Welcome Anitra Lynn McLeod!

For the finale of this party, I'm delighted to welcome the very kick-ass Anitra Lynn McLeod! Before a highly intriguing excerpt, Anitra has something to say about the sheer awkwardness of kick-ass heroines... Welcome Anitra!

Writing the kickass heroine isn’t the easiest thing.  Basically, they’re feisty and they really don’t want to do what the writer tells her to do.  I had Thief fully plotted and here comes Kraft in the very first scene with a modified Katana.  I wanted her to have a laser gun but no.  She said a blade made more sense in tight quarters.  Sure, she turned out to be right, but that was just the beginning of me learning that I might be typing the words, but the character had taken on a mind of her own.

What made Kraft interesting to work with was she was one hell of a powerhouse.  There was very little she couldn’t do.  But getting to that point had cost her.  Dearly.  She had crippling scars that no one could see.  There’s nothing more heartbreaking than a strong woman who still has the ability to cry.

Letting other people see that pain was something she simply couldn’t allow, until she finally trusted someone enough to let him in.  After all the powerful men who had chased after Kraft failed to win her heart, it was Jace Lawless, with his soft-spoken ways and his fierce honor, who was able to break down the walls and capture her mind, body, and soul.

And you think I would have learned my lesson about writing kickass women but no.  I turned right around and wrote Remarkably Average Mary.  She was even more dangerous than Kraft because Mary looked like a waif but she was hiding an arsenal in her skull.  She damn near managed to cripple an empire that the entire IWOG Government couldn’t breach.

Then came Jynx Brennan, who wouldn’t lift a finger to hurt a soul.  As a doctor, her oath was to “first do no harm.”  And she swore to cling to that even when her entire world was crumbling around her.  Even when she was accused of a horrific crime, she never lost her capacity to care, to be compassionate, even to the man who was determined to take her to her public execution.  In my eyes, that made her kickass.  She refused to compromise who she was even when everything and everyone was against her.

But I digress.  See?  They did it to me again.  I was going to write a blog about the triumphs and tragedies of writing the kickass heroine and all three of them had to pipe in and change things.  Sigh.  Basically, I think writing them is wonderful fun, just be prepared for them to take over.

Excerpt from Thief:

“Tell your crew to stand down.” Kraft lifted her hands to her shoulders.

“I thought you said you knew this guy.” Jace lifted his hands into the crisp, dry air of planet Windmere. It would have been a beautiful autumn day if not for the thirty men with Slim Shot rifles surrounding them. “You said we could sell the IWOG transport goods here without the hassle of Trickster or his ilk.”

Their reception on Windmere went splendidly until they’d opened the hold of Mutiny and displayed their ill-gotten goods. Now they stood on the cargo bay ramp with their hands up.

“That’s what I thought.” Kraft flashed him a wan smile.

“We’ve got enough firepower pointed at us to chew away the side of the ship in two seconds.” Jace had never seen so many bright barrels all pointed his direction.

“I can see that, Captain.”

“Michael ‘Overlord’ Parker, a mythical figure who just happens to be your friend.” Jace shook his head but stopped when the guard below tensed. “I’m an idiot for believing you. I’m thinking the IWOG owns this planet.”

“Look at them, they’re not IWOG.” Kraft rolled her eyes and flicked her chin to the men below. “Michael told his henchmen to greet us like this. As to why…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged.

Jace noticed the men below didn’t dress in uniforms, and certainly not in IWOG uniforms, but most of them wore light-colored fabrics and sturdy boots that matched the high-desert colors of the land surrounding them. The only thing they had in common was their rifles and the intensity in their eyes.

“I honestly don’t know what in the Void is going on, but we’re dead if you don’t order the whole crew to stand down.”

Jace considered. He’d surrendered once to Kraft and it’d turned out okay. If he didn’t surrender to her supposed friend, he would be responsible for killing everyone.

With a longsuffering sigh, he said, “This is Captain Jace Lawless ordering the crew of Mutiny to stand down.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Kraft whispered.

Out the side of his mouth, he whispered back, “Since I say that so much, I’m going to have that phrase tattooed on my chest. That way, I can just rip open my shirt and make this faster for everyone.”

To his amazement, Kraft laughed, really loud. She actually doubled over and dropped her hands on her knees to steady herself. When the men below tensed, she again stood straight and lifted her hands, but she kept on chuckling.

“You surprise me more and more, Captain Lawless.”

A man with dusty blond hair approached Kraft. “Remove your weapons.”

Kraft dropped her hands to her hips. “Only if you say please.”

The man lifted his rifle to her face.

