Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Medieval Dragons and a Dragon with a Difference. Lindsay Townsend

Painting by C. J. Begas, 1828 (public
domain image from Wikimedia Commons)
Medieval people believed in dragons. In the east, dragons were seen as powerful, imperial, and signs of good fortune and plenty, but in the west they were often linked to Satan, the devil, "The Old Serpent", and regarded as trouble.

Sometimes such creatures are called dragons, at other times they are worms or wyrms, armed with poison like a snake. The hero Beowulf fights a dragon who lives in a mound and guards a treasure hoard. The Vikings believed in dragons that were more like serpents, so in the Poetic Edda we learn how Sigurðr killed the dragon Fafnir, who behaves very much like a snake.

Sigurðr and Reginn went up onto Gnita-heath and there found Fafnir’s track, where he slithered  to the water. Sigurðr dug a pit there in the path and went into it. And when Fafnir slithered away from the gold, he breathed forth venom, and it fell down onto Sigurðr’s head. And when Fafnir slithered over the pit, Sigurðr stabbed him in the heart with his sword. Fafnir shook himself and lashed about with his head and tail.


In Viking art dragons appear lithe and sinuous, coiling about. However ominous, they were popular in stories, suitable opponents for warriors in tales.

The appearance of dragons in the Middle Ages usually foretold disaster. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 793 tells of the first Viking raid on Lindisfarne, Northumberland, and the omens that preceded it: ‘Here were dreadful forewarnings come over the land of Northumbria, and woefully terrified the people: these were amazing sheets of lightning and whirlwinds, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky.’ 


In keeping with the heroic warrior theme but now in a Christian context, several saints battle with dragons in medieval tales. There is the famous Saint George and the Dragon (a dragon lays waste to the countryside and is offered sheep, youths and maidens as sacrifices. When the situation becomes so desperate that the king's daughter is offered, the knight George appears and vanquishes the beast.) In the ultimate show-down of good verses evil, the archangel Michael battles the great dragon Lucifer in the Book of Revelations. a text often illustrated by medieval artists.

For my own story of 'The Virgin, the Knight and the Dragon,' I took these ideas of might, power, battle, knight heroes, sacrificial maidens and gold and gave them a twist. I hope my readers enjoy the results.

The Virgin, the Knight and the Dragon on Amazon

The Virgin, the Knight and the Dragon on Amazon UK

The two book series on Bookstrand




More on my blog

Lindsay Townsend



Friday, June 21, 2013

Pre-Order: Favored Dragon's Release by D. Renee Bagby

Now available for 10% off pre-order at Siren-Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/favored-dragons-release


FAVORED DRAGON'S RELEASE by D. Renee Bagby
(Hidden by Dragons, Book 1)

Siren-Bookstrand Publishing

[High Fantasy Dragon Romance, MF]

He wants her for his bride to end the dragons' curse but his love for her is ruining his plans.

In the aftermath of a senseless war that claimed many lives, the gods have punished the dragons for causing the conflict. The next generation will not hatch until Prince Shurik finds a human female willing to put aside generations of animosity to become his bride.

Yolette goes to sleep on the side of a mountain, the odd woman out on a couples' camping trip, and awakes in a field outside the home of a dragon. Transported to an unknown world very different from her own, she must depend on Shurik for shelter and guidance.

Shurik doesn't anticipate his growing feelings for Yolette, making the task of proposing that much harder. Danger looms from those who want the punishment ended and from those who want it to continue until the last dragon is gone. Shurik must decide whether he will save his people or his love and pray to the gods his choice is the right one.

Coming 03 July. Now available for pre-order. 10% off until 10 July (CST)!
http://www.bookstrand.com/favored-dragons-release

Excerpt:

