Doing the Wild Thing Outdoors: Guest Blog and Giveaway with Naomi Bellina

Is it just me or do you get that urge sometimes when you're outside, the weather is gorgeous, and you and your honey are in a secluded spot, to lose your clothes and do the wild thing? I don't know what it is about being in nature but for some reason, when I'm outside and the conditions are ideal (and by this I mean not too hot, not too cold, no mosquitoes, only a light misting of rain, if any),  I want to get down and dirty. Maybe it's all the fresh air, or maybe it's the chance that we'll get caught being naughty.

Let me tell you about my latest adventure in outdoor nookie. My honey and I were on a cruise and had a balcony room. (Note to anyone planning a cruise: Get a balcony room. You won't regret spending the extra money.) 

The moon lit the waves and the scent of the ocean wafted to us on the warm breeze. I had on a super short skirt and had been teasing him all night. Honey knelt down, pulled off my panties and tossed them into the room (I insisted on the tossing, not wanting my expensive under things blow out to sea.) He bent me over slightly, lifted my skirt and we got busy. For about a minute and a half. The door of the cabin next to us suddenly opened. There's a mostly-solid barrier between cabins, but it's slightly see-through and you can lean around and peer into the next balcony. 

Not like most normal people would do that, if they knew their neighbor was out there. (I would, just for the record.) Anyway, we might have just kept on going but the guy lit up a cigarette and that did it for me. We moved our activities inside. Still, it was fun to start out there under the stars and the crashing waves.

How about you? Do you have an outdoor romance adventure to share? Thanks for reading!

PS  I'm running a Rafflecopter for a $25 Amazon gift card here, 

so drop by and enter. http://bit.ly/1yPrI24

About the Book:

A psychic vet, a secretive werewolf, a menace stalking the shifters. Welcome to Nocturne.

Dylan is a werewolf with a problem. He shifts at the new moon as well as at the full moon. He was born a werewolf, not made like most shape-changers and due to these unique traits he's avoided joining a pack and has given up hope of having a normal life. Morgan is a veterinarian, ready to be on her own for a good long time after leaving a cheating, spineless husband. She has a plan for her life that doesn't include a bossy, furry man.

Both are drawn to Nocturne, a town filled with magic due to a strong convergence of ley lines in the area. Morgan and Dylan recognize a connection when they meet, but neither one is looking for romance. After a harrowing encounter with a panther shape-shifter, they must combine forces and work together to uncover a menace that threatens the town. If they can learn to trust each other and let their guard down, they have a chance to solve the mystery and open the door to love.

Liquid Silver Books:  http://bit.ly/1FjkVls

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1tpS6LI

Barnes and Noble:  http://bit.ly/1uRHgn1

Kobo:  http://bit.ly/11qACIw

Google Play:  http://bit.ly/1v3ptb6

Excerpt Rated R  

Now that they were on stable ground, Dylan knew he should leave. Morgan was tired and had work to do and the scent of cat was making him uneasy.

“Let me help you paint. Do you have an extra brush and roller?”

“Oh, you don’t have to.” For the first time since he’d met her, she sounded weary, not cheerful and upbeat, and Dylan realized the dark circles under her eyes were probably not her usual look.

“I know I don’t have to, it’s for purely selfish reasons. The sooner you’re done, the sooner you’ll be back in my store shopping. Besides, any excuse not to do that damn paperwork is welcome.”

“Normally, I’d say no. I hardly know you and don’t want to take advantage of a stranger. But honestly, I’ll be so happy to get this painting done … let me bring you a pan and roller. You can work out here in the lobby. The smell won’t be so bad. Prop open the front door, if you like, let some air in.”

Dylan set to work, and an hour and a half later the walls of the front room were done and Morgan declared it quitting time.

“All I have left to do is one more room and a bit of trim. I can knock that out tomorrow and it will be done. You are one fast painter,” she said, strolling around the room and checking the walls. “Good, too. And look at you, not a drop on your clothes. I’m covered with it!”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” He smiled, happy to see that light back in her eyes.

“I can’t thank you enough. Listen, I don’t have my kitchen set up yet, but the table is in and I know the number for pizza delivery by heart. Can I buy you dinner at my place?”

