Saturday Seven! (Wild Encounter)

It's Saturday Seven!

WILD ENCOUNTER by Nikki Logan is a gritty, tension filled romantic suspense set in Africa. Anyone who enjoys a kidnap/strong heroine/mystery hero story line this is for you!

Clare and her precious cargo of wild dogs have just been kidnapped by poachers and they've reached their final destination. She's identified the leader as Alpha and he's imprisoned her in a room to keep her safe from the others...

A dangerous smile curved his lips. "I know you speak English, because you swear like an Irish gaurd. Again, what's your name?"
Clare doubted even her Da would have used the word she spat back at him.
The smile chilled. "Tell me your name."
An old joke from vet school fought its way into her mind. "Ana."
"Ana what?"
Her chin went up defiantly. "Phalaxis."
The smile disappeared along with all the aitr in the room as he stepped father into it. She couldn't help but stumble back.

WILD ENCOUNTER
In the wild, even love takes its chances.
A wildlife release mission in Africa turns deadly when the convoy is hijacked by smugglers, and veterinarian Clare Delaney is taken hostage. Terrified for her life and her animals, the intrepid Clare establishes a rapport with the man she believes is the criminals’ leader, and reluctantly finds herself under his protection…and falling hard for the enigmatic man.
Alpha-to-the-max Simon deVries sees right through his sexy captive’s attempt to seduce her way to freedom. So when their simmering attraction flares into true passion, it takes them both by surprise. Now he’s torn between completing his secret mission and letting her escape without telling her his true identity. He knows if he lets her go, he will be risking his career, his life…and his heart.

Booksellers Best Award finalist!

Some great news to share - an email arrived from the Greater Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Award  organiser to inform me VENGEANCE BORN is a finalist in the Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic section AS WELL AS the Best First Book section. Woohoo!!!

Results announced at the BBA Reception on July 17 following the RWAmerica Literacy Signing.

Full list of finalists here.

NEW AUTHOR SERIES: Vanessa Stark

Time for a new series, and what an exciting one it is - New Authors!

All the featured authors are from the Romance Writers of Australia or Romance Writers of New Zealand, and have just been or are newly published with the digital imprints of Australian publishing houses like - Random House, Harlequin, Penguin and Pan Macmillan.

This week, please welcome Vanessa Stark. 

Vanessa Stark lives on the coast of Western Australia with her husband, their three chatty children, and three calming goldfish.

When she is not writing, Vanessa can be found at the local bookstore where she works part-time. 

Title - ROOM SERVICE
Release Date - 1st Feb 2013 
Publisher - Escape Publishing 

Call Story - Last August (2012) I experienced my first Romance Writers of Australia conference on the Gold Coast at the QT.
What a weekend. I met so many amazing writers and professionals, and came away with a wealth of knowledge.

I also came away with inspiration for a story - a story about a best-selling erotic romance writer with a deep dark secret and the hot hotel employee who just might be able to help her with it!

Two months later, I finished my novella and sent it off to the awesome Kate Cuthbert at Escape Publishing who then made my dream of being published come true by offering to buy my manuscript.
Room Service, my erotic romance novella, was released on the 1st of February 2013 and I have RWA to thank for it.

So, if anybody out there has any doubts about attending their first conference, push those fears aside and do it. You never know, you may even make a first sale out of it.

About your book:
Hero - Jace Branson 
Heroine - Natasha Raven 
Setting - Gold Coast, Australia 

