Backward Compatible NBtM

Blurb:  

Not too long ago, in a town that, depending on your current location, is either not super far or actually quite close…

It is a time of chaotic hormones.

Two nerdy gents home for winter break have discovered a female gamer at a midnight release.

During the break, the gamer trio manages to reveal the game’s secret boss, a hidden enemy with enough power to destroy anything in its path.

Pursued by other gamers who want to be the first to beat this boss, George and Katie race to level up, and, in so doing, restore decency and sexual activity to their personal galaxy…

Excerpt:

“These graphics suck,” George says and I look back at the screen. We’re standing in the middle of the Estate, colorful orbs quivering ahead of us. We each have to choose our starting advantage. Waterfalls shimmer in the distance and the sunlight streams over multicolored stones in the courtyard.

“Amateurs,” Lanyon concurs. “I mean, they couldn’t have five waterfalls?”

“Your ironic wit is mind blowing, but choose your damn orbs,” I tell them. I consider. Magic, defense, offense, stealth, and charisma. I always go for magic as a black mage, but I wonder if a druid needs something else. Screw it. I need charisma in real life, too.

“Charisma?” Lanyon asks. “No one ever picks charisma.”

“We’re a party of a thief, druid, and a bard. We’re screwed regardless.”

“You two underestimate the mighty power of my lute,” George argues.

“Did you start with charisma?” Lanyon asks.

“Hell, no. I have charisma in spades. I started with stealth.”

“Great. A stealthy bard,” I sigh.

“She’s right,” Lanyon concedes. “We’re screwed.”

However, it actually isn’t bad at all at first. We power through the Estate and make it to the Yobanaria Dale with no resurrections and all at level ten. I’m impressed. George hasn’t actually fought anything, but he has some pretty awe-inspiring charm mastery already. I think I might have a serious crush. He seals the deal when he buffs my hailstorm spell without even being asked.

“Can you guys watch El Thiefelo? My mom wants me to eat supper,” Lanyon says.

“Yeah, we’ve got it,” I tell him. “The first boss is in the elven ruins anyway, so we should grind a bit. I think he’s a twelve.”

George and I explore the Dale, taking out bats and Joba spores. It’s fairly quiet, except for when we combo with his charms and my spells and he yells out, “Eat lute, bitch,” but it’s nice. We work well, almost inherently understanding each other. I’ve never been able to play this effectively with anyone. I try not to think about his eyes. Stupid boys, being cute and stuff.

By the time Lanyon comes back, we’re all at level 12, although Lanyon leveled up just by standing by a door while we played. Still, we are ready to take on Balsa the Proud. As a black mage, it took me about nine seconds. Trees don’t like fire. However, druids don’t have the same level of black magic and all elemental magic is weakened by the need to draw from the elements nearby. Sadly, trees seem to avoid storing fire runes in their villages. I expect this to be a little more challenging. It might even take fifteen seconds.

“First boss. Also known as the freebie bitch to sucker the young folks into a false sense of security,” Lanyon announces as he runs into the center of Balsa’s lair. The cinema plays and then, in a moment of pure absurdity, El Thiefelo is squished as Balsa steps on him.

“Can someone revive me?” Lanyon whines.

Pete, thanks so much for stopping by. So, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

I like cheese, sports, and fuzzy animals. I’m a teacher in my real life, although it’s summer now, so I’m reverting back to being lazy.

How did you get started writing?

I have been writing since I was little. As I got older, those weird stories just grew longer and eventually, I learned about things like style and genres.

What was the inspiration for your book?

There really aren’t a lot of books about gaming, at least not like this, and we both wanted one. So we wrote it.

What’s the one genre you haven’t written in yet that you’d like to?

A real horror novel. I wrote some horror short stories and some sort of comic horror, but I would love to come up with something for a really scary horror novel.

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

I don’t really like traditional romance, like with Fabio on the covers, so I wouldn’t read or write that. Otherwise, not really.

