Today’s theme makes me think of the movie, Something’s Gotta Give, with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keeton. Remember that part where he says, “Erica, you are a woman to love.” And when she gets home she thinks back on his words and says to herself, “What does that even mean?”

Today it means that our hero has just gotten a good first glimpse at our leading lady. Enjoy a snippet from the upcoming release of Niah’s Pride, a Pryde Ranch novella. Visit the other Snippet Saturday Authors via the links at the bottom of the post. Enjoy and tally-ho! Oh, and below you’ll also find the video trailer for Something’s Gotta Give. I don’t usually do ‘chick flicks’ but this one is a KEEPER!

Niah’s Pride by TJ Michaels
Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved
Coming June 4th

Lou sat on the steps that led up to the huge wrap-around porch of the main house on Pryde Ranch and waited. It was a beautiful structure, more of a mansion-sized rustic lodge than a house. He’d left enough clues as to his whereabouts that he was sure it wouldn’t be long now before Neesia, or someone, showed up. Of course she’d want to know what he was doing here, and how the hell he’d gotten onto the estate without passing through any of the heavily monitored gates.

Of course he couldn’t tell her he’d hacked the estate’s security network remotely, found the connect keys for all the hubs and routers, broke into one of the system password files and reset the cycle time on the motion sensors on a far-off fence. With that done, he’d walked right through the temporarily unprotected entrance in a rarely used corner of the vast property.

While scouting the place he’d often wondered why Neesia and her sister, Kotara, needed such tight security. The vast acreage the estate sat on should have been enough of a deterrent for any bad guy, yet he’d had to squeeze through a tight web of electronic controls. It hadn’t been easy.

She was going to kill him. The thought brought a grin. God, he couldn’t wait.

The land in the immediate vicinity was cleared of anything that could hide an intruder, so if he could see from here out to the rolling hills, then he could also be seen.

And here they come. There was no sound other than the whip of wind through the trees, but he knew he was being closed in on like so much fresh meat. No surprise. In fact, it’s exactly what he would have done if he were in her shoes.

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I don’t think this week’s theme needs any intro at all, do you **heh**? Meet Delaine and Justin from “On The Prowl”. This book was originally published as my debut novel, “Primed to Pounce” and received 4 STARS **woooot!** from Romantic Times Book Reviews.

In this Snippet, Delaine is pretty sure she caught Justin messing around with her best friend. But looks can be deceiving. And since Delaine is running, Justin does what any good alpha does…he chases her.

Delaine Jeris is on a mission. As top investigator for the Aegis Group, she must use her unique gifts-including her own personal mountain lion spirit guide-to catch a mad scientist with kinky delusions.

Justin Cooley was not part of the plan.

Justin has his own job to do, but falling for the beautiful woman sneaking around the Astin Pharmaceutical and Biotech facility wasn’t in his brief. How can he trust his instincts, trust her, when he knows that more than his mission could be compromised if he’s wrong?

Delaine has had her heart broken before. When all their secrets are revealed, she’ll have to decide whether she’s truly found her mate…or allowed herself to fall straight into enemy hands.

Review: “Move over, Secret Agent Man, Michaels’ heroine, Delaine, is a spy queen. Her moves on the sheets and off make this a page-turner.” -Romantic Times BOOKReviews

Kindle | Nook | Smashwords | iTunes

*Stop running, Suta. Embrace our mate. He comes.*

‘Yeah, whatever.’ Delaine’s words were flat and uncaring, and in truth, she hadn’t really been listening to what Sapa was saying to her along the bond.

The sleek mountain cat rolled her eyes and stalked away to a quiet corner of Delaine’s mind. Before she retreated, Delaine felt her frustration. Well, guess she could forget about meditating now. All she could think about was Justin. Justin’s lips. Justin’s hands on her body. Justin treating her like the queen he proclaimed her to be. Cooking for her. Taking her on road trips.

