The other unusual thing about all five of the top five is that three of them have never been in the top five before.

5. Bloody Pirates!

4.  Erotic Romance e-Publishers

This one seems to have popped up out of nowhere — it’s quite old now.  A nice surprise!

3. Excerpt Time – Erotic Urban Fantasy Romance BEAUTY’S BEASTS

2. MM and MMF – Let’s Try Again. Why Do Women Like Men Who Like Men?

This is the perennial top fiver, that pops up over and over.  Always a firm favourite.

1.  11 Things I Wish I’d Known About Full Time Writing When I First Started Writing Novels

Thanks to a still-anonymous member of Stumbled-Upon, this post netted a whopping 2,100% more hits than the second most popular post of the month.  That gives you a feel for the reason why my site got shut down!  That many hits more or less within a 24 hour period tends to make CPU companies crabby, apparently…. :)

I’m still getting a steady flow of hits on this post, too.  Lingering after affects, I guess.

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• Top 5 Posts for September It's the end of the month.  Summary time. The Top 5 Posts for September were in ascending order: 5.  Upcoming Event: Desiree Holt to guest post here on October 21st. 4.  Upcoming Events: Teal Ceagh to guest post here. 3.  Upcoming Event: Julia Templeton to guest blog here, October 7th.......
• Top Posts for February -- and the post that will not go away. And this month saw the surging return of an oldie but a goodie to the #1 position:  The man that persists despite everything. From lowest to highest, the top five most popular posts in February were: 5.  Free Erotic Romantic Suspense. Just for Today only, for my Birthday. 4.  Love......
• Top Five Posts for June Some surprises this month! 5. Erotic Romance e-Publishers This one is really a surprise, as it was December 2009, and from when I was still Teal Ceagh in disguise, and from the other site.  It has surged again.  Everyone's madly buying ebooks now?  Great!! 4. The Complete Ellora’s Cave Primer......
• Where Did the Romance Go in Erotic Romances? I have a tendency to mouth off sometimes, and today is one of those days. Over at Romancing the Blog, Emmanuelle Alspaugh raised the question "Is there ever such a thing as too much sex in erotic romance?" in her post "Let's Talk About Sex, Baby". In my mouthy fashion,......
• The Differences Between Paranormal Romances and Urban Fantasies...Do You Really Care? Alana Joli over at Flames Rising has posted about how some titles, these days, are becoming more and more difficult to differentiate as Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance, in her post "Defining Genre: Not Quite Paranormal Romance" While I agree that the lines are blurring between the two, and that......

• Five for Friday (on Saturday January 24) It is amazing how quickly the week speeds by when you are really busy at work. So quickly that this week's 'Five for Friday' wasn't ready on Friday, but that didn't stop other bloggers from posting some interesting articles. Here they are: Peter at Bible Money Matters shares his journey......
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• Regardless of Cost or Debt You May NEED a Nice Car I didn’t say you need an expensive car but some people need a nice car.  I know "nice" is a very subjective term, it could mean reliable, but in this post I simply mean an ascetically please car to society.  First and foremost I should mention that this post is......
• Limited "There's no limit on bandwidth" yeah, but ISPs don't think like you think and even they said 'unlimited bandwidth'. Well, it seem to be they're lies.About yesterday, Comcast cable (also Qwest) has just annouced 250 GB bandwidth cap and they'll disconnect user who exceed more than that... Well, as I......
• Best Of November At the end of every month, I'm going to start doing a round-up of what I feel are my best posts of the month.  If there's a post you enjoyed that you think should be on this list or maybe one you think shouldn't, post in the commenters. Subscribe If......

Chronicles of the Lost Years

The Case of the Reluctant Agent

Forbidden

Dangerous Beauty

Masquerade’s Mate

Diana By The Moon

Congratulations to Sherry!

And my thanks to everyone who commented (many of you sevreral times) on all the excerpts.

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• HEART OF VENGEANCE - Second Excerpt, Second Chance to Win Today is the second excerpt to mark the release of Heart of Vengeance, and your second chance to win a book and your second opportunity to enter the big prize pack draw.  (Click here for details on that one). Today, a random winner drawn from comments will get a copy......
• Upcoming Event: Heart of Vengeance -- Medieval Romance Ain't Quite Dead Yet All you historical romance lovers will be pleased to know that Cerridwen Press have picked up Heart of Vengeance, which was out of print, and agreed to re-publish it. It will be out sometime in 2010 -- I'm guessing somewhere in the mid-year, given their current release schedules, but I'll......
• Winners! Winners! Vonna Harper's Winner and Mine for HEART OF VENGEANCE Excerpt Two. I've got a bit behind on announcing the winners of a couple of draws because of the blog hijack thing.  But never fear! The goodies are here! The winner of the Heart of Vengeance Excerpt #2 draw was Mary Preston, who scored a copy of my historical romantic suspense,......
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Berengaria has also kindly donated a prize, to be given randomly to a commentor – a book of their choice from her backlist. Berengaria has a range of MMF and MF titles in paranormal and contemporary romance that you can check out on her blog.  The draw will close next Wednesday, August 4 at midnight, MST, and will be announced on Thursday, Ausgust 5th.

Let’s meet Berengaria.