So, what are you working on right now? Got any releases planned, or still writing?

Other than Backward Compatible 2, I hope I am close to releasing Helix Crashing by the time this interview goes live. It’s in editing and revision now, but it’s been about 15 years. I sort of wonder if it’s ever going to see a reader.

Alright, now for some totally random, fun questions. Favorite color?       Green

Favorite movie?      Manic

Book that inspired you to become an author?

I can’t really think of one. I always wrote. 

Alright, you have one superpower. What is it?

All-encompassing power, obviously.

You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?

Ray Bradbury and my friends, Chris and Brian, because I haven’t seen them in ages.

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?
Lanyon, because we are both obnoxious

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July 7 The A P Book Club
July 14 Bunny's Review
July 21 Books in the Hall
July 28 Long and Short Reviews
August 4 Sexy Adventures Passionate Tales
August 4 SECOND STOP Books and Other Spells
August 11 Deal Sharing Aunt
August 11 SECOND STOP Room With Books
August 18 Straight from the Library
August 25 Sharing Links and Wisdom

Author Information:

Pete Clark likes writing, animals, potato chips, and cheese. Midnight Riders is his first published novel, although he can also proudly say he finally finished Helix Crashing, the fantasy novel he has been working on for over a decade. In addition, he has written Across the Barren Landscape, a collection of linked Western short stories. He also writes plays, both dramatic and comedic.

When he is not writing, Pete tends to ignore everyone around him and obsess over sports.

Website     |     Facebook     |     Twitter

Amazon     |     Amazon UK     |     Apple     |     AllRomance

Barnesand Noble     |     Kobo     |     Smashwords

Playlist Link: http://hypster.com/create/playlist?playlist_id=6805166

Gamer Nerd’s Love Song Video

A Bite in Time Blurb Blitz

Blurb:

A dangerous secret, a vampire, plus one sexy cop is a recipe for trouble.

JOHN REEDER has accepted his love for VINCENT KAMATEROS, but he doesn’t know his lover is a vampire. When aderanged vampire targets Vincent, John has to deal with uncovered secrets that blow his life apart.

Will Vincent reveal his true nature to protect the cop who has come to mean more than his own life? In doing so, he might ruin his only chance for a ‘happy ever after’ with John.

Excerpt:

“Euro for your thoughts?” Vincent teased as he kissed John’s neck.

“Maybe a dollar. At least I can spend it at home.” John touched Vincent’s face. “I wish we had another day, that’s all.” 

Vincent kissed him and John’s cock nudged forward.

John pulled away. “We better get going. Shower first.”

“Good idea.” Vincent charming smile hinted of mischief.

Warmth spread across John’s chest. Shit. He was officially a sap reacting so easily to Vincent’s charm.

Biting his lip, he stood and pressed one hand on Vincent’s shoulder, stopping him from rising. “Alone.” How to explain the need to build back his defenses, so once they returned to Arizona, his relationship with Vincent existed, once again, in the privacy of their homes.

“We’re leaving in an hour,” John added, putting an end to fooling around.

Vincent leaned back on his elbows, his legs stretched out giving John an eye full of what he’d miss showering alone. John ran his hand across his scalp, ogling but not caring.

“More reason for me to shower with you,” Vincent said. “Once we’re home, you’ll stuff me back into the closet.”

The hairs on John’s nape stood as a flint of anger lit in him. Vincent read his thoughts and it was goddamn irritating. Then his shoulders slumped. Jesus. A big, bad cop scared of coming out. It had been a few months since he committed to making their relationship work. He was beginning to trust Vincent completely, and planned to make headway, but damn if he hated Vincent baiting him about coming out.

Didn’t Vincent get it? He didn’t like being pushed against the wall. And yet he had made a promise he would make the attempt. That he wouldn’t let his attitude come in the way of a relationship. To be fair, Vincent held back his impatience, most of the time.

