Spotlight on Celeste Barclay
June 2, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Celeste Barclay, Historical Romance. Viking Romance, new release, series
Books by Celeste Barclay
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Spotlight on Jenna Barwin
May 29, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Spotlight tagged as A Hill Vampire Series, Jenna Barwin, new book, new release, Spotlight, Vampires
Spotlight on Jenna Barwin
For more information on Jenna, please see her social media links:
Dark Wine at Dusk
A seductive spy. An alpha vampire. A hidden threat…
When a rogue vampire group attacks again, Dr. Cerissa Patel’s happily ever after with the man of her dreams must take a back seat to her mission.
Her lover, vampire Henry Bautista, is quick to pick up the gauntlet. He’ll do anything to help his beautiful spy capture the conspirators who are determined to enslave mortals.
But as Henry’s secret past rears its ugly head, it not only threatens their mission, but risks their love—and their very lives.
If you like the worlds of Deborah Harkness, Charlaine Harris, or Jeaniene Frost, then you will love this third installment in the Hill Vampire series.
Get it now!
NOTE: This is book three in the Hill Vampire series. It will enhance the reader’s experience to read the first two books, starting with Dark Wine at Midnight, before reading this one.
The Hill Vampire Series
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Spotlight on KAT MARTIN
January 24, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Kat Martin, New book release, romantic suspense, The Conspiracy
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Her last novel, BEYOND CONTROL, hit both big lists … NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST as well as the USA TODAY BEST-SELLING BOOKS LIST. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.
January sees the release of Kat’s newest romantic suspense THE CONSPIRACY. Read the excerpt below:
Excerpt: The Conspiracy
Kat Martin
The sounds of the rainforest surrounded him, the hum of insects, the shrill cry of a monkey, and the rustle of leaves as a wild animal moved through the undergrowth not far away.
In the blackness of night, Michael Winston leaned back against the thick trunk of an eighty foot Kapok rising up from the damp, mossy floor of the rainforest. His wrists burned from the plastic ties biding his hands behind his back. The white Bermuda shorts his captors had allowed him to put on when they had boarded BUZZ Word and found him sleeping naked next to Pia in the master cabin were gone. Replaced by khaki fatigues more suitable for their trek into the jungle.
Huddled on the ground beside him, hands also bound, Pia rested her head on his shoulder, her long mahogany hair teasing his cheek. She was petite, no more than five foot-three, with big brown eyes and smooth olive skin. Even with her makeup gone, her baggy fatigues damp from the afternoon rain and sticking to her lush curves, she was beautiful.
Every time he looked at her, guilt and fury washed over him. Fury that he was helpless to protect her from what might be in store for them. Guilt that if he hadn’t convinced her to go sailing with him she would be safe back in Aruba.
He could only pray that their captors would continue to obey whatever orders had apparently come down from their leader, which seemed to be not to hurt them.
At least no more than they had already happened during the fight to subdue them that night on the boat. His jaw and cheek were bruised and his ribs acted from the blows he had taken. He would have kept fighting if one of the men hadn’t pulled a gun and pressed it against Pia’s head.
That had been days ago. What day was it now? He tried to count backward, remembered making incredible love to Pia for the first time after a night of gambling at the Trade Winds Casino. Both of them had won a little money, enough to have them smiling when they returned to the boat and ended up in bed.
He remembered Pia falling asleep in his arms. Remembered the deep, satisfied sleep he’d drifted into himself, a rarity with the heavy work schedule he’d been under.
Sometime later that night, two men, big, burly and tough, had boarded the yacht and taken control, forcing him to sail out of the marina into the open sea. For the next two days, Michael had been certain the men’s intention was to pirate the yacht, kill them and dump their bodies in the ocean.
If it hadn’t been for Pia, he would have made an attempt to overpower his captors, but the men were heavily armed and well-trained, and he wasn’t willing to risk Pia’s life unless there was absolutely no other choice.
Eventually, the boat had sailed into a quiet cove on a deserted stretch of beach several hundred miles from Curacao. If his mental calculations were correct, they’d arrived somewhere in Colombia.
They’d been imprisoned two more days before soldiers had arrived to take charge of them. By then, Michael had been certain the motive was ransom, a demand for millions from his mega-rich father in return for his son’s release. But he was no longer sure.
Not since the soldiers had forced him and Pia to begin this grueling trek into the rainforest that covered the steep sides of the mountains. They had hiked all day in ill-fitting boots provided by their captors that rubbed blisters on their feet.