“Golly-gee, Duster, with your gun up my nose, I guess I’d better obey.” She unbuckled her belt and tossed it aside. A guard grabbed the belt of weapons from the ramp and backed away. Jace noticed he never took his eyes off her.

“Remove your boots,” Duster said.

Kraft complied, but chucked her boots at him. He sidestepped and kicked them to another guard.

“Socks too.”

Kraft pulled her socks off, wadded them up and tossed them into the circle of men below. They rippled away like water in a pond. “No bombs, boys, and they’re clean.”

“Remove your pants.”

Jace startled at the command, but Kraft laughed.

“How about some bump-and-grind music?” As she peeled off her black dextex pants, she uttered notes to enhance her show. She did it in jest, mocking, but Jace found her display provocative nonetheless. He couldn’t believe he was getting turned-on watching her in the midst of such a dangerous situation.

Kraft twirled her pants above her head and tossed them into the crowd of men. They backed away then cautiously approached her discarded clothing.

Jace was horrified that she was being ordered to strip in the company of nothing but men, yet Kraft laughed as she did it, making a crude joke of everything when he didn’t find the situation at all amusing. He wanted to protect her, but had no idea how.

“Now your shirt.” Duster gave the order without a bit of leering in his gaze. In fact, he seemed afraid, not titillated.

Jace assessed the guard and realized they were afraid of not only her, but her clothes. Did they think she had weapons hidden in them? They must, by the way they were behaving.

Button by button, she undid her shirt then slipped it off her shoulders. She spun it over her head then tossed it into the crowd below. They all backed away and the black dextex landed on the tarmac with a fwump. Standing in nothing but a pair of lacy black panties and bra, her creamed-coffee skin glistening in the sunlight, she didn’t seem to be embarrassed, intimidated, or even slightly perturbed, not with that bright smile on her face.

“If you don’t stop this, Duster, I’m going to die of amusement.” Hands on hips, absolutely unfazed by her undressed state, she further offered, “You’d have to cut off my arms, legs and hair to render me weaponless.”

Duster’s right eye twitched to a narrow slit. “You talk like her.”

“What do you mean I talk like her?” Confusion replaced the amusement on her face.

“Kraft’s dead. We have her ship.”

“Whisper? My ship is here?” Kraft cast her intense gaze around the tarmac.

Jace heard the longing in her voice.

Duster checked her forward momentum by lifting his rifle.

Kraft held her place. “So that’s what this is all about. Michael thinks I’m an imposter?”

“That’s about the speed of it.”

“You really think I’m not me?” Kraft advanced again.

Jace wanted to yank her back, but didn’t dare.

“You know I’m me, Duster.” She winked. “You know I’m not into faking it.”

Jace lifted a brow at her comment. Just what kind of relationship did she have with Duster, not to mention the mythical Michael?

“We’ll see.” Duster snapped his fingers.

Kraft dropped to her knees.

Jace knelt beside her and she slumped into him. She yanked a dart from her neck and tossed it aside. Her eyelids fluttered. “I’m so sorry, Captain. This is all my fault.”

Before he could respond, Duster jabbed his rifle into his chest and bellowed, “Back off.”

Jace didn’t have much of a choice but to comply. He stood and backed away from Kraft. Clad in racy undergarments, profoundly beautiful in her vulnerable state, she lay panting slowly on the cargo bay ramp.

Duster snapped his fingers. A guard bigger than Heller stepped forward and flipped Kraft over his shoulder.

Jace was ordered to remove his weapons and his boots. He was relieved that he didn’t have to strip down to his skivvies like Kraft, but he panicked when they bound his hands and ankles, then blindfolded and gagged him. He didn’t know what to expect, but so far, things weren’t going well.

Contest: What do you think makes everyday women kickass?  Make a comment to win a copy of any book off my back list!

Anitra's contest will close at midnight tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.

  

Welcome, Jennifer Estep!

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Jennifer Estep back to the blog as Tuesday's guest of honour. As you probably know, Jennifer writes a fantastic series about the elemental assassin, Gin Blanco, who kicks some serious ass, and isn't afraid to get her own butt kicked in the interest of her overall aims.

When Gin, codenamed the Spider, isn't busy killing people and righting wrongs, she runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone. Gin herself controls the elements of Ice and Stone, which often adds a magical dimension to her conflicts. Over the series, we've seen Gin grow from an assassin with a secret heart of gold to a full-time good guy who's just excellent at killing the bad guys. She's softened, and been hurt, dealt with her tragic past and fallen in love, but through it all, she always fights and comes out on top!

Here's an excerpt from Jennifer's latest book.