“This has been great,” John waved his hand to take in the room. “But it’s a far cry from Arizona. Julie knows, and I’m going to tell Free, but I’m not ready to tell my peers or my parents.”

No matter how much he craved for an open relationship, once back in Arizona, he’d be Detective John Reeder, straight son of Irish Catholic parents. Sure he’d made slight progress, telling his sister he was gay. But from a simple thing like telling his sister who’d already guessed to coming out to his parents was a long fucking way. Yet, guilt overwhelmed John every time he pulled back from Vincent’s touch in public, the hurt in his lover’s eyes eating at him.

Vincent slipped on his robe, his good-natured teasing vanished. “John, when will you face who you are? A gay man with a boyfriend who loves you. I refuse to be treated as a shameful secret.”

Love? Did he say love? Oh fuck.

My Review:

TBA

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August 11: Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess REVIEW
August 12: The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat
August 13: Books on Silver Wings
August 14: BookSkater
August 15: Carly's Book Reviews REVIEW
August 18: Sydney St. Claire
August 19: The Simple Things in Life
August 20: Mia Downing
August 20: Dawn's Reading Nook
August 21: Booklover Sue
August 22: Sharing Links and Wisdom REVIEW

Author Bios and Links:

Viki Lyn:

What inspires me - the reality that romance between lovers is a hope more than a guarantee. My stories are an eclectic mix of contemporary and paranormal, but it is always romance that drives the story to its final happily-ever-after. There's nothing better than reading a good book over an espresso, watching a movie or trying out a new restaurant. I'm the author of several gay romances, including Last Chance, Rainbow Award winner for the Best Gay Paranormal/Horror. 

Viki’s website

Vina Grey:

Vina Grey loves writing about romance. Two people finding each other, the two-step before they get together and the happily ever after, have to be the best story ever. Throw in some paranormal elements and she's in heaven. Vampires and cops, anyone? She loves to jabber away with anyone about books, so drop her a line at vinagrey@gmail.com. Vina’s cyber home is here.

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The Honeymoon Prize SBB

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melissa will award a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

NOTE: This book is on sale for only $0.99 during the tour.  Why not grab yourself a copy today?

Blurb:
He needs a wife...

Single bodyguard Nick Calhoun has been given an ultimatum by his boss--find a wife or lose his cushy, high-paying job. Clients' wives are hitting on him and putting Nick, and his boss, in hot water. But monogamy? He's never been a white picket fence kind of guy, and he's not about to embrace the happily married lifestyle now. He needs a wife who doesn't care about his steamy, extra-curricular love life...and he knows just the woman to fit the bill.

She needs a home...

Adalaide Sinclair spent years caring for her ill grandmother. Upon Grammy's death, she's stunned to find herself evicted from the only home she's ever known and labeled a thief by her inheritance-hungry family. Addie needs to find a place to live and a job--fast. So when her childhood friend, Nick, proposes a no-sex marriage of convenience, she puts her dreams of true love and happily-ever-after on hold. Finding Prince Charming can wait a little longer, right?

But will their friendship survive the honeymoon?

When Nick and Addie unexpectedly win a dream honeymoon, they decide to go their separate ways during the ten-day vacation. Too bad a camera crew is waiting for them at the tropical paradise. Acting like a head-over-heels bride and groom for reality TV wreaks havoc on their no-sex agreement...and blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Will Nick and Addie remain married in name only, or will a romantic honeymoon for show turn them into true newlyweds?


Enjoy an excerpt:
Time to focus on the present—a paradise full of beaches and sun and fruity drinks with paper umbrellas. She could swim and sail and participate in the forty-seven other activities the resort offered or read one of the novels she’d brought.

“What are you thinking?” Nick asked.

“That I deserve this lovely island.” She raised her chin, buoyed by a resolve she hadn’t felt in . . . years. “I’m going to make the most of the next ten days. Let my hair down and dance in the sand. Who knows when I’ll get to do something like this again?”

