About S.J. Maylee

S.J. Maylee fell in love with storytelling at a young age and with it came a deep-seated desire for everyone to find their happily ever after. She’s finding the happy endings for her characters one steamy story at a time. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her caring for her garden, laughing with her two young sons, or dancing to her husband’s music. She’s a PMP (Project Management Professional), Nia instructor, and coffee addict. As a writer she has a tendency to break hearts, but she always glues them back together

Spotlight: His Allure, Her Passion by Juliana Haygert

Posted on March 20, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

I have all the details today on Juliana Haygerts latest book, His Allure, Her Passion. Click the pretty cover to see it on Goodreads. In this post you’ll find all the different ways to connect with Juliana, also the blurb, an excerpt, and the Rafflecopter code for the blitz giveaway, and the buy links. Enjoy.

His Allure, Her Passion

by Juliana Haygert

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication date: March 20, 2013
Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Goodreads | NA Alley

@Juliana_Haygert

BLURB:

In his father’s eyes, Dylan Deveraux is just a playboy spending the family fortune on prostitutes, alcohol, and fast cars. And it isn’t even with the cars his father produces. Because of that, his father forbids his presence at the ball that will mark the launch of the US plant of his company, strategically scheduled on Valentine’s Day.

Hayley Allen is a failing model with the worse luck in the world. She always ends up in the hands of cruel designers and photographers. At least, that’s what she tells herself. Better than admit having a weak nervous system that always reacted during her gigs. Desperate, she would do anything to help her career.

Dylan shows up at her door, wasted as usual. Friends for a long time, Hayley is the only one able to put up with Dylan’s bullshit, and he appreciates that, but not the way her heart wants.

Even though he doesn’t believe in Valentine’s Day, Dylan has an idea for his father’s ball. When he suggests a deal to Hayley, a deal that could finally put her in the spotlight of success and help him impress his father, she doesn’t hesitate. Even if it means hurting her heart a little more.

EXCERPT:

On tiptoes, Dylan crossed the short corridor and found Hayley sleeping on the couch. She looked peaceful, but he doubted she was really comfortable there. The pillow was on the floor, the comforter pressed in between her legs and arms, as if she was hugging it, her delicate feet propped on the arm of the couch. Her long amber hair fell around her shoulders, her tank top had ridden up, showing a piece of her soft midriff skin, and her breasts barely fit inside her tight top.

Shit. He turned his back to her, ashamed at having stared at her body.

But it was such a nice body, how could he resist? He peeked at her over his shoulder. He didn’t understand how she wasn’t a famous model yet. She was so, so beautiful.

He smiled, remembering the first time he saw her. They were at a party, and he spent over six hours trying to woo her, but she didn’t fall for his bullshit. No girl had ever resisted him—except Hayley. She was the first and only. And that’s how their friendship was born. Even though his instinct was to try and kiss her and sleep with her each time he saw her, Dylan had found a true friend in her, and for that he put his physical needs aside. She was the only one who understood his problems, his dark moments, who endured him, who saw past the bullshit, and didn’t throw herself at him. More importantly, she didn’t care about his fortune.

Hayley stirred, moaned, and opened her eyes. “What are you smiling about?”

Was he smiling? “Nothing.” He sat in an armchair beside the couch. As she sat up, she pulled the comforter up to hide herself. “Hey, hmm, sorry. I didn’t mean to take your bed.”

“I know.” She smiled and her green eyes shone.

“Was I too much of a jerk?”

“The usual.”

Their eyes locked and she lost her smile. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much shit about his life, but he was always afraid he’d push her away if she found out every one of his little messes. Wouldn’t it be better, though? For her? To be away from him and his bad influence? But then who would give him pep talks and receive drunken him with open arms in the wee hours of the night? Who would tell him everything would be okay? Who would give him a hug when he was down because of his brother? He had driven many, many times from Princeton to New York just to have one of those hugs.

She was one of those rare jewels and he couldn’t afford to lose her.

Feeling like a coward, Dylan averted his gaze.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BUY LINKS

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

BIO:
Juliana Haygert

Juliana is a Brazilian girl living in Connecticut.

She would love to be Wonder Woman, Cheetara, Elektra, Buffy, Phoebe, She-ra, Rose, Korra, Cornelia, a blood elf shadow priest, and other various kick-ass female from books, comics, TV series, movies, and games, but she settles for—the less exciting but equally gratifying life—a wife, mother, friend and a writer. Her heroines are like the ones cited above and she also writes about the heroes who drive them crazy—and occasionally hot.

