Extracting Through The Veil by Shiloh Walker

Found wandering in a field as a child, Lee Ross was given a name by the state and placed in a foster home–without anyone realizing she wasn’t entirely human. All her life, she’s tried to dismiss the odd dreams that have plagued her, dreams of monsters creeping through the night and a man, fighting demons by her side. But the bruises she wakes up with are all too real to ignore

Then the man from dreams appears in the flesh. His name is Kalen and he insists that her destiny lies in his world, the world of her dreams. To save their people, he must convince Lee to give everything she knows, follow her heart and cross into the Under Realm, even though once she does, she’ll never be able to return.

Just a quick note: this is from the unedited review copy.

Extracting The Last Man On Earth by Raine Weaver

My relationship with Raine Weaver isn’t friendship exactly. She picks on me, and I pick on her–that’s how I got the excerpt out of her. Maybe it’s mutual antagonism? But in a good way. Sorta, we strike off happy sparks of each other rather than hungry flames of revenge.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy the excerpt. The Last Man on Earth releases today from Samhain Publishing. (Links updated!)

This is NOT a test…

Iris Foley and Russell Carr are old friends who share everything. As they indulge in a marathon viewing of old, campy horror films on a stormy Halloween night, they are suddenly faced with the very real possibility that something has happened to the outside world.

Just as the last gasp of the Emergency Broadcast System issues a dire warning, they are plunged into isolation and darkness. Naturally, they decide to do what any frightened, civic-minded young couple would do.

They decide to have sex.

Now if only old fears, a surprise adversary, and the Apocalypse wouldn’t keep getting in their way…

Click the link below to read more!

Extracting Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge

The first book a thrilling, addictive new series by a talented new voice in dark fantasy. Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night…Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she’s just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders-a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend…until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can’t resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dimitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But Luna and Dimiri will need to rely on each other as they’re plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity…

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the glowing blue display on my alarm clock, placidly telling me it was 3:23 a.m. I registered that the wind had picked up and the trellis roses were lashing back and forth outside my window, casting kinky shadow patterns across the bar of moonlight streaming in.

Over the face of the man standing above my bed. He pressed a hand across my mouth before I could breath, strong as a steel plate.

I kicked up and out, struggling to free my arms, but my heavy quilt effectively had me pinned. I stared up at his face, a plain black stocking mask and two shiny dark eyes. That charred smell rolled out from him and choked my nostrils.

Oh, this is good, Luna. You drug yourself insensible and totally miss the fact some wacko pervert has snuck into your bedroom until he’s right on top of you.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. His voice was high and smooth.

I tried to say “Kind of impossible with your hand across my face, jackass,” but what came out was “Kurmph!”

He reached behind him with his free hand and took out a knife in sheath, a fixed blade with a matte black handle designed not to reflect light. He thumbed the sheath off and touched the point of the blade to my cheek. I was shivering now, hard, my body wracked of its own accord.

“If you have anything more to do with the weres, Stephen Duncan or any other aspect of your current case,” the masked man hissed at me, “I will turn you into a pretty little doll, with no tongue.” The blade skated over my lips. “And no voice.” It caressed down my throat and pricked the hollow. “And no heart.” He drew the blade down with force and cut my t-shirt open, leaving a thin scratch in my chest that stopped just over my left breast.

“Do we understand each other, officer?” he breathed.

Fear is not something that you will ever meet face to face. It will sneak up on you and grab you, wrap arms around your chest, put ice in your blood and freeze you still. I lay there, cold as he ripped my bedding back and sat astride me, keeping the point of that horrible knife twisting in the soft flesh over my heart.

“Just to be sure you won’t do anything foolish, like tell someone we had this interlude,” he said, lifting my left hand to his mouth. My arm was stiff as a corpse in rigor and he jerked at it. “There’s a good girl.” He smeared my own hand in the blood from my cut, and then unzipped the black nylon jacket he wore, revealing a bare chest covered with brandings that showed up as dark veins in the moonlight.

He took my saturated palm and pressed it to his flesh, and I felt a pop like I had connected with static electricity. The charred smell came back tenfold and my stomach bucked. Touching magicks is like touching heat lighting, and his were black as a moonless storm.

A tiny light flamed on in the recesses of my mind, and with remarkable clarity I realized that if he had only intended to scare me, he would be gone already, leaving a job well done. He wasn’t a blood witch—otherwise he’d be using his own blood. Something else was going on here, and it was dark and ancient and filled up with the most primitive kind of fear.

