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Archive for August, 2010Saturday, August 28th, 2010
 Hi all! I love Snippet Saturdays, a time where fabulous authors share snippets from their books. Unfortunately my computer, you know the one with all my books on it, took a coffee bath last weekend so I can’t post anything. But enjoy the rest of the awesome authors’ snippets and I’ll be back next week! TJ Lauren Dane Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
So here’s the blurby bit for this new sci-fi romance coming on September 24th from Ellora’s Cave. I am so thrilled about this Hunters for Hire book! Death—so skilled, grown men cry at her approach. Roses—so sweet she enchants your senses. Scharsi—for one man, an unbelievably sexy combination of the two. The Amalgamation is the definition of evil in her world. Scharsi has spent years hiding from them. Now she must hunt the agent who killed the only man who ever loved her. No one will stop her. Tanil, an Amalgamation officer left for dead by his own crew, must avoid capture. On the run, wounded and weak, he comes upon the one woman in the ‘Verse he should be running from. But Scharsi isn’t what the government claims she is–a born and bred killer. Deadly? Absolutely…but addictive, hot. She makes his skin sizzle and sends his blood racing with a look. Her touch? Devastating. He wants her, needs her. Scharsi doesn’t have time for distractions while on a hunt, but Tanil won’t hesitate to prove that a bit of delicious distraction is exactly what she needs. Friday, August 20th, 2010
I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than an awesome meal. I’m uber-blessed in that we have culinary goddesses at our house and we cook everything from fresh bread to Italian food to Cajun fare to Japanese food. Everything! *nom nom nom!!* So now meet my girl, the heroine in Hatsept Heat. She’s a bonafide chef without a restaurant who teaches high school in the swanky Shibuya district in Tokyo. She also teaches martial arts after school, has a brother that leads a Yakuza clan, and half her family is old fashioned and country-fied from Atlanta, Georgia (though we aren’t talking about her whacked out, wild and crazy cousin who just returned from hanging out with some really bad vamps in London). Enjoy our culinary genius as she prepares some sweet dishes for her beau, a kick-butt gorgeous (pronounced ‘go-jus’) Seeker for the Vampire Council of Ethics…only she doesn’t know he’s a vampire. Not yet… Purchase the V.C.O.E. series in print or e-book at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Samhain Publishing and all other fine bookstores.
“Fill me in on the rogue who threatened you the other day. I received your message but you and I obviously haven’t had a chance to talk until now. Very smart of you to leave the guy’s description. I called it in to V.C.O.E. headquarters. We should have something by the time we get there.” “Look, Kenoe, before we get to that, I need to talk to you about what happened in London. I don’t have an excuse, but I am sorry. I was so caught up in the excitement of running with vampires, living my ultimate fantasy, I didn’t consider anything past that. Not to mention I didn’t expect to ever see you again in my life.” “Your point?” Kenoe grumbled around a mouthful of some swanky hors d’oeuvres that tasted like smoked salmon and some kind of spicy peppers. Mmm, good. “No point. I’m sorry is all. And…” She hesitated. “I’m concerned about my cousin. I don’t want her hurt. Not by you or the asshole who was bold enough to step right into her backyard and threaten me.” Unable to keep his brows from knitting together, Kenoe scowled across the table. “I would never hurt Shinju. She’s my mate.” “Mate? As in mate-for-life kinda mate?” “More than that. She’s my bondmate too.” “Bond…?! Hooo!” “Keep it down, woman.” “Are you telling me she doesn’t know she’s the one? Doesn’t know about your so-called family or the Council? Or those badassed vamps that took me out of Lowan’s place? Wait a minute!” Her voice cracked as it rose. “She doesn’t know anything? Not even that you’re a vam—?” “No, damn it, so keep your voice down. But I have to tell her before we get off this plane.” Kimora burst out laughing like Kenoe had just been caught telling the funniest, raunchiest joke ever. “Well, good luck with that, my man. I think I’ll eat in my room.” With that, she unfolded her muscular frame out of her chair and snickered all the way out of the dining room and down the hall. What the hell was that about? But Kimora’s parting shot reminded Kenoe of the last time Shinju had been pissed off at him. His balls tingled, bringing to mind a way uncomfortable moment after the woman had been less than kind to them. In fact, the little firecracker had sent him and Sasuke to their knees. Perhaps he should have followed Kimora out of the room rather than tell Shinju he was a vampire who happened to be investigating her brother. “Where’s Kimora?” Kenoe’s neck snapped a hard right as he turned to watch Shinju enter the room unbuttoning a double-breasted white chef’s coat. It had a myriad of stains down the front and looked a size too big. “She said she wants to eat in her room.” “Huh. Okay, I’ll ask the chef to take a tray. You ready to eat?” Boy was he ever, but his stomach and his heart didn’t agree on what that meal should be. In truth Kenoe didn’t give a damn about food right