“You mentioned food. All this philosophizing is making me hungry.”
“Rather than having me guess, what would you like?”
“Bread.”
Shurik laughed.
“Did I say something funny?”
“You are so enthusiastic.”
She mumbled, “It was good.”
He walked back to the spot where they had entered and reached toward the darkness. Yolette wasn’t sure what he was doing until he pulled out a large platter and a cup. He returned to the water’s edge where he placed the platter and the cup on the ground. In the middle of the platter was a loaf of sliced bread. Around the bread were meats and cheeses and small pots of what looked like jellies.
Shurik gestured to the food.
Yolette wasn’t sure where to start. She grabbed a piece of bread, tore off a chunk, and reached for the nearest small jar. It contained honey. She was almost sure it was honey. A taste test would prove it. She dipped the bread and then popped the piece in her mouth.
She closed her eyes as the honey exploded over her senses in a rush of sweetness, the likes of which she’d never tasted. Slowly she chewed, savoring every single bit of the bread and actually chewing the requisite twenty times—possibly more—before swallowing.
“I think I just tasted heaven,” she whispered.
“This honey is a delicacy. No human has tasted it before.”
“I’m honored then. It’s positively decadent.” She dipped another piece of bread into the honey and ate it, savoring it as she did the first. It was the slowest she’d ever eaten anything.
Shurik said, “The bees of dragon territory are unique, and thus their honey is unique.”
“I’ll say. It literally is liquid gold for the eyes and senses.” She sighed as she licked a bit of the honey off of her fingers. If nirvana had a flavor, it would have been that honey.
It took a bit of doing, but she managed to make herself eat something else besides the honey. Shurik poured a drink for her from his cup. They ate and drank in silence. She indulged one last bite of honey and bread before her stomach declared maximum occupancy had been reached.
Shurik asked, “Full?”
“Very.” She patted her stomach. “You ate more this time.”
“Your appetite is infectious.” He returned the platter to the shadowed area, placed it inside, and then returned. “What do you wish to do this day?”
Yolette stared at Shurik while she contemplated his question. He watched her without saying a word. Her gaze strayed to his wings. “Flying lessons.”
Shurik’s smile dropped.
“Don’t look like that. I’m not going to get used to how you fly if we never go flying.”
“That is true,” he said in a hesitant manner.
“Besides, I was fine last time. You caught me like you said you would.”
“Yes.”
She stood and clapped her hands together. “Flying lessons.”
Shurik sighed. “Flying lessons.”
She walked over and patted his side. “If it makes you feel better, I’m afraid of heights. So, in a way, I’m showing a lot of trust by even suggesting this.”
He looked at her in surprise. “You did not mention such a fear yesterday.”
“I was too upset about not being able to go home to really register that I was up in the air until after we landed.” She shrugged. “I figured mentioning it now might help somehow. I guess. I don’t know.”
He nodded. “You have nothing to fear while flying with me.”
“Good. Now the only issue is keeping hold of you. You may not realize, but you’re slippery.”
He laughed.
“Not in a slimy way. I mean, because your scales are smooth, they are hard to hold.”
“I understand.”
She sighed, happy he hadn’t taken her words the wrong way.
He said, “Perhaps a rope.”
“No.”
“You could use it as a harness.”
“No. It just seems demeaning somehow.”
“I suggested it, therefore I don’t find it demeaning.”
“And how would the rope be attached? Not around your neck, I know. And tying it around one of your spines is useless since it would slip off after a while.”
“True.”
She made a thinking noise, but it was for show only. She had no other alternatives to offer.
Shurik said, “A rope is still a viable option so long as it stays attached, correct?”
“I don’t like it.” She sounded like she was pouting, even to her own ears. “What if—no. Never mind.”
“What?”
“You could carry me. In your hand, I mean. Like when you lift me up to the table or the bed.”
Shurik looked at his hands.
She followed his gaze and then met his eyes when he looked at her. “No?”
“Your idea is sound but not viable for the long term. I cannot always carry you in such a way. I would fear hurting you.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t.”
“How can you trust me so completely when we have not known each other long?”
She cocked her head to the side. “You’re nice. I’m usually a pretty good judge of character. I have to trust someone on this new planet. I’ll start with you.”
Shurik blinked at her a few times. He lowered his hand, palm up, and waited.

Coming 03 July. Now available for pre-order. 10% off until 10 July (CST)!
http://www.bookstrand.com/favored-dragons-release

--
D. Reneé Bagby
Building New Realms of Passion...
http://about.me/dreneebagby

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Release Day for 'A Summer Bewitchment'!



My medieval historical romance 'A Summer Bewitchment' is now available from Bookstrand.  


This novel is a sequel to 'The Snow Bride' and features Elfrida and Magnus again as my heroine and hero.

Offered at a 10% discount until June 25th!

http://www.bookstrand.com/a-summer-bewitchment

Here is an excerpt from the opening chapter:


England, summer, 1132

“I am the troll king of this land and you owe me a forfeit.”

Elfrida glanced behind the shadowed figure who barred her way. He was alone, but then so was she.

Do I turn and run along the track? Should I flee into the woods or back to the river? He is close, less than the distance of the cast of a spear. Can I make it hard for him to catch me? Yes.

But catch her he would.

Play for time.

“Indeed?” she asked, using one of her husband’s favorite expressions, then sharpened her tone. “Why must I pay anything?”

“You have trespassed in these woods. In my woods.”

The nagging ache in her shoulders and hands vanished in a tingling rush of anticipation. Elfrida dropped her basket of washed, dried clothes onto the dusty pathway, the better to fight. “King Henry is lord of England.”

“I am king here.”

A point to him. “I kept to the path, and then the river.”

“That may be so, but I claim a kiss.”

He had not moved yet, nor shown his face. The summer evening made his shadow huge, bloody. Her heart beating harder as she anticipated their final, delicious encounter, Elfrida asked, “Are you so bold? My husband is a mighty warrior, the greatest in all Christendom.”

“That is a large claim.” He sounded amused. “All Christendom? He must be a splendid fellow. The harpers should sing of him.”

Elfrida raised her chin, determined to have her say. “I am proud of my lord. He is a crusader. He has seen Jerusalem and he has learning. He can whistle any tune. He defends all those weaker than himself.” Should I say what I next want to say? Tease him as he has teased me? Why not? Are we are not playing? “Go back to your woods, troll king.”

