When I wrote the first book in The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, SNAP: The World Unfolds, five years ago I had thoughts the Chronicles would be a trilogy.
Why a trilogy? I don’t know. Trilogies seem to be a popular, finite number, like Twilight. After the second book, SNAP: New Talent, I knew I fallen under the spell of the Kandeskys and had to tell the stories of how they came to be. So the third and fourth books, Plague: A Love Story and Danube: A Tale of Murder are novellas centered on two of the main vampires, Baron Stefan Kandesky and Jean-Louis.
I’d left the protagonist and Jean-Louis’ love interest, Maxie, in a nasty cliffhanger in book two so I had to get her out and safe. After that…it just grew.
I didn’t set out to write a series about vampires. I was a mystery writer and had seven books plotted out in the Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries.
But those Kandesky men! They really got into my blood! I was hooked on them, as were my fans. As I was writing the second, then the third, of the mysteries, I’d get notes on facebook, “When’s the next Kandesky book coming out?” And, in truth, I love living in the world of the Kandeskys. Oceans of money, European living and travel, jewels and designer clothes, surrounded by celebrities. It’s heady stuff and was becoming an addiction.
Amy Hobbes, my small-town newspaper editor is interesting, smart and clever. She has a sexy love interest in San Francisco, Phillipe, a Quebecois, but so far she’s travelled to Monterey…not Paris.
In February, I published the ninth book of The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, SNAP: I, Vampire.
Nine! Is that the end of the series? I don’t think so. Another of the Kandesky men, Nik, is moving in, has charmed the pants off Maxie’s assistant, Jazz, and asked her to marry him. It means not only marriage but being turned into a vampire. Can Jazz do it? I don’t know yet, she hasn’t told me, but book ten is looming.
I don’t know how many books will ultimately be in The Kandesky Vampires Chronicles. The combination of sex, money and danger is a lure that I can’t ignore, my readers and fans will have to say “Enough, already”. Hope they don’t say that for a while!
About the Author
Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. She’s lived and worked all over the state, calling both Southern and Northern California home. During her career in journalism—as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers—she won awards for producing investigative series.
Her Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries are Edited for Death, (called “Riveting and much recommended” by the Midwest Book Review), Labeled for Death and Delta for Death.
Her paranormal romance series, SNAP: The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, has received “must read” reviews from the Paranormal Romance Guild and was the best paranormal vampire series of 2014. The series is SNAP: The World Unfolds, SNAP: New Talent, Plague: A Love Story, Danube: A Tale of Murder, SNAP: Love for Blood, SNAP: Happily Ever After?, SNAP: White Nights, SNAP: All That Jazz, SNAP: I, Vampire .
Alpha Heat: 21 Tantalizing Contemporary & Paranormal Romance Short Story Prequels from the Alpha Fever Boxed Set of USA Today, Amazon, International, and Award Winning Bestselling Authors, we bring you 21 steamy short stories to get your temperature rising as we introduce some of our characters.
Don’t miss out on our boxed set of 22 full-length novellas coming to you on March 19th!
22 Sizzling Contemporary and Paranormal Romance Stories
Alpha Feveris filled with a scintillating, spicy blend of ***BRAND NEW*** contemporary and paranormal romance stories written by 24 NY Times, USA Today, and Amazon best selling Authors wrapped up in one amazing boxed set!
The Authors
Elianne Adams – Erzabet Bishop – Muffy Wilson – Rozlyn Sparks –Jacintha Topaz – Elvira Bathory – Tara Crescent – Crystal Dawn – Tricia Owens – D. F. Krieger – A.C. Nixon – Isis Pierce – Abi Aiken – Dawn White – Kiki Howell – Gina Kincade – Bethany Shaw – Danielle Gavan – Abby Hayes – Paige Matthews – Tierney O’Malley – Jacqueline Sweet – Angelica Dawson – Tanith Davenport
“Hedging Her Bets”
From
Alpha Fever
by Erzabet Bishop
“One chance is all it takes.”
Alpha Fever: Hedging Her Bets
Natalie raised her chin to take in the two smoking hot men standing in front of her. Jonathan still held her hand, his eyes locked on hers. His bad boy biker visage with the black tee and tattoos made her heart skip a beat. His chestnut hair and chiseled good looks were swoon-worthy, and she wondered what it would be like to explore him. With her tongue. Her stomach swirled with butterflies and her pussy clenched. Why had it suddenly gotten so hot in here? It felt fine a moment ago. Her hedgie prickled and began to rub the underside of her skin.
Was it wrong to want to throw him to the floor and mount him right there?
Probably.
But she could at least enjoy the mental picture.