now. Shinju looked utterly adorable with a smudge of flour across her cheek, and a few loose curls stuck to the side of her face. The smudges on her borrowed clothes told part of the story of what she’d been up to. Obviously catching wind of his curiosity, she motioned toward the sumptuous spread on the table and said, “Well, you said your boss sent this jet for you and we’re the first to travel on it, right? So I thought we could christen it, so to speak.” The image of her spread-eagle on top of the large and thankfully bolted-down table flashed into his head. Dragging his mind out of the gutter kicking and screaming, he forced himself to sit still while Shinju directed the wait staff to clear the hors d’oeuvres and bring out the main course. Shinju took a plate up to Randall in the cockpit while Kenoe sat and watched in awe as two impeccably dressed chefs brought the main course. Even over the wonderful smells of the various dishes, he still scented Shinju before she reentered the room. Rising, he pulled out a chair and dropped a kiss on the top of her head as she settled into it. “Go ahead. Taste it,” she urged with a big, proud smile on her face. The woman was a wonder. The first meal she’d ever prepared for him in her neat little kitchen had made his stomach sing. This meal might just make his whole body break into a chorus of “One Singular Sensation”. And hallelujah, none of it was Japanese food! Instead his plate was piled with seafood lasagna with a sauce so savory and light, the scent alone made his mouth water. The pasta was accompanied by a simple green salad garnished with fresh green peppers and tomatoes tossed in a sweet ginger vinaigrette. The spices were unique, far from the typical basil and parsley in Italian-style cuisine. No, this was a culinary orgasm going off in his mouth. Simply delicious. They chatted amicably but Kenoe didn’t miss the occasional frown whenever he let his guard down long enough for his anxiety, though slight, to creep down the bond. Bottom line—he had no desire to see the you’re-crazy-as-a-loon skepticism in her eyes when he told her what he was. God knew she wouldn’t believe him. And he was less than enthusiastic about her reaction to the fact that he, Mr. Law Enforcement, as she called him, was investigating her closest relative for something that had nothing to do with honest vamps, and everything to do with Dr. Jekyll humans. Not to mention the possibility of her flat-out rejecting him. Ruthlessly squashing down all concern, he filled his mind with lighter thoughts. Actually just thinking on what a fabulous dinner she’d prepared for him, what a kind and considerate woman she was, a woman so sweet yet with an edge sharp enough to cut himself on. The perfect alpha. His perfect alpha. And she’d prepared a dessert of strawberries covered with brown sugar syrup, laced with lemon zest. Oh yeah, she was a keeper. He only hoped she would feel the same when he told her… When had she moved from her chair? Shinju grinned and pushed his empty dishes off to the side. She held her hand out to him. “What?” “Up, handsome.” Wondering what she was on about, he didn’t move but cocked his head to the side and waited instead. Enjoy all of our Snippet Saturday authors! Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
(This is x-posted from my blog today over at The Romance Studio on Wednesday. I posted here in case Blogger doesn’t allow you to view the movie trailer. Enjoy!) I was sitting in my room bugging the hell out of my daughter to help me come up with a blog subject. And guess what? Neither of us could come up with a single thing to talk about. So my next natural train of thought was, ‘what new book do I have coming out’ in hopes of coming up with a loosely related subject to blog about. No luck…sort of. Death and Roses is releasing next month from Ellora’s Cave as part of the Hunters for Hire Sci-Fi continuity series. Death and Roses is an erotic romance about a female Super Soldier who meets up with the soldier she believes killed the only man who’s ever loved her. There’s more to every author than just writing, writing, writing, right? *say that 10 times really fast* And since I really don’t like talking about my books all the time, I wanted to think of something ‘not’ bookish. My upcoming sci-fi led me to another thought: FUTURISTIC MOVIES! I am absolutely thrilled that Resident Evil 4: Afterlife is coming out on September 10th in 3D and Imax 3D! *tj dancing around doing a very high pitched squeeee!* I’m totally excited because I like series. Love them, in fact. It doesn’t matter whether the series is done in film or book form, I totally heart them. To be honest, my wallet takes a bit of a beating because when I buy a book in a series, or watch a movie in a series and I love it…I gotta have the whole darn thing! If you’re not Each Resident Evil movie carries along that same story line of ‘get the bad guys’, but i Hell, one Alice is hard enough to deal with. I’m wondering what they’re going to do with hundreds of her…or will they do anything at all? Now, I don’t know if Blogger will let me do this, so if it doesn’t work, hop over to my personal blog to take a look at the trailer at TJ Michaels dot com. See you at the movies! TJ is an award winning multi-published author of contemporary, paranormal and multicultural romance who’s even managed a couple of CAPA nominations from The Romance Studio!