She heard the crack of a pine cone as he shifted. In a haze of motion the troll king was out of the tree shade and into the bright sunset, dominating the path in front of her. Taller than a spear, broad as a door, he had a face as stark as granite, of weathered, broken stone. Heavily scarred—many would say grooved—he had the terrible beauty of a victor, a winner wounded but unbowed.

A ribbon of heat, like hot breath, flickered across her breasts. He was so magnificent , so handsome. She both loved and hated defying him, even in jest. Striving for calm, she said, “You will come no closer.”

“Or what, little laundress?”

That tease irked her. “The clothes and bedding do not wash themselves. Not even for you, troll king.”

He smiled, a daunting unfurling of that scarred, sword-cut face. The churning heat in her belly swept up into her cheeks and down to her loins.

“I am a witch, besides,” she added, though not as coolly as she would have liked. She saw the gleam in his large brown eyes pool into molten bronze.

“You would put a spell on me, elfling?” he challenged.

“Perhaps I already have.” Her tone and mouth were as dry as the summer. How much farther can we stretch this sweet foolishness?

He raised thick black eyebrows, while a breeze flicked and flirted with his shoulder-length curls. “Is that Christian?”

She wanted to cross her arms before herself, to shield her body from his bold stare. At the same time she longed to strip herself naked for him, unlace his tunic and caress him. Unsure how he might react, she armed herself with words instead. “I am a good witch, Magnus.”

“Indeed.” Again he looked her up and down, glanced at her buckets, basket, and clothes. “Should you not have an escort, wife?”

Do I tell him I sent Piers off to help? Are we still playing now or is he truly angry?

Looming over her, he was close enough for her to touch him. To caress his strong body will be like stroking sun-warmed stone. Distracted, she shook her head. “There is the sheep shearing…”

“Done.” He tossed a stack of rolled, lanolin-scented fleeces at her feet. “I did my share and more and, as I have said already, I claim a reward.”

He winked at her and she found herself smiling in return. “Forfeit and reward, too, sire? Is that not greedy?”

“Are we in Lent, that I should fast?” He raised his hand, cupping her face with supple fingers. “But you are too dainty to linger alone, witch or no.”

He traced the curve of her lips with his thumb and, as she trembled, he gathered her firmly into his arms. “Any man will try to spirit you away.”

“Hush!” She made a sign against the evil eye and wood elves, but he shook his head at her caution.

“I have faith in your magic craft, Elfrida. But a passing knave or outlaw? He is quite another matter. He would see you as a tempting piece, my wife, my lovely.”

“I am not helpless,” she protested, but her heart soared at his loving words. His mouth, as crooked and scarred as the rest of his face, stole a kiss from hers.

He smelled of lanolin, salt, and summer green-stuff, and tasted of apples and himself. Elfrida closed her eyes under his tender onslaught, her thighs trembling.

“Troll King?” she murmured, when they broke apart slightly. “Is that how you wish me to address you in the future, husband?”

“‘Sire’ will do, or ‘greatest knight in Christendom.’ Those will do very well.” He kissed her again.

“You rob me, sire,” she murmured, a breathless space later.

“Of kisses?” He sounded delighted at the idea, the beast, and grinned when she pinched him.

“Even one-handed I can do that better than you.”

He demonstrated, squeezing and lightly slapping her bottom, chuckling as she thrust her hips back against his fondling fingers. A shred of modesty remained as her wits dissolved into a sweet blaze of need. “Magnus, what if someone comes?”

Lindsay Townsend

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Virgin Sacrifice is now available to pre-order



THE VIRGIN SACRIFICE


The Virgin Sacrifice is now available for pre-order. It's a great fantasy romance with two red hot dragon lovers and a thief who thinks she is more experienced than she is, but a virgin can't be prepared for this.




PRE-ORDER!
AVAILABLE: Wednesday, February 20th
This title is offered at a 10% discount. Offer ends midnight CST, February 27th.
[Ménage Amour: Erotic Fantasy Ménage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, shape-shifters, HEA]
Jewel of the Jaguar clan hoped to retire her life as a thief, but in order to save the life of her brother she is forced to pull off one last heist. It may as well be suicide but she has to try. The Troll King wants her to steal the red dragons' treasure, from their lair high in the Shatundra mountains, or he has promised to kill her brother.
Darius and Darryl Tarragon are fierce shape-shifting red dragons and have been sleeping for years. They awoke to find a thief in their midst and a powerful drug that stops them from shifting into their stronger dragon forms to fight. They corner the thief in their lair only to discover the fierce thief is a curvaceous virgin whose body drives them to possess her and her sharp tongue dares them to try and tame her. A challenge they are both too ready to accept. They demand nothing less than passionate obedience from their raven-haired beauty, but when they learn her brother’s life is in trouble, they must act or risk losing the woman that sparks passion in their souls and love in their hearts.
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

You can get your copy at SIREN BOOKSTRAND here:

For a complete list of MISSY LYONS Books on Siren look here:

Monday, December 5, 2011

A Christmas Sleeping Beauty - sweet romance and hot chocolate

I wrote 'A Christmas Sleeping Beauty' as my take on a fairy story and as a piece of historical fantasy - which is where the hot chocolate comes in. (Hot chocolate is my favourite Christmas drink.) Available now and perfect for Christmas!

