Showing posts with label Worth His Freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worth His Freedom. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Oops!

Hello, friends and fans!

Going through edits for our upcoming new release, we realized something shocking! All this time, we've just assumed people already knew that all our novels take place in the same fantasy world and are (somewhat) connected! Oops, I guess we should have been clearer on that point. Anyway, there it is. If you want a quality fantasy series from an original world with romance that keeps the bedroom door open, then look no further than the world of Gilalion!










Also available at evernight, b&n, all romance, and bookstrand.


Thanks so much for your support! Look for the fourth novel in the series, Love Comes Twice, coming June 2012!


Monday, March 26, 2012

"Chasing Earth and Flame" will soon be here!

We're only a week away from the April 2nd release of our third novel, Chasing Earth and Flamefrom Evernight Publishing! To get everyone in the mood, we'd like to share with you an excerpt from this story so hot you'll need to wear fireproof gloves just to hold your e-reader!




Check it out...


BLURB
Nevia Akara Judal is the daughter of the First House of Nirrion, but though she is both a powerful elemental mage and a cunning political mind, she is her father's property. She is promised to Melenius, the only other noble elementalist in the city, but she is not certain she approves of her father's choice. She has a stronger will than anyone has ever given her credit for, and she is determined to find and keep the love of the only man who can conquer her heart of earth and flame.

EXCERPT
Melenius caught Nevia by the arm and pulled her into a curtained alcove.

“We will be seen,” Nevia whispered.

Melenius shook his head. Cena was due to begin in a few minutes, so he had to work quickly.

“This won’t take long.” He produced the anal plug he had shown her on their honeymoon.

It was Nevia’s turn to shake her head.

“Yes,” Melenius said. He pulled out a vial of scented oil from his small shoulder bag. Nevia’s frosty eyes widened, and he smiled in his airs at her coyness. He poured the oil over the plug, then rubbed it around the head and down its length. “Turn around.”

Nevia did so, but she kept her eyes on her husband. Melenius had never seen anything sexier than his beautiful wife looking over her shoulder with fear and anticipation trembling in her elements as he hitched up her dress. Her fine, white ass was just what he wanted, and his cock hardened. He considered taking her right there, but the sound of music coming from the atrium made him think better of it. The entertainment had arrived. Dinner was imminent, and they would be missed if they were not punctual.

Melenius dabbed a bit of oil on the rosebud of Nevia’s anus and rubbed it around with his thumb. Nevia moaned.

“Quiet!” Melenius’s tone was half serious, half mirthful.

He pressed the tip of the lubricated plug against her ass and slowly applied pressure. He did not at once break her wall, and he was surprised at her body’s unwillingness to allow entry. With a stronger but still gentle push, he felt the pop as the plug slipped into her back passage.

Nevia’s knees buckled, but she did not collapse. The temperature in the alcove plummeted, and though Melenius knew her fires were stoked, she fixed him with an icy glare.

Nevia stood and let her skirts fall back into place. “You dare toy with the ass of an Akara?” She raised her hand to slap Melenius, but he caught her by the wrist.

Melenius lightly bit that wrist as he tweaked her nipple with his other hand. “Now, go be a good girl, and eat your supper.” He opened the curtain and slapped her ass on the way out.

Nevia continued to murder him with her eyes, but her elements betrayed her increasing desire. He sensed her laughter on his winds.

Cena was an elaborate affair, much more so than Melenius would have expected for just a one-night stay in a provincial town. As exotic, half-naked slaves from far-away lands juggled fire sticks before them all, Melenius turned to Judal the Younger.

“I wonder, why all this?” he asked. He popped a fresh, green olive in his mouth.

Nevius, reclined on one elbow, sipped his mulled wine and answered without taking his eyes from the entertainment. “We are returning from a great victory. Though Belamal presses forward, there will be glory for us upon our return to Nirrion. Why not celebrate a little? This is my father’s villa, after all.”

“Fair enough.”

“Enjoy yourself, Firin,” Nevius said. “You and my sister are saviors of the republic.” Nevia’s couch was situated close to his so that their heads would be near each other for conversation. He leaned over and kissed her brow.

Melenius, on the other side of the low table laden with rich food, watched this sibling exchange, knowing that her ass was plugged, that her cunt was probably wet as spring rains.