At dusk the soldiers had stopped the march and begun making camp. Exhausted, Michael had slumped against the tree and Pia had eased down beside him. He had no idea how long they’d sat there while the men ate and drank between raucous bursts of laughter.
They’d been brought water and a little food, which they’d been released just long enough to eat, given a bathroom break, then been tied up again and left beneath the tree.
Equally as wet, numb and cold as he was, Pia shifted and raised her head to look at him. “How many more days, do you think, till we reach wherever they’re taking us?”
They hadn’t arrived at their final destination–he was sure of that. “I heard some of them talking. My Spanish sucks, but I was able to make out some of what they said. If I got it right, they’re planning to reach the main camp by tomorrow night.”
Which meant another long day of hiking through the harsh, wet, mountainous tropical landscape. Pia spoke far better Spanish than he did, but she’d been careful not to let them know. She was extremely smart, which was one of the reasons he’d been attracted to her in the first place. Not to mention her beautiful face and fantastic figure.
“Do you think they’ve sent word to your father?”
He had told her his ransom theory mostly to keep her spirits up, told her his father was worth millions of dollars and that he would surely pay for the safe return of his only son and the girl who was with him.
Though Michael had never been able to live up to his father’s expectations and they rarely spoke these days, it didn’t change the fact they were blood. His father would pay the ransom demand and Pia would be part of the bargain—Michael wasn’t leaving without her.
“They’ve probably sent word by now,” he said. “They’ll want to be paid in cash. It might take my father a while to get the money together and get it down here.”
And his sister would be looking for them, he was sure of that. He hadn’t called her in days, as she had made him promise to do. Harper would know something was wrong and she would be doing her best to find him.
To CELEBRATE the release of THE CONSPIRACY, enter Kat’s new contest for a chance to win a KINDLE FIRE 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB and a Kindle copy of INTO THE FURY, INTO THE WHIRLWIND and INTO THE FIRESTORM. Contest runs from Jan 1, 2019 through Feb 28, 2019.
SPECIAL CONTEST: https://www.katmartin.com/the-conspiracy-giveaway/
KAT’S WEBSITE: https://www.katmartin.com/
You can also follow Kat on SOCIAL MEDIA:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katmartinauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatMartinAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39929060-the-conspiracy?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KatMartinAuthor
Other books by Kat Martin:
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Thanksgiving with Kat Martin and Pecan-Raisin Stuffing
November 8, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Spotlight tagged as Kat Martin, Pecan-raisin stuffing, Thanskgiving, Wait Until Dark
Thanksgiving with Kat Martin
&
Raisin-Pecan Stuffing
Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to talk about my second favorite holiday (after Christmas), Thanksgiving!
With its glorious red, yellow, and gold colors, Fall is my favorite season of the year. Then in November, on Thanksgiving day, we have a big family gathering. We cook a huge turkey stuffed with old-fashioned dressing and serve it with mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, candied yams, fresh vegetables, hot dinner rolls, and pumpkin or pecan pie for dessert (or both!).
We start in the morning and cook all day, then sit down to a table filled to overflowing with the goodies we have been blessed to prepare. We have kind of an open-door policy for friends and neighbors—anyone who, for whatever reason, hasn’t got a place to go that particular year. It always adds a fun element to the get-together.
Since I love this holiday, I thought I would share a favorite recipe a dear friend gave me. It’s been so long ago, making it every year has become a family tradition. The best part is that every year when I read Sally’s recipe card, see her handwriting in fading blue ink, I think of the friend I haven’t seen in years. Cooking her dish makes me appreciate her friendship all over again.
So here it is. I hope you like it as much as we do.
PECAN-RAISIN STUFFING
Cook turkey neck and giblets in pan of boiling water until done (about 1 1/2 hours).
1 can chicken broth
2 cubes butter
1 can sliced water chestnuts and juice
1 small can sliced mushrooms and juice
1 small can of olives (drained)
1 whole apple chopped (peeling off or on)
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup of pecans
3/4 cup of raisins
1 egg (optional)
1 box stuffing mix (cornbread or regular)
Peel cooked turkey meat off neck and set aside. Chop remaining cooked giblets and set aside. (Leave some for turkey gravy.) Pour can of chicken broth into large saucepan. Add sticks of butter. Bring to a low simmer. Add turkey. Add mushrooms and juice, water chestnuts, sliced olives, chopped onion, chopped apple, raisins, and pecans. Beat egg and add to mixture. Simmer until onion and apple are cooked.