Handsome, confident, a touch arrogant, Prince Orlando thinks that now he has found Sleeping Beauty, his kiss will wake her at once. When it does not, he realizes he has much to learn about life, and love.

Princess Rosie, trapped in her enchanted sleep, dreams of a mysterious man. Is he a rescuer, or a nightmare? She must fight to recover herself, and all before Christmas, for time is running out.

MuseItUp Publishing, December 2011

Read an excerpt and buy the ebook at $2.50 now at  Bookstrand

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sale-LAST DAY! New Release Excerpt-R-Gangbusters, an Angels & Demons/Sci-Fi Romantic Adventure

15% off sale price ends Today!

I’m released! And so are my angels & demons. Just when you’d counted on the monsters going away.

Greetings, lovers of monsters everywhere.

 I’m Michele Hart, and I write gritty, sizzling, high-action Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance. Here’s a steamy excerpt of my brand-new angels & demons/Sci-Fi Romance release, Gangbusters, coming to you from BookStrand. Hot off the presses.

Be the first to review Gangbusters. Get in on the 15% off new release price! Sweeeeet. Monsters on discount. The best kind. Storming villagers can afford new rakes with prices this low.  :-)

Who will stand on the front lines against evil in the future?


         Daniel Tierney and his fellow I-Marshals take down the organizations producing the most dangerous substance in the Alliance. But reporter Faith Vedder turns up at the worst times, including Danny’s near-assassination. He’s had enough of her interference and requires her source of information.
         Faith won’t tell him anything that compromises her Pulitzer-worthy story, not even under the magic of hot attraction. She doesn’t know she’s surrounded by fallen angels at war. Danny’s not finished making demands. She doesn’t understand until a giant, snorting, winged monster slobbers down her back, threatening to flay her.
         The gangbusters can’t delay in their mission to shut down gangs until Danny learns the new criminal kingpin of their world is a man who once held Faith’s heart. In the guise of a gangland executioner named Heretic, Danny will destroy him. Even if it destroys Faith.
         Angels are watching. Demons are plotting. Faith is the key.

Are you in the mood for heat?

***
[This excerpt is rated R for just the beginning of unabashed sexual stimulation.]

“Stand over here, in the candlelight.”

Faith went to the spot where Danny pointed, and she stood in her Pulitzer gown for his inspection. He gained his feet, produced a thornless red vine rose from the side table, and he twisted it around the dress strap, then he returned to the bed and took in the sight of her. A rose was a gift of love, not a gift of acquaintance or friendship. The flowery fragrance enhanced her longing for him. The candlelight silvered his gray sight in a tactile way, but she always did feel his eyes when they were fixed on her.

“Do you like the gown?” she couldn’t help asking. His concentrated attention through overlong salt-and-pepper bangs caused her nipples to rise and brush against the soft cloth, quickening her for his capture.

“Very much. You look stunning in the dress, Faith,” his baritone voice murmured. His lips pressed together, revealing the tension it gave him. “The threads of the lace shimmer in the flame glow.”

Oh… Soft, flickering light seemed to cling to him instead of illuminating much else in the room. His breathing livened. His study of her lasted so long, she began to shy from his devoted gaze. “Have you had enough yet?”

“No. You aren’t enforcing a time limit, are you?”

She broke into an embarrassed smile, and his sly gaze said he enjoyed his torture of her.

“I’m divided. I want you to eat, but I want to take that dress off you.”

“Some people think they have problems.”

Rising from the bed again, he collected the covered plate and eating utensil, and set them in her hands held out before her. Then he removed the cover to present a dish in the meatball family. His smile bordering on the diabolical, he loaded the utensil and put it to her mouth. Her sharp eye on him, she accepted a flavor she’d never encountered before, savory, mysterious, delectable. So was Danny.

Stalking, he roved around until he was behind her, and he leaned, pressing his nose to her exposed neck, inhaling her freshly bathed scent as she chewed. The act carried such an animal-feel to it. The alpha-male predator had brought his chosen a meal...and he savored his upcoming reward for that.

Having already been beneath him, arrested and detained by him, she chewed quicker. Was she sweating yet? She soon would be. Oh, gawd, she already throbbed, her body programmed now and eager for his possession. Did he know he owned her? She bet he knew.

His hair danced over her bare shoulder. “You smell like delicious dinner.”

Every word he uttered with that deep voice was verbal chocolate, making her ache all the more for him. “You always have an invitation to feast upon me, Danny.”

She felt his lips thin into another secret smile against the sensitive flesh as he pressed sizzling kisses up her neck to her ear. “Every night I’ll figure out a way to put you in my bed.”

Should she tell him how easy that will be?

Weakened, she scooped up a forkful of dinner and fed him over her shoulder. He groaned his approval, and he sent his big hands to span and stroke her figure in the silky gown, a sensuous experience that blotted out everything for the moment but his contact and body heat. She would memorize a list of the things that made him groan. Hearing it launched cascades of thrill through her. His exploration slipped downward from behind her and onto her belly, pressing her against his long, hard physique and sliding downward to the heat between her thighs. She almost dropped the plate.