_____________

Who are your favourite authors at Ellora’s Cave?

Like millions of other readers I started by reading Jaid Black. I didn’t even know the books I most liked reading were erotica until a friend led me to the EC website. I read anything and everything but I do like the spicier books so Lacey Thorn and Desiree Holt are favourite authors. I enjoy light-hearted books too: Amarinda Jones and Ashlyn Chase both make me laugh. And I read and enjoyed your trilogy: Beth’s Acceptance, Mia’s Return, and Sera’s Gift. Hot with a plot, an awesome mix. And Anny Cook’s Mystic Valley series is a favorite of mine too.

What is your favourite novel cover (can be from anywhere)?

The Christina Dodd book, where the heroine ended up with three hands, Castles in the Air. That cover is awesome!

What’s the best Hero Moment you’ve ever seen in film?

Maybe in the Sherlock Holmes movie when he comes up out of the water with his pipe still in his mouth?

What’s the best Hero Moment you’ve ever read in a book?

That would have to be from Gone With the Wind. We could have the classic: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” or we could go for “This is an honorable proposal of marriage made at what I consider a most opportune moment. I can’t go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands.”

What reading device do you use for reading ebooks on?

My laptop. It goes everywhere with me.

What is your take on the ePublishing phenomenon?  What do you think the book industry will look like in five years time?

I truly believe e-publishing will continue to get bigger and bigger for at least the next five years. E-books are cheaper than print, it’s environmentally friendly, and it’s much more convenient. We are a generation who wants everything “now” and downloading e-books give us that.

Do you ever skip the “I love you!” scene in your novels?  Do you feel you’ve been cheated if they’re missing in other authors’ books?

I only write happy endings, because that is what I prefer as a reader. I always have them say “I love you”, or at least think it, so the reader can see it, not just infer it. I believe there’s enough bad things happening in the real world, and that most readers want the happy ending. However as long as it is clearly happening I don’t know the actual three words need to be typed. Having said that, however, my characters always manage to blurt it out before the book ends.

What’s your take on eBook piracy?  What would you do about it if you were given carte blanche?

I would like to see them walk the plank! Permanently! Seriously, I’d love it if some major company took them to court and sued their collective asses off. There has been a couple of musical piracy cases and I’m hoping it happens soon for e-book pirates as well.

If someone offered you immortality, but you could never write again…would you take the offer?

Oh yeah, I’d accept the offer. Once I’m immortal I’ll figure a way around the not writing bit. Hmm, likely I could dictate my books onto some of that nice voice recognition software? That’s not really writing now is it?

What do you want your epitaph to read, at the end of your life?

New York Times best selling author, Berengaria Brown…

What are you currently reading?  How’s that going for you?

I’m reading Carly Phillips’ Hot Stuff and so far I’m enjoying it. It’s funny and sexy.

What will you be reading next?

Jaid Black’s new book Subjugated is releasing on 19 July and I’m really looking forward to that. It’s been way too long since she had an all-new book out.

The Desiree Staccato

In honour of Desiree Holt who started this tradition:

• Favourite colour?: Green
• Favourite drink?: Water
• Favourite writing oufit?: barefeet
• Favourite food(s)?: chocolate
• Favourite music? Rainforest sounds
• Favourite sport?: swimming
• Favourite body part?: on him or me?
• Favourite spot in the world? Hawaii
• Favourite movie? Any James Bond
• Favourite TV show?: pass
• Favourite flower? rose
• Favourite thing to do at knock-off time? Go home!

Tell us about your book.

Double Satisfaction is an MMF contemporary story. It released on 28 July from Ellora’s Cave.

Imogen, Gage and Liam relax at a luxury resort for a week’s vacation and some extra-hot ménage sex. The gardens are beautiful, the meals are delicious and the facilities are excellent—swimming pools, beach, tennis and golf. The men are delicious too, and Imogen is having a wonderful time—until bossy Gage makes a few autocratic decisions that remind Imogen of her manipulative father. Imogen has to decide whether the best orgasms of her life are worth risking potential heartbreak.

And an excerpt

Usual warning folks…This is not kiddie fare. Read at your own moral risk.

Before Imogen could take another breath the two men surrounded her. Two hot, hard bodies pressed against her—one in front and one behind. Four arms held her tightly and two sets of lips whispered across her skin, one on her cheeks and the other on her neck.

“Oh you will enjoy it. We can promise you the best orgasm you’ve ever had. When we’re both inside you I can feel Liam’s cock and he can feel mine. The tissues separating us are very thin and very sensitive. You’ll feel our every twitch and pulse as we stroke deeper and deeper in you, bringing you closer and closer to the ultimate climax.”

Imogen shivered. Gage’s sexy voice was bringing her pretty close to an orgasm with every word he spoke and cream was already dripping from her pussy onto her panties. Deep inside her core a throbbing drumbeat had begun to draw her ever nearer to the climax Gage promised.

Behind her, Liam kneeled and slipped her feet out of her sandals, then pressed hot lips to her legs, kissing his way up them to her knees. He licked all around her knee and then butterfly kissed the sensitive skin at the back of her knee.

“Oh God, that feels good,” she whispered, clutching Gage’s waist to support her suddenly wobbly legs.

