Monday, February 23, 2015

Author, Ana Raine

Please welcome author, Ana Raine.


Author, Ana Raine (a self-portrait)
Author bio:

            Ana is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life, although social work seems to be the most likely. Her best friends are a box of chocolate and her kitten who always sit beside her while she writes. When Ana was in high school, she often wrote about the LGBT community, but now her work is less…innocent. Ana enjoys writing anything and everything, including BDSM, dragons, shifters, magic, and more.

If you’d like to follow her, here is her blog site. http://anarainebooks.blogspot.com/

LIBERATE from the Hidden Oaks series

My inspiration for writing the Hidden Oaks series came from my interest in Mental Hospitals and how society characterizes who belongs in them and who doesn't. I currently am working on my Master’s of Social work and wanted to incorporate that aspect and my all time favorite genre, shape shifters, into a book series. Something that felt personal during writing Liberate, in particular, was developing the relationship between Carson and Tate and what exactly should be said and when in regards to Carson being different from the other Changelings. Even though he eventually shifts, he is worried that he won’t ever be like Carson and his friends and struggles with whether or not he belongs there and should fight against the government corporation, JIA for freedom.

            I hope readers will enjoy this read as much as I enjoyed writing it. I liked the inner monologues Carson as he finds his place as an individual and as a mate to a wolf.
Ana Raine







Liberate (Hidden Oaks 3) by Ana Raine

Blurb:

Carson and Tate have been running for months, trying to evade the JIA so they don't end up lab specimens for the ruthless organization. In a last ditch effort, Carson and Tate head to Alaska, where other Changelings are congregating in an attempt to find a way to control their thoughts and emotions when they shift to their animal forms.

The secret to maintaining their human consciousness may lie in Carson's blood, but Carson believes he no longer holds the key to his kind's freedom. With their future on the line, Carson realizes the most important part of his life will forever be his mate, Tate, but how can he trust a man who never tells him the whole truth?

Buy Link:

R-Excerpt:

“Carson,” his voice was velvety smooth and sweet behind me. The motel we were currently in wasn’t all that bad, everything considered. At least the locks on the door worked and our room overlooked a pool that didn’t look completely gross.
            “You’re back,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around my naked chest. I’d always been slender and small, unlike my very attractive mate who beat me in stature and height. But our lack of eating had only made my frame smaller, if such a thing were possible.
            “I’m sor-“
            I held up a hand to stop him, afraid my legs would give out beneath my staggering body if I didn’t. “If you’re going to say you’re sorry, please don’t.”
            His ice blue eyes softened and he ran a hand through his shiny blond hair. My hair tickled my bare shoulders because of how long it was getting.
            I suddenly laughed a nervous gesture. “Do you happen to have any scissors?”
            He smiled and joked, “Aren’t planning on giving up, are you?”
            “No, just want to cut my hair.”
            His eyes darkened as he crossed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Now why would you do something like that when your hair is so gorgeous?”
            I blushed all the way up to my ears. Even after all we’d been through, he still did that to me. “What’s in the bag?”
            We switched cars and license plates so often; I was starting to feel like we were in an action flick. Tate had gone out alone to get some supplies, which always drove me crazy with worry.
            “Ah,” he flashed his straight white teeth. When he transformed into a wolf, his teeth became sharp and even whiter. “Food, clothes, surprise…”
            I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of surprise?”
            Going over to the bed, he picked through the multiple grocery bags before tossing me one. The first thing I saw was a box of cookies, which I eagerly tore open like a ravenous animal and bit into. The second was a pair of swim trunks, bright blue.
            When I looked at him, mouth full of cookie, he held up another pair of swim trunks. Nodding his head towards the pool, he asked softly, “Want to go?”
            I swallowed, “It’s practically midnight.”
            “Motels don’t have curfews for that sort of thing. And even if they do, I didn’t see a sign anywhere.”
            Tate was giving me the most bemused expression so I had to ask. “What on Earth is so funny?”
            “You. Even after everything, you’re still one to follow rules.”
            I blanched and pulled down my pants so I could change into the swim trunks. “I was going to be a psychologist.”
            “You still could,” Tate whispered, eyeing my brief nakedness with a look of raw hunger in his eyes.
            “If I can ever remember what I was studying,” I admitted, tying the string securely around my hips.

A GIVEAWAY!!!
Ana Raine will be giving a digital copy of LIBERATE to someone who comments. Be sure to include your email address in your comment to enter to win.