Mm…Danny and good food together. That was total pleasure.

Again, he commandeered the fork and sent a bite to her mouth. As she chewed, he placed a sucking kiss below her ear. Then she forgot to chew, taken by the fantastic shower of ecstasy he inflicted, and she had to remind herself again to chew. His breath on her body enticed her to a new level of want.

Another bite administered, he drew the zipper of the dress all the way down her back, and he slipped his hands into the dress, around her, and cupped her breasts.

Oh…” The rough surfaces of his palms and fingers abrading her tender flesh played with her nipples, stoking the fire.

“Take another bite.” His whispers rushed lightning through her.

Hands slid from her dress, and she turned to watch him pull his T-shirt from his torso, all iron-worked muscle, pale flesh, a thin scatter of body hair she wished to feel scrubbed against her. Again. His lion’s mane skimmed broad shoulders. His silvery sight never left her. Before, they’d made love in shadows, and she hadn’t seen him wholly nude. Just shirtless, he was beautiful, blessed with a holy kind of glamour that activated her soul.

Oh…

He fed her another bite of dinner, then he released the clip holding back her freshly dried hair, and his long, tapered fingers caught her tumbling tresses. Stirred to a corrupt snicker, he took in the scent of her hair as though it told him everything about her, as if it fed every hungry part of him.

“How can your T-shirt say you’re faster than light when you’re so torturously slow with me?”

“I know, the longer I take with you, the more you’ll moan in my ear. And I like that a lot. It’s a triumph to feel you under my power, Faith.”

That just made her moan.

He took the empty plate from her hands and set it aside on the table, then he put her in his arms. He’d said he wouldn’t let her go to Max’s without making love to her. The intent in Danny’s eye revealed his plot to ruin her freshly bathed scent.

“Are you enjoying the moment of marking me for the demons to detect?”

“Enormously. I’ll kick them in their heads if they touch you.” His demon-slaying grin gave away his entertainment. She knew he meant for Max to get that message, as well.

“This is like unwrapping the most fun present.”

She loved being explored by him, adored it, and she noticed each lithe movement of his heavenly warrior-body, marveled at how well he’d been put together for hunting criminals and hellish merchants of misery. She’d never discourage him from doing that duty. Those monsters better run and hide.

Danny wasn’t a monster. Was he?

She reached for his jeans and unbuttoned them, feeling him hard beneath the metal teeth of the zipper. He pushed the jeans to the floor for the unwelcome interference they were. Her mouth went dry at the unveiled sight of him, worthy of an artist’s sketch, all muscle, brains, instinct, skill, action.

Danny was better than perfect. He was physically superior.

But what was he on the inside? The progeny of an angel, the breed of a demon. She recalled her brief study of the heavenly races. If Danny turned out to be more angel, what would that mean? Angels did many benevolent things, but they also struck down populations with disease, disaster, and genocide. A single angel wielded the power to destroy cities, cause famine, flood a planet.

Angels were heaven’s hit men.

Danny snatched her up by the waist, capturing her, pressing her against him, and snickering over his plans for her.

Oh… She could barely wait.

***
Don’t stop. Read more.
Gangbusters by Michele Hart
Investigate steamy, peril-packed excerpts, a tense first chapter,
watch a woe-filled book trailer @:

Available right now for 15% off. What are you waiting for?
The angels of madness are calling.

Read and live an adventure.
Have an action-packed day,

Michele Hart
Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
~ Walk Another World ~
http://www.ILoveShape-Shifters.com/
GANGBUSTERS - Available Now. Hide from the Demon Horde.

Ask Me for my Free Read - No Funny Stuff! A Mission for Thalia, the Muse of Comedy.
What do you do when you can't throw someone down a flight of stairs? Write a story about it.
Siren-BookStrand * GANGBUSTERS * VIGILANT * LUMINOUS NIGHTS * MIND-BLOWN * LOOKS ARE DECEIVING

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Angels and demons and lasers, oh my! A new Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Futuristic Romance series by Michele Hart

Space adventure!
Gorgeous, daredevil heroes! Smart, adventurous heroines!
Villains to make your flesh crawl.

Investigate I-Marshal Stories.


Read and live an adventure.
Have an exciting day,

Michele Hart
Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
~ Walk Another World ~ http://www.ILoveShapeShifters.com/

What do you do when you can't throw someone down a flight of stairs? Write a story about it.
Siren-BookStrand * VIGILANT * GANGBUSTERS coming soon
Siren-BookStrand * LUMINOUS NIGHTS - a 2011 Golden Quill Contest finalist/Best Sci-Fi!
Siren-BookStrand * LOOKS ARE DECEIVING * MIND-BLOWN

Monday, July 4, 2011

Steamy Excerpt & Interview w/author Michele Hart -->Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance & What I Love to Madness!

