2014 ~ I’m so excited!  February 1-14 is all about the love over on the After Dark Rendezvous blog. It’s a Share the Love giveaway with the following authors:

Tess Black

Dianna Love

Hildie McQueen

Danielle Monsch

Elizabeth Staab

Sandy Williams

Click on the image above to take you to the blog and Rafflecopter giveaway with fantastic prizes!

Click on the above banner for my virtual book tour schedule!

Contest Winner from 2/5/13

JULIANA...PAGING JULIANA!

Congratulations! Juliana was the lucky winner of the $10 Amazon gift card on my guest blog over at Scarlet Hunter's. Please email me Juliana!

Thank you, Divas!

I’m a bit late in putting this up. As usual, somehow life managed to interfere with my fun time!

I want to thank the talented authors who I worked with on the Diamonds and Divas Book Tour. It was a lot of fun and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know a bit more about these women. And their books...HOT! *fans self* Also, being a newbie to the writing world, I gained an abundance of knowledge I could never have gotten anywhere else.

My TBR list has vastly grown since I couldn’t resist adding these author's book titles. You must check them out. Did I mention they are HOT? You won’t regret it…promise! 

MaggieBerkely

KristyDenice Bock

ScarletHunter

Missy Lyons

FreddieMackay

AngelMartinez

LaVerneThompson

E.W. Walsh

For a quick review, you can still read about the authors and their character blogs on the official Diamonds and Divas site.

A Warm Welcome to Eve Tesoro!

~ It’s February and my daughter just plugged in the lights on the Christmas tree. I suppose I should take it down. She doesn’t want me to put it away. I tried to explain if we leave it up all year, the special feeling of dressing the tree at Christmas won’t feel as good. The six year old believes it will be. I suppose at her age and in her eyes, Christmas would be special anytime.

Valentine’s is another story for her. It means candy, gifts and red hearts and lasts a day or two. Then she forgets it and wants to know how soon her birthday is coming.

But to those of us in the romance world it means love destined through fate, the impossibility of two souls meeting and the happy-ever-after we all hope for at heart. I find it amazing when I see it in real life; two people meant to be, willing to go through whatever they have to, to be together. It’s truly beautiful.

It’s what inspires me to write about the unfeasibility of people falling in love. Whether someone comes from another time period, another world or just happen to meet due to a chance encounter, fate plays a role.  The color of your skin, your gender, your background, or sexual preference plays no part. It is said things happen for a reason. Lovers meet because of a destined path.

It’s what I believe for my characters.  Personally, I like a happy ending. At least an ending with a high possibility of happiness.

~ Excerpt ~

Rita’s cell phone rested just inside her purse sitting over on the counter across the room. Damn it. Quietly as possible, she slowly moved away from the door, to make her way to the counter, all the while planning to call the police as she snuck out the front door. The man on the floor stirred and moaned seeming to try rolling over.

“Please…help me…” His voice resonated deep but quiet, pleading.

As he moved she could see the pool of blood behind him, she looked rapidly from him to her purse and back again. She watched him intently as his eyes fluttered open to display a pale amber color. Lying there, he didn’t look dangerous in his injured state. Normally trusting no one, Rita’s experience with people in general showed they were mostly insincere in their words and deeds.  She should let the guy suffer. How the hell did he get in here anyway? But something in his voice when he asked for help, something in his eyes as he blinked up at her made her pause. She sighed in exasperation.

“I better not regret this, buddy. Just so you know, my father’s a cop, my brother’s a cop and my boyfriend is a bodybuilder. It would be a bad move for you to try anything stupid.” They were all lies. Her parents lived two hours away and her father made his living as a CPA, she was an only child, and the boyfriend…a joke. But he didn’t need to know it.

She bent down beside him realizing how large he was as he gently placed his cool hand on hers.

“I won’t hurt you.” His voice came out in a whisper.