Nick’s eyes darkened, turning serious. Something rare for him. He started to speak then stopped himself.

“Your turn,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

“This is only our first vacation. You’re not going to have to wait another nine years for another one, okay?”

The raw emotion in his voice sounded nothing like the Nick she knew, but the determination behind each word warmed her heart. “Okay.”

The plane landed and motored across the water toward a long wooden dock that led to a pristine curved strip of white sand beach. Two paddleboards lay by the shore’s edge. Palm fronds blew in the wind.

Her breath caught in her throat. “It’s like a postcard.”

“Only better. This is real life. The island is ours for the next week and a half.” Nick motioned to the people on the dock. “Looks like we have a welcoming committee. Show off your pearly whites. I see cameras.”

Author Bio:
With a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, Melissa McClone worked for a major airline where she traveled the globe and met her husband. But analyzing jet engine performance couldn’t compete with her love of writing happily ever afters. Her first full-time writing endeavor was her first sale when she was pregnant with her first child! Since then, she has published over thirty romance novels with Harlequin and Tule Publishing Group. She’s also been nominated for Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her driving her minivan to/from her children’s swim practices and other activities. She also sends care packages to deployed service members and fosters cats through a local no-kill animal shelter. Melissa lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three school-aged children, two spoiled Norwegian Elkhounds and cats who think they rule the house. They do!

Website     |     Facebook     |     Twitter

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50 Shades of Fur Book Blast

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a signed copy of 50 Shades of Fur by Missy Barkalot, as told to Belinda Stevens to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour.

Blurb:
A delightful, yet somewhat bawdy “tail” about Missy Barkalot, a petite rust-colored long-haired Dachshund and the apple of her eye, Humphrey B (aka “Hump”), and the other characters, both dogs and cats, who are frequent guests at Doggie Bath. Missy is pursued by Ralph the Bulldog, but she only has eyes for Hump, who was seduced by the glamorous toy poodle, CoCo. It turns out CoCo was a victim of her environment, as her owner had some kinky habits using a gray tie. Bondage with leashes, bite marks, jive-talking cats and cross-dressing Dobermans – not to mention a Doggie Blues band – keep the story rolling as Missy Barkalot uses her feminine wiles to woo Hump away from CoCo. DoggieBath has a little bit of everything – sexual intrigue, rock-n-roll and blues – canine style, and of course, a little weed. This fun romp through the world of Missy and Hump make a “furfect” read! If you love animals, you will love “50 Shades Of Fur.”


Enjoy an excerpt:
You would think it was Valentine’s day, the way the romances were emerging among the guests at Doggie Bath. It was obvious something was going on between Roxie and Bubba. She followed him around without her herd of Spaniels and Bubba didn’t seem to mind. The two spent hours softly growling, licking each other’s faces and of course, you know. Everyone was happy they were an item, not to mention the welcomed end to cougar stalking. Without their leader, the over-the-hill gang disbanded. Those females started looking for fur separately.

Even Lance found love with a two-year-old German Shepherd. They shared a water bowl, and wore matching pink and purple outfits. Lance’s new love fit right in with the Blues Dogs. His name was Mozart and he was musical. It wasn’t long before he joined the group. Those paws of his could bang out some serious R & B on the ivories.

Author Bio:
Belinda J. Stevens was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the gateway to the Mississippi Delta, in 1948. She grew up in the turbulent sixties, and has a true appreciation for the difficulties experienced Katherine in her first novel, "Just Out of Reach.” A radical departure from her first novel, her lastest effort is a fun parody, “50 Shades of Fur by Missy Barkalot, as told to Belinda Stevens.”

An attorney by profession, Belinda tells the story of young love and dark secrets in the world of the Doggie Bath. Canines, cats and even a skunk with a prestigious lineage converge for a bawdy “tale” that will keep you laughing.