Bow chicka bow bow.
Her hedgie vibrated and she gave a long sigh. How she’d like to climb his tree and perch for a while. Jonathan sucked in his breath as if he could read her thoughts. His eyes glowed with the evidence of his beast and she flushed as the realization hit her. He could probably scent her arousal. Bears were good like that. At least, that was the rule in all the erotic romances she’d ever read. And so, for that matter, were cats. Both of these men were shifters.
Alpha Heat: Cat’s Got Her Tongue
“Do you want to try being the spanker or the spankee the first time?”
“What?” She was so startled by the question, she almost lost her grip on the paddle.
“Lucas here needs a proper swat or two for getting us in the newspaper, don’t you boy?” Jonathan pulled him close and slapped him on the ass before drawing him in for a scorching kiss that left her panties soaked just watching.
“Can she?” Lucas turned his golden eyes to her. “I would love that.” “Oh…that would be different. But then it’s my turn, okay? To be the spankee, I mean.” Natalie giggled and wrapped her fingers around the handle. She gave it a swing and the air whistled through the holes.
Erzabet Bishop is an award winning author who loves to write naughty stories. She is the author of Lipstick, Dinner Date, Crave, The Science of Lust, Arcane Imaginarium: Spirit Board, Holidays in Hell, Mallory’s Mark (upcoming 2016),The Devil’s Due (upcoming 2016), Charity Benshaw’s Enchanted Paddle Emporium (upcoming 2016), Sigil Fire, Glitter Lust (upcoming 2016), Written on Skin, Club Beam, Pomegranate, A Red Dress for Christmas, The Black Magic Café, Fantasies in Red, Sweet Seductions: The Erzabet Bishop Collection, Holiday Cruise, Fetish Fair, Temptation Resorts: Jess, Temptation Resorts: Marnie, Taming the Beast, The Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires, Samhain Shadows and Yuletide Temptation along with being a contributor to many anthologies. Erzabet has been a finalist in the GCLS awards for 2014 and 2015. She lives in Texas with her husband, furry children and can often be found lurking in local bookstores. She loves to bake, make naughty crochet projects and watch monster movies. When she isn’t writing, she loves to review music and books.
When I was growing up, vampires weren’t pretty, sparkly-in-the-sun beings. They were dark and evil creatures steeped in European mythology. They were inspired by the Strigoi, Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker’s Dracula among others.
The vampires I knew of fed on the blood of hapless victims and slept in coffins. They were walking corpses that preyed on the living intent on death and destruction. Interesting for sure. Lovable? Nope.
I’m picky about what appeals to me when it comes to bloodsuckers. Some of my favorites in modern fiction include Louis and Claudia (Interview with a Vampire), Xan Marcelles (Crooked Fang) and Eli (Let the Right One In). These vampires all represent beautifully that essential struggle in balancing the monster they’ve become with what’s left of their humanity. They’re likable despite what they are. They invoke emotion and feeling which is essential to any good character but is especially effective with vampire characterization where you’re taking something that is inherently bad and making it into something people can relate to and even see a little of themselves in.
My vampires don’t shine like diamonds when exposed to daylight and, in fact, will burn up like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. They fight, love and fuck like humans but are always battling the monster that lurks just below the surface. Sometimes they win that fight and sometimes they don’t.
Some say vampires have had their day and are out of fashion. I call bullshit. In my opinion, vampires will always be relevant in fiction. As an author, you have creative license to build your world however you like. It’s up to you to lay down your lore and make it believable and engaging. At the end of the day, or night, vampires can be written any number of ways as long as their journey is a real one.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, subscribe to my newsletter here https://eepurl.com/bPAbOLand thentell me who your favorite vampire is! I’ll pick a random winner from the comments on March 27, 2016.
If you like vampires, check out my new release Love Voodoo.
After a chance tarot card reading in a New Orleans voodoo shop, vampire Luca is intrigued by Collette, an alluring woman with an uncanny intuition. Getting intimately involved with a human is the last thing Luca has in mind, but Collette wins his trust and their friendship grows into something deeper. When Luca’s clan learns that he has asked Collette to perform a spell to bind his psychotic sire, a deadly chain of events unravels that will change their lives.
Alyssa Breck is an award winning author of horror/urban fantasy, paranormal romance and erotic fiction. She grew up reading Stephen King and V.C. Andrews. The Shining changed her life and sparked a love of all things scary, spooky and spine-chilling. Add some romance to that and she found her niche weaving paranormal and erotic romance stories. Alyssa hangs her hat in the South with her family of humans and fur-babies.