Gage slid his hands under her T-shirt and trailed his fingers up, up, up, over her bellybutton, over her ribs, until finally they rested under her breasts.

“Touch them,” she begged him. But he ignored her and stroked his hands up and down her spine, rubbing circles and spirals across her back as he went.

Meanwhile Liam had swapped to her other leg and was licking and sucking the back of that knee now. I never knew knees were sexy, she thought as her brain started to fry from the combined heat of the men’s touches.

Liam pulled her thighs apart and she staggered as her legs almost refused to hold her upright any longer. He held her thighs firmly and began nibbling the oh-so-delicate skin of her inner thighs.

Gage finally slid his hands under her bra and rested his palms over her breasts. Imogen sighed with relief at the hot touch just exactly where she needed it most.

But her relief was short-lived as the coiling, fiery ball of need deep inside her was demanding more. Much more.

___________

To buy Double Satisfaction, click here…To visit Berengaria’s Blog…Berengaria’s Site…Facebook…Twitter…Berengaria at All Romance ebooks…

Berengaria at Amazon…Berengaria at BookStrand…Email Berengaria.

Don’t forget to leave a comment!

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• NJ Walters is Seeking Charlotte and Giving Away the Prizes Today I'm happy to have Ellora's Cave author, NJ Walters, as my special guest.  NJ is celebrating the launch of her new book, Seeking Charlotte, and while most of the cave is empty of authors, who are off playing at the Romantic Times convention, unfortunately, NJ is one of those......
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• It’s All In the Swing...Or My Theory On Why Romantic Suspense Isn’t Making Me as Rich as Croesus by Tracy Cooper-Posey, guest blogger and author of Dead Again Everyone knows the historical romance market is dead, dead, dead. I’m tempted to protest that there should also be warning signs that the romantic suspense market (or romantic intrigue, if you prefer that moniker) has also been rolled into......
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It’s quite a long review.  Here’s the tail end of it:

I liked this novel very much. I particularly liked Jack, a man who grieved over the loss of lives in the initial plane crash, who did extraordinary things to save Sophie and keep her alive in spite of overwhelming odds against them. Even in his death he made provision for Sophie to have the best medical care for her injuries and to be able to move forward with her life. Sophie is a woman of tremendous personal strength–a woman whose grief stayed with her in spite of knowing that Jack was dead, but who knew that she had to make a life for herself and her kids in spite of that hole in her heart that could never be filled. They are both wonderful characters that represent the best of what we hope humanity can be.

There are loads of bad guys in this story–an attorney that is suspect, a police chief that is obsessed with Sophie and uses his office to pull off some fairly awful stuff, a crime lord, a state governor, and folks here and there that aren’t your usual PTA members. The author has told this story so well that Sophie’s fear for her life and that of her kids is palpable. It just seems to flow off the page into the reader’s mind. The mystery and suspense are well contained but they are always in the background, driving the reader on to the next page. Yet there is loving concern and family support, affection and deep romantic attachment. The erotic encounters are truly sensual but all “wrapped” in the context of a bond that transcends the pettiness of small-minded people.

This is a very good book and it will be one that romance fans and mystery fans alike can enjoy.

Judith for Book Binge

Click here for the full review.

_____________

A small plane crashes in the Rockies, and the only two survivors, Jack and Sophie, help each other live until rescue arrives, seven days later. Only Sophie goes on to pick up the pieces of her life, which has now been irrevocably changed by big, gentle Jack’s love…and death. But Sophie learns that Jack’s death didn’t close that chapter of her life, after all.

A drifter called Martin holds the key to her heart, alongside a deadly secret. Combined with a corrupt and desperate police chief and her pressure-cooker life as a single mother in a small town, they plunge her head-deep into the after-shocks caused by those seven days in the mountains. The consequences will reach out to rock state governors, district attorneys, and one of the deadliest crime lords in the land, and all of them have reason to react. For Sophie, life is about to change again…for the worse.

Click here to find out more about Dead Again.

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• I'm Guesting at Love Romance Passion Today, Talking About Dead Again and Giving Away Goodies Today I kick off the book tour for my romantic suspense, Dead Again, with a blog stop with Keira and her gang at Love Romance Passion. Apart from the post and comments and a book giveaway, I've also (possibly rashly) promised Keira I would try to upload photos of famous......
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Well, the pirates almost got their wish. So did J.A. Konrath.  By the skin of my teeth I just managed to pull through and didn’t get the pleasure of telling Konrath he had his first proof.

My next royalty cheque wasn’t quite as bad as the last, but it was bad enough that I had to get a job in a very big hurry.  Last week I started back at work at the princely sum of $9 CAD/hour.  Because that isn’t quite enough to cover even our mortage I’m also going to be very busy looking for secondary sources of income, too.

What that means for you as a reader is that while my production of fiction isn’t going to halt — not altogether, anyway, it is going to slow down severely — especially for a short while at the front end here until I find my sea legs again, and get used to the whole working out of the house/public transport/ten hours out of my day/six days out of my week routine.

As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about the work thing, and how it applies to the characters in my book and in other fiction.

And I got around to thinking about our romance heroes and what they do when they aren’t snuggling up to their heroines, after rescuing them, or beating off the bad guys.