Rita stopped breathing as the chills went up her arm. The sensation unexpected, not from fear but from a slight thrill, she paused then nodded acknowledging him. Moving behind him, she gasped, catching a good look at his injuries.

“We have to get you to a hospital. You’ve been shot. Oh my God, are those darts?”

“I can’t go anywhere. Please, can you help me remove them? I just need to remove them and…” The man dropped his weight under her grasp, her arms tucked under his as she struggled with his weight, trying to heft him to his feet. Rita grunted.

“Uh, guy? You need to help me here. I can’t carry you.” Weakly grabbing for some leverage, the man steadied himself and they maneuvered over to the counter. He slumped over the tiled shelf and with his hand, sought to pull the arrow out of his thigh. Rita winced as he groaned in pain.

“Wait, wait!” Rita placed her hands at her mouth and tapped them lightly over her lips in anxiety. “Let me get some gloves.” She moved over to the kitchen area and put some latex gloves on. Really for candy making, but she figured better than nothing.

Rita placed one hand on his back and the other gripped the dart.

“Ready? One, two, three,” She gave a hard yank and heard his flesh tear as the steel ripped free of his leg. He screamed as it left his body and dropped his head to the counter.

“We really should let a doctor do this.”

“No. You. I need you to do this. Please. Remove the others.”

Rita stood shaking for a moment, but then set to task. She didn’t know why but she felt badly for him, like this should have never happened to him. She braced her arm across his buttocks and bent over, wrapping her fingers around the steel peg in his calf.

“So, what’s your name?” She yanked, discharging the dart, wincing as he screamed again.

“Avan.” He spoke breathlessly, in obvious pain, keeping his head down on the counter.

Again, chills when he spoke.

“Two more, Avan. Then I need to clean the wounds and get you bandaged… somehow. I just hope there is no organ damage with this one.” She touched the dart at his kidney. “I’m going to try to be gentle with this, okay. It may hurt more.”

He gave a humorless laugh.“I’ll just have to brace myself then, right?”

Rita removed the two remaining darts, tossing the bloodied gloves before retrieving a clean pair and some hot water to cleanse the wounds. She reached up on a shelf above the sink for some clean towels and looked over her shoulder at Avan, barely hanging onto the counter. She turned back to the sink.

“I wish I had something to give you for the pain. I think all I have is Tylenol and I don’t think that’s going to cut it.” She carried the bowl and clean rags over to him.

“Mrachtora. I smelled it here. I need mrachtora to heal.”  Avan’s voice sounding weaker by the minute, Rita looked at him questioning his statement.

“The only thing I smell here is chocolate. Is mrachtora an herb?”

“It is made from a plant. It is a rich drink. My kind needs it. I can smell it.” He inhaled deeply, a faint smile over his lips.

“Your kind?” She shook her head but couldn’t help but smile when the scent of the chocolate seemed to affect him, calm him. She walked over to the cooling unit and picked up a freshly made dark chocolate truffle, drizzled lightly with white chocolate and presented it to him.

“The only thing that smells good in my shop is my chocolate.”

Avan furrowed his brow at the small piece of candy, picked it up and sniffed, his eyes growing wide. He popped it in his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed, moaning in almost erotic pleasure.

“Mrachtora.”

Rita watched his face, her mouth dropping open as the ecstasy consumed him. People traveled for her candy but never did she see a reaction like this. Avan had the lushest eyelashes delicately laid against his perfect bronze skin, his plump lips moved slowly as he masticated the soft confection. She brought her hand to her throat to stroke the skin and felt the sudden warmth between her legs. He slowly opened his eyes, locking his gaze on hers.

“Thank you. May I have another?” Strangely he seemed calmer, the pain less. Rita retrieved a few more pieces and he devoured each piece with the same enthusiasm as the first. She shook her head in disbelief his strength seemed to return rapidly with the consumption of each confection. Trying to gain composure, she watched him lick his long fingers. She swallowed and cleared her throat as she turned to get the basin of water.