Nevia betrayed nothing; she could not to her brother, anyway, but neither did her elements. She was cool, collected, and calm. Melenius nodded in her direction, raised his cup in a silent toast to her, and drank its contents. A slave refilled his cup at once. Nevia, playing at human expressions, narrowed her eyes at him. Melenius almost choked on his next drink.

Radish salads and oysters gave way to hot-boiled goose and songbirds with asparagus. Between the appetizers and the main course, clowns had come to re-enact the battle of Vieta. The actor who pantomimed Belamal wore comical armor, and his gold-painted face twisted in all manner of melodramatic expressions.

Nevius ripped hot, juicy meat from the bone with his teeth. “Belamal Triumphant, to be sure.” His mouth was half-full of goose. “Too bad Garalach isn’t here. He could’ve made your job in Vieta easier.”

Melenius felt the instant drop in temperature, and the braziers that burned around them dimmed.

“More wood.” Nevius snapped his fingers at the nearest slave.

Nevia did not look at Melenius. Her eyes were fixed on the small plate she held on her lap. The name of Garalach clearly upset her, and Melenius wanted to go to her, to hold her and remind her of how he had been deceived. He had never stopped loving or wanting Nevia. It had not been his intention to betray her.

But Nevia would not return his glance.

The sun disappeared from the sky, and a cold wind blew through the peristyle and into the atrium.

****

Step into our fantasy world of Gilalion with our other novels, Worth His Freedom and Bride for the God-King. Let these books whet your appetite for more!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Pulled in Many Different Directions


What with the release of Worth His Freedom in early November and then Bride for the God-King in late December, we feel like we're being pulled this way and that with all the interviews, guest blog spots, and reviews. Oh, no, we're not complaining. Keep pulling! We're loving every minute of it.
This week's samplings of Adonis Devereux come from Katherine Wyvern's glowing review of Worth His Freedom, Emma Shortt's gracious guest blog post, and Tory Michaels' lovely interview.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Oatmeal bread for the holidays

Our first two novels are set in our fictional world of Gilalion. Miria and Tsalrin, from Worth His Freedom, enjoy all kinds of food, but one of the specialty dishes from Nirrion (the city where they live) is Nirrion Bread.


This is an oatmeal bread that goes great with butter and jam, or you can eat it dipped in stew. It's perfect for cold days, and it will nicely complement your holiday table. Since it takes a long time to bake, it'll spread its aroma throughout your house. The bread is delicious plain or served however you wish!


We hope you will enjoy our homemade, original recipe for your holidays!


Ingredients:

1 c. whole oats
2 Tbsp. yeast
2 c. boiling water
1/4 hot water
5 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. powdered milk
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. honey
1/4 olive oil
extra oats
butter

Directions:

First combine the 2 c. of boiling water and the 1 c. of oats. Mix until it forms an oatmeal-like consistency. Mix the yeast with the 1/4 c. hot water (not boiling, though, or you'll kill the yeast!). Let the yeast stand, and let the oatmeal cool, stirring it occasionally, for about 20-30 minutes. During that time, mix the flour, powdered milk, and salt together and set aside. When the oatmeal is cool, stir in the yeast mixture, and let stand for five minutes. Then stir the honey and oil into the oatmeal mixture. Then add the flour mixture. Knead it together until it is no longer moist. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Then grease two loaf pans. When the dough has risen, knead it down and roll it into two loaves. Put one in each pan and sprinkle with the extra oats. Cover and let rise for another hour. Bake at 180 C (approximately 350 F) for 55 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread butter on the tops of the loaves, allowing them to cool in the pan. (If cut while warm, the bread tends to crush, but it tastes wonderful.) When cool, remove from pans and wrap in plastic wrap. This bread will stay fresh for several days as long as it is kept covered. It is a rich, heavy bread that is so delicious that when served with cheese and vegetable sticks it makes an entire meal. However, it is also a great complement to stews, and it makes a good toast as well. Pictures follow to show you the progress of the recipe:









If you try this (or if you have any questions), tell us what you think in the comments section!

Monday, November 7, 2011

"Worth His Freedom" Giveaway Winner





We would like to say hello to all our new friends here. Hello! As you all know -- because we keep bugging you, and you are all so patient and obliging -- Worth His Freedom was released today from Evernight Publishing. Though it is bed-time, we wanted to stay up and tell everyone about our new release and also announce the winner of our first giveaway...










Lorraine Nelson!
Congratulations. We'll get your free copy out to you at once!