Monday, February 16, 2015

SHAUNA AURA KNIGHT

About Shauna Aura Knight
An artist, author, and presenter, Shauna is the author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy including Werewolves in the Kitchen, Werewolves with Chocolate, A Winter Knight’s Vigil, and A Fading Amaranth. Her mythic artwork and designs are used for magazine covers, book covers, and illustrations. She travels nationally offering intensive education in the transformative arts of community leadership, facilitation, and personal transformation, and is the author of articles and books on those subjects. 


I admit it. I’m a bit of a Valentine’s Day curmudgeon. I was really awkward in high school and college so I was lonely and full of angst, and later on when I was in actual relationships there were a few Valentine’s Day total fails. Really…they’re so bad I’ll probably have to write them into a future story some time. They fall into that category of “things I couldn’t make up if I tried.” That’s my rule of thumb for whether I should include something in a book. If the only thing I get out of it is entertaining readers, I’ll take it.

However, I have another admission to make. The truth is, I dream about that perfect Valentine’s Day with a lover. I’m an introvert, so for me, that would be ordering take-out for dinner, chocolate, and a guy who’s a complete romantic.

When I got the idea for Werewolves with Chocolate, it was supposed to just be a quick little short story as a sequel to Werewolves in the Kitchen. I envisioned a sexy little snippet about Jake and Kyle working to make Ellie’s first Valentine’s Day with them special, even though they don’t fully understand the human custom. I also wanted to explore Jake and Kyle’s relationship a bit, as a number of folks who read Werewolves in the Kitchen wanted some Kyle/Jake action, and I didn’t have enough space to include that in the first story.

So I dreamed up a feast of chocolate and choreographing Jake, Kyle, and Ellie together. Plotting out threesome scenes is two parts sexy and one part hilarious mental gymnastics. Whose leg is that? Where is her arm? Who’s doing what? How did he get there?

As I started writing, though, I couldn’t just stop at a hot threesome. Suddenly, they were interrupted by an injured werewolf from their pack, and that led to a road trip back to the werewolf pack clanholding, and all that became one absolutely frustrating interlude for three pent-up mates who really want to blow off some steam together.

Even though my plotting “ruined” Jake and Kyle’s intended plan for their date, Ellie has some plans of her own and it all unfolds in a way that I think people will enjoy. While I may have had some bad V-days in my past, I’m committed to giving my characters really lovely romantic dates when their stories happen on Valentine’s day. I hope you enjoy the story!

This book is available FREE for a limited time for those who join my newsletter. Click here to read a sexy excerpt and join my e-list if you’d like your copy.  http://www.shaunaauraknight.com/books/fiction-books/

It’s also available free on Jupiter Gardens Press: http://jupitergardenspress.com/shop/werewolves-with-chocolate/

           

WEREWOLVES WITH CHOCOLATE

Blurb for Werewolves With Chocolate:

Jake and Kyle have big plans for Ellie. The three of them will be celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together, and the two werewolves have prepared a feast of chocolates, fruits, and desserts to seduce her. After several busy weeks Ellie’s looking forward to a relaxing weekend with her mates; their pent up lust boils within her blood. However, when an injured werewolf shows up on their doorstep, the three have to deal with pack politics on the most romantic weekend of the year. Sex and chocolate had been in the plans, but now the mix includes a pissed off werewolf pack and the threat of war with enemy wolves. Will the dangers of the shifter underworld force them apart?

Excerpt:

Kyle and Jake lifted their heads at Ellie’s footstep. Their eyes went wide. “What…what is that?”

“You once told me,” Ellie said with a particularly saucy smile, “That if I ever dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, neither of you would be responsible for your actions. So I did a little shopping,” she caressed her hand down the red cloak, “and I had my friend Jenny in the costuming department make this up for me as a Valentine’s Day present for the two of you.” She pouted. “But the two of you pounced on me early and it wasn’t ready.”

She let the red cloak part a little, revealing the red garters, thigh highs, and a sexy red satin slip. Jake’s jaw dropped, and Kyle let out a low rumble.

“You….”

“That….”

“It’s so….”

“Red.”

Hearing the twin growls, Ellie’s eyes went wide at how fast their faces went feral. They stalked her from either side and she felt the instinct to run, but all she could do was step back against the wall.

“Bedroom.”

“Now.”

She felt herself get hauled up over Kyle’s shoulder and then she was tossed on the bed.


FREE!
Check out the longer excerpt here and join my email list to get your copy.
http://www.shaunaauraknight.com/books/fiction-books/