TnTConfidential: Elodie Parkes and A Little Mysterious

Happy Thanksgiving! Today I've got something special...I’ve got a new author! *dances and sings* I’ve got a new author!

 I’m thrilled to present to you for the first time ever, author Elodie Parkes. Not only is she going to tell us a bit about her latest release, she’s also going to show you her latest deliciously sexy release, A Little Mysterious.

He’d been sent off course…he thought he was lost…until he found Daisy.

His vampire abilities were special. He belonged to an elite group. Moving home, they are set off course by a storm that lands Dhruv alone, hungry, and desperate in a strange town. A story of lust, love, and coincidence.

Available at: Evernight Publishing || Amazon.com || Amazon.uk  ||All Romance Ebooks || Bookstrand

Welcome Elodie! First and foremost, the question: When did you start writing and why?

I started writing when I was seventeen. My high school friends used to have me write love stories and letters for them. I wrote poems and short articles for a teen romance magazine. Then I wrote a few academic articles and shorts. I started writing romance but then stopped for a few years disillusioned. Suddenly, I started writing romance again because I had so many ideas, I just had to write.

Where does the inspiration for your stories stem from?

I get inspired by all kinds of things, people, places and things.

‘Swoop on Love’ my October 31 shifter ménage, release with Evernight Publishing was inspired by an old sign on a village green. One day as I was traveling across country in my day job, I came across a sign pointing to an interestingly named place. Unable to help myself I took the turning and found a small village. There was a large open space in front of what appeared to be an old Inn. It was deserted and in bad shape. On the grassy space was the post where the sign for the Inn must have hung in better days. I photographed it because I suddenly had the idea for the story ‘Swoop on Love’ drop into my mind. By the time I had crossed the next county to get the highway east home, I had the plot and characters firmly fixed in my mind.

‘A Little Mysterious’ my November 27 release with Evernight Publishing was inspired black swans and a man I met in my work. I say met but it was a fleeting meeting. I don’t even know his name. The black swan idea has been with me since I went to Australia on holiday and saw them, flocks of them actually swimming in the edge of the ocean in a place near Melbourne. There was also a tame one that lived on the pond in the place I was renting a holiday house in Perth. The man who inspired Dhruv my alpha male in ‘A Little Mysterious’ came into the antique shop where I work. He was gorgeous, so polite, and cool, I went to the window so that I could secretly watch him walk away down the street.

I’ve been inspired by ‘for let’ signs, old houses, furniture and other people who I’ve met briefly.

Have you had to do some research for your novels? Tell us about the process.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced places and industries that I’ve used as plot themes, so I haven’t done much research. I do a little to make sure of things and it’s usually internet based research.

What’s your favorite part about writing? Least favorite?

I love my characters, I mean LOVE them, that’s the best part of writing. They become so real to me and I miss them for a long time after the book is finished and published.

The least favorite part is marketing. It is so time consuming and very disappointing.

What’s your favorite writing genre? Why?

I write romance, contemporary, erotic, and with a twist of paranormal, mystery, suspense or a serendipity type twist. I also write contemporary paranormal romance. My books are always very steamy. I like the freedom of this genre. I like to write love stories, because there’s just not enough love in the world. The world is harsh and we often never find love. I like to put it back on the agenda as an escape for readers.

An erotic shifter/vampire romance, yummy! Besides the paranormal element, what else are we 

going to love about A little Mysterious?

Dhruv, he’s different. The setting, it’s down the street from you, in the next town, it could happen to you. The love story, it’s so sexy. The love scenes, they are hot. The twist, it’s subtle, comes in a phrase and the whole story hinges on it.

Please share one flaw and one asset of your hero and heroine from A Little Mysterious

Dhruv, a flaw, he’s hard on himself. An asset, he can be kind

Daisy, a flaw, she gives up on her artistic talent. An asset, she’s courageous.

What can readers expect next from you?

A paranormal romance titled, ‘Forever Blue’. Something different and I’m hoping not often used as a theme. Very sexy and again a love story.

Cold November…

A book recommendation for November -  Dark Lycan: Christine Feehan

One thing about Fall that you love – The leaves, all the fabulous colors they turn and then cover the ground, it’s spectacular.

One thing about Fall that you hate – The cold fog that comes in where I live.

Christmas is around the corner…have you started getting ready yet? Cite an example Hell no.

If yes and if no, tell us the earliest you’ll start getting ready for the holidays.  I don’t do Christmas. I work until late Christmas Eve, and I don’t have family, my friends and work colleagues do so generally take the holiday to read, watch movies and generally kick back.

Thanksgiving is today! If you celebrate it, share an anecdote with us.

Happy Thanksgiving, to everyone reading, who celebrates. I’m celebrating by visiting blogs with A Little Mysterious.