WIDOW’S WEB by JENNIFER ESTEP

EXCERPT:

Owen hesitated, then held out his hand, but the woman ignored his gesture and stepped into his arms, molding herself to his body and pressing her breasts against his chest. He hesitated again, then awkwardly patted her on the back before stepping out of her embrace as fast as he could. The woman seemed amused by his attempts to disentangle himself from her and did everything she could to slow his getaway.

Her antics did not amuse me—not one little bit. Especially since the woman was staring at my lover like she’d very much like to have him for dessert. Like it was almost a forgone conclusion that she would, despite my presence at the table.

Finally, she tore her gaze away from Owen long enough to glance at me. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Of course,” he echoed again. “Salina Dubois, this is Gin Blanco. Gin, Salina.”

I discreetly tucked my knife back into my purse, closed the top, put it down on the table, and got to my feet. Salina held out her hand to me, the same remote expression on her face that she’d shown McAllister—the one that told me just how very far beneath her and unimportant she thought I was.

Still, I took her hand. Even assassins could be polite on occasion. Her grip was firm, and her fingers felt cool against my own. We shook, and I felt the tiniest trace of magic emanating from her, so faint I wondered if it was just my imagination.

Some elementals constantly gave off invisible waves of magic even when they weren’t actively using their power, like a fire throwing off hot sparks. I concentrated, and once again I felt a faint flicker of magic. So Salina was an elemental then. For a moment, I thought that perhaps she had Ice magic, but her power didn’t seem quite cold enough for that. No, her magic felt … softer and more fluid, like a raindrop sluicing across my skin again and again.

I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of magic she had, but I didn’t immediately let go of her hand either. Instead, I held on and turned it to the side, staring at the silverstone bracelet on her right wrist. The cuff was more than two inches wide and had a vaguely Egyptian design to it, as if it was something an ancient queen might have worn. Delicate loops and whorls had been etched into the center of the cuff, along with a rune—a mermaid with long, flowing hair, a curled up tail, and a serene smile on her face.

Elementals, dwarves, vampires, giants—practically all of the magically inclined in Ashland and beyond used a rune to identify themselves, their magic, their families, and their businesses. So it didn’t surprise me that Salina had her own personal rune. In fact, it seemed especially suited for her, since a mermaid was the symbol for deadly beauty. I could easily imagine Salina perched on a rock somewhere, wearing nothing but a seashell bra and a smile and luring sailors to their watery deaths with a mere crook of her finger.

What bothered me was that it seemed like she’d done the same thing to Owen once upon a time, judging from the way he couldn’t quit staring at her.

But more than that, something about Salina’s mermaid rune seemed familiar to me, like I’d seen it somewhere before—and her too. I could almost feel a memory wiggling around, trying to break through to the surface of my mind. Strange, because I should have remembered meeting someone like Salina—and especially Owen’s reaction to her.

“What a beautiful bracelet,” I murmured.

I traced my left index finger over the mermaid rune and realized that I was getting the same sensation from the bracelet I was off Salina’s hand—one of cool, constant motion. So she used the cuff to store her magic then, like so many elementals did with their silverstone rings, watches, and necklaces.

Salina pulled her hand out of mine and made a pointed show of rubbing my fingerprints off the cuff’s glossy surface. “A family heirloom.”

“Charming.”

We smiled at each other, being painstakingly polite the way Southern women so often were, even though our eyes were flat and emotionless. Instant dislike on both sides.

BIO INFO:

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times bestselling author. Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. Widow’s Web, the seventh book, was released on Aug. 21. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more information about her books.

Today, Jennifer is giving away a print copy of her new book, Widow's Web to one lucky winner who answers the question, What should Gin do to Salina? Or who comments on Jennifer's excerpt in some other way. The winner must be a resident of the United States. The contest will close at midnight and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.

The Gentler Side of Ass-Kicking

For me, one of the most appealing things about a kick-ass heroine, is when we get a glimpse into her softer side, when compassion or love or some other gentler emotion wriggles through her hard-shell. It's exciting to see how or if this will change her behaviour, if it will endanger her or her mission, and how it might make her a stronger or a weaker person.

It's a little like loving the alpha male or bad-boy hero - we want to see what he's like with just a hint of vulnerability, to contrast his hard, often arrogant behaviour with his tenderness towards his heroine or his unwavering loyalty to his comrades or whatever.

And obviously, we need a strong man to match our butt-kicking heroine. Which is another thing to love about this kind of story - the conflict and excitement of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object :). And I love that these heroines are now a match for the strongest of heroes.