“Now you’re marked,” he told me in that same whistling hiss. “And we see everything you do.”

Copyright 2007 Caitlin Kittredge

Now doesn’t that sound amazing? Want it? Check out Caitlin’s guestblog and answer the question there…or, ask her your own question! 

Extracting 50 Ways To Hex Your Lover

Prologue

Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England
The Year 1313

“Someone’s thoughtless use of magick has put our school in great jeopardy.”

Emerald velvet robes flew around the reed-thin body of the headmistress as if a storm brewed within her. Red and blue flames flashed from the foot of her staff as she tamped it to punctuate her words with the ring of cold stone. Not one of Eurydice’s thirteen students moved a muscle as they stood in line awaiting her judgment.

On their first day at The Academy for Witches the headmistress had laid down the rules and pronounced there would be no exceptions if any of those rules were broken. Yet today, her cardinal law had been broken—one of the students had gone so far as to cast a curse on a mortal. She walked down the line of girls, spearing each of them with her angry gaze.

“We are sor—” one of the girls sputtered.

“Silence!” Eurydice turned on her heel to face down the unlucky witchling. “Whoever cast the spell must step forward and be accountable for her actions.”

Not one of the acolytes spoke up. All thirteen stared at the ancient stone floor.
“Your shared silence to protect the guilty one is laudable.” Eurydice’s dark eyes matched the flames flickering at the end of her staff. Still no one moved. “However this offense was committed against a member of royalty. A man with the power to close this school, do us harm, even destroy us. I am certain some would commend you for not betraying the classmate who cast this spell, but the culprit must step forward and accept her punishment.”

The girls looked at each other, linked their fingers together and then, as one, all thirteen stepped forward.

“Very well. As you will have it,” Eurydice said. The air around her swirled dark and purple as she pronounced judgment. “Henceforth, all of you are banished from this place and are cast out into the world for 100 years with only the powers you presently control. If any of you dares to cast a spell not meant for the greater good, your banishment will be extended. At the end of your banishment you will be brought before the Witches High Council to determine your final fate.
“And I hope—” she made eye contact with each girl who managed to meet her furious gaze “—you will learn just what a merciless mortal world you have been cast into.”

Then she tamped her staff against the cold, unforgiving stone floor and the thirteen acolytes vanished.

The headmistress turned to face the three elder witches standing quietly by the wall.

“Do you think they’ll be all right, Eurydice, all alone in the world?” Allene, the softhearted, asked. “Do you think they’ll be in danger?”

“Hardly, dear sister,” the headmistress chuckled. “I fear more for the world.”

Copyright Linda Wisdom 2008

Indeed, I would fear for the world too, but Jazz and her friends are good witches…right?

Extracting Demon’s Kiss by Eve Silver

The Compact of Sorcerers, a brotherhood sworn to guard the wall between the human world and the demon realm, have relied only on one another for centuries. But now there’s a traitor in their midst…
Struggling medical student Clea Masters knows she’s unique. Ever since her parents’ death, she’s been kept safe by an inexplicable force inside her that knocks back any threat. But when a demon attacks her, Clea is launched into a dangerous world she never knew existed. Her only ally is a lethal, seductive man who arouses a hunger stronger than anything she has ever imagined…

Compact of Sorcerers member Ciarran D’Arbois will not let harm befall Clea. In her, he sees a strength he admires and a body he longs to caress. Yet demons are determined to break down the portal Ciarran has sworn to protect, using Clea as their key. Now as a rogue sorcerer leads the enemy ever closer, Ciarran and Clea have only one hope. Both must surrender to their darkest passions–and unleash their most dangerous, untested deisres.

DEMON’S KISS–Which is more deadly, his passion or his power?

And you could win a signed copy of this book! Comment! Just how badly do you want this book? 😉 

NJ Walters: The Tale behind Sunshine For A Vampire

Sunshine DeMarco is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed vampire who just doesn’t fit in with her own people. She doesn’t really like the whole vampire lifestyle–the opulent surroundings and overindulgence in everything from food to drink to blood. But even she has family and social obligations. While attending a party for a special European dignitary, she finds herself captivated by a tall, dark stranger. One sensual dance between them leads to a passionate tryst in the host’s garden. Reality intrudes and Sunshine flees, but she hasn’t seen the last of her mystery lover.

NJ says: Some authors and I were on a chat group one afternoon and we were talking about vampires–specifically vampires who were different. I had a vision of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, short vampire who was unlike her tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed brethern. Throw in the fact that she likes to garden and has a “day” job, so to speak, and she’s really a misfit among her rich, aristocratic contemporaries. I wondered what would happen if she had to attend a social function. Sort of a vampire Cinderella story. Thus began the story of Sunshine DeMarco and her most memorable night at the ball.