Thank you so much for inviting me to the blog, it’s been great fun.

About the author:

Elodie Parkes is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often with a twist of mystery, paranormal or suspense. Her books are always steamy, cool stories and hot love scenes.

Elodie lives in Canterbury with her two dogs. She works in an antique shop by day and writes at night, loving the cloak of silent darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.

Elodie writes for, Hot Ink Press, Moon Rose Publishing, Eternal Press, and Evernight She has also released titles as an individual indie author.

Find Elodie online: Blog  Tumblr  Facebook  Twitter  Google +  Pinterest  YouTube  Amazon USA  Amazon UK  Smashwords  Barnes and Noble  ARe  Bookstrand  Evernight

 Now that excerpt you've all been waiting for...

#WednesdayBriefs: Myths, Secrets and Love 4

*If here for the Mid-Week Tease only please click here or scroll down*

Happy Hump Day, darling readers!

I'm back with the reluctant pirate, Rodric, in his search for his friend Fergus.  The prompt I used is the jungle picture below. 

If you don't remember what happened in the last three chapters, you can read them HERE.  (Scroll to the bottom). Otherwise, read on and enjoy! And as always, don't forget to read the other stories of this week's fabulous flashers!

 Myths, Secrets and Love 4

“Is it far?” Rodric asked, pushing another hanging vine out of the way. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been trudging through the unwelcome land. The air was stuffy and humid, the smell of rotting vegetation making breathing a complicated task. Sweat poured down his back and he waved off the insects buzzing near his head. He scratched his head. Not only did he have to deal with lice, now he smelled like a pig. Rodric sighed. 

Arjä twisted her head to look at him. A small smile played at her lips and her eyes shone with mischief. Rodric frowned. That playful glint was the same Fergus had given him before he’d disappeared. Nothing good came of it then and he could warrant that nothing good would come out of it now.

“Listen, I demand to know—“ The rest of his words were forgotten as he followed Arjä behind a curtain of trees. His jaw dropped. He stood at the crest of a hill and before him, a new world extended. Gone was the wild jungle they had been traversing, in its stead a grassy plain teaming with life. 

Arjä’s tinkling laughter sounded close to him, but he paid it no heed, the sight before his feet mesmerizing. The sunlight that had barely filtered through the thick trees of the jungle poured over the field, bathing everything in a warm yellow glow. In the distance, a body of water glittered. A loud neigh made him turn to his left. His eyes watered as he witnessed a group of unicorns and centaurs race through the fields, their long manes billowing behind them like a banner. 

Arjä took his hand, breaking the spell he seemed to have fallen into. Rodric looked at her, confused. 

“Do you see the trees in the distance? That is where we’re going. Come, they wait for us.”

Rodric nodded and allowed her to lead him. He was speechless. Never in his life had he seen such a marvelous sight as the one that lay before him. For the first time, he understood why the Unicorn race wanted nothing to do with men. The race of men was destructive. They could build, but in their fore they always left a trail of death and destruction. If any man was to discover the paradise that lay behind the jungle, there would be no Unicorn people and the beauty of the land would fade to become only a myth, the dream of a writer who once imagined there could be such a place. He followed Arjä down a worn path, taking in every detail. The wind ruffled the grass, making it dance like the ocean out on the sea. Butterflies spread their wings across the tall grasses and birds cawed and chirped overhead, flying in peace. Trepidation clawed its way into him. Why was he being allowed to see all this? He recalled Arjä’s earlier words: you shall swear secrecy and fealty. Fear raced down his spine as he became aware that if he did not do as the Unicorn people asked him he would die this day. 

He recoiled, forgetting that Arjä was still holding his hand. She turned to look at him, her blue eyes searching his face. Suddenly, she smiled. 

“Have no fear, Rodric Belavue. We mean you no harm.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain,” he managed to croak. Rodric cleared his voice. “This, this land, you don’t show it to anyone that arrives on your beach.”

 “Of course not. Only those worthy can see the land of the Arvynen.”

Rodric couldn’t stop his eyebrows from lifting. “You  think I’m worthy?” he asked, incredulous. 

The unicorn woman threw back her head and laughed gaily. “Aye, any man that travels the world to recover his,” she paused, “friend, is worthy of us. Besides,” she added with a cryptic smile, “we’ve heard things.”

Rodric shook his head and willed his feet to move behind Arjä. 

“What things?” Good Gods what had Fergus told them? 

“You’ll learn them soon enough,” she said as they reached the edge of the looming forest. 