Every fiber in his being wanted to spend more time with Morgan, but common sense told him to walk away. She closed the front door and as she picked up brushes and buckets, her scent once again filled his nostrils and he had to clamp his teeth to keep from moaning out loud. The sight of her bent over, her ass up in the air, was like an invitation to heaven. A low growl escaped before he could stop it.

“What? Did you say something?” she asked, turning to face him.

He took a step closer to her and put his hands on her cheeks. Her eyes widened and she caught her breath. Knowing it was a bad idea, knowing he’d just invited trouble into his life, he kissed her anyway. She stood frozen then her lips parted. He turned his head to get a better angle and deepen the kiss. Another growl threatened, but he pushed it back. He ran his hands from her face, down her neck, and felt her pulse, beating strong under his fingers. Her tongue lightly touched his lips. His cock, hard at her first scent, now strained against his jeans. Desire ran through his body, overriding all other thoughts.

Abruptly, he pulled his head back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He turned, grabbed his keys from the counter, and walked to the door.

“What the hell? You kiss me like that and now you’re going to leave? What’s your problem?”

Morgan stood with her hands on her hips, eyes shooting sparks.

“My problem is… I can’t tell you what my problem is.” Dylan’s hand was on the doorknob but he didn’t want to leave her angry.

“Look, this is ridiculous. Every time we see each other, one of us ends up stomping off, mad. Hey, I’m not a fragile virgin. We can explore some, some sex activities.” Morgan laughed. 

“See how long it’s been for me? Sex activities, ha! I don’t even know what to call it anymore.”

Damn she looked fine, a smudge of paint on face and in her hair, still breathing hard from their kiss.

“No, I can’t explore with you, I’m sorry. Trust me, there’s a good reason.”

“What, are you secretly married, have a strange disease, have taken a vow of celibacy? What?”

“Yes, something like that. Trust me, you’re better off not knowing. I’m sorry.” He opened the door and walked out.

About the Author:

Naomi lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and a magical calico cat. She writes for various fiction and non-fiction markets but is drawn to romance because her characters insist on canoodling and falling in love. So she lets them. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and creating healthy meals. She takes the opportunity to play whenever possible. Her motto:  Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!  

Visit her at http://www.naomibellina.com/

http://www.facebook.com/NaomiBellina

https://twitter.com/TheGoddessNaomi

Guest Blog and Giveaway Declaration by Rayna Noire

Declaration

Pagan Eyes

Book Three

Rayna Noire

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Sleeping Dragon Press

Date of Publication: August 2014

ISBN-13: 978-0692254363

ISBN-10: 0692254366

ASIN:

Number of pages: 241

Word Count: 75,156

Cover Artist: Dawne Dominique

Book Description:

Ethan finds himself trapped between the world he knows and the world that could be. A sadistic bully, an unsympathetic principal, and an unreachable love interest make high school difficult for Ethan. He feels like he’s living a lie, trying to blend in at school in an effort to keep his head attached to his body.

The support his Wiccan family provides is negated by fear of not being the son his father wants. An impromptu trip into the future saves him from an enraged bully while instilling doubts about where he really belongs. Somehow, he has to find a way to survive in his own world tossing aside his mask and doubts.

Book Trailer http://youtu.be/gU5lJ-YKzsc

Available at Amazon  Paperback

Free for your Kindle on Amazon September 11-13

Excerpt:

Ethan hid in a dark doorway, panting, while he considered his options. No way Caulb and his felons in training would give up once they figured out he outsmarted them. Shouts echoing in the cavernous hallway alerted him. Danger was closer than he’d thought. Great. Weren’t schools supposed to be crawling with staff members looking out for the welfare of the students? Yeah, right. Too bad, he’d left his cell phone in Leah’s car. Not that it would have done him much good since the school used a dampener to keep students from texting in class.

If high schools were a theme park, then tenth grade was the roller coaster. It started uneventfully. The most stressful part  had been fending off all the helpful staff members, who wanted to redirect him to the middle school, assuming, since he was shorter than a good portion of the girls, he wasn’t old enough for high school.

