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Showing posts with label Kensington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kensington. Show all posts

Saturday, May 26, 2012

From the Bookshelf - Phaeton Black:Paranormal Investigator series

Please welcome my next FROM THE BOOKSHELF author - JILLIAN STONE...

I think I'm just a born a storyteller. A skill that got me into considerable trouble as a youth until I solved the problem by becoming an advertising creative! And the career did seem to suit as I went on to receive a few (US) national ad awards. What more could I ask for? Create my own worlds? Become goddess of my own universe? Yes! So, I began to write fiction.

My Victorian Romantic Suspense novel AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY won the 2010 Golden Heart and sold to Pocket Books. The steamy Steampunk novel, THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK, won the 2010 Romance Through the Ages Erotica Contest and sold to Kensington Brava. And here I am, eighteen months later, working on the next adventure for both series!

I live in Southern California, drive a ten year old pickup truck, have a horse and dog and a part-time employed grown son living with me at the moment!

Series: Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator
Title/s (in order):
THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK (available now)
THE MOONSTONE & MRS JONES (September 28, 2012)
THE MISS EDUCATION OF DOCTOR EXETER (early 2013)

Publisher: Kensington Brava
Series overview: The Phaeton Black novels incorporate an overarching plot/struggle that extends over several books. It's a tale of two London's. Alarming attacks by strange creatures set the stage for a terrifying alternate future for the city where people and things appear to be unraveling. With help from the Nightshades, Phaeton and Miss Jones venture into the Outremer to extract the Moonstone and close the rabbit hole between two worlds.

THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK

Hero & Heroine: Phaeton Black is Scotland Yard's secret weapon against things that go bump in the night. His prodigious gifts as a paranormal investigator are as legendary as his skills as a lover, his weakness for wicked women as notorious as his affection for absinthe. But when he's asked to hunt down a fanged femme fatale who drains her victims of blood, he walks right into the arms of the most dangerous woman he's ever known.

And she's the devilish Miss Jones. Pressing a knife to his throat and demanding he make love to her––Miss America Jones uses Phaeton as a willing shield against the gang of pirates chasing after her. As dangerous as she is with a derringer tucked in her garter, Miss Jones is not the vampire killer Phaeton is stalking––but she may be just what he needs to crack the case. As the daughter of a Cajun witch, she possess uncanny powers. As a fearless fighter, she can handle anything from Egyptian mummies to Jack the Ripper. But when an ancient evil is unleashed on the world, she could be his only his salvation...or ultimate sacrifice.

Series Extra's: THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK is the prequel of the series. The Moonstone and Miss Jones sets up of the struggle between two worlds––London 1889 and a strange dystopian London of the future. Plus it is also part deux of the love story between Phaeton and America. The third book in the series will deal with Phaeton's disappearance into the Outremer and the emerging love story between Doctor Exeter and his beautiful shapeshifter/charge Mia.

★★★★1/2 SCORCHER RT REVIEWS TOP PICK This book almost defies categorization, combining elements of steampunk, erotica, paranormal romance, and mystery. The atmospheric Victorian London setting has a dark gothic feel with ancient gods on the loose. The writing is witty, the characters delightful, the descriptions vivid and the sex earthy and erotic.

THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK (available now)
The year is 1889 and Queen Victoria, exemplum of decency and sobriety, is in her fifty-second year of reign. Occult detective Phaeton Black, on the other hand, couldn’t be less interested in clean-living. He has recently taken up residence in the basement flat of London’s most notorious brothel. A dedicated libertine with an aptitude for absinthe, he wrestles with a variety of demons both real and self-inflicted.
Unfairly linked to Scotland Yard’s failure to solve the Whitechapel murders, Phaeton is offered a second chance to redeem himself. A mysterious fiend, or vampire is stalking the Strand. After a glass and a consult with the green fairy, he agrees to take on the case.
On his first surveillance, Phaeton pursues an elusive stranger and encounters several curious, horrifying beings. But the most intriguing creature of all is a Cajun beauty who captures him at knifepoint and threatens to spirit away his heart.

Buy Link for THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK

THE MOONSTONE AND MRS JONES (September 28, 2012)
In this dark and sexy sequel to THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK, Phaeton returns to England in time to help Doctor Exeter and the mysterious deadly Nightshades rescue London once again––this time from Professor Lovecraft's destructive tinkering.
As the threads of existence begin to unravel, the eccentric scientist attempts to save his son’s deteriorating condition by replacing body parts with mechanical apparatus. Ah, but how to power them? The near mad professor believes he has found a way to unleash the arcane energy inside the Moonstone and he needs Phaeton Black to help him do it.
When Phaeton is shanghaied in Shanghai, America Jones assumes the worst––that he has abandoned her in the Orient. An angry Miss Jones returns to London, where their spirited partnership takes an unexpected turn––a new business venture MOONSTONE INVESTIGATIONS. No uncommon psychical disturbance refused.
Well, why not mix business with pleasure?