To be continued…

Now, read the rest of the Flasher's stories and/or check out our page:
Wednesday Briefs Fiction

MA Church

JC Wallace

 Victoria Adams

 Nephylim  

Lily Sawyer 

Shelly Schulz

Rob Colton

Cia Nordwell

A.R. Von

Chris T. Kat

Jon Keys

 Andrew Gordon

Renee Stevens

Tali Spencer

Julie Lynn Hayes

Grace Duncan 

Mid Week Tease: The Golden Cock

Happy Hump Day everyone!


Today, as part of the Mid-Week  tease I'm offering a snippet from The Golden Cock which has been nominated as best Naughty Fairy Tale in the Evernight Publishing Readers' Choice Awards. If you'd like to vote (polls are open until Nov. 30th) please head here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EvernightAwardsFinalVote

“What is this you speak of?” she asked, pressing her way into the circle of women.

“Duchess,” Christabelle gasped. The women all bowed and Brielle swallowed a frustrated huff at the protocol nonsense. “We were, well––” she stammered.

“Please. I wish to know.”

“Really…”

“Countess Mosckat, I insist.” She hated having to recur to her most imposing tone, but the countess, barely a few years older than she, allowed her no other option.

“Well, there is a young lad in town.” Christabelle flushed. “It is murmured that his––” she paused, “penis is more than adequate for those that seek pleasure.”

“The golden cock, I heard you.” She smiled and Christabelle returned the gesture.

“Yes, that is how he is known.”

“Have you tried him, Christabelle?” The woman’s pale skin turned crimson, her mouth falling open in surprise.

“I…”