Specifically, paranormal heroes and their day jobs.

Some heroes have defined jobs, like demon hunters.  But many of them are of a specific species, and the species defines what they do.  For example, a demon hero pretty much has to spend his time fighting off demon hunters and proving he’s really a reformed and okay guy, worthy of the heroine’s love.

Witches/wiccan, on the other hand, have to do their job in order to be given their titles, just as demon hunters do, but unlike demon hunters, witches and wiccans can acquire powers and magic through the practicing of their craft, turning themselves into something more than just human with a job.

It’s going to be an interesting series.

I’ve laid out an alphbetical order of paranormal heroes who have appeared in books at Ellora’s Cave and that will be the series over the next few weeks:

• Angels
• Centaurs
• Demons
• Demon hunters
• Elves
• Fae/Fairies
• Genie (Also Jinn and Djinn)
• Gargoyles
• Gods
• Merfolk
• Nymphs
• Satyr/Faun
• Were Creatures
• Witches/wiccan
• Zombie

This is a list of all well-known sentient fantasy creatures and those that inhabit the paranormal world that I could find that are currently used as romance heroes at Ellora’s Cave.  Potentially, the list might change to include additions I’ve forgotten or overlooked.   Why just EC?  That’s my current paranormal publisher.   But I’ve got a tip for you later that will help you track down the same information at any other publisher you’re interested in.

You’ll notice I’ve not included vampires in this list.  That’s because every Tuesday I talk about my favourite obsession all on its own.  I didn’t think it was necessary to include them here, too.  Besides, trying to add a list of vampire-hero titles at EC would be an exercise in blackhole-style time wasting.  EC have their own sub-category listing for vampires already and it runs for pages and pages and pages.

_____________________

Angels

Wikipedia says that angels are “ messengers of God in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. The term “angel” has also been expanded to various notions of “spiritual beings” found in many other religious traditions. Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings.”

But that definition is too simplistic for erotic romance heroes.  Warrior angels fight for the souls of those they have chosen to protect, for a number of reasons, and they are scary people.  (Think of Castiel from Supernatural, for example.)  They look human (more or less) while they’re walking amongst humans, but when they come out fighting, like shapeshifters, they can change and become something more than human.  Whether the angel in question has wings while on earth is dependent upon the author and universe you’re reading.

There are also fallen angels who have chosen to stay on earth and live as human, giving up their mission to work for God.  These angels are often torn between wanting to be human and the divine in themselves, making for some harrowing and angst-filled decision making in their lives.  Fallen angels are also mortal.

Technically, fallen angels who have gone bad are usually called demons.  The primary and most infamous of these is Lucifer himself, who was kicked out of heaven.

These are the basics common to all angels.   Individual authors have added and embroidered upon the angel mythology, giving it their own personal spin and twists.

If you like the idea of angels as heroes, you might like to try:

Christmas Angel by Lisa Marie Rice

Sensitive by Sommer Marsden

Sculpting a Demon by Lisa Fox

Demon’s Fall by Margaret Carter

Echoes and Embers by Cyndi Friberg

Born of the Shadows by Cyndi Friberg

These are all the titles I could find under the Jasmine Jade domain.

If you’re interested in combing through another publisher’s domain, here’s how you do it.  Go to Google.com and on the right hand side of the search bar you’ll see a link that says “advanced search”.  Click on that.

The window that opens up has a number of options, but there’s only two you need to worry about to get great results.

1.  Right down at the very bottom, there’s an option that says “Search within a site or domain:” Go to to the publisher you’re interested in searching and copy their base URL.  Get it from their site.

Don’t guess what it is, because you need it exactly right, and you need the root URL — the URL that shows up when you first arrive at the site, so that the search includes everything.   Paste that into the window to the right.

2.  In the section at the top called “Find web pages that have…”, go to the second bar, where it says : “this exact wording or phrase:”

This is where you type in “angel” or “fallen angel”  If you’re just looking for angels, you can just type in the word angel without the quote marks.  If you want fallen angels, then type in “fallen angel” with the two quote marks around it, or you’ll get anything that has “fallen” in the text as well anything that has “angel” in the text.  If you put both words in there with the quotes around them, then you’ll only get results with both words together.  (This works with any search engine, by the way.)

3.  Now hit the “Advanced Search” button at the bottom.  Google will go off and search the publisher’s site and bring back to you any page on that site that has the phrase you’re looking for, including any book titles, etc.

4.  There will also be a link at the bottom of your search results that says “Search Within Results” so if you want to further refine your results, you can.  Google will only search amongst the results your first search dug up.  So if you searched and came up with 21 pages of results, and don’t want to look through them all, if you can think of a way of narrowing down the results, this would be a useful function to use.

Have fun!

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The winner of that prize was Annabel Joseph, who was drawn by random number generator from amongst everyone who commented.

Congratulations, Annabel!

Also, you may not have noticed, but I’ve added a PS to Cris’ original post, that included a link to Cris’ Author Island post about her photo shoot experience with Angelo, for the cover of What She Needs.