The voices veered off to the left, down the science corridor. A window of opportunity opened up. Ethan shot up the hallway to the gym, where the wrestling team practiced earlier. His father had nagged him to try out for the wrestling team. Even the coach asked him to give it a go, because they needed someone in his weight class. Most of his matches would forfeit due to not having anyone in his class or he’d end up wrestling a girl, the coach said. No thanks. He already had enough things to be teased about.

The dimly lit hallway stretched as if it were endless. Maybe this was a dream and he’d wake up soon. Caulb’s voice filtered down the hallway. His bass timber was menacing enough without the eerie quality of it bouncing off the metal lockers and taking on an almost mechanical quality. Caulb was a deadly droid, on the mission of annihilating anyone who didn’t conform to his standards. Unfortunately, no tip sheet existed to specify what his standards were. All Ethan knew was, he didn’t meet them.

The gym doors came into view. Sanctuary. He swung the door open with a gasp, unsure what he was going to say. All he had to do was stick close to the coach. Maybe he could say he needed to use the phone to call home. His eyes darted around the empty gym. Where was everyone? An image of the wrestlers in their spandex suits came to mind. They were dressed in their team apparel when he’d seen them earlier, which meant they were probably at an away meet, and why no one was in the gym. The lights illuminated the wooden floor and abandoned mats.

He took a few steps into the gym, stopped, and turned slowly, seeing no sign of following bullies, or an almost friend who stabbed him in the back. His lips pulled down into a frown, remembering the different expectations he’d had for the night, much different.

About the Author:

Rayna Noire is an author and a historian. The desire to uncover the truth behind the original fear of witches led her to the surprising discovery that people believed in magick in some form up to 150 years ago. A world that believed the impossible could happen and often did must have been amazing. With this in mind, Ms. Noire taps into this dimension, shapes it into stories about Pagan families who really aren't that different from most people. They do go on the occasional time travel adventures and magick happens.

Website www.raynanoire.com

Twitter www.twitter.com/raynanoire

Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorRaynaNoire

Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Rayna-Noire/e/B00J8XP14A/

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Interview with Jocelyn Adams

Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?

Hey, great to meet everyone.  I was born and raised a farm girl in small town Ontario and still love living in the country, though the farm’s long gone.  I spend my days working at a high school, and my nights playing with my little girl and writing.

Urban fantasy has settled into my heart and made a home there.  I used to be a die-hard Stephen King horror fan, and I still am, but when a friend put me onto Laurell K. Hamilton, I was finished.  That was it.  I didn’t even know I could write, but I suddenly wanted to, and I wanted to write that kind of book, dark, gritty and filled with neat creatures and romance.

Please tell us about your latest release.

Stone Chameleon is the opener to my Ironhill Jinn series.  Lou Hudson is a preternatural pest exterminator, and also the last of the jinn.  She’s living in secret as her species is condemned and was all but wiped out shortly before she was born.  Her element is earth, and she can transform herself into stone.  When her emotions rise, she can even cause an accidental earth quake.  Add in a bad murder wrap, a gorgeous and grouchy highland vampire in a kilt, some mystery and romance, and you’ll have Stone Chameleon.

Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?

Oh yes.  I don’t usually have much of a hard time feeling out characters, but Amun Bassili, Lou Hudson’s potential love interest in Stone Chameleon, really had me stumped for a while.  Beta readers hated him, so I had to do a lot of tweaking to get that love/hate thing to a perfect balance.  Easier said than done.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

I’m smiling right now.  I kind of have a thing for really good villains, and while Isaac (the highland vampire) isn’t truly a villain, he makes a damn fine antagonist.  He’s arrogant and demanding, but he’s got a softer side when it comes to Lou that slips out now and then.  I wasn’t sure how much he’d play into the series, but after book one, I’ve decided to keep him around and give him a bigger role.

Do you have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character develop as you write?

It depends on the book and how I’m writing it.  I’m a total pantser, so I often just start writing and the characters pretty much tell me who they are.  When I’m participating in the novel marathon I do each year to raise money for adult literacy programs, I do sketch out basic attributes, both physical and personality, but those often change as I write anyway, so I’m not sure why I bother. J

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?

This is one of my favorites.  It’s so very Isaac.

I must have dozed a bit, because something woke me.  A sound?  Remnants of a dream?  The cool water sloshed over the side of the tub as I sat upright and looked around.  The lack of light suggested the sun had gone down, putting the hour at around nine at least.