But how realistic do you think this is?  Personally, I don't care - it's escapism, and if an author can make me believe in it, I'm happy. And let's face it, women in real life as well as in fiction have always had ways of compensating for being the supposedly weaker sex.

Here's a glimpse of my latest heroine, Serafina (Sera) MacBride, who's just discovered she can't defeat a particular man by physical means or intimidate him into doing what she wants - namely clear off and let her act out her little scam without further interruption. Only it doesn't quite work out as planned...

SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE (Serafina’s, 1)

By MARIE TREANOR

Ebook Available Now 

$2.99 from Amazon, Amazon UK and B&N

Silence has never been so sinful…

Welcome to Edinburgh's unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina's.

Serafina MacBride is psychic - but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client's party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire - annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client's son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.

But the amoral and seductive  Blair is also on a mission - to find and kill a nest of young vampires who've invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights - and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.

Supported and hindered by Blair's eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina's, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.

In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being  she's trying so hard not to love.

*

“He doesn’t say anything, in case you haven’t noticed,” Tam retorted.

Sera glanced at her henchman without affection as she picked up the dropped stick. “You know what, Tam? Your loyalty is becoming seriously suspect.”

Even in the darkness, Tam managed to look affronted. His acting had improved by leaps and bounds.

The other man said conversationally, “He can’t hear me.”

 “Why, what did you stick in his ears?”

“Nothing. I’m not speaking.”

“Ah. I’m hearing voices in my head,” Sera said with blatant mockery.

“Aye,” Tam replied at the same time as the other man said, “My voice, at least.”

“And that would be because…?”

“You hit your head when you fell,” Tam answered.

“Because I’m a vampire,” said the stranger in the kilt.

Didn’t this idiot know when to quit? Sera took it upon herself to inform him. She stepped nearer and glared right into his handsome face. “So bite me, arsehole.”

This close, his dark eyes seemed to smolder. Every one of her nerve endings fizzed in confused warning. She wasn’t afraid of him, though; it was a long time since she’d been afraid of anyone. But neither was she stupid, and she gripped the sharp stick, ready to use in a flash, if necessary. She was prepared for anything he had to throw at her.

Except what he did.

He whispered, “I’d love to.” His lips curved into a predatory, devastating smile; his voice curled around her stomach, spreading heat where it had no business to be in this situation.

“Give it a rest, and go away,” she said crossly.

“Not a chance. I want to know what you’re up to.”

“I’ll call for help. Have you arrested or thrown out.”

The smile widened. “No, you won’t.” He didn’t trouble to elaborate. They both knew it was the truth.

Sera actually stamped her foot. “Christ, you’re annoying!”

“What do you expect? My supper’s been interrupted.” His gaze flickered to Tam, who was frowning uncertainly in their direction, and then returned to devour Sera in a way that would have been flattering had she not known he was playing a part. As it was, her treacherous body responded with a surge of blatant lust—which at least gave her one last, desperate idea.

She smiled at the stranger and leaned into him, stretching up on tiptoe so that her lips could reach his ear. He smelled of some elusive spice and sweet earth, and suddenly it wasn’t so difficult to act.

“I can tell you’re a man who likes excitement,” she murmured, letting her breath stir his ear, the soft, tiny hairs on his skin. His breath didn’t hitch, but at least he bent nearer her, betraying that he wasn’t unmoved. She smiled again, knowing she was so close he’d feel her lips almost touching his ear. “Wait here for me. I’ll be back in five minutes and we can…talk.”

On the last word, she let her breast brush against his chest. Whatever it did to him, her own body screamed awareness. Her nipples hardened, egging her on, while some intense, wicked excitement threatened to overwhelm her. Because she could win now, make him wait while she and her henchmen did what they’d come here for. And later, she could find out what the hell was going on, and if Ferdy had employed this guy too.

She leaned back, returning her feet flat to the ground. The stranger’s odd, dark eyes flamed with what she hoped was arousal. He said, “Why don’t we ‘talk’ first?” And bent over her.

She stepped smartly backward. “Tam,” she whispered. “I have to get rid of Tam.”

“I don’t mind Tam.” His gaze lifted from the rapid rise and fall of her breasts to her throat. His lips, full and sensual, parted as they smiled, revealing a glimpse of pointed canine teeth.

“Oh Jesus H. Ch—” she began in frustration, and broke off in mid-word as he lifted his hand to her neck, brushing her skin with one soft, blatantly sexual caress.

“It’s you I want,” he whispered. She felt no breath on her skin, no warmth from him to excite her, and yet his words thrilled from her mind to every nerve in her body. And then cold sliced through her like a shard of ice.