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• Upcoming Event: Julia Templeton to guest blog here, October 7th. All you historical romance lovers take note:  Julia Templeton will be guest blogging here on October 7, to celebrate the launch of her new sexy erotic regency romance trilogy coming out with Kensington, The Rakehells of Rochester.  The first book Sinjin, is being released on October 7 (it seems like......
• The Winner of Shelley Munro's giveaway...and Thanks to Shelley for Visiting. Audra W was the reader who was selected from amongst the visitors who commented on Shelley Munro’s guest post on my blog on Friday, and therefore was given a choice of either a download of Summer in the City of Sails or Playing to Win from Shelley's back list. Congratulations......
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A really smart hero who also knows how to defend himself (Holmes was an expert at martial arts) is a sexy combination that is just fatal to the heart and knees, which I discussed in “Really Smart Heroes — Brains Over Brawn Is Better.”

I picked up the news on one of the romance discussion lists that there’s a new BBC TV series coming to the US networks.  Sherlock is just what it sounds like — Sherlock Holmes yanked out of Victorian London and dumped into 2010 London instead.  Otherwise, he’s barely changed.  He just looks a bit younger than he does in The Strand Magazine illustrations.

Here’s a clip from the series:

It looks like enormous fun. Holmes looks as ascerbic and intelligent as he is in the original stories and from the little bit you see in the clip, it doesn’t look like they’ve messed with the characters too much — just enough to update them.

And with all due respects to Robert Downey Jr, this Holmes is tall.  Conan Doyle described him as being 6’2″.  Robert Downey Jr. isn’t, quite.

I know I’ll be searching out the series for a look-see.

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• The Big Secret...and A Big Contest. You've no idea how scary this is.  I've been holding this close to my chest for months, running a double life, and...well, basically lying and pretending, and now I get to step out of the closet.  I know there's a few people have figured it out before now.  And I......
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• A Nice, but Surprising, 4.5 Star Review for Chronicles of The Lost Years The timing couldn't be nicer, really.  With the new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out next month, and the yummy casting of Robert Downie Jnr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, we've finally got a casting that's interesting in all sorts of respects. Have you seen the trailer? ......
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• Fall in Love With The New Sherlock Holmes. I Could. While I'm being all obsessed about heroes with brains, take a look at the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie, due out on Christmas Day. Robert Downey Jnr. looks like he does the role justice, and finally, Watson is worth looking out. (Jude Law -- Wow!) I know Ellora's......

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• Contest: Win a Copy of Shattered! Thanks to Joan and Mira Publishing for sponsoring this contest! Prize: Shattered by Joan Johnston Blurb: Nine years ago Kate Grayhawk Pendleton walked into Wyatt Shaw's life - and out of it the next morning.  Now Wyatt's back and, by all accounts, is a brutal killer - and has the......
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When Nina acquired the meme, the author she accepted it from switched the rules around, so I think I’ll keep the rules as Nina followed them.  They seem like fun rules.

So here goes.

To accept the award, I have to tell you seven things about me, all of them true except for one.

You get to guess what that one false statement is.

Like Nina, I’ll leave this running for a few days, and I’ll give away a book to a commentor, too.

I’ll also confer this honour (and meme) upon five more of my fellow authors:

Regina Carlylse

Beth Ciotta

Tina Donahue

Julia Rachel Barrett

Shelley Munro

And here’s the list of seven things about me:

1. I’ve lived through a civil war and escaped it.

2.  I’ve kissed a prince.

3.  I’ve slapped a 250 pound professional wrestler across the face during a live performance and got away with it.

4. I’ve bumped noses with a real shark, out in the ocean, no glass, no wires between us.

5.  I’ve eaten goanna meat.

6.  I’ve waltzed in the snow.

7. I’ve attended a reception aboard a USAF aircraft carrier while wearing a tiara and sash.

So…which one is the lie?

I’ll tell you next Tuesday, and draw a winner for the book from comments, too. ;)

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• Lynn LaFleur Is All Business Today we have with us Lynn LaFleur, who is marking the launch of her new erotic contemporary romance from Ellora's Cave, Business and Pleasure. Lynn has kindly offered a copy of Business and Pleasure as a prize to a commentor, so make sure you chat back.  Draw closes at midnight......
• Eileen Ann Brennan Dances With Us Today - Chat Back to Win. Today we have another Dance of Desire author, Eileen Ann Brennan, who is talking about her Ellora's Cave book, Waltz Me Through Time. Thanks to Eileen's generosity, today you have a chance to win either a copy of Waltz Me Through Time or one of Eileen's other books (check her......
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• Ellora's Cave Author Cris Anson Will Guest Here On Friday I'm very pleased to have Ellora's Cave author Cris Anson visiting here next Friday, talking about her very special new book, What She Needs. I'm fascinated by this books -- especially the cover. Why? Check the cover out (left).  Hunky hero.  Sexy chick. That's Cris herself!! Yep.  Cris is starring......
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• Second Edition: Author Love Carnival Welcome to the second edition of author love. This carnival is for the highlighting and promotion of writers, authors, and readers. Every genre, every aspect of publishing, is welcomed. I hope you find something to your liking and participate in the next edition. Author Interviews Madeleine Begun Kane presents......

She has also generously offered up one of her backlist books as a prize to a commentor — you get to pick!