“Miss Hudson, do not test my patience,” Isaac bellowed from somewhere beyond the bathroom door.

Definitely not a dream.  My heart tried to escape my throat as I leapt from the bath and wrapped my terrycloth robe around me, still cinching the belt when I entered the living room.

Once again, I found Isaac on the patio, his shoulders heaving to add to the huffing bull image he pulled off so nicely.  I should have known he’d show up after receiving my message upon waking, but it still surprised me. 

He’d shed his sash and wore nothing but his kilt, a wide black belt, and a brass buckle the size of my head.  Growing visibly calm, he took a few steps nearer, his dark gaze sweeping my body before landing back on my face.  “You’re all pruny.  What have you been doing, trying to pickle yourself?”

Maybe I could blame it on sugar aftermath, or possibly stress about Mum, my impending death, or that I’d caused an earthquake with my drunkenness, but his comment cracked me up until I held my aching belly.  When I finished wiping tears from my eyes and shook off the last of my giggles, I found him grinning at me, though it held more petulance than amusement.

“You have a lovely laugh, Miss Hudson.”  The grin flattened.  “It would be a shame to extinguish it.”

Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?

Ironhill stands on the ground that had been Philadelphia before a preternatural war all but destroyed it thirty years ago.  So many of the jinn fell there that the soil is rich with power, drawing creatures of all kinds to live there.  It’s causing a few problems with the regular old humans who are now well in the minority and are beginning to notice.  Lou does her best to keep the peace and acts as an advocate for all of the non-human races.

With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?

I tend to keep the backstory to a minimum as I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to feel like I’m reading all of the previous books in a series every time I pick up a new one.  There is enough information in book two that a reader shouldn’t be too lost, but it’s still best read in order.

Do you write in different genres?

I do, actually.  I have another pen name that I write adult erotica, both contemporary and fantasy.  Under this pen name, I write contemporary romance, urban fantasy, paranormal romance and a little bit of horror, mostly in short stories.  Under yet another pen name, I’m developing my first young adult literary novel about a child of rape growing up in a small town.  Juggling personalities is rough, but sometimes the muse goes wherever he wants to, and I tend to follow.  J

What are your guilty pleasures in life?

I don’t have a lot of those.  Once in a while I like a little bit of Jack Daniels and gingerale.  I’d also go to the end of the earth to have a great piece of toast and honey.  I share that with my main character in Stone Chameleon.  Yum.

What was the last amazing book you read?

That would be Iced, the latest of the FEVER series by Karen Marie Moning.  I didn’t expect to like it so much since the main character is so young and I prefer adult books, but she writes fascinating characters and hooked me right from the first chapter.  I can’t wait to read the rest of Dani O’Malley’s adventures in Dublin.

Stone Chameleon

Ironhill Jinn, book #1

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  MuseItUp Publishing

Release Date:  May 24^th, 2013

Blurb:

When a series of unusual murders point to Lou Hudson, Ironhill’s equal rights advocate, as the primary suspect, she has but one choice: find the real perpetrator before her trial begins or face execution.

Lou, the last of the jinn, survives by hiding her abilities after the rest of the elementals fell victim to genocide. As a preternatural pest exterminator and self-proclaimed guardian of the innocent, she’s accustomed to trudging through the dregs of society. Hunting down a pesky murderer should be easy, especially with help from the dashing and mischievous local media darling.

For Lou, though, nothing is ever simple. When she discovers the killer’s identity, to reveal it would unearth her secret and go against her strict moral code, resulting in a deadly catch twenty-two.

Amazon.com  |  Barnes & Noble  |  MuseItUp Publishing

Excerpt:

A flare shot over the rooftops to our left. I dove at Blake and slammed him to the pavement as another column of fire streaked toward us. The flames seared my back. The dragon bat was not a happy camper. Someone landed on my backside, crushing a grunt out of me and pounding my shoulder blade while Blake gasped beneath me.

“Bloody hell, Amun,” I said, before I realized he did it to put out the flames eating up my shirt. “Oh, I see. Thanks.”

He pulled me up, and the three of us ducked behind a car in the parking lot beside the Whip and Tickle, a vampire fetish-wear shop. The owl-sized bat swooped over us again, blasting an inferno that exploded the front window of the shop, sending studded leather and melted mannequins onto the sidewalk.