Belinda is a graduate of Belhaven University and earned a Masters in Social Science and a Law Degree from Mississippi College. From 1987-1997 she served as Special Assistant to Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore. She resides in Brandon, Mississippi with her dog Humprey B., and practices law in Yazoo City where she is a Public Defender.

Learn more about Belinda at www.belindastevens.com, or follow her on Facebook.

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Somebody to Love Tour Review

Somebody To Love is the fourth full-length novel in Merry Farmer's highly acclaimed, historical Montana Romance series. In this novel, which has already found a home atop Amazon's LGBT romance lists, she writes about the love between two men, Phinneas Bell and Elliott Tucker, and the issues that surround them as they try to make their way in 1800s Montana. 

Blurb:
For Phineas Bell, love has not only been out of reach, it has been impossible. In a world where men who love other men are anathema, he has poured his love into his work, his town, and the friends who accept him as family. But when a handsome new lodger takes over his home and his heart, breaking all his careful rules, Phin must choose between playing it safe and letting love in.

War hero Elliott Tucker is the answer to Cold Springs’s prayers for a sheriff worth his salt. But with every single woman in town throwing themselves at him, Elliott has eyes for only one person: Phin. The sparks are hot between then, but in spite of Elliott’s best efforts, Phin’s heart proves the toughest nut to crack. A love that starts with fire threatens to burn them both…

… until a shocking abduction throws Phin and Elliott together on the trail of ruthless kidnappers. Will their efforts to save a child wrench them apart or will it prove that at last they’ve found somebody to love?

Get Somebody to Love on Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

Add Somebody to Love to your Goodreads to-read shelf!

My Review:

Coming soon!

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Author Bio:

Merry Farmer lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Today she walks along the cutting edge of Indie Publishing, writing Historical Romance and Sci-Fi. She is also passionate about blogging, knitting, and cricket and is working towards becoming an internationally certified cricket scorer.

Find Merry Farmer on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon Author Page.

Free LGBT Reads

Pray the Gay Away by Sara York

Book 1 of A Southern Thing series. 

Star football player, Jack Miller, had it all. The perfect family, looks, girls hanging on his every word, and the respect of most people in his town. But one thing was missing--a man to be his own.

When Andrew Collins showed up in small town, conservative Sweet, Georgia, he looked more scrawny mutt than high school senior. Andrew's plan was to keep his head down and graduate high school, leaving his family behind to start his real life.

When he meets Andrew, Jack thinks he's found heaven, but reality holds him in check until one night when his lips gently slide across Andrew's and fireworks go off.

As lust and something a little deeper brings them together, compelling them to take chances, people start to notice. Then the unthinkable happens, and Jack's parents find out he likes guys. The battle lines are drawn and they vow to pray the gay away.

Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin

Book One of the scifi vampire saga Pact Arcanum. Warning: contains strong language and non-explicit depictions of gay sexuality.

An unlikely savior emerges to prevent the advent of mass destruction and genocide descending on the world…

By Day

Los Angeles, 2040. When the terrorist known as Medusa threatens to kill millions with a stolen nuclear bomb, Nick Jameson makes a fateful decision. He reveals himself on global television as a Daywalker - a vampire with a soul. To save Los Angeles, Nick exposes not only his own gifts but three separate cultures based on millennia-old magic.

By Night

The three metahuman races exist in careful balance, working to maintain a fragile peace. Nick and his fellow Daywalkers successfully master their natural bloodlust. The Sentinels, armed with both magic and steel, repress their warlike instincts. And even some Nightwalkers, normally their natural enemies, have deserted the Court of Shadows to join the triple alliance. Nick Jameson is deeply involved with two such Nightwalkers - handsome Lorcan and powerful Rory. Both men love Nick. But neither can protect the new Ambassador to Humanity from the events he has set in motion.

By the Sword

Jeremy Harkness was lured into Medusa's service under false pretenses. A loner with no one and nothing to cling to, he was willing to die for his cause. But the night Medusa tried to obliterate Los Angeles, Jeremy met Nick Jameson, triggering the onset of his own psychic gifts. For Jeremy is the third race of metahuman, a Sentinel, born to kill the Nightwalkers with no quarter asked or offered. And neither Medusa nor the Court of Shadows will settle for peace when they can make war.