So come and make her feel welcome on Friday.

____________

Imogen, Gage and Liam relax at a luxury resort for a week’s vacation and some extra-hot ménage sex. The gardens are beautiful, the meals are delicious and the facilities are excellent—swimming pools, beach, tennis and golf. The men are delicious too, and Imogen is having a wonderful time—until bossy Gage makes a few autocratic decisions that remind Imogen of her manipulative father. Imogen has to decide whether the best orgasms of her life are worth risking potential heartbreak.

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• The Winner of Cris Anson's Lucky Draw Cris Anson, author and sex goddess who was my guest author here last Friday, offered up one of her Dance titles as a gift to a commentor. The winner of that prize was Annabel Joseph, who was drawn by random number generator from amongst everyone who commented. Congratulations, Annabel! Also,......
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• Character Interviews: The Eternal Kiss by Christina Kelly, guest blogger Christina Kelly, Author of The Eternal Kiss, interviews Allurius LeBeau, Dresden Hawthorn and Alana Sheridan, the Main Characters of The Eternal Kiss Allurius shifts impatiently in his chair. “Will you hurry up?” He says to me very snidely. Like I’m not the one who......

Chronicles of the Lost Years

The Case of the Reluctant Agent

Forbidden

Dangerous Beauty

Masquerade’s Mate

Diana By The Moon

If you have commented on the excerpts that have gone before, you’re already in the running for this prize pack, but you can increase your chances by commenting again today.

________

To find her father’s killer, Helena of York must pose as a Norman in the great halls of Richard I’s England. Should she be unmasked, her life will be forfeit.

Stephen, Count of Dinan, once Richard’s friend and trusted knight, is outcast for reasons shrouded in mystery. Known as the ‘Black Baron’, he is friendless in a glittering world he despises. His only goal is to restore his honor and once again serve his king.

Helena’s only desire is to kill the man who destroyed her father and her future. Stephen’s suspicions draw him into Helena’s web of deceit, and the two outsiders find themselves tangled in a greater conspiracy that threatens the throne of England itself, while their embattled hearts grapple with a far greater challenge.

______

Excerpt

An Excerpt From: HEART OF VENGEANCE

Copyright © TRACY COOPER-POSEY, 2010

All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter Four

Despite Ranulf’s protests, Stephen stayed at the unshuttered window. There was a late night breeze blowing in from the river, laden with moisture. He smelled green growing things in the fresh scent and sniffed it appreciatively.

“Is my lord ready to retire?” Ranulf’s old voice quavered.

“No,” Stephen growled. Instantly, he regretted his shortness. He looked over his shoulder at Ranulf. “Later, perhaps. But you get some sleep. It’s likely to be a long day tomorrow.”

“Aye. I’ve heard the Archbishop has news apt to cause a protest or two.”

“They always say that if the Council is called on short notice. It’s just the speculations of men with little better to do.”

He turned back to the window and sighed. The description fit him too—little to do and far too much time to do it in. Even tournaments, which had once been a barely adequate substitute for the crusades and all that had come after, had lost their challenge and excitement.

For a while tonight he had thought the mysterious not-Isobel might provide some interest but her horror upon learning his identity disabused him of that hope. She saw him as others did—a pariah to avoid.

Yet her face, with those incredible eyes and the steady jawline, kept floating into his mind, distracting him from his bad humor despite his intention to forget her.

“The things I’ve heard were not rumors, my lord,” Ranulf said.

Stephen turned to face him. Persistence from Ranulf was unusual. “What have you heard?”

“The Archbishop’s chamberlain, sir, is a man of good repute.”

“I’m sure he is,” Stephen agreed. He recognized this gambit and his interest quickened. First, Ranulf gave the evaluation of his source of information, so the news that followed could not be too quickly dismissed as idle gossip. “The chamberlain and I shared supper together, sir.”

“You know him well?”

“We lived in the same town as children, sir. Our paths cross from time to time but not as often, of late.”

Not since you were sent back to England in disgrace. The unspoken words hung there between them. “Go on,” Stephen said.

“He mentioned, sir, the Archbishop rode straight from the king’s side at that fancy new castle of his outside Rouen, straight to England to call the Council.”

“For what?”

“For war, sir.”

“We’ve been at war with the French for years,” Stephen snapped. Those years he had wasted sitting in England, playing at knighthood, while Richard scrambled across Europe, shoring up allegiances. While Stephen had done nothing, Richard had reestablished the borders King Philip of Francehad dareddared step across while Richard was a prisoner of the Holy Roman Empire.

“Yes, sir,” Ranulf agreed smoothly. “That’s the king’s problem, sir. Seems he needs more men.”

Excitement flared in him. “More? How many more?”

“He’s calling for every lord who holds lands in Normandy, or Normandy’s continental allies.”

That included Stephen.

Stephen didn’t ask if the information was accurate. Ranulf wouldn’t have brought it to his attention in this way unless he was absolutely sure. So, Hubert Walter was recruiting for Richard’s campaign again. It sounded like nothing short of total war this time. Stephen tried to suppress his smile. “We might be going to war, Ranulf. You and your chamberlain friend will be able to cross paths again.”