Justin sleeping with her best friend. Rather, a chick that was supposed to be her friend.
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This week’s theme is “They call it the blues.” And now that song by Elton John is stuck in my head — “And I guess that’s why they call it the blues. Time on my hands could be time spent with you. Laughing like children, living like lovers, rolling like thunder under the covers. And I guess that’s why they call it the blues.”

In anticipation of the next book in the Vampire Council of Ethics series, let’s go back in time just a little bit to a heart-breaking scene from Serati’s Flame, V.C.O.E. Book Two. Yep, Tameth Serati definitely has the blues and she has a good reason to. It’s called…men! Enjoy this snippet and then visit the other fabulous authors via the links at the bottom of the post. Happy Weekend!

Order at: Samhain Publishing | Kindle | Nook | Sony| iTunes

Alaan walked out the backdoor and stopped so quickly Tameth ran into the wall of his back. She tried to look around him but he was simply too tall. She couldn’t see a damned thing. Nudging him in the middle of his back and poking him in the ribs had no effect. Finally she stepped close, planted her foot in the back of his knee and pushed.

Alaan stumbled a few inches, just enough for Tameth to push her way around him and get through the doorway. Her katana cleared its sheath and whistled to a stop in midair. Her thoughts pushed against his and echoed his disbelief.

In unison, they silently gasped. “Oh God, this is not happening.”

Pale as a sheet, as if someone had drained every ounce of blood out of his body, her man stood and looked out towards what appeared to be contained chaos.

Two SUVs were parked on the gravel, engines still running. A score of people ran around the courtyard, all with some weapon or another drawn and at the ready. Randall was yelling into a hand-held radio.

Collins stepped up to Alaan, anxiety rolling off of him in waves.
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Today’s theme is actually ‘JOBS’ but rather than a specific occupation, this topic makes me think of Mabel King’s rendition of “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” from The Wiz. The songs starts out, “When I wake up in the afternoon, as it pleases me to do, don’t nobody bring me no bad news!”

Now wouldn’t that be the dream job? Get up when you want and demand that all be well in the world–both your world and everybody else’s? Totally works for me! Well, our character, a talented geek and deadly bounty hunter, wishes she could demand that all be uber-cool in her world. For the most part, she gets exactly what she wants…just not today.

Enjoy the excerpt then visit all of the wonderful Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of the post. Happy Weekend!

Unedited Excerpt from
Niah’s Pryde: A Pryde Ranch Shifter story
by TJ Michaels
Copyright 2013 – All rights reserved
Coming May 2013

Blurb: Niah Pryde is no shrinking violet. Not only is she one of the best hunters for S.W.A.T.—the Shifter and Were Armed Tactics agency—but Niah can network a microwave tower to a satellite surveillance system with her eyes closed and one well-manicured hand tied behind her back. So…why would she rather hide in the network hub closet than face her mate?

Ryland Lee Lewis is as down-home as they come, from his country drawl to his love of Sweet Tea. It only took one assignment with Niah Pryde to know she was the one for him. He’s sure she feels it too but the woman is running faster than a bull out of the chute. What’s a guy to do when his mate won’t see reason? And what kind of sparks will fly if she dares give him a chance?

Rolling at top speed along one of the private graveled roads in Niah’s favorite Jeep, she and Broglio covered the five miles to Lou’s camp in short order. A one-man tent and agency-issued gear were bundled up and hidden in the brush in the exact spot he’d said they were.

Tossing the stuff into the backseat, Broglio huffed, “Honestly, Miss Niah, if that damn lion shifter…no offence…”

“None taken.”

“…breached our security, who else could manage to get this close to our family?”

Niah shook her head and kept her mouth shut. After all, Broglio was only saying what she was thinking. At first she’d been simply unbelieving that Lou had tracked her down, but now she was both pissed off and impressed at how he’d waltzed onto her family’s property and sat his naked ass—correction, perfect-for-bouncing-quarters-off naked ass—down on her front porch as if he did this every day.

