Such is the case with Malcolm from my Black cougar trilogy. He’s done some pretty bad stuff. More than once and I wasn’t sure I could do his story justice. But I sat down and wrote the book and cried like a baby when I ripped his heart out and stompted on it. So lest you think he didn’t pay for his sins…he does.

This excerpt might be a bit of a spoiler but its the first really bad thing he did and the one that would torment him for a very long time.

Excerpt from Malcolm: Chey has had to reunite with Malcolm for the greater good and this is the memory that she is reliving that forever changed both their futures. It’s dark and it’s heartbreaking, but it’s real. Just as life often is.

On the drive back to Malcolm’s house at the edge of the Nantahala national forest, Chey’s skin crawled from doing nothing. She desperately wanted to glare at him, yell at him—hell, even jumping from the Jeep and disappearing into the early morning light just peeking over the horizon sounded good.

Arousal, anger and guilt were not a good combination and she needed some time to clear her head.  It was the arousal more than anything that puzzled her.  Her body burned for a man that was, for all intents and purposes, a criminal. The profile she’d compiled on him over the years spoke of a rebellious but loyal teenager who’d worshipped his mother. After she died, things began to change. For one, he’d met her. Unfortunately, she remembered the day as clearly as if it had been yesterday, not five years ago.

She’d crossed over into his clan’s territory on a dare and he’d hunted her. From the moment she’d scented him something shifted inside her. His presence tugged continuously at her mind. However, fear of a black cougar had practically been bred in her so she raced back to the neutral zone where she belonged. That first day she’d not seen him, but she’d known he watched her from somewhere close by. His scent enthralled her.

Chey’d returned every single night, playing chicken with a Death Enforcer. Until one night, he’d decided to capture her. He’d gone from cougar to man in an instant, pouncing on her before she even blinked. Every cell in her body had lit up that night and she’d been prepared to take him as her first. They’d wrestled and fought, scratched and bit until finally Malcolm pinned her to the ground belly down.

He’d entered her from behind in one dark, fast and thrilling thrust that made her scream from the glorious pain and pleasure. Their cries of passion and lust filled the night air until they were both lost in the frenzy. Then he’d frozen above her. He’d scrambled to his feet spewing insults she’d never expected from the man she’d inexplicably trusted. He shifted back to the sleek cougar she’d been awed by and disappeared into the woods.

Left confused and hurt, she’d curled into a ball and wept. She’d lost her innocence and ability to trust that night and all she heard in her head over and over were his parting words.

Not in this lifetime or any other would he mate with a half-breed.

For more shameful moments from intriguing characters, be sure to follow the trail:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Jody Wallace
Mandy M Roth
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shiloh Walker>
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane

Thank you all so much for all the lovely comments about Spring. It truly is a wonderful season.

Two winners have been chosen from all of the comments via random.org and each one will have their choice of digital download from my entire backlist. And the winners are:

Filia Oktarina

and

Vanessa N.

Winners please email me at elizagayleauthor at gmail dot com with the eBook you’d like to receive and in what format.

Thanks again!

Eliza

First, I’d like to thank Selena Blake, Bitten by Paranormal Romance Reviews, and Reading Between the Wines for hosting this awesome blog hop. (see below for the not-to-be-missed prizes)

Spring has definitely sprung all across the country. Many of us can attest to that through our fight with the annual pollen that drives our allergies crazy. Despite that, I love spring. It’s a clear sign of fresh and new that can be carried over into many aspects of our lives. For me this Spring has brought about the beginning of a very big change. I’m moving from North Carolina to Washington state and I’ve been going back and forth quite a bit as I find a house, help my daughter get settled into her new school, and begin the arduous process of packing up the house I have lived in for thirteen years.

It seems odd to be leaving my beloved South after so many years, but I’ve always enjoyed change and I always look forward to a new adventure. Often times my adventures take place between the pages of a book I’ve written or read but sometimes it’s necessary for me to experience adventure in my real life. It’s those times I’ve been known to make radical changes.

Join the military, travel out of the country, rock climb national parks, go white water rafting, ride in race cars, leave a safe corporate america job for self employment… You get the idea.

