know.” Livvy grinned, obviously having a grand old time. “It’s all part and parcel of being slave’s muse. I know how things turn out before they happen.”

“Unless of course, Dakota changes her mind.” Colleen turned to look down at Aine as she scanned the empty great hall. “Are you sure you saw Horace in here, sweetheart?”

Aine nodded. “Ollie told me that the beta came in here just a little bit ago.”

“Okay then it stands to reason he’d still be around, doesn’t it?” She tugged on the little girl’s braid, and then looked up at the readers. “For those of you who are new, I’m Colleen and the heroine of Dakota Trace’s newest book, Wolfen Bonds. A few days ago, I misplaced the seer torque that my mentor gave to me – so Livvy, Dakota’s muse, is helping me find it.”

Livvy wandered over by the hearth. “And don’t forget about the grand prize. Slave will be pissed if we don’t mention the pretty cool prize we’re giving away.”

Colleen crossed her arms over her chest. “I see what you’re concerned about…and it’s not finding my torque.”

Livvy arched a brow at her. “Damn straight. The last time I screwed up, slave cut off my chocolate supply for a month. It’s bad enough she keeps shoving salads at me…but to take the chocolate…” she shook her head. “Not gonna chance that again. A muse has got to have her fix.” Then she disappeared through a door at the far end of the hall.

“Really?” Colleen called after the retreating muse. “You’re leaving me to tell them about the grand prize?” When there was a no answer, Collen sighed. “I guess that’s a yes. So here’s the scoop. Dakota is giving way a nifty little prize basket. It’ll have a copy of my book in it, a lovely replica of my torque, along with a few other goodies. To enter all you have to do is enter the name on the graphic below along with site you found it on in the google form at the end of this post. Dakota will then be drawing a random winner on the 25th at her Wrap Up Party on Facebook.”

Aine tugged on Colleen’s sleeve. “Don’t forget about the stop prize.” She smiled, the gap in her teeth showing. “Readers can win a set of Dakota’s Doms of Chicago’s books. All they have to do is put their name and email thingie in the comments, right Ms. Colleen?”

“You’re correct. It’s easy.” She sighed. “Easier than finding my torque has been.” She gave Aine’s hand a squeeze.

“Woo-hoo…look what I found?” Livvy reappeared, tugging on a large man’s arm.   “Readers, this hunk of a man is Horace, the Taghte Pack Beta. And he was just telling me that he had Colleen’s torque but after a bit of a disagreement, he ended up giving it to Sara to clean off for him. ”

Colleen sighed. “Okay, so why did you give it to the housekeeper?”

“Ummm, it was covered in blood?” The tall blond flushed. “I had a minor disagreement with a pack member and when I went into the kitchen to clean it off, well Sara ran me off.” The flush spread. “I marked up her floors again.”

“And you left my Seer’s Torque with the housekeeper?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She has a mean streak in her. She asks for something and we give it or pay the consequences. She has a mean right hook.”

“Fine.” Colleen turned to the readers. “So it looks we like we’re no closer than we started. So join me tomorrow at The Love of Bookends blog and maybe we’ll be one-step closer.

BUY LINK:  http://www.loose-id.com/wolfen-bonds.html

AUTHOR BIO:
Dakota is a simple Midwest girl, who found her passion in storytelling at a young age. She wrote her first novel her freshman year on an old electric IBM typewriter. Now writing in several different genres from erotic romance and BDSM to m/m and paranormal, she is a published author with multiple books under her belt. When she isn’t writing, she’s a devoted band mom and a loving wife.

Dakota’s Website: http://www.dakotatrace.net/
Dakota’s Blog: http://alittlebitofnaughty.blogspot.com/
Dakota’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dakotatrace
Dakota’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dakota75

Have fun on the Blog Hop Dakota & thanks for being my guest!

Cheers,

Jianne

5 Coffee Cups from Reviewer Delane!

I awoke to this wonderful email notice of a review for Prymal Lust from Coffee Time Romance.