Betrayal and treachery lurk around every corner on the road to coexistence, and at every turn, Nick must question who to trust among his metahuman allies, friends, and lovers—before their civilization is plunged into the depths of darkness and bloodshed. With millennia-old magic, emerging romance, and ever-shifting allegiances, this inventive series unveils a scintillating, homoerotic world of Nightwalkers, Daywalkers, Sentinels, and Humans, who battle for world dominance in the not-too-distant future.

The Fall by David Dawson

The first book in The God Slayers Quartet, a science fiction post apocalyptic series for young adults and adults alike.  If you enjoyed The Hunger Games and The Stand, you will love this. 

The future of planet Earth is bleak.  Two warring gods have decimated the planet.  Fanatical religious cults, cannibals and cat/human hybrids are just some of the dangers out there.  A young boy called Ben Casper lives in a crumbling shopping mall called The Glass Palace with his family. He's just come back from a rites of passage into the brutal outside world that officially makes him an adult. Now he must get married and be trained to take over from his father as Mayor. Except he sees things differently now.  He doesn't want responsibility. The only things he truly wants is to go back out into the world and win the love of Brian, who happens to be his best friend's brother.  Only he might have responsibility thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods and save the world; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger... 

That You Are Here - Reviewed by Trix

That You Are Here by Meredith Allard

On the outside, handsome, successful attorney Andrew Whittaker has everything in life. On the inside, he has everything too, only he doesn't know it. He hides the love of his life, Mark Bryce, from his family and everyone else where he lives in Portland, Oregon. Soon the weight of the secret becomes too much for Andrew. After wrestling with himself and his place in the world, he must decide how he's going to live-with or without Mark.


Trix’s Review: 3.75 stars
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't felt so outraged at a character's treatment of his love interest since Jesse dragged Adam's heart around in Erica Pike's A LIFE WITHOUT YOU. Mark is the perfect boyfriend, kind and attentive. Not only does he make Andrew's lunch, he brings it to him at work when he forgets it. Have I mentioned that he's a Paris-trained baker famous for his chocolate raspberry tarts? (Mmm, chocolate raspberry tarts...sorry, lost my train of thought there.) Total strangers see what a treasure this guy is, and anyone (male or female) would date him in a heartbeat. Yet Andrew, his live-in lawyer boyfriend, repeatedly denies their relationship in public and even to his own family. While this seems a little far-fetched in supposedly tolerant Portland, Allard does establish plausible reasons why Andrew would behave this way. Andrew's ultra-conservative father has made his beliefs known, as have his bigoted law-firm bosses. While Andrew is overworked and preoccupied, that doesn't excuse his cold behavior to Mark. I found the story difficult to read sometimes because of this. Luckily, most of the other side characters are very sympathetic, which makes the second half flow more smoothly. While I was a little disappointed that external events drive Andrew's change of heart more than any realization he comes to on his own, they lead to a satisfying ending.

This is an atypical m/m story in certain ways. The physical intimacy is limited to a couple of kisses. The Portland setting is nearly a character in itself, with Allard opening most chapters with descriptions of the city and its neighborhoods. (These are interesting, but can get pretty verbose.) She experiments with different styles, sometimes breaking the fourth wall to address the reader. The climactic confrontation between Mark and Andrew is presented as a play within the book, delivered as stage directions. I found these switches rather jarring, but I did admire Allard's willingness to try something different. I'd give 3.5 stars for the first half and 4 stars for the second, so I'll average them out to 3.75.

Tempted by a Rogue Prince Blog Barrage

Tempted by a Rogue Prince, the third book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot new paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website. Read on for more details.