Back at the house, she found her sisters preparing for dinner in Neesia’s pride and joy—an oversized professional, stainless steel-everything football stadium-sized kitchen.

She dropped Lou’s stuff on the floor near the ginormous gourmet block and rounded on her sisters.

“I’m responsible for network security, you guys. How the hell did he get in here? How did he do it?”

Lou chose that moment to poke his head through the entrance that led into the space from the hallway.
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For this week’s Snippet, I’ve chosen a bit from the upcoming release, Seeker’s Solace, book four in the Vampire Council of Ethics series. It’s the first menage in the series, so please enjoy!

Ladies and gentlemen…meet Jovon Dawson-Li *evil grin*

Unedited Excerpt from
Seeker’s Solace
Vampire Council of Ethics Book 4
by TJ Michaels
The Council chamber was an opulent affair without being gaudy. A place where the Elders met when they were all in town.

And here she stood in the presence of the matriarch of Clan Serati. She felt like doing a funky little fan-girl dance but managed to keep her cool demeanor. Just barely. Besides, she looked like hell and would probably be shot if she got too close to the Elder smelling the way she did. Jovon was a dusty mess having hopped off a military transport plane in Great Falls after a twenty hour ride, then right onto another flight from there to Kalispell, Montana with no prep time before walking into this meeting.

The Elders up on the dais were no surprise. She knew their faces well enough, including her own Elder of Clan Li.

A slew of assistants and Liaisons lined the walls.

Seekers stood in front of the dais listening to the discussion on what this mission was about.

The Seekers stood at ease, their bodies deceptively relaxed. There was no mistaking the menace and determination that rolled off of them. They might be vampire good guys, but they were really really good at taking down bad guys. And the only way to take down a bad guy…was to fight dirty like one. And they were all capable of carrying out whatever deeds were necessary to get what they wanted.

What determined a bad guy depended on who made the rules at the time. The Elders made the rules for the V.C.O.E. On their side equaled good guy. Against them equaled bad guy.

The thought made her shiver.

Seekers protected the entire vampire nation from law breakers. They also kept all the Clans off the radar of humans and kept those same humans from becoming rogue vampire lunch.

Another quick survey of the room and her attention landed right back on the Seekers. Only the one speaking now…wasn’t one. This man had come in through the other entrance with the Liaisons along with Jovon.

And she’d blown him off royally.
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This week’s Snippet Saturday features some of the most awesome authors I know. Be sure to visit them via the links at the bottom of this post. Now, back to business – this week’s theme is Sweethearts. Valentine’s Day just passed and while I don’t have any books with that particular holiday, Valentine’s Day just wouldn’t be the same without some romance leading up to it, right?

So, here’s a Snippet from Silk Road where Larien allows himself to be as vulnerable as any Fallen can be — by showing his true self to Jayla.

Enjoy!

Excerpt from
Silk Road
Seals of Destiny Book One
by TJ Michaels

Out of the blue, she asked, “So you can change your form, right? Like the asshat that jumped me? He looked human one minute and a freaking giant the next.”

“Of course. All Fallen can take human form or revert to their working form.”

“Working form? What’s a working form?”

“I am a warring angel, so my working form is for battle. It is the form I take most often, or would take often if I still had my old job. We can also transform to celestial bodies, unless we go demon.”

“What happens if you choose Fallen demonhood rather than Fallen angelhood?”

“We lose the ability to take our celestial forms ever again.”

“Can I see? Your celestial form, I mean.” Her honey brown eyes sparkled, full of mischief. What was she up to? He tilted his head and tried to read between whatever lines he was sure were there. “Well, can I?”

I can refuse her nothing.

Without another word, Larien rose and padded to the living room with Jayla on his heels.

“Why the living room instead of the office?”

“You’ll see.”

The moment she settled on the couch he let the change explode from his very cells. His body stretched and expanded. The familiar burn of the emergence of his wings was followed by an awed gasp from Jayla.