“Yes, my lord.” Ranulf stepped back from the bed he had turned down and picked up one of the candlesticks on the chest next to it. “I trust my lord will sleep well now?”

Stephen chuckled. “If the possibilities of the morrow do not keep me tossing, then I will indeed sleep well.”

“Good night, my lord.”

Ranulf shuffled out of the room. Stephen returned to the window and breathed deeply.

To fight again! To be recalled to Richard’s side. Was this a sign Richard had forgiven him? It didn’t matter, for he could fight just as well in the back ranks as he could at the spearhead. Finally he could see an end to these empty days.

An image formed in his mind of her blue eyes, half-lidded when he’d held the knife against her throat. He frowned, annoyed at the persistence of the image. She’d said she would never see him again. It seemed she was right. He felt a dollop of regret. It would have been interesting to uncover her secrets.

A single thought followed him down into sleep. Would she really have tried to kill me?

* * * * *

Catherine was very tired after the feast and requested Helena help her with her evening toilet. Helena, giddy with relief and the knowledge she was still free to pursue her quest, leapt to aid the woman who unwittingly helped her.

She loosened Catherine’s braids and brushed the golden hair till it shone. There were many faded strands among the gold. It was a reminder that Catherine was not as young as she seemed. Lately Helena had noticed her advanced age more and more, like tonight when she had seen the frail thinness of Catherine’s hands.

Catherine sat still while she worked, saying little and sipping at the herb-infused concoction she favored at nights.

“My dear, I would offer you some advice. Would you listen to an old woman like me?” she asked as Helena finished.

“You’re not old!”

“I am old enough to have seen a great deal more of man’s works than you,” Catherine assured her. “I’m so old I know without doubt that men’s affairs work in patterns, for I have seen them repeated over and over.”

“And there is a pattern you want to tell me about?”

“There is one whose roots I have watched planted in the last few years. I would not like to see you caught in them.”

Helena put the comb down. “And that is?”

“Stephen of Dinan.” Catherine swiveled to face her. “He is not in the king’s favor, child.”

“Nor mine.”

Catherine smiled. It was not her usual, splendid expression but a soft, wise, curving of the lips. “Perhaps. You asked me to sponsor your return to society. I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you. It isn’t wise to attract attention from the wrong man, Isobel.”

“And Dinan is the wrong man?”

“He is marked for an unhappy future. A man doesn’t bear the king’s disapproval without a price.”

“Does he not pay that price already?”

“A part of it, perhaps. I have seen kings come and go but these devil’s spawn of Eleanore’s…they carry ill-will for a man beyond the reasonable. And they are capricious!” Her faded blue eyes focused inward. “Henry was bad enough, heaven knows but his sons…” She shivered and lifted her gaze to Helena. “I’m not a harper, I’m afraid. I lack the skill of clear expression.”

“On the contrary. You make yourself very clear.” She spoke truly. Catherine’s worried frown, the inward stare and shiver, had spoken more eloquently than a thousand words.

“I have grown fond of you, Isobel. I’d like to see you settled with a suitable husband. Perhaps we are remiss in our sponsorship in that regard. I should speak to Hubert about finding you a good match.”

No! Don’t! Helena wanted to cry out but smothered the protest. Catherine was merely being a concerned and responsible counsellor. For there was a wordless understanding that came with such a sponsorship—to help Isobel find a husband, as the real Isobel lacked parents or a court-appointed ward. However, a husband was the last thing Helena wanted. Married, she would not be able to move with any freedom. A husband would not tolerate her having her own plans. She would have to fall in with his plans. And a husband would immediately discover she was not Isobel, for the dowry of which he would expect to take possession belonged to the real Isobel.

No, she could not afford to get herself a husband! Yet she could not speak of her reluctance to Catherine, lest she unravel the tale she had spun as Isobel of Brittany.

Helena twice opened her mouth to speak and closed it again, her thoughts too scattered to draw a sentence together. She had not expected this.

Catherine tilted her head, plainly expecting gratitude or pleasure. Helena gathered her wits. “You have surprised me with the depth of your concern,” she said truthfully. “Thank you, Lady Catherine.”

Catherine nodded once, graciously. “Would you excuse me, Isobel? I plan to retire at once.”

“I have kept you from your bed.” Helena gathered up the comb and ties and placed them in Catherine’s traveling chest. “I will leave at once. The hour is late.”

“Late enough to feel we are the only two not already abed and dreaming,” Catherine agreed.

* * * * *

Savaric spread his hands in mild protest. “The hour grows late, sire. Shall we continue this discussion tomorrow?”

“That’s all you learned?” John repeated. “I gave you over fifty marks. You said you needed that much to pry open reluctant mouths and all you discovered is that Hubert Walter might have news about the war?”

Savaric blinked. He recalled walking to the castle forecourt, passing out coins and asking a few questions of some of the court followers without whom Hubert Walter seemed unable to travel. That had been shortly after John had finished eating, when most of the feasters had left the hall. But although it had been a short time ago, he was only able to vaguely recall the answers he had received, the faces of the people he had questioned. Whatever news Walter brought from the king, it held no importance for him. He had merely acted out the role John had assigned him, while his mind was busy with his own affairs.