At last, a vampire novella…

Lacey Alexander: The Tale behind The Pirate and the Pussycat

When Leah gets an invitation to a friend’s annual Halloween bash, she has mixed emotions. After all, at last year’s party, she met a man, fell for him hard in just one night, and then … never heard from him again. So this year, she decides to take a new approach. Screw the emotions – she’s going to find a hot guy and do the dirty with him, no intimate strings attached. And besides being a little kinky, doing it with costumes on will make it even less personal.Arriving at the soiree in her sexy cat costume, she spies a totally hot pirate across the room and knows instantly that he’s the man she’s going to seduce. But can she succeed in her plan? Or will this naughty little kitty end up heartbroken all over again?

Lacey says: What inspired this story was the title itself. I’m a huge fan of Halloween – and also pirates, as it happens – and when it came time to pen a story for one of the EC Caveman anthologies that would be released in autumn, it seemed like the perfect time to fit my sexy title to a fun, naughty Halloween romp. It also happens that I was once in a bar where the Captain Morgan’s rum people had sent a guy dressed in full Captain Morgan regalia to do promotional giveaways. He was WAY hot and the memory provided the inspiration for my hero.
Now click below for the excerpt!

Kate Willoughby: The Tale behind A Man of Vision

For Cristoforo, sculpting marble is his life, but the price of creation is a libido that rides him like a demon. When he discovers his sculpting days are numbered, he hires a mistress to satisfy him night and day.
Modern-day courtesan Delphine arrives at his villa prepared for the rigors of being on call 24/7. What she isn’t prepared for, however, is the intensity of her body’s response to Cristoforo. When she learns what is driving him so ruthlessly, she wonders if she can protect her heart…or if it’s already too late.

Kate says:When I saw a call to participate in a chain story for a free erotic story site many years ago, I joined in. Over the course of many chapters, the heroine, Erica, experienced a wide, sometimes shocking, variety of sexual adventures, all penned by different people. However after a while, I pulled my chapter from the site with the intention of expanding it into its own free standing story. So when I heard about Ellora’s Cavemen anthologies, I changed eighty percent of the original vignette and was ecstatic when they accepted it for their Seasons of Seduction, Volume III. Now, I can’t wait to see if readers enjoy it, too!

Now click below for the fabulous excerpt!

Charlene Teglia: The Tale behind I Was an Alien’s Love Slave

Micki Sloane needs a hero and she needs him now. She’s a romance writer with a deadline and writer’s block and no inspiration in sight. Desperation drives her on a tour of Seattle bars, which leaves her no closer to her goal. What to do? Wish on a star.

Keelan Os’tana has been seeking his bondmate, the one woman who is on his wavelength – literally. He receives Micki’s mental call and answers by beaming her up and into adventure beyond her wildest imaginings. Her options? Form the permanent telepathic bond with Keelan or go home and take up writing for the tabloids. “I Was An Alien’s Love Slave” is a sure seller, but Keelan makes it awfully tempting to live the fantasy instead.

Charlene says: I saw this lurid headline on a tabloid one day waiting in line at the grocery store. I howled. I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. All I had to do was think of this headline and I cracked up. So of course I had to write a story to go with the headline. My alien-abduction encounter of the erotic romance kind must’ve made all the editors laugh, too, because it was one of the 24 stories chosen for the Ellora’s Cavemen anthologies.

Now click below for the excerpt and the contest details!

Cathryn Fox: The Tale behind Panther’s Pleasure

Sash, chief mechanic of the starship Anthon has spent her entire life coursing through space. She’s never gotten sick before. Ever. But as they approach planet Lannar, all kinds of weird and not so wonderful things begin
happening to her body, and when she sets eyes on the gorgeous Kade, leader of Lannar, all kinds of weird and very wonderful things begin happening to her libido.The minute Kade sets eyes on the alpha Earth woman he knows she’s his mate. How it’s possible that an Earth woman is the mate for a shape shifting panther, he’s not sure. All he knows is that there is only one way to help ease the pain in her body and make her first transformation easier. Through mating. And there is only way to mark her as his mate. Through submissionBut will the Earth woman be strong enough to mate with the alpha panther inside him, yet submissive enough to allow him to claim her?