Good day, lovers of Romance and adventure,

I’m Michele Hart, and I’m in The Steam Room with Michele Zurlo talking about my punk-rock muse named Torch and my newest Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance, Vigilant. Tune in if you’re a fan of angels and demons or if you love peanut butter.

GASP! I love peanut butter to the point of madness! My world stops for the recipe in this interview.

How about a sssexy and dangerous shape-shifter on an alien planet for your summer affair? Can I interest you in a brawler with a badge who can read your mind? How about a risky adventure with the CIA as your enemy? Feel like fighting the Mob? Want to be frightened by demons, rescued by angels? Would you like to be trapped on a space station with your high-school crush?

Discover passion under all-new moons and stars here --> http://www.ILoveShapeShifters.com/

Read and live an adventure.
Have an exciting day,


Michele Hart
Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
~ Walk Another World ~ http://www.ILoveShapeShifters.com/

What do you do when you can't throw someone down a flight of stairs? Write a story about it.
Siren-BookStrand * LUMINOUS NIGHTS * VIGILANT * GANGBUSTERS coming soon
Siren-BookStrand * LOOKS ARE DECEIVING * MIND-BLOWN


Here’s an excerpt for your entertainment:
[This excerpt is R-rated.]
Shower


The steam engulfed her, and water jets pounded her. The shower spray beat her body into bliss, reinvigorating her. Weber stood for the abuse, standing spread eagle and enjoying the rough massage. It felt very good, and he looked very good doing it. She wanted to put her hands all over him, but she’d never done such a thing before. She tried to make it feel normal and ordinary that she showered with a naked man. A big, handsome, strong, protective, brave man. It was a naughty thrill for her just to stand in the same room with him and look at him, clothed. The man moved her.

“Weber, what do you know of angels?”

“It’s angels again… I thought you didn’t believe in them. Have a few dreams changed your mind?”

She hadn’t told him of the second dream. They hadn’t had time between the daredevil escape from the Alliance’s clutches, the visit to the doctor’s lab, and the awesome view outside their hotel window. He revealed himself in incremental hints to see if she caught on.

“Maybe they weren’t dreams,” she proposed, her eye on his default expression of stoicism. The water droplets raced down his hard body like shooting stars. “Maybe they were visitations. I thought I was asleep, but I wasn’t. Did I tell you the angel confessed to me he was a part of you?”

“No, you didn’t tell me that part. What color was your hair when he spoke to you?”

Her hand went to her hair beneath the pour of a showerhead massaging her scalp. She looked down to see her saturated black tresses covering her breasts and thin black drizzles of the hair color draining down her body with the water. “I didn’t notice. Why would that matter?”

He took the small distance separating them, and he put her into his arms, the sprays all around them. Naked and pressed against him shut her mind down to all but what he did to her.

“It seems to me if they were simple visitations, your hair would be black, as it is in this reality. If your hair were blond, as you truly are, how the Maker made you, then you may have been taken to a spiritual realm where corporeal bodies matter less and the barriers dividing souls is thinner. A place where only truth exists. Your black hair is a lie and couldn’t appear there.”

She smiled in surprise of his answer, had expected a denial. “You hold revelation of the spiritual world, Marshal. Does that mean you have the soul of an angel?”

Parting the pour of water from his face, his hair drenched and slicked-back, he smiled in reply, as if he’d bested her. “No, it means I can use the terminology to make you think I do know much on the subject.”

She frowned at him and wished she could tell when he lied.

After all the stress of the hard day had been beaten from them, Weber adjusted the pressure of the jets as she soaped up a bath scrubber in her hands. When she attempted to bathe herself, he snatched the scrubber away.

“You can’t have that,” he told her, like an order given her by his badge. “You can’t bathe yourself. You must wait for me.”

With the heavenly subject of conversation past them, her shyness rushed back to disable her. She pulled all her dark hair around her to hide behind. She saw the moment he picked up on it, and she shouldn’t have thought he wouldn’t notice. It was his job to read clues. And she was too inexperienced to fake having been in this position before.

He took her hand and guided her to the wall away from the main assault of the water, and he gently put her back to the tiles. Taking the soap into his hands, he stood very close to her, and he teased her into a kiss. His naked closeness stirred her, his alpha-male nearness subliminally dominated, and she was surprised how every step he took toward her sizzled her into a surrender that shot tension and thrill through her.

His sensuous mouth. She recalled noticing the bow of the angel Dokiel’s lips before he kissed her. They were very similar to Weber’s own.

When she was mesmerized by his lips, he put the soap in her hand, then took it to his chest. Then he trapped her small hand under his, and they slowly soaped his big arms and shoulders, his sinewy chest and river-rapids abs. She watched his hand, the only other part of Dokiel she’d seen, scribbled with tattoos of angelic script. Weber’s hands were very similar. The angel’s and the cop’s hands were big-palmed, long-fingered, hot to the touch. The contact drew the air from the room for her, and she felt a mixture of want, excitement, and uncontrolled arousal she’d never felt before. But she’d never touched a man like this.

He gave her his sinewy back while he shampooed his hair, and she sudsed him down, driving away the shyness. Her hands all over his body, his broad, hard back, his narrow waist, his round ass. He was an extra-fine specimen of man. Her thighs were on fire just from touching him.