Prymal_Lust-Jianne_Carlo-200x320PRYMAL LUST
Prymal, Book 1
JIANNE CARLO
ISBN#: 9781629160702
August 2014
Taliesin Publishing
www.taliespinpublishing.com
E-book
$3.99
216 Pages
Erotic Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5 Cups

Tania is a part of a long line of a Wylfen aristocratic family who always follows the letter of the law, or so she thought. She has begun hearing the call which if acted on leads to exile, but it is getting harder to ignore. When she runs into the one she is unable to resist she gives in unaware there is more to the man.

Axe is there for a reason he is unable to divulge, even to his mate. He is unable to control himself and scares the one for him away, which he believes is for the best, since anything else can get them both killed.

Tania and Axe think to deny each other but there is another plan for Tania; one Axe will never allow because it is his job to protect and see to her happiness. The problem is, the threat may be coming from within her own family and revealing that would hurt his mate beyond anything he is willing to allow.

Prymal Lust is a fast paced story full of hot alpha men and sexy women. This auspicious beginning to a promising series is worthy of more than one read. Jianne Carlo provides just enough information on each character to keep them coming back for more. I look forward to the stories of several characters and will definitely be returning to the Prymal Series and the writing of Jianne Carlo. I highly recommend the sizzling hot story of Tania and Axe and promise the reader will be unable to put the book down or leave the characters behind.

Delane
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

– See more at: http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/prymallustbook1byjiannecarlo.html#.VDvbn_ldWSp

Great way to begin Marvelous Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne

Guardians of the Galaxy, The Drop, & The Equalizer

guardiansof the galaxyThe dh and I love going to the movies. Sure, we watch a ton on Netflix, but the whole experience is enhanced in an actual theater, and there’s nothing that beats an honest audience reaction. Recently we saw Guardians of the Galaxy, The Drop, and The Equalizer. Three distinct genres that left us with different reactions. I rate movies into three categories: B—I’d buy the DVD (a rare occasion), W—I’d rent it and/or Watch it again on Cable/TV, R—Research for a book (buy), and N—neh, wish we hadn’t spent the money.

Guardians of The Galaxy had us both grinning when we exited the cinema. Charming, fun, endearing, action-packed and-to an extent-suspenseful. The acting was superb, the animation and CG excellent, and the soundtrack awesome. I can utterly see why it’s being touted as the ‘new’ Star Wars, and why the lead actor, Chris Pratt, is being hailed as the ‘next’ Harrison Ford. This one’s a B for me.

thedropThe Drop had us riveted. You simply had to pay attention to every single, detail, and that’s a hint. Complex, fascinating, and psychologically intricate, we discussed the film at length over dinner afterwards. The male lead, Tom Hardy, played his eerie character brilliantly, and the  late (so sad, his untimely death) James Gandolfini—an incredible performance. That’s not to denigrate Noomi Rapace who did an  excellent job with the female lead. This one’s a W—I’d definitely see The Drop at least a couple more times.

the equalizerI’m a Denzel Washington fan, and see most of his movies. The Equalizer kept us interested and the end clearly setup the sequel. Would I go see the sequel? No, but I’d watch the sequel on cable or Netflix. Would I watch The Equalizer again? Only if I couldn’t find anything else that vaguely interested me. But, I don’t regret spending the money on the film. I guess I need a new rating category, eh? Hmmm—how about I for Indifferent. The Equalizer is a solid I.

Did anyone see these movies? What’s your rating?

Merry Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne

We Live on an Amazing Planet – The Largest Salts Flats in the World

My mother sent me this today and it was so amazing, I simply had to share.
salt flat 1The Largest Salt Flat in the World

The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi) and it’s a major tourist destination in the South American country of Bolivia. The Salar is virtually devoid of any wildlife or vegetation but it is home to an estimated 10 billion tons (9.8 billion LT) of salt.

But what is no less incredible, is where people who visit this amazing place stay, and how does one build something in the middle of the vast emptiness? The answer is quite remarkable.