Until Marvin Gaye sang about sexual healing, going to the doctor was anything but sexy. But taking off clothes, examining, touching, and even saving a life are right up the alley of love and steamy romance. Raise your hand if you ever “played doctor”.
I took a workshop in medical editing last spring, and it inspired me to write. Cali, the heroine of Cali’s Hurricane, told me she wanted to do more than cook. When the man she hates gets injured, she’s torn between turning her back on him and using her healing skills to save him. When it’s time for a sponge bath, she’ll have to get uncomfortably close.
Despite the racial tensions brewing in Oyster Harbor in the 1930s, three interracial couples have found love. When a hurricane blows through, will hate finally be washed away or will it grow back stronger than ever?
Jonathan Carter, filled with hate from a childhood incident, cares only about keeping the Klan strong on the island. Cali Waters, still grieving for her husband who died from a Klan attack, longs to use her healing gift instead of being the Carter family cook. When a hurricane threatens the hospital Jon started to build, an injury puts his life in her hands and a chance to heal more than his flesh.
Jonathan’s sister, Mary, is tired of the sheltered existence she’s lived since being raped. When Jimmy Clark, a black oyster shucker, rescues her during the hurricane, she heals from his gentle love. But if her brother finds out, both relationships will be put to a test fiercer than any storm.
She frowned and halted her movement. “Whatever for?”
“Cali, if you’d stop questioning everything, I wouldn’t have to give you so many orders.”
She left the cloth balled up on his belly. The sound of the lock clicking into place made him hard. When she returned to his side, she rinsed the cloth and stroked it down his legs. The sight of her skin—brown with a touch of gold—looked so perfect next to his. Made him look more alive. He was always too damn pale, especially now because of his injury.
“Ahem. You forgot an important spot.”
She glared at his jutting organ. “You can clean that yourself.”
“Not as well as you can.” He grasped her wrist and covered it with her palm. “Heal me, Cali.”
The pressure of her supple fingers through the thin cloth was gone too soon.
“Your chest needs healing. That other part of you seems healthy enough.”
“Everything is connected.” He commanded her with his eyes. “Besides, I know you want to.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “You’re nothing but evil, Jonathan Carter.”
His breath caught when she finally stroked the cloth down his length.
“Get rid of the rag,” he said. “I need to feel your healing touch.”
But she looked down and froze.
“And for God’s sake, don’t think about your late husband. You’re a vibrant, young woman in need of pleasure. Besides, he’s not here.”
“His spirit is always around me,” she whispered.
“No, it isn’t. We locked the door.” He rotated his hips under her hand even though it made his chest hurt like hell. “We deserve a little pleasure after that miserable night.”
“It was rough,” she agreed. “But you confuse me.”
“The feeling is mutual.” He sighed. “Are you going to wash me or not?”
Her slender shoulders rose and fell with a shrug. “I suppose a bath isn’t so evil.”
His head thrashed against the pillow as she cleaned him with a few swift strokes. Since she insisted on using the washcloth, he plucked it away. A spasm gripped his chest from the feel of her bare palm against his swollen flesh.
“Cali,” he gasped. “A little more.”
Wet and soapy, her hand skated across him. Closing his eyes, he imagined he was inside her instead. Someday, he would be. Strong, virile, and pinning her to the bed. Driving into her hard, over and over until she shattered.
A flash of blinding pleasure ripped through his balls before he could warn her.
“Oh!” she exclaimed when his seed coated her fingers. “The more I clean you, the dirtier you get.”
Coming Soon
Hidden Moon – Hot Moon Rising series – Decadent Publishing
The sentimental jewelry used during the 18th and 19th centuries is fascinating to me. These tokens of affections are sometimes very elaborate or made from unusual items, such as a loved one’s hair.
One short-lived jewelry trend that started in France sometime in the mid 1700’s and spread to London was the exchange of eye miniatures also known as lover’s eyes. It is generally believed that the Prince of Wales, who later became George IV, popularized this form of jewelry in London.
These portraits feature only an image of the eye, allowing a person to present it to a lover while keeping their identity a secret from others. They were also exchanged among family members. Lockets, containing portraits were another popular item but contained covers to hide the identity of the person. The anonymity of eye miniatures meant they could be worn openly.
Photo Credit: Yale University Art Gallery, Unknown eye, circa 1805-10, Watercolor on ivory.
The trend lasted until the 1820’s. It is estimated that less than 1000 eye miniatures exist in the world today with the Skiers of Birmingham, Ala. owning the largest collection.
My research into eye miniatures inspired my short story, “An Eye for Love”, which will appear in Delilah Devlin’s Rogues, a romantic erotic anthology. My heroine, Lady Olivia, is a collector of eye miniatures who discovers one of her miniatures missing and hires the hero to help her recover it.