There was no way her chastity would last the night. She wanted to pack it in a shiny wrapped box with a big bow and hand it to him. It would soon be his.

Her soapy hands reached his hips, and he guided her hand around to his manhood. She took a big, anxious breath for the experience. Together they sudsed his thick, stiff shaft, gently bathing him. He was so hard and bigger than she expected. She knew for sure he would hurt her. Touching him just made her hungrier.

He groaned. “If you keep doing that, we’ll never leave this shower.”
***
Don’t stop. Read more.
Explore high-action excerpts, check out the great reviews, watch a mysterious book trailer @:

Discover the First Chapter of Vigilant:

Vigilant by Michele Hart
Available @ BookStrand, Amazon, B&N, everywhere passionate adventures can be found!

Investigate Vigilant’s prequel Luminous Nights,
a finalist in the 2011 Golden Quill Contest!
Hot, peril-packed excerpts, awesome reviews, and a kick-ass book trailer here:
Available @ BookStrand, Amazon, B&N, almost everywhere!

Monday, June 20, 2011

5 Teacups from HEA Reviews! for Vigilant, a Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance (angels & demons)


Good morning, everyone,

I discovered a very nice 5-star review of my steamy, action-packed Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance, Vigilant. It’s one of the first reviews, so I’m pretty thrilled.

“I very much enjoyed [Vigilant]. Whether or not you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll enjoy this stirring, romantic adventure.”
Check out Vigilant’s 5 out of 5 Teacups review from Happily Ever After Reviews:
http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-vigilant-by-michele-hart.html

* Investigate Vigilant. Where do the mortals fit in the war between the angels and demons? *

One surviving hijacker is charged with the murders of a hundred citizens.
One cop sees her innocence.

     Alliance I-Marshal Weber hauls Yadira to her home planet and infiltrates the human-trafficking ring controlling her. But he finds himself unbearably attracted to his witness. A gift for detecting deception reveals she’s the next victim of a criminal industry.
     Descending into shadowy worlds of slavery, Yadira endures a dark angel stalking her dreams and watches the quiet I-Marshal become dangerous in her defense. Everything about him moves her…except the memory of seeing him execute the most important man in her life. Shouldn’t she take vengeance? Delusions of a heavenly guardian affect her mind.
     Slavers and demons plan to snatch her from Weber’s custody while he is uncovering connections, and Weber won’t hesitate to execute the guilty surrounding Yadira. Who but a son of fire can save her from fiends harboring hardcore fantasies of harming her?
***
Read more. You don’t have to wait.
Discover steamy, peril-packed excerpts, watch a mysterious book trailer at:

Read the First Chapter of Vigilant:

Vigilant
by Michele Hart
Buy Link: http://www.BookStrand.com/vigilant
ISBN#: e-Book 1-61034-396-4 * Print 1-61034-682-3
Available @ BookStrand, Amazon, B&N, everywhere exciting stories are waiting for you!

Read and live an adventure.
Have an action-packed day,

Michele Hart

Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
Peace on Earth, Hell in Space
~ Walk Another World ~ http://www.ILoveShapeShifters.com/

What do you do when you can't throw someone down a flight of stairs? Write a story about it.
Siren-BookStrand * VIGILANT - New Release * GANGBUSTERS coming soon
Siren-BookStrand * MIND-BLOWN * LUMINOUS NIGHTS - 2011 Golden Quill Finalist
Siren-BookStrand * LOOKS ARE DECEIVING - 2010 Readers Favorite Bronze Award winner

Saturday, May 21, 2011

New Release Excerpt! (R) Vigilant, a Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romantic Adventure (angels & demons)


Good weekend, adventure lovers!

I’m Michele Hart, and I have a steamy new release! Check out my sexy Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance, Vigilant. Vigilant is a sequel of Luminous Nights, which finaled in the Golden Quill this year. I’m very excited about both books. Read the excerpts! Watch the book trailers! Catch the reviews!

Investigate Vigilant. Where do the mortals fit in the war between the angels and demons?

Vigilant
One surviving hijacker is charged with the murders of a hundred citizens.
One cop sees her innocence.

     Alliance I-Marshal Weber hauls Yadira to her home planet and infiltrates the human-trafficking ring controlling her. But he finds himself unbearably attracted to his witness. A gift for detecting deception reveals she’s the next victim of a criminal industry.
     Descending into shadowy worlds of slavery, Yadira endures a dark angel stalking her dreams and watches the quiet I-Marshal become dangerous in her defense. Everything about him moves her…except the memory of seeing him execute the most important man in her life. Shouldn’t she take vengeance? Delusions of a heavenly guardian affect her mind.
     Slavers and demons plan to snatch her from Weber’s custody while he is uncovering connections, and Weber won’t hesitate to execute the guilty surrounding Yadira. Who but a son of fire can save her from fiends harboring hardcore fantasies of harming her?