It blasted her. Yet there was no vision, only a profound, red-tinged blackness she couldn’t bear to look into. She caught a little fun and pleasure and humor from the mix, bleeding from the darkness, but the overwhelming sensation was of death and pulsating, unreachable memory, cold and black and terrifyingly profound. Although Sera was used to picking up emotions, even visions, from touch, it took her several disoriented moments to realize that this dreadful flood had grown out of the sensual caress of his fingertips, of the smell and feel that was uniquely him. Him, God help her.

She threw herself backward out of his awful reach, stifling the cry of agony that tried to burst from her lips. Christ, who are you? What have you done…? 

Their eyes locked. Sera heard only her own panting breath. The smile still curving the stranger’s lips began to die. He took another step nearer her, and she raised one useless hand to ward him off.

And someone screamed, loud and insistent.


Marie

Contest: To enter the drawing for an e-copy of Blood Guilt - featuring another kick-ass heroine! - answer the question How realistic do you find today's kick-ass heroines, or comment on today's post in some other way. The contest will close at midnight and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.

Welcome Cynthia Eden!

Please welcome our first guest of honour to the party, the fabulous Cynthia Eden! Cynthia has some of the most appealing butt-kicking heroines in the business, and here she is to to tell us more...

Kick-Ass Heroines by Cynthia Eden

I love a strong heroine.

Sure, in all of my stories, I write about fierce, protective alpha males. But my females? They aren’t exactly delicate princesses in need of rescue. They’re heroines who are just as tough, just as fierce, as the heroes in my books. My heroines can kick-ass any day of the week, and, normally, they do.

To me, a heroine’s power isn’t just in physical strength.  I enjoy heroines who are risk-takers, quick-thinkers, and ladies who will do anything within their power to protect those that they love.

Standing in the corner and *waiting* to be rescued? No, thanks, the heroines I love the most enjoy getting their hands dirty as they fight to rescue others.

The heroine in my current release, HOWL FOR IT, definitely falls under the “kick-ass” category.  Kayla Kincaid is a hunter—and her prey of choice? The paranormal creatures that terrorize humans. Her latest assignment has her tracking down the big, bad wolf (rather literally) in the form of the story’s hero, Gage. But when Kayla falls for her prey, she prepares to battle anyone—and anything—who wants to take out her man.

Here’s a little excerpt from HOWL FOR IT, the moment when Kayla and Gage drop their secrets:

***

“Are you really going to kill me now?” Gage asked as he pulled back to study her with a cocked head. “On our wedding night?”

She was supposed to.

That was her job. As a hunter, she was the one sent out to keep the humans safe in this world. When a supernatural crossed the line and started killing, her team was sent in. They delivered justice. They were the heroes.

Only she didn’t feel like any kind of hero right then.

Killer.

“Was screwing me part of the deal?” Gage demanded as his voice roughened.

Her eyes slit at that. Maybe it was deserved, and maybe it damn well wasn’t. Instead of stabbing him, she wanted to punch him right then.

“If so,” Gage continued with a shake of his head, “that was a rather fatal mistake.”

They were at a supernatural standoff. Claws versus silver. If he’d just sheathe his claws…

     “Cause now that I’ve had you…” Gage smiled at her, and revealed his growing canines. Sharp. “I think I want another bite.”

     He’d kept his fangs from her. Kept the claws away last night. But it looked like he was done playing nice.

     So was she.

     The bed was rumpled. The air smelled of sex. He was naked.

     She stared into his eyes. If he knew what she was, then Kayla had no idea why he’d married her. Sure, she’d been ordered to say the “I do” bit. She’d been told to do anything necessary in order to get past his defenses.

     Gage ran the wolf pack in Vegas. Since the wolves had moved to town just eight months ago, hell had hit the city. Supernatural madness. Attacks. Killings.

     The pack had to be stopped. By any means necessary.

     But sex wasn’t a means. Making love was more. Far more.

     “Lower your claws,” she told him and managed to keep her voice totally calm. Rather impressive under the circumstances, but she’d been trained to be cold. Passionless. I’m not that way with him. “You aren’t going to kill me.” Those words were the truth because she’d learned a few things about Gage during their time together.

     More than a few.

     He wasn’t a heartless bastard. Not a cold-blooded killer.

     I won’t be wrong about him.

     His eyes narrowed as he studied her. Then that half-smile that had always charmed her curled his lips. “Killing you isn’t what I have planned at all.”

     He dropped his claws and there still wasn’t so much as a scratch on her skin.

     Gage glanced down at his chest. She’d nicked him with the blade, and drops of blood slid down his flesh. Blood—and the faintest plume of smoke.

