Crimson Romance Time After Time Bundled Set, Part 1

Oh my gosh! My publisher, Crimson Romance, has invited me to participate in a bundled package of historical romance novels called Time after Time with nine other wonderful Crimson Romance authors. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am! How honored! How delighted! I’ll be posting in two parts (stayed tuned for more). So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the other authors and the stories which are part of this set. In alphabetical order by author……

 

A Rogue In Sheep’s Clothing by Elf Ahern

In Lord Hugh Davenport’s opinion, women of the ton perpetually hide behind a mask of deception. That’s hard for Ellie Albright, the daughter of an earl, to swallow—especially since she’s disguised herself as a stable hand to get back the prized stallion her father sold to Hugh to pay a debt. If Hugh learns her true identity she’ll lose the horse and her family will go bankrupt. Somehow, though, losing Hugh’s affection is beginning to seem even worse.

Already only a step away from being snagged in her own web of lies, Ellie’s deceit threatens to spin out of control when Hugh’s mother invites Ellie and her sisters to a house party. Now Ellie has to scramble to keep Hugh from knowing she’s the stable girl he wants to marry, while simultaneously trying to win his trust as herself. Can she keep her costumes straight long enough to save her family? And even if she does, will it be worth losing his love?

Author Bio: Elf Ahearn—yes, that is her real name—lives in New York with her wonderful husband and a pesky (yet irresistible) cat. Learn more about her at elfahearn.com or friend her on Facebook.

The Glass Orchid by Emma Barron

Orphan Adele Beaumont spent her childhood being passed around to cruel or indifferent relatives. She quickly learned the harsh lesson that a fatherless, penniless girl becomes an unmarriageable woman, leaving her alone and vulnerable to the whims of society. Determined to take charge of her own fate, Del decides to pursue the only means to an independent life available to her: become a courtesan to wealthy and powerful men.

Rhys Camden has just turned twenty-one and is now employed as factotum in his father’s shipping company. He is eager to find his place in the world, but he finds himself fighting against his father’s control as the elder Camden seeks to increase the family’s social standing to match their newfound wealth.

After a chance meeting on a foggy street, Del’s and Camden’s lives become increasingly intertwined. Their passion for each other ignites and, realizing there can be no true freedom without love, they vow to defy society and family and risk everything to be together. But they soon learn how dangerous that defiance can be.

Author Bio: Emma Barron lives in upstate New York with her family and two dogs. When not writing, she’s usually chasing her daughter, starting house projects she makes her husband finish, or killing all the plants in her garden. Learn more about her at www.emmabarronbooks.com, find her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Brave In Heart by Emma Barry

 Theodore Ward is a man of deep passions and strong principles—none of which he acts on. So Margaret Hampton ends their engagement, breaking both of their hearts in the process.

Years after their estrangement, ardent but frozen Theo attempts to reconnect with Margaret. She is no longer trusting of the idea of romantic love, having become pragmatic and wary during decades alone. But with the drumbeat of the early days of the Civil War in the background, how can she refuse?

The courtship that results is hasty, reckless, and intense, fueled by contradictions between Theo’s willingness finally to change and Margaret’s fears about the future. Two smart, stubborn, fiery people will need to overcome the hesitancies of their hearts and the perils of battle if they’re ever to find happiness.

 Author Bio: Emma Barry is a (former) Montanan who loves hugs from her toddler twins, Earl Grey tea, her cat’s whiskers, and her husband’s cooking. Learn more about her at authoremmabarry.com.

 Once A Duchess by Elizabeth Boyce

Isabelle Lockwood was a duchess, until her husband of only a few months wrongfully divorced her for adultery. Since then she’s been a pariah, living in anonymous exile to escape the prying eyes and wagging tongues of the ton. More than anything, Isabelle longs for a family of her own, and so has to marry again. But society is ruthlessly unforgiving. To clear her name, Isabelle must face down her past—and the man who broke her heart and ruined her completely.

Marshall Lockwood, Duke of Monthwaite, was blindsided by his young bride’s infidelity. After the divorce Marshall licked his wounds, throwing himself into his botanical studies to forget his disastrous marriage. Now his former wife is back in Town, as beautiful and enticing as he remembers. As the Season throws them together again, Marshall can’t shake the feeling that Isabelle might not be the adulteress he took her for.