Since her first stories, she wrote about 20-something year old protagonists, and today she’s part of NA Alley, a blog dedicated to New Adult.

Weekend Writing Warriors – Nerves and Romance

Posted on March 17, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Welcome friends new and old. I submitted a WIP late last year (my first submission ever) and this week it got a full request. Squee!! Would you dance with me a little. Thanks. 😀

In the Blind (working title), and you can see the past posts from this WIP here. The Logline: When a head hunter finds her dream lover in a night of pitch black unrestrained passion, she fears she’ll never find him again. Fate steps in and throws the two together, but they might never discover the truth and stay in the blind.

Over the past few weeks I’ve shared Jane’s experience at Club Blind and her business opportunity that put her in touch with Rob. Last Week We met Rob and his best friend. Rob’s just a little excited to see Jane again. Now I give you 8 more from the end of their conversation.

“Thank you, you were right, and now I’ve got a hot date.”

“You’ve got a business meeting. Don’t mess it up.”

Rob hung up the phone and picked up his basketball, rolling the ball around in his hands, he paced the room. Concern took over his excitement. He would mess everything up if he didn’t tell Jane about Gina. There had to be a way to tell the woman you wanted about the woman you no longer loved. He’d hoped to have a first date with Jane before he had to bring up his ex-wife.

“Shit, I am going to mess this up.”

Somebody’s nervous. Next week I promise to give you a snippet from when Jane and Rob meet. Thank you so much for visiting me, it means a lot to me that you took the time to visit my little place on the web. Don’t forget to check out the other Weekend Warriors, and Saturday Spankings too. I hope to see you again next Sunday.

ROW80 check-in #54 Forced Vacation

Posted on March 17, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Click to find links to the other ROW80 participants

I was knocked down by illness this week. My oldest got it first and the next day it took over my body. I spent all of Tuesday in bed. I can’t remember the last time I slept that much. I dragged myself out of bed on Wednesday, my muscles protested but I forced their hand. Turns out, I should have listen to them, it wasn’t long before I was back in bed. I’m still working on building up my energy. I swear my youngest has gained ten-pounds this week, but the hubs is telling me no. I’m still pretty weak and I have no appetite, but I need to eat to build my strength. It’s an uncomfortable circle right now. It’s also been a monster of a week. Now my youngest has a fever. Seriously. Spring, where are you.

The week wasn’t a total fail, nope. Wednesday, when I dragged myself out of bed, I found a full request in my inbox. That’s right, A FULL REQUEST!! 😀

It seems the world went right on spinning while I was in bed. Veronica Mars is going to be a movie, totally awesome. We have a new pope too, rad.

My effort this week on goals is pretty much nonexistent. It stressed me out at first and then I stopped feeling guilty about it. My system was refusing to negotiate anyway. The only thing I can do is listen to me, get better, and start fresh this week. Have you had a forced vacation recently?

The Goals – week-10 results

Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- not done. The only progress I made here was some reading on my CPs latest WIP on Saturday. WEEK 11 PRIORITY.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- not done WEEK 11 PRIORITY.
Daily Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- not done WEEK 11 PRIORITY
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I finished an important letter and made several deposits.
Organize something in the house each week- done. I’ve talked about making improvements to my work-space and last week I had another idea. Friday I did force myself out of the house for some fresh air and I picked up a few supplies. My husband has a Container Store run to make for me and then I should be good to give this idea a try.

What you might have missed here this week:

Review: Corporate Temptress by Stacey Kennedy

Posted on March 11, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

I have a very special treat for you. Today I’m shining the spotlight on Stacey Kennedy and her latest release, Corporate Temptress. Below you’ll find all the book details, the beautiful cover (click it to see the book on Goodreads), the blurb, my review, excerpt, the buy links, Stacey’s bio and all the places you can find her on the web. Enjoy.

Corporate Temptress

by: Stacey Kennedy

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
ISBN: 9781419941092
Length: Novelette
Heat Level: Sizzling (BDSM Elements)
Release date: January 30, 2013
Price: $2.99

BLURB:

Evan needs to finalize the details of an important merger. Problem is, the deal has come to a standstill because of the rival company’s drop-dead gorgeous CEO. Frustrated as he is with the woman, Evan can’t keep his mind off Brooke’s overt sexuality. He demands she sign the paperwork or the deal is dead. But Brooke has demands of her own. She’ll sign the contract…for one night of no-strings sex.