Three of the other creatures we’d hunted lay dead on other streets, the scorpion included, all by my sword when I’d been left with two options: kill or die. Twelve more were contained in three trucks. The bat remained the only unwelcome visitor in Fangtown. Other than us, of course.

“This is madness, Lou.” Amun panted beside me, his arms rising to shield his head as the bat exhaled on a Mini Cooper two cars over, the crackling and popping suggesting we should find a new hiding place.

“I agree with Mr. Bassili,” Blake said, his drawl worsening with his fright. “What the hell in a hand grenade do we do now?”

Rudy poked his almost translucent head out from behind the newspaper boxes he dove behind during the first fiery blast. The poor guy shook so badly I’d have been surprised if he could see anything. I gestured to him to stay put. “We’ve scared it, not something you want to do to a dragon bat.” A deep exhalation centered me enough to think. “I seem to recall the pecking order in a colony of bats. If we want protection from the dominants, we must present an offering of food.”

“And that helps us how?” Amun, his face blackened with soot and smeared with dirt, tilted to rest against the tire of the car, appearing as frazzled as I’d ever seen him. The sight induced a belly laugh that wouldn’t be contained.

He took on a strange expression of one eyebrow cocked and a half-grin, as if he wasn’t sure whether to be amused or offended. “What?”

I waved him off. “Nothing, I think I’m just losing my marbles.” Rising up enough to see around the car to Rudy, I shouted, “Rudy, do you have any rodents in your truck? Rats or mice?”

“No,” he hollered back, “but I can call some for you.”

I nodded. “As fast as you can.”

Flapping came from our rears. Crackling. A blast tossed the front of a car up until it crashed down on its hood, crushing a Mazda behind it.

“Move!” I shoved at Amun and tugged Blake toward the back of the fetish shop, since it was much closer than the front where flames still poured out of the broken window. Amun kicked out with a startling force against the wooden door. It took three tries, but it finally gave. My, but he was strong. We rushed inside and crouched behind a cement wall beside a set of stairs leading down.

“What do you want the rats for?” Amun asked with obvious suspicion. “Tell me you don’t want one of us to go out there and dangle something for that thing to come and snatch, probably toasting us to a golden brown in the process? Because I think I’ve grown a healthy dose of sympathy for marshmallows right about now.”

“Don’t worry, Amun. I’m going, not you. We just need to listen for Rudy to come back, if he hasn’t chickened out and run for the hills. Hopefully rats like to hang out here and aren’t snapped up for evening snacks.” There was a reason the umikan stuck to small, normal pests, other than his ability to talk to them. Although he’d deal with the scarier stuff when the need called for it, he usually didn’t have enough courage to fill a thimble.

“What?” Amun palmed his forehead. “You can’t be serious.” He gestured toward the door. “Have you been oblivious to the destruction that thing caused just in the last ten minutes? It’s pissed, and I don’t think it’s going to care about some little morsel you offer it.” His frown tugged at his features. “Why are you smiling like that?”

I shrugged, hopped up on adrenaline and enjoying the sight of the great Amun Bassili squirming. “This is what I do for a living.”

“You’re enjoying this?” Both of his eyebrows jacked up.

“Yup,” Blake said, rolling his eyes and chuckling from deep in his belly. “Weirdest broad I ever knew. Takes a bit of starch outta the ole manhood, don’t it?”

I wiped the char from my hands onto my jeans. “To do a job one takes no pride in is a travesty, in my opinion.”

At Rudy’s shout from beyond the wall, I said, “Stay here. Don’t come out until I call or you could send the bat into fits again.”

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About the Author:

Jocelyn Adams grew up on a cattle farm in Lakefield and has remained a resident of Southern Ontario her entire life, most recently in Muskoka. She has worked as a computer geek, a stable hand, a secretary, and spent most of her childhood buried up to the waist in an old car or tractor engine with her mechanically inclined dad. But mostly, she's a dreamer with a vivid imagination and a love for dark fantasy (and a closet romantic — shhh!). When she isn't shooting her compound bow in competition or writing, she hangs out with her husband and young daughter at their little house in the woods.

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