     The old legend was true. Werewolves—or, in this case, wolf shifters—and silver just didn’t mix.

     “Now are you gonna cut my heart out?” he asked and his smile hardened. “Though to confess, sweetheart, it sure feels like you already have.”

***

Thanks so much for checking out my post—and my HOWL FOR IT excerpt about Kayla and Gage!  (And a big thank you to Marie for inviting me to the party!)

Now…how about some contest fun? Tell me your favorite kick-ass heroine, and you will be entered in a contest to win a $15 Amazon.com gift card. The winner will be randomly selected.

Good luck!

Cynthia Eden

www.cynthiaeden.com

www.twitter.com/cynthiaeden

HOWL FOR IT—Available now from Kensington Brava

To enter Cynthia's contest for $15 Amazon.com gift card, answer her question above, in the Comments. The contest will close at midnight tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.

Welcome to the Kick-Ass Party!

Good morning! I hope you're ready for some serious ass-kicking this week because we have lined up some seriously dangerous heroines for you - namely those created by our five fantastic guests of honour. Here's the schedule for this week's party:

Monday 3rd Sept: Cynthia Eden
Tuesday, 4th Sept: Jennifer Estep
Wednesday 5th Sept: Caridad Pineiro
Thursday 6th Sept: Misty Evans
Friday 7th Sept: Anitra Lynn McLeod.

In a couple of hours we'll be welcoming Cynthia Eden to the party - can't wait for that! But I thought I'd start things off by asking what it is that draws you to this type of heroine? Is it the complete contrast to the older-fashioned kind of heroine who passively waited to be rescued by her dashing hero? A secret wish to be just as physically capable as the kick-ass heroine? Or perhaps you are a major kick-ass person yourself?

Let me know in the comments, and you'll be entered in the first contest of the day, for an e-copy of my new release SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE.

Sera is a heroine who can take care of herself. Kicked from pillar to post via children's homes and several foster families, she's grown up in the school of hard knocks and given as good as she got. Now she's not afraid of anyone or anything - even when she comes in contact with someone, or something, far stronger than she is - as the following excerpt shows :).


Serafina and the Silent Vampire 
(Serafina’s, Book 1)
By Marie Treanor
Available Now, $2.99 
From Amazon, Amazon UK and B&N


Silence has never been so sinful…

Welcome to Edinburgh's unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina's.

Serafina MacBride is psychic - but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client's party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire - annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client's son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.

But the amoral and seductive  Blair is also on a mission - to find and kill a nest of young vampires who've invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights - and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.

Supported and hindered by Blair's eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina's, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.

In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being  she's trying so hard not to love.

*

She felt her way around two intertwining apple trees and found Tam.

She stopped dead with shock. His large frame was unmistakable in the flashlight beam, but she’d never before seen it slumped in the brutal hold of an attacker who seemed to be strangling him or squeezing him to death. Which would be quite an achievement considering the size of Tam’s muscular body. And the fact that his opponent, although about equal in height, was far lighter and leaner in weight. And wearing a kilt, as if he was, or was pretending to be, one of the Bells’ guests. Tam’s arms flailed as if trying feebly to fly free. That was terrifying in itself: Tam the Tank physically helpless.

Sera’s hand wavered, and the beam from her flashlight shifted over a shock of dark chestnut hair.
There was a tiny instant when she imagined she’d steeped herself too deeply in this vampire nonsense, because it almost looked as if the stranger had his face buried in Tam’s throat. It sent a weird, almost sensual shiver down her spine before she yanked her brain back into line.

Who the hell was this? Ferdy’s stalker? Sera didn’t wait to find out. As he began to turn his head, granting her a glimpse of his shadowed face and gleaming eyes, she hurled herself at him feetfirst. Both her boots connected jarringly with hard flesh; her whole being jolted as if she’d been shot.

It took an instant to realize that she lay on the ground on her back, winded, while Tam’s attacker, and Tam himself, remained upright. Jesus, she couldn’t have lost her touch to that degree! She’d slammed into him. She should at least have knocked him off balance! But then, she should have landed on her feet, not her back, and been ready to jump him before he recovered.

As she struggled to rise, her blurred vision cleared enough to show her, by the crazily waving beam of the torch, that the kilted thug had released Tam, who leaned one massive shoulder against the tree, shaking his head as if to clear it. Thank God, at least the bastard hadn’t killed him. And now they were two against one, however strong this maniac was.

“Tam! Now!” she commanded in an urgent stage whisper and ran at the curiously still figure of the enemy.

Tam muttered something that might have been, “Don’t, Sera.”