That’s a lusty merger Evan can’t possibly refuse.

SJ’s REVIEW:

This is erotica done extremely well. I’m a big fan of Stacey Kennedy, love her voice. This is my first EC for men read and it’s obvious men will love reading this quick story told from the man’s POV. BUT, take notice ladies, you’ll love this too. It’s hot, yes, it’s smoken, plus the story has characters you’ll love. Brooke is definitely a temptress, she’s a powerful heroine and does not shy from taking what she wants. The story builds and builds and explodes at the perfect time. It’s quick, it’s hot, and it’s easy to recommend to both men and women. I give Corporate Temptress five-stars.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

EXCERPT:

Evan Marshall slowly stood from his seat, glaring down the long table of executives. “You accept now, or the deal is dead.”

Brooke Silverwood, CEO of Silverwood Bayes, a research and development investment company, leaned forward, giving him a full view of her cleavage. “I do believe we can do without the threats, Mr. Marshall.”

While this merger would bring together two powerful companies—his successful business, Marshall & Pasley, a research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare company, and Brooke’s multimillion dollar enterprise—the endless back and forth about the merger grated on his last nerve.

More to the point, each hour spent with her only increased his frustrations. He’d grown tired of being teased by her, whether she was aware of it or not. If something didn’t break soon, he’d bend her over that table, lift her skirt and bury himself deep into her cunt.

Too bad for him an ugly truth remained—business before pleasure, something he had to continually remind himself of. This deal would secure his company. His cock held no place in these discussions.

At his continuing silence, Brooke gave him a sassy smile then she glanced around the room, focusing on each of the men who made up her team. “Let me speak with Mr. Marshall alone for a minute.” Gesturing toward the door, she continued in her husky voice, “Leave us.”

Without hesitation, her team left the modern office and Evan snorted. Being a CEO of his own company, he could understand the power she held, but he wouldn’t have responded to her in that quick of a fashion.

Even over the past days, she held quite the presence and he admired that about her. But he wanted to teach the woman that not every man bent to her will. And he wanted to give her the lesson with her naked and beneath him.

Realizing his thoughts had once again traveled to a place he shouldn’t go, he stretched his neck, focusing his mind back into his brain instead of in his pants. He should never have offered to flesh out the details of the merger and should’ve sent his business partner Robert Pasley instead. Then he wouldn’t have suffered a 24/7 hard-on for days now, nor would he have spent every night and morning jerking off to ease the tension.

Robert had dealt with the merger up until this point, since he always managed the business end. Evan handled the employees and other in-office details. The partnership worked. This shit wasn’t anything he preferred.

As the thought raced through his mind, he also knew exactly why he’d come to New York City. His dick had led him there. That deep, sensual tone of Brooke’s on the telephone meetings had been the entire reason he came instead of Robert. He’d had to meet this woman.

Only problem?

The fantasy of her he’d built in his mind didn’t compare to the reality. He suspected that raspy voice wouldn’t belong to an attractive woman. Brooke, with her long, straight dark hair, womanly figure and pouty lips that he’d imagined sucking him off—a few times over—stunned him.

However, his marvel of her lasted a day. Now she merely frustrated him to no end, teasing him every day with her tight skirts, shirts that always fell open to show off her tits and her sexy legs.

Giving his head a shake to clear it, he watched her. Brooke remained at the head of the table, her baby blues lined with black makeup staying focused on him. “Mr. Marshall, I’m in agreement over the merger.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Ms. Silverwood.”

Her eyebrows rose at the obvious bite to his voice before her seductive grin slid back into place. “Before we close the deal, I believe there are some final details to work out.”

She stood from her seat then strode toward the door. His focus went straight to her heart-shaped ass clad in a black skirt, which hugged all her fine curves. Exactly how he liked his women; an ass that could take a pounding without fear he’d break her.

As he watched her strut, his dick twitched at the way her hips swayed. She might have moved with such grace without realizing it, but he didn’t much care. He’d love to see that body sliding so elegantly over his, drenched in sweat from a seriously good screw.

When she locked the office door, his semi-hard cock went rock-hard. What’s she up to? She turned back to him and her blue eyes had darkened, those sensual lips of hers parted. He straightened his back, tightening his fists at his sides as heat pooled into his groin.