Tempted by a Rogue Prince and the Eternal Mates series is set in the same world as the Vampire Erotic Theatre series, so if you’re a fan of that series, you will love Eternal Mates. Throughout this series, you’ll have a chance to catch up with the cast of the Vampire Erotic Theatre series and learn more about their world. In Claimed by a Demon King, you’ll get to visit the theatre, and some of the favourite characters in the Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

Here’s more about Tempted by a Rogue Prince, including an excerpt.

Tempted by a Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series #3)

An elf prince on the verge of losing himself to the darkness, Vail is maddened by the forty-two centuries he was under the control of a witch and forced to war with his brother. Now, he roams Hell seeking an escape from his terrible past and the heads of all who bear magic. When demons of the Fifth Realm capture him, he sees a chance to end his existence, but when he wakes in a cell to a beautiful female, he finds not death but his only shot at salvation—his true fated mate.

Captured by the enemy of the Third Realm when the war ended, Rosalind has spent months in the cells of the Fifth Realm with her magic bound, forced to heal the new king’s demon warriors, and haunted by the lives she has taken. When she’s brought to heal an unconscious man, she discovers her only hope of escape has come in the form of her worst nightmare and the first part of a prediction that might spell her doom—a devastatingly handsome and dangerous dark elf prince.

Unwilling to fall under the control of anyone ever again, Vail must escape before the Fifth King can use him as a pawn in a deadly game of revenge, but he cannot leave without Rosalind, the woman who looks at him with dark desire in her stunning eyes and awakens a fierce hunger in his heart. A witch who drives him mad with need even as the darkness within whispers she will enslave him too.

Can Rosalind escape her fate as they embark on a journey fraught with danger and resist the temptation of her rogue elf prince? And can Vail overcome the memories that madden him in order to seize his chance for salvation and the heart of his fated female forever? 

Excerpt:

Rosalind stared at the unconscious male lying on the stone slab in the middle of the cell. Torchlight from the corridor beyond the thick metal bars lining one side of the dank windowless room flickered across his battered and bruised body, darkening every ugly mark and deep gash, and all the blood that stained him.

Was it his or had he hurt the bastard demons who had put him here?

She liked to think he had given them hell. Mostly because she couldn’t.

He hadn’t stirred in the five minutes she had been kneeling beside him, transfixed by the sight of him. He lay as if dead. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest was indication otherwise.

His hands rested on his stomach, his wrists bound by the same heavy metal cuffs that held hers. She wanted to find whoever had discovered this metal and how to impregnate it with a spell and blast them to hell. The manacles weakened her, stripping her of her powers. The only one available to her was the ability to heal, and she only had that one because the new Fifth King of the demons had given it back to her so she could heal all of the warriors who had been injured in the war with the Third King.

A war the Fifth Realm had lost when the old Fifth King had lost his head.

A war she had fought in on the side of King Thorne of the Third Realm.

A war that had changed her forever.

Since returning her ability to cast healing magic, the new Fifth King had used her whenever he had needed someone fixed, forcing her to do his bidding, and up until today, all of her patients had been demons belonging to his army.

But this man was no demon.

Her knees ached from pressing into the damp uneven stone floor but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He radiated dark energy that warned her away, telling her that he was dangerous, even as she felt drawn to him, snared by an unbreakable pull towards him.

Shuffling caught her attention and she looked across the unconscious man to the cell opposite his. A handsome man with long dark brown hair flecked with gold tied back with a thong and an unkempt beard leaned against the thick stone wall close to the bars of that cell, as bare-chested as her companion, although his skin was flawless with the exception of the fae markings that tracked up his arms and over his shoulders.

An incubus.

Rosalind muttered a protection spell beneath her breath, even though it wouldn’t work. It was a habit with her. She preferred to arm herself against an incubus’s charms before he could use them on her, luring her under his spell and having his way with her. Code of honour, her arse. These men pretended in public that they upheld their vow to never use their powers to seduce a woman who didn’t want to be seduced, but in private they employed those powers without a flicker of regret or care about their victim. She had seen it.