I’m an author. There, I said it, not whispered, not ducking my head. I can’t help the flame in my cheeks. I’d happily sit back in a hole and type away at my keyboard, typing the words until they see the light of day, never seeing another soul.
One of the hardest parts? Talking about it. Putting myself out there. I don’t do it for me. I do it for my books, for my characters. They wanted their story to be told. Sometimes too many crowd my head and if I talk about it, I see that look come into people’s eyes.
Really, I’m sane. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! So, about those stories.
I’ve an affinity for dragons. They fascinate me. The myths and legends, the exotic pets, I’ve read and researched anything I can get my hands on. Yes, I own almost every Dragonology book printed. Fascinating to follow the adventures written there.
I can’t help but believe that they were real. Too many tales weave throughout history. They disappeared somehow. Okay, I see that look in your eye! Just think about it. I have.
It all comes out in my writing. Dragons and the apocalypse, my other obsession.
My series starts with the world dying, missiles exploding, disease spreading and dragons waking. You don’t see all that though. I get right into the nitty gritty of my dragons and their hunt for their fated mate. I just needed the rest to get my mind in the correct place. Starting the background for my dragons to live.
The result? Stealing Hope. Stealing Hope is an erotic paranormal romance-book one in A Dragon’s Fated Heart series.
The apocalypse has come and gone.
Those who survived learned to adapt.
Dragons awaken to once again reign over the skies.
Upon eruption of a volcano, Ari awakens to a changed world, and a knowing that his dragon’s mate is near. He saves her twice—once as a dragon, and again as a man—and wins her confidence.
Hope cried out, moaning, “just change me with pleasure?”
Hope is restless and unfulfilled until she meets Ari, the man of her fantasies. The sensual tension between them heightens with every touch. When their passion explodes, Hope gets pulled into the dragon’s mating ritual…and into a world of erotic sensation she never dreamed existed but now cannot live without. The dragon binds his mate to him with a ritual that shows Hope her true nature in this humorous erotic romance.
Beverly Ovalle dabbled with writing on and off for years when her best friend finally dared her to submit a story to a writing contest. Beverly decided she had nothing to lose and since she’d always wanted to be an author sent it in and agonized for months waiting to hear back. Contract in hand she has never looked back.
Beverly has been obsessed with dragons and romance since she was a young girl, collecting dragon books and reading everything she could find on them even down to the care of real life dragons. She’s always been slightly panicked that the world as we know it will end, so has prepped for it, haunting survivalist pages and prepper projects she felt she needed in the event SHTF.
An avid fan of all romance, Beverly’s goal is to share her love of the written word and write the hot and erotic romances that she enjoys. She writes what she loves to read and it was only a matter of time before her obsessions crept into her writing for her to share. She hopes you enjoy her tales as much as she loves writing them.
A Navy Veteran, Beverly has traveled around the world and the United States enabling her to bring her settings to life, meeting and marrying her husband of twenty five years along the way for her own romance. Reading romances since the fourth grade she’s followed as the genre changed and spread into the vast cornucopia of romance offered today.
Once upon a time, there was a farmer. This farmer was very busy, because he’d been rude to his wife and she left him to fend for himself in the wilds of the wilderness, with only his little farm to keep at bay the darkness of the big, wide world around him. Working all day didn’t help, because when he stopped work at night he still had many tasks undone.
One night, a bird flew by looking for his mate and he saw the farmer toiling in the barnyard. He flew up to the top of the barn to watch for a while, because maybe the farmer missed some hayseeds as he raked up the bedding for the horses and fed the pigs.
After watching for a long time, the bird took pity on the man as he went from one task to the next. He knew the farmer must be hungry, and so he went hunting for worms in the soft loam by the creek. Just before dawn, he found it – a fat worm, just waiting to become the bird’s breakfast. The bird caught it in his beak and flapped his way back to the farmer. The man sat on a hay bale, watching the sun come up, and the bird arrived. Just as he set the worm down for the man, the man let a handful of corn fall for the bird in thanks.
About this time, a lady bird saw the action of the bird and her heart swelled for she knew this would be her mate. She flew up and alighted on the edge of the fence, watching the bird and the man. The bird took one look at her and made a decision. Rather than gorging on the good, sweet corn, he hopped back so she could have it. She ate her fill and the bird – well, the bird, he got his worm.
And that’s why they say “the early bird gets his worm.” It’s all because the farmer was rude to his wife.
—
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
– E.E. Cummings
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Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. She’s lived and worked all over the state, calling both Southern and Northern California home. During her career in journalism—as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers—she won awards for producing investigative series.