Cathryn says: About a year ago I took my dog to the vet. While there my daughter decided to pet the veterinarian’s cat that freely roamed the waiting room. This cat turned around and bit my daughter on the arm. It didn’t draw blood, but it left a scratch mark. I couldn’t believe it. I told the receptionist what happened. She shrugged and with casual nonchalance, said, “That’s never happened before.”

I got to thinking, what if my daughter caught something rare from the cat. We’ve all heard of Cat Scratch Fever. So my story Panther’s Pleasure evolved from that one incident. I’m still not very happy that the receptionist was so nonchalant about the whole cat bite though!

Click below for the excerpt and contest details!

Extracting Riding The Storm by Sydney Croft

A storm’s rage. A woman’s desire.

A man with the power to set them both free

He can summon lightning at will. Emerge unscathed from the center of a tornado. Strip a woman down to her barest defenses through the sheer force of his sexuality. He’s gorgeous, dangerous, and the target of parameteorologist Haley Holmes’s latest mission. Haley has been dispatched to the Louisiana bayou to investigate the phenomenon known as Remy Begnaud – man with a gift he never wanted: the ability to control a storm’s fury. But even a woman trained in bizarre weather phenomenon has no defense against the electrifying power of the Ex-Navy SEAL…a power his enemies would kill to control.

With her agency monitoring their every move, Haley’s job is to seduce Remy, gain his trust — and help him harness his extraordinary gift. But who will protect her from this voracious lover who’s introducing her to a new world of erotic thrills – a man who grows increasingly insatiable with each new weather event? Haley knows a big storm is approaching –and with it will come unexpected delights. But, so, too, will the storm unleash her greatest fears: An enemy bent on destroying Remy. And her worst fear of all…falling in love with this magnificent man, then having to betray him…

I’m so pleased! Sydney-Larissa (I can’t think of Sydney Croft as Sydney Croft, LOL) sent one of my favorite scenes for this extract!

Extracting Skin To Skin by Dionne Galace

What Leilani wants, Leilani gets. That is, until she meets the enigmatic Oliver Clayton, her new neighbor. For some reason, Oliver seems to be intent on avoiding her even though he’s obviously interested. Leilani has tried to everything to get his attention, from wearing skimpy little outfits to walking a neighbor’s dog six times in front of his yard. Leilani wants Oliver…and she always gets her man.In the heat of the summer, the temperature’s not only thing rising. Luckily, Oliver has that pool in his backyard and Leilani knows just how to cool off…

Sounds good to you? Sure sounds good to me! We have a lovely excerpt, courtesy of Dionne, and a little contest…

Extracting Suite Seventeen by Portia Da Costa

Vibrant forty-something widow Annie Conroy is determined to follow her late husband’s wishes and start having fun again and living life to the full. At the Waverley Grange country hotel, she encounters the most exotic, sensual and desirable creature she could ever have dreamed of and all thoughts of resistance are completely banished. Is it a man? Is it a woman? Who even cares?

Click for excerpt…and for the contest if you’ve not already seen it!

Extracting Wild Wild West by Charlene Teglia

OUT TODAY!

In one of the most searingly erotic Westerns ever penned, Charlene Teglia breaches uncharted territory. But reader beware: this tale is hotter than hell. The faint of heart should turn back now…

Three city girls from Seattle are enjoying a night out at a chic coffee house in downtown Missoula, Montana, the heart of the old West. When a gang of cowboys mosey in looking for trouble, they find trouble of the best kind… and these boys are primed and ready to ride. There’s Gabe, a hard-bodied rancher who’s discovered some imaginative new uses for rope. Chet, a rodeo cowboy who’s charmed the pants off more than a few country girls and vows to remain a bachelor for life. And Reuben, a former Army ranger with a taste for edgy sexual games. As the couples embark on a scorching night of passion and play, they experience the most exquisite pleasure–and discover kinky new thrills they never dared to imagine. Because when it comes to knocking boots, cowboys do it best…

It’s terribly pink, that cover. It doesn’t really match the decor. But it’s Charlene Teglia! Can Charlene be forgiven a PINK cover?

And she is giving away a copy of Wild Wild West to a lucky commenter who asks her naughty questions! (I’m just kidding on the naughty part. Really.)

Extracting Restless Shadows by Jennifer Cloud

Death creeps around the world and not as in the concept for the end of life. This syrupy creature stalks, hunts, and waits in hiding for those that it chooses and those that choose it.

Anna Carswell met death during a suicide attempt and was left with a troubling gift. She can see where death will strike next. She begins dating Nick, a man who understands her pain.