With so many possibilities in the air during Spring, I hope you’ll find your perfect adventure whether it be between the pages of the books you’ll be introduced to during this event or right in your own backyard.

Now let’s get to the prizes:

Selena’s grand prize is a Nook Touch with glow light! Check out her blog for her other great offerings .

I will be giving two lucky winners a digital copy of their book of choice from my entire backlist. You can see all that I have available on my books page. This includes my latest release, Vampire Awakening.

To enter to win all of these fabulous prizes simply leave me a comment and tell me what you love about Spring. (open internationally)

If you’ve enjoyed your visit I hope you will consider the following:

Like my author page on Facebook for all the latest updates

Follow me on Twitter

Join my newsletter (box at the top right of the blog)

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Join me on Pinterest for pinning fun!

Be sure to check out the other bloggers below for lots of fun and more prizes than you can count.

On to Kris:

Eliza, you are such a doll. Thank you for having me today on your blog.

I’ve already had a few questions about Lea’s Menage Diary. So let me tackle them here, if you don’t mind.

1. 1. Why first person?  Well, it just locked in that way in my imagination. These characters, Mia, Lea, Misty, Ella, and maybe Amy, are very present in my mind. Not that it’s like dictation, it isn’t far from it when I’m writing these.
2. 2. Why is Lea size 16?  I love curves. I think they are beautiful. Lea’s men, Kane and Reed, identical twin Masters, feel the same way, thankfully.
3. 3. Why is the woman on the cover so thin?  I love the cover, but agree the woman is too thin to be Lea. Still, it might be her, though much later…her men do work her out very hard, if you catch my meaning.
4. 4. Why center it around The Cell?  For those who haven’t read Mia’s or Lea’s, The Cell is owned by Lex, the Dom in Mia’s diary that sweeps her off her feet. It’s quite upscale and fantastic. There are whole rooms for scenes decked out in such extravagant trappings to create a space for its customers to lose themselves to the illusion of a new space. Lea sees some of them, but is in the training rooms more than the other spaces. In Misty’s Bondage Diary, coming next month, we get to see more of these areas.
5. 5. Will there be any paranormal elements in later diaries? I think this question came in because of my other books, which are mainly paranormal erotic romances, though I do have Three To Play, which is a MMF contemporary. No. The Secret Diary series is strictly contemporary erotic romance. There will be no paranormal happenings in these, though there is a room that is set up by Lex to give the participants that magic does exist, but it is only fun and games. That comes in Ella’s Bondage Diary, which comes out sometime this summer.

I feel like I haven’t said enough about Lea’s book. Here’s the blurb and an excerpt that might give your readers a better idea of it.

Blurb:

When Lea’s fiancé breaks off their engagement, she is sad but actually more relieved. Life with him would’ve been nice but boring—especially in bed. But what options are there for her, a single woman, size sixteen, in the dating pool?

Her cousin, Mia, plans a special night out for Lea to get her out of the dumps. The instant they arrive at the BDSM club, she bumps into Kane and Reed, twin brother Masters who are mouth-watering, muscled, male perfection.

Shocked at their advances but ready for adventure, Lea jumps at their offer to train her as a sub.

It’s much more than the cuffs and ropes that bind her submissive heart to the brothers. Can Kane and Reed prove to Lea that they love her and her curves, or will she refuse to surrender all, holding onto a false body-image that destroys her only chance at love?

Excerpt:

I walked beside Lex and Mia with my lips pressed firmly together, shaking like a leaf but also so very curious. My emotions, normally buried deep in my psyche, were clear and powerful, jumping with a crosswise mix of cautious anxiety and wicked eagerness.

We went down several hallways and got a glimpse of the “scenes” Mia had informed me about earlier. The very atmosphere of The Cell was thick with sexuality, and its patrons were both beautiful and dangerous looking. I felt totally out of place, and my apprehension grew.

We came to a hallway with only four doors but no windows looking into the rooms. They were marked with the letters “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” Lex led us to the door with the letter “C” on it.

He knocked, and oddly, I felt a tingle spread through me. I wondered why I was reacting this way.

The door opened, and two of the sexiest men I’d ever seen in my life stood there.