“Now that we’re alone, we can agree on a few conditions.” Her voice had somehow grown throatier and his cock acknowledged the power her voice had over him by throbbing.

He followed her every step as she approached him. Those longs legs, perfect silky calves and fuck-me heels that brought his thoughts to X-rated places delighted him. “Conditions?”

She unbuttoned her suit jacket then tossed it onto one of the chairs. His mouth went dry. Her pink silk top hung delicately over her luscious frame. She had round and soft breasts that he could bury his face into and curves that no woman should possess, since they could be his undoing.

Once in front of him, she stared intently, angling her head up to meet his gaze, since she was a good bit shorter than he. “I’ll sign the deal. Merge the companies. But you have one condition to meet before I do.”

Am I imagining this?

The woman was a corporate temptress—not only did she succeed in business, but she succeeded in the art of seduction. He found himself captivated. From her husky voice to the confident twinkle in her gaze and even her choice of clothing appeared to tease a man. But was she coming on to him or was this wishful thinking?

He swallowed, refusing his instincts to grab on to her and see if her mouth tasted as good as it looked. “Again, what conditions?”

“The issue between us.”

He inhaled, catching a whiff of her sweet perfume, but beneath it, all he scented was aroused woman. “Issue?”

She slid her finger up his forearm in a slow, seductive caress and he tensed. “Now now, Evan. I never took you for a man who didn’t see things for how they are.” Her gaze followed the path her finger took and heat rushed through his veins. “You think I haven’t noticed how you fuck me with your eyes.”

Her blunt statement tightened his muscles. Women never spoke that like. Not unless he dreamed of it, then fantasized over it later. But what game was she playing? First she’d teased him for days and now she increased it? “Point being?”

“Well, you see,” her fingernail continued to trail up his arm, “for us to continue with this merger, we can’t have this distraction.”

That rich tone of hers drifted over him, making his desires rear up. The tickle from her nail awakened the part of him that wanted to bang her ruthlessly. Right now the merger happened to be the last thing on his mind.

“This deal will merge two top companies together and we need to focus to see it succeed.” Her gaze lifted and her tongue slid across her lip, drawing his focus to her luscious mouth. “How can we focus with this sexual tension between us?”

He paused, considering if he’d heard her correctly. Had the blood rushing to his cock somehow switched off his mind? “How do you want to fix that?”

She put her hand on his chest and as she slid it down his stomach, he gritted his teeth. That light touch of hers continued until she cupped his erection. “You get the merger.” She stroked him slowly. “I get this.”

BUY LINKS:

BIO:

Stacey Kennedy’s novels are lighthearted fantasy with heart-squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and even give a good chuckle every now and again. But within the stories you’ll also find fast-paced action, life-threatening moments, and a big bad villain who needs to be destroyed. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband and two children. If she’s not plugging away at a new story—which is rare because her muse is annoying—you’ll find her camping, curling up with the latest flick, or obsessing over Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural and Dexter.

Stacey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her at:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Goodreads ~ Amazon

@Stacey_Kennedy

Weekend Writing Warriors – She Called

Posted on March 10, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Welcome friends new and old. I’m giving you 8 from my hero’s POV as promised. I kept my other promise this week too, I’ve sent this MS to my CP. Wahoo!

Over the past few weeks I’ve shared Jane’s experience at Club Blind. Last Week Jane kept her mind from drifting to her mystery man, from the club, by working on a job opening for a VIP client. She met the perfect match for the job last month at a technology conference. She got Rob to agree to a meet. Lucky for us the first thing Rob does is call his best friend, Marcus.

“Marcus, she called.”

“Who is this?”

“Stop it, you know what I’m talking about.” He opened his closet and searched for the right suit.

“You think? You’ve only managed to squeeze Jane into almost every conversation since that convention.”

“No, I have not.”

“Do you want a recap?”

Sounds like those boys like to give each other a good ribbing. So, Rob has been thinking about Jane, very interesting. Do you want 8-more from this WIP next week? I could give you 8 from when Jane and Rob met or should I give you something from an entirely new WIP?

Thank you so much for visiting me, it means a lot to me that you took the time to visit my little place on the web. Don’t forget to check out the other Weekend Warriors, and Saturday Spankings too. I hope to see you again next Sunday.