“Wow. You have wings?! And you’re so big, uh, bigger.”

But even at eight feet ten inches this body was still restricted by flesh.

“This is my battle form.” His voice, deepened by the transformation, caused her eyes to widen even more, yet the stink of fear was absent. Humans usually pissed themselves if they managed to glimpse an angel’s battle form, Fallen or not. “But I want you to see my true form though it is dimmer than when I was eudaemon.”

Nodding enthusiastically, Jayla simply sat with her eyes aglow with wonder. The eager acceptance in her gaze never ceased to make him feel special. Proud, even, of what he was. Or rather, what was left of him.

* * * * *

Jayla was fully along for the ride. Energy crackled in the air, rode along the ridges of her spine and then sank into her blood. It pumped through her heart, infused her cells and then burst forth like an explosion of moonlight and starlight behind her eyes. It was peaceful yet so beautifully vibrant she could almost hear the hum of electricity in the room. The tips of Larien’s beautiful wings trailed the floor and then snapped out to fill the room. A variation of black she’d never seen before, the color seemed alive and swirled with luminescence. Lethal-looking talons on the end of perfectly sculpted feathers were a-glow with shimmering gold.

Wow, how did he ever walk away from such power, she wondered. Larien outshone anything her mind could even possibly conceive. When Improbael had morphed from his human form he’d grown at least a good two feet, just like Larien, but where Larien’s skin was an almost-glowing dove gray, Improbael’s Fallen demon skin had become as dank as cement—lifeless and cold like the dirty ash that remained in the bottom of a grill long after the charcoal had burned itself out.
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This week’s Snippet Saturday theme is Emotion. For some reason, rather than a scene from one of my books popping into my head, the song by Mariah Carey raised its hand instead.

So, yeah, I’ve just got to post that here.

Vampire Council of Ethics Book 4 has just been sold and I can’t wait to until it’s released. I’ll have more deets as I work with my editor so I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, enjoy this snippet from the upcoming release, Seeker’s Solace, V.C.O.E. Book 4 then hop over to play with the other Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of the page.

Unedited Excerpt from Seeker’s Solace
Vampire Council of Ethics Book 4
by TJ Michaels
Copyright 2013 – All Rights Reserved

When the first photos appeared on the screen, Slade found his curiosity about Shale’s role in this investigation replaced by sheer revulsion. It was bad enough that someone hunted their comrades, but the things that had been done to the bodies by God-knew-who turned his typically blast-resistant persona inside out.

When it was over, an unnatural silence filled the room that was oppressive even as the air crackled with unspent violent energy. The Elders of all ten clans stood as a united front. The Elder of Clan Viggee, voice tight with emotion they all tried not to feel, said, “Those who are to remain, do so. Everyone else, out.”

As the Beta Seekers and Iudex judges were dismissed, growls and murmurs mixed amid the orderly exit were expected. Every vampire in the room bared their fangs in silent aggression after that rough briefing. Nothing less than fury was expected given the horrors they’d just seen. And that was really saying something considering the vampire nation and its clans were a people that used to be the most brutal and bloody on the planet.

Slade looked over to Alex who simply stood there shaking his head. His best friends midnight eyes blazed as his jaw ticked furiously. He swallowed hard. Then swallowed again.
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Today’s theme is Character. I’m picking a side-character rather than our main because I feel that the sidekicks help make the story by giving us insight into how our main characters handle different kinds of relationships.

So here’s a snippet from Gathering of the Storms: Wind and Fire (coming Spring 2013) and heroine is trying to talk her best friend into doing something that’s actually against the law. Now let’s see how the two get along, shall we?

Be sure to visit the other Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of the post. Tally ho!

“Oh come on Joan, please do this for me. Please.”