The one with the long, dark hair smiled, causing me to go weak in the knees. “You must be, Lea.” He extended his hand for me to take. I did. He squeezed my hand, and a hot jolt shot up my arm from where we touched. “I’m Reed. Welcome.”

He wore a tight, black sleeveless T-shirt that accentuated the thick muscles it covered. His biceps bulged and were decorated with gorgeous ink. The left tat was an intricate design that looked tribal to me. The right tat was of a formidable-looking dagger that was softened a bit by the wings it was on top of. His eyes were light brown surrounded by the thickest lashes I’d ever seen on any man.

“Are you going to hold hands all night or are we going to get started on the training?” His twin asked. Except for his shaved head and different tats, the two Doms were identical.

“S-sorry…I-I’m new to this,” I stuttered, jerking my hand back.

“Stop it, Kane. Don’t scare the girl away,” Reed interjected.

Kane shrugged and then reached out and cupped my chin, causing my belly to flip-flop. “I don’t think she’ll bolt, bro. I can see excitement in her eyes.”

Buy Lea’s Menage Diary at:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance | Smashwords

Visit Kris Cook’s website at:

http://kriscook.net

Today’s theme is emotion, one of many critical aspects that make up each book. However, finding the right balance is individual to each story. For this snippet I have chosen an excerpt from Power Play which is probably one of the most intensely emotional stories I’ve written. The scene below is right after Jennifer has run from the hero. Intimacy is not her strong suit and she’s really struggling with the torrent of emotions he creates in her.

Power Play has recently hit the Kindle erotica best seller list and I owe a big thanks to the readers for putting it there. Thank you!

Enjoy!

Snippet:

Jennifer stood at her car door, legs trembling and hands shaking. She needed to get in her car and drive far away from here as fast as possible. When Daegan discovered her gone, he was not going to be happy. He’d probably come looking for her, and she couldn’t face him now. Unfortunately, her body was being uncooperative. With her key at the ready, she reached for the lock, and her hand shook harder. Tears streamed down her cheeks and into her mouth and none of it mattered.

She’d run. She’d done exactly what he said she would. Her head buzzed with the words he’d spoken the night before. Disappointment slashed deep.

So what. She didn’t owe him a thing. She’d agreed to his offer in the heat of the moment before she’d had time to think about it. It wasn’t like her to make spur-of-the-moment decisions. Over the years, she’d learned to carefully consider all of her options and not rush into anything with the potential to backfire on her. Jennifer laughed through the tears. What a joke. She was like her mother always said. Fickle.

“One minute you want one thing, and the next it’s something else. Which one is it, Jennifer?”

She heard her mother’s voice in her head as if it’d been yesterday, not a decade ago. How long had it been since she’d talked to her mother? A sob sounded in her throat. She had to get out of there before someone found her like this. She tried again to put the key in the lock, and the keys slipped from her hand.

“Fuck!”

Jennifer slid to the ground and plopped on her butt. She couldn’t drive across town like this. Maybe she could hide in the studio until she got herself under control. Yeah right. The minute Daegan found her car in the parking lot, the first place he’d look was the stupid studio. Thanks to his role as contractor, he had access to the entire building. There was nowhere for her to go. With trembling hands she fished her cell phone out of her purse and turned it on.

Who are you going to call?

She had no one. Story of her fucked-up life. For now her life consisted of her career. Friends were hard to come by, but she kind of had a few. She considered Chase and Murphy her friends, even if they’d betrayed her with that asshole and allowed him to say she couldn’t work. Jennifer swiped at the tears that continued to flow. There’d be no talking to them. She’d watched them interact with Eve when they didn’t realize she was looking. Her friend submitted to them on a level she couldn’t comprehend. No matter what they asked for, she gave willingly. And with a smile on her face. Hell, the woman practically glowed.

Eve. That’s it. She jerked open the cell phone and dialed the number she knew by heart before she had a chance to change her mind.

On the fourth ring, Jennifer’s hope wilted. Not available. Then Eve answered.

“It’s-a-Jennifer,” she spat, knowing there was no way to hide her distress.

“What’s wrong? Are you all right? You sound like you’re crying.”