Pre-order THE MOONSTONE AND MRS JONES

You can follow Jillian on Twitter, Facebook or find out more about her books on her website.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

GUEST AUTHOR: Tracy Sumner


Tracy’s story telling career began when she picked up a copy of LaVyrle Spencer’s Vows on a college beach trip. A journalism degree and a thousand romance novels later, she decided to try her hand at writing a southern version of the perfect love story. With a great deal of luck and more than a bit of perseverance, she sold her first novel to Kensington Publishing.

When not writing sensual stories featuring complex characters and lush settings, Tracy can be found reading romance, snowboarding, watching college football and figuring out how she can get to 100 countries before she kicks (which is a more difficult endeavor than it used to be with her four-year-old son in tow). She lives in Charlotte, NC, but after spending a few years in “the city”, considers herself a New Yorker at heart.

Her books have been awarded the National Reader’s Choice, the Write Touch Reader’s and the Beacon for Best Historical – with finalist nominations in the HOLT Medallion, Heart of Romance, Rising Stars and the National Reader’s Choice. They have been translated into German, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish.

She loves hearing from readers about why she tends to pit her hero and heroine against each other in every book, that great novel she simply must order in five seconds on her Kindle or the location of a wonderful trattoria in Rome.

About the book...
Title - TIDES OF PASSION
Setting - Outer Banks, NC 1898.
Hero - Zach Garrett.
Heroine - Savannah Connor.

Scene you would never cut - The scene where they discuss the "negotiation" in the jail. I love the dialogue that came from writing this story. They speak like I would love characters to. With honest motivation and passion.

And the love scene (also there) after the festival. Savannah finally realizes how sexy she is and attractive to Zach.

Something your hero would never do or say - Zach would never tell a woman he loved her for any selfish reason. He's a truly noble man. And sexy!

What's one quirky thing about your heroine? Savannah begins the affair with Zach in part so she will understand men better as adversaries. She's a "freedom fighter" -- women who championed women's rights around the turn of the century. She is very honest about her curiosity -- though in her own words, her dealings with men have never gained her much.

What do you think the readers will like about this book? From reviews -- the dialogue gets lots of comments. Witty, flirty, laugh-out-loud.

Savannah and Zach do battle a bit -- think Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story.

And I get lots of reader and review comments about the sexual tension. I really understood these characters - and the love scenes came very naturally. 

TIDES OF PASSION 
She is his greatest temptation.
He is her forbidden desire.
A battle of wills leads to love.

AN UNCONVENTIONAL WOMAN
Spirited Savannah Connor is passionately committed to stamping out social injustice. Yet when she arrives in Pilot Isle, North Carolina, ready to take up a new cause, she quickly finds herself on the outs with the town constable. Zachariah Garrett is the most arrogant, infuriating, maddeningly attractive man it’s ever been her misfortune to meet. And suddenly, Savannah is fighting a whole new battle—this one against her own yearning for a man who is impossible to resist.

AN UNCOMPROMISING MAN
Ever since his wife’s death two years ago, Zachariah Garrett has dedicated his life to keeping the peace. And avoiding love. But Savannah Connor isn’t an ordinary woman—and she proves hard to ignore. She’s a beguiling beauty with the power to awaken emotions Zach thought he’d never feel again, and the tenderness to help him forget his fears. And risk his heart once more.

“Terrific dialogue…and hot loves scenes. If you haven’t read Tracy Sumner before, Tides of Passion is a good place to start.”
National Reader's Choice, Best Long Historical!

Buy link for TIDES OF PASSION.

About you...
Favorite movie of all time - Wow, a hard question! Along the lines of romance: Gone With the Wind (I am southern!), The Way We Were (Hubble!), The Philadelphia Story (please, if you have not seen, watch for the dialogue alone!), Sweet Home Alabama (sorry, I was living in NYC when this came out...a southern girl in NYC -- gotta love it!)
Favorite fairytale - Cinderella.
Favorite TV program - Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage.
First book you remember reading - Charlotte's Web.
Dog or cat person (or other) - Cat (I have three) though we have a dog, too!
Author (living or dead) you'd most like to meet - Hemingway -- Margaret Mitchell -- Steinbeck -- Stephen King -- LaVyrle Spencer.

A romantic retreat for you would be...walking through a medieval village in Europe.

What do you do to unwind or relax? I read a lot of romance novels -- probably why I don't write as fast as I should!

What era would you like to time travel and visit? And why? Victorian England -- seems romantic, though you never know, I guess. The clothing and the history -- would be cool to experience.

What does love mean to you? Honesty, passion, connection.

Tracy is on a blog tour - this means she has some wonderful give-aways for those who comment and/or follow her during the tour. You can find more details on where she's going to be here.

She's informed me that for anyone who leaves a comment here on my blog that:

a) There will be 2 winners of 2 Tracy Sumner books, TIDES OF PASSION & TIDES OF LOVE (e-books), and

b) Each and every commenter will go in the grand draw of a Kindle at the end of the tour.

How exciting is that!

So, don't forget to leave a comment by 12 noon, Saturday, Dec.10th (Aussie time) - and the winners will be announced in the arvo of Saturday 10th Dec. 2011! 

Some of Tracy's other books:


You can find more details about these books on Tracy's website.

If you'd like to see more about Tracy, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook & Twitter (@SumnerTracy).