“Forget it Reanne,” Joan said hotly, slashing her hand through the air. Moving swiftly for the door she yanked it open and rounded on her obviously crazy friend. If she’d believed in a god, Joan would have prayed earnestly for the deity to come take Reanne away somewhere, anywhere but here trying to talk her into another dumb stunt.  “Ever since we were children I’ve done all kinds of stupid things for you and I always get caught. Your father’s going to kill you when he learns you haven’t been planning a wedding trip for the past few weeks. You’ve been planning to run.  And don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to help you, because unlike you, I want to keep my skin.”

“Ssssh! Get in here already, Joan.”

She’d almost made a run for it when Reanne grabbed her by the hand and yanked her back into the apartment with a grumbled ‘shush’. “What if RuArk is next door?”

Joan didn’t really care. Hell, she almost wished the man would overhear what his numb-skulled woman was up to.

“What if I get caught, Reanne?  Your father would tell my father. Or worse, he’d have me carted off to Harbor Station and assigned to one of your brother’s airships. As a soldier, I don’t mind the patrol part of it, but you know I hate riding in those blasted airships. On the water or flying above it, they still make me wanna hurl. Bleh.”

“Joan, I’m not asking you to help me leave theHighCity. I’m only asking you to go on this errand for my father.”

“Yeah, but it’s your errand. You’re supposed to do it, not me,” Joan fumed. Her nails raked through her platinum tightly coiled curls until they were a riotous mess on top of her head.

“He’s always wanted me to delegate more of my duties, right?”
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Snippet Saturday is a brilliant collaboration by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lauren Dane, and a fabulous group of authors that she’s invited to join her in posting book goodies every Saturday. I’m thrilled to be part of this mad fun!

Today’s snippet is a sneak peek of Seeker’s Solace, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 4. You  met our heroes, Slade Tof-Li and Shale Hatsept-Krulm in books one through three, but you’ve never seen them quite like this. In this snippet, one of our guys has been injured to the point of near death…and his woman doesn’t appreciate it one little bit.

Ladies and gentleman, meet Jovon Dawson-Li, former Marine Captain and fixed-wing pilot. She’s tasked with flying an elite Seeker team on their hunt for bad guys. It was supposed to be a simple ‘field trip’. She had no idea she’d meet her bondmates along the way…

WARNING: This snippet contains lots of bad words.

“How, of all places, did they know we’d end up here? How, goddamit?”

The anger behind Jovon’s words was like the roll of thunder heralding the arrival of deadly lightening. If Shale hadn’t been looking at Jovon he would have never believed that a female could make such a sound.

“Jovon, just calm down.” Shale hoped the words sounded encouraging rather than bossy. He knew he’d failed when she bared her fangs at him. “Woman, I said calm the fuck down. I’m worried for Slade, too, but we won’t do him any good if we’re all out of sorts.”

“They hurt him,” she snarled. “They hurt Slade.” Each word was bitten off at the end, blunt edged and raw. She stepped into his space, looked up at him and blinked back tears. A torrent of fear and anger rushed forward like the tide, and was as full of love for him as she was with worry for Slade.

Shale wrapped her up in his embrace and pictured his care and confidence that Slade would survive as a wave that flowed into and then engulfed her. He stroked her mentally along the frayed edge of worry and then physically soothed with  a caress as he tried to ensure without words that the people who did this would pay.

As Ambassador on this mission Shale had limited authority in regard to meeting out justice. But as an Iudex Judge he could hand down sentences on the spot for any rogue they’d been assigned to hunt. And with those who dared harm his mate and upset his woman, not only would he hand down the sentence, he would carry it out. Personally. Slowly. And with great relish.

The thought made him smile.

“God you look dangerous as hell just now,” Jovon whispered with just the barest hint of a grin. “And I totally love it.” And then her face lit up and Shale felt hope bloom in her heart and flash along their bond.

“The hacker!” Jovon yelped and then shot out of his arms and over to where Bors was sitting. “Bors, the hacker that Gigi told us about. Obviously they’ve been finding a way to track us for Gods knows how long. And what better way to make a statement to the Seeker corps than to take out the very team leader sent to bring them down? Fuck!”