Regret lanced through Jennifer. This was a dumb idea. She began to pull the phone away from her ear and disconnect.

“Don’t you dare hang up on me, young lady. Where are you?” The demand in Eve’s voice startled her. She’d never heard the other woman talk like that before.

“Downstairs,” she whispered.

“Good, don’t move. Seriously, if you don’t wait for me, I’ll have Murphy track you down and whip your hide. You know he’ll do it.”

Jennifer nodded her head and felt a ghost of a smile cross her face. “Okay,” she mumbled. “I’m in the parking lot.” She folded the phone and pushed it into her pocket. She had about two minutes before Eve found her, and she didn’t know what to do. There’d be no hiding the tears or getting cleaned up. With one last glance at her car and her only chance for escape, she turned and shuffled back toward the building.

Eve burst through the door, and all the emotion inside Jennifer boiled over. “I tried to run,” she blurted.

Her friend wrapped her arms around her. “Of course you did, sweetie.”

She held up her shaking hands. “Fingers wouldn’t work. Can barely hold the keys.” She knew the words tumbling from her mouth made little sense, but they were the best she could do at the moment.

“Come back inside, and you can tell me what happened.” Eve ushered her through the front door and steered her in the direction of the studio. “In here.” She pointed to Chase’s private office, and Jennifer hesitated.

“Don’t worry. Chase and Murphy aren’t here.”

“But Daegan—”

“Won’t dare come in here without an invitation. Trust me.”

Trust her. Eve had no idea how foreign those words were to her. And what the hell was up with everyone today pushing her to trust them?

Be sure to follow the trail for more snippetty goodness!

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Leah Braemel
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane

Happy Birthday Carrie Ann!

The fun thing is that it’s you the reader that has the chance to win all the prizes. In addition to each prize being offered on every  single stop there are two very awesome grand prizes.

1. A Kindle touch

2. A $60 Amazon or B&N giftcard.

Continue reading for more details about the contest and how to win.

Birthdays:

I love em. Seriously. Your birthday, my birthday, my friends and families birthdays. I look forward to each and every one. They are a day to celebrate and have some fun. Over the years I have had some spectacular birthdays and I’ve tried to create some pretty special ones for my kids.

I think my favorite that I did for my oldest daughter (who left for college this week. *sniff*) was the time I drove and rounded up her friends at 5:30 am before school so we could all gather in her room and scare err I mean wake her up with a shocking early morning birthday breakfast. And I think if you asked her it would probably be her most memorable.

My youngest daughter has a birthday coming up in about ten days and when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said “nothing.”

Whaaatttt?!?!?!

Nothing! I can’t do nothing. Time to get out the devious mom hat and start planning something good wouldn’t you say?

As for my own birthdays, these days I tend to want to do something from my bucket list. (don’t we all?) This year I’m going a little crazy. My birthday is this summer and I’m packing up and moving my entire family across the country to somewhere completely different from where we’ve lived all our lives. Time for change. *g* (and new adventures)

Viva la birthday!

By the way:

If you hadn’t heard, I had a new release last week and I’m dying to share it with you. Smoking hot vampire anyone?

The truth may set her free but there’s no guarantee she’ll recover.

Abby Douglas has lived in the dark for six months. Until a mysterious package and a voice in a dream spark a chain of events she didn’t see coming. To futher complicate matters, a lethally stunning stranger walks into her life and awakens erotic needs inside her that run deep. Now she has to decide how much she’ll give up to unlock her memories.

Caleb Barrett, a vampire on a mission, pursues Abby while on the hunt for a homicidal vampire. Instead he’s captured by a silken voice and haunting eyes that stir an insatiable hunger. An instant connection is forged and Caleb marks her as his own with no intention of letting her go. When she runs from him all bets are off and this dead sexy cowboy will do whatever it takes to find out what secrets her mind harbors before it’s too late. Rules or no rules.

Suddenly being careful what you wish for is more than just another cliché, it’s life or death.

This books contains one sexy as sin, motorcycle riding, black leather wearing vampire with a two track mind. Sex and blood.

Now it’s your turn!