Copyrighted Work.
[This excerpt is R-rated.]
Shower

            The steam engulfed her, and water jets pounded her. The shower spray beat her body into bliss, reinvigorating her. Weber stood for the abuse, standing spread eagle and enjoying the rough massage. It felt very good, and he looked very good doing it. She wanted to put her hands all over him, but she’d never done such a thing before. She tried to make it feel normal and ordinary that she showered with a naked man. A big, handsome, strong, protective, brave man. It was a naughty thrill for her just to stand in the same room with him and look at him, clothed. The man moved her.
            “Weber, what do you know of angels?”
            “It’s angels again… I thought you didn’t believe in them. Have a few dreams changed your mind?”
            She hadn’t told him of the second dream. They hadn’t had time between the daredevil escape from the Alliance’s clutches, the visit to the doctor’s lab, and the awesome view outside their hotel window. He revealed himself in incremental hints to see if she caught on.
            “Maybe it wasn’t a dream,” she proposed, her eye on his default expression of stoicism. The water droplets raced down his hard body like shooting stars. “Maybe they were visitations. I thought I was asleep, but I wasn’t. Did I tell you the angel confessed to me he was a part of you?”
            “No, you didn’t tell me that part. What color was your hair when he spoke to you?”
            Her hand went to her hair beneath the pour of a showerhead massaging her scalp. She looked down to see her saturated black tresses covering her breasts and thin black drizzles of the hair color draining down her body with the water. “I didn’t notice. Why would that matter?”
            He took the small distance separating them, and he put her into his arms, the sprays all around them. Naked and pressed against him shut her mind down to all but what he did to her.
            “It seems to me if they were simple visitations, your hair would be black, as it is in this reality. If your hair were blond, as you truly are, how the Maker made you, then you may have been taken to a spiritual realm where corporeal bodies don’t exist and the barriers dividing souls is thinner. A place where only truth exists. Your black hair is a lie and couldn’t appear there.”
            She smiled in surprise of his answer, had expected a denial. “You hold revelation of the spiritual world, Marshal. Does that mean you have the soul of an angel?”
            Parting the pour of water from his face, his hair drenched and slicked-back, he smiled in reply, as if he’d bested her. “No, it means I can use the terminology to make you think I do know much on the subject.”
            She frowned at him and wished she could tell when he lied.
            After all the stress of the hard day had been beaten from them, Weber adjusted the pressure of the jets as she soaped up a bath scrubber in her hands. When she attempted to bathe herself, he snatched the scrubber away.
            “You can’t have that,” he told her, like an order given her by his badge. “You can’t bathe yourself. You must wait for me.”
            With the heavenly subject of conversation past them, her shyness rushed back to disable her. She pulled all her dark hair around her to hide behind. She saw the moment he picked up on it, and she shouldn’t have thought he wouldn’t notice. It was his job to read clues. And she was too inexperienced to fake having been in this position before.
            He took her hand and guided her to the wall away from the main assault of the water, and he gently put her back to the tiles. Taking the soap into his hands, he stood very close to her, and he teased her into a kiss. His naked closeness stirred her, his alpha-male nearness subliminally dominated, and she was surprised how every step he took toward her sizzled her into a surrender that shot tension and thrill through her.
            His sensuous mouth. She recalled noticing the bow of the angel Dokiel’s lips before he kissed her. They were very similar to Weber’s own.
            When she was mesmerized by his lips, he put the soap in her hand, then took it to his chest. Then he trapped her small hand under his, and they slowly soaped his big arms and shoulders, his sinewy chest and river-rapids abs. She watched his hand, the only other part of Dokiel she’d seen, scribbled with tattoos of angelic script. Weber’s hands were very similar. The angel’s and the cop’s hands were big-palmed, long-fingered, hot to the touch. The contact drew the air from the room for her, and she felt a mixture of want, excitement, and uncontrolled arousal she’d never felt before. But she’d never touched a man like this.
            He gave her his sinewy back while he shampooed his hair, and she sudsed him down, driving away the shyness. Her hands all over his body, his broad, hard back, his narrow waist, his round ass. He was an extra-fine specimen of man. Her thighs were on fire just from touching him.
            There was no way her chastity would last the night. She wanted to pack it in a shiny wrapped box with a big bow and hand it to him. It would soon be his.
            Her soapy hands reached his hips, and he guided her hand around to his manhood. She took a big, anxious breath for the experience. Together they sudsed his thick, stiff shaft, gently bathing him. He was so hard and bigger than she expected. She knew for sure he would hurt her. Touching him just made her hungrier.
            He groaned. “If you keep doing that, we’ll never leave this shower.”
***
Read more.
Explore cool excerpts, watch a mysterious book trailer @:

Discover the First Chapter of Vigilant:

Vigilant by Michele Hart
Available Now @ BookStrand.com! ISBN#: e-Book 1-61034-396-4 * Soon in Print!

Investigate Vigilant’s prequel Luminous Nights,
a finalist in the 2011 Golden Quill Contest!
Hot, peril-packed excerpts, awesome reviews, and a kick-ass book trailer here:
Available @ BookStrand, Amazon, B&N, almost everywhere!

Read and live an adventure.
Have an action-packed day.