Jovon turned and put her fist through the wall.

“Holy shit,” echoed throughout the room.

“There is no way in hell I will allow anyone to harm my mate and get away with it. And he is not going to die. If anyone kills that asshole, it will be me.”

Alex stepped in and took control. “Gigi was the one who told us that we hadn’t actually caught the leaders of this twattle. Two guys, one named Destin and his sidekick, Taps.”

“Taps? What the hell kind of name is that?” Rallis groused.

“It’s the name of a dead man,” Alex responded and minced no words.

Snippet Saturday authors
Lissa Matthews
Rhian Cahill
Shelli Stevens
Eliza Gayle
Leah Braemel
Myla Jackson
Caris Roane
Jody Wallace
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Shiloh Walker
Delilah Devlin
Lauren Dane

How about a Snippet from Silk Road that gives us some insight into Chel’s life? In Seals of Destiny Book One, Chelriad is a secondary character. But in this Snippet we get a glimpse of why she’s going to be such an interesting leading character in the next book. Yes, people, the next book is Chel’s story. And she’s quite broken…and it’s all due to this particular ending.

Chel’s eyes flew open but the dream continued to play in her head like a bad movie.

Sadness. Those she’d always known, had always felt down to the marrow of her bones now turned on her with such a vengeance it was unfathomable. Such ferocity had never been focused on her. Had never been directed at her.

Even when learning to fight, as every angel must, her body had never experienced such pain. It was as if a layer of herself had been skinned away leaving her raw and exposed to feel the full impact of each blow. The blows reverberated down through her body, through skin, muscle and bone, down to the cellular level they vibrated through her.

She felt them—some brimming with righteous indignation, disgusted and appalled at the thought of rebellion, others full of sorrow at what they were doing even as she was filled with the anguish of betrayal. Her people had turned on her.

Then the rending began. Not just the tearing of flesh, but also the decimation of spirit as she was ripped away from the consciousness of the family that she had felt from the moment of her first breath.

And with the rending came crippling loneliness and despair. It felt like she’d been marooned, closed off. The pain of being alone came in waves of absolute crushing agony.

She’d never been alone before. Even if she’d sat in one of the training halls with no one around, she’d never truly been by herself. Had never called out to her brothers, sisters, and cousins only to have the sound of her own voice bounce around in her head and then echo into nothingness.

The last she’d seen of her home was the bottom of an Archangel’s boot. And then she Fell. The stars flew past until they appeared to be one long streak of light. A second before she understood what waited, she turned her head toward the earth. It rose up fast to meet her.

This was no graceful floating down to the ground. No, it was as if she’d been blasted through time and space until even the very air passed over her skin so quickly it burned, left rifts and welts behind.

She’d slammed into the earth. Lay there barely drawing breath. Each shallow pant sent new agony streaking through every limb. Her organs felt flattened in her body. Her wings had been snapped off before she’d been kicked down here, so this current cracking of bone was something else—likely every other bone in her body.

If she’d ever wished to be a human, it was now. At least she could have died to escape the hell of her new existence, the desolation of her plight.

Instead, she lay there, healing slowly even as a simmer began in her soul. Hatred. Pure burning hatred, but not for man. No, her anger was at the asshole that had talked her into rebelling. As the sun rose and set in what seemed like endless days, Chel lay in the middle of the desert, thoughts focused on the angel who had held the highest office in their world. One who walked with the creative Source themselves. So handsome, perfectly formed, with a voice that brought one to ones knees in reverence as he sang to those that had made him. He’d been called the Son of the Morning because the glory of his being had been like the rising of the sun whenever he walked into a room.

Lucifer.

And that fucker had been the cause of her worst nightmare—Chelriad, Angel of the Second Tier, Virtue and commander of the elements, had Fallen.

Snippet Saturday authors
Lissa Matthews
Rhian Cahill
Myla Jackson
Caris Roane
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Shiloh Walker
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
Lauren Dane
Felicity Heaton