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Entwined Hearts, the 5th and final book in the HEARTS OF FIRE SERIESIs coming soon…  Books 1 through 4 in the series are: My name’s Memory and I have a slight problem. I walked out on a business I poured my heart and soul into and took off across country to “find myself”. No luck on finding me yet, but I found something I wasn’t expecting. Marco Redwing. Sexy? Hell, that doesn’t even come close. Oh, the things I long to do to him. The kicker? He has a crystal pendant that’s an exact match to the one I’ve worn since I was eighteen. It’s almost too good to be true. Problem is, every time I’m around the man my crystal pendant goes crazy. Damn thing sends off energy spikes I’m afraid are going to electrocute me. Could I really find the man of my dreams in this charming southern city? And that’s the real problem. The crystal is supposed to lead me to the man I’m destined to mate with. Which sounds damn fine to me. But it also lets me know there’s something not so good getting closer. And that’s the rub. There’s a demon after me. Shards of Ecstasy by TJ Michaels De’alla Isaacs is a typical executive business woman in Seattle, but away from the day job this sexy elemental has serious work to do—carry and protect a precious jewel. Each Piece of Eight is part of a key, the only thing standing between this world and complete demonic devastation. Just when Dee has finally come to grips with her task, the one person in the whole wide world she never expected or wanted to meet walks into her life, into her office actually. Faison Dow. Celebrity. Playboy. All-out dog. Yet her stone calls to him. Why? Because he carries the other half. Seeking Charlotte by NJ Walters Creed Lawson knows Charlotte Jones is trouble from the moment she presses her lithe body to his and kisses him. But that doesn’t stop him from taking what she’s offering-a night of hot, uninhibited sex. But Creed hasn’t bargained for the feelings she stirs in him, nor the talk of crystals, demons and destiny. Charlotte is an empath. The ability to feel peoples’ emotions has made it difficult for her to lead a normal life. At eighteen, she received one of the eight pieces of the Heart of Fire, a crystal that contains untold power. She was told there was a male who held the other half of her stone as well as a demon that coveted all the pieces of the crystal. The demon has finally found her. But she’s knows that Creed is the special man she’s been waiting for. Charlotte is facing the fight of her life. Will Creed will fight beside her or walk away? Kenna’s Cowboy by Nicole Austin Cursed with unusual abilities, orphan McKenna Fulton has always been different-an outcast. But she’s been Chosen. More accurately, she is one of the Chosen. Eight individuals-four women and four men-selected at birth to guard slices of crystal. The Heart of Fire. The whole thing is more than a little farfetched. Kenna can handle the part of getting down and dirty with the bad dude. She’s even okay with guarding a crystal. But losing her free will and being stuck with some guy, her destined mate, uh-uh. Not happening. Local mechanic Ryker Thomas is more than he appears and has his own set of abilities. Kenna wants nothing to do with the southern charmer. So what if he has a matching crystal and the damn thing hums and vibrates whenever they’re close together. That doesn’t mean she’ll toe the line. He can’t be the one she’s supposed to be with. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to send her a cowboy when what she wants is a bad boy. Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Hi all, I added a few short reviews to Goodreads and thought I’d post ‘em here for you. Enjoy! Let me start by saying that I hardly EVER give 5 stars to a book. It’s got to be up there with epics and classics, etc. to get that kind of rating. If I give a book a 4, it means I’ll more than likely reread that book at some point because it’s a darned good book. A 5 means the books is freaking spectacular and so good that I could possibly dream about it! And yep, this book is definitely a five in my little world. Now, if you enjoy multicultural stuff in your books like I do, then you’ll be glad to know that this book is done very very well. Race is not continually an issue (which drives me absolutely nuts in multi-culti books) and the differences between the hero and heroine are celebrated, not harped on or brought up all the damn time. Good lord, this book has some of everything! Definitely had some twists and turns I didn’t expect, and yes, I stayed glued to my Nook until I was finished with it! As awesome as the first book in this series (Eternal Hunter). This is the third book in the Federation Chronicles series (Undercover, bk 1, Relentless, bk 2) I’ve read by Lauren. It did not disappoint. At the beginning I thought it was a bit slow as the author set the stage (which is necessary), then it picked up quickly and never let up for a second until the end. The world building is awesome and makes it so you can read this book as a standalone even though it’s part of a series. Can’t wait to read Andreas’ book coming up next! Friday, August 6th, 2010
Some people may wonder, what the heck is a black moment. Well, it sounds ominous and couldn’t possibly be good, right? Right! A boring, somewhat clinical definition is: At a certain plot point, the hero/heroine appears beaten or lost but something happens to turn the situation around. Right before the unexpected story turn, the hero reaches the Black Moment—the point at which all is lost and the goal looks out of reach. My definition is, when all hell breaks loose and it looks like the hero and heroine are doomed! Doomed, I say! Enjoy this snippet from Spirit of the Pryde when our hero is about to literally get his head taken off. If you have trouble viewing the widget use full-screen view. If you can’t see the widget at all (for example, sometimes Amazon’s blog doesn’t display properly), please visit me here at www.tjmichaels.com . Happy Saturday! TJ Enjoy all of our snippet authors today! | ||||||
I just got the cover for this new novel and I’m an squeeeing all over the place. I know some folks are thinking, what the heck does death have to do with roses? Well, it all starts with Scharsi, and it will end with her. She has no last name, no family. Why? Because she is a Generation 8 Super Soldier, bred for destruction and oh, she’s so good at it!