The man eyed her patient, blue and gold spotting his green irises, a sign of his incubus nature as much as the markings that announced his lineage.

“Let him die,” the man said, his voice a low growl of warning without a shred of compassion, and the swirls, dashes and spikes of his fae markings shimmered in hues of dark blue and burnished gold. Not anger. She knew that an incubus’s markings flared crimson and obsidian when they were angry. Judging by the look in his green eyes, this was something more like apprehension.

Why?

Rosalind glared at him and flicked her knotted blonde hair over her shoulder in defiance. “It isn’t in my nature to ignore the needs of another, especially if I feel I can help them, and I do feel I can help this man.”

He was gaunt though, sick and not from his injuries. His skin was sallow and grey, and he was too thin, the bones visible in the backs of his dirty hands. Many of his nails were cracked, caked with grime and dried blood.

“Let him die,” the incubus whispered. “This one isn’t worth saving, Little Girl.”

Rosalind turned her glare on him again. “Why do you say such nasty things? Do you know him?”

The incubus dropped his green gaze to the man, narrowed it, and then shifted it back to her. “Only by reputation, and if I were in your place, I would kill him and not save him. By killing him, you could be saving many lives, one this man may take if you allow him to live.”

Rosalind looked at the man in question, a cold heavy feeling pulling her insides down. She knew he was dangerous, but she knew nothing else about him. She didn’t know the incubus from Adam either, and for all she did know, he could be a compulsive liar or a sadistic bastard itching to get a hit of pleasure from watching her kill an innocent man.

She lifted her hand with the intent of touching her patient’s arm and funnelling a spell into him to sense whether the incubus was telling the truth about him, and remembered that such spells were beyond her right now. Locked away. She had never been without her magic. It was unsettling, strange, and left her feeling vulnerable.

The man on the cold stone slab before her twitched and moaned, the sound strained and filled with agony that tore at her and compelled her to help him.

“I don’t have power over this man’s life,” she whispered to him in reply to the incubus, her eyes fixed on his face, taking in the dark circles beneath his eyes and the hollows of his cheeks. “I don’t have the right to choose whether he lives or dies.”

“Because the demons told you to heal him?” the incubus said.

“No.” Rosalind shook her head and looked across at him. “Because it isn’t in my nature to do such a thing. I will heal him.”

The man scoffed. “And you will live to regret it, Little Girl.”

“I’m not a girl. I’m over one hundred years old… and do I look like a girl to you?” Rosalind stood and ran her hands down her tattered black dress, the traditional garb of a witch on duty.

The incubus’s eyes followed them, the blue and gold in his irises increasing, and he muttered, “No.”

He turned away, pressing his bare back against the bars of his cell and revealing the twin lines of markings where they joined between his shoulders and formed a line down his back that ended in a diamond above the waist of his low-slung black jeans.

At least he would be quiet now. She hoped. Healing always required focus, and something told her that this time it would need the highest level of concentration she could manage.

Something else told her that the incubus might be right. She might regret healing this man. If he was as dangerous as he felt, he might well kill her upon waking.

But maybe that would be what she deserved after the things she had done.

 

Find out how to enter the Tempted by a Rogue Prince international giveaway (ends August 24th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 6 chapter sample of the novel: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/tempted-by-a-rogue-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php

Felicity is also hosting a Facebook release party for Tempted by a Rogue Prince on August 17th, so join her then for amazing giveaways, Q&A, teasers and more. All the details can be found here.

Felicity has also offered up winner's choice of an e-copy of Kissed by a Dark Prince or Claimed by a Demon King.

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Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series:

Book 1: Kissed by a Dark Prince

Book 2: Claimed by a Demon King

Book 3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince

Book 4: Hunted by a Jaguar – coming in 2015

About Felicity Heaton:

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website     |     Blog     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Goodreads

Tempted by a Rogue Prince is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/tempted-by-a-rogue-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php