Her quarry sidestepped her with a blur that surely spoke more for the intensity of her previous winding than for his genuine speed. Whatever the cause, it was enough to unbalance Sera. Fortunately, Tam leapt and caught her in his muscled arm—all that prevented her from falling over again.

She whirled around, poised to face a counterattack, snatching the only weaponry she carried in her pocket—one of the ridiculous pointy sticks—and for the first time looked into the shadowed face of her enemy. Remembering belatedly about her flashlight still clutched in her bruised left land, she shone it directly into his face. The eerie crisscrossing of shadows on his skin disappeared in the golden glow, but he made no effort to hide from the light. Two large, dark brown eyes stared at her from a lean, still face. There was no doubt he was good-looking enough to turn heads, with a high forehead, long, thin nose, and full, expressive lips, all framed by a shock of thick, dark hair streaked with auburn. The combination of high, broad cheekbones and leanness gave him a slightly cadaverous look that somehow didn’t detract in the slightest from his male beauty.

All these jumbled impressions Sera absorbed in an instant. But chiefly what caught and held her attention was the trickle of red blood running from the corner of his mouth and down the side of his chin.

“Oh for f…!” Sera hurled the pointy stick to the ground. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she raged. “This is our show.”


:).

Contest: To enter the contest for an e-copy of  SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE, tell us in the comments what draws you to kick-ass heroines. The contest will close at midnight tonight and the winner announced tomorrow on this thread.

Marie

Welcome Ayla Ruse!

Happy December everyone!   This is my favorite time of the year: cooler weather, festivities going on everywhere, and wishes. What would life be without wishes?

In Emmy’s Wish, the dear little Workshop Elf is asking – no, begging - for a huge, um, male for Christmas. All the Workshop Elves are well, little, and Emmy wants a taste of something more.

Have you had your own Christmas wishes? Something you wanted more than anything?  One of mine, believe it or not had been to get a Kitchen Aid mixer. What about you? I’d love to hear some of your Christmas wishes.

Emmy's Wish by Ayla Ruse

Excerpt:

Emmy woke up Christmas morning hopeful, excited, and with eyes squeezed shut. She took a deep breath and peeked to her right.

Damn. No hulking male. Shrugging her shoulders, she bounced out of her bedroom. Her destination: the kitchen, and breakfast. Even though it was still early and not much sunlight filtered in, she didn’t turn on her lights. She’d decorated the high, open beams throughout her cottage with bright, twinkling, multi-colored rope lights, lending a festive glow throughout her home. Dancing a little to make her bell sing as she made her way into the living room, she didn’t pay attention around her, and her leg banged against something solid. Off balance, she fell over the obstacle and landed hard on the floor.

“Mmm, Merry Christmas to me,” a low, male voice resonated through the room.

Emmy froze with her forearms on the floor, and her waist caught over what she quickly realized was a male leg.

“Does that sweet ass come with a face?” the voice inquired seductively.

Her initial embarrassment fled and excitement poured through her. She pushed up to her hands, turned her head and became speechless at the sight of the male draped across her couch. As she looked up his length, his clothing stood out first. His pants and shirt shimmered a blue and white blend that reminded her of the frozen lakes out back. She smiled at the bulge growing under his pants, but moved her eyes up to his face. Lean yet formidable, his dark skin stood out starkly against so much white. It was difficult to pinpoint under the colored glow in the room, but she’d put his coloring at a light smoky gray. Like the first shadows to fall at dusk. His white hair was long, thick, and shaggy -- not in a derelict way, but more of a blending in with nature kind of way.

She stopped breathing when their gazes locked. His eyes were white, with icy blue irises and a brighter starburst of white for pupils. He tilted his head and her gaze averted to his pointed ears. Elf’s ears. It couldn’t be.

“You’re an elf?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded. “I’m a Border Elf.”

“The ones that protect and patrol the North Pole? I’d heard you guys were ugly.”

The Border Elf laughed out loud.

“You are definitely not ugly,” she said hurriedly, teetering on his leg as she worked herself upright. Once on her feet, she didn’t stay there for long. She crawled right up and over the male and straddled his hips as if she’d done so a million times before.

“Whoa.” He grinned. His blinding smile dazzled her. “What’s this about?”

“Santa sent you, right?”

“He did. He told me he had an elf who wanted to play with a Border for a day.”

She clapped her hands and, raising her head, whispered, “Thank you, Santa.” Looking back into the arresting face of the male underneath her, she said, “You’re my gift. I get to play with you all day!”