In large missing bowl, place both packets of stuffing mix (I usually buy 2 boxes so I can add a little extra to achieve the right consistency) Pour chicken broth/giblet mixture over stuffing a little at a time, stirring as you go. Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper to taste.
When you are finished, stuff your turkey (stuff the old boy, my friend’s recipe card says), or grease 9 x 13 inch backing pan, load stuffing into pan, and bake for forty-five minutes at 350 degrees.
When you take it out, you will have a great, old-fashioned raisin-pecan stuffing for your table that I hope will become a family tradition.
And since it’s November, I hope you will watch for my new digital novella, WAIT UNTIL DARK, the prequel to my upcoming Maximum Security series that starts with THE CONSPIRACY, out January 22nd.
Till then, happy Thanksgiving! Kat.
Photo by Juan Carlo, Ventura Country Star
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Her last novel, BEYOND CONTROL, hit both big lists … NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST as well as the USA TODAY BEST-SELLING BOOKS LIST. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.
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Once Upon the Longest Night
October 30, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Spotlight tagged as anthologies, Book Release, Coming Soon, Vampires
Once Upon the Longest Night
Published by Once Upon Anthologies, an imprint of Ink House Books
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Participating Authors:
- Elizabeth Vaughan
- Dan Stout
- Linda Robertson
- Sara Dobie Bauer
- Charissa Weaks
- Alice Black
- Jodi Henry
- Sybil Ward
- Melinda S. Collins
Release Date:
12.21.18, the longest night of the year.
Back cover copy:
The longest night. A vampire’s delight.
The winter solstice, a time of birth and rebirth, life and death, waning light and rising darkness. A time when those who flee the sun and crave the taste of blood find their greatest solace.
But one never knows what the longest night might hold.
Once Upon the Longest Night, a collection of adult paranormal romances, features nine novelettes of lovers and their battles against one of the greatest legends of our time: the vampire. A 15th-century seaman and the love of his life come face to face with a vengeful manjasang. In ancient Rome, a hunted priestess captured by a loyal centurion offers her aid to the enemy. With the help of a handsome Royal courier, a reluctant Romanian princess braves the curse flowing within her noble blood. Danger awaits when a vampire in the far reaches of North Dakota must endure the lethal cold to protect the woman she loves. And in a future New York, a broken general returns home for the Longest Night Ball where he meets a young male witch who might change his life forever.
This anthology combines vampire mythos and affairs of the heart with the sacred symbolism and magic of the winter season.
Sit back and let us tell you a tale. Welcome to the Longest Night.
Story Excerpt:
Blooded
Linda Robertson
Bucharest was to be our last stop. Long days and longer nights were spent laying in my cabin’s narrow bed, alone. My body longed to reconvene with my lover, but his company and his conversation were missed as much as his touch. The only consolation was knowing how close Petru was. A thin wall separated us, but in his mind, so did his low birth.
I laid with my hand on that paneling, differentiating the sounds inside the adjacent cabin from the rhythmic rumble of the train. It did not take long to put aside those mechanical sounds and focus on Petru’s breathing. I distinguished his easily from Tarel’s; he slept beside me for over a year.
The train’s forlorn whistle sounded into the night, wailing for me as I suffered my longings alone, isolated and silent. I imagined how much worse it was going to get. When we arrived at Lupenegra, Petru would be much farther away than this.
Eventually, he would find another to make him smile.
That brought me to my feet.
I paced furiously, resenting the very concept of status that he had embraced. My lying mother had done this to him. The evidence was in his mannerisms, his downcast eyes and his rigid stance.
Then I stopped, remembering the snow in Budapest Station. She’s worked so hard to keep the world as she needs it to be, that she doesn’t see or care how ugly everything around her has become.
Adherence to that status concept may have been her myopic restriction, but it did not have to be mine. I was educated. I did not want to be her, and so I would not be. I would make things different. She was not here to demand obedience. She could enforce nothing.
A new plan formed.
We arrived in Bucharest mid-morning,and boarded a carriage that would convey us the rest of the way. Only a few hours remained in our journey. As Petru held the door for me to board the carriage, snow began to fall.
And I could not help smiling. I twirled in that snow and laughed like a little girl.
Tarel, preparing to climb up with the coachman,saw me and stopped. “The solstice is a favorable time to return, is it not, voivodela?”
Due to the rigors of travelling and feeding,I had lost track of days. Considering it, I cheerfully said, “It is. I’ll be home for the longest night of the year.” I put one foot upon the step and rose, but did not climb inside the carriage. Halted there, my smile was replaced with a sober expression. “Tarel?”
“My lady?”