For a chance at the fabulous grand prizes and a digital copy of any of my backlist books, leave me a comment, with email address, and let me know if you have a bucket list. Even better share something on it. (optional)

If you’ve enjoyed your visit, I hope you’ll:

Like me on Facebook

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Have fun!

Follow the hop trail and visit lots of blogs

Here is a list of all the other blogs who are participating so you can visit and earn more chances to win the many offered prizes.

From Vampire Awakening:

For more snippetty goodness be sure to follow the trail:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Shiloh Walker
Shelli Stevens

I’m very often a smart ass in real life and that certainly comes through in many of my heroines. So today there is no shortage of books to choose from, it’s just a matter of which sassy character do I feature.

For today I’ve chosen an excerpt from Malcolm. There is sarcasm, resentment, physical violence and a whole lot of lust. The perfect combination.

Excerpt:

attention before you did anything stupid. I’m not here because I missed you. There is an actual purpose to this little surprise reunion.”

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Zoë Archer

Whipped is the third book in my Purgatory series and is the only book I’ve written solely from the male point of view. Walker is sexy as hell and he finds more than he expected in Cass.

While you enjoy this snippet, I’ll be running from Zombies today as part of the Runforyourlives.com Zombie infested 5k obstacle course. lol It’s been storming so it’s going to be a good old fashioned muddy, bloody mess. You can check me out on facebook or twitter if you’d like to see pics as the day progresses.

Enjoy this scene from Whipped.

Excerpt:

Enjoy this snippet from Burned:

Zane opened the door with a scowl on his face. “You’re la—.”

“I’m sorry. I lost track of time in the investigation, and when I noticed that the sun was going down I lost my balance and I fell and now I’m a crazy mess and I wanted to go home and clean up, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging any longer. Really, I’m so sorry. I thought about dinner all day long and have been looking forward to talking to you.” She heaved a sigh.

A wide smile spread across his face. “Are you done?”

Before she could answer, he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

“No. I’m fil—”

“Stop talking, Ruby.”

In an instant, his command caused some of the stress she’d been suffering to drift away. She sagged against him.

“I have the perfect solution. Come with me.”

For once in her life she didn’t argue. She let Zane lead her into his bedroom where her attention was drawn to the bed they’d occupied together less than twelve hours before. She choked back a whimper as they walked past it and into the master bathroom.

“I think you’re going to like this.”

He sat her on the edge of the giant tub dominating the room, turned on the water and then went to a panel in the wall. He pressed a button and fire erupted in the middle of the wall separating the bathroom from the bedroom.

“Whoa. I didn’t even realize that was a fireplace.”

“Uh huh. Somehow I knew you would appreciate that,” Zane said as he quickly removed her disgusting clothes.

“C’mon, climb on in.” Zane stripped and stepped in behind her. He maneuvered her around until her back rested to his front.

“Why are you being so nice to me? I showed up late and probably tracked dirt all through your condo. Is this all part of the submission game you want me to play?”

An arm tightened around her waist. “No, Ruby it’s not a game. Is it so surprising that it pleases me to care for you?” He pressed his lips to her nape. “This is just life.”

“What does that mean? I thought we were just having dinner but this feels like more than that. But how can so much change in just twenty-four hours? That’s crazy, right?”

“I’ve been waiting a while for you so it’s been agonizingly slow for me. You were right when you said I wanted a submissive.”

“I knew this was too good to be true. I’m going to go now.” She tugged, but his embrace didn’t give. Tears sprang to her eyes. Sitting naked in the tub with the man she craved left her too bare—vulnerable.

“You didn’t let me finish. I want a submissive who will submit to me sexually like you did last night.”

Last night had been incredible for her. “Not all the time?”

“I’ll probably be a tad overprotective at times. It’s the nature of the beast.”

Ruby smirked. “In case you haven’t noticed. I can hold my own when I need to.”

“Bring it on, babe. I relish the challenge.”

No I don’t want this. She could see herself falling in love with him and then where would she be? Way too risky.

“You’re incorrigible. And just looking for a reason to do something crazy like spank me.”

For a moment his lips brushed over her ear. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

End of excerpt tease.

For more snippetty goodness be sure to follow the trail:

Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shiloh Walker
Zoë Archer
Lacey Savage
Leah Braemel