 Author Bio: Elizabeth Boyce lives in the southeastern United States with her husband and several rambunctious children. She likes to think in the shower, sip wine, and pretend she has a cooking show.

 Viking Fire by Andrea Cooper

856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage.

Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart?

Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along with the Liannons against any foe—Irish or Viking. However, the Laird’s feisty daughter only holds animosity for him and his kind. Is marriage worth the battle scars of such a relentless opponent?

With the blame for a rival laird’s death treacherously set against the Liannons, Kaireen and Bram must find a way to lay aside their differences as an unforeseen darkness sends death snapping at their heels.

Author Bio: Andrea R. Cooper grew-up creating characters and never stopped. Fantasy, paranormal and historical romance are her favorite genres to read and write. She lives in Houston and when not writing or reading stories, she likes to dance when no one is watching.

 Stay tuned…..

Erotika author Tina Donhue TAKING EVE and a Giveaway

Taking Eve

A willing slave to possession, punishment, pleasure…

Dreams of a manor where submission and dominance once ruled draws Faith to hypnotherapist Colin Danes. Potently virile, he looks remarkably like her most cherished master from a past life. Desire smolders in his eyes, proving he’s never forgotten her.

Their carnal dance continues in the present and leads to their past when she was known as Eve. Through hypnotherapy, Colin brings her back to the Victorian era, a hidden estate where she eagerly submits to whatever he and her other noble masters crave. The exquisite discipline of the strap. Being bid on and mounted each night. Displayed and used for the enjoyment of all.

Most will take her. One will try to imprison her. Only he will be her true master in that life and this. 

Buy Link 

http://www.ellorascave.com/taking-eve.html

Excerpt from Taking Eve:

The advertisement challenged, Are your dreams so real they seem to have come from another time?

Faith Montgomery gripped the mail circular. Its paper made a sharp, crackling noise, no different from ice snapping.

Frigid wind swept past, delivering more snow. Feverish and unsettled, Faith stood in front of the medical arts building that catered to doctors, nutritionists, shrinks and hypnotherapists. Unlike Seattle’s typical brick or glass structures, this place had a granite façade and steepled ceilings. Similar to a castle where dominance, submission and punishment played out. Where men wore dated clothing, while women were nude, defenseless, sighing then crying out their arousal and pleasure. 

Her mouth went dry.

From behind, a car’s horn blared, sending her pulse into a faster sprint. Traffic continued to crawl along the slick streets, headlights brushed past, illuminating the building’s directory. Faith didn’t bother to search it. According to the circular, his office was on the second floor. Her appointment in a few minutes, made earlier in the week by phone. The first time she’d heard his voice and yet not the first time.

“Why do you want an appointment?” he’d asked.

Something inside her had fluttered at his smooth baritone, enticing and strangely familiar, reducing her to silence.

“You’ve seen things,” he’d coaxed. “Felt things.”

God, yeah.

While he’d waited for her response, she’d stared at his picture on the glossy flyer.

Several locks of his hair—thick, wavy, the color of espresso—grazed his forehead. His strong, masculine features were handsome as hell, nearly aristocratic. In her mind, Faith saw him dressed in eveningwear, the kind worn during the early Victorian era. A coat with tails, snug at the waist to accentuate his impressive shoulders. Dark trousers and a shockingly white cravat. Identical to heroes in romance novels that she’d read in high school.

He definitely had those guys beat.

His long-lashed eyes were a striking blue. Even from the picture, they stripped Faith of all privacy, reaching into her soul, the same as the promise of his full, rich mouth. A hint of stubble graced his upper lip, chin and cheeks, virile and tempting. Young, possibly early thirties, he was the kind of man a woman wouldn’t forget.

Faith certainly hadn’t.

“Yeah,” she’d murmured during the call, at last answering him. “I’ve had recurring dreams, flashes of another time.”

You.

Rather than questioning her further, he’d given her the last appointment of the day, well past the time other professionals did business. His office windows were the only ones lit on the second floor, the lights’ golden glow spilling onto the street. Waves of snow, carried by the wind, twinkled like stars within the brightness.