Anyone arriving to visit this exotic part of the world is in for a real treat and a stay in one of the world’s most unique hotel experiences. Due to a lack of conventional construction materials in this area, many of the hotels here are built entirely with salt blocks cut from the Salar itself. The most famous one is called Palacio de Sal, Spanish for “Palace of salt”.

salt flat 2. salt flat 3

The hotel is made of about 1 million 35-cm (14-inch) salt blocks, which were used for the floor, walls, ceiling and furniture, including the beds, tables, chairs and sculptures. The hotel even has a dry sauna and a steam room, a saltwater pool and whirlpool baths for guests to relax in and fully enjoy this unreal place.

salt flat 5.  salt flat 8

salt flat 10   salt flat 7

Imagine what it feels like, sleeping on salt beds, sitting on salt chairs and even eating at salt tables. And while no one can deny how beautiful everything in this hotel is, that beauty is nothing compared to the view…

salt flat 13.  salt flat 11

The salt flats are so white and clear they often show a perfect reflection of the sky and the objects above them. In fact, because the Salar is so flat and has such a strong reflection, similar to that of ice sheets, it is used for calibrating the distance measurement equipment of satellites in space!

salt flat 14

 

The white, endless flats also offer visitors a unique opportunity to take some truly mind bending pictures. With no other objects in sights, the human eye loses its ability to establish a proper field of depth. The results are some of the most creative and bizarre pictures you will ever see…

salt flat 15.   salt flat 17

The salar is truly a place like no other, a magical kingdom of salt and beauty where one can drive on the endless flats and see the sky both above and below him. It is just one of many places on earth that prove that beauty has no rules and that nature always has one more trick up her sleeve.

Sigh, yet another item to add to my bucket list. At this rate, I won’t be able to live long enough to get through half of items currently on that Medusa’s Head of a list.

Definitely an appreciating Mother Nature Friday!

Cheers,

Jianne

Prymal Obsession Releases Today!

Hartwood---prymal_obsessionIt’s always thrilling when your book releases. Of course, then there’s the will-anyone-buy-it anxiety followed by the suppose-everyone-hates-it trepidation. Thankfully, I have at least one good review out there courtesy The BookChick Reviews. Here’s what she had to say about Prymal Obsession:

Prymal Obsession was a wonderful installment in the Prymal series. In this story we find out more about Sidonie and Brut who are introduced in book one. I enjoyed the push-pull nature of their relationship. Brut tried to push Sid away at every turn but she pulled him with her “sunshine.” Both Brut and Sidonie bore series bruises from their past. Sid came from her horrible upbringing from absentee parents. Brut’s came from the slaughter of his mate and his pack. He swore that he would avenge them which is why he pushed Sid away — she was much too tempting for him. But Brut succame to his desire for Sid. His plan was simple…he would have a physical affair with her until they found her friend and figured out had taken him. But as Brut gave Sid his body, he gave her his heart as well, although he fought it tooth and nail. I appreciated how Carlo crafted the story so that it was not an insta-love kind of deal. Sure, those stories have their place in fiction; however, the fight to get to love makes the story even more enjoyable. I am greatly enjoying the direction of this series.

 

I’m an ostrich kind of author on release day. Basically, I hunker down, refuse to check bookseller sales rankings, and immerse myself in a curent WIP. So, today I’m working simultaneously on Prymal Passion (Bandit’s tale),  a new story based in the Caribbean, and my still unnamed Viking series.

In my last newsletter, I’d asked for suggestions on the title for this new Viking series. Karen Anderson, one of my readers, suggested The Warriors of Ragnarök. I love this title and am definitely going to use it. So, Karen, you get to star in this new series. I’ll email you so we can discuss the details. Cristina Machado also suggested Viking Realms and I’m tucking that title away as a possibility for a future Viking series.

Anyone know of a good calendar plugin for WordPress? My current one is so cumbersome that I avoid it like the plague.

Ah, shoot, I’m wandering all over the place today. Put it down to nervousness and forgive me. Have a great Thor’s Day!

Cheers,

 

Jianne