“Avan, I’m going to need to get at your skin to clean your wounds, so you’ll need to take your clothes off. There’s a bathroom over by the door and I’m sorry, all I have is this tablecloth for you to cover yourself with.” She turned toward him holding out the covering to find Avan standing shirtless, and pulling down his jeans.

~ End Excerpt ~

Availabe at: 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Red Rose Publishing

About Eve:

Eve Tesoro resides in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania She is a mother of two children and holds degrees in Psychology and Public Administration. After over sixteen years working in public sector mental health, Eve decided, with the encouragement of some good friends, to pursue writing and is relishing every minute of it. Eve's main genre of interest is paranormal romance but she has always been a horror buff, never tiring of her favorite, Edgar Alan Poe.

Eve has been a two time bestselling author with Red Rose Publishing and has had much success with her m/m story at Silver Publishing last April. Her stories can be found at the individual publishing sites 

as well as Barnes and Noble and Amazon as e-readers.

You can read more about Eve and her published works on her website and her blog. Follow her on twitter @evetesoro or friend her on facebook.

Personal Note from Tess Black: It's Valentine's week and I am so very pleased that my good friend and  talented author, Eve Tesoro agreed to guest blog for me and spotlight her awesome Valentine's story, Sweet Temptations. Thank you, Eve!

Welcome Author Freddy Makckay!

Hello everyone! And thank you to Tess for having me here today. My name is Freddy Mackay and I am fortunate enough to bring you another post about my new release, Dirty Little Secret, in the Cabin for Two Anthology released by Mischief Corner Books, January 19^th.

Blurb

Snow, storm, transportation woes, gravity well mishaps - the list of disasters that might strand someone in the wilderness is endless. But what happens when two men are marooned together? Close quarters and intimate situations strike sparks, whether the men are strangers or lovers on the emotional rocks.

A Bear in the Woods by Toni Griffin

A bear shifter tries to convince his mate that he's not crazy while fighting threats against his own life.

The Other Cabin by Vicktor Alexander

When a young graduate finds himself at the wrong cabin facing the muzzle of a shotgun, he had no idea how much his life has just changed.

Dirty Little Secret by Freddy MacKay

A geocaching trip goes horribly wrong, but the hiker's rescuer is the one person who may be able to save him in more ways than he can imagine.

Three Little Words by Mathilde Watson

Lifelong friends have returned from the Korean conflict and now need to fight their way through the feelings they've harbored for each other for so long.

Their Natural Habitat by Silvia Violet

A forest ranger and his lover just want a nice weekend away. The bear baiters have other ideas.

A Matter of Faces by Angel Martinez

A data privateer crash lands on a barely habitable moon where he's found by a research scientist who refuses to show his face.

Basically what you have is:

Angel's 'A Matter of Faces' story is for the Sci Fi junkies.

My 'Dirty Little Secret' story is for the contemporary fans.

Mathilde's 'Three Little Words' story is for fans who appreciate period pieces set in the 1950s.

Silvia's 'Their Natural Habitat' story is for the men in uniformed lovers.

Toni's 'A Bear in the Woods' story is for all the paranormal readers.

And Vicktor's 'The Other Cabin' is for lovers of the interracial genre

Buy Links

Available at:

• ARe
• Amazon
• Smashwords or
• Barnes and Noble for $5.99

  

Dirty Little Secret

DLS is my contribution to Cabin for Two. The MC is Erik Broden, a doctor, avid geocacher, broken hearted, embarrassed and on a mission to forget about the last few weeks where his life came crashing down on him. He's off geocaching in the Appalachian Mountains when life decides to throw him another curve ball—or more specifically—a tree root. Erik tumbles down the side of the mountain and gets hurt. What he doesn't know is who he meets when he gets rescued.