Using a voice full of authority, I said, “Neither you nor Petru will speak to the others of what you know of me. Do you understand?”
Tarel nodded.
I glanced down at Petru. He also nodded. His eyes remained so downcast that I could not even see that wildflower color. Or maybe his eyes were shut.
He had shouldered much during our trip, not the least of which was managing the aftermath of my feeding. Soon, that would end.
“Mulțumesc, Petru. For everything.” I closed my parasol and climbed in.
In all, our journey had taken more than three weeks,but thus it was, that the afternoon of December 21st, a Sunday and the solstice, I arrived home.
The road approaching Castle Lupenegra ran along side the mountain. A blanket of white covered the land, and the bare trees stuck up out of the snow like thousands of pikes guarding the fortress. In the wind, they shook as if menacing us, and the snow they shrugged off made an eerie haze around them. But a moment later, unburdened of snow, the branches of those firs, more verdant than I remembered, bounced as if waving to welcoming me home.
As we made the last turn the snowfall increased, but could not obscure Lupenegra’s gate, slowly opening.
My chest seized and all my thoughts skipped back to that midsummer morning when I pounded my fists at that gate trying to open it.
I shut my eyes and breathed, slow and purposeful. My hands had curled into fists and my spine had stiffened. Mindful, I opened my hands and relaxed my muscles as I released a long sigh. My body gave a jerk when the gates clanged shut behind us.
There was no escape for me now.
Story Summaries:
Memories of Stone by Elizabeth Vaughan: Ercula is weary, tired of fleeing, considered a monster by the Romans. But the Solstice is sacred to her goddess and she will worship at the forgotten shrine, whatever the risk.
The centurion who captures her has other plans. @eavwriter
The Lobster Trick by Dan Stout: Jacqueline doesn’t mind her job as an overnight security guard. After all, what’s the worst that could happen at a blood bank? But when an armed group invades the building, Jacqueline is forced into action to save a handsome lab tech… and discovers that his shy smile might hide a shocking secret. @DanStout
Blooded by Linda Robertson: Miriana Jorgeta rejoiced when her distant and cruel mother, the Queen, sent her away from Romania to attend a girl’s school in England. For years, she lived a life so perfect she almost forgot about the duties of her heritage. But curses rarely remain hidden, and soon, with the help of her mother’s royal courier, Miriana must face the truth about what really lurks in her blood. @AuthorLinda
His Last Battle by Sara Dobie Bauer: Suffering from PTSD, vampire general Devlin Frost returns home from the war on Lycans and attends the historic Longest Night Ball. Here, royal witch Elijah Crow must choose three immortal suitors to compete for his love and power. When Devlin is shockingly chosen as one of the three, his immediate attraction to the young witch coaxes him into entering the fray, but this battle is for more than Elijah’s love. The broken general might also win back his ruined heart and bruised soul—if he survives the night. @saradobie
Silver Heart by Charissa Weaks: 15th Century Italy. After a decade at sea and with an inheritance in hand, Cristiano Del Valle returns to his childhood home of Venezia in search of a new beginning. What he finds on the longest night is an ancient enemy who not only threatens the life he’s long desired but the love he thought he’d lost. @CharissaWeaks
Her Blood to Bind by Alice Black: To escape the vampire who made her, a former dominatrix takes a job in Costa Rica as an English tutor to the children of a wealthy widower. What she discovers is that her new employer is just as dangerous as her pursuer…and twice as tempting. @AliceBlackBooks
Walk with Me by Jodi Henry: After a century of killing her own kind, Arianna Guerri retired to a place no other vampire dare go. In the deadly cold of North Dakota, she built a life for herself, and fell, secretly, in love with her best and only friend. When someone burns the small town,
Arianna must face the mistakes of her past—and her feelings—if she hopes to survive the longest night. @_JL_Henry
Love on the Longest Night by Sybil Ward: Neenah and Robert are searching for true love in the same place for drastically different reasons. Can they find love together on the longest night when they’re trapped by the century’s worst blizzard and one of them is a 300-year-old vampire? @SybilWard
One Night In December by Melinda S. Collins: NYC artist, Micah Price, never believed in vampires or immortality. But after a year of researching Daniel Savoy, her family’s enigmatic annual houseguest and the only man she’s ever loved, the options surrounding the truth of his past are slim at best. When a bloody Daniel arrives on Micah’s doorstep, she refuses to leave any stone of the mystery unturned. But accepting that vampires exist is the least of her worries. Because sometimes it’s not the monsters we should fear. It’s what hunts them. @MelindaSCollins
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