Faith half-expected—and fully hoped—he’d be at the window, looking down at her. Watching. Waiting. Anticipating as she was.

He wasn’t.

His absence only stoked her stark need. Clearly, he had no doubt she’d keep their appointment. Now, as before, he commanded and figured she’d obey.

On an edgy sigh, she entered the building. Heated air and the scents of polished wood, leather, wool washed over her. In the absolute quiet, she heard each click of her heels across the floor, a dark-green marble veined with white.

Faith avoided slick spots made by others who’d come and gone, tracking in the snow. She should have worn more practical shoes in this weather, pants instead of a skirt, but hadn’t, sensing he wouldn’t have approved.

Like one possessed—or commanded by a Master—Faith climbed the stairs, reaching the second floor. The walls were paneled in polished walnut, which gave them the air of a private club where men called the shots. Their decisions law. Their desires the only rule that counted, no matter what they demanded. A woman’s full surrender to their needs. Having her down on her knees before them, her lips parted for the taste of a thickened cock or to release her whimper of delight at the strap one of them held, eager for him to discipline her.

Lightheaded and breathless, she stared at the hall. His office was at the end, the door open, a wedge of amber light demanding she go inside.

No receptionist greeted her in the snug waiting room. Faith hadn’t expected one, figuring he’d want them to be alone. Exactly what she craved.

She inhaled as deeply as she could. Leather from the burgundy chairs perfumed the small space, claiming it for a man. Beyond the reception area was his office, the door open. He stood at his desk, his attention on a book he read.

Her legs went watery. With indecent curiosity, she drank him in, the charcoal sweater and dark trousers that matched the color of his silky hair and fit his powerful frame so well. Broad shoulders. Muscular thighs. She forced down a swallow, knowing there was raw power in his strong hands. She’d dreamed of it, had seen glimpses in her mind.

And would do anything to experience it again.

As though he’d heard her thoughts, he closed his book with a faint snap and looked up.

Time shifted, the past bleeding into the present. Faith forgot to breathe or to step closer, trapped within his potent gaze, overwhelmed with a sense of recognition, irresistible and welcoming.

I know you…you know me.

Unmistakable longing flared in his eyes, the same yearning she felt. Beneath it was a flash of lust.

About Tina Donahue:

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing, and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic romances (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. The French review site, Blue Moon reviews, chose her erotic romance Sensual Stranger as their Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category). The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for Lush Velvet Nights, and two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011 and 2012). Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

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Samhain Author Page: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Tina-Donahue-pa-1630.html

CONTEST

Please leave a comment. Tina will be choosing one winner randomly from the comments section. The winner gets her choice of one of Tina’s backlist ebooks – FIFTEEN IN ALL – contemporary, paranormal, suspense, ménage. From this list:

1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT

2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit

3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award

4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT

5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT

6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller

7. Take Me Away – #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books

8. Unending Desire – Best Book Rating LASR

9. SiNN – Nominated for Book of the Week LASR

10. Sinfully Wicked – Magnificent – Romancing the Book

11.  Claiming Magique – Top Pick – NOR

12. Illicit Desire – Four Stars Romantic Times

13. Come Fill Me – Five Stars – Guilty Pleasures

14. Losing Control - Four and a Half Stars - Sensual Reads

15. Shameless Desire - Four and Half Stars - The Jeep Diva

Did You Know We Are Part of the United States of America?

Photo by Robert Fabich Sr.

Happy Independence Day!

Today we celebrate the United States of America. Usually we think of the 50 states that make up our amazing country when we celebrate this day, but the fact is, there were only 13 states at the time the Declaration of Independence was signed. Today we have 50 states and... five Territories.

Yup, there are five Territories owned and protected by the United States. Many people don't realize this. We have even had trouble getting home a few times because our license is from the Virgin Islands :-} 

So if you want to impress your friends, here are the five Territories protected by the United States of America:

1. Puerto Rico (1917)

Photo by Tina Christopher

2. The US Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix (1917)

3. Guam (1950)

4. Northern Mariana Islands (1986)

5. American Samoa (2007)

I just thought I’d provide this geographical reminder today so those of us in the U.S. Territories can celebrate too :-)

Happy July 4^th

Always, Lexi