Worth His Freedom is also available at Amazon.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Earthquakes and Coffee on the Keyboard



Writing Worth His Freedom


The idea behind Worth His Freedom was entirely centered in the person of the hero, Tsalrin. We have been developing the world of Gilalion for our own enjoyment since we first began dating, back in college. The character of Tsalrin, with an even less pronounceable name, has been present for a long while. We knew that he was compelling enough to deserve his own story -- he is dark, mysterious, deadly -- but nothing seemed to work. Nothing caught that spark in our minds, and we let Tsalrin alone.


Then this year we decided to set our minds seriously toward getting published. We had wanted to be novelists for a long while, but life would always get in the way. This year, we resolved, would be the year that either we would get published or else we would know that we would not ever be novelists. And Tsalrin was the character we wanted, and this time we had the perfect place for him, the perfect heroine to complement him, the perfect location for the story.


We started writing during the spring holiday of the Japanese university schedule, which was from February to March, so we had approximately eight weeks. Things were going swimmingly for a while. Tsalrin and Miria were getting along well, and in early March we were writing a scene so steamy that we had to ... take a break. The five big children were downstairs playing, and the baby was napping on the sofa. We got up from the living room where we had been writing to remove to our bedroom, and then the room began shaking. The date was March 11th. That did not surprise us; earthquakes are not uncommon in Japan where we live. But the shaking did not stop. It kept going and going. We scooped up the baby, wrapping her in a blanket, and ran outside, collecting the rest of the children as we went. Usually, in the case of a larger earthquake hiding under a table would be more suitable, but not then. Whole houses swayed. Roofs were cracking and tumbling down. There is an open field near our house, a tree nursery actually, and we went there. Our neighbors joined us as the earth continued to shake and roll. It did not last long really, but it felt like it. Then, just as we thought it was safe to go back inside, it started up again. It lasted almost as long as at the first.


When we at last went back inside our house was a shambles: books tumbled off shelves, our microwave lying on the floor in a pile of cracked glass, appliances off their cabinets, and my coffee, which I had been drinking as we wrote, had splashed into the keyboard, ruining it.


But we had saved before getting up from the table, and the document was intact, as was the computer we had been using (barring the keyboard). It helped that we kept the computer on the floor.


By the time school started back up again, a week later than usual due to the power shortages caused by the tsunami damage, the manuscript for Worth His Freedom was complete.


But we did not send it out yet. We asked a good online friend to beta-read it for us, and when she sent it back again, we finally felt brave enough to send our manuscript out into the world. Then we waited.


And only acceptances came back! We had not imagined getting to have a choice of publishers, but we went with Evernight, having gotten good personal recommendations from others who had published with them. We have never regretted that choice.


We learned some important lessons from writing Worth His Freedom. Now we skip the whole writing-in-the-living-room step. We start out in the bedroom.


And I keep my coffee away from the keyboard!


(Worth His Freedom comes out November 7th. Follow our blog and comment, and you'll be entered for a free copy of the book. Don't forget to include your email address.)

Monday, October 3, 2011

First-Round Edits for "Worth His Freedom"

We received and have sent back our first round of edits for Worth His Freedom. We're quite pleased with Evernight and Caitlin Ray for thorough, intelligent, and piercing edits. Reading as both an editor and as a reader must be tough, and we respect the talent and know-how that an editor must have to do his or her job well. 


It was funny that our publisher gave us two weeks to do the edits. We finished in two hours -- but, then, we've always moved fast. We've completed the MS for our second novel -- still hush-hush on what it's about and the title and all that -- so once Worth His Freedom has a set release date, we'll be subbing again. 


Wish us luck!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Cover art and blurb for "Worth His Freedom"



We have received the cover art for our first novel, "Worth His Freedom", and we must say that we are deeply impressed! Dara England and Evernight have really outdone themselves with this beautiful cover! Special thanks to Xondra Day for the title suggestion.

Miria, a young noblewoman on the cusp of an arranged marriage, meets the Ausir Tsalrin, her father's mysterious assassin, and sparks fly immediately. They face obstacles of political machinations and racial intolerance. Tsalrin is trapped by an ancient curse, and Miria cannot escape her father or the husband to whom he would sell her, a man who sees her merely as a political tool. Miria and Tsalrin's position is impossible, but neither one will give up their hidden love. Theirs is a story of struggle against abuse, bigotry, and paterfamilias. Their love is both their greatest danger and their only comfort as they search for their mutual freedom.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...