Nick blames himself for his sister’s death. During those dark years he sees death and knows it wants to claim him.

Anna and Nick hope to regain normal lives by facing Death in its home. Their other attempts have failed but in the City of the Dead, they hope to gain understanding and a future.

A college professor is determined to win Anna even if it means murder. Death also longs for the lady he set free. It doesn’t play fair either.

Click here to buy this book directly from Drollerie Press or click more to read the excerpt. Jennifer‘s super-cool and she’s offering a download to be given away to one lucky commenter!

Extracting Poltergeist by Kat Richardson

Halloween is approaching when Harper agrees to investigate the members of a research group who’ve been attempting to create an artificial poltergeist. The head researcher suspects someone’s been faking the phenomena, but Harper’s investigation reveals something entirely different–they’ve succeeded. When one of the group’s members is killed in a brutal and inexplicable fashion, Harper must determine if the murderer is the ghost itself or someone all too human

Joely Sue Burkhart: Survive My Fire

Trapped as a dragon for centuries by a curse impossible to break, Chanda is consumed by rage. Her heart broken, her life ruined, her entire tribe dead by her own actions, she never expects the warrior outside her lair to know the secret of her curse. Let alone that she will fall in love with him.Jalan survives the White Dragon’s teeth and claws. He survives her fire. He even survives her love. But he doesn’t come to break her curse or win her heart. Not exactly. His dark god will spare Jalan’s tribe–if the White Dragon is sacrificed.While Jalan must choose between the love of his heart and the safety of his tribe, Chanda realizes she may at last break her curse forever.

If she’s willing to make the greatest sacrifice of all.

It’s dark. It’s got dragons. It’s got bloodshed. It’s got writing so beautiful, tears come to your eyes.

And I’m so jealous that I didn’t write it myself, I’d probably put sugar in her petrol tank if she weren’t so nice. (Hey, it rhymes!)

What makes Survive My Fire shine is that you can see that Joely’s put everything she had, and then some, into it. You can tell that it is written by a woman with passion for her craft and a gift for storytelling.

It should be noted that I felt that the book kicked into high gear from the second scene. This doesn’t mean you should skip the first scene–you shouldn’t because the rest probably wouldn’t make enough sense to you then–just that you should at least continue reading past the first scene.

On top of being a friend of mine, Joely’s also just one of those writers whose voice is like crack for me. So there’s no grade, but since I think her voice is like crack, it’s kinda obvious what she’d get, don’t you think?

If you’re still not convinced–in which case I would never be able to get a job as a bookseller–check out the excerpt below. Her writing speaks for itself.

Extracting Falling by Imogen Howson

Linnet has a secret that is tearing her apart. While her world falls apart around her, Linnet learns that it takes courage, and the grace of a new kind of friend, to learn that not all secrets are meant to be kept.

This graceful and unexpected retelling of Rapunzel in a futuristic setting is a wonderful story that will delight you.

This book will be available from Drollerie Press tomorrow. Until Sunday, it’ll be at half-price, so be sure to get your copy. I can’t wait to get mine!

But if you comment today, I will pick a winner tomorrow, and you’ll get choccie and a free download of this book.

In the meantime, check out the excerpt below.

Extracting Blood Drive by Jeanne C. Stein

Anna Strong is a vampire caught between two worlds. She clings to what makes her human, her family, her job, her lover. But the pull of the undead is a siren song becoming impossible to resist. She discovers she has a niece, Trish, a child caught up in the worst kind of human nightmare. To save Trish, Anna may have to surrender to the animal side of her nature. Concepts of good and evil are no longer clearly defined as Anna must determine who is the real monster—a human who preys on children or the vampire who tries to save them.

Check out the Blood Drive excerpt below! And isn’t that a lovely cover?

Extracting On Bliss by KS Augustin

Hoara Felin thinks she’s in love. The problem is, the man she’s fallen in love with is forbidden to leave the planet. Plus, he’s not quite a man…

Sub-Commander Hoara Felin of the Republic Space Fleet has crash-landed on a planet. Her ship is inoperable, her shipmates are dead. The only thing that can make a bad situation worse is finding she has crashed on the notorious prison-planet of Bliss—a place condemned criminals are sent…and never leave.

She finds an unexpected ally in Toh, a handsome and caring man who treats her injuries and hides her from those who would hold an officer of the Space Fleet for ransom. But, as Hoara is about to find out, Toh is keeping a terrifying secret of his own.

You can buy On Bliss now, or check out the excerpt below. You could win this book!

To learn more about the author, go to her website, where there’s another excerpt.