“Well, I am no prude, Christabelle. You were speaking quite openly about it just now, so tell me.”

~~~~~~

Please click here to be redirected to Sandra Bunino's blog where you can find the Linky for the rest of the participants :-) http://sandrabunino.com/2013/11/20/mid-week-tease-fighting-the-fear-nanowrimo-mwtease/ 

Kind-hearted Vincent Stowe spent years with an inferiority complex until, one day, after accepting to help an older woman with an odd request he receives a life-changing gift.

“Ice Duchess” Brielle is desperate for a solution to her inability to orgasm, so when word about a man with a magical cock reaches her ears, she decides that he just might be what she needs.

Will Vincent’s "Golden Cock" be enough for the "Ice Duchess", or will something else come to play along the way?
 

Available at:

• Evernight Publishing
• Amazon.com
• Amazon.uk
• All Romance Ebooks
• Bookstrand

TNT Confidential: Iyana Jenna & A Single Black Rose *Giveaway*

Greetings and welcome everyone to today’s TnT Confidential! As I promised you earlier in the month, I have author Iyana Jenna back here with me with her latest release A Single Black Rose. She's also come with a giveaway! Wohoo!

Before, she showed us the cover, now, she’s going to introduce her to the story and her writer's mind... dig in! *wink* 

When actor Sean O’Reilly receives a flower bouquet containing a single black rose on set, he assumes they’re from his boyfriend Nate. But they aren’t. Flowers keep arriving for him after that, each with a black rose in the arrangement. Soon other things arrive as well, such as photos and a recording of Sean’s voice. As the number of flowers dwindle with each bouquet, Sean begins to worry they’re supposed to be some kind of a countdown ... but to what?

Fan Gene Scott worships Sean. He maintains a blog dedicated to the actor and writes out all his fantasies there. He wants Sean to belong to him, and only him, and he’ll do anything to make the actor his own. He can’t accept the fact that Sean has a boyfriend. To Gene, Nate might as well not exist.

Despite increased security and all efforts to keep him safe, Sean vanishes, and Nate feels as if his world has come tumbling down. When the police response is too slow for him, Nate enlists the help of his producer and bodyguard to find Sean. Will he manage to find his lover before Sean disappears forever? Or will Gene finally get what he’s always dreamed of, and make Sean the love of his life, instead?

Available here: JMS Books

  

Welcome back to In A Dream Beyond, Iyana! It’s a thrill to have you and your new release here today.

Hi Elyzabeth, I’m delighted to visit your blog again. I just hope your readers won’t be bored with me. ^^

By the way, you have such tough questions! I’ll try my best.

A Single Black Rose is a mm erotic romance novel laced with a deep mystery. What was the inspiration for it?

First of all, the idea for this wouldn’t come up if not for an actor I liked so much. Can you say I’m evil? Perhaps yes, because I imagined how it would like to be a fan who became so obsessed with their idol that all they wanted was to make the idol theirs and theirs alone. I have a journal where I talk most about my idols. That’s why I made the evil fan in this story have a journal where he wrote his imaginations, being with the idol, etc.

Most novels are written in the third person point of view, but this one isn’t. Why? How was the experience?

I’d say this one still uses the third person but perhaps with a more personal perspective so you’re more like being inside the people’s heads. The use of journal like mentioned above also helps give you a more personal point of view.

What was its writing process like?

The process was a lot of fun! I wrote per chapter and showed it to my betas who were totally sweet and helpful. I also had someone (*coughs* my sister *coughs*) who made a banner for each single chapter I finished writing. All with a black rose in them.

Did you have to do any research?

Oh yes. I definitely did a lot of research for this, about the places, what might be inside a very disturbed person, but the thing that I liked most was when I was looking for the meaning of a black rose. The things you came across when you Googled it…

What’s your favorite part of this book?

I loved my main character so my favorite parts were any scenes where he was in. ^^ My poor dear.

Do you like roses?

I think they are flowers I like most. But then I don’t really like flowers in general. LOL.

In one sentence, why are we going to love this novel?

I have to apologize if this is not your idea of romance, but if you like a bit dark stories with (literally) tortured characters, I hope you will like it.

What can readers expect next from you?

Oh, let’s see…

-          Hopefully in December, my next Romance on the Go story will come out from Evernight Publishing. The title is This Isn’t Goodbye.

-          Scheduled in January 2014, my second short story with JMS Books will be out and the title is Misunderstandings.

-          Scheduled on February 5, 2014, my story with Torquere, What Lies Beneath, will follow suit.

Cold November…

A book recommendation for November – Safe by C. Kennedy

One thing about Fall that you love – I don’t have Fall here so I’m not really sure. But I do love Fall color.

One thing about Fall that you hate – I don’t know what to hate since I’ve never experienced it. :D

The earliest you’ll start getting ready for Christmas is… Not celebrating Christmas either. ;)

If you celebrate Thanksgiving share an anecdote with us. I know I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, either, and this is not an anecdote. But I love to give thanks together with my students. I did it several times in class. I turned off the light and lit up a candle, and I asked the students to one by one say thanks to anyone and anything they felt thankful in their lives. It was so touching. Some of us ended with wet eyes when I turned the light back on.

Get in touch with Iyana at:

Blog

Website

Amazon

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

And now, please enter the Rafflecopter to win the prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Or follow this link if the one above doesn’t work:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjdiMTdlODkyYjFlMTFhODdlMDc0NzE4MjdhNzI3OjI=/

A Single Black Rose Excerpt...

 

Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes.

Gritting his teeth, Nate hisses under his breath. He is standing in front of a cop, giving his statement on what has just happened. Not that there's much to say. His mind keeps replaying that scene when Sean turned to him, his face ashen, and Nate wishes with all his heart that he was the one who had opened the door, the one who found the flowers instead of Sean, sparing him the shock of seeing the seemingly innocuous pink bouquet with its single black rose.

Nate is angry with himself,

Evernight's Readers' Choice Awards: LAST VOTE

Have you voted for your finalists yet? 

Thanks to YOU I'm one of them. *grins*

I have been nominated in three categories in the Evernight Readers' Choice Awards: 

- Best Fantasy: A Dragon's Heart, A Demon's Blood

-Best Naughty Fairy Tale: The Golden Cock

- Best BDSM: The Crimson Rope Anthology

If you have the time, you can vote for me  and the other wonderful authors that have been nominated here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EvernightAwardsFinalVote 

Polls are only open until November 30th!

This Christmas...I WANT YOU!

Greetings and happy Monday!

Are you an author? Do you have a Holiday story you'd like to promote? Would you be willing to give something away? If you answered yes to the above, then I'm looking for YOU!

Email me at elyzabethmvaley [at] gmail [dot] com if you'd like more information.

XOXO,
Elyzabeth

For your amusement... Dr. Who

As many of you know Dr. Who just celebrated it's 50th anniversary! Much to my dismay, I was unable to watch The Day of The Doctor. (Long story short: they only showed it in a cinema in the middle of nowhere and I couldn't take the car).

Anyway, the funny thing is that today I was going through some things I had written and I found the beginning of a story that talked about Dr. Who... So here it is, for your amusement *smiles* Who knows, maybe someday I'll go back to it...

Caine huffed from behind his newspaper watching as his girlfriend sat in front of the TV, clutching the pillow like her life depended on it and muttering something about ‘the daleks are coming’.

“Stop huffing! I really don’t understand what you have against The Doctor.” Mandy turned to him, glaring.

Caine raised an eyebrow. He looked past her at the TV, a man dressed as Elvis Presley was trying to sell the finest bananas in all the country. Go figure what publicists thought these days.

“Well?”

“Mandy, I really don’t want to have this argument again.”

“Why not?” she countered, hands on her hips, her brown ponytail bouncing widely as she turned her undivided attention towards him.

“I told you, I’m not into science fiction.”

“Yet, you love Star Wars—“

“Yes, but—“

“No buts, Caine, give Dr. Who—“

“I was a fan of the Doctor once,” he blurted.

“What?”

His girlfriend stared at him slack jawed.