ROW80 check-in #53 Laughter and a Promise

Posted on March 10, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Click to find links to the other ROW80 participants

What would you do if you opened your front door on a Sunday afternoon and found your two best friends who you haven’t seen in over a year?

I’ll tell you what I’d do, because I did it last Sunday. I screamed, I hugged, and then I started to cry. Some surprises are down right fabulous. Last weekend I ~~survived~~ celebrated another birthday and my prince of a husband contacted my two besties and asked for something he knew I wanted. They both live a couple hours away and I hardly ever get to see them. It was one of the best days ever. We talked and laughed for over five hours. We reminisced about our crazy teenage years, experiences we’ve shared and missed over the years, and we supported each other.

Those two girls have my back and I know they always will no matter what. Not much can lift your spirits than knowing something like that for certain. I’ve made some good friends through the years and many of them I’ve met over the past year since starting this blog. Thank you for being here, I appreciate each of you.

When I started this journey I set many goals for myself. We all know anything worth fighting for is worth waiting for. There is no better time to remind yourself of that than when you come up against a hurdle or when you get knocked down. I’ve come a long way in the past year, but I have many hurdles and hoops to go.

The next hurdle I come to, I’m going to remember my two friends, remember how they have my back. I’ll keep picking myself up and I’ll keep going. At each hurdle I’ll take the time to figure out if what I’m doing is still putting me in the path towards my goals. If not, I’ll change my path, but I’ll keep going. This is my promise to me, my birthday gift to me.

Have you had a happy surprise recently? How do you push past hurdles put in your path? Have you made a promise to yourself lately?

The Goals – week-9 results

Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I finished the sixth Lecture in my Margie Packet. I finished editing my WIP and sent it to the CP. I also got a WIP I haven’t finished loaded into Scrivener, I’m hoping to finally figure out the end.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- DONE.
Daily Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- kind of done. This week I enjoyed new movement and got lost in the joy of dancing in my bodies way. WEEK 10 PRIORITY
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I finished some additional reporting this week and attended a parent meeting. Finally an easier week.
Organize something in the house each week- done. My parents came up this weekend. While I organized my work space (the dining room table) in preparation for their arrival, I had an idea for how to better organize the paperwork I keep around me. I’m looking forward to making some simple purchases that will neaten my workspace and make it easier to clear the space when needed. I also cleaned out my frig, gave it a good scrub. So nice when you can see all the yummies.

What you might have missed here this week:

Blitz Party for Storm Dancer by Rayne Hall

Spotlight on Leave Taking by Angelica Dawson in Serviced: Volume 1 <– see Angelica’s blog for details on their Giveaway

Spotlight on Leave Taking by Angelica Dawson in Serviced: Volume 1

Posted on March 8, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Serviced: Volume 1

Publisher: Breathless Press
Released: March 1st 2013
Word Count: 65,386

All’s fair in love and war, they say. Come find out if it’s true in these ten stories where soldiers prove that their skills in the field are only rivaled by their skills in the bedroom.

For One Night Only by Allie A Burrow
Over A Dead Body by Leona Bushman
Reds, Whites, and Blues by Mickey J. Corrigan
Leave Taking by Angelica Dawson
First Date The Italian Colonel by Jesabelle Jones
Major’s Minah by Raven McAllan
Knock Out by Natalia Petrovskii
A Chance At Love by Shelli Rosewarne
Taking Command by Zara Stoneley
Riding Out the Storm by Natalia Petrovskii

EXCERPT – Leave Taking by Angelica Dawson

A smile spread over my face and I closed the door quietly behind me, setting my duffel on the floor. Unless I missed my guess, Dani was upstairs singing in the bathtub. I had dreamed of her leaping into my arms at the door, but fate had given me a better surprise. I twitched in my pants as I pulled off my boots, thinking about her with each note and splash coming from the bathroom. I padded up the stairs.

“I don’t want, anybody else. When I think about you, I touch myself…”

I bit hard on my knuckles to keep from making a sound. The first muffle was laughter. The second was a groan as I peeked through the crack in the door. Danielle was shaving her legs, careful quick strokes down each long white limb. I sighed and adjusted myself. God, she had beautiful legs. I didn’t want to startle her while she had the blade in her hand.

The whole time she kept on singing with the music. “When I’m feeling down, I want you above me.”Oh, I was going to be above her all right. She was soaping her arms now and I didn’t mind giving her a little scare. I yanked the door open and she screamed, plunging her head under the water.