ROOM SERVICE excerpt
Natasha Raven sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth.
Here goes.
As the hotel doors parted, Natasha’s reflection disappeared along with the polished glass. Though she hadn’t slept a wink in twenty-four hours, somehow her long, curly hair had remained lush and frizz-free, her smart grey suit unwrinkled. Still, Natasha’s stomach contorted into knots as her stilettos clicked and clacked against the glossy cream tiles of the hotel foyer.
Cool, conditioned air tickled the sweat-dampened strands of Natasha’s hair, bringing forth a groan of relief in her throat. Okay. So there were some benefits to being inside. Peering over one shoulder, she watched as the glass doors came together, shutting out the heat-shimmering streets and the noisy city traffic.
Locking me in…
‘May I take your luggage to your room, Miss Raven?’
Natasha jumped. Standing before her was a male hotel staffer with an odd, half-suppressed grin upon his lips, as though he was in on some kind of private joke.
Maybe he knows a fake artist when he sees one.
She cleared her throat and forced her brows into a frown, hoping to wipe the grin from his shapely lips, but instead it earned her a fully blown smile and a soft shake of his head.
Her heart stuttered. Perhaps he really did know her secret? But if so, how?
No. Get a hold of yourself. He’s a stranger. A stranger who likes to grin a lot. That. Is. All.
Beneath his dark fringe flashed the most vivid blue eyes Natasha had ever seen. Eyes that blatantly roved from her face right down to her nine-inch heels and back up again, causing her pulse to jump in a most erratic manner. Natasha had to fight the urge to run a hand through her hair and wipe the shine from her brow, because there was no way she was going to show an inch of weakness in front of some random, cocky guy. She hadn’t spent the past month chanting confidence-building affirmations and practicing breathing exercises to crumble only a minute after arriving.
‘Your luggage, Miss Raven?’   
‘Oh, yes. Thank you…’ her eyes skimmed over his name badge, pinned to the crisp white shirt that stretched to cover his broad, muscled chest, ‘…err…J-Jace.’
‘My pleasure,’ he said in a low voice, his eyes never leaving hers.
Natasha’s heart, already racing from the endless cups of coffee she had downed on the red-eye flight, kicked up another gear. Was this guy actually flirting with her? He looked around twenty-five years old - at least ten years younger…
Get a grip and focus. He probably does this to all the guests.
Jace cleared his throat, his eyes now on Natasha’s luggage. ‘Are you going to let go of that?’
With a rush of heat to her cheeks, Natasha loosened the tight grip from the handle of her heavy suitcase and let it drop to the floor with a thud.
‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, immediately running her fingers through her hair and wiping the back of her hand across her brow.
Damn.

Buy link.

Any upcoming releases? FINDING BYRON - a YA contemporary with Evernight Teen.

You can find out more about Vanessa on her website, or follow her on Twitter.

GUEST BLOGGING over at ARRA!

 Let loose your inhibitions and come talk about sex scenes (fictional, of course) with me over at the Australian Romance Readers Association blog! 

And what's better than a romance book giveaway to celebrate Mother's Day???

Saturday Seven! (Skin)

It's Saturday Seven!

SKIN by Kylie Scott is a post-apocalyptic romance that is hot, hot, hot! It tackles the controversial theme of forced seduction in a world that's been turned upside down and where the rules of convention have dramatically changed.

In this scene, Nick has taken Ros from the barricaded high school and is escorting her to the lodge he's converted to keep them safe from the zombies.  Ros is anxious as she doesn't know him from Adam and expects she's about to be raped.

Nick is keen to make her feel at home so they can get to know one another. He is also aware that Ros is rather naive of just how much the world has changed and is afraid she'll try to escape before she realises the dangers outside the walls of their new home...

Damn it, there was no reason why this couldn’t work, given a chance. He was a reasonable man with an offer to make. Besides, the world wasn’t exactly normal anymore and she had been set to starve inside those school walls. Either that or risk a trip into town and possible infection from a bite.
No. Not happening.
This was right for her. He’d be right for her. Those bastards had been wrong, making him leave Blackstone all those months back. He wasn’t one of the bad guys.
Eventually, she’d understand. He’d spoil her. Comfort her. Make life as easy for her as he could. Give her whatever the hell she wanted. If she’d just give him a chance.
“This way,” he said, ushering her towards the long wooden ramp leading up to the cabin.
“Mmhmm.” Her nod looked spring loaded like a bobble-headed doll.
Shit. What was she going to try? 

SKIN
Six months since the zombie plague struck, former librarian Roslyn Stewart has been holed up in a school with eight other survivors. But now the shelves in the school canteen are bare. The stranger at the gate has supplies that will ensure the group’s ongoing survival, but at a cost. He wants a woman.
Nick is a man with a plan. He’ll treat Roslyn like a Queen, devoting the rest of his life to protecting and providing for her. In exchange, of course, for sexual favours. It’s the deal of the century given the state of the world. But Roslyn doesn’t see it that way. The first chance she gets she attacks the ex-army man and attempts to escape, forcing Nick to contain her. And so begins his awkward courtship of the woman, with her chained to the bed for security reasons.
Chained like a dog and forced to spend her every waking moment with a creep, albeit a good looking one, Ros is determined to escape. When circumstances force them to band together against a common enemy their very survival depends on their ability to learn to trust each other. An uneasy partnership develops, but can a relationship with such a difficult beginning ever have a future?

GUEST BLOGGING over at Dark Side DownUnder!

Warriors, Demons &...DVD's?

Come join me over at the Dark Side DownUnder blog and learn more about Arek & Imhara from ALLEGIANCE SWORN.

And there's a Light Blade swag pack up for grabs!

Goodreads Giveaways Galore!!!

Two special Light Blade series giveaways are happening over at Goodreads for anyone in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and various Asian countries, folks!

Here's the link for VENGEANCE BORN.

 Here's the link for ALLEGIANCE SWORN.

Good luck!