He realized John stared impatiently at him and an answer was required. He picked a response from the several he knew would appease the man.

“I guarantee, sire, no one but Hubert Walter himself is any wiser than you as to what is going to happen on the morrow. All to be had are rumors and I have given you the most reliable of these.”

No one is wiser than you. Savaric watched the words work on John like a salve. The future king of England relaxed into his chair and reached for the great cup that always traveled with him. At this time of night it would be filled with mead, the poor man’s wine and John’s favorite bedtime tipple.

John’s paranoia attended to, Savaric returned to his main concern. There were answers John could give him but first he had to phrase the questions correctly. After so many years of listening and watching men talking and acting, he had learned how to string words together in a way that hid his real purpose.

Savaric gathered together the words that would cover his purpose tonight. “That young beauty at the end of the table, sire. The young mince with the comely eyes?” These were the phrases of a country squire, the bluff, hale-well-met fellow that drew much laughter and ribald humor and no suspicion.

John looked surprised, as if he had been dragged away from his own thoughts. “Isobel? What of her?”

Savaric lowered his head, as if to hide a blush. He felt the superficial behavior of a simple man settle over him like a warm, protective blanket.

John laughed. “Savaric! You, man? You have an interest in this woman?”

“I merely ask her antecedents, sire.” He kept his eyes downcast.

“Oh, they’re beyond question. She comes from one of the best families of Brittany. They’ve been loyal to Normandy for centuries.” He frowned. “Why this sudden curiosity in a woman when for years there has been none? Do you hide something from me? Some truth about her family that affects our plans?”

Savaric felt a spurt of irritation. That single-mindedness of John’s was so monotonous! Always he managed to bring a subject back to him, his ambitions. He saw relationships where none existed, drew conclusions from the fall of a grain of sand that foretold the death of the world!

“I demand you tell me!” John hammered his cup on the table, slopping the thin mead over his wrist. “Tell me now!”

“I can tell you nothing you do not already know!” Savaric snapped back. “Not everyone in your world plots against you!”

John’s nostrils flared. There was an angry glint in his eye Savaric recognized. He had overstepped the wide boundaries of familiarity John allowed.

“I have had men executed for less, I warn you, Savaric.”

Savaric pushed back his own anger. “My deepest apologies for my ire, my lord. These are trying times.”

John considered him, his own face flushed, anger pulsing at his temple. It was in moments like these Savaric saw the Plantaganet blood most clearly in him. It had shown Savaric what others failed to see—that John was deeply underestimated by the barons and by King Richard most of all. The clenched jaw, the stare that missed nothing. This was a man who had just enough self-interest to serve an incredible ambition. Unlike the rest of England that pinned their hopes upon the barren marriage of Richard and Berengaria of Spain to produce the desired heir, Savaric had no doubt John would one day be the King of England. On that day, whoever had served faithfully by his side would be well rewarded.

And just as suddenly, the guise of the future king was gone. In its place sat a tired, ill-used man who had traveled far. He put down his cup. “It’s late,” he said, echoing Savaric’s earlier words. “Time to sleep.”

Savaric nodded. It would be better to leave the subject of Isobel alone for now. At least until after the Great Council had been disbanded and John relaxed enough for information to be drawn from him without resistance. “If one can sleep in this moist air.”

“You’ve been spoiled by that resplendent northern stronghold of yours. Have you found it as profitable as it appeared?”

Savaric thought of a certain portrait that once hung over the firepit of the main hall, the portrait of a young woman with startling blue eyes. “It has been profitable beyond my expectations,” he replied truthfully.

“Good, good,” John said heartily and drank again. His temper appeared to have been forgotten. It was this secondary quality of John’s that would make him a king to be reckoned with. As the youngest of the brawling brood of Eleanore and Henry II, John had learned how to rein in his temper when needed.

Satisfied, Savaric bid John goodnight and went to his bed to scheme his schemes in private.

* * * * *

Helena stood on the frame of her bed and rose onto the balls of her feet, balancing carefully. Stretched thus, she could just see over the lip of the high, narrow window above her bed. She saw a band of stars and nothing else, yet she heard small sounds in the night and felt the touch of a cold wind. The air and the sounds reminded her of the world beyond the walls and, obliquely, of her hopes, dreams and plans, all of which lay out there in that larger world waiting for her. She had forgotten them this evening. The black baron had, for a while, driven them from her mind.

For nearly a year Helena had searched for the man responsible for her father’s death. The quest had occupied her every waking moment…until today. It wasn’t until she had lain down upon her bed and let her mind drift over the day’s events she had realized just how Dinan had distracted her. The realization disturbed her. It felt too close to betrayal to have forgotten her father so easily. She had tossed upon the bed unhappily until the small sounds of the slumbering town had coaxed her to the open window.

Now Helena breathed in the air and renewed her private pledge to her quest and the people out there whom it would serve. Tomorrow, she would act upon that pledge. She would take food to the small villages that lay outside Oxford. The day after that she would do the same. And the day after that, until the Great Council was recessed and they were permitted to leave Oxford. And each day when she was not fulfilling her pledge, she would turn her mind to ways of coaxing Catherine and Hubert to York.

Yes, tomorrow she had much to do. She would not allow herself to be distracted again.

_____

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