The Divinyls continued to touch themselves while I chortled and lunged to the tub, sitting on its edge despite the water coming over the side.

Dani’s head came up at the sound of my laugh. “Will! You scared the shit out of me! Don’t you ever… You’re home!” She jumped out of the tub to hug me, knocking us both to the tiled floor.

I kept laughing, nearly as wet as she was, holding her as she kissed my face.

“You don’t have to touch yourself anymore, honey,” I told her, still laughing. “I’ll be happy to do it for you.”

BUY LINKS

Breathless Press | Amazon

BIO

Angelica Dawson is the author of Blue Moon House and contributor to two anthologies, Campus Sexploits 3 and Serviced 1. Although her job as an environmental consultant makes her no stranger to the blood sucking hoards, she has been disappointed to find they are only mosquitoes and black flies instead of vampires.

Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ blog

@AngelicaDawson

Blitz Party for Storm Dancer by Rayne Hall

Posted on March 4, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Today we’ll explore the Epic Fantasy world of author Rayne Hall. This post is packed full of all the details on Storm Dancer. Below you’ll find the BLURB, TRAILER, and EXCERPT. Also below you’ll find the links for all the places you can find Storm Dancer, Rayne’s BIO AND a GIVEAWAY for Stories from the Storm Dancer World.

Storm Dancer

by Rayne Hall

Publisher: Scimitar Press
Length: 469 Pages
Sub-Genres: Epic Fantasy

Blurb:

Six short stories from the mystical Bronze Age world of the dark epic fantasy novel Storm Dancer. The stories span the fantasy and horror genres, varying in tone from light to dark, from quirky to disturbing. Some have been previously published in magazines, ezines, collections and anthologies, others appear here for the first time. British spellings.

Excerpt:

Suddenly the air sang with danger. A rider vaulted off his grey horse. The sight of his moss-green tunic and plaited belt hit her guts. This was one of the Consort’s henchmen, a thousand miles from the palace. Had he come to arrest her?

She took a step back, poised for flight.

“A reading, please, seer.” His voice was deep like a slow-flowing river, smooth on top but dangerous beneath.

She allowed herself to meet his eyes, as if she had nothing to fear from his kind. Although his mouth smiled, his eyes were bitter-dark like olives. An aura of vibrant intelligence was enveloped in intense bitterness, and under his cheerful courtesy, pain radiated from him like heat searing from a fire.

Her instincts screamed at her to pull free from the dangerous power before it could burn her, but a genuine wandering seer would not panic at the sight of a palace official, and bolting would draw his suspicion.

She forced herself to stay in her role. “Your hands,” she demanded, careful to hide her accent.

The hands were wrong: Brown, with short dirty nails, calloused, rough and ridged with old scars, they did not belong to a courtier, nor even to a guard.

At the moment of touch, shock surged through her, sending tingles all over her body. Her stomach felt as if a pestle was running along the inside of a stone mortar. Several futures flashed by her vision, too fast to hold, then his past dragged her in. She heard screams of terror and pain, and smelled the stench of burning flesh. This man was burning in the fire of his own soul.

Buy Links:

Amazon.com UK | Kobobooks.com | Smashwords.com | iTunes

March 1 Close Encounters with the Night Kind http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com
March 3 Gayle Remage: http:// www.gayleramage.co.uk
March 6 A Little Bit of Naughty http:// alittlebitofnaughty.blogspot.com
March 9 The TBR Blog: http://tbrtheblog.blogspot.com/
March 10 The Log Line Blog : http://theloglineblog.blogspot.com/
March 11 Elizabeth Morgan’s My World: http://xxxxmyworldxxxx.blogspot.com/
March 11 Francis Pauli: http://francespauli.blogspot.com
March 12 SnifferWalk: http://www.snifferwalk.org
March 13 Read 2 Review: http://read2review.com/
March 14 Read Between the Lines: http://www.rbtlreviews.com

BIO:

Rayne Hall has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3 (mild horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes, The World-Loss Diet and Writing Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).

She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies and more.

Rayne Hall

Google ~ Twitter ~ Google+ ~ Facebook ~ Linkedin.com ~ Brandyourself.com

Goodreads.com ~ Independentauthornetwork.com ~ Youtube

@RayneHall

~ GIVEAWAY ~

Every comment will be entered to win a copy of “The Colour of Dishonour – Stories from the Storm Dancer World” I’ll be using Random.org Wednesday morning to find the lucky commentor.