For me, writing this story was about a person who was stuck. Sometimes, anything and everything can and will go wrong, and it sucks. You just want to stop, forget for a while, and lick your wounds. Just like Erik. When he's stuck 6 inches from salvation and hurt, he wants to give up. Not because he wants to die, but because he's tired of life crapping on him. I think all of us can relate to that. We hit a point where we need a break, a stop, and in this story, Erik gets his break in the form of a cabin and his friend Jonas.

Below is a short excerpt from my story. 

Excerpt

He turned his face toward the warmth and snuggled under the soft blanket covering him. It felt so good to be so close to a crackling fire, the smell of burning wood, the periodic shift of the logs. The heat wrapped around him like the gentle sun on a spring day.

Wait. Spring day?

No… it's November. It couldn't be spring. He had been outside. In a fucking snowstorm.

Erik's eyes popped open, his gaze moving about wildly as he tried to figure out where the hell he was. A large fire snapped and popped in front of him in a fireplace. Its flames provided the only illumination in the room so Erik couldn't determine much more. That and he lay on the floor. He chanced a glance down and discovered he lay on a furry rug of some kind, wrapped in some fleece blanket.

He twisted, wanting to look around, but ended up gasping in pain when he did so. "Argh! Fuck!"

Ribs. Shoulder. Fucking ribs!

Erik wanted to howl at the unfairness of it all, but he didn't. He bit his lip and kept his cry in. Erik had to first figure out where he was and why he hadn't frozen to death on the cabin porch.

Ah… Erik settled on his back, looking around. He was in the cabin. Well, that's good.

The only problem was Erik knew he didn't walk through the front door on his own two damn feet.

"How the fuck did I end up here?" Erik asked the room.

"That's what I wanna know," said a familiar voice.

Erik jumped, sitting up immediately, and crumbled, clutching his side, just as fast. "Shit!"

Two large hands went to Erik's shoulders, the tenor voice filled with concern. "What hurts the most?"

"My ribs," wheezed Erik, puffing fervently, grimacing. It was like a thousand pieces of broken glass just tore through him, leaving only a bloody mess in their place. There was no blood, however, just pain and misery. "I think"—he tilted his head back so he could get a good look at his rescuer—"that's where it hurts the most right now… Jonas?"

"Hey, Erik." Jonas Ahlstrom knelt in front of Erik, the corner of his mouth pinched. Lines marred his forehead. "Don't move, just lay back down."

"Wha–Wha–What are yo–you?" sputtered Erik, leaning forward, shock running throughout him.

Jonas squeezed Erik's left shoulder. He winced, jerking back. Jonas's brows came together, he curled his bottom lip in and caught it with his teeth. Erik panted, hoping to ease the pain.

"I thought you said your ribs hurt?" asked Jonas, censure in his tone, his eyes flashing. Erik couldn't read what was there. The light from the flames was too dim.

"They hurt more," clarified Erik, leaning back. He wanted to lie back down since he knew he wasn't in immediate danger, except moving backward caused immense pain… a lot of it. "Fuck!"

Jonas's long arms wrapped around Erik, pulling him close, so close he could feel the heat radiating off his friend. "What's wrong?"

"Can't go forward, definitely can't go back," huffed Erik, his fingers curling into Jonas's flannel. "Just hold me for a minute. Don't let go."

Tapping their heads together, Jonas chuckled as Erik frowned.

"I don't see how my pain is funny," snapped Erik, regretting the harsh tones coming out of his mouth.

Jonas shook his head, a rumble in his chest. "It's not, my king."

"Good answer," said Erik. "You want to tell me why you were laughing then?"

Jonas looked down at Erik as he eased him back, his friend's expression soft. His voice was a little raspy when he spoke, "I just never expected you to be clinging to me with such desperation. I found the moment funny."

Excerpt End

Finding Freddy

http://freddysstereograph.weebly.com

http://freddymackay.blogspot.com

freddy.m.mackay@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! Have fun on the rest of the blog tour.