Today, Ayla is giving away an ebook from her backlist to one lucky winner. To enter, answer Ayla's question above about your Christmas wishes, or comment on her post in some other way. Her contest will stay open all day, and her winner will be announced tomorrow on the thread.

Welcome Elisabeth Naughton!

Today, our guest of honour at the party is the very talented paranormal fantasy author Elisabeth Naughton. Welcome, Elisabeth!

Elisabeth Naughton, Author of Tempted

Thanks so much to Marie for inviting me to stop by during her Sci Fi & Fantasy Theme Party! For those who don’t know me, I write a paranormal fantasy series based on Greek mythology. TEMPTED is the third book in my Eternal Guardians series, which just hit store shelves on September 6, 2011. The Eternal Guardians are seven warriors descended from the seven greatest heroes in all of Ancient Greece who protect the mortal realm from threats of the Underworld.

I’ve loved Greek mythology since I was a kid and knew I wanted to write a series related somehow to the ancient mythos. Technically my books are considered romance. There’s a strong romantic element in every book fueling each story, and they do end with a satisfying result to that romantic relationship. But the entire world is deeply rooted in mythology, and I try to stay as true to that as I can. I love taking new twists on ancient stories and linking my modern day characters with their forefathers’ sins of the past. I’ve heard from numerous readers who tell me they aren’t romance fans but love the series. I especially love hearing from men who picked up the books because they were fascinated with the mythology and then fell in love with both the fantasy and characters. Someone earlier in the week mentioned cross-over appeal. The Eternal Guardians have that in spades.

In TEMPTED, readers meet Demetrius & Isadora. When Isadora—the princess of the Argolean realm—goes missing, Demetrius, a descendent of the famed hero Jason, and the other Guardians are sent to find her. Demetrius has no use for Isadora and has made no secret over the fact he doesn’t think she’s qualified to rule when her father eventually passes, but when the rescue goes wrong and he and Isadora are banished to an island inhabited by ancient monsters no one thinks exists anymore, they’re forced to rely on each other to stay alive. Through trials and tribulations neither expects, each comes to discover…the other is not what they thought at all. And even as Demetrius guards a dark and deadly secret that could lead to the end of the world, Isadora grows stronger. Until finally she’s the only one who can save him from a destiny he’s tried to avoid his whole life.

Here’s a short excerpt from TEMPTED:

Isadora’s hands cupped her cheeks. As she stared at Saphira’s lifeless body, she couldn’t help but think of the thousands of times she’d looked at that face and trusted she was her friend. The energy that only moments before had propelled Isadora forward rushed out of her on a wave. She took a step back just as her knees went out from under her.

“I’ve got you.”

Strong arms closed around her. Still reeling, she looked up to find Demetrius holding her tight against him once again.

Demetrius?

Yeah. Demetrius.

She focused on his face to keep the panic at bay. On the bloody and bruised skin streaked with dirt. On the faint lines fanning out from the corners of his eyes, that hard mouth, the slight dimple in his chin. On the strong cheekbones and his intense gaze, which seemed to be looking all the way through her, right into her soul. This was the same Argonaut she’d seen in her dream. The same one she’d cowered from so many times she couldn’t count. Only this time something felt…different.

He pushed her hands away from her face, focused on her burn, and muttered, “Bitches.” Gently he blew on the tender skin, and his breath, cooling against the sting of the burn, heated other places inside her she definitely shouldn’t be aware of right now.

Her body reacted, shifted deeper into his arms. Even though some small place in her mind screamed, What the hell do you think you’re doing?

To celebrate the release of TEMPTED, Sourcebooks is giving away two copies of TEMPTED (US/Canada shipping only). To be entered into the drawings simply tell me the name of your favorite fantasy movie, book, or series.

TEMPTED BY ELISABETH NAUGHTON – IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2011

DEMETRIUS—He’s the hulking, brooding warrior even his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Isadora is missing. The words pound through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius did all he could to avoid the fragile princess, his soul mate. And now she’s gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned.

As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought.

And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former junior high science teacher, Elisabeth Naughton traded in her red pen and test-tube set for a laptop and research books. She now writes sexy romantic adventure and paranormal novels full-time from her home in western Oregon, where she lives with her husband and three children. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA Awards of Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, the Golden Leaf, and the Golden Heart. When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ball park, or dreaming up new and exciting adventures. Visit her at www.elisabethnaughton.com to learn more about her and her books. Her next book in the Eternal Guardians series, Enraptured, will be in stores in April 2012.

Today Elisabeth's publisher is kindly giving away two copies of TEMPTED. To enter the draw, comment on Elisabeth's post with the name of your favorite fantasy movie, book, or series. The contest will close at midnight tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.