Blurb: Six short stories from the mystical Bronze Age world of the dark epic fantasy novel Storm Dancer. The stories span the fantasy and horror genres, varying in tone from light to dark, from quirky to disturbing. Some have been previously published in magazines, ezines, collections and anthologies, others appear here for the first time. British spellings.

Weekend Writing Warriors and the Write Club meet Rob

Posted on March 3, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

Welcome friends new and old, warriors and write club members alike. I’m going to give you a couple more posts from the story I’ve been sharing. The first draft is finished and I’m in full on edit mode. I will hit send to the CP this week. I will. 🙂

In the Blind (working title), and you can see the past six posts from this WIP here. The Logline: When a head hunter finds her dream lover in a night of pitch black unrestrained passion, she fears she’ll never find him again. Fate steps in and throws the two together, but they might never discover the truth and stay in the blind.

Over the past few weeks I’ve shared Jane’s experience at Club Blind. Last Week Jane worked at remembering her mystery man, from the club, only provided her with a transition back into dating. Jane’s just gotten a chance to fill a job opening for a VIP client. She knows exactly who she wants applying for the job, he has the necessary skills, plus he’s the fantasy man she met last month. A fantasy because, although they hit it off and he’s been divorced for some time, he was still wearing the ring. She’s gotten the man on the phone and laid out a proposition to meet and discuss the opportunity. Will he agree or won’t he?

The silence on the phone grew deafening as her heart thumped in her chest. “Come on, I’ll buy you a great cup of coffee.” She’d never get another chance to help Keller, if she didn’t find him the right candidate. She also wanted to find out if Rob had taken off his ring.

“Okay, tomorrow, eleven o’clock at the place just past Clark on Diversey, lake side.”

“Sounds perfect, but make it nine and wear a suit.”

Jane is in the zone and calling the shots, will that continue through their meet? Come back next week and I’ll give you some from Rob’s POV. Until then, I hope you enjoyed my ~~eight~~ six today. Thank you so much for visiting me, it means a lot to me that you took the time to visit my little place on the web. Don’t forget to check out the other Write Club, Weekend Warriors, and Saturday Spankings too. I hope to see you again next Sunday.

ROW80 check-in #52 Editing and Birthday Treats

Posted on March 3, 2013 by S.J. Maylee

My goal this week was to look on the bright side. Yesterday I turned another year older, the annual event I’ve come to loathe. Oh, I know it’s just a number. I even tried to play a few games with it. I tried not to think about it, that didn’t work. I tried to stall, but the calendar kept moving. I tried to convince myself I was 10-years younger I’m too smart for that one. Figures.

If I have to turn older then we can all eat cake,

Photo Credit: Lynn Kelley Author

looks like someone’s already eaten half of this one. Bet it was yummy.

While I was trying to ignore my impending dooms day, I dove into edits. Last week I had a hard time getting the ball rolling, but this week the wheels started to turn and I finished the first (for story) and second (to fix passive voice, remove unnecessary words, and add in all kinds of visceral responses) read throughs. I’m going to give it one more read through and then I will send it to the CP. I will.

I survived my birthday and I cruised through a week of edits <– bright side. Look at me. I’m a champion. 🙂

What have you championed lately? Tell me your happy endings and let’s celebrate together.

The Goals – week-8 results

Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I finished the fifth and started the sixth Lectures in my Margie Packet and I edited everyday this week. I’ve read through the WIP twice now and it’s time to warn the CP. It’s almost ready.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- DONE. By the hair of my chinny chin chin 🙂
Daily Nia study (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- kind of done. A part of my teacher membership I can pick 4-routines a year from the library. The packet includes, the music CD, the routine on a DVD, and the standard supporting documents. I have not yet picked one, silly me. I picked one this week and it arrived yesterday. I’m looking forward to the new movement. WEEK 9 PRIORITY
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I’m actually surprised I got anything else done this week. This goal took a massive amount of time. I finished deposits, reports, invoicing, and prep for a huge event yesterday which I did not attend. I was too busy ~~hiding~~ celebrating my birthday. Anyways, I got it all done. Wow.
Organize something in the house each week- done. Well, sort of. It was my birthday yesterday. So instead of organizing the house I pampered myself with at home spa stuff. I organized myself a bit, that counts, right? lol. You can agree with me, it was my birthday. 🙂